February 2024

Mysterious Sign Appears Along Sunset Cliffs

February 19, 2024 by Source

An Intelligent Question

By Judi Curry

Suppose you were walking on Sunset Cliffs, looking at the glorious view and came across this sign.  What would you think it meant?

The city, in all of its glory, has now posted this sign so that walkers have an idea where they are? Or where they can go? Or ?????????

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Alexei Navalny: This Is What a Post-Putin Russia Should Look Like

February 19, 2024 by Source

Alexei Navalny, the main opposition leader of Putin’s Russia, was killed Friday, Feb. 16 at the remote Siberia prison he had been condemned to. Here’s his tribute to a post-Putin Russia written a year and half ago.

By Alexei Navalny / Washington Post   / September 30, 2022 (Re-posted RSN Feb. 19, 2024)

What does a desirable and realistic end to the criminal war unleashed by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine look like?

If we examine the primary things said by Western leaders on this score, the bottom line remains: Russia (Putin) must not win this war. Ukraine must remain an independent democratic state capable of defending itself.

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Early Monday Fight at Point Loma Vacation Rental Results in Death

February 19, 2024 by Source

A man was fatally injured in a fight at a vacation rental in Point Loma early Monday, Feb. 19, authorities said.

Police received a call about a man being in medical distress following a physical altercation at 2:11 a.m. Monday at a very large, 3-story home in the 2800 block of Poinsettia Drive in the Point Loma area, according to the San Diego Police Department.

When officers arrived, the 38-year-old man was not breathing, police Lt. Daniel Meyer said. Paramedics took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The survivor of the fight, a 44-year-old man, was detained, Meyer said.

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Michael Smolens: Cautionary Tales About Homelessness and Mental Health Programs

February 16, 2024 by Source

by Michael Smolens / San Diego Union-Tribune / Feb. 11, 2024

Ambitious proposals to address homelessness and mental health issues are moving forward in San Diego and statewide.

The plans come with considerable promise of improving the quality of life for people without shelter and those with mental and brain illnesses, including substance use disorders.

But history has shown there’s reason to temper expectations heading down this path. For one thing, they may not receive necessary approval, whether from the public or elected officials.

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Money Made by City of San Diego on Short Term Rentals Is Not Being Spent on Their Enforcement

February 16, 2024 by Source

Campbell’s District 2 Office Is Not on Top of Short Term Rental Licensing

By Geoff Page

It seemed like a good time to check up on the short-term vacation rental, or STVR, picture in Ocean Beach. The Rag submitted a Public Records Request, or PRR, asking for the current list of permitted STVRs.

The following paragraphs provide an account of what it took to obtain the STVR information, an explanation of what STVR Tiers are and how many there are, how this is being administered by the city, and the budget. The information resulted in one surprise and one confirmation of expectations.

The surprise is that the city expects to make millions from the STVR business.  The confirmed expectation is that the city is not spending any of that money on enforcement of the STVR ordinance.

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New Cuban Sandwich Shop Opens on OB’s Newport Ave

February 16, 2024 by Staff

A popular area pop-up known for making what some consider some of the best Cuban sandwiches in town, Cubano Kings has opened its first brick-and-mortar eatery in Ocean Beach.

The new eatery has opened at 4853 Newport Avenue, where the OB Meat Company once stood.

Founded by Jose Zazueta Cruz, Cubano Kings has been operating as a pop-up food vendor at San Diego farmers markets for the past couple years, serving a menu of Cuban sandwiches made with a formula and recipe dates back to the 1980s. Cubano Kings recently took over the space to open a sandwich shop and cafe.

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Mayoral Candidate Larry Turner Who Now Lives in Ocean Beach Faces Legal Challenge from Gloria Allies for Violating Residency Rule

February 15, 2024 by Staff

One of Mayor Gloria’s campaign opponents, Larry Turner, claims he and his family live in Ocean Beach, having moved here in July 2023, is under scrutiny by Gloria’s allies for possibly violating residency rules in running for mayor. It’s not the OB address that’s under question, however.

