OB Rag

By Steven Greenhut / San Diego U-T / March 9, 2025

Back when conservatives championed ideas rather than outsourced their thinking to their leader, they touted a simple saying: “Ideas have consequences.” Conservatives also understood that while people should always be free to make their own choices based on those ideas, they should be responsible for the consequences of their decisions.

By all means, follow the advice of that YouTube quack who argues that vaccines include microchips that control the population. But when your kid is hospitalized with measles, that’s on you. Unfortunately in a democratic society, the population must endure the brunt of ludicrous ideas imposed by elected officials. (Check out my columns about the awful ones in California.)

We’re now at the “good and hard” part of H.L. Mencken’s definition about democracy being “the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it.” That’s certainly the case with economic policy. If you occasionally check your retirement accounts and did so after the last two times President Donald Trump imposed 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, you will have noticed that they dropped precipitously.

by Tessa Balc / Times of San Diego / March 10, 2025

Students across the Grossmont Union High School District are organizing a district-wide walkout in the wake of the school board’s decision to cut teacher-librarians and other staffing positions, such as school counselors.

Immediately following the 4-1 decision to cut staff at the Feb. 27 special meeting, the Instagram account @studentsforstaff.guhsd, which has now amassed just under 1,000 followers, made its first post calling for a peaceful protest on March 11.

Maggie Kelly, a senior at Grossmont High School, is behind the account. Kelly is also one of two seniors elected to sit in on board meetings and provide reports this year.

She said the initial idea was to hold a walk-out at Grossmont High School, but she decided to make it district-wide. On the account, she said, she put out a call for student leaders at each high school to help organize the event on their campuses.

By Lisa Mortensen

Well, our juvenile city hall who is beholden to the developers has given us another issue that we must speak out against.  This time our city council is looking into taking away historical designations.  The city talks a good game that they are concerned about equity and the communities south of highway 8 but this aggressive change to historical designation will do the complete opposite in an area where we have predominately older neighborhoods.

Buyers who purchase a Mills Act designed or potentially eligible home can save thousands on their taxes in return for being stewards to maintain the history and fabric of our communities.  But most importantly, with affordability at historic lows in San Diego county (12% of SD County households can afford to buy a home today), why does the city of San Diego want to remove a major opportunity for buyers to have an affordable option to move into a community.

Please be aware, that there is a two-way agreement with those that receive Mills Act accreditation. Once awarded Mills Act, homeowners must maintain their properties or they will be penalized by the city and may lose their designation.  So those that think this is simply a tax reduction scheme are listening to the shallow talking points from those who do not own property and do not understand that with the responsibility of homeownership is basically the responsibility of maintenance. With Mills Act this is a primary requirement.

By Scott Dance and Joshua Partlow / Washington Post / March 7, 2025

The Army Corps of Engineers colonel responsible for releasing water from two California reservoirs at President Donald Trump’s direction in January knew that it was unlikely to reach the southern part of the state as Trump had promised, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.

The agency carried out Trump’s directive, which came in the wake of catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles County, on short notice on Jan. 30, though it would normally require days to coordinate. A memo written four days after the release, obtained by The Post through a public records request, shows how federal officials rushed ahead with the plan to release irrigation water despite objections from the state’s elected officials and some local farmers.

Col. Chad W. Caldwell, commander of the Army Corps’ Sacramento district, wrote that the water that poured out of Lake Kaweah and Success Lake “could not be delivered to Southern California directly.”

By Steven Mihailovich / Point Loma – OB Monthly SDU-T / March 6, 2025

A growing preponderance of recreational vehicles being parked at Robb Field, leading to a scarcity of parking spaces for the increasing number of visitors as the weather begins to warm and softball season gets underway, was a subject of discontent at the Ocean Beach Community Foundation’s February meeting.

San Diego Police Department Community Relations Officer James Harris said he had received dozens of emails about the situation and said he visited the parking lot three weeks before the Feb. 26 meeting. He counted 105 RVs, he said, most of which he suspected were being used as housing for their occupants.

“But they’re taking up two spots and now we’ve got 210 spots gone and that’s a real problem,” Harris said. “Plus, you don’t feel safe potentially parking next to that. I get all these complaints and I feel those complaints.”

