OB Rag

Here are some views on celebrating the Fourth of July.
* Put Away the Flags – Remembering Howard Zinn on the 4th
* America Is a Work In Progress – Fourth of July 1776, 1964, 2010
* Happy 4th ! Patriotic Food for Thought From San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice

San Diego Police have announced to the media that they will monitor the annual OB marshmallow fight, held right after the fireworks. Police told channel 10News that they will be out in force to ensure the gooey event doesn’t get out of hand. They will be stepping up their patrols leading up to the July 4th celebratory day and night extravaganza held on the sand.

A new sticker that we can relate to.

Tell us what you think about the new sticker put together by the folks at the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, who will be present at the community forum on Tuesday night.

(MORE DETAILS AND ALL LINKS INSIDE)

By George J. Janczyn / Groksurf / July 1, 2010

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders just yesterday announced a new recycled water hookup with Canyonside Park for landscaping irrigation (see video of announcement).

In his speech, Mayor Sanders proclaimed:

“Finding more uses for recycled water is an important way to maximize resources.”

Councilmember Sherri Lightner also spoke, saying:

“I have always and will continue to support the expansion of recycled water in San Diego as a smart reuse of water and as a water conservation measure.”

Was this really a sign of wholehearted support for water reuse, or was it just lip service?

[ALL DETAILS AND LINKS INSIDE]

* Will the City Ban Floatopias?

* Petition puzzle: Pulling back the curtain on Carl DeMaio’s costly signature-gathering campaign

* San Diego City Council Gives Go-ahead to Central Library Construction

* Mayor Sanders Now Wants Half Cent Raise In Sales Tax

* Mayor sued to enforce rope barrier for seals in La Jolla

(Originally posted on July 16, 2009.)

by Frank Gormlie

For 26 years now, OBceans have been lobbing marshmallows at each other once the fireworks die down on July 4ths.

Since it began in 1985 with warring parties of neighbors at the beach all the way to this year, hundreds if not thousands of participants have joined the virtual free-for-all around the bonfires.

But now calls to end this particular brand of totally-local OB shenanigan have surfaced …

DETAILS AND LINKS INSIDE:

*OB Fireworks to begin at 9pm on July 4th
*’Bum’ Sticker Not Popular on Newport Ave.
*Keep Your Dogs Inside During the Fireworks on the 4th
*”Morning-After Mess” Clean-up Scheduled
*Community Forum On Homelessness In OB On July 6th
*OB Library Performance Programs for the Summer
*A Historian’s View on Growing Up in OB
*Join OB Historical Society on their Annual OB Historical Walk – July 17th
*Jazz 88 OB Music & Art Festival September 11th

by John M. Williams / June 30, 2010
Section 1: Last re Working Here

I have achieved some goals and failed to achieve others during my six months in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as an English teacher.

The most significant failure is in not being retained at the school where I taught for most of this past six months. It was my goal upon arrival to do well, and to work through a year at this one school. It even seemed possible to me that I might advance to a supervisory or administrative position as the year progressed.

As it is, I have become toxic, radioactive, a leper; not only removed from class overnight, but denied any contact at with students, to the extent that I was not even allowed to grade final exam writing papers.

Getting in my car to drive to OB to protest The Black’s “Don’t Feed our Bums” mentality, my mind said to me: “Hey, nobody will as much as give us remnants of picketers from another day the time of day.”

But when I walked down Bacon and hit the corner where it intersects with Newport Avenue and saw all the people and picket signs …

Editor: San Diego is fortunate to have a watchdog on water issues here in our seacoast desert like Groksurf . Run by George, the blog keeps track of anything to do with our liquid necessity. Here is a recent sample of George’s work, as Groksurf observed Councilman Carl DeMaio’s tactics of disruption as he pursues his goal of privatizing water and other city services.

by George/ Groksurf’s San Diego /

Councilmembers Sherri Lightner and Carl DeMaio took advantage of councilmember Marti Emerald’s absence at [the June 16] Natural Resources and Culture Committee meeting and threw a wrench into the gears of San Diego’s Indirect Potable Reuse/Reservoir Augmentation Demonstration Project (IPR Project).

At first glance, the November ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in California seems like a no-brainer. It will boost tax revenues. It will lighten the burden on our prison system and allow law enforcement to focus on more serious issues. It will move billions of dollars out of the hands of drug traffickers and into the legitimate economy, creating thousands of jobs. Overall, it will end the prohibition of a relatively harmless drug that has demonstrated medical benefits and is enjoyed by millions of recreational users.

At least 80 people left the OB Street Fair on Saturday, June 26th, to join the “Hands across the sands” movement. They literally crossed the beach and linked hands with each other at the ocean’s edge to form a human wall against any further off-shore oil drilling. The line stretched from close to the pier all the way past the lifeguard station.

The OB event was one of over 800 such happenings across the country, and it was coordinated by Mike James.