OB Rag

The New York Times essentially called it ‘case closed’ on Colony Collapse Disorder, but there is good reason to be wary about their reporting.

The New York Times made a long-awaited announcement on its front page last week: The mystery of the ongoing and agriculturally devastating bee die-off (aka Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD) has been cracked!

A U.K. company has developed a technology that it says will help deter thieves from robbing local businesses. SelectaDNA Spray, as it is called, coats robbers with an invisible DNA mist that cannot be washed off and remains present on skin and hair for weeks, allowing authorities to better link culprits to the crimes they commit. The system is already used in nine other countries, and will soon be coming to the U.S., according to reports.

Some people are really pissed off about the City’s sand dredging project on Mission Beach. And for good reason.

The project is supposed to be dredging the Mission Bay Channel to make it safer for boats, while at the same time pushing sand onto Mission Beach to replenish sand lost due to tides, storms, and erosion. The sand flowing onto Mission Beach is being sucked up from the bottom of the channel. And there’s the problem: the dredging project is also pouring trash, old rebar and other sharp objects, wire, tires, cans, and other debris onto the beach.

I am very lucky. As a child growing up in the Beverly Hills/West Hollywood area of Los Angeles, there was not much that I wanted that I didn’t get. Sure, I was just a child during WWII, but my parents were well off and I always got one piece of bubble gum a week – I had to put it in a glass of water to save for the next day. (I wonder if that was the precursor to putting my dentures in a glass of water when I got older.)

A local news source has reported that the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is considering adding the Ocean Beach Fire Station on Voltaire – a one-unit fire station – to its list of fire-stations subject to “brown-outs”, as part of the budget cutting for fiscal year 2012. Reductions in lifeguard services are also being contemplated to meet the $72 million budget deficit.

Happy Healthy High Horny Herbs Shop Located Along Santa Monica Avenue

10News.com / October 20, 2010

OCEAN BEACH, Calif. — A new, bright yellow store along Santa Monica Avenue in Ocean Beach is getting a lot of attention because of its name.

The store’s name is The Happy, Healthy, High, Horny Herb Shop.

SAN DIEGO: Hundreds of people weigh in on marine life plan

By Deborah S Brennan /North County Times /October 20, 2010

More than 700 people weighed in Wednesday on plans by the California Fish and Game Commission to protect marine life by expanding coastal areas that limit fishing and other activities.

By Christopher Cadelago / San Diego U-T / October 19, 2010

PACIFIC BEACH — When San Diegans approved a booze ban at city beaches, bay shores and coastal parks, they uncorked a cascade of complications that two years later have left some calling for tighter restrictions and others decrying further affronts to their liberties.

By CityBeat Staff / San Diego CityBeat / October 20, 2010

Dear San Diego County voter: If you received a letter from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters saying, “This form is being sent to you because your original affidavit of registration was not properly completed. Before we can complete the process of your Affidavit of Registration, we must have additional information from you,” don’t be alarmed, and don’t assume that you are not eligible to vote.

When the majority says marijuana should not be a crime the law looses its legitimacy.

By Kevin Zeese / OpEdNews / October 18, 2010

It is hard to imagine that Eric Holder’s letter threatening to “vigorously enforce” federal law if California votes for legalization of marijuana is serious. It seems timed to manipulate voters in California, but in this year when political elites are hated it is likely to backfire and lead Californians to vote to end the failed marijuana war.

I own a 9 year old Golden Retriever named “Buddy.” (Of course, it is questionable about who owns whom.) I think it is time to enlighten non-dog owners – and even dog owners – about the intelligence of our canine friends. (Since I am not a man – I get upset when I hear about “man’s best friend”, because if it were not for Buddy, I probably would not be here today writing this piece.)

by Emily Alpert / Voice of San Diego

Most sitting school board members talk up how the school district has improved on their watch. Not John de Beck. As he campaigns for another four years on the board, de Beck sounds more like an upstart, complaining that San Diego Unified hasn’t tackled its biggest problems.