OB Rag

by Ernie McCray

In a reflective mood the other day
I thought of people
who, in some way,
had something to do
with who I am today
and the first person who popped
up in my mind
was my very first school principal
standing tall in an image
that’s so memorable to me:
Big old head.
Big old shoulders.
Big old chest.
Big old beer belly.

By SOHO editorial staff / January-February 2025

As architect and author Carl Elefante famously said, “The greenest building is … one that is already built.” Today we propose that the greenest building isn’t just the one already standing—it’s the one already housing people.

In a time when everyone is concerned about affordable housing, climate change, sustainability, and the urgent need to reduce waste, we want to remind everyone that one of the most impactful OR one of the best ways we can make a difference is by saving and reusing our existing buildings.

When we construct a new building, the process consumes vast amounts of energy and resources—fuel for mining, transporting raw materials, manufacturing components, and construction itself. That energy, known as embodied energy, is already built into every historic building still standing today.

After rebuffing Donald J. Trump’s hypothetical proposal to purchase Greenland, the government of Denmark has announced that it would be interested in buying the United States instead.

“As we have stated, Greenland is not for sale,” a spokesperson for the Danish government said on Friday. “We have noted, however, that during the Trump regime pretty much everything in the United States, including its government, has most definitely been for sale.”

San Diego County’s population has stayed flat over the last decade, Axios San Diego reports.

For a full analysis, one must take into account the actual population changes and the natural population change — the difference between births and deaths.

San Diego County’s population shrunk by 20,051 people from 2014-2018 to 2019-2023, or a change of 0.6%.

Yet, San Diego’s natural population change — the difference between births and deaths — was positive in 2023, with births outpacing deaths by 12,882.

But more people moved away than moved here during that time, so the region’s overall population shrunk, therefore, the population overall took a hit, because 30,745 more people left the county than moved here.

From SanDiegoVille

Lighthouse Ice Cream is preparing to reopen its doors in San Diego’s Ocean Beach more than a year after a fire shuttered the decades-old establishment.

Located on Newport Avenue in the heart of Ocean Beach, Lighthouse Ice Cream has been a community favorite since its opening in June 1997. Known for its signature hot waffle ice cream sandwich and a menu featuring over 30 flavors of hard and soft-serve ice cream, shakes, malts, and sundaes, the shop has been a go-to dessert destination just blocks from the Pacific Ocean.

By Bruce Coons / SOHO Jan-Feb 2025 Newsletter

The state Mills Act is widely recognized as one of San Diego’s most effective tools for protecting historic homes and commercial buildings. However, what often goes underappreciated is its role in addressing modern housing needs and environmental challenges.

By offering property tax reductions to owners of historic properties, the Mills Act makes owning and maintaining these buildings more financially feasible. The program provides meaningful financial relief, particularly for middle-income families, retirees, and others who might otherwise be priced out of the housing market.

As a result, the Mills Act has helped San Diego achieve a rare balance: preserving historic architecture while improving housing affordability to a broader range of people.

Ever since Measure E failed, the one-cent sales tax, City Hall observers and critics have been carefully watching what Mayor Todd Gloria and the City Council do in terms of the budget and any potential cuts. Reportedly, there’s more than $1 billion budget deficit over the next five years.

About a month ago, Axios San Diego published a post that was astounding because it encapsulated ideas and concerns of Michael Zucchet, head of the Municipal Employees Association, who made a presentation to the council’s budget committee around that time. (Zucchet used to sit on the City Council representing what’s now District 2, Point Loma and OB, so he’s well aware of how the budget process works.)

Zucchet’s main issue was the astronomical growth of nonunion managers over the last decade, who earn higher pay and give the mayor more flexibility over their employment.

Simply put: there’s just too many middle managers. Check these numbers out.

The San Diego City Council has a new president and it’s Councilmember Joe LaCava who represents District 1 – which includes the north side of Mission Bay. LaCava, who has a history of community activism, wants to put a stop to the nightly fireworks that SeaWorld shoots off. He told Voice of San Diego:

“Fireworks, night after night, is something that has to end. It’s one thing to do Fourth of July or start of the summer season shows, but 150 nights a year is just way beyond.”

LaCava also told the Voice that laser or light shows via drone could be a viable substitute. And actually, five years ago, SeaWorld did just that — it held a light show using 500 drones.

In addition LaCava pledged to work with the city’s legal team after the first of the year to see how the city could limit fireworks under its 50-year lease agreement with SeaWorld which sunsets in 2048.

In an Op-ed on January 1, Scott Lewis — the CEO and main editor of the online Voice of San Diego — warned his fellow San Diegans that in 2025, we have to deal with all the screaming.Scott, who lives in the OB-Point Loma area — was talking about how we need to face up to the plight and screaming of all the homeless people, now that the city is in, what Scott calls –“the eighth year of the homeless crisis.” We must all heed his warning.

By Scott Lewis / Voice of San Diego / January 1, 2025

A few weeks ago, a man in the alley behind our house began screaming. Screaming is not unusual around us, unfortunately. But usually it comes and goes – less frequent than the airplanes, more frequent than the helicopters.

One man walks around screaming all the time. Long beard, bike. Sometimes he begs on the corner. Sometimes he disappears for weeks. But he’s always back and almost always screaming.

This wasn’t him. We know him. This was deeper, closer and more disturbed. And it wasn’t going away. It scared my daughter. I went back there with the flashlight and found the man. He was ensconced in a combination of blankets and garbage. He was ranting incoherently, unaware of me even as I tried to get his attention.

I finally yelled “Hey!” He turned and looked right at me. “You’re freaking people out.”

Now that the City of San Diego is making noises once again about developing the land over the historic industrial landfill along the southern end of Mission Bay, it’s time for the Rag once again to remind residents of what lies beneath the sands and dirt of what’s called “South Shores.”

These noises came to light just recently with Union-Tribune front bench writer, David Garrick’s piece January 5th and 6th entitled, “Can a once-toxic shoreline solve Mission Bay’s recreation needs? San Diego readies rival visions for South Shores.”

Garrick was indeed alluding to the dump that activists two decades believed was toxic. He wrote:

Development of South Shores, just east of Sea World and just south of Fiesta Island, has been delayed for decades by concerns over its history — industrial waste was dumped there in the 1950s.

By Dave Schwab / Peninsula Beacon / Jan. 6, 2025

The City and a local historical architectural preservation group are squabbling over whether historic housing stock supports or restricts, increasing the housing supply in San Diego.

Since 1969, the nonprofit Save Our Heritage Organisation has led the way as a powerful catalyst for historical preservation by raising awareness and appreciation of San Diego’s architectural and cultural heritage.

Recently, SOHO’s president, David Goldberg, contended in a newsletter that: “As the push continues to lower San Diego housing costs by increasing housing supply, two points stand out. Preservation of existing and historic housing stock is part of the solution, not part of the problem. Secondly, the focus on simply increasing the total housing supply is grossly misplaced. Protecting and increasing the aggregate supply of ‘affordable’ housing is what’s necessary.”

by Ann Jarmusch / SOHO January-February 2025

Developments in preservation in San Diego began at a gallop last year, and never slowed down. In February 2024, the City of San Diego launched its still-ongoing Preservation and Progress initiative to update and overhaul heritage preservation policies, procedures, and perhaps the 1965 ordinance itself. (Read about it online).

It seemed to SOHO and other preservationists that the update’s true goal is to make building permits and approvals even friendlier than in recent years to developers who falsely complain that protecting historic architecture and sites delays or prevents them from fulfilling a great civic need: the production of affordable housing.