OB ‘Whistling Guy’ Appears in Saturday Night Live Skit

October 4, 2021 by Staff

Last weekend’s Saturday Night Live captured the OB “Whistling Guy”, played by comedian Bowen Yang. The “Whistling Guy” – you may recall – showed up at the San Diego County Board of Supervisors back in August and created quite a scene.

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SOHO: Protect San Diego From NAVWAR Project

October 4, 2021 by Source

From SOHO

Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO) and San Diegans across the county have grave concerns over the Navy’s impactful proposal named the Old Town Campus Revitalization Project, unveiled this past May.

Detailed within the Environment Impact Statement (EIS) are abundant environmental issues including visual resources, air quality, historic and cultural resources, transportation, land use, socioeconomics, noise, environmental justice, public services, infrastructure, geology, and biological resources.

Five alternatives are included;

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All The King’s Men in San Diego

October 4, 2021 by Source

By Mat Wahlstrom

By now most of you know about “the video“. (If you don’t, see the link to a capture of it that includes the subtitles so you can watch it without sound. Trust me, you’ll want to hit mute.)

Created for the amusement of those attending the $445-a-head “ToddTalk” fundraiser for the Downtown Partnership on September 22 but only made public by accident last week, it is a perfect distillation of the collegial corruption and smug entitlement exercised by the Establishment.

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Radioactive Baby Teeth, JFK and Kids With Cancer

October 4, 2021 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to bring about a nuclear free world.

The fear of nuclear annihilation after WWII spread around the world along with radioactive fallout from nuclear bomb tests. Scientists began to document the presence of this radioactivity in humans.

One particular radioactive chemical, Strontium 90 (Sr- 90), received particular attention. As with other fallout, it does not exist in nature. Like its non- radioactive cousin calcium, if it enters our bodies, it concentrates in our bones and teeth, and can emit radiation there for about 200 years, potentially causing cancer and other dread diseases.

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October 2021 Events from the Ocean Beach Green Center

October 4, 2021 by Source

All events are online and free unless stated otherwise.

* Every Saturday 10:15 am. Climate Mobilization Coalition Zoom Meeting. October 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd,and 30th
* October 5th Tuesday 7 pm – 8:15 pm San Diego’s Insects and Their Dependence on Native Plants Event by California Native Plant Society
* October 6th Wednesday 2 pm – 3:30 pm Network Webinar: Urban Heat & Resilience
* October 7th Thursday 11 am – 12 pm Understanding Violence and Prevention During a Pandemic
* October 7th Thursday 5 pm – 7:30 pm Gather 2021 Event by Climate Action Campaign
* October 8th Friday 7 pm Vaccinated Backyard movie night.
* October 9th Saturday 9 am – 3 pm California Native Plant Festival
* October 9th Saturday 10 am – 1 pm SD Fixit Clinic
* October 10th Sunday 9 am – 1 pm Walk for the Wild – San Diego Bay
* October 10th Sunday 2 pm – 4 pm Solar Power and Quality Jobs

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OB Paddle Out for Clean Water Follows Oil Spill Off Orange County, While Questions Raised of Response Time

October 4, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

An estimated 500 people took part in the annual OB Pier Paddle Out for clean water on Sunday, October 3 — just days after one of the largest oil spills in recent California history erupted off the coast of Orange County.

Meanwhile, Southern California residents, business owners and environmentalists are raising questions on why it took authorities so long in reacting to contain the over 130,000 gallon spill, that spans nearly 6 nautical miles.

According to reports from people who live and work in the area, they noticed an oil sheen and a heavy petroleum smell Friday evening. Yet, it wasn’t until Saturday morning after 9 am that the Coast Guard first reported it. It wasn’t until Saturday afternoon that a unified command was established to respond. And it took until Saturday night for the company that operates the pipeline believed responsible for the leak to shut down operations.

It wasn’t until Sunday that booms were deployed on the ocean surface to try to contain the oil.

