OB Rag

by Ernie McCray

I turn on the TV
and I hear the news
that Hamas
had taken the lives of
hundreds of Jews
and my eyes teared
and like dust being vacuumed
my breath was sucked away
just thinking that human beings
can treat each other this way
putting them in harm’s way
as they listen to music being played
and then I became equally dismayed,
knowing that Netanyahu’s
retaliation to this horrible display
of heinous madness
would be more deadly

Here’s a whole wave full of news from OB and PL – but from mid-October 2023 during the period the Rag was “down.”

Update on Possible Sale of Waters Edge Church

City Pays Out $8M to Man Injured While Police Detained Him in 2019 in the Midway

Camaro Crashes Into Sunset Cliffs House

Midway Roommate Squabble Leads to Gunfight and SWAT

Rady Children’s Ice Rink Returns to Liberty Station

COVID 19 Traces at Highest Level in Over Year at Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant

All events are online and free unless stated otherwise

* Every Saturday 10:30 am. Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings  November 4th, 11th,18th, and 25th  

* November 11th Saturday 5 pm – 11:59 pm KNSJ’s 10 Year Anniversary Gala 
* November 11th Saturday 3 pm Amnesty International Group 137 San Diego. 
* November 11th Saturday  Protest Del Mar @ Race  Track #1

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa / October 23, 2023

A brother and sister team of political consultants worked both for and against a city council candidate during the 2020 election according to a new investigation request filed with the San Diego Democratic Party by the victim of the fraud.

Marcus Bush, who was endorsed by the Democratic Party in his successful campaign for the City Council in National City in November 2020, requested an internal investigation into Andrea Cardenas who runs Grassroots Resources LLC, a local consulting firm owned by her brother, Jesus Cardenas.

San Diego U-T

More than a month after being nominated by Mayor Todd Gloria to serve on the San Diego Ethics Commission, former Sheriff Bill Gore has withdrawn his nomination in the face of overwhelming opposition.

From SanDiegoVille

After being named second Best Ice Cream Shop in America by USA Today, San Diego’s 5-year-old An’s Dry Cleaning Gelato Shop is continuing its local expansion and will soon open a new location in Ocean Beach.

David Aguilera, Travis Bailey, Kris Warren, and Jimmy Blalock opened the flagship An’s Dry Cleaning on Adams Avenue between Hawthorn Coffee and Tajima Restaurant in North Park in spring 2018.

Named after the shuttered dry cleaning shop it replaced, An’s is meant to pay homage to the classic American dry cleaner in its design, finishes, and layout.

…From SOHO

Picturesque historic streetlights have graced the streets and neighborhoods of San Diego for well over one hundred years, and now they are facing a dire and unnecessary threat of destruction.

Despite being structurally sound and possessing the potential to endure for another century with reasonable repairs and minimal restoration, these historic gems are in immediate and imminent danger due to the City of San Diego’s misguided and fiscally irresponsible plan to replace them with new fixtures.

This ill-conceived move not only dismisses the value of the existing infrastructure but also perpetuates a cycle of wastefulness and erasure of cultural heritage. This is being done against the community’s wishes. Urgent action is imperative to halt this unnecessary demolition and advocate for the preservation of these iconic streetlights.

These historic streetlights in San Diego hold intrinsic and irreplaceable value. They are silent witnesses to the city’s evolution,

City Hall’s Hillcrest “Amendment”: More Density, More Bike Lanes, Less Parking

By Kate Callen –  a candidate for City Council District 3

The “strong mayor” autocracy that runs San Diego has decided that Hillcrest, one of District 3’s most congested communities, just isn’t congested enough. A new fast-tracked “Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment” has been foisted onto the Uptown Planners group for a cursory review. Details are outlined in an Oct. 29 Union-Tribune story. Some takeaways:

The new plan calls for building 20,000 new units and 50,000 new residents in Hillcrest with no measures to increase affordable housing.

Historic preservation will be phased out, especially if Mayor Gloria succeeds in weakening the City’s historic resources ordinance.

If San Diego planning officials get their way, the community of Hillcrest will undergo significant changes with the current update to the community’s blueprint for the future. The changes include dozens of 20- and 30-story buildings, more one-way streets, roughly 50,000 more residents, new public promenades, plus an LGBTQ historic district– and were unveiled in late October.

The proposals would translate to downtown-style high-rise housing in Hillcrest along existing transportation corridors and revamped versions of the neighborhood’s two large hospital campuses.

See this news video from CBS8 on the proposed changes; Mat Wahlstrom is interviewed;

Here are some of more of the elements/consequences of the new proposals:

• 20,000 new units of housing in Hillcrest
• 50,000 new residents
• proposal would double current density maximum now allowed of 109 dwelling units per acre, which typically allows for buildings of 10 to 12 stories to 218 units per acre in some areas and nearly triple it in some limited spots to 290 units per acre. That means buildings of 20 and even 30 stories could be built in Hillcrest.
  

The following was given at “A Conversation on Gaza-Israel War” program at the Olympia Center, in Olympia, Washington on October 17, 2023, and revised 10/30/2023.

By Peter Bohmer

I want to share how my background causes me to support the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation of all of Palestine including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Since 1967, I have actively opposed the U.S. military aid and ideological support for Israel, and in solidarity with Palestine.

I mourn the deaths of 9500 people murdered in southern Israel and Gaza over the last three weeks (as of October 29th) over 1400 in Israel, mainly Israeli civilians by Hamas and over 8000 Palestinians in Gaza and growing numbers in the West Bank by the Israeli military, the IDF. Let us take a moment to reflect on this death of human life and the injuries of many more.

My parents and grandparents were Jewish from Central Europe, my parents grew up in Vienna, Austria. The German military and Nazis were welcomed by much of the Austrian population when they invaded in spring 1938. Germany immediately annexed Austria. My dad was 22 when he was incarcerated in Vienna by the Austrian Nazis and frequently  beaten.

The Ocean Beach Planning Board meets Wednesday night, November 1  inside the OB Rec Center at 4726 Santa Monica Ave. Their meet begins at 6 pm.

Notable agenda items include a presentation by a representative volunteer of Power San Diego campaign about this upcoming ballot initiative. The presenter will spell out the justification for non-profit control as well as the mechanics of how it is possible.

…From SOHO

San Diego’s historic neighborhoods represent an essential part of our city’s cultural heritage. They embody a valuable, authentic legacy, providing a tangible connection to the past, ongoing pride and bonds, and a sense of continuity for the future.

Our neighborhoods are now threatened by one gratuitous developer’s bill after another, all seeking to overbuild your community, your street, and putting aside/devaluing a general quality of life that all Americans seek. These bills have a significant negative impact on the historic character and integrity of our neighborhoods and threaten to change the face of San Diego forever.

To be alarmed, if not downright scared, we need only look at California SB 10—the fatally flawed, outrageously punitive to homeowners, and, if adopted, irreversible legislation that was sold as a means to create more affordable housing.