Source

Articles by Source

Source has written 4544 articles for the OB Rag!

Grunion Are Running – ‘Look But Don’t Touch’

April 15, 2021 by Source

Along San Diego shores, the grunion are spawning once again. These small silver fish swarm the beaches on the waves at night and bury their eggs in the sand. It is a phenomenon unique to southern California and the northern Baja coast, and if you’ve never tried to find them, you’re in for a treat.

Grunion expert Dr. Karen Martin, Biologist and Executive Director at Pepperdine University’s Grunion Greeters Project spoke with Patch about the “look but don’t touch” season.

“This is usually the best time to see the grunion run because the fish should not be disturbed,” Martin says. “Grunion are running all along the SoCal coast to Santa Barbara.”
If you want to try your luck, most flat, San Diego sandy beaches should see grunion action at night. Check ahead with your local lifeguards, as some beaches are closed after hours, she says.

The female grunions will be vertical, having dug themselves tail-first into the sand. The males will be swimming around them. Photo: Julianne Steers, courtesy Grunion.org
What happens at a grunion run?

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Chelsea Handler Wants to Skip Trial for Derek Chauvin

April 15, 2021 by Source

By Edwin Decker

It’s rather shocking to me that someone of comedian Chelsea Handler’s age and experience considers the idea of fair trials for all as being “pathetic.”

It’d be one thing if it was some dung-brained undergraduate majoring in Neotraditional Jazz Puppetry spouting this nonsense to their dorm-mates, but we’re talking about a 41-year-old woman here. She has traveled the world as a successful producer, writer, actor, TV host, comedian, activist and drunk. She should know some stuff! But this? This is dumb.

Forget the obvious problems with her statement such as that video, by itself, is not entirely reliable as evidence.

Forget about field of view and all the information that the camera does not capture.

Forget that videos can be doctored.

Forget that film lacks nuance, which is crucial when deciding between the varying degrees of crimes such as murder and manslaughter one, two three.

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Have You Signed the Recall Jen Petition Yet?

April 14, 2021 by Source

Have You Signed the Recall Jen Petition Yet?

You can download and print the petition from your computer!

Please Read before Downloading
The instructions are as important as the petition. Please watch the video or read them so that your petition counts.

PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY.

MORE INFO HERE

Sign the Petition

There are 3 ways to turn it in.

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‘There Is More Than Just Water in the Pacific Ocean Off Ocean Beach’

April 14, 2021 by Source

An Introduction To A “Trash Man”

By Judi Curry

Several weeks ago I met a very interesting resident of Ocean Beach and in the course of our getting to know Steve Tatro, I found out that he had a BA degree in journalism. I asked him if he had had anything published and he said a few small things. He realized that he could not make a living as a writer, so he left that field and went to work doing other things. Suffice it to say, he has been quite successful in his other endeavors.

As we continued talking, he told me that frequently he goes down to the beach to pick up trash.

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A History of OB People’s Food Store

April 14, 2021 by Source

By Eric DuVall / PtLoma – OB Monthly / April 13, 2021

It happened on Voltaire Street.

In the early decades of the community, Ocean Beach “boosters” touted Voltaire Street as an “avenue of opportunity” and Ocean Beach as the little town with two business districts.

And didn’t most of the folks who came out to OB in those days take the old street car down Voltaire Street to Wonderland Station? They sure did. And isn’t Voltaire the only “author street” that runs all the way to the beach? In fact, it is.

This is a uniquely OB-centric story, and moreover, every one of the events we are going to consider here happened right on Voltaire Street in Ocean Beach.

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Use Mayor Gloria’s App to Prevent Fires

April 14, 2021 by Source

What’ Up With the Mayor’s App? Part III

By Colleen O’Connor

Guess what. California is headed for another drought.

The snowpack is below normal. The rainfall insufficient. And the reservoirs are catching mostly heatwave-driven snow-melt runoff.

“The 2020-2021 winter was the third driest on record, according to the California Department of Water Resources. The region’s reservoirs are beginning to see the impact and are at half their total capacity.” Sfgate.com

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Cato Indoctrination for Educators

April 13, 2021 by Source

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican

The Education Week Advertiser just notified me about an opportunity to be indoctrinated into the Cato Institute’s culture and education views. The ad proclaims, “The Cato Institute and the Sphere Education Initiative are excited to announce the return of Sphere Summit: Teaching Civic Culture Together for the Summer of 2021!” They generously offer impressive full scholarship programs for educators and administrators.

The money for all this comes from Charles Koch and associated libertarians. It is funneled through the Cato Institute which was originally called the Charles Koch Foundation, Inc. when he and fellow libertarian Edward Crane founded it in 1977. It is one of the many organizations and businesses that Charles Koch uses to advance his personal interests which are often referred to as the Kochtopus.

