OB Rag

By The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board / April 4, 2024

The recent report that the San Diego Association of Governments is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department said agency officials weren’t exactly sure what prompted the federal probe. That is in its own way a testament to the fact that SANDAG — the main regional transportation planning agency with a huge $1.3 billion annual budget — has been so awful on several fronts that any might trigger an inquiry.

The latest scandal certainly qualifies. Evidence shows SANDAG wrongly charged up to 45,000 drivers for a toll road they did not use, and an internal inquiry found agency officials knew of the bogus charges for more than a year without telling the agency’s Board of Directors. If a private business knowingly and persistently kept charging people for services they didn’t use, the indictments would be swift and public condemnation would be overwhelming.

Our friend Roger Showley (PLHS 1966]  just had some ideas of how San Diego could handle the “chase [of] the mirage of a new City Hall” that was published in the U-T Letters to the Editor:

Here’s an off-the-wall, back-to-the-future solution: The city buys back the half of the County Administration Center on Pacific Highway that it sold to the county in the 1960s.

The mayor, City Council and key administrators move in and develop a lot more collaboration with the county on a whole range of duties and projects.

Despite incentives from the City, developers are opting to build units for higher income tenants.

By Steve Price / CBS8 / April 4, 2024

Under the City of San Diego’s bonus Accessory Dwelling Unit program, a developer can build more than one ADU on a property as long as every other unit they build on the lot is set aside for affordable rent. But according to city records, the program is not working as city leaders had hoped.

A perfect example can be seen in the College East neighborhood, where six brand new ADUs just went up on a lot that used to have just one single family home.

On Thursday, April 4, Mayor Todd Gloria announced that he is seeking to turn a large warehouse on Kettner Blvd into a 65,000 square foot homeless shelter. The building — at 3570 Kettner — is at the corner with Vine Street, just next to the I-5 freeway and near Pacific Highway. Gloria says it will be space for 1,000 people, showers, a kitchen, recreational facilities and counseling services.

If his proposal passes the city council, then he plans to turn the controversial H Barracks site into a parking lot for roughly 200 spaces of designated parking to accommodate people living in vehicles.

We were warned today would be San Diego’s coldest day of the year and it’s already hailing in parts of the city and county.

And it’s snowing in our local mountains – like at Mt Laguna, Lake Cuyamaca and the town of Julian. These screen captures of the live cams were taken at 10:30 this morning.

By Ken Stone / Times of San Diego / April 2, 2024

Dressed in fear-inducing “black bloc,” antifa members Jeremy White and Brian Lightfoot Jr. traveled from Los Angeles spoiling for a fight in Pacific Beach, prosecutors said.

Wearing outfits to avoid being doxxed or injured, the defendants aimed to confront far-right Donald Trump fans and protect likeminded counterprotestors three days after the Capitol invasion, their lawyers said.

Associated Press – Politico / April 2, 2024

John Sinclair, a poet, music producer and counterculture figure whose lengthy prison sentence after a series of small-time pot busts inspired a John Lennon song and a star-studded 1971 concert to free him, has died. He was 82. Sinclair died Tuesday morning at Detroit Receiving Hospital of congestive heart failure following an illness, his publicist Matt Lee said.

Sinclair drew a 9 1/2-to-10-year prison sentence in 1969 from Detroit Recorder’s Court Judge Robert Colombo for giving two joints to undercover officers. He served 29 months but was released a few days after Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger and others performed in front of 15,000 attendees at the University of Michigan’s Crisler Arena.

“They gave him 10 for two/What else can Judge Colombo do/We gotta set him free,” Lennon sang in “John Sinclair,” a song the ex-Beatle wrote that immortalized its subject.

by Danna Givot / Times of San Diego / April 2, 2024

The Building Industry Association touts the Complete Communities Now program as ramping up production of more affordable homes, but this deserves a closer look. Complete Communities is not a cure-all for San Diego’s housing problems.

[Please see original for important links]

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa San Diego / March 30, 2024

San Diego State University has arbitrarily delayed disclosing documents requested by La Prensa San Diego beyond the timeline allowed by California law.

The requested documents are related to discussions in 2022 between SDSU officials and a Denver-based development company to build a new sports and entertainment arena as part of SDSU West in Mission Valley.

By Geoff Page

The Ocean Beach Planning Board is feeling a little like Rodney Dangerfield, “get no respect,” or like Ol’ Lonely, the Maytag repair man no one ever called because the machines never broke down. Choose your own character, the theme being a group that deserves attention but is not getting it.

The OBPB held an election last month and hardly anyone showed. The board is supposed to consist of 12 people, according to the board’s by-laws. The election resulted in a total of nine sitting members, not 12. This reflects a continued sad lack of interest. The Rag had an account of the 2023 election and things have not improved.

Ongoing events

Every Saturday at 10:30 am. Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings April 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th.  Keep up-to-date on climate issues and Climate Action events. To register email Jon Findley at  jon@climatemobsd.org.  More info: https://www.facebook.com/SDClimateMobilization/

Every Saturday 12 pm – 1 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine: Advocate for Peace and Justice in Gaza and Everywhere Join CODEPINK SD, San Diego Veterans for Peace, and Palestine Pals every Saturday at 12:00 pm on the plaza corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and W. Point Loma Blvd., entry to Ocean Beach, San Diego. Wear pink and bring a peace-related poster if you have one! Contact: Nathanael · nathandw@riseup.net