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‘Brownout’ Closed Point Loma Fire Station Last Weekend

October 1, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

The public learned this week that a “brownout” closed the Point Loma fire station on Catalina Boulevard last weekend. On Wednesday, Fire Chief Colin Stowell said staffing shortages forced the department to close the fire engine and also three specialty firefighting units. The department hasn’t had to resort to “brownouts” in over a decade. Stowell said:

“Brownouts are totally our last resort and I can’t remember the last time this happened, so I would not expect this is going to be a regular occurrence. The many factors and complexities creating these challenges will slowly subside over time.”

Those other factors included the pandemic and Northern Cal wildfires.

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New City Policy in Responding to Encampments of the Houseless Explained

October 1, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

There’s been a change in how the City of San Diego responds to encampments of the houseless. No longer will police officers respond to reports or complaints of camps, but instead they will be directed to a group partnered with the city, PATH (People Assisting the Homeless). PATH then will have up to four days to make contact with people in the camp to begin resolving problems.

All this was explained by writer Steven Mihailovich in the latest Point Loma Monthly magazine.

This is the current state of complaints of encampments through San Diego’s Get It Done app. Long-time Community Relations Officer David Surwilo

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Friends of OB Library Newsletter for October 2021

October 1, 2021 by Source

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Ocean Beach Library Not Opening Till the New Year, But Plans for Expansion to Be Presented in Early November

October 1, 2021 by Staff

According to Interim Branch Manager of the OB Library, Kristen Mulvihill, and the monthly newsletter sent out by the Friends of the OB Library, the Ocean Beach branch will not reopen until the New Year — possibly in January 2022.

This frustrating news is buttressed, however, by the announcement that renderings and floorplans for an expanded OB Library will be presented to the community soon. The tentative date is Wednesday, November 3rd

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Peninsula Planners Hear the Bad News About ADUs and Grapple With Undeveloped Pocket Park

September 30, 2021 by Staff

By Geoff Page

The Peninsula Community Planning Board’s regular monthly meeting September 16 had basically two items of interest to the community as a whole, an eye-opening presentation about new state law concerning accessory dwelling units and a pocket park.

State Law and Accessory Dwelling Units – ADUs

One of several organizations that have formed to protest the new state and city laws about accessory dwelling units is Neighbors for a Better San Diego or NBS. Kathy McClelland, an adjunct instructor at Southwestern College and Bob James, a contractor, provided a presentation. Two California senate bills, SB 9 and SB 10,

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Councilmember’s Recommended Revisions to San Diego ‘Granny Flat’ Regulations

September 28, 2021 by Source

Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera of San Diego’s 9th Council District has come up with a series of recommended revisions to the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) or “granny flat” regulations.

In his Memorandum to the City Council, Elo-Rivera outlines his recommendations which he makes after listening “to the feedback of many community members, including ardent supporters and opponents of the current policy, and conducted a thorough analysis of the regulations put into place by the previous administration. Following months of conversations with stakeholders and analysis ….”

We invite anyone to respond to Elo-Rivera’s recommendations, as we note not everyone agrees. But at least he has helped the debate.

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Women’s March for Reproductive Rights – San Diego, October 2

September 28, 2021 by Source


March for Reproductive Rights – San Diego
Saturday, October 2, 2021
10:00 AM 12:00 PM
Waterfront Park (map)

San Diego will join marchers across the nation on October 2nd, before the reconvening of the Supreme Court, taking to the streets in every state to demand our right to reproductive healthcare.

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England Has ’10 Days to Save Christmas’ – America has 4 Days to Save Democracy and the Planet

September 28, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

On Friday, the United Kingdom’s retail industry warned the British government that the country only had “10 days to save Christmas.”

Seriously.

Ten days in which to find nearly 100,000 Lorry drivers to transport the needed pre-ordered holiday goods to market. So desperate is the government to save Christmas that it has fast-tracked emergency authorized visas for lorry drivers. They have even begun hiring women for the task.

Gas stations around London have already run short on fuel and long on lines. Food shortages are another new worry. COVID-19 and Brexit exacerbated an already existing bottleneck.

Cut to the United States where the debate over:

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San Diego Loosens Funding Application Process for Arts and Culture

September 28, 2021 by Staff

Tracy Dezenzo has some exciting news! The OBcean and member of the OB Planning Board is also a member of San Diego’s Commission for Arts and Culture and has informed the OB Rag that the City Council unanimously passed the Commission’s proposed changes to Transit Occupancy Tax policy 100-03 which dictates how the funding for the Commission is allocated.