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What’ Up With the Mayor’s APP? Part 2

April 13, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Recently, featured in my Part 1 was a disgusting trash site on the corner of Witherby and Hancock.

Remember, San Diegans have been encouraged to use the “Get it Done” app that Mayor Todd Gloria announced has been improved.

However, you still cannot upload photos or work from iPhones or iPads, and the most under-served and elderly constituents do not have internet access at all. So, how are they to register their trashing streets and sidewalks?

After the first photo was posted, that site was cleaned up.

Here are two new photos of the horrid conditions of just two of the city’s bus stops. More are available.

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Stop the Folly of San Diego Convention Center Expansion ‘Re-Vote’

April 12, 2021 by Source

San Diego’s “Stop the Steal” Should be Named “Stop the Folly”

By Colleen O’Connor and Don Bauder

What was the Council thinking by trying to overturn a legitimate election result?

It wasn’t thinking. It was showing that it is utterly incapable of reading economic tea leaves.

First, the politics: The Council recently voted to overturn a legitimate election result, similar to what Donald Trump has been trying to do. It wants a Trumpian recalculation. The defeat – and it was a defeat – of Measure C to authorize a special tax to expand the convention center did not meet the then-required threshold of a 2/3 affirmative vote to pass.

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High School Senior Says: ‘Something Needs to Be Done About OB’s Homeless, But Talking Bad About Them Is Not the Answer.’

April 9, 2021 by Source

Editordude: The following post about homelessness in Ocean Beach was written and sent to us by Eliana Phillips, who is a senior at High Tech High International.

By Eliana Phillips

Homelessness in Ocean Beach has been a long standing issue but it has recently been getting more attention.

Local news boards criticize these people and discredit their situations. “The stench by the wall is overwhelming. I barely go that way anymore. So unfair to the actual residents! Come on SDPD-DO SOMETHING,” said one Ocean Beach local.

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Colleen’s Report Card on 2021 Predictions – Quarter-Term

April 6, 2021 by Source

Quarter-Term Report Card on 2021 Predictions

By Colleen O’Connor

In a column, written in February, a list of predictions on “both sides of the border,” was posted, with a one-year expiration date. This is the quarter term status on those U.S. predictions.

First, a footnote about last year’s prediction that Mitt Romney would become the “conscience of the Senate.” Recently affirmed with 2021 JFK “Profile in Courage” award for his vote to convict former President Donald Trump. The first ever Senator to vote to convict a President of his own party.

On to this year’s mid-term contenders.

#1 on the list, “Don’t Cry for Liz Cheney.”

Prediction: Liz Cheney is going to be the first Republican female minority leader after Kevin McCarthy is ditched. She sees the future and it isn’t Trumpism.

At the time of this February prediction, Cheney defied Trump on mask mandates and voted to impeach him, while beating back calls to “resign” her post as the #3 in House GOP leadership.

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Commission on Police Practices Issues Policy Recommendations for San Diego Police

April 6, 2021 by Source

On March 30, the Commission on Police Practices issued a litany of policy recommendations for San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit and his department. Commission Chair, Brandon Hilpert wrote the following memorandum, which we repost below in substance:

Subject: Recommendations to the San Diego Police Department

The Commission on Police Practices (“CPP” or “Commission”) appreciates that the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) accepted the former CRB’s recommendation to create a stand-alone policy which would provide a clear structure on how SDPD responds to First Amendment protected protest activities.

The Commission reviewed SDPD’s new procedure (4.17) and held public meetings to discuss its proposed clarifications and revisions. The Commission’s Policy Committee held a public meeting on February 25, 2021 as well as a community roundtable on March 18, 2021. At its Open Meeting on March 23, 2021, the Commission voted unanimously to make the following policy recommendations to the SDPD for its consideration:

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Save San Diego Neighborhoods Critique of Proposed Amendments to Short Term Rental Ordinance

April 6, 2021 by Source

The group Save San Diego Neighborhoods has sent a letter from their attorney to the San Diego City Council objecting to elements of a proposed amendment on short term vacation rentals. The Council meets today, Tuesday, April 6 to work out regulations for short term occupancy. The letter is from Everett DeLano of Delano & Delano.

Here is the substance of that letter, dated April 5, 2021:

Dear City of San Diego City Council:

This letter is submitted on behalf of Save San Diego Neighborhoods (“SSDN”), … in connection with the proposed amendment to the City’s Municipal Code to impose a license requirement and operating regulations for short term residential occupancy (“Ordinance”). On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, the City council voted to approve the Ordinance.

