OB Rag

Roll Up For Cannabis Equity – A Monthly Column

By Terrie Best

I met Wade years ago at a cannabis activist meeting and he stood out when he volunteered to host a seed exchange for patients who would like to grow for themselves. That generosity, very typical of Wade, eventually morphed into a really fun activist action at the first ever Cannabis Row at Earth Day in Balboa Park.

Earth Day is held every year around April 20th which of course begs for a cannabis presence. The legal market had begun to flex its PR and marketing muscle beyond the back pages of The Reader and Cannabis Row at Earth Day goes down in San Diego history as one of the first mainstream weed events. A win. After all, it was 2017!

Importance of community plans and local planning boards highlighted in tentative approval of Barrio Logan’s long-awaiting community growth plans

With the recent approval of Barrio Logan’s long-awaited community growth plan, it came to note that City staff raised similar concerns with affordable hotel policies in 2015 when the Ocean Beach growth blueprint was being considered. At that time, then-Coastal Commissioners agreed to remove those policies — but current commissioners say that eight years later, the city still has yet to come forward with a comprehensive, citywide ordinance.

This year, Small Business Saturday lands on Nov. 25. In brief, the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association’s annual Small Business Saturday celebration will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. They’re also hosting a scavenger hunt bingo game where shoppers will need to find parrot images at select businesses to win gift cards and prizes.

The association will also have a booth in front of the OB Mall where shoppers can submit receipts of $50 or more spent at Ocean Beach businesses for a chance to win gift cards. Booth visitors can also enter to win a holiday basket. Go here for more.

City News Service – KPBS / November 17, 2023

On Friday, a judge denied a request from defense attorneys to remove the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office from the prosecution of a group of anti-fascists charged in connection with a 2021 Pacific Beach protest that broke out into brawls.

[Go here for background.]

Make Parade Magic Happen in OB…

The 2023 Ocean Beach Holiday Parade is just around the corner! As we countdown to the big day, we’re rallying the community’s support to create an unforgettable experience.

At the heart of this parade is the generous spirit of the Ocean Beach community. It takes a small army—over 100 dedicated volunteers—to breathe life into this event.

CBS8 News – YouTube/  Nov 16, 2023

Midway Rising will hold an informational workshop on November 29 for residents to learn more about the project and to ask any questions.
The workshop will be held at Celebration Hall at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. located at 404 Euclid Ave.

Sea levels are rising. That spells trouble for low-lying areas throughout the region, none more so than in San Diego’s Midway District and surrounding areas.

By Phillip Molnar / San Diego Union-Tribune Subscriber-only/ Nov. 19, 2023 

A new law allows Californians to buy and sell ADUs as a separate entity. The question is — will cities in San Diego County go for it? The optional statewide law, AB 1033, was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in mid-October, and allows accessory dwelling units, sometimes called granny flats, to be sold separately — and, presumably, at a lower price than your average home. The thinking is it could give low- to moderate-income Californians a chance at homeownership. … Now, it’s a matter of what municipality wants to enact the law when it takes effect in January.

By Judi Curry

Let me start by saying that there are many different kinds of “victims.” Some are extremely serious; some are annoying; some are worthy of complaint to the right people.  Some “victims” find relief in many different ways.  This “victim” – me – hopes to find relief by writing about a situation that festers as each minute goes by.  I realize that some of you will think I have blown this completely out of proportion; others of you will scoff at my feelings, but I, personally, will feel better and, at this time, that is all I can ask for.

I am known as a “jammer” amongst my friends and relatives.  I have 18 fruit trees and make jam year round.  Some I sell; some I give away, and an awful lot we eat.  I pride myself in the varieties I make, and have yet to find someone tell me that the jam was not tasty.  I love trying new fruits and wines; and even mark potential calendar days to begin a new batch.

One of my most memorable jams is my mango. 

By now many perhaps have heard about candidate Trump’s infamous “vermin” speech from last weekend. It was one of those clarifying moments that every American citizen needs to know about, one of those moments that explicitly defines the situation the country faces and finds itself in.

The Republican Party’s front-runner for president spoke at a Veterans Day speech in New Hampshire and in front of the microphone intentionally declared that if he became president he would “root out” his opponents – the left – calling them “vermin”, that they’re destroying America and represent the most dangerous and grave threat facing the country. It was not a spontaneous expression or off-the-cuff; it was deliberate and was repeated on his social media.

Here is local coverage by TV stations on Thursday night’s “Point Loma Revolt,” at the monthly meeting of the Peninsula Community Planning Board.

7SanDiego

As San Diego struggles with shelter bed availability for the homeless, people in the Point Loma community are speaking out against the city’s plan for a new shelter near Liberty Station that could accommodate hundreds. Dozens of residents showed up to the Peninsula Community Planning Board’s (PCPB) meeting Thursday night at the Point Loma Library to express their opposition to a proposal that would turn Barracks H, a 5-acre lot on the southeast side of Liberty Station next to the airport, into a mixed-used homeless shelter.

By Mat Wahlstrom / Times of San Diego / Nov. 17, 2023

Friday, November 17, is the deadline for submitting public comment on the Plan Hillcrest draft that will be moved forward to the San Diego Planning Commission.

Launched in 2020, allegedly to address the 11-acre area around the Hillcrest sign that had been carved out of the 2016 Uptown Community Plan, Plan Hillcrest warped into a do-over community plan covering 400 of the 2,700 acres in the Uptown planning area.