OB Rag

Editor: This accounting of the recent meeting of the OB Planning Board on the Police Trailer was written for the San Diego Free Press, therefore has a slightly different spin on the issue. And BTW, please let us know how you feel about the trailer by participating in our poll on the trailer in our sidebar.

The meeting room at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center was quickly filling up last Wednesday night, the 2nd of January, as the monthly meeting of the Board was about to begin. No “OB-time” here, as the Chair, Jane Gawronski, gaveled the meeting to order right at 6:00 pm. In the audience was a “who’s-who” of the community’s merchant establishment and friends, and it included the heads of the OB Town Council; the merchants’ group, the Mainstreet Association; the local non-profit OB Community Development Corporation.

Grover Norquist is happy. After the fiscal cliff deal was passed in the House, he pointed out that Obama blinked on his $250,000 line in the sand on taxes and that, by locking in the Bush tax cuts for 98% of Americans, the Democrats’ ability to defend the legacy of the New Deal has been greatly diminished. He’s right.

As David Horsey recently pointed out:

[T]he mandarin of the anti-tax movement, Grover Norquist, is coming out of this showdown with a big smile on his face, which should make Democrats wonder if their “victory” is a bit of an illusion. Norquist has kept Republicans in line for years by making them take his pledge to never, ever raise taxes.

By Laura Gottesdiener / Alternet

It’s payback time—literally. In Florida, hundreds of homeowner and neighborhood associations are foreclosing on banks that have failed to upkeep their repossessed properties, according to—of all things— a CNN Money report.

Florida is one of the states hardest hit by foreclosures, and there are nearly a half-million foreclosed houses now standing vacant and often slowly deteriorating. When a bank forecloses on a house, evicts the family and then repossesses the property, it also assumes responsibility for maintaining the home and yard and paying homeowner or condo association fees.

It was standing room only last night – Wednesday, January 2nd – at the monthly meeting of the Ocean Beach Planning Board. At the peak of the evening, there must have been 30 people – not counting the ten members of the Board itself – , and most had come for the controversy over the Police Trailer in the middle of the OB Pier parking lot. Among those standing about was a ‘who’s-who’ of OB’s merchants and the village establishment.

Jane Gawronski, Chair of the Board, gaveled the meeting to order right around 6pm. After a few reports, she brought the meeting to the Action agenda.

A few weeks ago I was lamenting the fact that there were only two gifts under the tree for me, in spite of having 12 grandchildren and parents that go along with those grandchildren.

I was pleased that one of my former Foreign Language Students – Bernd – from Germany – had sent me a book – the customs tag indicated it was a book – and a former Counselor at one of my schools had sent me a photograph he took. (I knew it was a photo because he was my photography teacher and we always exchange pictures.) I truly appreciated both gifts, and it made me feel that I was still thought of during the holidays.

Food labeled and sold as organic often isn’t

By John Lawrence / San Diego Free Press

In an article entitled “Canada’s Organic Nightmare” put out by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, authors Mischa Popoff and Patrick Moore contend that many foods labeled as USDA organic may not actually be up to that standard because there is a lack of field testing in Canada, and, furthermore, free trade agreements allow the importation of such foods into the US.

UPDATE: Go here for an update of the Planning Board decision.

There are two somewhat controversial issues before the Ocean Beach Planning Board tonight at their monthly meeting. The Board will discuss them during their publicly-held meeting which starts sharply at 6pm, at the OB Recreation Center, 4726 Santa Monica Avenue.

Wireless Upgrade at Masonic Lodge

First up on the Action Calendar is Sprint Wireless application for an upgrade and renewal to their permit which they hold on their wireless antennas on the Masonic Lodge, located 1711 Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. . … (come inside for more)

Police Trailer to be Permanent?

The second issue of note, is the application by the City of San Diego via the Police Department for a Coastal Development Permit for the existing “Police Trailer” in the middle of the OB Pier parking lot. … (come inside for more.)

Rules, rules and more rules! Jan. 1 sees a total of 876 new laws signed into effect, covering a wide range of issues from social media to universal healthcare. Below is a sampling:

• AB 1844 prohibits an employer from asking for or requiring an employee or applicant to provide their username or password to any social media outlet. It also prohibits employer retaliation for not complying with such a request.

• AB 2020 removes the option of choosing a urine test to determine the drug content of blood. Instead, those suspected of driving under the influence will only be given the option of a blood or breath test. If a blood test is unavailable, a urine test will be administered in its place.

In some Buddhist traditions people bring in the New Year with contemplation, evaluation, and meditation. One element of this celebration can be a fire ceremony where the karma of the old year is symbolically burned leaving one open to the next moment. Usually, after yet more meditation, at midnight a bell is rung to welcome in the New Year. Or, to put it more accurately, they bring in the happy new instant.

So, before the old moment bleeds into the new one, here are a few things cultural and political to remember and be grateful for about the last calendar year in San Diego as the next one comes into being.

Hey kids – Happy New Year – and please excuse our appearance of “inactivity” as we are undergoing internal reconstruction…

Just a heads up…

We have been sharing resources with our sister site, the San Diego Free Press and it’s time for us each to have our own place, our own space, so we can both continue to grow.

There may be a period of time when our site appears to be down. Rest assured it will be temporary but could last anywhere from a few hours to a full day. Word needs to spread across the globe about what our new address is.

By Naomi Wolf / Guardian UK / December 29 , 2012

New documents prove what was once dismissed as paranoid fantasy:
totally integrated corporate-state repression of dissent

It was more sophisticated than we had imagined: new documents show that the violent crackdown on Occupy last fall – so mystifying at the time – was not just coordinated at the level of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and local police.

The crackdown, which involved, as you may recall, violent arrests, group disruption, canister missiles to the skulls of protesters, people held in handcuffs so tight they were injured, people held in bondage till they were forced to wet or soil themselves -was coordinated with the big banks themselves.