OB Rag

On Monday, August 26, a group of Mira Mesa residents protested the removal of nearly 70 mature trees from a local park. They said the chopping down and killing of 50 to 75-year-old trees at the Mira Mesa Community Park is not in line with San Diego’s efforts to build out the urban tree canopy as part of its climate action goals.

The trees are set to be removed ostensibly to make room for improvements at the park, including added parking spaces, a proposed pool and skate park, and other improvements, which have been in the works for some time. But residents said they were in the dark about the fact that 68 mature trees in the area would be torn down and replaced with young saplings.

By Lynne Miller

Get your OB Mind primed for action! Show up with your friends this

THURSDAY, AUGUST 29 AT 9:00 am.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS: City Admin Building
12th Floor, 202 C Street San Diego 92101.

Bring your beach smiles and personal power to stand up for OB, Point Loma, and Sunset Cliffs. We are a peninsula with a beach lifestyle, and a landscape of cottages and four-plexes that reveal our history.

OB local’s activism has saved many quaint characteristics and continues to voice environmental and coastal concerns.  Across the Pacific, on Kauai, Islanders have battled to protect their paradise. Sadly,the battles have been against state and local governments that want to control land use and real estate.

Fortunately for California’s coast, Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-San Diego) was forced to withdraw his controversial bill, AB 2560,  last week when amendments added went counter to Alvarez’ intent.

Alvarez and his so-called YIMBY supporters claimed the bill would have streamlined the approval of housing developments in the coastal zone that make use of the state’s affordable housing density bonus law. Developers liked the bill because it offered them a streamlined process if they set aside a portion of the homes in their projects as affordable housing.

Yet the bill ran afoul of the powers of the California Coastal Commission which, of course, has broad veto power over density bonus projects

Public Service Announcement

By Phillip Molnar / The San Diego Union-Tribune / August 25, 2024

San Diegans are about to experience the first benefit of the major $3.8 billion remodel of the airport. San Diego International Airport’s new parking garage — which it calls a plaza — will have 2,834 parking spots, enough to make a difference for those using short-term parking or longer term.

Now that the OB Rag has closed the entry-phase of our “Worst ADU” contest, it enters the judging stage where our judge panel will examine the entries and eventually decide the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards.

The Rag received 43 entries from 20 neighborhoods

The response to our contest has been astonishing. By last Friday’s deadline, we received 43 entries from 20 communities across the city — from Torrey Hills to Logan Heights, from Ocean Beach to Kearny Mesa.

While the volume of entries was great for our contest, it also speaks to the disaster Todd Gloria’s “Bonus ADU” program has brought to many San Diego neighborhoods.

“Ceasefire in Gaza” rally this Saturday, August 24th, 2024 from 10 AM to Noon in the Ocean Beach area !!

UNTIL THERE IS A CEASEFIRE, WE ARE STILL NEEDED ON THE CORNER !!

Please note: Rally time is now an earlier two-hour period — come any time between 10 AM and Noon.

Come join a growing number of your friends and neighbors, at least 30 folks last Saturday, standing out on a busy corner in Ocean Beach, demanding a CEASEFIRE in Gaza, and demanding that the U.S. stop providing Israel with weapons that have already killed over 40,000 Gazans, most of these deaths women and children.

By Paul Krueger / Special to OB Rag

The future of Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed 1,000 homeless shelter won’t be known until the City Council returns from its summer break and resumes meeting in September.

But there are rumblings at City Hall that the mayor has — or will — abandon his controversial “mega-shelter,” proposed for an industrial-commercial block at Kettner and Vine Streets, east of the airport in San Diego’s Middletown neighborhood.

The proposed shelter faced a barrage of criticism from residential neighbors who complain that the city made no effort to listen to or discuss their concerns. But those nearby homeowners, renters, and small business owners on India Street are hardly alone in their opposition.

by Ben Christopher / Cal-Matters / November 28, 2023

In the minds of most Californians, accessory dwelling units — ADUs, short — bring to mind words like “small,” “subtle” and “cute.” None of which describe the side-by-side ADU duplexes on E Street.

Perched at the edge of San Diego’s desirable Golden Hill neighborhood, there’s nothing dainty or diminutive about these three-story structures. “Backyard cottage” is another term used to describe accessory dwelling units, but these are out front, practically hiding the five-unit multiplex to which they are technically “accessory.”

From Northwestern / August 22, 2024

New research from Northwestern University has systematically proven that a mild zap of electricity can strengthen a marine coastline for generations—greatly reducing the threat of erosion in the face of climate change and rising sea levels.

In the new study, researchers took inspiration from clams, mussels and other shell-dwelling sea life, which use dissolved minerals in seawater to build their shells.

Similarly, the researchers leveraged the same naturally occurring, dissolved minerals to form a natural cement

The city of San Diego is inviting the community to give feedback on bike infrastructure online through Sept. 10. They say they’ll use them to shape the new Bicycle Master Plan, which helps them prioritize future infrastructure projects as they seek funding.

There’s an interactive map where users can note what works well and what could be improved. The map has nearly 500 contributions so far. To submit feedback, visit the city of San Diego interactive map.

The City of San Diego wants residents’ views on the new trash service and charges.

So, the city is holding an online meeting on Saturday, August 24, and an in-person meeting in Point Loma next week about implementing Measure B, which amends the People’s Ordinance to allow the City to begin charging for trash pickup from single family homes. Plus, they’ll be out at OB Farmers Market on that Wed. (See below)

As part of the Cost of Service Study, the City is holding public meetings in all the Council districts to collect input from the public on services and fees.

Watching some of the news video of the DNC (Democratic National Convention) yesterday, I cringed every time the camera panned and we could see San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria in the crowd.

I thought, OMG, I bet Gloria is touting himself on the national stage as a mayor who has solved both the housing crisis and the homeless crisis, I’m sure. And on the surface, Gloria is just the type of mayor Harris would want to showcase — if all that was true. But, of course, it’s not true.

We know that Vice President Harris and Gloria know each other -. But does she know how unpopular he is in his own hometown?