It’s the very first day of Spring 2020 in Ocean Beach.

One would never know it. Empty streets. Plenty of parking on Newport. Shops closed. No one on the beach under “blue” skies. The Pier Parking lot looking nearly empty.

This is our new reality.

Luckily for us, some OB Ragsters ventured out to record what they saw – and didn’t see.

At the last Ocean Beach Town Council meeting, the newly-elected and re-elected board members took their seats. Re-elected was Mark Winkie, President, Jon Carr – now Vice President, Cameron Reid – now Corresponding Secretary, and Grace Quigley – now Events Chair.

Also just elected to the Board are Christie Romano and Arlene Fink (not pictured above). The rest of the community certainly congratulates and welcomes these dedicated volunteers.

The next public meeting is Wednesday, March 25, 7:00 pm at the Masonic Lodge

The OB Planning Board meets this week on Wednesday, March 4. The main agenda items appear to be the permit to demolish and build on the 4700 block of Orchard, a presentation by the city’s Planning Department on utilities franchise fee contracts, as well as another presentation by SDG&E on their franchise fee contracts.

The Board is employing a new technique – the consent agenda – which is commonly used in larger legislative jurisdictions – like the city council. Unless a Board member “pulls” the item off the consent agenda, it could be part of a simple vote up or down without discussion on all consent agenda items. (Perhaps a member of the public can also pull an item off.) This is essentially an efficiency thing.

For Wednesday’s agenda, it is being used for the only project the Board has to review – a project that was approved by the Project Review Committee on a vote of 5 to 0 at their meeting on Feb. 19. – the demolition and construction planned for 4719 Orchard Ave. (See agenda.)

By Geoff Page

The highlight of the Midway-Pacific Community Planning Group’s monthly meeting February 19 was an appearance by District 2 City Council member Dr. Jennifer Campbell. But, there appeared to be a serious disconnect between Campbell and the Midway group on the topic of the old SPAWARS site on Pacific Highway. The Navy has renamed it NAVFAC.

Campbell was asked about the site and talked about the “Grand Central Station” transit center idea that SANDAG and the lame duck mayor are pushing. The Navy and SANDAG and the mayor have signed some exploratory documents in this direction. Campbell seemed upbeat about the project and called it a win-win for the Navy and San Diego. This was where the disconnect was apparent.

The Midway group has expressed its displeasure, repeatedly, with how the city has handled everything

By Geoff Page

Tonight’s meeting of the Peninsula Community Planning Board promises to be as good as any soap opera on TV. The PCPB is in the process of imploding for a variety of reasons but what has happened in recent weeks borders on the theater of the absurd.

Board chair Robert Goldyn and vice chair Scott Deschenes both tendered their resignations January 21 because they were fed up with a faction on the PCPB that has done nothing but disrupt and attack. Both board members, while wishing to be done with the board, graciously stated their resignations would be effective immediately after the after the yearly election on March 19. They explained:

The Ocean Beach bike path between Pacific Highway and Morena Boulevard is now closed temporarily. It is expected to re-open on Friday, February 28th.

The closure began Feb. 3. Bicyclists, joggers and pedestrians are urged to look out for detour routes and to be especially careful while traveling in the area where construction is going on.

By Geoff Page

The parking lot was full, people had parked in the alley, there was no street parking, and there was a good-sized crowd inside the Masonic Lodge for the first meeting of 2020 for the Ocean Beach Town Council on Wednesday, January 22. The reason was quickly apparent as the council was giving out its annual awards for floats in the Ocean Beach Christmas Parade.

Holiday Parade Winners

Before the awards were announced, the council explained that there were 112 entries in the parade. That number was surprising; the parade has grown a lot over the years. When the judging was over, they handed out the following awards for the best floats:

Use of Lights – OB Elementary

By Geoff Page

The Dixieline Lumber and Home Center store on Sports Arena Blvd. came before the Midway-Pacific Planning Group on Wednesday, January 15, asking for help. They did not receive the help they were looking for.

The subject that garnered the most discussion at the planning group’s first regular monthly meeting of 2020 was the expiration of Dixieline’s lease on May 31. The company has been at that location since 1967, leasing the land from the city of San Diego. The city owns the land east and west of the Sports Arena, including the arena and the huge parking lot. The city has plans for redeveloping all of that property and the fate of all the current tenants will depend on those plans.

The city’s land east of the Sports Arena includes the dilapidated shopping center immediately east, Dixieline, and the old Pier One Imports property now a Salvation Army store. On the west side is the Sports Arena Village shopping center bordered by Hancock Street.

Dixieline wants a new lease from the city and they want a realistic term for that lease.

A nude man was rescued by first responders clinging to the side of Sunset Cliffs Sunday morning, Jan. 12.

Around 10:40 am, San Diego Lifeguards received calls of a naked man clinging to the very sheer cliff near Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Guizot Street. A small crowd, as one can imagine, had gathered to observe the potentially dangerous situation. The man, unidentified as of yet, was gripping the cliff – where there isn’t much to hold on to – about 20 feet from the bottom.

Friends of Genie Zucchini Phillips have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to pay for her Celebration of Life. She passed away on December 31 of 2019. (Genie also went by Sapienza.)

Genie’s Celebration of Life has been set for Saturday, January 25, 2020 at the Masonic Center in Ocean Beach.

All Photographs by Kathy Blavatt

by Kathy Blavatt

In nature, color red is as vital as it’s complementary color green. Red makes the greens pop. What would the Christmas holidays be without the brilliant red poinsettias and berries?

Valentines’ gift of crimson roses is the traditional flower representing love and passion.