OB Rag

There’s a brand new community coalition in San Diego that is already making waves. It’s called the San Diego Community Coalition and it made its public debut May 1 at the San Diego Planning Commission when its members discussed proposed changes to the controversial “Bonus ADU” ordinance.

The coalition is a citywide network of neighborhood activists focused on two interconnected issues:

Overbuilding in residential neighborhoods — from mid-rise towers to giant multi-unit ADU complexes — which erodes our urban infrastructure and produces minimal affordable housing.

City Hall’s disrespect for constituents, its refusal to engage the public in open dialogue, and its suppression of community planning groups.

So far, the coalition includes activist leaders from at least 15 communities — from Bay Ho, City Heights, Clairemont, College Area, Encanto, Golden Hill, Linda Vista, Middletown, Mission Hills, North Park, to Point Loma, Pacific Beach, Talmadge and University City.

Guess which community is missing. Ocean Beach.

There was an armed robbery attempt at one of OB’s high-end restaurants Saturday night, May 3. Apparently, the robbery at Cesarina was unsuccessful and no one was hurt. Here’s how the restaurant described the event on Instagram:

On Saturday evening, around 10:30 p.m. as we were closing, something unimaginable happened. An armed individual entered our restaurant and demanded money before fleeing.

We are beyond grateful for the immediate and effective response of the San Diego Police Department, who apprehended the suspect shortly after. Most importantly, we are overwhelmingly relieved to share that no one was harmed during this terrifying incident.

By Colleen O’Connor

In the darkest of hours and sometimes despair, the Universe has produced great leaders. Rev. Martin Luther King amid the Civil Rights’ struggles. Mahatma Ghandi leading the fight for Indian independence. Lech Walesa conducting Poland vs. Russia over independence and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, deftly steering the globe through the Great Depression and the carnage of World War II.

Each leader a victor. Each possessed a moral compass, with convictions capable of overcoming defeat and cruelty to find a nobler path forward.

And now, from an unlikely, but equally providential source, comes the newly named Pope Leo XIV already shining an almost heavenly light on an increasingly dark era.
What a shock. The 267th Pope and the first ever American Pope. And a progressive with impressive credentials. He speaks four languages; English, Latin, Italian, Spanish, and reads German and French.

Robert Francis Prevost. Now Pope Leo the XIV.

By Marilyn, Ph.D. / Special to the OB Rag

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  We have heard about the downsides to high density including increased traffic and the lack of parking. But an important factor that has been minimized is the impact of high density on our mental health.

When you see drastic changes that alter the fabric of our communities, it can feel overwhelming and disorienting. There are many reasons Protect Point Loma (www.ProtectPointLoma.com) was formed to protest the building of 1004 Rosecrans. For one, it has not been fully vetted by the professional experts as it relates to the impact on congestion, pollution or safety.

Other new projects in the area like the one on Lytton are larger scale and replace smaller buildings, which can change the neighborhood vibe from friendly to hostile. There does not seem to be anyone looking at the big picture as they approve multiple ADU’s in single family home backyards, huge apartment complexes and the high rises slotted to go in along Pacific Highway.

By Olivia Harden / SFGate / May 5, 2025

Ocean Beach is a ‘Hot Spot’ for Law’s Enforcement

Police in San Diego revealed they have written thousands of tickets in the last two months, fining drivers over $100 for a controversial law that other cities, including San Francisco, have decided is too difficult to enforce.

The San Diego Police Department’s Parking Enforcement team has issued 4,200 tickets to drivers who violated California’s new daylighting law, the department’s supervisor Erin Longen told SFGATE in an email. The law, Assembly Bill 413 that began being enforced on March 1, prohibits drivers from parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk. It applies to all crosswalks — including unmarked crosswalks without white lines on the street. Many curbs are not painted red to the full 20 feet, creating confusion for some drivers.

Longen told KUSI-TV that tickets are most commonly written in extremely popular neighborhoods like La Jolla. The beach is well-liked by travelers and among the most visited in the city. Other hot spots for ticketing include Normal Heights, North Park, Hillcrest, University Heights, Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach. Prior to the beginning of the enforcement period, the city gave out 1,500 warning tickets in an effort to educate the public.

By Steve O San Diego

I stopped by the brand new Doughboy’s Grill in the former D’Lish Express/ OB Kabob location on Bacon Street that is brought to you by the same team behind BBQ House OB so you know there’s already years and years of successful business experience from the get go. It will be great to watch this new creation grow.

This new location already has a wonderful story behind it. Davin Atallah aka “doughboy” has a lot of history in OB.  He started with his dad aka ”pops” when they first opened the BBQ House back in 1991 when it was next to the old Strand Theatre and he’s been doing bbq for the last 34+ years side by side with his brother Melvin and Pops.

