OB Rag

In San Diego, City, county and local offices will be closed today, Monday for César Chávez Day along with courts, public health clinics, family resource centers, libraries and animal shelters. County parks, campgrounds, and neighborhood day-use parks will largely remain open, though county officials said certain facilities will be closed Monday.

There will be mail delivery because César Chávez Day is a federal commemorative holiday, first proclaimed by then-President Barack Obama in 2014, and not a federal holiday.

Over the weekend we heard that Claudia Jack, the unofficial mayor of Ocean Beach, has passed on. Hodad’s gave us the word:

Ocean Beach doesn’t toss the word LEGEND around too easily. Same with LOCAL. So when we tell you that OB lost a true local Legend today, it is with the upmost respect. Claudia Jack… Never enough Thank You’s for all of the energy you pumped into this community. Rest in Peace Claudia Peters Jack.

Here is a tribute I wrote about her a few years ago:

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.