Category: Culture

We haven’t forgotten there’s 2 wars going on – Rally and Car Caravan – Sat. March 20

 Staff  March 18, 2010  8 Comments on We haven’t forgotten there’s 2 wars going on – Rally and Car Caravan – Sat. March 20

San Diegans and Americans across the country are showing that many of us have not forgotten there’s two wars going on at this minute. This is at a cost of $400,000,000 EACH DAY for these wars and occupations – while our schools decay, homes are foreclosed, healthcare costs choke families into bankruptcy, and workers go without jobs –

We’re showing up at anti-war actions coast to coast. Here in San Diego, there’s an entire afternoon devoted to showing we haven’t forgotten. There’s a Car Caravan here in San Diego from 3 to 5 pm, and rally from 1 to 3, bannering downtown, and an Arlington West. Read on.

Continue Reading We haven’t forgotten there’s 2 wars going on – Rally and Car Caravan – Sat. March 20

“A Funny Little Thing” Got me Back into the Swing of Things

 Ernie McCray  March 16, 2010  9 Comments on “A Funny Little Thing” Got me Back into the Swing of Things

by Ernie McCray

Nothing has helped me get back into the swing of things more, after losing my sweetheart, than getting up on stage and giving life to a delightful old goofy character named Wilmer in a play called “Funny Little Thing.”

Wilmer, like I have been in real life, is crazy about his wife, Paula, and she feels the same about him as my Nancy loved me – in spite of the little “things” that come along in a marriage, the irrelevant minutia that Wilmer and Paula, like Nancy and I did, zip by with healthy “Don’t sweat the small stuff” attitudes.

What a fun role and it was just what I needed to discover if I could ever, again, focus my attention, for any reasonable length of time, on something other than the nagging emotional pain that for so long was caught up in my heart and soul like a cat entangled in a sack full of yarn.

Continue Reading “A Funny Little Thing” Got me Back into the Swing of Things

Newport News – OB’s Main Street and Beyond

 Source  March 15, 2010  30 Comments on Newport News – OB’s Main Street and Beyond

by Kristin Condon

The building with Ace Tattoo and El Rodeo is looking spiffy – it has gotten a new paint job and new banisters and signs, including the new “L Rodeo” sign.

Ciao Bella Ristorante e Pizzaria at 4953 Newport opened at the end of February, and appears to be doing a brisk business. Their extensive menu features soups, salads, antipasto, pasta, panini, risotti, pizzas, and handmade desserts. They have a very nice dining room, and also will take phone orders to go….

SEE MORE INSIDE…..

Continue Reading Newport News – OB’s Main Street and Beyond

San Diego Coffee Party Takes Off This Saturday – March 13th

 Frank Gormlie  March 12, 2010  2 Comments on San Diego Coffee Party Takes Off This Saturday – March 13th

San Diego’s Coffee Party Movement officially forms up this Saturday, March 13th, as its first “kick-off” meeting is being held at a local coffeehouse – of all places. This initial gathering – organized for the City of San Diego – will be at LeStat’s coffee house on Adams Avenue at noon. There’s also chapters forming in North County and Ramona.

And there’s hundreds of such meetings occurring across the country this Saturday. Of course, the meetings are at coffee houses. It’s the Coffee Party Movement.

Continue Reading San Diego Coffee Party Takes Off This Saturday – March 13th

TV Show “Terriers” Filming Again at Newport Ave Restaurant

 Frank Gormlie  March 12, 2010  5 Comments on TV Show “Terriers” Filming Again at Newport Ave Restaurant

Yesterday the 11th of March, we heard from Ted Caplaneris, the owner of The Old Town House Restaurant on Newport Ave, that the television production “Terriers” is coming back to film at his restaurant.

Ted wanted us to know and to help spread the word that:

The Old Town House Restaurant will be closed on Tuesday March 16th to facilitate this production. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Last time the production crew was in OB, they used Ted’s restaurant.

Continue Reading TV Show “Terriers” Filming Again at Newport Ave Restaurant

Famous OBcean and Major League Pitcher David Wells Honored

 Frank Gormlie  March 12, 2010  3 Comments on Famous OBcean and Major League Pitcher David Wells Honored

David Wells is arguably one of the most famous (living) Ocean Beach residents and locals. Class of 1982 at Point Loma High, Wells became a major league baseball pitcher, amassing amazing awards such as a record of 239-157 during his twenty year league career that included a perfect game (1998) and two stints with the San Diego Padres.

Recently, he has received numerous accolades, having the high school’s baseball facilities named after him, as well as having the Dana Middle School baseball field renamed the David Wells Field. He also was just inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions Hall of Fame.

