Category: History

Editordude: We are continuing our celebration of the 50th anniversary of the popular vote in OB that established the Ocean Beach Planning Board with a series of “Memories.” Doug Card’s memory is first and its from 2016. Doug was a member of the very first Planning Board and played a key role in the days up to and after that election on May 4, 1976.

By Doug Card

With the current bizarre national presidential election campaign, it’s good to reflect upon a true grassroots election in OB just 40 years ago – today – Wednesday the 4th.

To recall how, during a time of great national upheaval, a dedicated band of idealistic activists managed to create a permanent structure to maintain the integrity of the character of Ocean Beach in the face of heavy developmental pressure. And how the cooperation between OB’s traditional rival organizations and facets of San Diego City government ended a long-running conflict and worked together for the sake of the people and the future.

Having been an active participant in some of this progress I’m pleased to set down a few memories of that exciting significant era – both for personal reasons and for the sake of history. As an active social historian myself, I’d like to leave behind some material which would could be of use to any researcher in the future, for this event deserves historic recognition. Perhaps some local grad student is looking for a thesis topic….

Celebratory Party Being Planned for Later in May

It was May 4, 1976, and thousands of OB residents, property owners and business owners took part in a day-long election to select the very first Ocean Beach Planning Board. It was the first time a community democratically elected their volunteer citizen planning committee in San Diego history.

Fifty years later, we celebrate this victory for the OB Planning Board is still alive and kicking. And now there are over 40 other community planning boards across the city.

Here’s the history of the moment 5 decades ago.

Working with the San Diego County Registrar of Voters and the League of Women Voters, Ocean Beach was divided into 7 voting districts, and on May 4th, there were one to two voting sites per district, mainly in front of markets. The balloting took place all day – and at the appointed hour, ballot boxes were taken to the OB Recreation Center for counting, with everything monitored by the League of Women Voters.

When the votes came in, it was apparent that the election and its turnout had been astounding. Thousands had voted. All told, nearly 4500 ballots were cast in this special election. With a community population of 13,000, the eligibility rolls included 6,100 registered voters, 2,100 property owners (1,100 inside the plan area and 1,000 outside the area), and 600 business license holders.

JW August reports:

No ICE! No War! “Hands Off Our Vote” was one of the themes running through Friday’s ‘May Day Strong’ event at Chicano Park.  Billionaires were not welcome, nor were Democrats or Republicans. The park, long a gathering place for protests, was again a staging area for emotional speeches and pleas followed by a march to City College.

The speeches echoed the language and themes on the organizers and their website

It was all about pocketbook issues and the creation of the ‘Real Affordability Agenda’.  “A promise of a good life for everyone back in reach” said one speaker, “if workers will unite”. Supporting a goal of “making billionaires and corporations pay what they owe” says the website, repeated by the protest speakers as well as multiple signs and tee shirts with an anti-capitalist theme.

By Sean Bothwell / Guest contributor LA Times / April 30, 2026 

The marine ecosystem along Southern California’s coastline is in crisis. Sea surface temperatures are hitting record highs, rivaling the devastating marine heat wave known as “the Blob” that wreaked havoc on West Coast fisheries and ecosystems a decade ago.

Scientists from NOAA, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of California’s Agriculture and Natural Resources are warning that a developing El Niño could intensify conditions further. There are steps we can take that would relieve the pressure on these already stressed waters, and it’s past time for California lawmakers and regulators to act.

Last year, harmful algal blooms led to the illnesses and deaths of hundreds of sea lions, dolphins and seabirds off Southern California. Further north, Dungeness crab shells are dissolving in acidic waters. Fish populations and marine mammals are struggling to survive in growing oxygen-depleted zones that can stretch 50 miles from the coast. Warming ocean temperatures are accelerating all of it.

The critical factor contributing to this crisis within our control is nutrient pollution from wastewater discharges and agricultural runoff.

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa San Diego / April 29, 2026 

In the race for San Diego City Council’s 8th District, one candidate stands out as uniquely UNQUALIFIED to run for higher office: Antonio Martinez.

Martinez has served on the San Ysidro School Districts Board of Trustees since December 2012, but has also run and lost twice for the same San Diego City Council seat he is running for again this year. He lost twice to Vivian Moreno, in 2018 and 2022, and is now running when Moreno is termed out of office.

