Author: Frank Gormlie

by Frank Gormlie

(Reposted from Feb.19th) I finally sat down with Dr Jefe inside the hollow chamber once known as Rock Paper Scissors and got his side of the controversies surrounding the closing of the popular arts and crafts store. It had suddenly closed without notice earlier this month.

There was a disappointing turnout of Ocean Beach residents and businesspeople today at the City’s Budget and Finance Committee hearing. There was literally two OB residents present at this morning’s meeting. The Clairemont library had a number of supporters, plus sitting in the back of the large room were organizers from the city-wide library coalition-in-forming.

We’ve learned that the popular crafts store Rock Paper Scissors, which shut its doors suddenly a couple weeks ago, had a very rocky closure, indeed. The store’s closure was so rocky, that many of the store’s vendors feel ripped-off and say the store’s owner, Jeff Fagan, owes them thousands of dollars. Some of the vendors are talking about suing Fagan.

Accusations are flying, anger is rising. When he closed the store, Fagan gave the vendors insufficient notice; he hasn’t paid back February rents, or even for some vendors January rents, or for some monies from December, or the original deposits. He owes his vendors thousands, tens of thousands; one estimate is a quarter million.

by Frank Gormlie

Residents in this County, when asked what San Diego County government does, are often hard-pressed I have found, to list more than a couple of things. Uh, collect taxes they’ll respond, … uh, run the sheriffs office, uh, … and then there will be a long, thoughtful pause. And maybe they’ll add one or two other services.

Well, the County does collect property and other taxes, and it does finance the Sheriff’s Office – although the Sheriff is elected separately. But the County does so much more.

Some of us active in the community of Ocean Beach have been wondering why there is no “Community Budget Input Meeting” scheduled for our District – District 2?

The San Diego City Council has just begun its process on approving a budget for FY2010, and Councilmember Tony Young and Mayor Sanders organized a series of community-input hearings in different City Council Districts, beginning Feb. 4th and ending on Feb. 26th. But not all the Districts – only Districts 3, 4, 5, and 7. None for Districts 1, 2 – the District here, 6 and 8. Half the Districts have their own meetings, and half don’t. Does this make sense?

Using my trusty rain gauge, attached to my backyard fence, I just measured .95 inches of rain since 9 am this morning.

That’s an inch in just a four hours. Ocean Beach is one mile square. If this rainwater had been captured, how much would that be? None of it was captured, sadly, except for what fell into the few buckets and plastic containers in my yard. Did you have your buckets and barrels ready for today’s predicted rain?

There is a new opening right now for US and Iranian relations. Mainstream media reported that on Saturday, Feb. 7th, Vice President Biden, while in Munich, Germany, for an international security conference, offered “an olive branch” to Iran – and Russia. Ali Larijani, Iran’s head of parliament, in his response address, indicated a new willingness to deal.

AFP reported:

On Iran, Biden repeated that the US was ready to talk to Tehran after three decades of frozen relations. “We will be willing to talk to Iran, and to offer a very clear choice: continue down the current course and there will be continued pressure and isolation; abandon the illicit nuclear programme and your support for terrorism and there will be meaningful incentives.”

Street artist Shepard Fairey was arrested Friday February 6th for tagging by Boston police. Southern Californians have known of the infamous LA artist’s work for years as his images have mysteriously appeared stenciled along streets – the iconic Andre the Giant and the Obey posters and stencils come to mind immediately. Fairey is also the artist of the now famous red, white, and blue poster of Barack Obama usually with the caption “hope”. (See ‘inside’ for the full story.)

Fairey was arrested after two warrants had been issued for him back on January 24th. He is accused by police for tagging property in two locations with graffiti – based on the Andre the Giant image.

There will be a small vigil tonight at 6 pm at the site where exactly 6 years ago, a well-known homeless man in Ocean Beach was gunned down and killed by San Diego police officers. Danny “the Walker” Woodyard was filled with bullets on West Point Loma Avenue near the intersection with Voltaire Street, a few yards from the entrance to north beach parking lot.

Danny was a well-known homeless man, who was always seen walking around the community, hence his nickname. The morning of Feb 4, 2003, he had been dumpster diving with his only tool, an old knife.

The internal division within the Services Employees International Union (SEIU) has taken a serious turn for the worst, breaking out in open warfare between the factions. This new trench to trench in-fighting has resulted in a new national healthcare workers’ union, but has also disrupted local labor negotiations at Tri-City Hospital, already beset with its own internal battles.

With today’s announcement by the Union-Tribune of the latest San Diego area teacher to be accused of having sex with a student being arraigned in the South County Court, we turn to our archives. Now, with Carmina Erica Lopez charged with molesting and having sex with a boy who was a one-time student, we add her to our rolls of area teachers – which now add up to twelve – who have had sex with students in the last few years. Helix High School has been getting all the attention, as four of the teachers taught there. But the focus by the mainstream media on that singular fact misses an even greater issue.

San Diego environmental activists are split over the compromise between a few major environmental groups and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders on the City obtaining a waiver for the secondary treatment of its wastewater.

On January 19th it was announced that Mayor Sanders and the Sierra Club, the Surfrider Foundation and San Diego Coastkeeper had all come to an agreement on the waiver. In December of last year, the Environmental Protection Agency had granted the City a five-year waiver on having to upgrade the sewage treatment.