Category: Life Events

By Judi Curry

Weeks ago I said that I was going to stop my on-line dating sites. To a certain degree that was true; those sites that cost money I have now eliminated; those that are free I have kept. About 3-4 months ago I began corresponding with “Cowboy.” When he told me he lived in North Dakota – near Fargo – no less – I knew that there was no purpose in continuing our relationship, but it just seemed to continue, sometimes talking or texting 20-30 times a day.

After only a short period of time – maybe 3 weeks, he told me that we had texted over 2000 times! What in the world did we talk about? I don’t know, really, but our conversations went on and on, and pretty soon we were talking on the phone. For an honest-to-goodness cowboy I was impressed with his knowledge and truly enjoyed our conversations.

The hit and run death of Amber Schei on June 21st just outside of OB is a grim reminder that the freeway ramps are dangerous areas. Schei’s death is the second in a two year period right around the entrance and exit of I-8, including Nimitz and Sunset Cliffs.

In March of 2012, Sho Funai was also killed in a hit and run incident at OB’s entrance. The driver was eventually found, and on July 27th, she was sentenced by to one year in prison, plus the standard five years of probation.

It was a double whammy for Schei’s mother, Tammy Wilson, who had been happy as she had just returned from Afghanistan

An unidentified white woman in her twenties, was apparently killed by a hit-and-run driver early Saturday, June 21st. Her body was seen around 6:00 a.m. near the eastbound on-ramp of I-8, right off Ocean Beach.

Police said her injuries were consistent with being hit by a vehicle. If true, she is another victim in a string of San Diego hit-and-runs of late.

Her body – seen by a passing motorist – was found in pickleweed and brush in the 4600 block of Nimitz Blvd. There were no witnesses.

Think you always have a choice over how to give birth? Think again.

By Michele Goodwin / AlterNet

When most women become pregnant, understandably they believe the choice of how they give birth will remain theirs; whether to deliver vaginally or through cesarean surgery or where to give birth, at home or at a hospital. Decades ago, those decisions were well within the domain of pregnant patients whose reproductive liberty and autonomy interests gained constitutional recognition in the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade.

After all, whose body is it anyway? But what may have seemed clear-cut decades ago, is now put to the test by doctors and lower courts.

Sometime this morning, Thursday, June 19th, Frank Gormlie’s email was hacked. Dozens of his email contacts received that all-too-familiar message these days – ‘help, I’m in London (or wherever) lost my wallet, please send money’. This has happened before to Gormlie – and many others.

The simple remedy is just to change passwords, which Gormlie has done – again.

But an email went out saying Gormlie is stuck in the Ukraine and needs $2 grand plus to get out of his jam.

Here is the actual email – from his account:

By Judi Curry

As my Golden Retriever “Buddy” was quickly losing his ability to stand or walk, I decided it was time to start looking for another dog. I hoped that the new dog would breathe some life into Buddy, and although I had been looking for months for the “right” dog, none came to the forefront. None, that is, until I found “SHADOW”, aka Thomas, at the Baja Animal Sanctuary. He was just what I thought Buddy and I needed.

Although we cannot be sure of Shadow’s heritage, he appears to be a pure Retriever, but what kind is in question. You see, I think I have the “Superman” of the Retriever genre. He can’t leap buildings in a single leap, but he sure as hell can jump over the coffee table, with all the geegaws on it, to jump up on the couch to watch the people go by.

By Marjorie Cohn, Truthout | Op-Ed

The recent torturous execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma has propelled the death penalty into the national discourse. The secret three-drug cocktail that prison authorities administered to Lockett – the first to render him unconscious, the second to paralyze him, and the third to stop his heart and kill him – didn’t work as planned. After writhing in pain for 43 minutes, he finally died of a heart attack. Madeline Cohen, a lawyer who witnessed the botched execution, said Lockett had been “tortured to death.” Seasoned reporters, also witnesses, called it “horrific.” President Obama found it “deeply disturbing” and promised a review of how the death penalty is administered.

A Conclusion to “Good Neighborhood/Bad Neighbors”

Editor: In March we published a Reader Rant entitled “What to Do With Bad Neighbors in a Good Neighborhood?” by an anonymous local resident. That resident – Daniel Bille – has since made himself known publicly – and here is his story.

By Daniel Bille / Special to the OB Rag

It was the first Thursday night in May and our lives returned to normal. For months, we had grown a sense of foreboding and dread every night when the sun went down but especially when Thursdays arrived.

For reasons we can only guess, Thursday was the night the renters next door preferred to get drunk early and fight each other or, worse, keep us awake all night with their noise.

Six women have filed a lawsuit against the program director of a Rock Church-affiliated recovery program alleging sexual battery and sexual harassment. The suit states that program director David Powers committed the non-consensual sexual incidents as he owns ABC Sober Living. His wife and the church are also listed as defendants. Five of the women were participants in the drug and alcohol rehab program and one was a former employee.

The women say that Powers – calling himself the director of the Rock Recovery Ministry – groped or sexually assaulted them. His spouse, Tina Powers, also a defendant, is alleged to have intimidated the victims when they complained, and it’s alleged that she was aware of her husband’s misconduct.

UCSD Students to Honor George Winne’s Self-Immolation and Protests 44 Years Ago

Forty-four years ago exactly, college and university campuses across America exploded in violent and non-violent protests against President Nixon’s expansion of the Vietnam war. It was May 1970.

Over the course of the month, the nation would witness more than 450 university, college and high school campuses being shut down by student strikes that involved more than 4 million students. It was the largest American student protest before and since.

During protests, National Guardsmen killed four students at Kent State University on May 4, 1970 in Kent, Ohio, and Jackson city police and Mississippi state troopers killed one student at Jackson State College and a high schooler passerby, in Jackson, Mississippi on May 15.

May is National Bike Month. This will be celebrated in Ocean Beach, as what other community is so stoked on biking?

There are several events around the City throughout the month of May for avid and amateur cyclists alike. (If you know of an event not listed below, please add it in the comment section.)

May 7 (Today): National Bike to School Day

This is pretty self-explanatory. Be on the lookout for kids of all ages riding their bikes in the morning and afternoon, and help by sharing the road.

Local News You May Have Missed

Naked Man Rescued After Jumping Off OB Pier

A nude male was rescued by Lifeguards Tuesday morning – the 29th – …,

Thefts of Raglan’s Copper Mugs

Someone is making off with all the copper mugs at theRaglan …

OB’s Matt Molarius – Makes Local TV’s San Diego’s Top 9 Rhythm Guitarists

NBCSan Diego has called Matt Molarius – frontman for alt-rock favorites Transfer, and lives in OB, one of San Diego’s Top 9 Rhythm Guitarists. See here.

Disabled Vet’s Point Loma House Renovated by Local Volunteers

Nearly a hundred local volunteers helped renovate the Point Loma home of Mike Beuoy, a disabled veteran on Saturday, April 26th.