OB Rag

By Amber Paulin / Lomabeat.com / March 20, 2024

To be a Point Loma Nazarene University student is to come into contact with our furry, nocturnal raccoon friends of San Diego. Maybe their fluffy silhouettes bumble across Caf Lane as you take a sunrise run. Or perhaps a pair of reflective eyes beams down at you from the top of the dumpster leaving you unsure of how to process the contents of your trash bag at 11 p.m.

The Loma raccoons are icons, and while PLNU’s mascot is technically the sea lion, the @loma.raccoons Instagram account might just hint otherwise.

But how much do we know about our stripe-tailed neighbors? It turns out that with March well upon us, raccoon breeding season is in full swing,

Rival Groups Challenge Uptown and La Jolla CPGs

By Mat Wahlstrom

Today — Thursday, March 21 — at 1:00PM, the City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee will vote to recommend which community planning group (CPG) will better represent the planning areas of La Jolla and Uptown: those currently elected, or those vetted for appointment by the mayor.

This represents the culmination of a years-long effort to paint elected CPGs as not representative of their communities by virtue of the fact that the people elected can’t be counted on to toe an ideological line.

Much like a shell game, in which an object is hidden under a number of covers which are shuffled around, the existing CPGs have been repeatedly tasked

Apparently, a domestic argument in the parking lot of the Ocean Beach Pier Wednesday night devolved into the 22-year old man running over the 20-year old woman and the guy getting shot. Both are expected to recover.

According to police, the two got into an argument with the ex-boyfriend trying to mediate around 9 pm. SDPD Officer John Buttle told NBC7:

“The 22-year-old male got into his girlfriend’s car, put it in reverse and ran over his girlfriend. Shortly after two gunshots were heard.”

Mayor Gloria has picked from within the current ranks of the San Diego Police Department for his new chief – and announced Thursday that it will be Assistant Chief Scott Wahl. The current chief David Nisleit retires in late June.

Wahl, a native San Diegan, was selected after a nationwide search for candidates and still must be approved in a majority vote by the San Diego City Council before being sworn in.

Check out this report from 10News:

The San Diego City Council has approved an agreement to build an affordable-housing project featuring support services in the Ocean Beach neighborhood, and construction is expected to begin next month. The agreement approved Tuesday, March 19, calls for the city and the San Diego Housing Commission to collaborate on developing the $6.8 million Abbott Street Affordable Housing Project and have it open next year, officials said.

By Lisa Mortensen

Good Morning:

I am writing all of you because I hope Todd and Steve are aware of the complete outrage from the Uptown community regarding the city’s undemocratic takeover of our community planning group, Uptown Planners.   WE WANT UPTOWN PLANNERS TO REMAIN OUR PLANNING GROUP!!

Why encouraging more private development won’t solve the housing crisis

By Michael Friedrich/ The New Republic / March 15, 2024

Sonja Trauss, the charismatic founder of the YIMBY movement, recently spoke at a conference of fellow travelers about the importance of supporting small home builders. “Most neighborhoods are still zoned low-density, and so if you’re seeing new housing, it’s going to be small projects,” she said at Austin’s YIMBYtown 2024, a gathering of people who believe that saying “yes in my backyard” to private development will fix America’s housing crisis.

By Alberto Garcia/ La Prensa / March 18, 2024

A former San Diego City Councilman is publicly supporting a proposed redevelopment of the Sports Arena near his Point Loma home but he has not disclosed being a paid consultant for the project when he lobbies the Council making decisions on the project.

Byron Wear, who served on the San Diego City Council from 1995 to 2002, has attended at least four Council meetings to speak in support of the proposed Midway Rising development project at the existing San Diego Sports Arena site but uses a loophole in the City’s lobbying disclosure requirement to conceal his direct involvement with the massive development project. Last week, Wear spoke before the full City Council during open public comments period

By Arturo Castañares / Publisher of La Prensa / March 14, 2024

The details of a controversial redevelopment proposal for the current San Diego Sports Arena site continue to morph from bad to worse as the team now seeks public financing for their $1 billion project, but it’s not the first time the developer shrunk a proposal and sought public freebies.

The Midway Rising team, headed by developer Brad Termini, was selected in late 2022 by Mayor Todd Gloria and a compliant City Council

Gas prices are on the rise across the country, but if you’re filling up your tank in California, you’re likely paying far more than travelers in other states, according to a new AAA study. California is ranked first out of the 10 U.S. states with the most expensive gas, according to the AAA study released last week. In California, travelers were paying about $4.86 per gallon — $1.47 higher than the national average of $3.39.

By Sara Blanche Hayes

It’s been almost three months since Wildsong took over the OB Playhouse space. Artistic Director Brooke Aliceon looks like she hasn’t slept since the last time The OB Rag caught up with her.

“If anything, owning the space has only pushed us to work even harder and create even bigger and better shows.”

The improvements to the old playhouse are immediately apparent. The front entrance boasts a professional coat of black paint with mood lighting. The concessions are served on movie theater racks, with a new silver fridge that lights up when you knock on the glass.

“That feature was particularly exciting,” said Aliceon, grinning.