Davin’s father built the BBQ House on customer relations and went out of his way to try and please every customer that walked through the front door and he plans on doing the same with his family and staff at the new location.

By Joni Halpern

Among the books of old, old stories, there is one that stands out to followers and non-followers of religion.  It is the story of a gentle, but firm adherent to a way of life so revolutionary that despite its call for compassion toward all, including our enemies, it was treated like an insurgency.  Its leader was condemned, its followers persecuted, its goal of fidelity to a God who loves us all still evading humanity more than 2,000 years later.

Today, people who claim to be ardent followers of this way of life have endorsed a new American leadership so bereft of compassion, so devoid of mercy, that it bears no resemblance at all to the life these followers say they want to emulate.  Instead, the followers of our  contemporary American Heathens embrace the promise of power and wealth, the hatred of all who cannot serve the goals of personal enrichment and political grandiosity, and the denigration of all who believe differently than they, no matter how decent those labeled as “liberal” or “woke” might be.  These followers of the new Deities of the Cold-Hearted have breathed deeply the gust of arrogance that arises from the condemnation and humiliation of others, filling their lungs with righteousness of a very different kind than that of the humble person crucified like a criminal so long ago.

Oddly, many of our New Charlatans’ followers believe they are acting out the mandates of the One Who Loved Us All, the ancient no-nonsense teacher who never claimed a denarius, never walked past a person in need, never turned his back on the unwanted or unwelcome.  Yet many of these followers have either endorsed or stood idly by

By Mark Powell / Times of San Diego / May 6, 2025

As San Diegans continue to struggle with the rising cost of housing, a new financial burden has made its way into our monthly expenses. If you own a single-family home in San Diego, you will now have to pay to have your trash picked up.

This will have a long-lasting impact on both home affordability and the rental market. In other words, it will make homes and housing less affordable.

The city of San Diego’s proposed trash collection fee, which was pitched to voters as a modest cost-recovery measure, is now estimated to be around $50 a month. While that might not seem like much to some, for many working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and first-time homebuyers, this seemingly minor monthly charge could be the tipping point that pushes homeownership out of reach.

Every $50 increase in monthly household expenses can reduce a buyer’s purchasing power by $8,000 to $10,000. That’s not an opinion; it’s a fact based on interest rates and mortgage qualification formulas used by lenders.

It’s city budget time in San Diego (and elsewhere) and that means the head executive (Mayor Gloria) presents his budget for discussion to the legislature (city council) and they and their constituents then bob heads for several weeks in response, and the electeds all come back together and finalize the final financial plan.

Although this is 2025, so that means we’re in for a “mean” budget (in both senses of the word) because San Diego voters refused back in November to pass Gloria’s tax measure and he’s now in a mood to punish the rest of the city for this miscreant act. (See below for the budget)

So, the process is basic: the chief exec proposes all kinds of cut-backs to favored programs and services — and then the screaming begins, with those with the loudest objections are handed some relief, but those other program cuts are then enacted.

And this year, there’s another new wrinkle. City Council members are concerned that Gloria called the spending plan he released April 15 a “draft” budget instead of a full-blown “proposed” budget ready for debate and haggling. As David Garrick at the U-T explained:

The mayor’s subtle shift in terminology appears to begin the next front in an ongoing war between the mayor and council for control and influence over the city budget. The new battle comes at a crucial time, with the city facing deep cuts and potentially significant employee layoffs for the first time since the aftermath of the Great Recession 15 years ago.

By Lynne Miller

May 6, 2025
OB PLANNING BOARD MEETING
OB REC CENTER

Before I write about what I learned at last night’s Ocean Beach Planning Board, I want to thank the members of the board for their time and commitment to our community.  If I could do one thing for the Board and OB I would somehow get a law passed that required the City of San Diego to listen and act on the recommendations of the community planning boards.  I thought we had a system that allowed citizens of San Diego to have a voice in their local communities. Apparently we do not, which means the OBPB and sister organizations around the city do not have power to insert their recommendations into city law.

The San Diego Police Association reported that there was a discussion at the City about the budgets for several departments, including the Police Department.  The city of San Diego is losing about 150 officers to retirement, and some others to higher pay outside of San Diego.  It was noted that police response time was often too long.  The policeman encouraged us to voice support of increased funding to the City reminding us that there are many agencies vying for funding.  My thoughts:  imagine the response time if funding is cut!

The meat of the meeting was all new to me.  In a greasy nutshell, Valvoline has leased a plot of land and hired an architecture firm to create a new instant oil business on the corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd, West Point Loma Blvd, and Lotus Street.  The builders presented their new rendition of a new building on that corner reminding us that the drive-in/driveout concept was not negotiable.  Impacted neighbors had some solutions that seemed simple and reasonable.