OB Rag

About a week ago, the Union-Tribune issued its stance on the results of the just-held Primary and took swipes at Todd Gloria and gave props to the independent Larry Turner, all the while longing for the heavyweight pro who didn’t appear.

For Mayor Todd Gloria, the results are anything but a confirmation of voters’ faith in him.

And the editors rightly acknowledged that the incumbent mayor barely won half the vote, something the Rag did in our recent analysis; this is big; after 4 years a Democratic mayor in a Democratic city and all Democrats on the City Council barely won half the freaking vote!!??

In barely winning half the vote against well-meaning opponents with little mastery of basic issues,

Plastics-related concessions made from companies including Disney, Hormel, and Choice Hotels

By Joseph Winters / Grist / Mar 05, 2024

Wealthy investors and asset managers wield a lot of power over the major companies whose stock they own or control. Every year, shareholder advocacy groups hope to exert that power for good by filing shareholder resolutions — 500-word proposals that might ask companies to voluntarily reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, or to disclose more information on their resource use.

From Midway Rising:

The Midway Rising team is currently in the process of rescheduling the upcoming March 18 informational workshop update.

After all the ups and downs of the Midway Rising redevelopment team and its promises, San Diego residents now are being faced with subsidizing Midway Rising’s affordable housing part of the project.

For example, just last October Midway Rising dropped the middle-income family units from its redevelopment plan, which angered a number of City Council members.

Originally, in order to obtain the bid for the massive redevelopment of the Sports Arena area, Midway Rising pledged it would build 2,000 affordable housing units. As U-T reporter Jennifer van Grove stated in yesterday’s (subscriber only) article on the matter:

This is certainly a twist during apparently the late hours of the Primary season.

There was a flyer circulating around Pacific Beach last week about a coming development on the 2000 block of Beryl Street in that community. The flyer was appearing to either announce or warn PB residents about an affordable housing project coming to some church property for sale at 2088 Beryl Street. It states “The former church property 2088 Beryl Street at Academy is going to be used for up to forty-nine low-income housing units.”

Please take a moment to reflect on Japan’s Nuclear Disaster at Fukushima 13 years later, billions spent, unchecked meltdowns persist while contamination abounds with no end in sight.

Please watch this 12 minute video made especially for this somber occasion, and remember that it could still happen here too, with 3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste 100 feet from the ocean at sea level, in a tsunami zone.

Advisories from County Beach & Bay Water Quality Program

Check in before you go in

Advisory: Ocean Beach – Dog Beach
Station: San Diego River outlet to 300′ South (FM-010)
Status Since: February 14, 2024
Bacteria levels exceed health standards. Avoid water contact in the advisory area. (See below)

Here’s the slide show presentation from the last meeting of the OB Planning Board on March 5 that explains the recommendations the planners are making to improve the short term residential occupancy ordinance (STRO). It was presented by Vice-chair Kevin Hastings.

James Soriano is accused of taking bribes from two defense contractors

Here’s 2 Sources:

From US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California

A former civilian employee of San Diego-based Naval Information Warfare Center and a former executive with a South Carolina defense contractor were charged in an indictment unsealed today with participating in a bribery scheme to trade expensive meals, jobs and a ticket to a premiere sporting event for help obtaining more than $100 million in government contracts.

From SOHO March-April 2024 Newsletter

Preservation isn’t just a coat of paint or a nostalgic sentiment; it’s the very fabric of our city’s identity. At SOHO, we know firsthand the immense value historic preservation brings to San Diego.

The benefits of preservation are manifold, spanning aesthetics, culture, society, education, and economics. Despite SOHO’s relentless advocacy and educational endeavors, historic preservation is clearly under siege in our city.

Often, the critics are well-intentioned but misguided community activists, who erroneously argue without substance that preservation fuels gentrification and racism and impedes necessary new housing and urban density. Their arguments lack in-depth research to stand against the facts.

A man was arrested Sunday night [March 10] after he was seen scaling the locked gates to walk along the length of the Ocean Beach Pier’s railings.

Around 6:45 p.m., officers were flagged down by beachgoers near the pier who spotted the man climbing the pier’s fence, San Diego police said. Officers gained access to the pier with the help of lifeguards and took him into custody without incident.

The man was seen walking along the pier’s railing and appeared to be well-balanced. OB-related photog Jim Grant took some amazing pics of the incident.

By Eva Knott / San Diego Reader / March 5, 2024

San Francisco attorney Curtis Briggs asked for the names of all policemen who were embedded in the Antifa mob during an assault in San Diego on January 9, 2021.

The demand was heard Friday, March 1, by Judge Daniel Goldstein. This judge, who will hear the trial, was hearing motions before jury selection, which is expected to begin in two weeks.

Three alleged Antifa rioters have pled not-guilty to multiple felonies: Brian Cortez Lightfoot Jr., 27, Luis Francisco Mora, 32, and Jeremy Jonathan White, 41. Eleven people were originally charged, eight already made plea deals, and of those eight, two were sentenced to state prison. Erich Yach, now 40, was the first one to make a deal and could be released from prison as early as April 1, 2024, according to a prison spokesperson. Jesse Cannon was sentenced to five years state prison last month, but so far remains in local custody.