Today, Friday, March 12, there is a fundraiser for Pointers baseball and Wells is planning on attending.

Continue Reading Famous OBcean and Major League Pitcher David Wells Honored

OB Planning Board Election Results

 Frank Gormlie  March 10, 2010  17 Comments on OB Planning Board Election Results

The votes are in and here’s the results of the OB Planning Board election, held yesterday.

The results are:

District 1 – Landry Watson –

District 2 – Barbara Schmidtknecht

District 3 – no candidates

District 4 – Seth Connolly –

District 5 – Giovanni Ingolia –

District 6 – Catherine Cappellucci –

District 7 – Ronson Shamoun –

COME INSIDE FOR ACTUAL VOTE TOTALS….

Continue Reading OB Planning Board Election Results

Number Of U.S. Millionaires Soared In 2009

 Source  March 9, 2010  2 Comments on Number Of U.S. Millionaires Soared In 2009

It was a good year to be rich. Or ultra-rich, for that matter.

The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more — excluding wealth derived from a primary residence — grew 16 percent last year, according to a new report by the Spectrem Group, a Chicago-based consulting firm. After a 27 percent decline in the number of millionaire households in 2008, the ranks of U.S. millionaires swelled to 7.8 million last year.

And it was an even better year to be an “Ultra High Net Worth Individual,” defined as someone with a net worth of $5 million or more. That population grew 17 percent in 2009 to 980,000.

Continue Reading Number Of U.S. Millionaires Soared In 2009

Our Dirty Little Secret: Who’s Really Poor in America?

 Source  March 9, 2010  34 Comments on Our Dirty Little Secret: Who’s Really Poor in America?

By Leo Hindery Jr./ Huffington Post //March 9, 2010 |

Two old friends, civil rights activist David Mixner and former U.S. Senator (and my oft co-author) Don Riegle (D-MI), believe that in the economic recovery, not enough attention is being given to ‘who’s really poor’ now. David and Don have for years advised me — and others — on the issue of poverty in America, and they are worried that too many people, and especially too many people in the administration and Congress, are missing this imperative.

To help make their point, they referred me to poverty activist Marsha Timpson, who describes today’s poor as “America’s dirty little secret, hidden in the backyards of America’s shining homes, the hollows, the reservations, the border towns and the dark ghettos of the city where they are the lie of the American dream.”

Continue Reading Our Dirty Little Secret: Who’s Really Poor in America?

A Love Affair with The Big Kitchen

 Ernie McCray  March 8, 2010  14 Comments on A Love Affair with The Big Kitchen

My wife, Nancy, and I, have lived in Golden Hill since the early 70’s, drawn by it’s mixture of people who were of all the human colors and who were rich and poor and gay and straight and artistic and politically and civically activistic, if you will – a community of people contributing, in so many ways, to the making of a better world.

Then along came the Big Kitchen with open arms and we were inspired by how, under proprietor Judy-the-Beauty-On-Duty’s leadership and guidance, this now iconic cafe immediately blended in with our neighborhoods’ vibrant hopeful energy – making it, for us, and many others, from the very start, a place more of the heart and soul than a business enterprise. It was love at first sight.

Continue Reading A Love Affair with The Big Kitchen

San Onofre on List of Leaker Nukes

 Michael Steinberg  March 8, 2010  6 Comments on San Onofre on List of Leaker Nukes

The San Onofre nuclear station is included in a list of commercial nuclear plants that have leaked radioactive tritium, a known cancer causing chemical.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) compiled the list. About one quarter of the nation’s operating nukes, 27 out of 104, have leaked tritium.

Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen, created as a byproduct of nuclear fission. It combines easily with water, and can persist inside us for years if it enters our bodies.

Continue Reading San Onofre on List of Leaker Nukes

In a “World Thinking Day” Frame of Mind

 Ernie McCray  March 6, 2010  15 Comments on In a “World Thinking Day” Frame of Mind

By Ernie McCray

I was in Tucson, my hometown, not too long ago to celebrate scoring a whole lot of points (46) in a basketball game 50 years ago.

And what you might need to know is that after putting on such a show I didn’t celebrate with my teammates later at a popular eatery because old Jim Crow couldn’t care less about the athletic exploits of a half-naked tall skinny Negro.

But such days are long gone back in the Old Pueblo. While in town I was shown around by a dear friend and former student of mine, Debbie Sisco Rich, the CEO of the girl scouts there.

Continue Reading In a “World Thinking Day” Frame of Mind