OB Rag

The Union-Tribune announced on Wednesday, July 15, that federal stimulus funds will be used to repair the Mission Bay channel entryway. This project, to begin in October, includes fixing the channel’s south jetty – OB’s north jetty, which was reportedly damaged by an El Nino winter storm ten-eleven years ago. The project will be overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Immediate questions arise for surfers: will the repair job affect the surf and surfing just south of the repaired jetty?

OCEAN BEACH, CA. On Sunday, October 18th, a fire broke out in an Ocean Beach garage and then damaged the nearby house and a boat. It all happened before noon on Lotus Street, near Ebers. The fire forced one person out of their home.

Our friend and local photographer Jim Grant arrived at the scene and took pics. Jim also told us gas welding equipment was in the storage area…and a boat with a gas tank made this a little scary scene.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

By Javier Morales / WILDABOUTAZCATS.COM

The single-game scoring record of 46 points set by Ernie McCray happened well before anybody affiliated with the present University of Arizona basketball team was alive … The accomplishment on Feb. 6, 1960, also occurred before any of the future NBA players Lute Olson showcased were born.

[Editor: for UA or basketball fans, go to the link inside for more details.}

Two local OB residents are sitting on the newly-appointed and created Medical Marijuana Task Force. OB Business owner David Martin and Larry Sweet, a medical marijuana patient from Ocean Beach were both appointed to the 11-member Task Force by the San Diego City Council.

The Task Force has been charged, as its first order of business, to provide land use and zoning recommendations for the medicinal marijuana collectives by January 2010.

Originally posted October 7, 2009

OCEAN BEACH, CA. The usual calm and fun at OB’s famous Farmers’ Market was broken this afternoon when a San Diego Police officer shot and killed a local pit bull in Hodad’s parking lot on the 5000 block of Newport Avenue. Police claim the officer was forced to shot the dog as it was attacking another officer.

The shooting of the dog, described as a black pit bull, and named “Blue” occurred around 5pm. At the 10 pm news, two TV stations reported that apparently an undercover police officer was either approaching the dog’s owner or was in the vicinity when the dog began attacking the officer and a woman. ……

by Chris Holly / UFODigest / October 16, 2009

I received an email from a lovely woman who had a UFO sighting when she was living in Ocean Beach California. She was 18 years old at the time. The year was 1980. The women along with a roommate were living in an apartment in the San Diego area one block from the Ocean. Together they watched a UFO over Ocean Beach.

Did you attend the August town hall meeting on health care reform in Hillcrest — with Congresswoman Susan Davis? If you did, did you see an arrest of a demonstrator by San Diego Police?

Only one person was arrested that early evening, a hearing impaired man named Ray. Ray was arrested near the end, after the meeting itself was over, and the 300 plus pro-health reform folks and the some 35 counter-protesters were starting to go home. Ray was there that day supporting health care reform.

Over two-thirds of OB residents want a non-military solution to US involvement in Afghanistan.

We took a poll beginning October 2nd and ran it for a week asking readers what they thought President Obama should do about the war in Afghanistan. 69% of the respondents called for a non-military solution.

This included 25% who thought the US should give only social and economic aid – “assistance in education, agriculture and international commerce.”

by Ernie McCray

Oh, I can’t keep my mind off my baby,
off my girl,
off the best thing that’s happened to me
in this world.
And to keep her
from having died in vain,
I’ll try to answer a question
that’s been asked of me
again and again: “Why? Why did Nancy choose to die?”

The question is always posed by someone who: knows that Nancy loved them as they loved her; has seen with their own eyes that her family was the joy of her life; feels she had many more miles of waterways to swim and trails to hike, pictures to take and more wounded or abandoned animals to save or sick and shut in friends to tend to.

by disillusioned local

How do you say, “bah humbug!” in German? That’s my attitude about the most recent event in downtown OB this past weekend that was labeled “Oktoberfest.”

Was this an Oktoberfest or just another street fair at the end of Newport? Nothing seemed like Oktoberfest. This event was no different from any other street fair at the bottom of Newport. The charity is the same, the cost is the same, the crowd is the same…the only thing different is that this is called “Oktoberfest”.

by Mary E Mann

Even in Ocean Beach, a Mecca for sun-lovers, you can feel the fall coming. Obecians jump right into the season – just the hint of crispness in the air, and suddenly everyone is wearing sweaters, making soup, and huddling around mugs of tea or coffee, looking for all the world like extras in Home Alone 5: The Beach Holiday.

What to do with this surfeit of cozy feeling? Even in the city of eternal summer, options abound for fall fun. Here are just a few ideas for creating fall in the shadow of a palm tree:

1) Escape the bubble – I know it’s scary to cross Nimitz and venture into the shadowy world beyond OB, but I believe in you. San Diego is one of the largest and most diverse counties in the U.S.A., and an hour drive can take you to another world.