Author: Source

Editor: There’s a new ‘bad boy’ in town, and he’s not a bum or a homeless person. He … or she … is the person who grabs free electricity from the Newport Avenue light poles. The “new” U-T (Union-Tribune) felt this story still had legs and quotes our own Denny Knox, CEO of the OB Mainstreet Assoc., and Jim Musgrove, head of the OB Town Council. Go to it.
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City street crews are looking to curb the number of people in Ocean Beach who siphon electricity from outlets on street lamps to power everything from cell phones to recreational vehicles.

The San Diego Streets Division is awaiting another shipment of tamper-proof utility covers that restrict access to electrical sockets on a three-block stretch of Newport Avenue ….

Don’t believe what you’ve never been told. The water has never, ever been this cold. (Future rant coming here soon…….

By Chalmers Johnson / Tom Dispatch / August 17, 2010

In 1962, the historian Barbara Tuchman published a book about the start of World War I and called it The Guns of August. It went on to win a Pulitzer Prize. She was, of course, looking back at events that had occurred almost 50 years earlier and had at her disposal documents and information not available to participants. They were acting, as Vietnam-era Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara put it, in the fog of war.

So where are we this August of 2010, with guns blazing in one war in Afghanistan even as we try to extricate ourselves from another in Iraq?

Before April 2010, if you had asked local music fans about the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, you would have heard a pretty consensual answer that reflected its well-earned reputation as one of the nation’s most satisfying rock fests. Since the festival’s 1999 founding by Goldenvoice Productions, the Coachella sensibility had been rooted in the original L.A. punk-rock scene, delivering good vibes and genuine excitement along with a wide range of alternative sounds chosen with a connoisseur’s touch, from this year’s headlining muscle of Jay-Z and Thom Yorke to the dreamier waves of emotion unfurled by the xx as the afternoon sun slowly slid behind the palm trees.

“The No. 1 thing was just too many bodies,” admits Goldenvoice President Paul Tollett.

SAN DIEGO San Diego Unified’s results on 2010 state tests show across the board gains for the fourth straight year, with more students than ever ranking “advanced” in their subject knowledge.

The results of the annual California Standards Test released today show the district has five straight years of overall gains in English language arts and science scores, while math continues a four-year climb. This good news is tempered by recognition that scores still show an “achievement gap” among ethnic groups. Data relating to the achievement gap – test scores among ethnic groups – is still being analyzed, but early results show the gap is narrowing in some areas, albeit slowly.

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, …