No More Speeding on OB Pier

The City of San Diego is trying to stop people from driving onto the Ocean Beach Pier, recently installing plastic pylons. The city recently installed the pylons at the foot of the pier after a car sped onto the structure, hitting two people and a police cruiser in June. The pylons are the first step, but the city says it’s still considering additional options to discourage people from driving onto the pier.

The Plunge in Mission Beach Finally Re-Opens

The Plunge at Fit marked the official return of the iconic beachfront pool in Belmont Park on July 4. The completion of its $12 million restoration and construction of the 400,000 gallon swimming pool and building, include:

Social Syndicate Signs $2.4 Million Lease for Former Nati’s Site

Location Matters has arranged a $2.4 million, 10-year lease for Social Syndicate, a

BB Gun Used to Shoot Out Windows in Midway District and Lyft Car in OB

THERE’S MUCH MORE INSIDE

The San Diego Housing Commission has just sent a memo to Mayor Kevin Faulconer and the City Council informing them that the study of the Famosa property at the center of much recent dispute has determined that the land at the corner of Famosa and Nimitz Boulevards is suitable for 78 affordable rental units.

The memo from Richard Gentry, CEO of the SDHC, dated July 2, 2019, stated his agency hired a consultant “to perform a study to evaluate whether or not the potential development of affordable housing is feasible on this property,…” which has determined “affordable housing development at Site 428 is feasible.” Site 428 is another name for the property.

Someone sent us this photo – it was seen on Social OB facebook. More bird droppings on Newport Avenue in OB or a sad waste of technology?

Is this OB’s answer to Mayor Faulconer’s new scooter regulations – which do not limit the number of scooters dumped on our sidewalks and streets? Or is it a display of ignorance in the way of progress to new forms of transportation?

There’s at least a couple of new businesses at what can be called, “Upper-upper Voltaire” – the string of storefronts near Point Loma High School along Voltaire. And they deserve to be highlighted, so meet Tea’s Moment” and Kakawa Coffee. We also have a pictorial update on the large construction project on Voltaire. (Yes, the term “upper-upper Voltaire” is definitely OB-centric.)

Tea’s Moment Specializes in Milk Tea

Angela – who runs Tea’s Moment – is holding a grand opening right now. She opened her place 2 weeks ago and it specializes in “milk tea”. Growing up near Beijing, she learned how to make in while living in Taiwan.

Kakawa Coffee

Just west of the tea place is a coffee place, Kakawa Coffee (“kakawa” means chocolate in Olmec and Mayan). Managing the year-old coffee house just a breeze from the high school are Gladys Moubayed and Maria Aparicio. The moment I walked in they were enjoying the last moments of the women’s soccer game between the US and England – and we all celebrated, me over an almond croissant and a cappuccino.

Here’s an opportunity to meet the members of the Ocean Beach Town Council – if you haven’t already – without getting out of your chair.

Over the last couple of months, the OB Rag has collected short biographical sketches of the members of the Board of Directors. We had asked them to answer a few basic questions, like where they grew up, their family, where they went to school, how they arrived in OB and why did they want to volunteer for the OB Town Council. We present edited versions of them below.

Mark Winkie – President of the OB Town Council

Mark – recently elected to be the president of the Board – has been with the OBTC Board for over four years; he most recently served as vice president. His recent handling of the public meetings as chair has demonstrated he’s a quick-thinker, adept at juggling different roles in front of a hundred people.

Mark grew up in and around London, across the Atlantic.

Some residents in the La Playa area in Point Loma are scrambling in an effort to save an historic house from being demolished and turned into a new development.

The two-story old home at 310 San Fernando Street is a 1912 Prairie-style residence that local residents and the group Save Our Heritage Organization believe should be made “historic” to avoid the wrecking crew.

Apparently an elderly couple who owned the residence passed away and the property was bought by Thomas Gaeto of BG Consolidated, LLC in Escondido. Gaeto plans to demolish it and its smaller buildings and redevelop the large lot for three new small mansions.

Very early Tuesday morning, June 18, a car sped down the Ocean Beach Pier, doing burnouts, striking 2 people and a police cruiser before fleeing off into the darkness. Police are currently searching for the driver in a black Acura hatchback last seen on West Point Loma Avenue.

The 2 people hit had fortunately only minor injuries and were treated at the scene.

People fishing at the pier called 911 around 1:30 am reporting a car speeding down the pier, doing 50 mph and doing burnouts – or spinouts.

When the black Acura reached the end of the OB Pier, witnesses reported, it did the spinouts, turned around and sped back towards the entrance. This is when the 2 people, who were fishing, were injured. According to witnesses, the driver – described as heavyset with a beard – was smiling as he drove.

A police officer tried to block the entrance with the patrol vehicle,

* Driver Crashes into OB CVS – Then Fights Police
* Suspect in Serial Killings of San Diego Homeless Found Competent for Trial
* Armed Robbery of 2 7-Elevens – Midway district and Point Loma
* Suspect in Peninsula 7-Eleven Robberies Could Be Involved in LA Killing of Off-Duty Cop
* Request Your New Yard Sign to Save San Diego Neighborhoods
* Intruder in Point Loma Home Dies in Police Custody
* Hey! San Diego Media: Where Is the Midway District?
* Full Council to Vote on Campland Lease
* Old Point Loma Lighthouse a Member of SoCal’s History
* Mr. Moto to Open in July

There’s a whole new batch of yard signs popping up in front yards in the Ocean Beach Heights area – the hilly section of eastern OB.

And these are true OBcean signs – signs that welcome, signs that express tolerance, respect. They say, “In our America Love Wins” – and then offers pearls of wisdom on the remainder of the cardboard broadside.

A juror in the recent murder trial of Noah Mitchell Jackson who was found guilty May 31 of the stabbing death of Walter “Ras” Riley, a well-known Ocean Beach homeless man known as “the Incense Man”, has opened up on reddit and described his thoughts on the prosecution case and on Jackson’s background.

With a reddit handle alternating between “JurorNumber00” and “AfroCracker”, the person – whom we assume is being truthful – was a member of the jury that deliberated for nearly 2 and a half days, eventually finding Jackson guilty of second-degree murder for his unprovoked knife attack on Riley – which took place on June 22, 2017, on Bacon Street, near Newport Avenue after Jackson encountered Riley around 12:30 a.m.

The former juror plans to meet up with other former jurors on the anniversary of Ras’ death at the spot on Bacon Street, to pay homage to the Incense Man.