OB Rag

By Geoff Page

Over the past several years, the City of San Diego has made a concerted, and somewhat stealthy effort, to build a shield around itself to insulate those in charge from the rest of us. The control the city exerts over citizen access to government is classic authoritarianism. It seems the Democrats in control don’t mind borrowing tactics, normally associated with the most despicable of historic regimes, and Republicans, throughout history.

This shield consists of three pieces, the city’s Communications Department, the Public Records Request system, and the push for community planning group reform. The first two are currently entrenched, the third will be by next year.

By Ernie McCray / Op-Ed San Diego Union-Tribune / Dec. 28, 2023

I’m but one of America’s nearly 60 million senior citizens, an 85-year-old. That’s an age filled with concerns, all kinds of concerns, concerns about walking into a room not knowing why, concerns about aches and pains that come in several degrees and recent concerns about rises in ageism.

Oh, the list of concerns could go on and on, ad nauseum, but I have a particular concern that has, for a while now, bothered me tremendously, one that stands high on my list of worries.

Here’s a view from the Ocean Beach cam of this morning’s high tide at 9:25 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 28.

Well, it finally happened. The three, 3-story units built on the empty lot at Abbott and Muir have entered the housing market — each over $2 million dollars a piece.

The empty lot — used by neighbors for decades as a mini sports field — was coveted by various developers for years as they trooped to the OB Planning Board with their various proposals, only to have their plans shot down for various violations of the OB Community Plan.

Finally, somebody got it “right” and constructed the project – and now has placed two of them on the market.

2158 and 2166 Abbott are each listed as 3-story, 2 bedroom with en-suite bathroom and powder room, 2 car garage, second floor decks and a roof deck with a Jacuzzi.

By Francesca Chambers / USA TODAY /December 22, 2023

President Joe Biden announced Friday, Dec.22, he’s issuing a federal pardon to every American who has used marijuana in the past, including those who were never arrested or prosecuted.

The sweeping pardon applies to all U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents in possession of marijuana for their personal use and those convicted of similar federal crimes. It does not apply to individuals who have been jailed for selling the drug,

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.