OB Rag

by Michael Smolens / San Diego Union-Tribune / Feb. 11, 2024

Ambitious proposals to address homelessness and mental health issues are moving forward in San Diego and statewide.

The plans come with considerable promise of improving the quality of life for people without shelter and those with mental and brain illnesses, including substance use disorders.

But history has shown there’s reason to temper expectations heading down this path. For one thing, they may not receive necessary approval, whether from the public or elected officials.

Campbell’s District 2 Office Is Not on Top of Short Term Rental Licensing

By Geoff Page

It seemed like a good time to check up on the short-term vacation rental, or STVR, picture in Ocean Beach. The Rag submitted a Public Records Request, or PRR, asking for the current list of permitted STVRs.

The following paragraphs provide an account of what it took to obtain the STVR information, an explanation of what STVR Tiers are and how many there are, how this is being administered by the city, and the budget. The information resulted in one surprise and one confirmation of expectations.

The surprise is that the city expects to make millions from the STVR business.  The confirmed expectation is that the city is not spending any of that money on enforcement of the STVR ordinance.

A popular area pop-up known for making what some consider some of the best Cuban sandwiches in town, Cubano Kings has opened its first brick-and-mortar eatery in Ocean Beach.

The new eatery has opened at 4853 Newport Avenue, where the OB Meat Company once stood.

Founded by Jose Zazueta Cruz, Cubano Kings has been operating as a pop-up food vendor at San Diego farmers markets for the past couple years, serving a menu of Cuban sandwiches made with a formula and recipe dates back to the 1980s. Cubano Kings recently took over the space to open a sandwich shop and cafe.

One of Mayor Gloria’s campaign opponents, Larry Turner, claims he and his family live in Ocean Beach, having moved here in July 2023, is under scrutiny by Gloria’s allies for possibly violating residency rules in running for mayor. It’s not the OB address that’s under question, however.

The Voice of San Diego reports today that a “new lawsuit is seeking to boot city cop Larry Turner from the mayor’s race. The lawsuit alleges Turner isn’t actually a full-time resident of the city of San Diego….”

Turner is one of six candidates running to unseat Mayor Todd Gloria. So far, none of Gloria’s opponents have garnered major campaign cash or attention. The main question — barring any wild developments — is which one will come in second during the March 5 primary election. That person will face off with Gloria in November.

By Steve Anderson / LomaBeat.com / Feb. 14, 2024

Part I: Before There Was a Blunt… There Was A Point

The college was on unstable ground. A once-stout Nazarene college that sat northeast of Los Angeles in Pasadena decided to move to San Diego in 1973, drawing more than just Nazarenes. Their new campus sat on Sunset Cliffs, a dreamy oceanfront property that brought surfers and Nazarenes alike to the newly named Point Loma College (PLC): An Institution of the Church of The Nazarene.

The move couldn’t have come at a more socially intense period. Fresh out of the 1960s cultural revolution, the 1970s were just the next step in a radical socio-political attitude. An attitude especially poignant among the youth.

PLC didn’t lack its fair share of radicals;

Yet another new restaurant has opened in Ocean Beach. A Mediterranean eatery called “Chicken Over Rice” has opened next to “Hugo’s Cocina” at 1830 Sunset Cliffs Blvd, Suite E.

One news website says:

A farmer’s market vendor from Ocean Beach has advanced to open their own storefront. With protein selections of chicken or chickpeas and toppings like cucumber salsa, garlic sauce, and tzatziki, Chicken Over Rice Co. serves a simplified Mediterranean menu that includes create-your-own rice bowls, salads, and pita sandwiches.

Join Code Pink and the San Diego Veterans For Peace in their weekly vigil in OB demanding a ceasefire in the current fighting in Gaza …. every Saturday from Noon to 1 PM at the corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd and Point Loma Blvd in Ocean Beach.

Editordude: Here’s two different articles just published by local media in how Mayor Gloria’s friends are promoting the sole Republican in the race in order to sideline the other two Democratic candidates running against him. The first is by Michael Smolens in today’s U-T and the other is by Alberto Garcia at La Prensa.

Pro-Gloria committee elevates GOP opponent

By Michael Smolens / San Diego Union-Tribune / Feb. 14, 2024

Jane Glasson wasn’t really considered in the mix among viable mayoral primary election candidates — until now.

The special education assistant is being promoted in a mailer financed by the New San Diego committee, which supports the re-election of Mayor Todd Gloria.

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / Feb. 13, 2024

San Diego cracked down Tuesday, Feb. 13 on “rogue” sidewalk vendors in downtown and other vendors in parks and beaches who use free-speech claims to skirt city restrictions on where they can operate.

The City Council unanimously approved a complex and comprehensive enforcement framework that city officials say will help restore the look and feel of many popular tourist areas flooded with vendors in recent years.

By Rick Reilly / Washington Post / Feb. 5, 2024

Are you bummed you weren’t around when the Stasi ruled? Do you wish you could’ve been one of Mao Zedong’s millions of neighborhood snitches? Maybe watch the Red Guards drag off your least favorite aunt?

Not to worry, the bad old days are back — thanks to Nextdoor.com.

On Nextdoor all you have to do is sign up, log in and start profiling everyone on your block. Teenager in a hoodie walking on your street? Lock your doors. Black guy with a backpack standing on the corner? Call the cops.

After a big, two-year much-hallooed process by the City of San Diego to “diversity” the 42 existing neighborhood planning groups, only two neighborhoods have had rival groups emerge to contest the re-recognition of the existing group. La Jolla and Uptown.

But not the other 40 neighborhoods — where panels made up of volunteers from the community toll away and make advisable recommendations on housing projects and infrastructure to the city.

By Julie Johnson / San Francisco Chronicle /Jan 25, 2024

Building housing is difficult virtually anywhere in California — but especially along the coast, where there can be an extra layer of permitting. One of the Legislature’s strongest advocates for more home-building is trying to change that — and he’s starting with the coastline of San Francisco.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced legislation this month that would chip away at the authority of the California Coastal Commission, the state agency charged with preserving public beach access and evaluating coastal development, over neighborhood areas along Ocean Beach [San Francisco].