Tracy lists some key changes that will be reflected in the FY23 funding application guidelines:

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Surfrider Summons Beach Lovers to Paddle Around Ocean Beach Pier – Sunday, Oct.3

September 27, 2021 by Source

Edited from Surfrider

Surfrider San Diego is celebrating a 29 year tradition to raise awareness about our ongoing battle for clean water and a healthy coastline. This Sunday, October 3, at the OB Pier.

This is their signature awareness event, the Paddle for Clean Water, and is the largest non-competitive surf event in California.

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Growing Opposition to ‘Granny Flats’ in San Diego Leads to Councilmember’s Proposed Changes

September 27, 2021 by Source

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / Sept. 26, 2021

Growing outcry over granny flat construction in some San Diego neighborhoods has prompted city officials to propose rolling back some recent policy changes that have made San Diego’s rules among the least restrictive in California. Critics who say the city’s granny flat rules are too lenient are calling the recently proposed rollback from Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera a good start, but they say it won’t prevent some property owners from destroying neighborhood character by building multiple granny flats in one back yard.

Ardent proponents say that granny flats — which city officials call accessory dwelling units or ADUs — are the cheapest and fastest way to solve San Diego’s housing crisis.

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Jesse Jackson: The Texas Taliban Wing of the Republican Party

September 27, 2021 by Source

In total control of the state, Republicans have a free hand that they’ve used to enforce extremism.

By Jesse Jackson / Chicago Sun-Times

American papers are filled with pundits speculating about the horrors the Taliban may inflict on the people of Afghanistan, particularly its women. Less attention has been paid to the horrors Texas Republicans — the Taliban wing of the Republican Party — are inflicting on the State of Texas. In total control of the state, Republicans have a free hand that they’ve used to enforce extremism.

Dubbing them the Texas Taliban isn’t just name-calling. The parallels are chilling.

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Sky Didn’t Fall On U.S. Military After ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ Repealed

September 27, 2021 by Source

By Joseph C. Rocha / Times of San Diego / September 23, 2021

Ten years ago this week, the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was repealed, finally lifting the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in our armed forces.

From that morning, I most vividly remember two things. First, all the courageous veterans and servicemembers who had shared their stories. And second, that the sky hadn’t fallen.

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Meet the Kentucky Derby Duo of Ocean Beach

September 27, 2021 by Judi Curry

By Judi Curry

Ocean Beach is a melting pot of many different types of individuals, from humans, to pet pigs, to birds, to cats, and, in this case, dogs. Seldom does anyone get to meet a dog and his owner like I am going to introduce you to today. And they like to call Ocean Beach their home. Without any further introduction, let me introduce you to Kentucky – the human – and Derby, the surfing dog.

It wouldn’t surprise me if you already know them, or least know about them.

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Of Course San Diego Water Use Is Up – Local Water Authority Leaders Told Us We Had Enough Water till 2045 – They Should Resign

September 24, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

The big news is that despite Gov. Newsom’s appeal for Californians to cut water use, water use in San Diego County actually went up.

According to new data, water use rose 1.3 percent in San Diego. … On average, Californians reduced water use by just 1.8 percent statewide during July as compared to the same month last year.

Yet is it any surprise that San Diegans haven’t adhered to Newsom’s appeal? We were told by our local water authority back in June ‘Not to worry, we have enough water through 2045.’

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Kudos to Macy’s for Plants and Volunteers at the Point Loma Native Plant Garden

September 24, 2021 by Staff

By Geoff Page

On Thursday, September 16, Macy’s, Inc. generously donated lots of plants and volunteers to plant them at one of the hidden jewels of the Peninsula: the Point Loma Native Plant Garden. This significant effort by Macy’s deserves kudos from the community.

For those unfamiliar with the Native Plant Garden, it has a gate at Mendocino Blvd. and Greene Street. There is another gate behind the apartment building on the west side of the property. It is just east of the eucalyptus grove on the north side of the apartment building. The Reserve is bordered on the east by Nimitz Blvd.

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Uma Thurman: ‘The Texas abortion law is a human rights crisis for American women’

September 23, 2021 by Source

Opinion by Uma Thurman / Washington Post / September 21, 2021

I have followed the course of Texas’s radical antiabortion law with great sadness, and something akin to horror. Now, in the hope of drawing the flames of controversy away from the vulnerable women on whom this law will have an immediate effect, I am sharing my own experience. You might not be interested in the opinions of an actress, but given this new outrage, I feel it is my responsibility to stand up in their shoes.

I started my acting career at 15, working in an environment where I was often the only kid in the room.

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Point Loma Group Looks Into Mess at Nimitz and Rosecrans

September 23, 2021 by Source

Our friends at the Point Loma Association, urged on by complaints from local residents about two left-turn lanes from northbound Rosecrans into a single lane on westbound Nimitz, looked into the matter and wrote to the City of San Diego Traffic Department.

Here’s the gist of their letter:

Two years ago, over many months, the City modified the intersection of Nimitz and Rosecrans to accommodate double left-turn lanes NW and SE on Nimitz. Apparently it was mandated by the NTC-to-Liberty Station transformation many years earlier.

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Jim Carrey on San Diego Neighborhoods

September 23, 2021 by Source

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What Happened to OB’s Recycling Center Next to Pat’s Liquor?

September 23, 2021 by Judi Curry

By Judi Curry

Over the past few months I have received several calls asking me if Prince’s Recycling Center at 5096 Voltaire right next to Pat’s Liquor is open or closed. This center is not to be confused with the one that was adjacent to Stumps Market, also on Voltaire. Each time I received a call I investigated to see the situation and sometimes I found it open while other times I found it closed.

Recently, however, there has been a sign on the door that stated that the City had closed them down and after receiving a call from Basil at Pat’s Liquor, I decided it was time to do a full investigation. On August 10th, a notice was send to Mr. Prince, telling him that the recycling center was in violation of the San Diego Municipal Code.

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Meet the New Members of the OB Town Council Board

September 23, 2021 by Staff

It’s official. The OB Town Council has five new members of the Board of Directors, all elected in the recent Special Election held after the mass resignations of four board members.

Their names and photos are up at the OBTC website.

And here they are (in alphabetical order of first names):

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‘Let’s Halt Centralized Zoning and Land-use Directives Coming Out of Sacramento’

September 23, 2021 by Source

A Response to U-T Opinion: “California housing crisis finally gets bold response it needed. Thanks to Newsom, Atkins.”

By Danna Givot

The September 17 UT Editorial Board thank you to Newsom and Atkins is shallow and uninformed. Foremost, it fails to recognize that California has an affordable housing crisis, not an overall housing crisis. The real gaps in California housing are at the lowest end. The free market is providing sufficient housing for higher income households.

The editorial failed to recognize that there are no provisions in either SB9 or SB10 for the production of any “affordable” housing. It is fair to assume that the market will do what it does without government incentives – produce more market-rate housing, which will not meet the needs

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90% of San Diego Cops Say They Would Rather Be Fired Than Fired Upon

September 22, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

This is satire

Roughly nine out of 10 members of the San Diego Police Officers Association who responded to a recent survey say they would rather be fired than fired upon.

733 current officers took the poll, conducted by the Police Officers Association, and 45% responded that they cannot comply with the Department’s requirements that they conduct patrols and risk being killed or wounded by gunfire. And roughly 65% said they would consider resigning from their jobs if the city and the department forced them to go out on patrol.

In fact, they say, 35 San Diego police officers have died in the line of duty since the force was created, and they do not intend to add their names to the hallowed list. The SDPD was first formed in 1889.

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Scripps Oceanography Partnering With SDG&E Does Not Make Sense

September 22, 2021 by Source

Scripps Institution of Oceanography is a leader in climate change research, yet it has a relationship with a utility that produces dangerous fossil fuels.

By Luke Stroth, Adam Cooper, Taylor Mckie / Op-Ed San Diego Union-Tribune / Sept. 20, 2021

Scripps Institution of Oceanography has long prided itself as a national leader in climate change research, yet it is pursuing a relationship with a utility owned by a regressive corporation that produces dangerous fossil fuels.

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