OB Rag

By Carolyn Chase

Why are our energy bills so high?

The Energy Industrial Complex is picking your pocket. The EIC in California consists of:

• The three for-profit monopolies: San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison
• The CPUC – misnamed as the California Public Utility Commission – has ceased responsible oversight needed by ratepayers
• Politicians and appointees that fail to ask critical questions and go along with unnecessary rate increases.  They accept project designs that are the most profitable instead of designs that prioritize affordability and climate progress.

Every year, the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists hosts an event called “Walls and Windows” in order “to honor those in our community who have worked hard to expand the public’s right to know by fighting for transparency — and hold accountable those who have stifled these efforts.”

This year, they awarded the “Sunshine Award” to Will Carless — a former San Diego journalist — who works for USD Today. The award “goes to a journalist or community member who went above and beyond to make the government more transparent and hold elected officials accountable.”

And the Society awarded the “Wall Award” to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, and here’s why:

[Editordude: This 5-month old article by Shannon Handy and Dorian Hargrove at our local CBS affiliate deserves resurfacing.]

By Shannon Handy and Dorian Hargrove / CBS8 / November 16, 2023

Sea levels are rising. That spells trouble for low-lying areas throughout the region, none more so than in San Diego’s Midway District and surrounding areas.

By Dorian Hargrove / CBS8 / April 12, 2024

The future of San Diego’s push to build a new sports arena is in flux after a new report recommended that the San Diego Sports Arena, built in 1966, be considered historic.

In an April 11 staff report to the city’s Historical Resource Board, staff found the San Diego Sports Arena qualifies for all three historical designations and that demolition of the currently named Pechanga Arena will create “significant” historical impacts.

Roll up For Cannabis Equity – A monthly column

By Terrie Best

Saturday is 420. I love a good party tip and the all-things-cannabis EventHi.io platform is a great one. It’s a one-stop for cannabis events nation-wide so you can search for your cannabis community wherever you are in the US. Except not Boise, don’t expect to find any real canna-culture on display in places like Boise. Still, the site has a way to make clear the event is a non-consumption affair if cannabis-free Boise did want to get involved.

EventHi was born out of necessity. When folks tried to use that other platform, Eventbrite to sell cannabis event tickets Eventbrite had thoughts. Being a total buzz-kill, they deleted many weed-related events

The Project Review Committee of the OB Planning Board meets this Wednesday night, April 17 at the OB Rec Center, at 6 pm sharp.

There is one project up for review, for 4705 Point Loma Avenue, where the owners have applied to demolish the existing structure and build 20 units in a 3-story multi-family residential building. The 20 units are either 1-bedrooms or studios. (See the full description below in the agenda.)

If it’s difficult to read the text of Action Item #2, here it is (in a simpler format but verbatim):

This Saturday, April 13th, 2024 at Noon in Ocean Beach !!

Come join a growing number of your friends and neighbors, 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 30,000+ Gazans.

This weekly demonstration, organized by the San Diego Veterans For Peace and the progressive women’s group, Code Pink, will mark the eleventh consecutive Saturday at the same location, corner of West Point Loma Blvd and Sunset Cliffs Blvd, with the group growing in numbers each week. 

From Source:

Presented by the Hodad’s Foundation & AWOL Productions. We’re dedicated to honoring the Old School ways and keeping it local! This Surf Contest is for all the local rippers and families in our beloved Ocean Beach Community.

Steven Mihailovich, writing in the Pt Loma-OB Monthly, gave an excellent account of a local planning board leader’s campaign to reform the city’s short-term rental ordinance — and how OB is currently being negatively affected by its defects.

In his April 10 post, Mihailovich — one of the Peninsula’s better writers these days — quoted Kevin Hastings, vice chairman of the Ocean Beach Planning Board, extensively as Hastings explained the situation at a March 27 public meeting

Here’s the video of the new Ocean Beach Pier design from the City of San Diego.

by Marisa Kendall/ Calmatters / April 11, 2024

Politicians pushing to make homeless encampments illegal across wide swaths of California point to one city as proof it will work.

“San Diego gets it,” Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones said during a recent press conference. “They are having great success so far with their ordinance, and we hope we can take that success across the state.” Jones’ proposal, Senate Bill 1011, is modeled after a controversial new San Diego ordinance that bans encampments near schools, shelters and transit hubs, in parks, and even, if shelter beds are available, on all public sidewalks.

But how well is San Diego’s “Unsafe Camping Ordinance” really working?

Styrofoam is not allowed in the City of San Diego. After a grace period, a ban is officially in effect.

Businesses bringing in less than $500,000 annually were given a year to comply with the ban, which initially passed in April 2023. “The ordinance only dictates that you cannot use polystyrene foam. However, we do have preferences for the alternatives that are used, so things like rigid plastic that can be recycled,” said Jennifer Ott, a recycling specialist