Month: August 2024

Before we round out this week, we must note that it was 50 years ago that Richard Nixon resigned as president. The first and only president to resign in disgrace.

It was on August 8 and I was sitting in a Mexican restaurant in Isla Vista, next to UC Santa Barbara, taking a dinner break in my drive from the Bay Area back to Ocean Beach. All of a sudden, there was a grave tone from an announcer, and Richard Nixon appeared on the eatery’s TV which was mounted on a wall. His visage appeared and he announced he was resigning the next day, August 9, 1974.

I was full of joy! He deserved to go and I in fact had been involved in the movement to get him to either be impeached or forced to resign.

He was very bad — and whether he was worse than Trump is up to history (as Trump is not done with us yet). But Nixon in his own way tried to be a dictator — and the American people stood up to him — as did the Supreme Court — and their representatives forced him out.

The U-T ran a piece over this last week about the City updating its blueprint for Balboa Park and reviving Starlight Bowl. And a couple of the published responses were noteworthy, especially since one of them was from our friend Roger Showley, a San Diego architectural historian and former longtime writer for the U-T (and fellow PLHS Class of 66 member):

The plan to save our crown jewel needs more to creativity when it comes to food

Mayor Todd Gloria listed many worthy to-do items in his “State of Balboa Park” presentation. One proposes the long-shuttered Village Grill at Old Globe Way. But we need a lot more imagination to satisfy our thirst and growling stomachs when visiting San Diego’s “crown jewel.”

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

To all our readers and supporters who have given the Rag our best fundraiser ever! It’s been amazing.

We asked our community for $3,000 and you gave us $5,000! Incredible.

by Ernie McCray

The joy I’ve been feeling of late
was brightened
by our athletes’ performances
at the
Olympic Games,
as I’m still wearing
a smile
from watching

Here’s the City of San Diego’s official notice for the large ADU project proposed for 4705 Point Loma Avenue in south OB (be aware that none of the blue links “work” as this is a photocopy or the original notice). OB and Point Loma residents are being urged to attend the hearing.

By Orville

You guys need to let the city manager thing go.

San Diego was able to generate plenty of scandals under that system too, and you all know full well they’d just hire a lackey anyway – one we couldn’t vote out every four years.

Pining for a model used by mid-size cities is waste of everyone’s time. 1.4 million people live here. It’s not getting on the ballot. The ship has sailed.

By Danna Givot

Too often, people who have opposed San Diego’s Bonus ADU (accessory dwelling unit) program have been miscast as one cohesive group of anti-development, anti-renter, anti-affordable housing NIMBYs. I’d like to take a few moments to dispel these stereotypes.

I oppose San Diego’s Bonus ADU program for a multitude of reasons. But I am 100% in favor of California’s requirement that single-family parcels be eligible for one ADU and one JADU (Junior ADU).

State law allows a tripling of density and a 200% increase in housing units in single-family neighborhoods.  Until recent code changes, almost all of these ADUs and JADUs had to be rentals (unless owned and developed by non-profits).

The well-known Ebb Tide Motel on West Pt Loma is up for sale, along with the adjoining apartment building. Together, the properties are being offered for $8,750,000.

And together they include a total of 23 units — the motel has 15 and the multi-family building has 8.

Not only that, the in-place TOT license is being offered for short-term rentals. The offer makes this statement:

A buyer may have the option to utilize the in-place TOT license and run short-term rentals (AirBnB, VRBO, etc.) or convert the units into true apartments. With great parking, ocean views, and steps from the beach, a buyer can develop a substantial increase in gross income.

It stood there for years – the second hand sports equipment store at 4811 W Point Loma Blvd — but now it’s up for sale.

The one-story storefront with 2,800 square feet is on the market for $1,850,000. Built in 1947, the building is on a .11 acre site, zoned C-1, with a floor area ratio of .6.

Code of conduct would prohibit any criticism of a city employee in public setting.

Public Service Announcement

By Scott Rodd / KPBS / August 15, 2024

The boards and commissions that advise San Diego leaders on a broad range of issues could see their independence constricted if a new set of rules is passed by the City Council.

San Diego has dozens of boards and commissions that provide analysis, oversight and policy recommendations to Mayor Todd Gloria’s administration and council members. They cover a broad range of topics, from historical resources to housing to policing.

by Ernie McCray

As the torrential winds
of Making America Great Again
die down
I hear music in my mind,
songs of change
that we’ve cried out for
during these times,
love songs
composed
by Harris and Walz

Community members said racial bias is at play during the stops in which officers use minor infractions to search people and their vehicles for evidence of more serious crimes

By Alex Riggins / The San Diego Union-Tribune / August 8, 2024

Duane Bennett was early in his legal career in 1985, working as a deputy district attorney in Riverside County, when he was pulled over and held at gunpoint by Los Angeles police officers. Bennett, who is Black, said officers later told him that he “fit the description,” apparently of a suspect they were looking for. “I know what it means to be profiled and pretext (stopped).”