Author: Source

Editor: David Helvarg, a former OBcean and original OB Rag staffer, now lives in San Francisco and runs the Blue Frontier Campaign to save our seas, which he founded in 2003. David is also the author “Blue Frontier – Dispatches from America’s Ocean Wilderness,” as well as a couple of books. Go check out his site.

by David Helvarg/ Blue Frontier Notes / Originally posted August 11, 2010

They’ve finally cemented up BP’s runaway well (from above with a second relief well plug still to seal it from below). Unfortunately this comes after 220 million gallons of oil slimed the Gulf of Mexico. So what’s the effect of a spill 20 times the size of the Exxon Valdez? Apparently not much if you believe the government’s estimates.

by George J. Janczyn / Groksurf ‘s San Diego / August 11, 2010

As noted in yesterday’s water rates story, (08/10/10) the main supplier for most of San Diego County’s water is the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and it holds great power when it comes to the cost and reliability of our water supply. So when MWD announced a stakeholder forum to examine the 2010 Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) Update there were naturally going to be many local water professionals in attendance. The IRP makes major changes to MWD’s strategy for water reliability through the year 2035, including a bold plan to create a large storage “buffer” to serve as a backup supply against virtually any scenario.

by George Janczyn / Groksurf’s San Diego / August 9, 2010

Many large reservoirs in California need to store and release water in a way that balances flood control needs against water supply needs (San Diego’s reservoirs have limited flood control capability but were mainly designed for storage). Those state reservoir levels need to be lowered in late summer and fall in order to have enough capacity to capture and hold floodwaters that will come during the wet season, but they also need to retain enough to supply needed water in the dry months.

Editor: In our quest to find and highlight other local San Diego County blogs with progressive bents, we came upon this South Bay located blog, Blue San Diego, uncovering more than sand castles – a new, budding dynasty of the Bilbray family? First, there were the Hunters, now the Bilbrays? Apparently, South Bay Democrats are running away from going up against someone with such a well-known family name and history as “Bilbray.”
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by Pepe / Blue San Diego / August 8, 2010

An interesting tidbit caught my eye last week. Brian Patrick Bilbray, son of current congressman Brian Bilbray has taken out papers to run for City Council in Imperial Beach. It isn’t clear yet if he has qualified to be on the ballot but he is apparently aiming for the special election ….

by Elaine

After losing my job of more than 25 years, being unemployed for 8 months and finally being offered a job at half the money I used to make, I found myself close to foreclosure. Really close. I have been consistently 2 months behind on my mortgage for over 2 years and cannot catch up. If it wasn’t for the 2 roommates that live with me I would have given up and let the bank have the damn house, along with the negative equity.

The story behind how I ended up in this situation is one you’ve heard before. Simply stated, I got divorced at the height of the real estate market (my house was appraised for almost 3 times what I paid for it) and at the time the best thing I could do was to stay put. Buying another house would have cost me just as much, increased my property taxes and with the additional expense of moving, well it just seemed like the best option for me and my kids.

Editor: We received this report on San Diego’s best dog beaches from Wet Nose Guide, a New York City online dog directory that’s expanded to San Diego, and … surprise! Ocean Beach’s Dog Beach made the list! We knew we had the best dog beach, now “everyone” knows.
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by Doug Pierce / Wet Nose Guide

With the sun in their face and the sand at their paws, San Diego’s dog beaches provide the perfect controlled environment for your pooch to cast off her leash and enjoy a frisky carefree day at the beach. The list of dog-friendly San Diego beaches is long, but three in particular provide you and your pup a slice of laidback California beach life at its most relaxed. Ocean Beach Dog Beach, Coronado Dog Beach, and Fiesta Island Dog Park are the best for you and your pup to play fetch, doggy-paddle, or simply have a snore-fest on the warm sand.

Editor: The following is an edited version of the “Report from the Open Forum Regarding Issues of Homelessness in Ocean Beach” just recently released by the Inter-Faith Community of Ocean Beach and the folks who actually ran that first forum on July 6th. We have only included the text of the report, …

OCEAN BEACH – It seems some people have found a way to steal electricity on the Ocean Beach’s dime, but the city has a plan to put an end to the theft.

Joe Castillo, a representatives with the City Streets Division, tells San Diego 6 that people are ripping off electricity from Ocean Beach lamp posts whose electrical sockets are meant for Farmers Market vendors. “We heard people are plugging their electric vehicles, electric carts, cellphones.”

Three Steps to Establish a Politics of Global Warming

By Bil McKibben / August 4, 2010

Try to fit these facts together:

* According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the planet has just come through the warmest decade, the warmest 12 months, the warmest six months, and the warmest April, May, and June on record.

* A “staggering” new study from Canadian researchers has shown that warmer seawater has reduced phytoplankton, the base of the marine food chain, by 40% since 1950. …

By Kyla Calvert / KPBS / August 4, 2010

SAN DIEGO — CalTrans is holding public meetings to gather input on a proposal to ease congestion on Interstate 5. The project could add up to six lanes to the freeway between La Jolla and Oceanside. Some people at these meetings are asking why there aren’t more plans to develop public transit in the corridor.

People have lots of concerns about the proposal to expand I-5. Homeowners worried about increased noise from new lanes. Environmentalists were asking questions about impacting the seven lagoons in the project area. Labor representatives wanted to know how many local workers the expansion is likely to employ.

Verdict comes in response to lawsuit challenging Proposition 8 NBC/ msnbc SAN FRANCISCO — In a major victory for gay…

By Maria Elena Fernandez / Los Angeles Times / August 3, 2010

Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James like each other so much that they decided to live together in San Diego when they were filming 13 episodes of FX’s new drama, “Terriers.”

The two actors met on NBC’s canceled series, “Life,” and bonded over Jack Kerouac’s “Big Sur.” Later, fate put them in the same room again when FX was casting the pivotal role of Britt Pollack, who is best friend to Logue’s character, Hank Dolworth.