OB Rag

By  Bonnie Kutch

Blame it on the “Strong Mayor System.”  With almost total administrative authority previously held by the city manager, and the power to appoint and dismiss department heads, one man alone has all but succeeded in pushing through what’s likely to be the most deceptive and destructive community plan update in San Diego’s history.

The University Community Plan Update, which goes before the San Diego City Council for a final vote on July 30th, would add 30,480 housing units to the existing 26,520 homes, swelling the population from 64,206 to 129,566 people – without adding the infrastructure needed to support such an enormous population increase.  The community, which already experiences heavy traffic congestion, has a limited traffic grid and sits within a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.

The OB Planning Board’s Transportation Committee wants residents’ input on two new, big ideas: a parking district for OB and a new link between OB and Interstate 8.

The Committee meets on Monday, July 22 at 6:30 pm at the OB Woman’s Club, located at 2160 Bacon Street.

We recommend anyone interested go to the OB Planning Board’s website and click on items for the meeting on 7/22/24.

Rebecca Taylor, the chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, died as a result of a motorcycle accident in Utah on Tuesday, July 16. “Becca” as she was known by many, was on a cross-country trip on a motorcycle and hit from behind by another vehicle, 10 News reported.

Taylor, 40, grew up in OB and at one point, served on the OB Town Council. (Go here for a Rag post about Becca from February 2023.) That’s where I first met her.

Observers of the comings and goings of businesses on Newport Avenue — the main commercial drag in Ocean Beach — couldn’t help but notice that just a couple weeks after OB’s winery closed and had its “last hurrah”, a brand new wine bar opened down the street.

On July 6, Gianni Buonomo Vintners had their last party on Newport Ave, and are opening a large facility in the Midway District at 3492 Pickett Street.

by Branden C. Sigua and Geneviéve Jones-Wright / Voice of San Diego / July 15, 2024

[Please go to original for links]

In his January State of the City address, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said we “should be locking up criminals, not laundry detergent,” an unduly callous statement meant to discredit Proposition 47, which passed into law in 2014 with the support of 55 percent of San Diego’s voters. Ironically, in the same speech, Gloria proudly declared San Diego “one of the safest large cities in America.” Two months later, he praised the two-year downward trend in San Diego’s crime rate.

Mayor Gloria should give credit where credit is due. In the decade since its passage, Proposition 47, also known as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, has been a social and fiscal game-changer for our region and state. The truth is, Proposition 47 is a success for all Californians.

July 18- A Willow Tree Becomes A Forest

The Ocean Beach Historical Society presents: “A Willow Tree Becomes A Forest” on Thursday , July 18, at 7 pm, at Waters Edge Community Center, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

MacKenzie Elmer at Voice of San Diego just brought to light that the San Diego Audubon Society is demanding the California Coastal Commission halt the SeaWorld fireworks after bird activists found dead eggs, chicks and adult elegant terns that had been washed ashore after consecutive days of displays.

Elmer reported:

Soaked carcasses of dead unborn, chick and adult elegant terns washed ashore at Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve just days after San Diego SeaWorld and Discover Mission Bay set off well over 500 pounds of explosives over the Fourth of July weekend. Bird biologists uncovered their bodies and reported the incident to the San Diego Audubon Society, which subsequently called on the California Coastal Commission to revoke SeaWorld San Diego’s fireworks permit through most of the breeding season.

On August 10, there will be a celebration of life for Stew Shaw, a long time Mission Beach resident, community activist and an early staff member of the Beach Area Community Clinic.

Stew passed away peacefully of heart and kidney disease in June. He is also remembered as a member of the La Jolla Symphony Chorus and a frequent tennis player at the Barnes Tennis Center. He is survived by a daughter.

The Celebration of Life for Stewart Henry Shaw will be Saturday August 10th 11AM at the Congregational Church of La Jolla

by Ernie McCray

After the assassination attempt
a Trump disciple was heard to say
“I’m going to vote for him
more than ever now”
and to the question “Why?”
he replied
“You can’t stop us,”
spreading a little taste
of that divisive attitude
we’ve come to expect
from Trump’s MAGA tools
and, as he steps into
his new role as a fist-pumping martyr,

By Judi Curry

It has been quite a while since I had a meal at Hugo’s.  It used to be the place I would always go when I didn’t feel like cooking, or if I had company for lunch or dinner, or…..   but after the restaurant changed hands I decided to try other places in the area that I had not gone to because of my love for Mexican food.  And then, of course, Covid hit and we didn’t go out at all.  And, as I found myself aging, I found that different illnesses were keeping me closer to home and I was very careful what I eating.

Then, last week a very dear friend, Mona, that used to live in OB called to tell me she would be in town and wanted to see me. We have been friends for a very long time, and I knew she only ate vegetarian.  And I remembered that Hugo’s was known for their vegetarian/vegan food.

U.S. Rep. Scott Peters, whose 50th District includes Point Loma and Ocean Beach, has just joined a growing number of fellow Democratic members of Congress who are calling for President Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign. Peter’s announcement came right after after Biden’s solo press conference Thursday night, July 11.

Peters, a La Jolla resident, said in a statement that “the nation owes an enormous debt of gratitude to President Biden” and that his shaky debate performance “did not diminish his remarkable accomplishments and record of service,” the debate “raised real concern among elected leaders, supporters and voters that the president will not be able to wage a winning campaign.”