Dixon Guizot

Articles by Dixon Guizot

Enjoys writing about San Diego's people, neighborhoods, and social issues.

Dixon has written 46 articles for the OB Rag!

Dumanis to prosecute Zoo koalas for dealing eucalyptus

June 11, 2012 by Dixon Guizot

From the San Diego Free Press

Erstwhile mayoral candidate turns focus to criminal element from Down Under

Bouncing back from her last-place finish in San Diego’s mayoral primary, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced plans to prosecute members of a “eucalyptus distribution ring” at the city’s world-famous zoo.

The alleged conspirators — including long-time San Diego Zoo residents Thackery, Milo, and Cambee — are all koalas who live in the zoo’s “Outback” exhibit.

“While state law allows koalas to chew eucalyptus if they have a veterinarian’s recommendation,” Dumanis said, “virtually all of San Diego’s koalas consume eucalyptus regularly, and that ain’t right.”

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Sex in San Diego: Men, marriage and money

May 31, 2012 by Dixon Guizot

It’s no secret that marriage is in decline across America.

For example, a recent PBS report noted that only half of U.S. adults are married, an all-time low. And of today’s Americans, only 72% have been married at some point, down from 85% in the 1960s.

But a lesser-known fact is that our country’s marriage declines have not been distributed evenly across the population. Poor people, in particular, are much less likely to get hitched than they were just a few decades ago.

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“!Te amos, Carl!”: DeMaio earns endorsement from union of undocumented workers in Mexico

May 15, 2012 by Dixon Guizot

TIJUANA, MEXICO — The signs at the union rally were lettered in red and green on a white background, reminiscent of the Mexican flag.

“!Con DeMaio al Norte!”
(“With Demaio to the North!”)

“!Si, se puede, jefe!”
(“Yes, we can, boss!”)

“!Te amos Carl!”
(“We love you, Carl!”)

The setting was a south-of-the-border parade on Tijuana’s famous Avenida Revolucion, where a union representing undocumented workers hoping to migrate to the United States endorsed Republican candidate Carl DeMaio for San Diego mayor.

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The OB Rag’s Voter Guide for the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary

May 11, 2012 by Dixon Guizot

In the spirit of bipartisanship, compromise, and reaching out to our friends and fellow citizens on the other side of the aisle, here The OB Rag offers its Voter Guide for the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary.

See you at the polls!

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Sex in San Diego: Hysteria, orgasms, censorship and the history of the vibrator

May 10, 2012 by Dixon Guizot

A couple years ago, I took a psychology 101 course at a San Diego community college. Our first lesson focused on the history of mental illness and its treatment.

The professor opened by describing a now-extinct illness called “hysteria,” which struck ladies only and featured symptoms from faintness, nervousness, and insomnia to irritability, loss of appetite for food or sex, and even “a tendency to cause trouble.”

During the Victorian Era, the professor explained, hysteria was enough of a problem to inspire heaps of medical research. And because the illness largely seemed to be stemming from the patient’s mind, hysteria became one of the first “mental” maladies to be studied rigorously by the modern medical community.

So what does any of this have to do with sex?

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OB Rag purchased by Fox News

April 1, 2012 by Dixon Guizot

OCEAN BEACH –Bankers representing News Corporation announced that its Fox News division had agreed to purchase The OB Rag, a local news website based in San Diego.

“With this acquisition,” News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch said in a prepared statement, “News Corp silences an increasingly important voice for social justice and expands its local coverage to boot.”

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Fondly recalling the Union-Tribune’s introduction of Carl DeMaio

March 20, 2012 by Dixon Guizot

These days, the recently re-christened UT San Diego seems to be a fan of San Diego city councilman and mayoral candidate Carl Demaio. Pension-hating missives such as this, this, and this suggest the paper’s editors, at least, sympathize with DeMaio’s emphasis on public-employee retirement plans as an apocalyptic scourge facing San Diegans.

It’s not hard to imagine UT San Diego issuing a DeMaio endorsement in the months ahead, particularly if the mayor’s race comes down to DeMaio versus Bob Filner.

But a sea change underlies UT San Diego’s apparent affection for DeMaio. When the two first met in 2005, when UT San Diego was still The San Diego Union-Tribune, the newspaper’s reaction could be characterized as somewhere between skeptical and “pffft.”

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Flush with cash, Apple unveils plan to shift 700,000 jobs to United States

February 28, 2012 by Dixon Guizot

CUPERTINO, CALIF. — Giving new meaning to corporate social responsibility, Apple Inc. announced it is “bringing home” more than 700,000 manufacturing jobs currently held by workers in foreign countries.

“As a leading corporate citizen of the United States,” the company said in a press release, “Apple can’t help but feel some sort of responsibility to its fellow Americans. So why not start hiring them?”

