Category: Life Events

A young man of high school age was beaten up and robbed of his car on Saturday night, Feb. 8th. The unidentified 17 year old was sitting in his car near Sunset Cliffs on Ladera Street, when around 8 pm a group of people – all in their 20’s – walked up to the car and began assaulting him.

The group, reportedly made up of about 5 or 6 men and 2 women, came up to the teen’s location and without explanation, 2 of the guys got into the 1998 BMW and started rummaging through his private stuff. The teen began to drive off as he tried to push the men out, but instead they beat on him until he stopped the car.

Ocean Beach has lost another of its citizens who helped others over the years. Michael Charter passed away on January 23rd, he was 69. A longtime community volunteer for OB, who helped the homeless and veterans, died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at Vibra Hospital of San Diego.

After serving in Vietnam for almost 2 years once he was drafted in 1967, and receiving a Purple Heart, he returned to civilian life and dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism. He was able to earn a bachelor’s degree in business management from Cal State Long Beach. He married twice and was divorced twice. In that time, his family had moved to Point Loma. Michael had two daughters and a son from the marriages. Charter became a contractor who helped remodel homes and restaurants.

Editor: A few months ago, OB Rag reporter Matt Wood had the privilege of spending the day with OB firefighters – the crew of C Division at the Ocean Beach No. 15 Firehouse. His post was part of the Rag’s continuing series of articles about the public servants who serve the people of Ocean Beach – our effort to put faces on good folks who often go unknown to the neighborhoods they serve.

Matt’s story got great feedback and he was invited back again – this time to hang out with one of the other two divisions. Here’s his account of that day with them.

By Matthew Wood

The A Division is losing its leader. Instead of mourning the loss of a tremendous firefighter, they are taking the opportunity to celebrate.

Division captain Bryon Wenger will retire later this month as he closes in on 38 years fighting fires, 27 of them in San Diego and the last few (he can’t completely remember how long) here in OB.

To celebrate, Wenger is going for a run. Specifically, on his last day he’s going to run all the way from his home in Lakeside to the station on Voltaire. That’s 24 miles, nearly the length of a marathon.

“Well, not quite a marathon,” Wenger says with a smile.

People don’t often look at where their clothes come from. We don’t often think about who made them. Our closets are full of garments made by people making less than a dollar an hour. Don’t let the price of those Nike sneakers throw you. They weren’t expensive to make. They are expensive because you will pay. The profits do not go to better working conditions. Just ask the workers who survived the Savar garment-factory collapse in Bangladesh. The factory that manufactured clothes for Walmart, among others, killed 1,129 people and injured 2,515 when it collapsed on April 24, 2013.

I’m one of those hippy-clone-activist-types. I actually care where my clothes come from and read labels. I’m also a cheapskate and like to wear clothes that look like rags to some. Blame Johnny Rotten and Kurt Cobain. I didn’t invent the fashion. I must look homeless at times because people are always trying to gift me clothes. My better half is always trying to get me to throw clothes out. She is astounded that I can remember where I got each piece of clothing and how old some of them are.

By Rosemary Regina Sobol / Chicago Tribune /.January 13, 2014

A 25-year-old Chicago woman lost her balance and fell from a cliff while taking pictures in San Diego Sunday and died instantly, authorities reported.

The victim was with her sister, taking pictures on a cliffside bluff at sunset, when she lost her footing and plunged 100-150 feet onto massive sandstone rocks below, San Diego Police Officer Edward Zwibel said.

“She was tragically posing for a picture when she backed up too far and lost her balance and fell down the cliff,” said Zwibel.

He said the woman, who has not yet been officially identified, is 25 years old and is from Chicago. Her sister is from the San Diego area.

By Ernie McCray

Someone mentioned on facebook the other day that we forget to count our blessings. I thought about that for a few moments and then whatever I was thinking just floated away and then I noticed that my daughter, Tawny, had posted a picture of her mother on her timeline and that really got my thoughts about blessings underway.

And, in the spirit of such thinking, with family on my mind, I could hear my daughter, Nyla, saying to Phill, her husband-to be, a little while back, in their wedding ceremony: “It is so special for me to be marrying you on this day in the house that I was raised in. My parents had such a strong and beautiful relationship and I was lucky to grow up with that around me.”

Oh, that, to me, was about as precious a blessing as there could be, hearing my daughter express that she was blessed to be raised by her mother and me. Brought tears of glee to my eyes. And speaking of blessings what a boon to our lives that beautiful young woman has been from the moment she and her twin sister arrived.

Alessandro Speroni Unconscious When Pulled From Surf

The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed today to the OB Rag that the 41 year old male pulled from the ocean at Sunset Cliffs on Sunday, December 29, did in fact pass away. Alessandro Speroni was the man’s name.

Thought this might be a good submission for the New Year.

I’m walking around yesterday morning in Ocean Beach, just checking things out, wandering by the construction site at corner of Saratoga and Abbott and stuck on a little palm tree trunk was this little envelope.

I kind of look at it and sort decide if it’s booby trapped or something…it is OB after all, but then I figure, its OB and this is exactly what the hippies down here do…so I gently remove it from its little place within the palm frond.

The envelope exterior is colored with crayons and on it is hand written, “I’ve been waiting for you all day!” “Open me up already!” “read, read, read me …”

So I open it and there is very fine card stock with flower decorations printed on recycled paper, I open the card and it too is colored with crayons and hand written…

By Cristin Severance / Alliance San Diego / 10News

The family of a man visiting Ocean Beach wants answers after he died in the custody of Border Patrol agents.

Janet Keith said her 58-year-old brother Steven Keith died in a holding facility on Christmas. She said they grew up in Ocean Beach before her brother moved to Thailand as an adult and the rest of the family moved to Texas.

He was visiting Ocean Beach for Christmas when Janet Keith got a phone call from the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office that her brother was dead.

“I just couldn’t believe it. It just seemed surreal. My aunt had just died the day before — my mother’s sister — and I thought this can’t be happening,” said Janet Keith.

The foot of Newport Ave was just a sunny magical and happenin’ place – a warm winter’s day in OB. It was one of those days that locals beam with pride about, a day that tourists remember.

Armed with camera and bicycle I managed to find the magic as I cruised the west end of the Land of OB on an unusually warm afternoon near the end of the year. And I also tried to find any new developments in the land of development and businesses.

As hula hoopsters gyrated in the grassy area, beach goers and surfers gathered near the water, a shimmering body of quiet pacific until the waves curled up and crashed on the shore.

On December 21, 2013 at 9:11am, the Time & Day of the Winter Solstice

By Judi Curry

To call this beautiful remodeled house on the south side of Ocean Beach a “hippie house” truly does it an injustice. The new owner – Scott – has put a great deal of money into the house to make it liveable, and the fact that it is not the “normal” Pt. Loma residence is incidental. But….it is gaining fame, even though Scott and his significant other Layla, have just recently moved in.

First of all the views are spectacular. The scenery changes from minute to minute. What were high waves an hour ago are small little ripples now; the pelicans fly over going both north and south. The surfers are not there today – waiting the 72 hours after the rain – before dotting the scenery with their black wetsuits and multicolored surfboards. So why were we there this morning, braving the cold and wind, standing outside looking at a pole set in concrete , albeit in a beautiful design?