District 8 includes the San Diego communities of San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Ocean View Hills, Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, and Sherman Heights.

Maybe serving on a local school board for 14 years would seem like a good background to run for higher office, but the San Ysidro School District is currently under financial distress and has certified that it may not be able to meet its current year and next two years’ obligations to pay teachers and staff.

Back in the late Sixties in San Diego, there was only 3 local TV stations and TV 8 (the future CBS8) was one of them. And one of their best reporters was Harold Keen – who later wrote for San Diego Magazine during its hey-day.

In this video from the past, Keen does a story on OB’s Inbetween, a youth drop-in center on Newport Avenue. Come inside to check it out.

From Coastal Caretakers

Senate Bill 79 (SB 79), also known as the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, is a landmark piece of California legislation signed into law in October, 2025. San Diego Mayor and Council members were among the first cities in the State to embrace the bill and create new laws supporting the State mandate.  Look out folks, ‘they’ have just begun.

We can expect the City of San Diego Council to have future meetings about SB 79 legislation.  With San Diego approving tiny, tiny apartments ministerially into high-rises, declaring they are proponents of equity and affordable housing, Neighbors for a Better San Diego saw otherwise: “SB 79 (Wiener) remains one of the most disruptive state housing bills in recent memory.”

May 1st Friday May Day – Together We Stand, hundreds of thousands of people will march, rally, and take action at more than 3,000 events around the country — in more than a dozen events in San Diego County;

From organizers:

The Ocean Beach Community Foundation, Pacific Beach Town Council, and Mission Beach Town Council have joined forces to present the San Diego City Council District 2 Candidate Forum: Coastal Issues for the Beach & Bay Communities.

All members of the public are invited to join us on Thursday, May 14th at Paradise Point Resort & Spa from 6:00PM to 8:00PM. The San Diego City Council District 2 Candidate Forum is a moderated, structured event where candidates running for San Diego City Council District 2 will answer curated questions from a panel of community leaders, giving residents a clear, side-by-side look at who is running to represent D2.

Nancy and Ken Freemans’ Storefront “Is the epitome of a brick-and-mortar mom-and-pop.”

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / April 28, 2026

Antiques and collectibles are how Ocean Beach entrepreneurs Ken and Nancy Freeman met, what they draw sustenance from, and what keeps them going — and going and going.

“We moved here from downtown San Diego,” said Ken Freeman, before finally settling in permanently at the Ocean Beach Antique Mall at 4926 Newport Ave.

Earlier this month, the couple marked their 50th anniversary dealing in antiques, half of that time in OB. It’s an occupation that began with the opening of their first antiques business on April 1, 1976.

How Ken first got involved with antiques is an interesting tale. “He answered an ad for a part-time job as an apprentice working on imported German clocks,” said Nancy Freeman, adding that her husband also “became quite a proficient woodworker” as an understudy in that trade too.

Mike James Refutes City’s Reasons for Dis-Allowing OB Drone Show

It was just yesterday, April 29, that writer Tessa Balc of Times of San Diego wrote the startling headline, “City Says SeaWorld Can But OB Can’t,” in referring to 4th of July shows with drones. She began:

If you spent your 2023 Fourth of July in Ocean Beach, you might recall a drone show instead of fireworks. Well, hold onto those memories because it’s looking like you won’t be able to remake those any time soon. Organizers of the event tried to secure permits for the event last year and for this upcoming Fourth. They’ve been met with rejection from the city.

A city spokesperson says it’s because of the lack of availability from SDPD to enact a road closure, and that the 2023 had drones that operated outside of approved boundaries. The chair of the committee who put on the show disagrees with what the city has to say. “But where SeaWorld has a path forward, Ocean Beach hit a wall,” he said.

Balc was referring to Mike James – the chair of the committee — the Luminosity Committee — who put on the drone show in 2023.

Mike told the Times that Ocean Beach was “ahead of the curve” in replacing traditional fireworks with more costly, but less environmentally damaging drone displays.

“The community’s 2023 drone show, which replaced traditional fireworks, drew widespread attention for its quieter, environmentally-friendly approach and was seen by many as a successful new model for celebrating Independence Day,” James said.

James also said that when he and others began to revive the drone show for 2025, they were met “almost immediately” with resistance from the city,