Ocean Beach

The driver of a UPS delivery truck who was killed when a small plane crashed into a Santee neighborhood on Monday has been identified as Steve Krueger of Ocean Beach.

Krueger, 61, had worked at the company for nearly 30 years. The company identified him as the victim of this freak accident.

Dr. Sugata Das, a cardiologist from Yuma, was the pilot and was also killed. A moment of silence was held for Krueger’s by his UPS co-workers on Tuesday outside the UPS facility in Kearny Mesa where he worked.

By Joni Halpern

Dear Sen. Manchin,

I am writing to convey my sorrow that you are ill. When you first won your Senate seat, people said “Joe Manchin is a guy who listens,” “Joe Manchin is a guy who cares about his constituents,” “Joe Manchin understands how his people struggle.” But now we find you have your limits. Human infrastructure is nowhere near as compelling as bridges, roads and Wi-Fi. You can’t be spending money on people who don’t work. That’s when I realized you are suffering from the same serious illness that afflicts so many American political figures.

In fact, you are a victim of a pandemic that has overtaken millions of our countrymen as well. It is not COVID-19. It is a blistering, foul smelling, open-sored ignorance caused by not knowing what it means to be poor in America.

Early Tuesday morning, a skateboard suffered life-threatening injuries when he was hit by a car at the intersection of Nimitz and West Point Loma.

The unidentified 27-year old reportedly entered the intersection against a red light around 5:55 a.m. and tried to turn left (west).

He went in front of the 63-year old driver in a car driving south on Nimitz and was struck. The Nissan driver had a green light.

The public learned this week that a “brownout” closed the Point Loma fire station on Catalina Boulevard last weekend. On Wednesday, Fire Chief Colin Stowell said staffing shortages forced the department to close the fire engine and also three specialty firefighting units. The department hasn’t had to resort to “brownouts” in over a decade. Stowell said:

“Brownouts are totally our last resort and I can’t remember the last time this happened, so I would not expect this is going to be a regular occurrence. The many factors and complexities creating these challenges will slowly subside over time.”

Those other factors included the pandemic and Northern Cal wildfires.

By Geoff Page

The Peninsula Community Planning Board’s regular monthly meeting September 16 had basically two items of interest to the community as a whole, an eye-opening presentation about new state law concerning accessory dwelling units and a pocket park.

State Law and Accessory Dwelling Units – ADUs

One of several organizations that have formed to protest the new state and city laws about accessory dwelling units is Neighbors for a Better San Diego or NBS. Kathy McClelland, an adjunct instructor at Southwestern College and Bob James, a contractor, provided a presentation. Two California senate bills, SB 9 and SB 10,

By Colleen O’Connor

On Friday, the United Kingdom’s retail industry warned the British government that the country only had “10 days to save Christmas.”

Seriously.

Ten days in which to find nearly 100,000 Lorry drivers to transport the needed pre-ordered holiday goods to market. So desperate is the government to save Christmas that it has fast-tracked emergency authorized visas for lorry drivers. They have even begun hiring women for the task.

Gas stations around London have already run short on fuel and long on lines. Food shortages are another new worry. COVID-19 and Brexit exacerbated an already existing bottleneck.

Cut to the United States where the debate over: