OB Rag

POINT LOMA, CA. About three months ago – in August – a homeless man who sat on a bench in Point Loma for 15 years died. No one knew his name, or where he was from, and the County was about to “dispose” of him when a community member found his family members and contacted them.

It turned out his name is – was Jeff Pastorino, and that he has a twin brother named Chris, and had three other brothers, and was from a good family in Pennsylvania and disappeared from them27 years ago.

SAN DIEGO, CA. A scary crowd gathered outside Blue Shield’s Mission Valley offices last night, Monday, Nov. 2nd. It was part of a three-day protest against the giant health insurance company held by local San Diegan activists.

On-the-scene friends reported that about 75 people were at the 6pm demonstration.
OB photographer Logan Marcus was there and took these shots. (See gallery inside)

Meanwhile … protesters are arrested earlier in the day at Blue Shield ….

Jim Grant is at it again, capturing the moon as it sets the morning of Monday, November 2, 2009.

by Gail Madsen

Who else is tired of our public officials ignoring our best interests, cutting our services, going forward with their pet projects regardless of cost and our current finances and expecting us to obligingly pick up the tab?

Well, thanks to Proposition 218; (yes, one of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association propositions); we have a chance to fight the water increase planned for November 17th.

From what I understand, the reason for the rate hike is because we have done such a good job of cutting back on our water consumption; the city is trying to make up for the loss in revenue.

by Cindi Guilbert

I am an Ocean Beach Restaurant Walk newbie. There, I said it. When I first caught mention of Restaurant Walk in a post on OB Rag, I wanted to know more. What’s the story behind the bus? What bands will I see? Which food businesses and bars are participating this year?

I needed to know EVERYTHING that is Restaurant Walk the way Nancy Drew needs a whodunnit. I asked when to expect to see a blog about this event, and a few emails later, found myself offering to dish on the details of one of OB’s best kept secrets…

“Is there anything scarier than thinking you might need medical care, and getting canceled by a health insurance corporation who spent your premiums on TV ads and lobbying?” asks San Diegan Mike Copass, co-organizer of a 45-hour haunt of Blue Shield’s office at 2275 Rio Bonito Way in Mission Valley.

The actions are part of a national groundswell of civil disobedience at health insurance company offices by people seeking to end insurance abuse and win health care for all. So far, 115 people have been arrested in 18 cities demanding “real health care reform that treats health care like a human right, not a commodity,” according to a press release issued by event organizers.

It never ceases to amaze me what people will do for others when called upon to help and today was no exception. This morning I got to meet Jim Dent, the Point Loma electrician who was compelled to help an elderly gentleman who had called him needing some electrical work done. Jim discovered that was just the tip of the iceberg… A call for help went out and the community answered. There is much more work to do and I have no doubt that call will be answered too, but I have to tell you about what happened today.

The group of people that came together this morning was as diverse as it was courageous. Jim had warned everyone in his emails and comments leading up to today’s cleanup that the conditions were bad and he was well prepared, providing everyone with respirator masks and sturdy gloves. As folks showed up he asked that everyone sign in so we could keep track of who had volunteered (we’ll do a more complete report later) and we passed out supplies. Shovels, mops, brooms, trash bags…

For nearly the entire past year a panel of marine experts have been putting together proposals for redesigning California’s system of marine protected areas along the southern coast. The areas include Ocean Beach and Sunset Cliffs, and other parts of San Diego County. The OB coast is considered one of the chief areas of contention.

The experts have come up with three proposals for marine sanctuaries – and all of them would more than double the space to be set aside for protecting sea life on the Southern California coast. The trio of proposals would provide from 380 to 413 square miles of near-shore waters as safety zones for species — more than twice the current amount of 182 squares miles.

Crane works on jetty repair

Federal stimulus are being used to repair the Mission Bay channel entryway. The project, overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers, 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. Go inside for link to our earlier post on this.

Jim Dent, who owns Point Loma Electric, found out the hard way. He has an elderly client, Robert Ehmann, who asked him to come by his place on Orchard Avenue to do some electrical work. Jim and his assistant arrived, they went inside, and immediately stumbled out.

The stench was too bad. The garbage was too widespread. They almost refused to go back in. The elderly man, in his mid-80s, could hardly talk, was bent over and could barely walk. He begged they to do a couple of things.

That’s when Jim Dent realized what he had on his hands. He had a situation that he couldn’t just walk away from.

My mind can’t move away from thoughts of fatherhood ever since I wrote “An Unrequited Wish” for the OB Rag sometime ago wherein I shared my belief that my late soul mate’s dad’s indiscretions with her throughout her childhood led to her taking her life.

Most of my reflecting has been about my own experiences as a dad starting back when I first heard that I was a father to be. The news caught me off guard completely. I mean, in one moment, I was strutting down the halls of Tucson High, wearing my big red “T” for my basketball artistry, All-City, All-State, All-Star, All-Ego, in the flow, high fiving and asking “What’s happening?” of everybody I happened to know, throwing in all the latest dance steps just to diversify the show – and, in the next moment, somewhere in the middle of all the festivities my girlfriend managed to say to me: “I’m pregnant.”

By Fall of 1972 the OB Rag and Other Ocean Beach Alternatives Were All in Full Swing

Staff: The history of the OB Rag will be the subject of a presentation at the next OB Historical Society’s monthly gig. That will be Thursday, June 16th at the P.L. United Methodist Church, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd, 92107. The presentation will be by current OB Rag Editor Frank Gormlie. In light of that, we thought it would be cool and appropriate to publish some more history of the original OB Rag, OB’s underground newspaper of the 1970s. The following recounts the 2nd anniversary of the first OB Rag.

By Fall of 1972, it was the OB Rag’s second birthday – the beginning of its third year, and the community-wide effort to develop alternative institutions was in full swing.

The OB Community School was a year old. A childcare center had arisen among needy parents who were assisted by activists. The OB People’s Food Store had opened in a storefront.