OB Rag

There’s such a “stir on social media” about the latest renditions of maps that show the locations of short-term vacation rentals in San Diego that the private site that posts them, niceneighbor.org , is on the verge of crashing.

Jay Goldberg has been analyzing the city of San Diego’s short-term rental locations for a year and a half. He posts maps on his website: niceneighbors.org.

“The concentration is surprising,” said Goldberg. “You’re talking about 6.2 percent of all dwelling units in Ocean Beach currently licensed as short-term rentals.”

There’s a lot of different spellings of a “native” resident of Ocean Beach. Yet, a decade ago — in 2014 while the OB Community Plan was going up for renewal, a decision was made of the proper spelling.

June 20, OBHS Presents- Dialogue: Q&A with SOHO’s Bruce Coons and David Goldberg

Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 7 PM, at Waters Edge, at 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., Join the Ocean Beach Historical Society for a Q&A session with Save Our Heritage Organization’s Executive Director Bruce Coons and board president David Goldberg where OBceans can ask about the pressing issues and concerns surrounding preservation efforts.

After being closed for remodeling, La Playa Books is back up and running in a more spacious, freshened space with a new floor in Point Loma Village.

The success of a small independent bookseller is all about networking, noted Amy Hesselink, manager of La Playa Books at 1026 Rosecrans St. “We have connections with Cabrillo Elementary, with Point Loma Assembly, and the Point Loma Association and with our other brick-and-mortar neighbors,” she said. “We create events. It’s an active part of the community and that’s important for us.”

In reviewing the brand new budget for the City of San Diego for the next fiscal year, I could not help but notice there are no funds for a new lifeguard station for Ocean Beach, although there is $120,000 for a “long-awaited” lifeguard station in Pacific Beach.

Really? How long has OB been waiting for a new lifeguard station?

I seem to recall that PB has a “new” lifeguard station; so does Mission Beach and La Jolla. Obviously, PB is larger than OB and needs more lifeguards.

Here’s a brief outline of the city’s new $5.8 billion budget for the next fiscal year, passed unanimously by the council on Tuesday, June 10. A final vote will take place before the end of the month.

Also, Mayor Gloria vowed to sign the spending plan without changes. It reverses many of  the cuts proposed by the mayor in April that critics said would have disproportionately impacted low-income neighborhoods, homeless San Diegans and people of color.

The final budget includes:

Twenty years ago, Green Day’s seventh studio album “American Idiot” was released to uproarious critical praise. The self-described “punk rock opera” serves as an epic that follows Jesus of Suburbia, an adolescent American anti-hero, as he contends with the tumultuous early 2000s. In an era defined by the Iraq War, 9/11, and the Bush administration, it’s no wonder that the politically charged record is as relevant as it ever was.

The Wildsong Theater and Arts Collective is stoked to be able to celebrate the 20th anniversary with American Idiot: The Musical.

by Khari Johnson / Cal-Matters / June 3 Updated June 6, 2024

[Please see original for links]

Your children could be some of a growing number of California kids having their writing graded by software instead of a teacher.

California school districts are signing more contracts for artificial intelligence tools, from automated grading in San Diego to chatbots in central California, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

What the Council Could Do Given the Jockeying by the 2 Main Factions

This piece by David Garrick at the U-T was published Friday, June 7 and gives the establishment press’ hope for the budget.

San Diego would increase money for small business aid, arts programs and reducing climate impacts to low-income neighborhoods as part of a budget compromise proposal endorsed Friday by City Council members.

During a contentious five-hour hearing, a majority of the council also supported more money for victims of the Jan. 22 floods, drop-in centers for low-income youth and rental subsidies for people with unstable housing.

by Ernie McCray

The other night
I saw a video
of a cheap shot
laid on Caitlin Clark
that was called a foul
but it seemed more like a mugging
to me,
way-way-way
unnecessary.

By Judi Curry

Have been under the weather lately.  Losing my sight in the “good eye” and only have slight peripheral vision in that eye so have not been paying much attention to things going on around me.  Until this past weekend, when I had, excuse the pun, a real “eye opener.”

I got a message that $98.99 had been paid from my Venmo account to a woman whose name I didn’t recognize – Amiyah Parker – for Crypto currency and that amount would be paid to the very same woman every month.

Lighthouse Closed from June 5 – late August; Whale Outlook and Oceanside Trail Still Accessible

The lighthouse is undergoing substantial exterior repair work and will be closed to the public during this time.

Please note that the two accessible parking spots by the lighthouse will not be available during this time.

Access to the whale overlook and the Oceanside Trail is still available by taking the walking path on the East side of the lighthouse. The Assistant Keepers Quarters is open and provides information on the Old Point Loma lighthouse.