The Voice of San Diego reports today that a “new lawsuit is seeking to boot city cop Larry Turner from the mayor’s race. The lawsuit alleges Turner isn’t actually a full-time resident of the city of San Diego….”

Turner is one of six candidates running to unseat Mayor Todd Gloria. So far, none of Gloria’s opponents have garnered major campaign cash or attention. The main question — barring any wild developments — is which one will come in second during the March 5 primary election. That person will face off with Gloria in November.

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An Alternate History of PLNU: ‘The Blunt’

February 15, 2024 by Source

By Steve Anderson / LomaBeat.com / Feb. 14, 2024

Part I: Before There Was a Blunt… There Was A Point

The college was on unstable ground. A once-stout Nazarene college that sat northeast of Los Angeles in Pasadena decided to move to San Diego in 1973, drawing more than just Nazarenes. Their new campus sat on Sunset Cliffs, a dreamy oceanfront property that brought surfers and Nazarenes alike to the newly named Point Loma College (PLC): An Institution of the Church of The Nazarene.

The move couldn’t have come at a more socially intense period. Fresh out of the 1960s cultural revolution, the 1970s were just the next step in a radical socio-political attitude. An attitude especially poignant among the youth.

PLC didn’t lack its fair share of radicals;

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New Mediterranean Restaurant to Open Next to Hugo’s on Sunset Cliffs Blvd in Ocean Beach

February 15, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

Yet another new restaurant has opened in Ocean Beach. A Mediterranean eatery called “Chicken Over Rice” has opened next to “Hugo’s Cocina” at 1830 Sunset Cliffs Blvd, Suite E.

One news website says:

A farmer’s market vendor from Ocean Beach has advanced to open their own storefront. With protein selections of chicken or chickpeas and toppings like cucumber salsa, garlic sauce, and tzatziki, Chicken Over Rice Co. serves a simplified Mediterranean menu that includes create-your-own rice bowls, salads, and pita sandwiches.

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Join Code Pink and Vets for Peace at Weekly Vigil for Cease-Fire in Gaza in Ocean Beach — Every Saturday

February 15, 2024 by Source

Join Code Pink and the San Diego Veterans For Peace in their weekly vigil in OB demanding a ceasefire in the current fighting in Gaza …. every Saturday from Noon to 1 PM at the corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd and Point Loma Blvd in Ocean Beach.

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Gloria Allies Elevate Sole Republican in Mayor Race in Hopes of Sidelining Other Democratic Candidates

February 14, 2024 by Source

Editordude: Here’s two different articles just published by local media in how Mayor Gloria’s friends are promoting the sole Republican in the race in order to sideline the other two Democratic candidates running against him. The first is by Michael Smolens in today’s U-T and the other is by Alberto Garcia at La Prensa.

Pro-Gloria committee elevates GOP opponent

By Michael Smolens / San Diego Union-Tribune / Feb. 14, 2024

Jane Glasson wasn’t really considered in the mix among viable mayoral primary election candidates — until now.

The special education assistant is being promoted in a mailer financed by the New San Diego committee, which supports the re-election of Mayor Todd Gloria.

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San Diego City Council Toughens Rules for Sidewalk Vendors on ‘Free-Speech’ Issue

February 14, 2024 by Source

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / Feb. 13, 2024

San Diego cracked down Tuesday, Feb. 13 on “rogue” sidewalk vendors in downtown and other vendors in parks and beaches who use free-speech claims to skirt city restrictions on where they can operate.

The City Council unanimously approved a complex and comprehensive enforcement framework that city officials say will help restore the look and feel of many popular tourist areas flooded with vendors in recent years.

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Nextdoor Has Gotten Way Out of Hand

February 14, 2024 by Source

By Rick Reilly / Washington Post / Feb. 5, 2024

Are you bummed you weren’t around when the Stasi ruled? Do you wish you could’ve been one of Mao Zedong’s millions of neighborhood snitches? Maybe watch the Red Guards drag off your least favorite aunt?

Not to worry, the bad old days are back — thanks to Nextdoor.com.

