OB Rag

By Beth F. Coye / Op-Ed San Diego Union-Tribune / Dec. 26, 2023

The motivating factor behind my life has been protection and defense of America from all enemies. My dad, a World War II-decorated submarine skipper, instilled in our family that duty was above all else. So, it was no surprise to anyone that my adult career was spent as a naval officer, retiring as a commanding officer in San Diego, my birthplace.

I loved the Navy, I loved that we had a serious mission to protect and serve our country. I had always been so focused that the military’s raison d’etre was to protect against the enemy from without that it took me years to unravel that the military’s perception was that certain people were unfit to serve this mission, and I turned out to be one of those people.

By Bruce Coons / SOHO / Newsletter November -December 2023

Despite the considerable rhetoric about making housing more affordable, the Mills Act remains San Diego’s sole effective incentive that makes houses more affordable.

Named after the late San Diegan James Mills, our former State Senator and a great friend of preservation, the Mills Act offers a compelling incentive to owners of designated historic properties in California. In exchange for taking on the responsibility of preserving, maintaining, and restoring these historic landmarks for public benefit, they may receive a reduction in property taxes. Beyond its cultural and aesthetic impact, the Mills Act also addresses a pressing concern in San Diego: the need for affordable housing.

The City of San Diego has doubled down on using “H-Barracks” as a site for a homeless shelter of some kind. A recent article in the U-T by Blake Nelson recounts why that appears to be so.

Apart from Mayor Gloria’s director of community engagement, Kohta Zaiser, making public pronouncements about the positive attributes of the idea, work crews are clearing asbestos and lead from H-Barracks’ eight two-story buildings, shaped like giant “H’s.” When finished with the planned demolition, only a concrete slab will remain.

The prime real estate property has been promised to San Diego’s multibillion-dollar Pure Water recycling system, but which doesn’t need it for another five years, leaving the city with around seven empty acres.

by Ernie McCray

As the world spins
seemingly out of control
I find unfolding in me
the kind of wishes
one would make at a wishing well
in a fairy tale,
wishing that
Secretaries of State
in America’s states
will rise early every day
and stay up late
ensuring that
a former president
who is filled with hate,
like a rattle snake
overflowing with venom,
will not be a candidate
in his or her state,

From Peninsula News:

Rescue crews have freed a man who became trapped in a narrow tunnel under rocks on Sunset Cliffs in San Diego County after a challenging 18-hour rescue mission.

The man, who is conscious, was first spotted on the cliffs at 3:43 p.m. Thursday, according to San Diego Fire Rescue. Just after 11 a.m., rescuers using a rope-and-pulley system hoisted the man via a stretcher onto the bluffs above the sea cliffs.

Since Thursday, first responders have been working to rescue a middle-aged man who slipped and fell under broken concrete sections on the side of a cliff in Ocean Beach. Fire officials believe he may have been stuck there for up to three days.

Around 3:42 p.m., a rescue team reported to Cable St. and Orchard Ave. about a medical emergency after someone heard him calling for help, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD).

As of 7:35 a.m. Friday morning, crews are still working to extricate the man from the hole.

Roll Up for Cannabis Equity – A Monthly Column

By Terrie Best

By now there have been many articles written about political operatives Jesus and Andrea Cardenas alleged shenanigans with a Federal PPP loan. These alleged actions led to a criminal indictment against the siblings but not enough has been said about Jesus’s connection to the cannabis lobby.

I’m not an expert on the politics of cannabis but articles from local news outlets gave us some insight and I have many more questions.

A detail which concerned me was the disclosure that as late as 2021 March and Ash, the largest cannabis retailer in San Diego county, was paying Cardenas for consulting work

Here’s a projection into San Diego politics 2024 – who is running for what office?  Here’s what we know now broken down by district and office, now that we’ve passed the signature qualification phase:

San Diego City Council

District 1

Joe LaCava represents north coastal District 1 and will run unopposed for re-election. Anthony Olmo was challenging him but failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

District 2

Jen Campbell is not up for re-election in 2024. She was re-elected in 2022.

WHDSF stands for “Wildfires, Heatwaves, Droughts, Storms, and Floods,” and is a handy way to remember the range of catastrophic change we’re going through.

By David Helvarg / Common Dreams / Dec. 17, 2023

If people can remember socially important acronyms like LGBTQ + and an older generation can’t get toxic advertising acronyms like LSMFT out of their brains (BTW—it stands for “Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco”) we might all want to start remembering WHDSF whenever the issue of climate change comes up.

WHDSF stands for “Wildfires, Heatwaves, Droughts, Storms, and Floods,”