Author: Source

by Sal Mineo (@snackdiego)

Hello again, OB. As faithful readers of Table Talk, I’m sure you all remember what we are about here – getting personal with those in our community keeping us well-fed and quenched. Our local food celebrities but before they get huge and have a publicist. Sometimes it’s the restaurant owner; but sometimes it’s the guy, behind the guy, behind the guy.

This is my neighbor, Max. I first met him one average OB day as I rode up the alley to the back entrance of our place, and came upon Max and his friend Talia taking some glamour shots using our fence as a backdrop (it has a cool viney thing growing on it – influencers, come check it out).

The subjects of the photographs were these utterly stunning mushrooms, which even in OB you just don’t see every day. Naturally, I said something brilliant like “what’s that?”, we got to chitter chatter and that’s when I learned I have a neighbor that cultivates these absolute specimens in his grow room right across the alley.

A Public Service Announcement

By A.J. Herrington / Forbes / Jan.11, 2022

Compounds in cannabis can prevent infection from the virus that causes Covid-19 by blocking its entry into cells, according to a study published this week by researchers affiliated with Oregon State University. A report on the research, “Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants,” was published online on Monday by the Journal of Natural Products.

By Amie Hayes / SOHO January-February 2022 Newsletter

The Navy’s Old Town Campus Revitalization project at NAVWAR has the distinction of being the only newly added site to SOHO’s 2021 Most Endangered List. This ill-advised, gargantuan project proposes to build a dense wall of high-rise buildings at 4301 Pacific Highway (known as OTC Site One) and the complete demolition of the Consolidated Aircraft Plant 2 Historic District.

Previously known as Convair, this plant was once a massive manufacturing aircraft production complex that employed thousands of San Diegans during World War II and the Cold War.

by Paul Armentano / Times of San Diego / Jan. 9, 2022

The majority of Californians in 2016 cast votes to displace the illicit cannabis market with a taxed and regulated marketplace — one that would be controlled by licensed businesses, not by criminal entrepreneurs.

Five years later, voters’ desire has yet to become a reality. And while many folks are quick to point fingers at Sacramento and the state’s high tax rates, in many cases, local elected officials are largely to blame. That’s because more than half of the state’s cities and counties prohibit the operation of licensed cannabis businesses.

What’s Up with the Mayor’s App? Problems: “Around Every Corner”

By Colleen O’Connor

Every day, in every way, San Diegans are witnessing the crumbling of their once stable neighborhoods; in their once enviable designation, “Camelot by the Bay.”

Omnipresent homeless camps; vacant store fronts; trash overflowing onto unsafe, often filthy streets; decaying parks, pools, libraries and public spaces; spikes in inflation; a buckling health care system amid a pandemic all exacerbated by new tax 17% tax hikes for water/sewer, and new bond initiatives in the pipeline.

The City of San Diego and Mayor Gloria were recently showcased in the parody/ satirical website, the Onion, which has a readership of 11.7 million readers on Twitter – many more than our own San Diego Union-Tribune (which many San Diegans called “The Onion” over the decades, ironically).

Here it is:

New Initiative Decreases Stigma Against Homeless By Making Majority Of People Homeless

SAN DIEGO—In an effort to decrease the widespread social shaming often associated with being unhoused, a new city initiative unveiled Thursday reportedly aims to decrease stigma against the homeless by making the majority of people homeless.

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner / Jan. 5, 2022

Warning: this commentary is standing on its head and starting with its conclusion:

The aftermath of San Diego’s 2020-21 Redistricting process may prove to be more destructive to good government in San Diego than any monetary loss from past Ponzi schemes and political heists.

The parties of interest in this latest con game colluded to divide and conquer the San Diego public. They were willing to shred and tear at San Diego’s civic and moral fabric for their own economic and political gain.

Thoughts on the Capitol Riots One Year On

By Mat Wahlstrom

Most people respect authority because they believe it to be justified by objective criteria, such as scientific evidence, transparent electoral processes, or the rule of law. For them, reason is the basis of power. Only when authority is exercised in the absence of these principles do they question it.

The crisis we are in is due to a minority who demand obedience to authority in itself, even or especially when it lacks any objective justification, and for which they are willing to say or do anything to claim. For them, force and fraud are the basis of power, and they deny any appeal to something greater that would deny it to them.

By Donna Frye / Op-Ed San Diego U-T / Jan. 5, 2022

While much has changed since I last ran for office, there are some behaviors by candidates, their supporters and those who engage in political protests that must never be normalized for reasons that should be obvious to anyone with one wit of common sense. These behaviors should not require an explanation about why they are morally wrong, are mostly illegal and can result in people being hurt or killed. It should go without saying.

But after witnessing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and the many out-of-control political protests over the past few years, it’s a discussion that is probably long overdue. I never thought I would be writing a list of things like this, but here we are. The following guidance is especially helpful to candidates and their supporters.

• Do not wear a fur hat with horns, paint your face and go shirtless while carrying a spear into a government office to disrupt a political proceeding.