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Rest In Peace – Dottie Veal

April 6, 2021 by Source

This memorial for Dottie Veal appeared in OB Hardware. Photo by Albert C Elliott.

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What’s Up With Mayor’s ‘Get It Done App’?

April 5, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Mayor Todd Gloria just announced new “improvements” in the City of San Diego’s online citizen complaint portal; “Get It Done.”

Several problems. Most seniors do not use the internet. Many others do not have computer access. And “Just download the app” instructions do not allow for downloading to popular iPhones or iPads.

But, the good news.

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San Diego Tennis & Racquet Club: A Dilemma for Clairemont Community Planners

April 2, 2021 by Source

By Joni Halpern

Community mistrust and apprehension surfaced in the March 10, 2021, Zoom meeting of the Clairemont Community Planning Group’s Plan Review Subcommittee.

Those sentiments arose amid discussion of whether a Bay Park property known as the San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club should be approved for higher-density development under special regulations that could be included in the Clairemont Community Plan Update.

Douglas Jensen appeared as a spokesperson for the tennis center owners, the Ming Tom Family, and their partners, the Douglas Allred Family, who together seek approval for a Community Plan Implementation Overlay Zone or (CPIOZ).

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New Motto for the Democrats: ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’

April 2, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Just back from Yosemite. The recent heatwave delivered fabulous, gushy waterfalls; even a rainbow to usher in spring.

The heat wave greatly accelerated the volume of the snowmelt. This may be a harbinger of a drought or a glimpse of a beautiful spring.

However, the lingering damage from the fires of two years ago, not only contrasts the beauty of the falls, but mirrors the lingering political damage accumulated over the last 4 years.

The photographs say it all; as is often the case. One photo of the waterfalls in powerful form.

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April 2021 Events From the Ocean Beach Green Center

April 1, 2021 by Source

The Ocean Beach Green Center will be celebrating our 32nd Anniversary on Earth Day April 22nd. We can’t have our usual celebration this year but we will be open from 12:30 to 6:30 with Covid-19 protocols if you want to drop by and say hi! We will have a donation jar available if you are so inclined to make a small donation. Do not feel obligated as we know a lot of people are having a hard time. Your presence is our present. Happy Earth Day

A lot is happening this month. Because it is Earth Day Month environmental events dominate the calendar. Peace and Social Justice highlighted events are listed but check out our list of all P & SJ groups for more of their events. Go to http://www.oceanbeachgreencenter.org/get-involved.html for their links

April Events From the Ocean Beach Green Center

All events are online and free unless stated otherwise.

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Assault on American Democracy Continues at State Capitols – 250 Bills Introduced by Republicans in 43 States to Restrict Voting

March 31, 2021 by Source

By Amy Gardner, Kate Rabinowitz and Harry Stevens / Washington Post

The GOP’s national push to enact hundreds of new election restrictions could strain every available method of voting for tens of millions of Americans, potentially amounting to the most sweeping contraction of ballot access in the United States since the end of Reconstruction, when Southern states curtailed the voting rights of formerly enslaved Black men, a Washington Post analysis has found.

In 43 states across the country, Republican lawmakers have proposed at least 250 laws

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America’s Founders Believed in Publick Education

March 31, 2021 by Source

By Thomas Ultican

The second and third presidents of the United States advocated powerfully for public education. Thomas Jefferson saw education as the cause for developing out of common farmers the enlightened citizenry who would take the rational action a successful republican democracy requires. Jefferson contended,

“The qualifications for self government are not innate. They are the result of habit and long training.”

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‘Why I Support Public Education’

March 31, 2021 by Source

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican / March 29, 2021

The original cause for my supporting public education was that my rancher father married a school teacher. Growing up in southern Idaho, I learned many philosophical and theoretical reasons for supporting the establishment and maintenance of public schools from my mother. However, it was from watching mom and her dedicated colleagues in action that I learned to truly respect and appreciate public school.

I remember stories of my father being warned that he better not treat that woman wrong. For several years in a row she won the Elmore County sharp shooting contest. She didn’t like to chop a chicken’s head off so she would pull out her rifle and shoot it off.

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The Color of Authority: San Diego Police and Sheriff’s Disproportionately Target Minorities

March 29, 2021 by Source

Data Shows Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans Bear Brunt of Racial Biases in Local Policing

Long before protests erupted across San Diego County over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died last May after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes, community leaders have called on local law enforcement officials to address persistent racial disparities in policing.

For years, study after study has shown that people of color — especially Blacks — are stopped, searched and arrested at higher rates than their White counterparts.

A new analysis by The San Diego Union-Tribune of nearly 500,000 stops of drivers and pedestrians made by San Diego police and sheriff’s deputies

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Point Loma & OB Democrats Host Panel on Short Term Rentals and Quality of Life – Sunday, March28

March 27, 2021 by Source

For Zoom Registration link, see end of article.

