OB Rag

Sometimes some of the scariest news I read is in the business section. This morning, for example, “Johnson & Johnson accused of paying kickbacks, Federal case involves drugs in nursing homes.”

I am getting more and more anti-drug. Or maybe I should say anti-pharma. When I watch television I have to hit the mute button during all the pharmaceutical ads just to drown out the “fine speak,” the hurried, monotone spiel informing consumers of all the possible side effects of the wonder drugs they are trying to promote. What really torques me is that a lot of the time they don’t even say what the drug is supposed to do for you, but inform you to “ask your doctor if it might be right for you.” How many people ask doctors about drugs to treat conditions they don’t even have? Probably more than I would be willing to admit, and those people trust their doctors, don’t they. And they trust their pharmacists to give them the straight dope, right?

In a study released by the International Journal of Biological Sciences, analyzing the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers found that agricultural giant Monsanto’s GM corn is linked to organ damage in rats.

According to the study, which was summarized by Rady Ananda at Food Freedom, “Three varieties of Monsanto’s GM corn – Mon 863, insecticide-producing Mon 810, and Roundup® herbicide-absorbing NK 603 – were approved for consumption by US, European and several other national food safety authorities.”

My mother (Midge) had always told us that her grandfather, Cornelius Donahue, had come to this country from Ireland, but exactly where in Ireland was murky. Maybe County Cork, maybe not.

At a certain point, my brother (Lou) and I became interested in obtaining dual US/Irish citizenship for ourselves and for our mother. But in order to do this, first of all we had to document where in Ireland Cornelius came from.

So began my quest, “In Search of Cornelius.”

Editor: The OB Rag is beginning a series on ‘Getting to know our public servants’ with this report by Mary E Mann of an interview with OB’s Community Relations Officer.

Picture your high school guidance counselor in a police uniform, and you have a pretty good idea of Officer David Surwilo, the one and only community relations officer in San Diego Police Department’s Western Division.

The Western Division is huge and diverse, comprised of North Park, Hillcrest, Mission Hills, Linda Vista, Hotel Circle, Fashion Valley, Old Town, Sports Arena, Ocean Beach, Point Loma, and the airport area. Surwilo used to manage this area with three other officers, with four different “storefront” offices. That was in the sunny days before budget cuts hit the SDPD hard, and three officers and three storefronts were cut, leaving only Surwilo and his office on Sports Arena.

Editor: Whatever it is called, whether Saratoga Park or Ocean Park Villas, the 12 unit, 3-story condo project slated for the corner of Abbott Street and Saratoga Avenue has been a source of controversy for a while now. Just recently we noticed a “For Sale” sign prominently displayed on the corner of the current, old two-story apartment building on the south-west corner. Allison W. Maris – a nom de plume of one of our bloggers – took the project and pledged to get to the bottom of it. Here is her or his or – whomever’s – report:

You see the sign. It dominates the northeast corner of what the former chair of the Ocean Beach Planning Board called a “controversial proposal.” A fresh wind of inquiry at your back, you set a course into the mysteries of Saratoga Park.

The National Weather Service has issued a high surf advisory and authorities were warning beachgoers to avoid the potentially dangerous conditions.

The advisory is in effect from from 4 a.m. Wednesday through 9 a.m. Friday for San Diego and Orange counties. High surf is expected in most areas, with sets up to 15 feet on west-facing beaches, according to the weather service.

Costal flooding is possible during the astronomical high tides early Wednesday through Thursday afternoon, the weather service reported. In San Diego County, the areas most vulnerable to flooding are between Camp Pendleton and Leucadia in Encinitas, between Cardiff and Del Mar, from Mission Beach to Ocean Beach, and from the Silver Strand south to the mouth of the Tijuana River.

Editor: This was sent to us as a comment from an anonymous food stamp worker to this article posted back in February of 2009. We wanted to elevate it so more would see it.

by a food stamp worker

I would just like to clear up a few things. I am one of those horrible Food Stamp workers some of you like to complain about, so I do know a little bit about the subject. The rules for FS are created by the Federal Government, not case workers. Please do not blame us for doing our job.

A federal court last week handed down guidelines that limit the ability of police to use tasers at will. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made its decision in response to a 2005 incident where Coronado Police Officer Brian McPherson tasered and injured motorist Carl Bryan, then 21, over a minor seatbelt infraction.

The court described in detail how Bryan had spent the morning driving 180 miles from Camarillo to Coronado only to be stopped by the highway patrol for allegedly speeding on the 405 Freeway. Bryan, upset by being hit with an expensive ticket, forgot to buckle his seatbelt before continuing on his journey.

The high surf and the beautiful skies of OB and the Cliffs electrify the spirit. Capturing nature’s wonders with human-made technology and sharing them with neighbors – either of geography or of mind – is a way of channeling that energy. Join us now for some sharing by John Noble, Doug Porter, Steven Kendrick and Jim Grant.

Congress has appropriated an additional $136.8 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the 2010 fiscal year. National Priorities Project estimates that for this fiscal year, $64.5 billion is directed to Iraq and $72.3 billion to Afghanistan. …

These new appropriations bring total war-related spending for Iraq to $747.3 billion and for Afghanistan to $299 billion, with total war costs $1.05 trillion

Saratoga Park Condos Delayed – Apartment Up for Sale

Where Is the Missing OB Fire Pit?

Lifeguards Do Cliff Rescues – Man on Sunday and Woman on Saturday

Competition between OB’s Dog Beach and Coronado

Short Film by Nazarene U Alumnus Could Get Oscar Nod

Longboard Association to Hold First 2010 Event at Ocean Beach

San Diego Reader: Sand Shift at “Big Jetty” Still a Concern for OB Surfers

Sunset Cliffs Restoration Party – January 16th

OB Artist Designs Local Postage Stamps

By Mike Lee / Union-Tribune / Originally published January 6, 2010

Nearly five years after regional water-pollution cops announced a landmark order to clean toxic muck in San Diego Bay, they’re back with a plan that would remove just 16 percent of the sediment targeted initially.

The latest strategy was crafted during months of confidential talks with groups on the hook for the work. It’s expected to cost about half of the $96 million price tag from the original cleanup order, which the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board spent years developing so it could withstand courtroom challenges.