On Nextdoor all you have to do is sign up, log in and start profiling everyone on your block. Teenager in a hoodie walking on your street? Lock your doors. Black guy with a backpack standing on the corner? Call the cops.

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Only 2 Communities Out of 42 Have Rival Groups that Contest Their Re-Recognition of Being the Local Planning Committee

February 13, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

After a big, two-year much-hallooed process by the City of San Diego to “diversity” the 42 existing neighborhood planning groups, only two neighborhoods have had rival groups emerge to contest the re-recognition of the existing group. La Jolla and Uptown.

But not the other 40 neighborhoods — where panels made up of volunteers from the community toll away and make advisable recommendations on housing projects and infrastructure to the city.

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California’s Coastal Protections Vs. Development : Battle in San Francisco

February 13, 2024 by Source

By Julie Johnson / San Francisco Chronicle /Jan 25, 2024

Building housing is difficult virtually anywhere in California — but especially along the coast, where there can be an extra layer of permitting. One of the Legislature’s strongest advocates for more home-building is trying to change that — and he’s starting with the coastline of San Francisco.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced legislation this month that would chip away at the authority of the California Coastal Commission, the state agency charged with preserving public beach access and evaluating coastal development, over neighborhood areas along Ocean Beach [San Francisco].

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San Diego City Council Approves Union-Friendly Citywide Project Labor Agreement for Most City Construction Projects

February 13, 2024 by Source

by Jeffrey W. Forrest/ National Law Review / Feb. 12, 2024

On January 30, 2024, the San Diego City Council approved an ordinance implementing Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposal to establish an extensive project labor agreement (“PLA”), which is slated to impose various conditions and restrictions on most City-funded construction projects.

Most notably, the PLA establishes conditions of employment and minimum wage requirements, additional safety protocols, and other regulations imposed on contractors and their subcontractors.

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Urgent Defend San Diego Preservation and History Alert from SOHO

February 13, 2024 by Source

From SOHO

Recently a missive from the mayor’s office in the form of an initiative to “modernize historic property regulations to preserve important places and streamline new home construction” was sent out as a press release.

The mayor and city council are advocating for reforms based on promoting new home construction and not historic preservation.

It is essential to dispel the misconception that historic preservation and development are inherently conflicting. In reality, historic preservation impacts only a small fraction of development projects, and importantly it plays a vital role in maintaining the unique identity of our city and its neighborhoods.

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Oh, I Could Dig It If Everybody Was Like Me.

February 13, 2024 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

One often hears
how dull life would be
if everyone was the same
but I beg to differ,
thinking non-braggadocious-ly
that it would be flat out cool
if everybody acted as I do,
like woke up everyday
and, no matter what else they did that day,
took time out to read,
to pet a dog,
and wrote some prose and poetry,
some of it for a progressive blog,
and listened to and danced to
some music that allowed
them to breathe in the day soulfully and deeply,

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8 ADUs to Be Built in Backyard on Point Loma Avenue in Ocean Beach

February 13, 2024 by Staff

Residents of the 4600 block of Point Loma Avenue in Ocean Beach are feeling very frustrated.

They have found out that a developer plans to build 8 ADU’s on a back property of a single-family house on that block. This is happening on 4648 – 4650 Point Loma.

They do understand that adding a couple ADU units is normal, but to add 8 more units with one existing house – they consider “insane.” What was supposed to be a nice granny flat or a couple units in the back to help with income, has turned into a  plan for everyone to live in condos and not have any green at all. The developer is planning eight 2-story units.

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Flight Attendants on Strike at San Diego Airport — Tuesday, Feb.13

February 13, 2024 by Source

Axios San Diego reports that on Tuesday, Feb. 13, hundreds of flight attendants, pilots and other airline workers will be picketing outside the San Diego Airport as part of a nationwide demonstration over their pay and working conditions amid ongoing contract negotiations.

They’re asking for raises and challenging their pay structure and will be joining picketers from multiple unions representing 100,000 flight attendants for Alaska, United, American, Southwest and other airlines who are expected outside 30 airports nationwide. The industry norm is they don’t get paid until the plane doors close.

