OB Rag

Due to a request from the San Diego Police Department, the City has closed a dirt parking lot next to Robb Field in Ocean Beach.

The parking lot in question is west of the western-most baseball diamond at Robb Field. The usual entrance to this lot is a driveway off of West Pt Loma Blvd., right next to the old pump station west of Bacon St. That entrance is gated with temporary fencing. There are numerous paper signs posted around the lot indicating indefinite closure.

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse at Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma will be closed temporarily this month for restoration work, officials said.

Renovations will take place Jan. 8-18. Interior work will include painting and minor repairs aimed at protecting the masonry walls from the damp coastal environment, according to National Park Service officials.

by Larry Turner, Kate Callen and Terry Hoskins

For more than a half-century, San Diego’s community planning groups have been acclaimed as a national model of local democracy. As the city’s website states, these CPGs elected by their communities have been “formal mechanisms [that] provide citizens with an opportunity for involvement.”

This model of democracy is now under siege. Mayor Todd Gloria, with the complicity of all nine City Councilmembers, is poised to remove elected CPG members and replace them with unelected members of his own choosing. That is not democracy. That is autocracy,

By MEgain Erlise

In Mayor Todd Gloria’s recent newsletter, in the portion titled: “Advancing Social Equity as a Core Principle at the City of San Diego,” there’s a discernible tone that’s hard to miss – it feels almost dismissive, as if our long-standing efforts and struggles in this area are being relegated to a mere footnote in the city’s list of achievements.

The Mayor’s communication seems to imply that we should feel grateful for any acknowledgment, however fleeting or insubstantial. It’s perplexing, and perhaps, disrespectful.

The accomplishments the newsletter lists reads in part:

On Saturday, join CODEPINK and San Diego Veterans for Peace who are staging a Peace Vigil for Palestine in Ocean Beach.

Here is some sad news in Ocean Beach.

Somebody cut down the two young Torrey Pines that were planted a couple years back close to where the 90 year old Torreys were taken down in front of 4630 Saratoga Avenue. This had to happen Wednesday afternoon, January 3, in broad daylight.

One is still standing but not for long. It will suffer a slow death since the cut nearly completely girdles the tree — cutting off its vascular system along with its transport of water and nutrients.

By Judi Curry

Feeling violated can be a horrible feeling.  And there are many different ways of being violated.  Rather than talk about some of them, I thought I would share the latest one that I just experienced.  It is sure different than the “violations” I felt when I was much younger, but still the feelings are still there – just in a different way.  Let me explain.

The house next door to me was for sale and purchased by a man that lives in San Jose for $1,300,000. He said that he bought it so that his grandson could continue his studies at Nazarene University on Pt. Loma. That was about 3 years ago.  His grandson graduated over a year ago and the house has been vacant since then. 

By Geoff Page

A January 2 article in the Union-Tribune titled “Waves further damage O.B. Pier” has answered the pressing question of what the city plans to do now that a pier piling has failed. The response is nothing short of idiotic.

The city’s comment in Jeff Macdonald’s article came from Public Information Officer, Tyler Becker who is the assigned “media contact” for the Engineering and Capital Improvements Department from the Communications Department. This is a perfect illustration of what The Rag had to say

This view is from the Mt. Laguna Lodge live cam from today, January 3, 2024, at 2 pm.

From ASA

San Diego Americans for Safe Access, a cannabis patient advocacy group along with San Diego Diversity Cannabis Group invites you to demand Mayor Todd Gloria get behind more cannabis collectives into the city of San Diego.

We are rallying at the Mayor’s State of the City address to support the proposed Cannabis Social Equity and Economic Development (SEED) program! This will be on Wed., January 10 @6PM at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101. The goal of the program is to achieve greater access to medical cannabis for patients, especially in underserved areas

by Ernie McCray

Lallia Allali,
a friend of mine,
was removed as the chairperson
of a committee
that advises San Diego City Schools
on programs and services for English Learners –
for posting a graphic on social media
that portrayed Israel as the killer of babies,
and I must say
that’s not a vision
I would ever use
as an expression of my views
regarding the war
that’s raging
between
Palestinians and Jews.

By Colleen O’Connor

Flip a coin.   50-50 chance of winning.

Use a slingshot.  The further back you pull, the farther ahead the stone reaches.

Or just start hoarding toilet paper and water.

Seriously, who knows.  Global chaos abounds.  So, what to expect.  Honestly, more of the same.  Do not despair.  Starting with 50-50 chances, history finds wonderful progress after nightmare eras.  For example, World War 1.  That horror was followed by a period of some prosperity, a warning about another World War, and women’s right to vote.