By Lori Weisberg / The San Diego Union-Tribune / March 7, 2025

Two environmental groups sued SeaWorld last week accusing the San Diego marine park of illegally discharging pollutants into Mission Bay during the dozens of fireworks shows it puts on each year.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court by San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation (CERF), cites multiple violations of the federal Clean Water Act and the parks’ own permit that allows it to conduct up to 150 fireworks shows a year.

The 39-page complaint documents not only instances of paper, plastic and metal fireworks debris in the bay following SeaWorld shows, but it also claims to have found concentrations of metal pollutants such as aluminum, antimony and copper that far exceeded normal levels elsewhere in the bay.

By Mat Wahlstrom / Special to the OB Rag

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 11, the Uptown Community Planning Group (UpCPG) that was chosen to replace Uptown Planners, will hold the final in-person voting for its first regular election.

Readers of the OB Rag may recall that the last time we visited the city’s shenanigans in Uptown was September 2024. Back then, the City Council had to take time out to retroactively bless the malfeasance and fraud committed by Vibrant Uptown, their handpicked YIMBY usurpers.

Despite Vibrant Uptown’s efforts , the composition of the final board was roughly split between their endorsed candidates and those not beholden to their pro-developer agenda. Understandably, this led to conflicts that should be understood as natural and part of learning to operate under new rules.

San Diegans will march from US Courthouse to Federal Building, City Hall, and will sign giant Thank You card to EPA workers. Hundreds of San Diegans will rally and march to thank and defend EPA and NOAA workers who are under attack by the Trump administration and stand up to Trump’s attack on our climate.

In the wake of climate-driven devastating fires in Los Angeles, participants will call for city and state governments to stand up to the Trump climate denialism and step up their own climate actions.

We cannot stand by while the Trump administration denies climate change in the face of the heartbreaking fires in LA, expands fossil fuel drilling, illegally cuts funds for renewable energy and environmental justice, places fossil fuel executives in charge of our environment, and paints a target on the backs of the EPA workers who are working for our health and our environment every day.

By Steve O SanDiego

I was in the mood for some BBQ, and as I walked past BBQ House on Newport Ave, their menu outside caught my eye. The Rice Bowl immediately stood out, and I was honestly surprised I’d never thought to try it before as it’s exactly the kind of thing I love. I guess I’d always been sidetracked by their Sloppy Joe sandwiches, Pulled Pork burritos, and… well, too many other tempting options to list. But this time, I knew I had to give the Rice Bowl a shot.

It comes with a choice of brisket, pulled pork, grilled chicken, or ham, all served over steamed rice and baked beans, then topped with coleslaw and a choice of mild or spicy BBQ sauce. The combination sounded hearty and satisfying, with a great mix of textures and flavors. I decided on the spicy pulled pork, and from the very first bite, I knew I had made the right choice.

By Kate Callen

The City Council’s March 4 hearing on Bonus ADUs was riveting. It didn’t deliver concrete action — at City Hall, the can never stops skittering down the road — but it did alter the political landscape. Some takeaways:

Henry Foster III Is In the House. After just 10 months representing District 4, Foster is the Council’s most powerful voice and its resident status-quo disrupter. Councilmembers who catch flak about ADUs typically bob and weave. Foster went into the Encanto community, saw the blight himself, and returned with a righteous anger and an audacious plan. If he stays on this path, he could be a formidable contender for mayor in 2028.

Everyone of the Democrats should have gotten up and walked out with Al Green when he was escorted out of the Chambers.

At least three lawmakers were injured on Tuesday, March 4th during Trump’s state of the union address before a joint session of Congress, one of them seriously.

It was a chaotic scene as Democratic congress people and Senators reacted to Trump’s lies and attempts to stage a coup over the government and install an oligarchy.

Smoke bombs and flares were thrown, further fueling political tensions in the Capitol but preventing Trump from speaking further — he was rushed from the floor. Elon Musk was also chased from the floor by irate congresswomen and seniors.

Lawmakers were scheduled to listen to over an hour address by Trump, but the opposition party found its footing and role in the attempted coup and refused to allow it to happen. They said that Trump and Musk’s moves were illegal and that lawmakers should first insist on the resignation of Musk from any official role in the government.