Apple plans to spread the employment across ten different U.S. cities, bringing each city an average of 70,000 new jobs, all with full benefits, by the end of 2013.

“We basically just gave our outsourcing team a different task,” Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook told The OB Rag. “Instead of scouring third-world countries to find where workers come cheapest, we surveyed America to find areas where these new jobs would make the most sense.”

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Morphing the San Diego Mayoral Candidates

January 10, 2012 by Dixon Guizot

Hey, local politics geeks, to celebrate this New-Hampshire-primary Tuesday, let’s morph the candidates for mayor of San Diego with the candidates for president of the United States!

Carl DeMaio seems akin to Ron Paul: a conservative outsider with a quirky personality who seems to enjoy rattling cages on both sides of the aisle.

As a candidate, CarlPaul would sport a perpetual disdain for the effectiveness of government, an admittedly eyebrow-raising characteristic for someone seeking more time as a government employee. Because government sometimes is ineffective, and sometimes worse, CarlPaul’s cranky message would carry more than a little truth and earn the support of a diverse range of disenfranchised folks with axes to grind, including many axes of the not-very-sharp variety.

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Point Loma Peninsula struck by string of Osprey deaths – some suspicious

December 19, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

An osprey was found dead near a Point Loma roost on Wednesday, December 14, just one week after an area resident saw another osprey dead on Sunset Cliffs Bridge.

The two recent osprey deaths on the peninsula come after a dead osprey with a dart in its chest was found this summer, also on Sunset Cliffs Bridge.

Shawn Steele, who lives near Robb Field and frequently observes birds in the area, was driving across the bridge when he saw an osprey carcass in the road on the afternoon of December 7.

“It did not look like it was hit by a car,” Steele said via email. “No loose feathers. I stopped my car and got a good look at it and could not tell the cause of death.”

Black Marketeers, Rejoice: Feds and Local Prosecutors Teaming Up Against Legal Weed

October 24, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

The music video for Guns ‘N’ Roses’ “You Could Be Mine” concludes with a classic moment where Arnold Schwarzenegger, playing his Terminator character, considers assassinating singer Axl Rose.

When the Terminator’s computer brain deems Rose a “waste of ammo,” Arnold lowers his weapon and walks away, presumably to engage a more worthy target.

In 2010, employing a similar thought process as governor of California, Schwarzenegger changed small-time possession of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction carrying a $100 fine.

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Underage employee at iPhone sweatshop fired for 10-second pause honoring Steve Jobs

October 6, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

Xiang Jo — a 14-year-old laborer on an iPhone assembly line in Suzhou, China — just wanted to pay homage to someone whose vision transformed the world.

Jo had no idea the homage would cost him his job.

The trouble started Thursday morning, when word of Steve Jobs’ death spread through the factory where Jo and dozens of other young Chinese use the toxic chemical N-Hexane to clean iPhone touch screens.

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Ocean Beach remembers local surfing icon and family man John Kays

October 4, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

On Saturday, October 2, Ocean Beach celebrated the life of John Kays, a long-time area resident known for his love for his family, his passion for surfing, and his always-friendly personality.

More than 100 of John’s friends joined members of his family on the sand near Ocean Beach’s Avalanche break to remember John. Dozens of surfers also paddled out on to the ocean, forming a circle in John’s honor.

From the event’s program:

“John spent his youth growing up in Texas and at the age of 21, in search of better surf, made the journey out to San Diego… John met his wife, Troy, in Ocean Beach in 1994… John and Troy settled in Ocean Beach and started a family, welcoming daughter Brynn in 1998 and daughter Aidan in 2002.

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Amid global economic turmoil, Ocean Beach merchants see signs of hope

September 12, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

While this summer has seen stock markets plunge, consumer confidence crater, and hopes for a broad economic recovery evaporate, several members of Ocean Beach’s business community seem cautiously optimistic about the future.

Gary Gilmore, owner of Gilmore Family Jewelers on Newport Avenue, has noticed a slight upturn in customer sentiment in recent weeks.

“

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ComicCon 2011: Saturday costume session

July 24, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

After taking in a day at ComicCon as a passive observer — and then taking a day off to recuperate (and return to the work force) — I made a second trip to the San Diego Convention Center on Saturday for another round of the madness.

This time, my buddy Alan dressed as Marty McFly, the character Michael J. Fox played in Back to the Future. My wife Kirsten dressed as Jennifer, Marty’s girlfriend in the 1985 film. I donned a gray wig and white scrubs to play the role of Doc Brown, who was played by Christopher Lloyd in the movie.

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The OB Rag at 2011’s ComicCon, day 1

July 22, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

ComicCon, like the Burning Man festival or a Nico’s beans-cheese-y-papas burrito, must be experienced to be fully appreciated. But at The OB Rag, we believe that vicarious enjoyment is important, too. So here are some pics from Thursday, the first day of a full weekend of ComicCon fun.

