OB Rag

Thursday, April 17, 2025, the Ocean Beach Historical Society presents When Art and Science Met on the Southern California Coast. 

In an era before photography, artists and illustrators joined the surveyors and cartographers of the United States Coast Survey in the mid-19th Century.

by Ron Winter

In what would be a precedent-setting development on the historic Middletown hillside behind India Street’s restaurant row, a 14-story residential tower has been proposed. The densely populated area, which began building out in 1909, is currently a mix of older homes, apartments and condos that abide by a 40-foot height zoning restriction.

The City is using the controversial Complete Communities urban planning initiative to exempt height and density restrictions for residential developments. The result means fast-tracking the building permitting process through the Developmental Services Department as “Ministerial” review proposals. This means that community review, feedback and appeal, is not allowed, including any recommendations by Community Planning Groups.

In response, Middletown residents and business owners are organizing to demand responsible development in their neighborhood (StopColumbiaHighrise.org). They argue that the modest affordable housing requirement in the project can be built offsite, up to 3 miles away and 5 years later, thanks to a developer perk recently approved by the City Council. That’s 6 affordable units out of the proposed 161. The remaining units would be market-rate.

The proposed development, straddling two lots at 3677 Columbia Street, and an active earthquake fault, would have no street set-back and fronts on a narrow split-
level hillside street, meaning access for emergency and fire response would be limited.

A local community group based in Pacific Beach is leading a campaign against Senate Bill 79 which has to do with Transit-Oriented Zoning Mandates. Neighbors for a Better California urges fellow residents to support their effort and have sent the California Senate an open public letter.

They believe projects like the proposed Turquoise Tower in Pacific Beach, with its high-density design, already challenge the unique character of San Diego neighborhoods.

They state: “SB 79 could push even further, allowing more ‘bonus density’ that risks overwhelming our communities, clogging streets, and straining local resources. If you value the charm and livability of places like North Park, Pacific Beach, or Clairemont, please read our letter and join us in advocating for development that respects what makes San Diego special.”

Here is their letter to members of the California Senate, and is signed by Marcella Bothwell, MD, the chair of the group.

By Kate Callen

Neighborhood activists from across San Diego came together April 12 to launch a San Diego Community Coalition that will be a platform for coordinated citywide action on two interwoven issues: massive overbuilding in residential areas and City Hall’s disrespect for the public.

Leaders from 14 communities, many meeting in person for the first time, were already active in pushing back against predatory development and elected officials’ dismissive treatment of their constituents.

The new Coalition will empower them to join forces, mobilize residents and business owners in their individual communities, turn out large numbers at public meetings, and flood city offices with constituent messages.

Communities represented were:

By Joey Reams/  What Now San Diego / April 8, 2025

Doughboy’s Grill, a new restaurant from the same team behind BBQ House OB, is preparing to open in Ocean Beach at 4994 Newport Ave.

Previously, What Now San Diego reported that D’lish Restaurant had closed its doors, allowing the ownership team to reopen OB Kabob, a family-owned and operated Middle Eastern restaurant that closed early last year. While this news was told to What Now directly by the owners, it appears the space will be repurposed for a new concept.

Now, Doughboy’s Grill will occupy the former D’Lish Express/OB Kabob location on Bacon Street,

By Lisa Mortensen

On Tuesday, April 15th, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria will present his budget report to the city council.  It will be interesting to learn if he is going to address the needed staffing cuts with a shredder or electric buffer at the podium. It’s obvious Todd needs to perform major surgery on the bloated city staffing but we realize he isn’t capable of plugging in the needed power tools.

We all know Todd is very adept at political speak but we must read between the lines and connect the dots

A woman reportedly stabbed two men early Sunday morning, April 13, San Diego police said.

Shortly after 1 a.m., a man called police to report someone had been stabbed in the chest in the vicinity of Bacon Street and Newport Avenue. The initial report indicated the man and a second man had been stabbed by a woman, who also may have taken a skateboard from one of the victims, said police.

