OB Rag

By Geoff Page

As recounted in The Rag’s November 22 story, the city has decided to keep the OB Pier closed until the winter storm season is over.

The Lifeguards closed the pier October 20 because of high surf. The San Diego Fire Department announced the closure in a Tweet. The Lifeguard Department is part of the Fire Department now. The Tweet said the pier would probably open the next day.

Here’s KPBS writer Andrew Bowen’s take on the dangers on West Pt Loma Blvd. and its lack of safe bike paths.

Bowen blames the California Coastal Commission on delaying the city’s efforts to install bike paths along a dangerous section of the boulevard. He cites the bureaucratic roadblocks thrown up by the Commission for preventing the good city to install protected bike lanes and for injuries suffered by bicyclists in that stretch between Nimitz Boulevard and Adrian Street.

Yet, if the reader dives into Bowen’s piece, another cause does appear.

There’s a county water advisory in place for OB’s Dog Beach — to include 300 yards south of the mouth of the San Diego River.

Bacteria levels exceed health standards and humans — and dogs are advised to avoid water contact in the advisory area. (See here.)

The advisory at Ocean Beach – Dog Beach has been in place since Nov. 29.

Other advisories for the following beaches are also in place:

By Colleen O’Connor

Christmas Came Early!

Rep. George Santos (the fabulous) has been expelled from the U.S. Congress.  The vote wasn’t even close.

The 9th Circuit Court has ruled unanimously that former President Donald trump is NOT immune from prosecution for illegal acts during his time as President.  So the courts can now proceed with the long stalled trials.

By Joni Halpern

There have been many times in the past when community advocates for the best interests of the Point Loma community have needed the support of residents of other San Diego communities.

The retention of Dana Junior High School is only one example.  We needed support from other communities to prevent the school from being sold to developers who planned to replace it with almost 300 condominiums.  We succeeded in our efforts, because other communities joined us.

By Eric DuVall / Pt Loma – OB Monthly / Nov. 15, 2023

One thing we learned in this space last month is that “they are most definitely out there.” The UAPs, that is (unidentified aerial phenomena) … the NHI (non-human intelligence).

Nothing new, of course. Clint Cary was saying the same thing 60 years ago — repeatedly and frequently. Clint had firsthand information. He hadn’t just seen a UFO, he’d been to Rillispore twice. In 1965, every kid on the beach in O.B. knew that. Clint loved to tell that story, and many others. These weren’t generic stories about little green men, by the way. No creepy gray space aliens either.

Here’s the very latest update on Loma Portal’s historic, vintage, 100-year old and beloved street lamps — from the folks who publish the Peninsula News (who are way more on top of this issue than the Rag):

By Scott Rodd / KPBS / November 29, 2023

All told, credit unions chartered in California collected more than a quarter billion dollars in overdraft fees in 2022, according to data collected by the state. A KPBS analysis found state-chartered credit unions based in the San Diego area collected more than $36 million.

On Sunday’s Union-Tribune front page, reporter Rob Nikolewski wrote how and why SDG&E is making more money than ever. But it’s a “subscriber only” piece, and we’re only providing the first few paragraphs of the report here:

San Diego Gas & Electric is a very different company than it was just a few years ago. Rates charged to the 3.7 million people the utility serves continue to rise in large part because California utilities — not just SDG&E — have additional responsibilities to shoulder.

But SDG&E is also making more money than ever.

Jakob McWhinney, a writer at Voice of San Diego, has documented the acrimony between San Diego pickleball players and tennis players in a recent post, including a brief synopsis of pickleball’s origins. But he also outlines why pickleball players are angry with the City of San Diego and why they feel the mayor and city council are prejudiced against them.

Here’s a peek in how it all has impacted OB and Point Loma:

Even though the issue has dropped from the cameras of our local TV stations, H Barracks is still with us. Mayor Gloria has not changed his plans and those in the community of Point Loma have not changed their minds.

Here, is more on the issue, a letter to the mayor from the Peninsula Planning Board and Gloria’s position, as stated by his representative.

First, a report of the “famous” meeting of the PCPB on Nov. 16. from KPBS:

Point Loma community members sent a letter to the city of San Diego opposing a plan to turn the site known as H-Barracks into a homeless shelter. The site would temporarily house 300 to 700 people experiencing homelessness, according to the city.