Staff

Articles by Staff

Staff has written 2021 articles for the OB Rag!

Locals – Including NAACP – Oppose Biden’s Pick of Cindy Marten

January 19, 2021 by Staff

Ken Stone over at Times of San Diego published a piece Monday that included critiques and opposition to President-Elect Biden’s choice of San Diego Unified schools chief Cindy Marten for a federal education post. Marten was nominated for a Deputy Secretary of Education post.

Locals who are not happy with Biden’s nomination include the NAACP’s San Diego chapter and community activist Tasha Williamson, the former mayor candidate.

Amidst the wide-spread praise for Marten, Stone writes – and he ticks off praise from everybody from Mayor Gloria to Assemblywoman Weber to former mayor Faulconer – he adds that the NAACP and Williamson oppose her nomination:

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Woman Fighting for Her Life After Scooter Crash in Ocean Beach

January 19, 2021 by Staff

An unidentified woman is fighting for her life after she was thrown from an electric scooter after it struck a crack in the road in Ocean Beach.

The 27-year-old woman was riding a Bird scooter Sunday afternoon, Jan. 17, on Cape May Avenue heading west towards the beach when the scooter hit a crack in the sidewalk. She was launched over the handlebars and head-first onto the pavement, SDPD said.

Medics transported her to the hospital, where she has remained with life-threatening injuries, including a brain bleed and a fractured skull. It is not known whether she was wearing a helmet.

SDPD’s Traffic division is investigating the incident.

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Projects on Lotus and Del Monte Up for Review at OB Planners’ Sub-Committee – Wed., Jan.20

January 19, 2021 by Staff

There are two projects up for review at the Wednesday night meeting of the Project Review Committee – a sub-committee of OB’s Planning Board.

Projects up for review include one at 5064 Lotus Street and 4675 Del Monte Avenue.

The volunteer panel will meet electronically, beginning at 6 pm (see below for registration info and links). Links to documents referenced in the agenda are also listed below.

Here is the official agenda:

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Capitol Police Search for Rioters

January 15, 2021 by Staff

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San Diego Law Enforcement Warn Trump Supporters About Any Violent Protests of Biden Inauguration

January 14, 2021 by Staff

San Diego County’s top state and federal prosecutors warned Trump supporters on Wednesday that any violence within the county related to President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration would result in prosecution.

The joint statement from San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan and U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer was issued in connection with an FBI warning that armed protests were being planned at state capitols across the country in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration. The prosecutors also condemned last week’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said:

“We are issuing the strongest warning possible to anyone who is planning violence in connection with the inauguration. If you repeat the despicable behavior we saw at the Capitol last week, and if you disrespect our great democracy by bringing harm to people or property in a display of hatred and rage, the consequences will be swift and strong. You will be found, and you will be charged. Don’t let that become part of your story.”

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OB Pier Damaged for Third Time in 5 Years

January 11, 2021 by Staff

For the fourth time over the last 5 years, the OB Pier has been damaged by big waves.

High surf and a high tide combined on Monday, Jan. 11, to raise the 10- 12-foot waves up enough to skin at least 100 feet of railing boards off the south side of the pier, a witness told NBC 7.

The Pier was damaged in 2016 2018, and in 2019. Lifeguards stated in a tweet that they anticipate the pier will remained closed until Tuesday, the 11th.

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‘If There Ever Was a Reason to Leave Facebook …’

January 11, 2021 by Staff

By Geoff Page

If ever there was a reason to leave Facebook in droves, the scene on January 6 in Washington, D.C., would be it. The LOSER would never have been elected were it not for Facebook.

In mid-November 2018, I wrote a piece in The OB Rag explaining why I deleted my Facebook account. I quoted the following paragraph from an article by Evan Osnos in the New Yorker. And before anyone turns their nose up at the New Yorker look at the piece titled “Can Mark Zuckerberg Fix Facebook Before It Breaks Democracy?” It is an exhaustive, detailed article.

The quote is from the LOSER’s campaign staff.

“During the campaign, Trump used Facebook to raise two hundred and eighty million dollars. Just days before the election, his team paid for a voter-suppression effort on the platform. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, it targeted three Democratic constituencies—“idealistic white liberals, young women, and African Americans”—sending them videos precisely tailored to discourage them from turning out for Clinton. Theresa Hong, the Trump campaign’s digital-content director, later told an interviewer, “Without Facebook we wouldn’t have won.”

