OB Rag

by Gary Gilmore

The rockets’ red glare is gone. The echoes of the bombs bursting in air have faded. The volleys of marshmallows have been put to rest for another year. It’s time for an accounting. Where did all the money go?

At the risk of tainting the innocent pleasure that our fireworks bring to the happy hordes of revelers that flock to our little beach town on this holiday I’m going to tell you what they cost.

Twenty five grand. $25,000. …

by Frank Gormlie

Up until a few hours ago, no major mainstream media, print, online or television had covered the tragic and still unfolding story of Chris Bowd – the OBcean who was knocked unconscious after the fireworks on July 4th. Bowd is still unconscious and in the hospital, although as of this writing, he is in a stable condition. This mainstream media blackout on him is finally ending.

The OB Rag blog has been the only media covering this story …

There’s a growing interest in our neighborhood in historic photographs of our little corner of the world. Check out these aerial shots of Mission Bay and surrounding areas – taken before it was dredged, while it was being dredged, and then later.

Viewing these images gives you knowledge and a historical background to this area. Knowledge is power.

If you’d like to see more, let us know.

Originally posted July 9, 2009

by Frank Gormlie

Earlier this week I set out to get to the bottom of this July 4th OB Pier Parking Lot controversy. On Monday, July 6, the Reader ran an on-line article that we supplemented about how 26 RV owners were evicted from the Pier parking lot by police in the early morning hours of July 4th. They were threatened with arrest and having their vehicles impounded. The police wanted the parking lot for their own vehicles. …

by Will Carless / Voice of San Diego

In theory, life should be getting easier for San Diegans who want to buy, grow, sell, transport or smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Last year, California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued long-awaited guidelines aimed at clarifying the state’s laws on medicinal marijuana. …

by Frank Gormlie

It wasn’t all fun and fireworks in Ocean Beach on July 4th. Christopher Bowd was somehow and somewhere knocked unconscious possibly on Newport Ave after the marshmallow fight and taken to a hospital – where he remains today still unconscious. Bowd’s family and friends are seeking answers and are turning to the rest of OB for help.

Police are currently conducting an investigation and believe Chris was injured at Newport and Bacon around 11pm July 4th.

The Reader reported on Monday, July 5th, that over two dozen RV owners were forced out of the OB Pier parking lot by San Diego Police.

And alot of grumbling was going on. Apparently, many of the RVs had pulled into the parking lot at the end of Newport Avenue in the early hours of the 4th in order to get close, set up their grills and their families. The police arrived at 8 am and forced them all to leave, upon threat of arrest and towing of their vehicles.

Things in Iran are still very tense. A stalemate has developed between the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the reformist opposition movement, led by Mir Hossein Mousavi. A top editor of a government-aligned newspaper called Mousavi a foreign agent, ratcheting up the rhetoric in the stand-off that has enveloped this country ever since the disputed presidential election on June 12.

However, one of the more positive developments favoring Mousavi is …

Editor: The situation in the Honduran crisis took a dramatic and deadly turn today, July 5th. Two supporters of deposed President Manuel Zelaya were killed in clashes with police at the capital’s airport.

Thousands of his supporters had marched on the airport in anticipation of his return there today. But Zelaya’s jet was blocked from landing, and the plane flew to El Salvador. Here is the most recent MSM report, from CNN, posted at 7:30 pm PDT:

Fireworks at the end of the OB Pier are always good for a huge crowd. The beach, the pier, the surrounding blocks, the overlooking hilltops, and the cliffs are packed. It seems like the whole world comes to OB for the fireworks every 4th. And why not? They’re great!

by Anna Daniels

Who are the watchdogs who have published the recent San Diego Union-Tribune series on the topic of City worker pay? The series and the links to individual employee names and compensation are published under the rubric of “Watchdog report.”

by Larry Kosta, Jr.

When I got to know Dave Gilbert a little better, I asked him what he did. He told me he was a dog walker.

I thought to myself, is that really a job? This isn’t New York City. Do people in San Diego actually pay to have their dogs walked?