Category: Culture

by Shane Finneran / Exclusive to OB Rag /

About 75 demonstrators calling for the legalization of marijuana marched on the Pacific Beach boardwalk between Crystal Pier and Belmont Park on May 1. Participants spoke on a megaphone and carried signs with messages such as “Respect State Law,” “Prohibition Empowers Drug Lords,” and “Marijuana Is Better Than Alcohol.”

The two-hour march, which began at 11am, was organized by the Southern California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and a San Diego marijuana dispensary. SoCal NORML director Craig Beresh led the group in chants encouraging the legalization and taxation of marijuana.

I have technically been a Phish fan since my early teens, when a dreadlocked summer camp counselor played the song “Fee” each morning to rouse a cadre of young adolescents from their slumber and get them ready for the day.

My devotion grew over the years, and by now I consider myself a Phish “head”. At this stage in my fan arc, I wholeheartedly believe that what keeps me coming back for more is the community built between the band and it’s fans.

On Friday night (April 30th) at the Hazard Center Ultrastar Theatre, there was a love fest going …

Three thousand marchers descended on the Federal Building in downtown San Diego, today, May 1st, in protest of the new immigration law passed by the State of Arizona. They had at first rallied in Chicano Park, and then paraded over to the other side of downtown.

Already in front of the Federal Building was an estimated 150 counter-demonstrators, waving anti-immigrant signs,and making noise. About another hundred folks, supportive of the marchers, were on the opposite side of the street.

At 12:30pm today, Saturday, May 1, there will be a half hour discussion of OB’s and San Diego’s fire rings and pits. Go to AM 600 to listen.

It is a discussion between Frank Gormlie of the “Adopt-a-Fire-Pit” Project, Hans Baumgartner of Save San Diego Fire Pits, and Phyllis Pfieffer of the La Jolla Light.

If you missed it at 12:30 or wish to listen to it early …. (LINKS INSIDE)

Global Marijuana March-San Diego
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Time:
11:00am – 2:00pm
Location:
Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach
Description
We will meet at the Crystal Pier at 11AM on 5-1-10

MAY 1st –
May Day in San Diego!
Primero de Mayo en San Diego
– call to action –
Llamada a la acción
LEGALIZATION FOR ALL – WITHOUT CONDITIONS
Legalización para todos, sin condiciones
JOBS, HOUSING & LIVABLE WAGES FOR ALL
Empleos y salarios decentes para todos
FUND EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES – NOT WAR
Dinero para educación y servicios sociales, no para guerra
IMMIGRATION RIGHTS FOR LGBT PARTNERS
Ningún ser humano es ilegal, ningún amor es ilegal
——————
11:00 Rally at Chicano Park
12:00 Human Chain and March to Federal Building
1:00 Rally at Federal Building
Downtown San Diego
880 Front ST

Nearly a dozen residents who support keeping OB’s fire rings showed up at the Town Council’s regular meeting, Wednesday night, April 28th, and about half of them spoke up at the Masonic Temple meet before the very attentive Council on maintaining the community’s icons.

And even though the Town Council did not take a vote during the meeting, those members of the Council who spoke on the issue gave strong indications the Council would vote during their next meeting in support of the fire rings. About two years, the Council had passed a similar proposal in support of the pits.

In response to the State of Arizona’s new immigration law, California volunteers have begun construction of a new border fence along the Colorado River.

Show the OB Town Council – and everybody else (like the Mayor) – that you want to save the fire rings of Ocean Beach. They’re on the agenda tonight, April 28th, of the Town Council.

They meet at 7 pm at the Masonic Temple, corner of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Santa Moncia Ave.

Mayor Sanders is threatening to begin removing all 185 of San Diego’s fire rings, including the remaining eight here in OB, beginning July 1. (We used to have 16 during the summer months.)

The City says the is no more funds to maintain them, that it costs $120,ooo to clean all the pits every week.

Rep. Duncan Hunter backs deporting U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants

At a recent Tea Party meeting in Ramona, Rep Duncan Hunter stated that he supported the deportation of children born in the US to undocumented migrants. Is he racist or maybe he just doesn’t know what the Constitution states.

Section 1, Clause 1 of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, states:

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Back in 1951 my classmates and I at John Spring Jr. High, in Tucson, in our pure innocence, made desegregation work in our part of town.

It was all about love and without it, in heavy doses, many of us black kids wouldn’t have been able to bear the pain and awkwardness that came with the new era. See, there we were on the very first day singing “Hail to John Spring Jr. High” just a summer away from having, for years, sung our “hail to’s” to Paul Laurence Dunbar. At Dunbar Jr. High. Overnight Dunbar’s name was exited from our lives like a word being erased at the blackboard – as though there was no realization that this great poet with pen in hand had captured in his imagery the very essence of our struggles as a people, in black dialect, no less. This man was tied to our very psyche, our sense of self. We couldn’t understand why his name had to go.

by anonymous OBcian

Often these days, we hear so many bad things about our country – the political tensions and the economy -, and we hear so many bad things about our state of California – how its going broke and the legislative stalemate -, and plus we hear so many negative things about our southwestern County – its conservatism and shyness in handing out benefits -, that we sometimes forget where we are.

Well, for one, I want to shout out: “Let’s hear it for the other side – let’s hear it for our country, our state, and yes, even for our county: “hip, hip, hurray, hip, hip, hurray!”

What the heck am I shouting about???

I’m shouting ‘hurray’ loud and clear for everyone to hear — for the safety and social nets of our county, state and country.