OB Rag

UPDATE:

We took a drive over to the Cabrillo Bridge today a little after 2:00 and found about 30 people carrying signs and chanting “Save Our Park”, to the approval of many of the people passing through who honked and waved their support. See photos inside.

There will be a gathering on the Cabrillo Bridge today from 2-4pm to protest the mayor’s plan to destroy Balboa Park.

Protest signs will be available, or the public may bring their own, please, no obscenities.

Where: Cabrillo Bridge – Arched entrance to the park

When : Today, July 18 · 2-4pm

For more information visit SOHOsandiego.org

by Liam Dillon / Voice of San Diego / July 18, 2011

The two-year-old allegations are as scandalous as they come: Mayor Jerry Sanders or one of his deputies fired a high-level city of San Diego employee because he was helping investigate contracting involving one of the mayor’s supporters. And the lawsuit that makes those allegations doesn’t show signs of going away.

Sean Hoare, the former News of the World showbiz reporter who was the first named journalist to allege Andy Coulson was aware of phone hacking by his staff, has been found dead, the Guardian has learned.

Hoare, who worked on the Sun and the News of the World with Coulson before being dismissed for drink and drugs problems, is said to have been found dead at his Watford home.

Working to counter military recruiting and demilitarize our schools

I was asked to see if I could rekindle (and I can barely keep a campfire going) energy around leafleting our high schools with information to help students understand and deal with the attempts at militarizing them they’ll find in their schools and in their communities and beyond, as anyone can see in commercials, video games, and every form of media.

Well, it should be obvious that there’s a tremendous need for us, especially those of us who dare to refer to ourselves as “community activists.” We look out for our children when Uncle Sam comes after them with his zest for war, even though some of the organizations and activities that counter the militarization of young people are shrinking nationwide.

By East County Magazine / July 16, 2011

Home foreclosures in the City of San Diego are costing local governments hundreds of millions of dollars, in addition to billions lost by neighboring homeowners, a study by the Center on Policy Initiatives shows.

by Jared Quient / Two Cathedrals / July 18, 2011

Opponents of Marriage Equality are getting desperate. Between last month’s awe-inspiring leadership by Governor Andrew Cuomo that led to the state legislature legalizing same-sex marriage in New York and the latest court decisions here in California, the march towards marriage equality for all seems for the first time in our history, wonderfully inevitable.

Heck, even the San Diego Union Tribune’s editorial board (not exactly a bastion for progressive ideals) realizes that opponents of Marriage Equality are running out of options.

Braille Institute Students Learn to Surf Via School Set Up by Roger Caldwell and His OB Surf & Skate Shop

By Surfline / July 18, 2011

Ocean Experience Surf School and Braille Institute San Diego unite for the 11th annual surf camp for visually impaired students on Monday, July 18 – Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Located at Mission Point and South Mission Beach Jetty, this three-day surf camp truly breaks the barriers faced by Braille Institute students.

By Kit-Bacon Gressitt / Excuse Me, I’m Writing/ July 17, 2011
San Diego Pride
San Diego’s Pride Parade was Saturday 16 July, and its images are telling.

On Friday, July 15th, leaders of the Pelican Bay hunger strike unanimously rejected a proposal from the California Department of Corrections and Rehab (CDCR) to end the strike. In response to the prisoners’ five, straightforward demands, the CDCR distributed a vaguely worded document stating that it would “effect a comprehensive assessment of its existing policy and procedure” about the secure housing units (SHUs). The document gave no indication if any changes would be made at all.

Did you see the Memorial Bench at the foot of Del Mar Avenue being removed? It was removed by a crane between 7am and 9am Friday morning – last Friday, July 8th.

If so, contact us or the police. You can leave confidential messages in our blog email: obragblog@gmail.com

Tony Cappellucci placed the bench there – all proper – in memory of his son, Anthony, who died of brain cancer two years ago.

But somebody – somebody with a crane – came and took it. And another memorial bench. A neighbor took a picture with his iPhone showing a crane removing the benches between 7am and 9am on Friday morning, the 8th.

Religious Coalition Says California’s Use of Prolonged Solitary Confinement is Tantamount to Torture

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the ongoing hunger strike by inmates incarcerated in multiple California prisons, Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, released the following statement:

“Hunger strikes are the last resort of prisoners protesting inhumane confinement conditions….”

by Cesar Diaz /California Federation of Labor / July 14, 2011

According to a recent report, Sempra Energy’s plan to offshore green energy production to Mexico would result in as many as 15,000 lost U.S. jobs and nearly $300 million in lost local, state and federal tax revenue. 90% of the direct job losses would occur in Imperial County, which had the highest unemployment rate in the nation as of April 2011 at 27.9%