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The Beloved Wisteria Garden of Ocean Beach

March 26, 2021 by Source

Wisteria Garden Goes Online!

By Kathy Blavatt

One of the best things about living in Southern California is that you can have a usable yard. Many locals in Ocean Beach and Point Loma are very proud of their yards. They use it as outdoor living space, edible gardens, socializing, working-out, sunbathing or relaxing in the shade, planting, playing with pets, and hundreds of other uses.

In addition, as COVID has proven, a garden can improve your health and mental state. Many gardeners these days are looking to personalize their gardens to their specific needs and wants.

Ocean Beach’s best-know garden is the historic Wisteria Garden on Niagara Avenue just up the block from Sunset Cliffs Blvd. on the southside.

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Latest San Diego Airport Noise Study Has a ‘Hole’ in It

March 24, 2021 by Source

Our friends at the Point Loma Association have discovered something fishy in the latest noise study by the San Diego Airport. They found a “hole” in it, as in Jackson Hole. And our friends at PLA who publish their email newsletter were pretty disgusted with it all.

Let them explain.

From Point Loma Association:

The San Diego International Airport Draft Part 150 Report.

It is now available for review.

For people following the future of our airport, it’s a big deal. Part 150 is a noise study. (Yes. Yet another.) It’s been in the works for about three years.

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Bravo Biden! Move Fast and Fix Things

March 24, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

How can anyone justify needing an assault rifle for personal use?

How can anyone justify the horrific killings of people just shopping, going about their business, about their day, about their job in Colorado or any place else?

How can anyone justify cowardly silence and inaction in a moment of another mass killing?

No one can or should ever even try.

And no one can possibly find the words, the emotions, even the thoughts to describe what happened in Boulder, Colorado yesterday; or any of the other multiple mass murders of innocents. We, as a nation, have almost become numb.

So, I stand up and applaud the President of the United States, Joe Biden who has shown no hesitancy, whatsoever, on doing the right thing.

And I quote him:

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Low-Income San Diegans Encouraged to Apply for Rental Relief

March 23, 2021 by Source

San Diego officials – including Mayor Todd Gloria – are encouraging city residents to apply for an $83 million rental relief program that launched last week.

The City of San Diego COVID-19 Housing Stability Assistance Program can pay up to 80 percent of past-due rent and utility bills for families with household incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median income — which is about $92,400 a year for a family of four or $64,700 for an individual.

To qualify, renters must show that at least one member of the household lost wages due to COVID-19. The program will pay 80 percent of unpaid rent from April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021 — if the landlord agrees to waive the remaining 20 percent.

If the landlord declines, the program pays 25 percent of the past-due rent.

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Thoughts on the Tip Jar and ‘Happy Birthday’ Jayne Mansfield

March 18, 2021 by Source

Straight Up With a Twist

By Edwin Decker

Dear Ed, With restaurants only offering take-out, I’ve wanted to do my part in helping them, so I’m often getting food from establishments I love. While I’ve always considered myself a great tipper, I have never been someone that tipped the person at Starbucks with a tip jar. To me, they’re a cashier, not a waiter. . . My logic is . . .I’m already spending money on the food, and the inconvenience of taking it home and not enjoying the ambiance of their restaurant . . .

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MAGA Politics Have Arrived at a San Diego School District

March 16, 2021 by Source

Election of Mike Allman to San Dieguito Union High School Board Achieves MAGA Majority

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican / March 15, 2021

One of America’s wealthiest public school districts typifies the damage MAGA Republicans are doing to public schools.

San Diego County’s San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) serves just over 13,000 students in five middle schools and five high schools. With former Republican congressional candidate Mike Allman’s narrow school board victory, a MAGA coalition has achieved a 3 to 2 majority.

This election result advances using school reopening as a political wedge issue. Normally nonpartisan school board elections have been turned into partisan political battle grounds.

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Recall Campbell or Newsom: Which One Reaches ‘Escape Velocity?’

March 16, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Campbell or Newsom: Which One Reaches “Escape Velocity?” Make an educated guess. Based on what the public facing information thus far, consider these points.

The Recall initiative against Governor Newsom has already gathered the necessary, probably verifiable signatures, to require a special election; over two million.

The Recall initiative against Councilmember Campbell is just getting started, so the signature gathering numbers are as yet unknown.

Just as an aside, the volunteer effort is stronger against Campbell than Newsom and necessarily so. Factor in that professional, paid signature gathering, now costs $7.50 per valid entry. The statewide Republican war chest helped pay for, and deliver, the professional results to recall Newsom.

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