20th Annual Paddle for Clean Water at O.B. Pier on September 18th

 Staff  August 29, 2011  0 Comments on 20th Annual Paddle for Clean Water at O.B. Pier on September 18th

It’s that time of year again, time to honor a San Diego community tradition going to back to the age of grunge, bungy jumping and line-dancing: it’s time for the annual Paddle for Clean Water at the Ocean Beach Pier, celebrating its 20th anniversary on Sunday, September 18th from 9:00 am to 12 noon!

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Restaurant Review of ‘Bergie’s’ in Old Town – Competition for ‘Hodad’s’? I don’t think so

 Judi Curry  August 29, 2011  1 Comment on Restaurant Review of ‘Bergie’s’ in Old Town – Competition for ‘Hodad’s’? I don’t think so

Since I try not to drive at night and since I am on a very “fixed income”, I like to try new restaurants – at least new to me – that are relatively close to my home in Ocean Beach and not terribly expensive. Last week I read an article in the newspaper that is thrown in my driveway on Thursdays, re: a restaurant in Old Town called “BERGIE’S”. It sounded interesting, and since I don’t always have the time to stand in line AND eat at Hodad’s, a friend and I decided to try it out.

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Community and Labor Activists Begin Movement to Change San Diego

 Frank Gormlie  August 28, 2011  10 Comments on Community and Labor Activists Begin Movement to Change San Diego

Over three hundred community and labor activists met yesterday, Saturday, August 27th, for an all-day economic summit and began the process of building a movement to change San Diego.

Under the title of “A Better San Diego”, yesterday’s event at Horace Mann Middle School was the culmination of months of meetings and discussions initiated by San Diego’s Labor Council. Back in the late Spring the Labor Council, headed up by Lorena Gonzalez, had called for allies from the community to join with them to build a community-labor coalition.

By time the Summit rolled around yesterday, you could see the hard work achieved by these activists. The diversity of the crowd rivaled any political grouping of San Diegans in recent history.

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Eight Signs of Republican Extremism: “See something, say something”

 Frank Gormlie  August 25, 2011  8 Comments on Eight Signs of Republican Extremism: “See something, say something”

The County of San Diego has just released a video to warn all of us of the “Eight Signs of Terrorism”, in preparation for the tenth anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks, as part of their “See something, say something” campaign. We would like to add to this watch our additional Eight Signs of Republican Extremism.

To report suspicious activity, email the OB Rag at obragblog@gmail.com.

People who do the following might be plotting Republican extremist acts:

* Under the guise and rhetoric of “small government”, order all welfare and other poor people who receive public assistance to submit to monthly drug tests, as clearly the poor use illegal drugs much more than the rest of us….

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San Diego launches new era of food waste composting

 Source  August 25, 2011  8 Comments on San Diego launches new era of food waste composting

By Mike Lee/SignOnSanDiego.com

A garbage truck on Tuesday morning picked up food scraps from seven grocery stores around San Diego and chugged to Miramar Landfill in what normally would have been an unremarkable moment.

But instead of turning into the zone for dumping trash, it delivered the mash of fruit, pastries and similar items to the composting yard and launched what many around the region hope is a new era of waste-reduction.

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California’s mis-management of state properties costs “tens of millions” while teachers and aid to poor are cut.

 Source  August 25, 2011  0 Comments on California’s mis-management of state properties costs “tens of millions” while teachers and aid to poor are cut.

Editor: Here’s a timely article from the LA Times about how the State Lands Commission has grossly mismanaged millions of acres of public land, costing Californians tens of millions of dollars and benefiting large corporations, all the while the State is cutting teachers and aid to the poor. Oh, by the way, you fledgling investigative reporters, what public lands in San Diego County are being mismanaged by the State?

By Patrick McGreevy / Los Angeles Times / August 24, 2011

Businesses and dozens of other large corporations have benefited from officials’ mismanagement of more than 4 million acres of public land, according to a state audit released Tuesday. The cost to taxpayers could easily be in the tens of millions of dollars, the auditors say, at a time when the state has been forcing teacher layoffs and cutting aid to the poor.