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OB Planning Board to Prep for Annual Election – Now Is a Good Time for OBceans to Think About Running for All-Volunteer Board

January 5, 2021 by Staff

The Ocean Beach Planning Board will hold its first monthly meeting of the new year on Wednesday, January 6. It will be held virtually via Cisco WebEx – and you can register for the meeting (see below).

The main item on the short agenda is the formation of an election committee to oversee the annual community election to the Board in March. Every year in March, about half the Board seats are open for election. And it’s quite an honor – and responsibility – to sit on the Board and represent your district.

In fact, now is a good time to think about running for the Board. You don’t have to be an engineer, a social scientist, or planner, you just have to be interested in your OB community, its history, and concerned for its future.

Here are some of the Board Member and Candidate Eligibility requirements & Instructions

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New Years Day Fire Burns RV, Damages Buildings in Ocean Beach

January 4, 2021 by Staff

by Bob Edwards

A fire broke out in the 4700 block of Voltaire on January 1, destroying an RV and damaging at least two structures including the Tropic Island Bird and Supply store across the street from OB People’s Food. The fire started at about 3:30 PM in an RV parked in the driveway of the home next door to the bird store. Flames spread to the buildings and, according to Channel 10 News, caused an estimated $750,000 damage.

An OB local, Carole, said she could see a huge tower of smoke from her home on Long Branch Street and went over to check out the blaze. She said that fire engines from Station 20 (near Home Depot) and Station 22 on Catalina Blvd. responded. The firefighters from OB’s Station 15, just a block away, were out on another call. She said that one firefighter popped the door to the bird store to make sure that no feathered friends were injured or endangered and discovered the store empty.

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2020 – the Year of the Great Refusal

December 31, 2020 by Staff

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Gaining Perspective While Waiting In Line to Cross the Border

December 31, 2020 by Staff

By Geoff Page

After a day long trip to Tijuana on Wednesday, I found a few emails my phone had not picked up because of where I was. One was from editordude asking if any of his band of merry pranksters had any year-end thoughts to share in The Rag. Had it not been for that trip to TJ, I’m not sure I would have known what to say.

Most of what comes to my mind about 2020 probably comes to most people’s thoughts. This was an odd year and it is safe to say that it was a year when almost everyone was focused on the same things, politics and the pandemic. In other years, attention was not so singularly concentrated because lots of things happened, good and bad, as usual.

This year was different because the good was overwhelmed by the bad.

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Guy on Inflatable Mat Speeds Past Stunned Surfers

December 29, 2020 by Staff

Andrew Buck, a longboarder and surf-mat aficionado from Carpinteria just south of Santa Barbara has an ability to catch sets at Rincon on an inflatable mat and generate speed that has won him fans all over the world.

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Active Covid-19 Cases in San Diego Jails Over 500

December 28, 2020 by Staff

The San Diego Sheriff’s Department reports that there are more than 400 active cases of the coronavirus among its inmates — or 11% of the total jail population, plus hundreds of staff members have also been infected.

Critics of how the Sheriff’s Department is handling outbreaks at its facilities include inmates, deputies and the head of the union that represents jail workers. And sheriffs are still arresting people for minor crimes and bringing them into the jails.

The total number of COVID-19 cases has exceeded 1,000, which includes more than 500 active infections among inmates and employees, according to data on the Sheriff’s Department website.

There’s been a total of 757 inmates infected with the virus so far in 2020. This includes 414 active cases. Another 114 inmates have been placed into isolation. Among deputies and staff,

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The ‘Great Conjuncture’ Tonight – Dec. 21, 2020

December 21, 2020 by Staff

This evening, on the first day of astronomical winter, you may be able to see a rare phenomenon witnessed when the famous astronomer Galileo Galilei was alive: Jupiter and Saturn will appear so close to one another in the night sky, the gassy behemoths will look like one star: the Christmas star.

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Nuts and Bolts of Recall Campbell Campaign

December 18, 2020 by Staff

The folks who are mounting the Recall Campbell campaign have issued a recent update:

“The campaign to recall Councilmember Jennifer Campbell has begun. The notice of intent to circulate a recall petition will be published in early January. As required, within five days of publication, Jennifer Campbell will be served with the notice of intent.

