OB Rag

by Lane Tobias

The debate over health care reform has been hotly contested for generations, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that during one of the worst global economic crises in history, President Obama is following through on his campaign promise to reform the system.

Or is he?

by Anna Daniels

News about beauty pageants engenders pretty much the same response in me as the announcement of a new brand of breakfast cereal-“here comes more refined sugar in a new box.”

The 2007 Miss Universe Competition did, however, get my attention. The gowns, as reported in This Side of the Mirror, were not your run of the mill frocks.

The earlier posted article “Organic vs Conventional: Have you been robbed?” takes aim at the wrong target. Much like the person who frets over which china to use while the house is on fire, you take organic– which accounts for 2-3% of food sales– to task while ignoring the rest of our food system.

Organic consumers have certainly not been robbed. On the contrary, …

Ed Moss, the new publisher for the recently purchased San Diego Union-Tribune, could be a worry for those who want the paper to survive. Moss, who takes control on Monday, May 18th, was described as a “journalistic mortician,” by Ron Kaye, the former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News, where Moss worked.

It’s Saturday afternoon and you’re checking out at your local co-op. You’re behind another member of your community, lining up your organic eggs, organic pork chops, organic milk, organic lamb shank, and organic cheese. You feel pretty content. You’re eating right, in a world full of chaos. Your body loves you.

But organic may not mean the food is better for you. ….

Ocean Beach Photo Exhibit and Contest – this Friday, May 15th, at the Masonic Temple on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard – 6pm – 8:30pm. Join the OB Historical Society for an evening of fun and local culture.

Take shorter showers, wash only full loads of laundry, sweep instead of hose your driveway.

These are the messages that Californians are getting as part of the state’s new “Save Our Water” campaign. Water restrictions, farmworker protest marches …

Is this comparable to the worst drought in modern history of the state? Or is it all being over-blown?

During the Bush era, peace protests were presupposed. If the President of the United States showed up anywhere, so did the protesters. Now that Barack Obama has taken over the helm, though, peace activists are debating and rehashing protest strategies and often not protesting at all.

by Ernie McCray

I’m enjoying the honor of helping organize the African American Male Intergenerational Conference that will be held on June 5th and 6th at the Educational Cultural Complex.

The experience has made me think of all the identities I’ve answered to in my 71 years. I entered the world a little colored baby boy and before I could say Jack Robinson, voila, I was a Negro.

by Staff of the San Diego Hunger Coalition

There are steps that are being taken to address some of the barriers that those in need face when applying for food stamps.

Here are suggestions about additional steps that we can all take to streamline the process: …

By OB Rag Staffer

On April 15, 1949, a new kind of radio station appeared on the airwaves. Pacifica Radio was founded by Lewis Hill, a pacifist who believed that radio stations should be funded by listeners, not by corporate sponsors.

The first station was KPFA in Berkeley, which still serves the Bay Area. In 1959, sister-station KPFK came on the air in Los Angeles. For years, KPFK’s powerful signal was heard in San Diego at 90.7 FM. Then in February 2000,…

by Lane Tobias

The Special Election being held on May 19th is being penned by the Schwarzenegger Administration as a way to fix California’s “broken budget system”.

While it is understood that California’s budget woes are going to effect us for generations to come, before voting yes on any of these propositions we should take a look at …