Category: History

The following ran as an editorial at today’s San Diego Free Press:

We un-nominate San Diego as a convention city in case Hurricane Isaac forces the Republicans to flee Tampa. What?

Today’s news had two items of interest: Hurricane Isaac barreling toward Florida just may disrupt or adversely affect the Republican Convention being currently set up in Tampa. Romney & Co may have to relocate their shindig.

The other bit – actually an editorial in the U-T San Diego – had this headline: “If Isaac Roars, San Diego Should Welcome GOP”, and goes on to declare:

“But if the worst should happen, and Republican officials are suddenly forced to relocate the GOP national convention to begin Monday in Tampa, we nominate San Diego as the new convention host city.”

Yes, we do have a winner. Several weeks ago we ran a T-shirt contest for whoever could find quotes from the OB Rag in the ceiling of the new Brighton Avenue beach “comfort station” would win one of our T’s for posterity.

It took Joe Ewing – known locally for his web talents – to find the quotes. He told us that he took a couple of photos of key words and isolated the phrases then googled them. “OB Rag was #1 so from there on it was easy.”

Local OB Groups Gear Up for the Village’s 125th Birthday

As part of the village gears up to celebrate OB’s 125th “birthday”, we raise the question: is Ocean Beach really 125 years old? Was the year 1887 really the village’s birth year?

Several local organizations – such as the OB Mainstreet Association – are prepping up for the 125th celebration; the logo has been established, T-shirts have been printed up, arrangements have been made. But is OB really this old or really this young? There are different theories.

Editor: The following lesson in immigration law by our blogger Jack Hamlin – a lawyer and law professor – was initially set as a comment to an article criticizing the US Supreme Court upholding Arizona’s draconian SB 1070’s main provision, “show me your papers.” The court left standing SB 1070’s most controversial provision requiring Sheriff Joe Apario type, “state and local police to check the immigration status of anyone that they suspect is in the country illegally; if that person was initially detained for other legitimate reasons.”

The Arizona v. U.S. decision, from what I understand, came down on two points of law. 1) Separation of Powers/Supremacy Clause, and 2) The Preemption Clause. Let me explain, while you must take into consideration it is mid-afternoon on a sunny, summer, Sunday, in OB, California.

By Michael Moore and Oliver Stone / New York Times / August 20, 2012

WE have spent our careers as filmmakers making the case that the news media in the United States often fail to inform Americans about the uglier actions of our own government. We therefore have been deeply grateful for the accomplishments of WikiLeaks, and applaud Ecuador’s decision to grant diplomatic asylum to its founder, Julian Assange, who is now living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.

Ecuador has acted in accordance with important principles of international human rights.

San Diego has played an important role in American aviation history. Indeed, some of the earliest attempts at controlled flight have occurring here.

While most historians recognize the pioneering work of Montgomery, Curtis, Ryan, and Lindbergh, most ignored the role women played in San Diego’s aviation history.

Alex Bevil – the California State Parks Historian – will focus on the untold story of San Diego’s female aviators within the broader context of the history of women’s aviation.

The OB entryway sign is under attack – by termites and the weather. The wooden iconic welcome was installed back in the mid-Eighties, but now nature has taken its toll. It needs to be replaced.

The OB Town Council had issued a call to the community for new designs. And the Council reports that of those designs submitted fourteen were accepted; they will pare the entries down to about five – and then place the issue up for a community vote. (It’s unclear how that vote will occur – it could be via facebook.)

For more go here.

By Alon Harish / ABC News / Aug. 2, 2012

A new law in North Carolina will ban the state from basing coastal policies on the latest scientific predictions of how much the sea level will rise, prompting environmentalists to accuse the state of disrespecting climate science.

The law has put the state in the spotlight for what critics have called nearsightedness and climate change denial, but its proponents said the state needed to put a moratorium on predictions of sea level rise until scientific techniques improve.

The law was drafted in response to an estimate by the state’s Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) that the sea level will rise by 39 inches in the next century, prompting fears of costlier home insurance and accusations of anti-development alarmism among residents and developers in the state’s coastal Outer Banks region.

By K.S. Wang / Motor Trend / August 9, 2012

When members of the jam band Slightly Stoopid drive around Ocean Beach, San Diego, they are often recognized for being famous hometown sons. But when co-lead singer Miles Doughty drives around town, what usually turns heads is his 1942 Ford pickup.

“My dad got it for me 18 years ago when I was 16 and I was able to get it restored over the past couple years, so it’s pretty sweet,” Doughty says proudly. “We bought it in a farm area in Northern California. We were driving down the coast and there was this truck sitting out there in the field with a ‘for sale’ sign on it.”

Editor: The following was lifted off People’s online newsletter.

This month, Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Market celebrates its 40th year as a retail vegetarian grocer.

Our story began in 1971, when a group of liked-minded people met at a beachside picnic table to discuss the idea of creating a place where the community could purchase whole, minimally processed, organic (when available), vegetarian food at affordable prices.

Today, as a bastion of sustainable and environmental living practices, People’s operates out of a 12,000 square foot, award winning “green” building, providing the very best in organic and vegetarian food.

Another apartment building in Ocean Beach has been sold. The 6-unit two-story complex at 5029 West Point Loma Boulevard was sold for over a million bucks – $1,052,500 – to be exact. The apartments consist of 4,483-square-feet within the apartments with a total of 7 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. The building was originally built in 1976, and at that time, a large tree had to be cut down for the construction.