The petition will begin to circulate – signatures of resident registered voters of District 2 will begin to be gathered – 21 days after the date of publication. We will then have 99 days to collect a minimum of 13,553 signatures.”

Nuts & Bolts of the Recall

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The Electors Have Voted and Joe Biden Is Confirmed as President-Elect

December 14, 2020 by Staff

With the vote of California’s electors, President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win over Donald Trump has been formalized.

States have been voting throughout the day, but it took California’s 55 votes to bring Biden over the 270 needed to win. As of this writing, Biden has 302 votes; he needed 270 – as if we could forget.

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Join the Campaign to Recall Jen Campbell

December 11, 2020 by Staff

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Rents, Debts and Evictions in San Diego

December 7, 2020 by Staff

Rents and the threat of evictions are on the minds of a lot of people these days. Nationally, there are millions of renters struggling to come up with monthly rent. And landlords are wondering what to do. Congress stalling on relief for months hasn’t helped.

Outstanding rent debt is estimated to run as high as $7.2 billion by the end of the year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Last August, Gavin Newsom signed a law that shielded all renters from eviction due to COVID-19-related back rent through February 1, 2021. It’s one of the longest rent moratoriums in the country.

Someone who lost work or income in the early days of the pandemic could avoid paying rent from March to August 31. If hardship continued from September 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021, the tenant must pay 25 percent of rent to avoid eviction. The renter is still responsible for money owed. The law also states unpaid rent, considered civil debt, can be claimed by landlords in small claims court starting March 1, 2021. So, how many renters have not been paying in San Diego County?

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Famosa Slough Part of Marshland Study

December 7, 2020 by Staff

Famosa Slough in Point Loma is part of a research study in how efficient salt marsh terrains are at storing carbon. Wetlands have the potential of being both a hedge against global warming and a buffer against rising sea levels

The local wetlands joins other areas like Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad, the Kendall Frost marsh in Mission Bay, the San Dieguito lagoon, and other coastal wetlands throughout the region in a study by the Scripps Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation. This research will help increase understanding of the ecosystems and habitats that are in the nearshore area.

The conservation group, Wildcoast, has led efforts to understand the blue carbon habitats near the ocean which are particularly good at capturing and storing carbon.

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Minute Past Noon on January 20, 2021

December 3, 2020 by Staff

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Readings From LoVerne Brown – OB’s Poet – Online Sat., Dec.5 – By Ocean Beach Library

December 2, 2020 by Staff

LoVerne Brown- Online Meeting and Book- “Garment for a Long Journey Poems”

Please join the Ocean Beach Library for a very special celebration of OB’s own Loverne Brown. This will be an online event with readings from “Garment for a Long Journey.” You can find more information, including the Zoom link to this free event, from the OB Library online calendar.

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OB Planners’ Committee on Short-Term Vacation Rentals Meets Tuesday, Dec.1

December 1, 2020 by Staff

The Ocean Beach Planning Board, historically, has led the resistance to the community being inundated with a flood of short-term vacation rentals. This history involves the last five years – and much has changed – and nothing has changed – except coastal residents’ awareness of the problem.

Most recently, however, Councilwoman Jen Campbell has been pushing her plan to allow the vacation rentals into the city. This week, in fact, she’s taking her plan to the San Diego Planning Commission.

Whether this is on the agenda of the Planning Board’s committee is not quiet clear – but we’re sure it will come up. The Board’s committee (actually an ad-hoc subcommittee) that covers short-term rentals meets Tuesday night, December 1.

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OB Planning Board: Bermuda Beach Stairs, Mariner’s Cove, All-Way Stop at Froude & Cape May – Wed., Dec.2

November 30, 2020 by Staff

There are several projects up for review of interest at Wednesday’s Ocean Beach Planning Board. The Board meets at 6 pm and is held virtually via Cisco WebEx – and you can register for the meeting (see below).

Here are items of interest:

  • Nimitz I-8 Safety Improvements – on consent agenda;
  • Bermuda Beach Access Stairs
  • Mariner’s Cove Redevelopment
  • All Way Stop at Froude and Cape May
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The OB Christmas Tree Arrives Tuesday Morning

November 30, 2020 by Staff

More than a rumor has it that the famed Ocean Beach Christmas Tree arrives on site at the foot of Newport Avenue Tuesday morning, December 1.

