OB Rag

Jim Varnadore is a long time resident of City Heights resident and former chair of its planning committee who sends frequent letters to city officials and often has his “letters to the editor” printed at the U-T. Here is his latest public letter to the San Diego City Council emailed on January 23.

San Diego City Council

Ladies and gentlemen,

Walking along a thoroughfare here in City Heights recently, I noticed that there were no bicycles in the bike paths – none. I had noticed that earlier along Thirtieth
Street through North Park.

An Open Letter to Dr. Mark Stetter, Dean of UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Regarding the Million Cat Challenge and Community Cat Programs
 
By Ed Boks / Jan 27, 2025

Dear Dr. Stetter,

Since its launch in 2014, the Million Cat Challenge—spearheaded by the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program (KSMP) and the University of Florida Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program—has sought to revolutionize shelter practices across North America. With its ambitious goal of saving one million cats through strategies like Community Cat and Return-To-Field (RTF) programs, the Challenge has been celebrated for achieving significant milestones.

However, a recent legal ruling in San Diego found aspects of these programs in violation of California’s animal protection laws, raising serious questions about their implementation and impact on animal welfare.

by Ernie McCray

I’ll always remember this year’s
“All People’s Celebration”
of MLK Day,
in particular,
not only because it was held on the day
of the 47th president’s
inauguration,
something I looked at as an insult
to the memory of Martin
who preached love and non-violence
but also due to it setting the tone
for the work that needs to be done
to counter the actions of this man
who is hell-bent,

by Debbie L. Sklar / Times of San Diego / Jan. 24, 2025

A San Diego Police Officer was hospitalized after being struck by a vehicle driven by a 65-year-old man in the Wooded Area neighborhood of Point Loma, officials said Friday, January 24.

William Stephens was booked into jail Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer and domestic violence charges, including assault with a deadly weapon and dissuading a witness, the San Diego Police Department said in a news release.

Shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, officers were sent to a residence in the 3500 block of Inez Street in response to a domestic violence call involving a married couple, SDPD said.

The Transportation Committee of the OB Planning Board is meeting tonight, Monday, January 27, at the OB Woman’s Club.

The meeting begins at 6:30 pm at 2160 Bacon Street.

On the agenda are 2 discussion items: “Request to Form a Parking District”, and something titled, “Access OB.”

Here is the official agenda:

By Kate Callen

When you hear “city budget crisis,” does your mind make the leap to slashing funds for libraries and parks?

Or do you think about cutting obscure city management positions that pay huge salaries?

The public’s priorities for City spending will be discussed next month at four Citizen Budget Review Town Hall Meetings with Independent Budget Analyst (IBA) Charles Modica.

The title of the series is to the point: “Now that Measure E Has Failed, Where Should City Budget Cuts Be Made?”

Dates and locations are:

Downtown Julian. Amazing.

Snow at Mt Laguna — 8:15 am January 26, 2025

Here is a dramatic video of a smuggler’s boat capsizing at the shores of Ocean Beach Saturday morning, January 25. Surfers and lifeguards help rescue the survivors. Reportedly one immigrant didn’t make it.

The video is by Charles Landon who records one interview with one of the surfer rescuers.

Cal Fire crews are battling a brush fire that erupted on Otay Mountain Thursday afternoon, with evacuation orders and warnings in place for surrounding areas.

The “Border 2 Fire” as of 11:45 a.m. Friday was at 5,389 acres, “with long range spotting and extreme fire behavior.” Fire officials said the blaze was at 10% containment. It was first reported after 2:15 p.m. in the area of Otay Mountain Truck Trail in the Otay Wilderness Area. The fire jumped from 350 to over 500 acres within a half hour at one point.

Cal Fire issued an evacuation order for residents who live in the red shaded areas shown in the maps below. This means that there is an immediate threat and “you need to leave.” An evacuation warning has also been issued for the areas in yellow. Officials said, “Be prepared to evacuate should conditions change. If you feel you are in danger, go!”

UPDATE: As of 5 p.m., the Otay fire called “Border 2” is over 200 acres and 0% contained, with a dangerous rate of spread and the potential to burn through 500 acres, according to Cal Fire San Diego.A pair of fires began burning Thursday afternoon around San Diego County.

One of the fires, which began just after 2 p.m., is burning near Gilman Drive and Via Alicante in La Jolla, not far from where it intersects with Interstate 5, which is also close to UC San Diego and the Torrey Pines golf course, where the PGA is hosting the Farmers Insurance Open this week.

Evacuations have been ordered for immediate area.

Otay Mountain Fire

A second vegetation fire also began burning Thursday afternoon on Otay Mountain near the U.S.-Mexico border. At a little before 2:30 p.m., Cal Fire San Diego tweeted out that the border fire had already burned 20 acres and had a “dangerous rate of spread.” An hour later, it was reported to have spread to 60 acres.

From LA Times

By Kevin Rector / LA Times / Jan. 21, 2025

California, a coalition of other states and the city of San Francisco sued the federal government Tuesday over President Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship via executive order — calling it an unconstitutional directive that flies in the face of long-standing legal precedent.

“I have one message for President Trump: I’ll see you in court,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said during a morning news conference — calling the order “unconstitutional and quite frankly un-American.”

The lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts to block Trump’s order from taking effect — which it is meant to do in less than 30 days — and to “ensure that the rights of American-born children impacted by this order remain in effect while litigation proceeds,” Bonta said. “The president has overstepped his authority by a mile with this order, and we will hold him accountable.”