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It’s the Annual Writer’s Symposium at Pt Loma Nazarene — Feb. 19 -23

February 12, 2024 by Source

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OB Historical Society Celebrates 30 Years — Thursday, Feb.15

February 12, 2024 by Source

Have We Got Some Stories for You!

Please join Ocean Beach Historical Society on Thursday evening, February 15th at 7:00 pm as they celebrate their 30th year.

Teachers, writers, business owners, artists, designers, photographers, old time hippies, community activists, owners of historic homes, elves, gnomes, and similar unusual and splendid individuals

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Valentine’s Day Gifts

February 12, 2024 by Source

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‘Burger Kook’ Moving Into Ocean Beach

February 12, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

Another burger joint is moving onto Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach.

Oh boy! Another burger joint at the beach. This one just doors down from Hodad’s.

Yes, it seems that Burger Kook is taking over the former ChickenHeadz spot at 5026 Newport.

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More Details on the Ocean Beach Town Council’s Problems and Corey Bruins’ Shenanigans

February 9, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

The Pt Loma-OB Monthly ran a long piece by Steven Mihailovich less than a week ago about the scandal at the Ocean Beach Town Council. Since Mihailovich is a professionally -paid journalist — the Monthly is a publication of the Union-Tribune — his article had accurate quotes and more detail than the Rag’s report on the scandal, which all became public at the OBTC meeting of January 24.

Therefore, this is an attempt to provide our readers with some of those details — and clarifications that Mihailovich reported in his piece of Feb. 4 as a way to supplement our original post.
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‘It Was Another Time … When People Thought Nothing of Going Out on the OB Pier When Waves Were Splashing Through the Railing

February 9, 2024 by Source

It was another time, our friend George Janczyn wrote us, “when people thought nothing of going out on the pier when waves were splashing through the railing. We will likely never see that happen again!”

These photos of George’s are from January 2016.

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Journalist Objects to KPBS Coverage of Talmadge’s Push for Historic Designation as Efforts to ‘Preserve Former Whites-Only Neighborhood’

February 9, 2024 by Source

Editordude: Local journalist Paul Krueger, a resident of Talmadge — and an occasional writer here – has objected to recent KPBS coverage by reporter Katie Hyson of a meeting of San Diego’s Historical  Resources Board on efforts by Talmadge residents to achieve historic designation by the state for their neighborhood.

Krueger was particularly disturbed by KPBS’ headline of “Residents seek to preserve former ‘whites-only’ neighborhood as historic district,” because it was “terribly misleading and needlessly inflammatory,” as he stated in a letter to KPBS, which he shared with the Rag and is posted below. 

Dear Katy,

I’m a resident of Talmadge, but don’t live in that portion of the neighborhood that’s the subject of your story.

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An Ode to the Mean Green Team of Point Loma

February 9, 2024 by Source

Every issue of the online Peninsula News published by the Point Loma Association has mainly a photographic tribute to a large group of volunteers who take it upon themselves to clean and trim the green and public spaces of the Peninsula. They’re called the Mean Green Team.

Before the rains came, the Pen News ran this on the team, and now we pick it up as our ode to the folks of the Mean Green Team:

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A New Campaign to End SeaWorld’s Fireworks

February 9, 2024 by Judi Curry

By Judi Curry

I purchased my home in the Sunset Cliffs area in 1967, just as Sea World was getting started. At that time there were no fireworks every night.

Over the many years I have resided here, the fireworks have become nightly, scaring the dogs that live here; having a Viet-Nam discharged military man leave my house in a hurry because the sound of the fireworks brought back all of the experiences he had while fighting in the war; and watching other animals panic at the sound of the explosives.

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Storms Give Boost to California’s Snowpack

February 9, 2024 by Source

By Lucas Combos / Patch /Thursday, Feb 8, 2024

A pair of atmospheric rivers that dumped more than a foot of rain over parts of SoCal and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands across the Golden State proved beneficial for California’s struggling snowpack.

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