OB Rag

A federal complaint was filed Monday against the results of recent union elections conducted by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 221, in San Diego. The complaint charges massive voter disenfranchisement and illegal conduct by election officials and by incumbent candidates.

Filed by Reform221, a group advocating a broad range of union democracy reforms, the complaint seeks nullification of the elections and a new election under the supervision of the U.S. Secretary of Labor. Reform221 charges that hundreds of union members were denied the right to vote and were not sent mail ballots.

by Frank Gormlie

All four of the fire hoopers who were cited by police last June here in Ocean Beach, were found not guilty this afternoon of having an illegal fire. The judge in the case, Commissioner Peter Doft declared at the end of the infraction trial that he “can’t cite these women for this conduct. This (Municipal Code) section does not apply to this conduct.”

Sarah Edgar, Heidi Estevez, Aesha Shapiro, and Allison Walkey had been cited on June 5th for violating the San Diego City law against having fires in Ocean Beach Park – near Dog Beach. They were all members of a troupe of fire performers called Hoop Unit, managed by Valentina “Unity” Martin, and were practicing at night with their lit hoops.

Editor: Once in awhile, there’s a story that we just cannot ignore. I know this has nothing to do about Ocean Beach, but it is an incredibly outrageous report, and goes to show at what level we have sunk to as a society.

OZARK, ARKANSAS. In a small town in this state, a police officer arrived at a home where he had been summoned for a domestic dispute. Officer Dustin Bradshaw found a ten year old girl curled up on the floor of her home, screaming and kicking at her mother, who was trying to get her to take a shower before bedtime.

“Her mother told me to tase her if I needed to,” Bradshaw wrote in his report …

by OB Anonymous

The Ocean Beach Mainstreet Association. Will they rent spaces to anyone during The Farmers Market? It appears so.

Perhaps I’m alone out there but I would think that one of the roles of the OBMA is to support the local business’s on the 4900 block of Newport. It’s not bad enough that there is a significant drop in revenue from having all the parking spaces taken from 4900 block merchants, but now, to add insult to injury, they seem to be working against local merchants by renting spaces to jewelry vendors, massage therapists, clothes vendors, hot food booths etc etc etc. How does that help the tax paying businesses on the 4900 block of Newport Avenue?

By Eugene Davidovich

Medical cannabis, although legal to use in California, is not as easy to obtain as some may think. Unlike doctor prescribed medication which is readily available at the local pharmacy, medical cannabis is neither recommended nor prescribed, and therefore isn’t available for purchase as a prescription. It requires a different distribution and production method.

To achieve medical grade and maximum therapeutic efficacy, cannabis must be carefully cultivated under strict lighting, watering, and maintenance schedules. Medical cultivation requires both expertise in cultivation and hefty equipment setup costs.

by Bill Maher

While America is still in the grips of swine flu mania, let me use this opportunity to clear up a few things about my beliefs concerning the flu shot, vaccines, and health in general. I do this because there is obviously a lot of curiosity about this subject of vaccines — it comes up in every interview I do these days, and I’ve been finding that people, including doctors, are privately expressing a skepticism that is still not very prevalent in public. I feel like I’ve become a confessor for people who want someone to be raising questions about vaccines.

The nation’s economic crisis has catapulted the number of Americans who lack enough food to the highest level since the government has been keeping track, according to a new federal report, which shows that nearly 50 million people — including almost one child in four — struggled last year to get enough to eat.

At a time when rising poverty, widespread unemployment and other effects of the recession have been well documented, the report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides the government’s first detailed portrait of the toll that the faltering economy has taken on Americans’ access to food.

by Anna Daniels

A recent comment stated how difficult it is to figure out the City budget situation. And I agree with that. I am anxiously awaiting the release of the Mayor’s mid year budget adjustment on the 22nd of November. Remember last year? We were fighting for libraries and parks. In reality, it has been an ongoing battle for the activists among us for 4 straight years now.

“Eber Street Man” has a new message
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Guinness World Record Holder Visits Dog Beach
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Join Animal Rights Activists to Protest Michael Vick at OB’s Dog Beach – Sunday, Nov. 15th
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3 Day Breast Cancer Walk to Pass Through OB
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OBcean a dissenting voice on Medical Marijuana Task Force
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Newport News
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OB Holiday News

San Diego’s new head of the Fire Department, Fire Chief Javier Mainer, has been tasked by Mayor Jerry Sanders to cut $34.7 million from his budget, which includes fire departments, medics, and life guards. In a recent interview with KPBS he indicated that”beach closures” are on the table.

Chief Mainer said San Diego citizens may see less fire engines and fewer lifeguards. This could mean beach closures.

OCEAN BEACH, CA. For some reason, Ocean Beach and Sunset Cliffs were cut out of the Blue Ribbon Task Force’s recommendations for Southern California coastal marine sanctuaries.

We had reported earlier that Ocean Beach and Sunset Cliffs had been included in proposals for redesigning California’s system of marine protected areas along the southern coast, as well, of course, other parts of San Diego County. Marine experts have been putting together proposals for a year. The OB coast had been considered one of the chief areas of contention.

Jim Carroll’s death on September 11 brought back a lot of memories. His burst into popular consciousness in the early 1980s with The Jim Carroll Band happened when I was living in San Francisco.

Ronald Reagan was just coming to power, and would soon axe my job as a tenant organizer. This job been funded by the federal government though a program created by the Carter administration.