One of the victims suffered multiple stab wounds and both were taken to the hospital. Police had ordered paramedics to stand back until the scene was considered safe to enter.

 By Kimberli Grogan

This regards the proposed project at 1004 Rosecrans Street by Northstar Homes LP developer Michael Contreras.

This project does not qualify for “Complete Communities Housing Solutions” (“CCHS”) and should be reviewed under full normal discretionary review and procedures. CCHS bypasses all zoning, setbacks, height limits and community input. The application provided to the Development Services Department and San Diego Housing did not disclose the contamination on this property.

Disclosures during the purchase by Northstar Homes from San Diego Credit Union that this property used to be an Exxon gas station that had leaky gas tanks was mandatory under California common law and Civil Code 1102 et seq, (Sellers are obligated to disclose known material defects such as environmental hazards.)

By Elie Honig / New York Magazine / April 10, 2025

Donald Trump’s presidential payback tour rages on, and now it’s personal. It’s one thing to target multibillion-dollar law firms, universities, and media outlets for organizational retribution; those efforts, aimed at stifling and punishing any criticism or dissent, are reprehensible in their own right. But now Trump is going after individual private citizens, using the might of the executive branch to potentially throw his detractors in prison.

In a pair of official proclamations — rendered no less unhinged by the use of official fonts and White House letterhead — Trump identifies two targets who worked in the federal government during his first tenure and dared to speak out publicly against him.

First: Chris Krebs, who led the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency from 2018 to 2020 and made headlines when he publicly contradicted Trump’s false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. For this act of heretical truth-telling, Trump labels Krebs “a significant bad-faith actor” — whatever the hell that means — who poses grave “risks” to the American public.

And then there’s Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security official who publicly criticized the president in an anonymous book and various media appearances. Taylor, like Krebs, purportedly poses “risks” to the United States, is a “bad-faith actor” (though apparently not a significant one like Krebs), and “stoked dissension” with his public commentary.

By Jacob Knutson / Democracy Docket / April 10, 2025

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a major voter suppression measure that, if it became law, could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters and badly undermine U.S. democracy.

The vote count was 220 to 208, with four Democrats voting for the bill and zero Republicans opposing it. Democrats who voted for the bill were Reps. Jared Golden (Maine), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Henry Cuellar (Texas) and Ed Case (Hawaii).

The SAVE Act would make it more difficult for active voters — Republicans and Democrats alike — to continue participating in elections, and would erect unprecedented barriers for new voters hoping to register and participate.

The bill appears to face long odds in the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to overcome an expected Democratic filibuster.

“In a bold new departure for the forces of voter suppression, MAGA’s so-called ‘SAVE’ Act will make it harder for tens of millions of eligible Americans to vote, including tens of millions of people, mostly women, who change their names after marriage,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told Democracy Docket in a statement. “Every eligible voter should be able to access the ballot box, free from legislated intimidation, trickery and harassment.”

As usual the folks at Peninsula News are on top of what’s happening at the bay front. Here’s the latest …. (For any links in their article, please see the original.)

By Eric S. Page / 7SanDiego / April 10-11, 2025

Nobody seems to know when, exactly, a stretch of towering Mexican fan palms were planted along one of San Diego’s most iconic streets in one of its most iconic neighborhoods, but most would agree that the gently swaying giants, visible to the east as far away as the runway of San Diego International Airport, have come to be identified with the community of Mission Hills.

On Wednesday, April 9, the city of San Diego took steps to protect the trees for the future, placing 33 soaring fan palms under Conserve A Tree status after prodding from one local historian and the San Diego Community Forest Advisory Board, which recommended such an action at a meeting last month.

“Trees under protection status are meant to deter damages and tree removal by adjacent private property owners and identify the importance of the tree(s) to the community,” city spokesman Anthony Santacroce said in an email to NBC 7 on Thursday.

With the designation, the trees are believed to be the first examples of palms — of 400 or so historically designated trees in the city — to be offered the protections by the city in the two decades or so of the program.