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From Arnold and Weiner to LSD: more OB Rag fun with fine art

June 18, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

Following up on our first foray into the wonders of Google Art Project, we once again stroll a gallery of classic paintings, their names re-imagined by The OB Rag:

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Ocean Beach Rec Center and its Programs ‘Saved’ From the Ax

May 25, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

Mayor Sanders’ new budget avoids cuts to rec centers in OB, elsewhere

The Ocean Beach Recreation Center — like similar centers across San Diego — had been targeted for cuts to its operating hours in Mayor Jerry Sanders’ initial budget proposal for the city’s next fiscal year.

Under an updated proposal Sanders released last week, however, the city’s rec centers would maintain their current 40-hours-a-week schedule. Sanders originally had slashed rec centers hours by half, but his new plan reflects the better-than-expected performance of the local economy in recent months.

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The OB Rag “Rapture” Survival Guide

May 20, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

As you’ve probably heard, a small group of Christians has somehow drawn a large amount of attention to their claim that the Judgment Day foretold in the Bible is happening this Saturday — tomorrow, May 21st.

Now, if the 21st turns out to be just another Saturday across America, it wouldn’t be the first time God failed to follow through with his end of the End Times. In fact, the 100% winless record of previous predictors of the Apocalypse suggest God is not above letting the faithful make fools of themselves.

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Lockheed Martin Says F-35 Will Create Jobs, Destroy Enemies

May 19, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

I’m not sure how the The OB Rag ended up on the invite list for the F-35 Cockpit Demonstrator event hosted by Lockheed Martin on May 17. But I had that morning free — and as Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God” — so I volunteered to check it out.

The event was held at a Kearny Mesa office of Cobham Sensor Systems, a defense contractor with about 1,000 employees in San Diego. The goal was “to celebrate the past success and the strong future of the F-35 aircraft” with community leaders and media, said Eric Forstner, vice president of sales and marketing for Cobham.

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Demonstrators with Large Gold Brick Disrupt Assemblyman Fletcher’s Education Funding Talk

May 16, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

Protesters, many from San Diego City College, interrupted an education funding discussion hosted by state assemblyman Nathan Fletcher outside his Miramar office on May 13.

Fletcher, a Republican, started the event by saying he hoped for “a calm conversation” about education and the budget plan presented a day earlier by GOP leaders in Sacramento.

Within 10 minutes, however, about 30 protesters began a competing conversation on a sidewalk adjacent to the meeting area.

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Journalism noir meets San Diego’s labor history in “Flash” by Jim Miller

April 28, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

Jim Miller is a professor who practices what he teaches.

Each semester, Miller guides dozens of students through his English and Labor Studies classes at San Diego City College. He has played key roles in literary projects such as the school’s International Book Fair as well as the San Diego Writers Collective. He serves as a political action vice president and does community outreach for the American Federation of Teachers Local #1931.

And as if he wasn’t busy enough already, Miller also finds the time to crank out the occasional book.

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Book Review: “How the Irish Became White” by Noel Ignatiev

March 17, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

This originally appeared in the March 8 issue of City Times

“The Irish are the blacks of Europe,” says the band manager in “The Commitments,” the 1991 movie about his quest to put together a soul act in pale, white Dublin. “Say it loud — I’m black and I’m proud.”

Noel Ignatiev, a Massachusetts College of Art history professor and controversial scholar of American race relations, uses that classic line to kick off “How the Irish Became White.” The 1995 book offers an in-depth analysis of America’s assimilation of the millions of Irish who emigrated in the 1800s.

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Browsing Fine Art Collections and Finding Ocean Beach

March 15, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

If you haven’t checked out Google Art Project yet, you’re in for a treat. The site uses a technology similar to “street view” to enable virtual strolls through the halls and rooms of 17 famous art museums, from London’s National Gallery to Madrid’s Museo Reina Sofia to New York’s MoMA. Recently, while using Art Project […]

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San Diego rallies for Wisconsin workers facing Scott Walker’s union-busting, 26 Feb 2011

February 27, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

Video of February 26,2011 San Diego rally to support Wisconsin and workers everywhere!

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“Lots of Iraqi kids up here” says Christina-Taylor Green in email from Heaven

February 3, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

In an email recently reviewed by The OB Rag, nine-year-old Tucson shooting victim Christina-Taylor Green confirmed that she is in Heaven and described life on the other side of the Pearly Gates. “I’ve been learning lots of games from the Middle East, because there’s lots of Iraqi kids up here,” Green wrote. “They’re everywhere in […]

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“Globalize This” Corporate Hiring Job Jam Dance Party

January 31, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

Here’s an audio/video project cobbled together from publicly available information… a reaction to President Barack Obama’s emphasis on job creation in his “State of the Union” speech last week.

Just want to point out that American corporations are creating plenty of jobs all the time!