Workers were seen this morning digging up the “manhole” the tree trunk sits in.

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Happy Thanksgiving From Ocean Beach

November 26, 2020 by Staff

Happy Thanksgiving ! From Ocean Beach.

Judith Starker saw these latest chalk works by Sidewalk Chalk Dad and preserved them for the rest of us.

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Retail Workers Demand Hazard Pay As Large Companies Reap Record-Breaking Pandemic Profits

November 25, 2020 by Staff

As large corporations like Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger and other major retailers reap record-breaking profits during the pandemic, the money does not trickle down to their front-line workers. And those workers are demanding hazard pay and upgrade safety procedures during the busy holiday shopping season.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), which represents 900,000 ry employees at chains such as Kroger, Safeway and Giant, urged retailers to do more to protect workers from the virus that has sickened more than 12.3 million Americans earlier this week. At least 131 grocery workers have died of covid-19,

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The Crooked Tree Ale of Ocean Beach

November 23, 2020 by Staff

Some good news for the holidays!

The OB hamlet is really fortunate to have a strong brewer community thriving within. Last year the OB Town Council gathered together some top San Diego brewers who happen to live in OB to create a special holiday brew just for our town.

The name Crooked Tree Ale comes from the infamous OB holiday tree that we place at the foot of the pier every season. The tree notoriously leans to one side or the other, some years more than others.

Some proceeds from the sale of the brew and commemorative t-shirts will come back to the Town Council to help fund their suite of holiday events which include getting the tree in place.

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What the Curfew and Its Enforcement Means to San Diegans

November 20, 2020 by Staff

What does the new curfew Gov. Gavin Newsom issued Thursday for counties in the purple tier — including San Diego — mean for San Diegans? And what does the new level of enforcement mean?

Basically, the new curfew will take effect at 10 pm on Saturday, November 21, and all nonessential work and gatherings must stop from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Right now, the curfew will remain in effect for a month, until 5 am on Dec. 21. It could be revised or extended.

Also on Thursday, San Diego County officials announced that law enforcement will step up COVID-19 compliance education and citations. Sheriff Bill Gore said four two-deputy teams will begin making “a full-time commitment” of the county’s 18 cities and unincorporated areas, ensuring compliance with public health orders. Several cities have already confirmed they will send officers to assist deputies in their duties, Gore said.

While residents are urged to be home by 10 p.m., there are still things they can do at night, including:

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New San Diego Ordinances on Regulating Surveillance Win Praise – After Successful Effort by Councilwoman Montgomery Steppe

November 13, 2020 by Staff

On Tuesday, November 10, the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to adopt two ordinances, which are intended to increase accountability within city government and law enforcement. The ordinances regulate the use, acquisition and funding of surveillance technology and establish a Privacy Advisory Board.

City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe – who led the efforts – stated:

“My council colleagues joined me in taking the necessary next step to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of all San Diegans. The city of San Diego has a chance to lead here, and I look forward to the continuous collaboration with community organizations, my colleagues on the council and our city departments to ensure that we do.”

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San Diego’s ‘Highwayman’ – Who Freely Aided Stranded Motorists for Decades – Now Needs Help

November 13, 2020 by Staff

For literally decades, San Diego’s Highwayman has pulled up behind stranded motorists and offered aid, free of charge.

Tom Weller – who grew up in Ocean Beach – has spent years upon years patrolling San Diego freeways helping people out ever since his car plowed into a snowbank in Illinois in 1966, and he was helped by a good Samaritan who told him to pass it on.

Now Weller needs some teeth, as he told NBC 7 :

“I’ve been reluctant to ask for myself. I didn’t have any trouble asking in my mission for others, but for myself, it’s very difficult. But I need some teeth.”

Now 72 — Weller needs some help himself of the dental variety. He has launched a GoFundMe in an effort to be able to pay for dental implants, since he’s unable to wear his dentures anymore because his anchor tooth broke. “It’s been a difficult time ’cause I’m losing weight, losing confidence and am at my last resort, so to speak,” Weller said.

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