Month: March 2024

By Anna Schier / San Diego Patch / March 1, 2024

Environmental groups have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop planned logging projects following fires at Giant Sequoia National Monument.

The lawsuit opposing the commercial logging projects was brought in the Northern District of California by the Sierra Club, John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute and Sequoia ForestKeeper. The projects proposed by the U.S. Forest Service would be on 13,000 acres that burned in the 2020 Castle Fire and the 2021 Windy Fire, which killed many giant sequoia trees,

By Shelby Huffaker, MPH / San Diego Americans for Safe Access / March 5, 2024

Note: This page is a living document, though not all updates will be reflected immediately. Please refer to the bills’ pages for the most up-to-date information at the original.

AB 1775: Cannabis: retail preparation, sale, and consumption of noncannabis food and beverage products.*

This bill would authorize a local jurisdiction to allow for the preparation or sale of non-cannabis food or beverage products at licensed consumption lounges; …

By Jon Queally / Common Dreams / March 4, 2024

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday accused Israel of standing in clear violation of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act by creating the conditions for mass starvation within the Gaza Strip as he called on the Biden administration to halt all military aid to the country until Palestinians are granted the life-saving humanitarian relief they urgently need.

“Starvation is taking place in Gaza,” Sanders said in a statement. “Israel is prohibiting aid convoys from delivering desperately needed food and water.”

This Tuesday night, the OB Planning Board will review proposed changes to the Short-Term Rental Ordinance. This review is in anticipation that the San Diego City Council also plans to review the ordinance in May.

And at the Pacific Beach Town Council meeting on Feb. 21, there were discussions on ways to close loopholes that let property owners violate the spirit of the law. PB Monthly reporter Madison Beveridge wrote up an account of PB community member Iain Richardson presentation on the impact of short-term rentals …

By Nicole Arthur – OBE PTA

Mark your calendars! Two important events are occurring March 10, 2024. The start of Daylight Saving Time, and Ocean Beach Elementary’s 12th annual Skate for the Kids Fundraising Event.

The OBE PTA and Ocean Beach Surf and Skate Shop have partnered up to make this a family-friendly event to remember, with plenty of fun for kids and adults alike. Kicking off at Robb Field on Sunday, March 10th at 12pm,

Roll up for Cannabis Equity – a Monthly Column

By Terrie Best

To say the city of Vista likes weed is an understatement. To say Vista likes weed so much they want a strain named after them is more accurate.

I listened in and gave a virtual public comment on an agenda item at their City Council meeting held on February 27th. Afterward we were treated to some very promising public discussion around cannabis social equity by the council. I’m not kidding, they want a cannabis strain. They wouldn’t mind a handful of consumption lounges, a shared cannabis workspace and don’t even think about limiting cannabis events in Vista either. They don’t want that.

The agenda item was a presentation by Kyle Tankard, Lead Researcher at SCI. SCI has been winning many contracts in California municipalities. These contracts are for licensing outlets and social equity assessments – the preliminary findings report necessary to begin giving priority licenses to individuals harmed by the war on drugs.

(For Ongoing Events, see below)

March 4th Monday 6 pm – 7:30 pm   Envisioning an Environmentally-Just City

March 5th Tuesday – California Primary – Go vote if you haven’t already.

March 5th Tuesday 4 pm Silver Screen War Machine: Decoding the Military-Entertainment Complex

March 6th Wednesday 11 am  Petroleum 238: A Seven-Year Investigation of Oilfield Radioactivity

March 6th Wednesday 6:30 pm – 8 pm Connecting Creatures, Climate, and Communities

March 7th Thursday 6:30 pm Meeting of San Diego Chapter of BDS movement 

March 8th Friday — International Women’s Day

On Saturday, March 2, a woman in her 20s suffered serious injuries after falling 25 feet off Sunset Cliffs onto the jagged rocks below.

The as-yet unidentified woman fell from street level at about 2 p.m. at 900 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

In at times a frustrating, exasperating, cantankerous and ultimately gratifying meeting, the new leadership of the Ocean Beach Town Council tried to put its best face forward at Wednesday night’s monthly public get together.

Before a small crowd of 40 at the not-very accessible club house of Park Point Loma, vice-president Shelly Parks opened the meeting by welcoming everyone, including those on zoom, the live stream of the website and “the live audience,” meaning those in attendance.

Here is a very brief basic summary of the high-lights of the meeting.

More Than 100 Cameras Have Already Been Installed

Since late December, more than 100 of the 500 cameras that the San Diego Police Department will be installing and using has begun. These are the Smart Streetlight cameras and Automated License Plate Recognition technologies, and nearly every day brings new installations.

Installation of all 500 cameras is anticipated by June, weather and other infrastructure issues permitting. It’s unclear how the new city budget restrictions enacted by Gloria just recently will affect the rate of installation.

Meet at the end of Ladera Street at the blue tent, 9 to 12 am.