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Come out to have “Coffee with Kevin Faulconer” Thursday, August 25 at Shades

 Staff  August 24, 2011  3 Comments on Come out to have “Coffee with Kevin Faulconer” Thursday, August 25 at Shades

Our City Councilman, Kevin Faulconer, is hosting a community “Coffee with Kevin” meet-up Thursday morning, August 25th, at Shades Oceanfront Bistro.

Mr. Faulconer will be at Shades between 9 and 11 am. Shades is located at 5083 Santa Monica Ave, Ocean Beach, at the corner of Abbott and Santa Monica, right across from the main Lifeguard station.

This is an excellent opportunity for OBceans to dialogue with Kevin on the issues that affect our community – such as:

  • gentrification,
  • no charges being filed for the stolen memorial benches,
  • the lack of public restrooms,
  • ….

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Large Turnout in Solidarity for Southern California Grocery Workers

 Patty Jones  August 24, 2011  1 Comment on Large Turnout in Solidarity for Southern California Grocery Workers

Downtown San Diego – By 12:30 this afternoon more than two hundred people gathered to leaflet and rally in support of Southern California Grocery Workers who are prepared to strike after voting overwhelmingly against the latest offer from Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons, that would have a devastating effect on their health care.

More photos and video inside…

Continue Reading Large Turnout in Solidarity for Southern California Grocery Workers

Corporate Media Ignoring 5 Days of Sit-Ins and Arrests at the White House Protesting Tar Sands Oil Pipeline

 Source  August 24, 2011  6 Comments on Corporate Media Ignoring 5 Days of Sit-Ins and Arrests at the White House Protesting Tar Sands Oil Pipeline

Editor: The mainstream, corporate media has been blatantly ignoring what’s been going on in Washington, DC. There have been five days of sit-in’s and arrests at the White House in protest of the proposed oil pipeline.

By Frances Beinecke / HuffPost / August 24, 2011

It is the fifth day of the sit-ins at the White House urging President Obama to deny a permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline.

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Religious Leaders Decry Solitary Confinement in California Prisons As Torture

 Source  August 24, 2011  0 Comments on Religious Leaders Decry Solitary Confinement in California Prisons As Torture

“What concerns us as people of faith is the destruction of the human spirit. When human beings are subjected to conditions that destroy who they are, it is incumbent upon the whole faith community to call our culture, and yes, even our government, to accountability. If we allow solitary confinement to continue in our society – especially when we have been informed of the harmful results – what does that say about the kind of people we have become?”

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A View of OB’s “Slightly Stoopid” From the Mid-West

 Source  August 24, 2011  13 Comments on A View of OB’s “Slightly Stoopid” From the Mid-West

In 1995 in Ocean Beach, California, childhood friends Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald formed a band that created a fusion of music between acoustic rock and blues and reggae, hip-hip, and punk. Soon after, the late Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell discovered the duo and asked them to perform a set at the Foot Hill Tavern in Long Beach, California. Nowell immediately signed them to his label, Skunk Records, while the band was still in high school. Sixteen years later, Doughty and McDonald, known as Slightly Stoopid, have released eight albums and have been compared to bands such as Sublime, Operation Ivy, Rancid, and Streetwise.

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Why San Diego Needs a Pro-Choice Mayor

 Source  August 24, 2011  0 Comments on Why San Diego Needs a Pro-Choice Mayor

By Jennifer Dreyer / Guest Columnist Voice of San Diego / August 22, 2011

Recently I’ve been asked why San Diego should elect a pro-choice mayor. After all, mayors run city departments, manage the municipal budget, and (hopefully) set a clear vision for our city’s future. They do not run any health services or enact heath care policy. So why should it matter whether San Diego’s next mayor is pro-choice?

The answer is that it matters greatly. During the past decade, anti-abortion rights groups have expanded their agenda to oppose contraception programs and women’s health services.

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