OB Rag

You old hippies from the sixties and seventies remember the Furry Freak Brothers, right? And the crazy things they used to do with their cat, Freddy. Well, one of the brothers is alive and well in the body of a 20-year old dude, Acea Schomaker of Lincoln, Nebraska. Schomaker – in order to calm down an abused cat that he and his girlfriend took in – placed the 6-month old feline into a large, make-shift bong.

Schomaker said that when he smoked marijuana through it, it calmed the cat down.

Ocean Beach Planning Board meets tonight – March 4 – at 6pm at Rec Center.

Your OB Rag blog editor Frank Gormlie was mentioned in Union-Tribune columnist Michael Stetz’s article today – March 4th, and the blog is mentioned. His column is on page B-1, and entitled “Budget cuts at the coast sting like a sunburn”. It’s all about how Mayor Jerry Sanders has been chopping at the beach and coast with his budgetary axe, and how he doesn’t really understand and appreciate beach culture.

A military jet crash that killed four civilians in University City last fall was a preventable accident caused by mechanical problems and a series of poor decisions, Marine Corps officials said today. The pilot of the disabled F/A-18D Hornet that went down near Nobel Drive and Interstate 805 on Dec. 8 should have made an emergency landing at Naval Air Station North Island, which was closer and involved an approach over water, USMC authorities said during a briefing this afternoon.

The Capitol Power Plant’s days of coal are over. It’s been the waiting game here: Since 2 pm, over 2,000 activists have blockaded the three main gates to the Capitol Power Plant. The rather larger police turnout is impressive; clad in their best stocking caps, they dot the chain fence like lamp-posts, taking in the gregarious march with a bit of interest and fascination. No attempt at any arrests have been made. The crowd is controlled and peaceful; there is a festive atmosphere, young and old, all bundled up and dancing to keep warm on this crystal clear but chilly afternoon.

by Anna Daniels

A woman came up to the information desk where I work at the Central Library downtown and asked me how to get her stimulus funds. This is of course an excellent question- the 787 billion dollar budget for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) includes provisions for education and training, protecting the vulnerable, energy, state and local fiscal relief, tax relief, health care, infrastructure and science and “other.” In addition, California, the most populous state in the union will receive the largest amount of those funds destined to the states.

In my earlier post, I described how all hell broke loose 35 years ago on February 22, 1974. It was the day that Pete Mahone tried to commit suicide by cop – a guy many of us active in OB’s progressive community knew. The subsequent armed take-over of Ocean Beach by the San Diego Police in response to the shooting led to an outrage among residents, an outrage that manifested itself into a campaign for human rights and reforms in police practices – a campaign that eventually did win some changes.

Hi. I’m your neighbor, the guy in the front apartment that opens to the parking lot. And I’m a (hopefully) soon to be former homeowner. Why hopefully? Because the bank still hasn’t filed a Notice of Default, the document sent to the county recorder that starts the foreclosure process, even though I haven’t paid my mortgage since I moved out about six months ago and I told them even before that that they’d seen the last of my money. Why former homeowner? Longer story…

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced today that he is lifting a 1991 ban on news coverage of the return of the remains of fallen service members to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, although he will leave the decision about press coverage up to the family of the dead.

The controversial ban on photography and other media coverage of the solemn return of flag-draped coffins — upheld by both Republican and Democratic administrations — has generated lawsuits as well as conflicting emotions on the part of military familiies.

by Frank Gormlie

(Reposted from Feb.19th) I finally sat down with Dr Jefe inside the hollow chamber once known as Rock Paper Scissors and got his side of the controversies surrounding the closing of the popular arts and crafts store. It had suddenly closed without notice earlier this month.

There was a disappointing turnout of Ocean Beach residents and businesspeople today at the City’s Budget and Finance Committee hearing. There was literally two OB residents present at this morning’s meeting. The Clairemont library had a number of supporters, plus sitting in the back of the large room were organizers from the city-wide library coalition-in-forming.

As a writer and once upon a time film student, I found this year’s Academy Awards to be an exemplary display of the breadth of possibility that Hollywood’s insular, but nonetheless public, progressive political scene presents.

This year, the Academy rewarded actors not just for being beautiful people in rented jewelry and expensive clothing, but for the emotions they conjured and the political movements that their roles represented.

On the corner of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Santa Monica Avenue resides a historic landmark, one that has served the Ocean Beach community and surrounding areas as both a valuable storehouse of knowledge and a tranquil study haven for over 80 years. This unique site is the home of the Ocean Beach branch of the San Diego Public Library, and today, it faces threats of possible closure.

On November 6th, 2008, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders announced the tentative closure of the Ocean Beach branch due to budget cuts, along with 6 other libraries, 9 recreation centers and a gym. An astounding response from the community has led to the mayor’s decision to forego the issue and revisit it this spring.