Category: Ocean Beach

Yeah, ouch! We really did touch a nerve with our posts and coverage about the anti-homeless sticker and merchandise the Black is selling in OB, and our subsequent call for a temporary boycott of The Black. Our posts and the coverage by local media have created a major story about this community.

The story went national on last Saturday, June 19th, what with the 10News story and the front-page article on the Union-Tribune / signonsandiego .

by Mike James

On Saturday, June 26, people of the world will join hands on beaches and in parks, united against the dangers offshore oil drilling.

Ocean Beach will also be one of the 600 locations across the world for the “Hands Across the Sands” solidarity event.

Hands Across The Sand‘s aim is to convince our leaders to abandon expanded offshore oil drilling and adopt policies that encourage clean and renewable energy sources.

The “Bum Fight” going on in Ocean Beach these last few days has now gone viral. It’s the top story on the Union-Tribune’s online publication, signonsandiego this morning.

Now the intolerance for the homeless in OB is now out there – for all to see. The whole world will now know the hypocrisy in Ocean Beach – a community known for its laid-back attitude, care-free lifestyles and tolerance for everyone and anyone.

The battle and controversy raging in Ocean Beach over a hateful sticker against the community’s homeless has just intensified.

On one side, The Black – the source of the stickers of intolerance – has just now begun selling T-shirts with the well-known image carrying the the message “don’t feed our bums.”

On the other side, organizers of the Boycott The Black effort are gearing up with a petition and plans to picket the old-time head shop on Newport.

Ken Anderson, co-manager of The Black told me on Monday, June 14, that he would consider taking the stickers off the shelf if he was presented with a petition with a hundred names asking him to do that. However, apparently in a new move to cash in – literally – with this anti-homeless sentiment, Anderson is now selling shirts with the hate logo.

by Jack Hamlin

A week ago, I saw the article about the “Don’t Feed Our Bums” sticker. I was on my way out the door to conduct three days of restorative justice mediation training which involves methods of collaboration and reconciliation. I have to admit, I was a bit furious about yet another sign of intolerance and hate, and no, my mind has not changed regarding the character of the stickers, but my fury has subsided. After all, as a mediator, neutrality is one of our goals, regardless of personal feelings.

And so rather than enter into the fray on these issues, and there are many here, and adding to the fire, engaging in more community polarization, I decided to take some time and reflect. …

Sunday June, 9th, half a dozen or so volunteers descended on Pescadero Avenue to take part in a joint project between San Diego Food Not Lawns and a local meetup.com group called SD Community Farms and Gardens. Their goal: to help local residents transform their water guzzling grass lawns with sustainable vegetable gardens.

On this Sunday, the group was helping a couple local residents to dig up their lawns and plant an assortment of vegetables. The group provides a great way to get a head start as a homeowner who may be thinking of converting their lawn but lacks the resources or manual labor to begin the process.

by Mike James

Poet and actor S.A. Griffin has just journeyed across America in a gas-sucking Ford Econoline van with his sidekick Elsie. At libraries, coffee shops and bookstores from California to North Carolina, S.A. would wheel Elsie out of the van and sit her in a corner. People were immediately drawn to her beauty, yet they probably felt an underlying apprehension knowing her tumultuous past. Within her they knew was where her redeeming soul resides.

She was not human; she was once a dull gray Cold-War Era military practice bomb, lovingly refurbished into shiny brightly colored receptacle of words.

by Annie Lane / Special to the OB Rag / June 15, 2010

First of Two Parts

The California State Assembly has passed a bill to ban single-use plastic bags. The next stop is the State Senate where, if passed, the ban would prohibit all supermarkets, retail pharmacies and convenience stores from distributing the bags at the point of sale. The ban would come into effect as early as January 2012.

The State Senate is set to vote on the ban no later than mid-July, …

The Union-Tribune has finally discovered that a film crew has been filming in OB for the past umpteen weeks. On today’s (6-15-10) front page is an article entitled, “TV discovers a San Diego star: O.B.”, with some cool observations and comments from the television stars and producers themselves, plus the OB Rag is mentioned along with some of our gnarly commenters.

Here are some great quotes – the first by actor Raymond-James:

“Ocean Beach has become a character in the show that is just as big, if not bigger, than Donal and I. There is a bit of a scruffiness and scrappiness about our characters that fits right into O.B.”

On Sunday, June 13th, a 20 something young man decided to walk and swim naked on the beach during filming at the OB Pier – filming by Firefly – a production company that was shooting the promotional stills and video for the show “Terriers”.

I just got off the phone with Ken Anderson, one of the co-managers of The Black. He has worked on Newport Ave for 18 years and has seen everything. He is the one who ordered the new, controversial anti-homeless stickers that say “Welcome to Ocean Beach. Please don’t feed our bums,” with a graphic of a 1930’s hobo and dog.

The Black, the iconic head shop that has been a mainstay in Ocean Beach “since 1969” – has entered the Dark Side – get it? The Black on the Dark Side. Their sale of the anti-homeless stickers – is stirring up the community. The Black used to be the only place where you would find items of the counter-culture, smoking instruments, sandals, incense, weird, psychedelic posters, … you name it – if hippies wanted it they could find it there.