OB Rag

Paul McCartney, 81, shows off new beard and white hair after ditching dye for natural look. Anybody want him to retire?

Please join the ceasefire in Gaza vigil / rally, Saturday, March 30th from Noon to 1 PM at the Ocean Beach portal.

By Geoff Page

The fences came down two days ago – on Tuesday. The long, luxurious grass inside the fence has been trimmed like a long-haired hippie entering the military. A couple of vendors are back. And the public once again has access to what is usually referred to as Veteran’s Park, on Abbott Street between Newport Ave. and Santa Monica Ave.

This particular piece of land was quite a mess before this work was done, as can be seen by the “before” picture taken from Google Maps. The site was mostly sand with some bits of grass. The deterioration of the area was the result of overuse, especially by vendors. Performers and the ocean added to it as well.

Checking in with Denny Knox, Executive Director of the Ocean Beach Main Street Association, for information about the restoration, it was learned that the project was the work of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Forty-five years ago today — March 28th — Central Pennsylvania suffered a historic tragedy when one of the nuclear reactors at Three Mile Island experienced a partial meltdown.

The accident, which occurred at the Generating Station along the Susquehanna River on March 28, 1979, went down in history as the most serious nuclear power plant accident in United States history.

According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, researchers were able to determine that the meltdown had “negligible effects on the physical health of individuals or the environment” — but that’s not to say there weren’t any lasting impacts.

When the Rag ran a story on how the City of San Diego was beginning to enforce a prohibition on businesses using public beaches and certain parks for their own private benefit, the response by our readers was one of satisfaction; people were glad that the public beaches would remain for the, uh, public.

So, earlier this week, a small handful of businesses gathered at La Jolla Shores to rally against what they’re calling a “ban” on public events and services held on city beaches.

And leading the rally and effort at pushback was none other than San Diego’s own Trumpist Amy Reichert, recent candidate for office (she was trounced) and head of Restore San Diego,

By Phil Diehl / San Diego Union-Tribune / March 27, 2024

State Department of Fish and Wildlife officials have fined a network of San Diego fishermen a total of $145,000 for poaching bluefin tuna, yellowtail and mahi mahi.

A six-month investigation showed more than 5,500 pounds of fish were bought from recreational fishermen and sold in commercial markets, according to a recent news release from the department.

On Friday night March 22 on Newport Avenue in OB, a stranger tried to kidnap an 8-year-old boy who was playing on the sidewalk in front of his father who was finishing up dinner. The father, Adrian Villanueva, rushed over to try to prevent the stranger from carrying out this dastardly deed.

Others came to Villanueva’s help, grabbed the boy back and restrained the stranger, who was later identified as Christopher Higginbotham. Security video captured the moment.

Villanueva and his family were enjoying dinner at the deli they just had opened. Bystanders rushed to help as well as did security guards from Pac Shores and The Harp.

The Ocean Beach Woman’s Club is holding their fourth annual hat contest scheduled for Thursday, April 4, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. , at Dirty Birds restaurant, located 1929 Cable St.

This competition is free and open to everyone who has a favorite hat – or who wants to craft a new one.

This year’s “hat-egories” are:

• Best Party Hat,
• Most Ridiculous,
• Most OBcean and
• Ode to Mae, a nod to the club’s garden tradition.

The OB Town Council is still struggling through the scandal which has mired the long-time community organization in the muck left after the former president, Cory Bruins, was forced to resign. Yet, another resignation from the Board of Directors demonstrates this all too well.

Board member Mandy Havlik announced her resignation over the past weekend, the Rag has learned. This leaves the Board with only 7 members – usually it has 15.

Their website is still down – although their facebook page is still up and running.

They are holding a public meeting tonight, Wednesday, March 27, but it doesn’t appear they are using the moniker of the OB Town Council.

Escondido physician Dr. George Delgado, is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit before the US Supreme Court right now. And clearly, he wants to limit women’s access to the abortion drug Mifepristone. He believes forcing women to live by his religion is more important than women’s rights.

Delgado directs medical operations at Culture of Life Family Services, a Catholic organization providing “pro-life medical care and pregnancy clinic services.” Delgado has already made headlines with his “Abortion Pill Reversal” program — a