OB Rag

By Mary E Mann

A young man spins unlit fire chains by himself, in the middle of Collier Park at Soto & Greene. His phone rings, a tinny sound from his pocket. He pauses to answer it, tucks it between his shoulder and his ear, and continues to spin while he talks. The spinning is almost an afterthought, his body dancing slowly, almost like tai chi, but with whizzing metal balls on chains involved.

Slowly a troupe forms, ten people or so, mostly men and mostly young-looking, in their 20’s and 30’s. MORE INSIDE …

As San Diego County supervisors seek to privatize more services, public officials elsewhere are reading the danger signs and starting to move in the opposite direction.

Like many other local and state governments desperate for budgetary quick fixes, the county board fell back on the old knee-jerk assumption that private companies can perform public services “better, cheaper and faster.” The facts show that quite often the opposite is true.

DOG BEACH SEWER SPILL UPDATE
by Dave Gilbert

As of 9 this morning (7-1-09) the danger signs are still up at Dog Beach where the S.D. river meets the ocean but the difference is that today nobody (dogs or people ) were in the water. … more inside
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GRAFFITI UPDATE
by Jon Carr

We’re seeing more and more murals and electric boxes with actual “art” being hit by taggers. Apparently there’s supposed to be some sort of street code that says you don’t tag someone’s already established artwork. … more inside

In a study published in the Armed Forces Journal in 1971, it was reported that the U.S. military in Vietnam was at that moment at the edge of chaos.

In fact, statistics flowing back to Washington about the American war machine in Vietnam then pointed toward an unimaginable nightmare. Drug use was rampant; desertions stood at 70 per thousand, a modern high; small-scale mutinies or “combat refusals” were at critical, if untabulated, levels; incidents of racial conflict had soared; and strife between “lifers” and draftees was at unprecedented levels.

by Anna Daniels

Dear Karin Winner, Editor:

Ms. Winner, I just canceled my 15+ year subscription to the Union-Tribune. I asked to speak to a supervisor who would convey my reason for doing so to the appropriate individuals within the company. The reason I gave to Hector was the U-T’s recent decision to publish all City employee names and salary information on signonsandiego.com.

By OB Rag Staffer

AND THE WINNERS ARE …. we have them!

It’s that time of year again when things really heat up in OB. It’s the Annual Chili Cookoff. …
The Chili Cookoff took place at the lawn on Abbott Street just south of the Lifeguard Tower. There were about 25 booths set up around the perimeter of the lawn.

by Frank Gormlie

We drove into Ocean Beach for the Street Fair intending to take an outsider’s view. With the bumper-to-bumper traffic coming in on Sunset Cliffs and then on West Point Loma, with everybody on the sidewalks streaming south, it truly looked like OB was part of a theme park – OB Enchanted Land.

by Mary E Mann

Among the many things I can say about Ocean Beach, one is that this community sure knows how to get behind a party.

According to friends of mine, OB old-timers, this year’s Street Fair was tame. No longer are people allowed to drink openly in the streets, for one thing.

by Frank Gormlie

Have you heard of the OB Planning Board? Meeting monthly, the Board is the official body – made up of local residents, property owners and businesses – that advises the City of San Diego on development and construction projects and issues slated for Ocean Beach. And it’s the closest thing to an elected body for OB. … MORE INSIDE …

It’s one thing to wake up, drink coffee and turn to the daily fish-wrap, but it’s quite another to do that and see your fellow OB Rag bloggster on the goddamn front page of the Local News! But there she was – our own Anna Daniels – featured in an article about how hundreds of city employees are retiring to make the higher pension rates.

Here’s the front of today’s article from SignOnSanDiego … 608 workers retire to lock in benefits

My beloved and I were headed into Artist Alley. It was slow going through the crowd back to the stage area. Richard grabbed my arm and said “check out the signs.”

He read out loud “Don’t Go to Hell” printed on one and then “Read Bible for Details” on another. “It gets better,” he added. “It seems that certain restrictions apply—check them out.”

We’ve received more photos from our own Wireless Mike and another good friend of the Rag, R. Kacmar. Look for…