OB Rag

By Michael J. Christensen, Ph.D.

There’s a strange and sobering warning in the air this Holy Week— a convergence of sacred observance and civic unrest. Across the country, new rounds of protest are planned for Saturday, April 19. Here in San Diego, demonstrators will gather at Waterfront Park and march to the Gaslamp District to protest a wave of executive orders consolidating power in the hands of a single leader. The event is being organized by 5050california.org, under the banner: “Not on our watch—because silence is compliance.”

Last Sunday was Palm Sunday—a day marking Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem amid cries of “Hosanna!” (save us!) and the waving of palm branches under Roman rule. Historically, it was not just a parade, but a protest march that led to his execution by the occupying empire.

This Sunday, April 20, is Easter—a day when Christians celebrate Christ’s resurrection. It is also the final day of Passover, when Jews recall the liberation of an oppressed people. But April 20 is also Adolf Hitler’s birthday, still marked by white supremacist and neo-fascist groups. This troubling convergence of symbols—resurrection, liberation, fascist memory— aligns with another political calendar milestone.

By Steve O San Diego

After work the other day, I stopped by the newly opened Scoops of Ocean Beach on Newport Avenue just a handful of days into business and it’s already buzzing with energy. The spot, formerly an e-bike store, was packed, yet the line moved surprisingly fast.

Their menu features a mix of treats, including ice cream, sherbet,, milkshakes, crepes, açaí bowls, and a variety of coffee and teas.

I went for a warm, freshly made waffle cone and treated myself to a double scoop. On top: Blue Jasmine Passionfruit Swirl, a flavor that caught my attention with the blue color but I wasn’t totally sure I’d love. It also happened to be gluten-free. For the second scoop, I chose the classic Mint Chip, which was also gluten-free, though that wasn’t a deciding factor.

Editordude: Lisa Mortensen often writes open letters to our San Diego City Councilmembers; here’s her latest.

By Lisa Mortensen / April 16, 2025

Good morning council members:

I wanted to take a moment and thank you, Mr. Campillo, Ms. Moreno and Ms. Van Wilpert for speaking out against the city’s new trash program that the council voted to move forward on April 14th.  Your remarks and reasoning are a few of the viable points why this proposal should be torn up and put in the shredder.

It is obvious that the measure had gross inaccuracies as per the monthly fee, in addition to other wording that was ‘deemed reliable but not guaranteed’. Sadly, this fudging of facts by city hall was for the benefit of Todd Gloria to curry favor with the city’s unions in order to get their vote for his mayoral re-election.  I would imagine the councilmembers in district 3 and district 9 also wanted to give their re-election campaigns a boost of support from their coworkers. Pure and simple. This political trickery is now being rolled out at a time that will further burden homeowners dealing with rapidly increasing prices for necessity goods and services and a looming threat of recession as is described in the political cartoon below.

So, what the city is saying is, they want to gain revenue to plug up the budget deficit on the backs of single-family homeowners and keeping this in-house would provide that reward.   

By David Garrick / San Diego U-T / April 6, 2025

A sweeping proposal to revamp many San Diego parking rules — including plans to end free street parking on Sundays and install meters in Balboa Park — is facing backlash from residents, merchant groups and nonprofits. With the proposal headed for a City Council vote in late May, officials are making some concessions such as a plan to allow $9-per-year residential permits in any neighborhood where Sunday metered parking will no longer be free.

But the city is holding firm on other proposed changes that face opposition, including plans to dramatically shrink the share of meter revenue that nonprofit community parking districts get to keep for neighborhood projects.

The parking districts would also be required to diversify their governing boards, which are now dominated by merchants and don’t often include residents, community-based organizations or advocacy groups.

Editordude: The following “Reader Rant” is in response to a series of comments by Shelly OB who accused members of the new Community Coalition of being out-of-touch old people.

By Trudy Grundland

Shelly, it’s obvious that you are a woman who likes facts. I do too.

California legislators write the housing laws that allow developers to build, and the state of California gives cities new housing quotas every 8 years, divided into 4 income categories: above affordable income, affordable/moderate, low, very low income.

Cities must give permits to developers in order to reach their quota, or get fined by the state. Repeat: Cities must give permits. Developers DON’T have to build.

Cities give incentives to make it less expensive and easier for developers to build bigger = more units = meet quota. The state gave the City of San Diego a quota of 40% for above affordable = >$3K/month rent. That’s ridiculous because we have more than enough expensive housing. I’m sure you will agree.

The current 8 year cycle is April 2021-April 2029. The city is 50% through this state-mandated timeframe to meet its housing quotas. It has reached 173% of quota for above affordable income units, it is below 50% on the other 3 income levels.

By Eric DuVall / Pt Loma-OB Monthly SDU-T / April 16, 2025

We were a Tribune family. In other words, we got San Diego’s afternoon daily, the Evening Tribune.  A high school kid rolled down our sidewalk on a cool old bike with extended front forks and flipped the Trib onto our driveway. I didn’t know the guy, but as a second- or third-grader, I thought that looked like a sweet gig.

Many homes had televisions by that time, black and white portables mostly, but news consumption in the early 1960s was predominantly the domain of print media. We subscribed to Life magazine, which was still a weekly in those days. National Geographic came every month, and twice a week — Thursday and Sunday mornings — we got the Peninsula News.

Very local coverage was the calling card of the Peninsula News. “Serving the 60,000 population in Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Loma Portal [and] Midway,” the Peninsula News claimed to be “the only newspaper 100% interested in San Diego’s Peninsula area.”

Sound familiar? It should. The Peninsula News was a new moniker for the publication originally known as The Beach News.

There’s a brand new 3-story project planned for 4870 Voltaire Street in OB. The City of San Diego just announced the project on April 15 with a “Notice of Future Decision.”

An application has been made for a Process 2 Coastal Development Permit for development of the following:

• new detached three-story building
• with commercial tenant space on 1st level,
• office tenant space on 2nd level, and
• 2-bedroom dwelling unit on the 3rd level,
• conversion of the garage of the existing one-story dwelling unit into a bedroom.

The 0.11-acre site was once the location of Dover Plumbing and has had previous commercial development proposals that did not pan out.

From UC Peeps

The official proposed monthly trash collection fees are out and, while they are down slightly from the initial $53/month, they are still higher that other cities in the county.

City officials have said they will mail out protest cards beginning the week of April 21st to each of the estimated 233,000 households that would pay the new trash tax. 

Michael Chen of  abc10News has compiled a fairly solid update on the stabbings in Ocean Beach last Sunday morning, which follows down the page.

In the meantime, a GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the two victims, Chris Abrahamsen and his friend Gabe with their recovery. Here’s what the campaign page states:

On April 12th, 2025, my friend Gabe and I experienced an unexpected and violent attack that has left us both with serious injuries. Without any warning, a woman approached Gabe and stabbed him, and when I tried to intervene, I was also stabbed.

I was fortunate to survive, and thanks to the quick actions of those around us, we were able to get help. Both Gabe and I sustained serious injuries, including punctured lungs, and I also had damage to my diaphragm and heart. We are incredibly thankful for the immediate medical attention we received, which allowed us both to survive the ordeal.

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.