OB Rag

by Ernie McCray

I’ve enjoyed an incredible
amount of bliss
in my lifetime
but none of it
comes close to the
unbelievable happiness I’m feeling today
because my joys
have been momentary,
kind of here one day
and gone in a few days.

Like a moment when I stood proudly
wearing a warm smile of appreciation
as Arizona Wildcat basketball fans
cheered loudly
in commemoration
of my place
in the university’s sports history.

By Paul Krueger / Sentinel News / September 1, 2024

The fact that I can write this story is something of a medical miracle.

On July 30, I was rushed to Scripps Mercy Hospital’s Trauma Unit, disoriented, unable to speak coherently, and afraid I might never talk again.

Within12 hours, I could clearly communicate with my wife and the medical professionals who restored my brain functioning — and possibly saved my life — thanks to an amazing drug that can reverse brain injury and prevent permanent disability.

Every Saturday 10 am – 12 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine:

Vets for Peace Protest Miramar Airshow

September 3rd Tuesday 5:30 pm Dabke with us and workout for a cause

September 4th Wednesday 9 am – 10 am Green Home Institute Webinar:  How to Electrify Without Panel Upsizing

September 7th Saturday 11:15 – 2 pm Protest @Del Mar Race Track #7

By Paul Krueger

Just days before the start of his scheduled trial, Hells Angel Kyle Donegan pleaded guilty to a felony assault charge with a gang enhancement.

Donegan’s guilty plea adds to the list of defendants who have taken plea bargains rather than face trial for their alleged roles in the brutal June, 2023 attack on three young black men on Newport Avenue.

Among those still scheduled for trial is the gang’s longtime leader, Troy Scholder, who allegedly stabbed one of the victims in the chest. Prosecutors say Scholder “casually folded up his knife and walked away” after inflicting a wound that cracked the victim’s sternum. (That victim — and the two others — survived the attacks.)

Scholder and three colleagues who allegedly helped him flee the crime scene have an October 28 trial date.

Now, for something lighter …. from our friends at Peninsula News

San Diego Police have announced that following an extensive investigation, detectives have made an arrest in a 2023 Ocean Beach homicide.

Andrew Restrepo, described as a 36-year-old Latino, was arrested as the suspect for the murder of Sean Glenn. Glenn was slugged by a man while standing at 5000 Newport Avenue on May 10, 2023, at approximately 10:51 p.m and knocked unconscious.  Glenn was transported to the hospital for his injuries and remained hospitalized until he succumbed to the injuries on August 5 that year.  He was 35.

The Callen Report

By Kate Callen

The meeting started with a snoozefest.

Christian Hoppe from the Development Services Department (DSD) led off by mechanically reading Ocean Beach’s appeal to block The Pointe (that’s with an “e”), and DSD’s responses. The department’s reasoning came out of a vortex: You have no grounds to appeal our decision because we say you have no grounds to appeal our decision.

The Craigs took command.

Craig Sherman, attorney for appellant Patricia Lewis, challenged DSD on due process grounds for refusing to release supporting materials. He said the City was ignoring the protected status of OB’s Cottage Emerging Historical District – “It has geographical boundaries that are not subject to dispute” – and he rebuked DSD for giving developer Takeoff Capital inexplicable waivers and incentives.

OB attorney Craig Klein, speaking for the community, delivered a clear message: The Pointe is Too Much, Too Quick. “This community has worked so long to preserve its historic location as the last real beach town south of Point Concepcion. This is the first project that has attempted to extend Complete Communities into Ocean Beach. If this passes, do you think other developers aren’t watching?”

Today, August 29, the San Diego Planning Commission unanimously rejected “The Point” project slated for Point Loma Avenue in south Ocean Beach.

To a person, the Commission agreed with OBceans and their lawyer that the property where the ADU apartment complex was proposed was or is within the Ocean Beach Historic Cottage District and is therefore exempted from the rules of the so-called Complete Communities housing policy of the city.

At 12:25 this afternoon, the San Diego Planning Commission voted unanimously to grant the appeal of the 20 apartments proposed for Point Loma Ave. This means the project, as is, will not be built.

In a stunning consensus, Commissioners agreed with the people who brought the appeal of the project in the historic district argument — that the subject property is within the Ocean Beach Historic Cottage District, and therefore is ineligible to be used with the Complete Communities policy of the city.

Live Streaming of Hearing Available

The San Diego Planning Commission is taking up the issue of the 20 units of the proposed ADU apartment for Point Loma Avenue in Ocean Beach.

12:12 Commissioners begin making comments and asking questions.

12:10pm public comments have concluded.

There aren’t too many in favor of the project.

1201 Rep from YIMBY Democrats who supports the project called the appeal “frivolous.”

12:00 Speakers continue to argue against the project and in favor of the appeal.

9:54 am; staff is now presenting the project; this is an appeal by the community of staff’s decision to allow the project.

Editordude: Here’s some good news for San Diego renters: San Diego County is set to welcome 3,226 new rental units by the end of the year with 2,016 of those in the City of San Diego, 369 in Oceanside, and 414 in Chula Vista. Plus, the County of San Diego City has a “New Affordable Housing Mapping Tool” here.

By Brian White / CBS8 / August 28, 2024

Apartment construction is set to break records this year nationwide as more than half a million new rentals hit the market. CBS 8 takes a closer look at what this means for San Diego County.

Public Service Announcement

By Esmeralda Perez / CBS8 / August 27, 2024

San Diego County is receiving about $4 million in ‘Beverage Container Redemption Innovation Grants,’ by CalRecycle to help start 20 recycling sites in either mobile recycling or reverse vending machines at select Smart and Final stores.

“So reverse vending machines look a lot like regular vending machines except the difference is that you’ll put your bottles or cans into the vending machine and then you’ll get nickels or dimes back,…