OB Rag

by Ernie McCray

A Message for Some Young Brothers Who Have Got Some Serious Thinking to Do

I’d like to say this to you

young brothers

who’re backing Donald J. Trump:

you’ve got some serious thinking to do,

especially about that point-of-view

you have that we African Americans

have nothing to gain

through politics.

Eric Law is the chair of the Project Review Committee of the Peninsula Community Planning Board and this morning, he sent the following to Rag writer Geoff Page about the proposed 56-unit complex for Rosecrans and Talbot:

Yes, I went and reviewed the plans. The city didn’t allow me to take any photos, but I can confirm that the project is indeed 4 stories and 56 units. The bulk of the units are ~420 sq ft studios, many of which have nothing more than a single window onto an internal breezeway.

My overall impression is this project is a sardine can.

Union actions and labor solidarity events have been happening in San Diego of late and here’s an update and summary.

United Food and Commercial Workers unions in San Diego are getting ready to act in solidarity with their compatriots up in LA and Orange Counties, plus today, Monday, Oct. 21, thousands of Kaiser Permanente mental health workers in Southern California, including more than 300 workers in San Diego, went on strike. Then a week ago, Hilton San Diego Bayfront workers overwhelmingly ratified a new contract following a 38-day strike.

Last Friday, Oct. 18, UFCW Locals 770 and 324 in Los Angeles and Orange Counties launched Unfair Labor Practice strikes at 7 CVS Pharmacy locations and although UFCW Local 135 in San Diego is not yet on strike, the union stands in solidarity with those on the picket lines and is preparing to take similar actions.

Late Saturday afternoon, October 19, a young motorcyclist collided with a car as  the biker tried to go around traffic and hit a Honda as it was pulling out from a stop sign.

It was 5 pm when the unidentified biker riding a Harley-Davidson, was going north in the southbound lanes on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in order to pass backed-up traffic when a Honda CRV stopped at the stop sign on Del Monte Avenue began to proceed eastbound.

by Katherine Hammer / TCD / October 20, 2024

San Diego, California, is known for its sunny skies and stunning outdoor spaces. Now, its residents and visitors are going to have the opportunity to enjoy even more sunshine and nature thanks to the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation.

The nonprofit organization has made a contribution of 55 acres of land to San Diego to go toward the expansion of Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP), which is “one of the largest urban parks in the country,” reports There San Diego. The donation won approval from all of the city’s council members, a promising sign of more green spaces and conservation endeavors to come.

By Mandy Havlik 

Friends, the Democratic majority on the County Board of Supervisors is at risk, and it could have a huge impact on the future of San Diego.

Terra Lawson-Remer is our County Supervisor and a Democrat who’s been making real progress—helping people experiencing homelessness, protecting our coastlines, tackling rising rents and housing costs, and expanding mental health and addiction services.

But now we’re facing a tough re-election against Republican Kevin Faulconer, the former Mayor of San Diego. (Yes, the same Kevin Faulconer responsible for the 101 Ash Street debacle that cost the city of San Diego $264 million for an unusable building full of asbestos, while profiting his campaign donors $15 million ?).

Apparently, there have been two non-fatal stabbings in the Midway District over the last few days. And there has been an arrest in one of them.

In the first incident, it was late Thursday night, October 17, when a man was arrested in connection with the stabbing of another man during an altercation in the 3900 block of Sports Arena Boulevard.

According to police, a 38-year-old man and a woman were walking at around 10:15 p.m. when the man punched the woman for unknown reasons.

A 45-year-old man in a vehicle witnessed the act, pulled over, got out of the car and confronted the man. The men got into a fight, and that’s when the suspect pulled out some kind of object and stabbed the good Samaritan in his back.

By Geoff Page

The controversial proposed 56-unit development at the corner of Talbot and Rosecrans Street was up for discussion at the Peninsula Community Planning Board meeting Thursday, October, 17. What attendees learned was how little anyone actually knows about the project, despite efforts by several people. The City refuses to provide any information.

The project has been much discussed here in The Rag, .

Because there was so much public interest in the development, the PCPB put it on the agenda for its October regular monthly meeting and invited the developer to make a presentation. The developer did not attend and has not cooperated with the PCPB’s requests for information.

by Dave Schwab / Peninsula Beacon / October 18, 2024

Warren-Walker Middle School is back in Ocean Beach and wants to get word out about it.

“Happiness is within reach in Ocean Beach,” joked Paul Saunders, head of Warren-Walker’s Middle School, who has been with the school for over 18 years.

The homegrown Ocean Beach school is one big extended family. “I began my academic journey as a kindergartner on this campus in the ‘80s,” noted Saunders.

The lower- and middle-school campuses of Ocean Beach’s homegrown independent Warren-Walker School are once again reunited for the 2024-25 academic year and beyond. Previously in Mission Valley, Warren-Walker Middle School for sixth through eighth grades has returned to the Peninsula. The school’s staff is excited to have all of its PK-eighth-grade students this school year at its main campus at 4605 Point Loma Ave.

From Port of San Diego / October 18, 2024

The Port of San Diego is making significant progress on repairs needed for the west side of the Shelter Island Boat Launch Ramp. Work is anticipated to begin in December or January with completion in early spring. The Port recognizes the impacts on the boating community. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we appreciate continued patience.

In June 2023, the west floating dock sustained significant damage due to sand accumulation underneath it, which caused the dock to bottom out at low tide. For public safety, the Port closed the dock, with the east side floating docks remaining open and accessible to boaters.

By Eric Duvall / P0int Loma-OB Monthly (SDUT) / October 16, 2024

Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought. But that was the thing that I was born for.”
—– Ernest Hemingway, “The Old Man and the Sea”

On the day before Halloween in 1936, the front page of The Ocean Beach News carried the following headline: “Fishing pier question again to the front.”

Over 100 people had turned out to hear a representative of the Works Progress Administration discuss a plan to build a fishing pier at the foot of Point Loma Avenue as part of work proposed for Sunset Cliffs Park. The proposal called for the city and county of San Diego to come up with only 25 percent of a $211,000 project.  Plenty of free loot from Uncle Sam!

Did the city jump on that potential windfall? No. Did that deter persistent pier proponent Carl Schroder? No again.

Schroder had first come to Ocean Beach “when the old Cliff House [Hotel] was the only building on the beach.” That was not even in the last century.