The Black Refuses to Remove Hate Sticker Against OB Homeless

 Frank Gormlie  June 12, 2010  56 Comments on The Black Refuses to Remove Hate Sticker Against OB Homeless

I just got off the phone with Ken Anderson, one of the co-managers of The Black. He has worked on Newport Ave for 18 years and has seen everything. He is the one who ordered the new, controversial anti-homeless stickers that say “Welcome to Ocean Beach. Please don’t feed our bums,” with a graphic of a 1930’s hobo and dog.

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I feel a boycott of The Black coming on … till they remove the hate stickers.

 Frank Gormlie  June 11, 2010  93 Comments on I feel a boycott of The Black coming on … till they remove the hate stickers.

The Black, the iconic head shop that has been a mainstay in Ocean Beach “since 1969” – has entered the Dark Side – get it? The Black on the Dark Side. Their sale of the anti-homeless stickers – is stirring up the community. The Black used to be the only place where you would find items of the counter-culture, smoking instruments, sandals, incense, weird, psychedelic posters, … you name it – if hippies wanted it they could find it there.

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BP, Coast Guard, Law Enforcement Block Reporting on Spill

 Source  June 11, 2010  3 Comments on BP, Coast Guard, Law Enforcement Block Reporting on Spill

By Jeremy W. Peters / The New York Times/ June 10, 2010

A pilot wanted to take a photographer from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans to snap photographs of the oil slicks blackening the water. The response from a BP contractor who answered the phone late last month at the command center was swift and absolute: Permission denied.

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Police cars and roped-off restrooms at Dusty Rhodes Park – What’s goin’ on?

 Staff  June 10, 2010  19 Comments on Police cars and roped-off restrooms at Dusty Rhodes Park – What’s goin’ on?

UPDATE: 9 PM : Apparently there was a stabbing in and around the restrooms at the west end of Dusty Rhodes Park late this afternoon. (Please see the comments inside for more updates.)

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‘Don’t feed the bums’ Sticker Sold by The Black

 Frank Gormlie  June 10, 2010  64 Comments on ‘Don’t feed the bums’ Sticker Sold by The Black

Our roving reporter has discovered the source of the ‘don’t feed the bums’ stickers that have mysteriously appeared on municipal signs and a couple local store windows lately around OB: The Black headshop on Newport Ave.

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Sticker Price Goes Up on Anti-Homeless Attitude in OB

 Frank Gormlie  June 10, 2010  27 Comments on Sticker Price Goes Up on Anti-Homeless Attitude in OB

Someone is spending more money on their underground campaign to rid Ocean Beach of its homeless. They are placing slick yellow and black stickers on city signs around Ocean Beach with the message “Please don’t feed our bums.”

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Election Results Mixed … As they always are

 Frank Gormlie  June 9, 2010  6 Comments on Election Results Mixed … As they always are

Well, Primary 2010 is finally over, and as usual, it had mixed results for progressives. Extremely low turn-out for out San Diego County – 25% Geez!

Here are some victories: * The biggest news is that Prop 16 – bankrolled by PG&E – LOST! …

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OB Ragsters to Join CityBeat in Election Night Live Blogging

 Staff  June 8, 2010  11 Comments on OB Ragsters to Join CityBeat in Election Night Live Blogging

Tonight, as the election returns from voting in the California Primary come dribbling in, OB Ragsters Doug Porter and Frank Gormlie will be joining CityBeat in blogging live results. (San Diego City Beat is a liberal weekly magazine with an online presence.)

The OB Rag bloggers will balance out the panel of political pundits as it includes conservatives, centrists, and others somewhere on the local political spectrum. (CityBeat considers itself “progressive” – yet they advocated “no” on Prop B [term limits for County sups] and “yes” on Prop D [strong mayor].)

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BP Tries to Block Photos of Dead Wildlife

 Source  June 8, 2010  9 Comments on BP Tries to Block Photos of Dead Wildlife

For animal lovers, one of the most heartbreaking aspects of the Gulf spill is the oil-drenched wildlife washing up on shore. If you’re too horrified to look at any photos, you’re in luck — BP doesn’t want you to see them.

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OB Street Fair T-Shirts Ripped Off!!

 Staff  June 8, 2010  27 Comments on OB Street Fair T-Shirts Ripped Off!!

The folks who run the OB Street Fair have a new heartache. Someone broke into one of their volunteers’ cars and besides taking personal items, also escounced with a box of Street Fair T-shirts.

The T-shirts stolen were in a huge box of mostly men’s tanks in black and a number of small and medium size men’s T-shirts. Volunteers were taking boxes home to fold the T-shirts over the weekend and bam! . . . some bad guy a steals one of the boxes. The t-shirts were all printed by the James Gang and are sold to raise money for the Street Fair, Fireworks and lots of OB projects. All the shirts have the street fair logo (two sandals, stars and the words “Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off Festival”) on them.

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Protest Today Against BP at Sports Arena ARCO Station

 Frank Gormlie  June 8, 2010  6 Comments on Protest Today Against BP at Sports Arena ARCO Station

Today at 6pm, there will be a local protest against BP (British Petroleum) – the giant oil company responsible for the current catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. The protest will be at the ARCO station just in front of the Sports Arena, at 3580 Sports Arena Blvd. ARCO is owned by BP.

June 8th is World Ocean Day, so the event organizers wanted to hold an action in conjunction with like-minded activists the world over. Apparently the local event is being organized by HuffPost Green readers, who are being asked to brainstorm and take action for helping with the oil spill.

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OB Homes Lose Water As Private Contractor Breaks Pipe

 Source  June 7, 2010  2 Comments on OB Homes Lose Water As Private Contractor Breaks Pipe

Editor: Water, water, everywhere. If your water went out this morning, give us a shoutout and let us know where in general you live.

By Karen Kucher / Union-Tribune / June 7, 2010 at 11:43am

SAN DIEGO — A private contractor working in Ocean Beach hit a 10-inch water main Monday morning, sending water streaming into a residential neighborhood and knocking out water to area homes.

The break in the cast iron pipe was reported to the city water department around 10 a.m. and crews have been sent to work on repairs, said city Public Utilities spokesman Arian Collins.

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