Click the title to see the video…

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Republican National Committee staffers flustered by strange requests from new chairman Reince Priebus

January 20, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

Editor: Here’s the latest from our chief satirist Shane Finneran and his ongoing research into the strange doings of Republican politicians.

Employees at RNC headquarters expressed bewilderment after receiving an expansive, 286-page document outlining the needs and demands of incoming Chairman Reince Priebus.

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Newly Formed PAC for Poor People Lobbies San Diego Politicians

January 7, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

“For too long, poor people haven’t had a seat at the table in American politics,” said Newt Gingrich. “Now, thanks to their new political action committee, the voices of the poor will be heard.”

Newt Gingrich

Gingrich was speaking in his new capacity as executive director of Poor People of America, a recently formed PAC that visited San Diego to lobby local politicians. Gingrich said the group will be focused on advancing the interests of the nation’s poor and has already raised “a substantial amount of revenue.”

“It’s true that each individual poor person doesn’t have that much money to donate,” Gingrich said. “The thing is we have 47 million Americans living in poverty today, so even tiny little donations add up.”

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Mayor Sanders says San Diego should subsidize stadium by selling sun

January 1, 2011 by Dixon Guizot

“When people think of San Diego, they think of sunshine,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. “I’m here to tell you we can make money off that.”

At a press conference held in his City Hall office, Sanders said the city could raise “a substantial amount of cash” through a “sale-leaseback” arrangement focused on the sun.

Under Sanders’ proposal, San Diego would receive a large, lump-sum payment for its sunshine rights. A year later, the city would begin paying a daily sunshine royalty — but only on days when the sun comes out.

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J December 1, 2023 at 2:20 pm on Point Lomans Have What It Takes to Help the UnhousedYep!
Paul Webb December 1, 2023 at 2:07 pm on Point Lomans Have What It Takes to Help the UnhousedThe next step is he will run for a different office and leave the future actions to others.
chris schultz December 1, 2023 at 1:52 pm on Point Lomans Have What It Takes to Help the UnhousedIt's a temporary facility, before the higher water rates go to the future pure water construction. What the city gives away to developers to construction,...
J December 1, 2023 at 1:14 pm on Point Lomans Have What It Takes to Help the UnhousedYes! We should insist our neighborhood is not the right place for this shelter. 100%! Tax paying citizens should not be forced to bear the...
J December 1, 2023 at 1:00 pm on The ‘Back-and-Forth’ of H BarracksCan you re-type this response? It is incoherent.
Frank Gormlie December 1, 2023 at 11:26 am on Remembering the Spaceman of Ocean Beach – Clint Cary — XiB/2Gotta add my 2 cents. I met Spaceman back in the early-mid sixties as a teenager also but did get a space number, XiB/something? He...
Patricia December 1, 2023 at 10:57 am on 75,000 Homes in San Diego County Are VacantSeriously??? It is because the RENTS ARE TOO HIGH!!! Working class people living on a single income cannot afford these rents. I am older, I...
GML December 1, 2023 at 10:23 am on The Very Latest Update on Loma Portal’s Beloved Vintage Street LampsThis is one of the rare cases where I would defend the city's decision assuming that it would cost significantly more to repair/replace/maintain the current...
Paul Webb December 1, 2023 at 9:44 am on SDG&E Is Making More Money Than Ever – Here’s WhyThe problem is that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of where SDG&E makes its money. It doesn't really profit from sending electricity to your home....
Vern December 1, 2023 at 7:08 am on The ‘Back-and-Forth’ of H BarracksLitigation? You mean 101 Ash? Or pedestrian death lawsuits? Or city-owned vehicle lawsuits? Or maybe the guy run over by a car as he was...
chris schultz December 1, 2023 at 6:50 am on The ‘Back-and-Forth’ of H BarracksFor sure, all the tax dollars being spent by the city for litigation. Are the balloons that fly out there made of lead?
Frank J December 1, 2023 at 5:44 am on SDG&E Is Making More Money Than Ever – Here’s WhyCall me ignorant... So a rise in costs leads to a rise in profits? 3 infrastructure projects mentioned. I guess if SDG&E charges ratepayers $305,000...
Ron May November 30, 2023 at 11:41 pm on The Very Latest Update on Loma Portal’s Beloved Vintage Street LampsNewsflash! Councilperson Jen Campbell's staff sent me an email trying to defend these ugly modern light posts that are replacing our traditional 100-year old light...
fish November 30, 2023 at 10:41 pm on The Very Latest Update on Loma Portal’s Beloved Vintage Street LampsWho cares? Really? If street lights that are copying oringals is something to worry about you haven't been reading the news.
Chris November 30, 2023 at 6:59 pm on The ‘Back-and-Forth’ of H BarracksIt's really funny how you assume everyone who supports this facility "obviously" don't live in PL.