OB Rag

By Geoff Page

The agenda item that generated the longest discussion at the Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting, Wednesday, September 6, illustrated that long-running concerns about wireless transmissions and health are still alive and kicking.

There was also an interesting update on San Diego Airport’s Terminal One construction progress. And, there was a discussion of by-laws changes that need to be made to have the OBPB “recognized” next year by the city as the planning group for OB.

DISH Wireless

DISH was seeking approval for a wireless project located in a parking lot of St. Peter’s by the sea Lutheran Church. The church sits on a large lot bounded by Point Loma Ave., Sunset Cliffs Blvd., Adair Street, and an alley on the east side. There is a parking lot across the alley next to the laundromat that belongs to the church.

The work involves placing two 30-foot-tall light standards with DISH equipment at the top in a “24 by 24” enclosure. The original design for a “48 x 48” enclosure was down-sized when the OBPB Project Review subcommittee criticized it by saying it looked like a refrigerator on a tall stick.

Here are the preliminary design concepts for the OB Pier unveiled at a workshop on Saturday.

We offer now only renderings and the brief descriptions of the different designs by the city, without comment.

Preliminary Design Concept #1 – The Squint Test

It seems we’ve been hearing for months now that San Diego will move on SeaWorld for not paying back rent and penalties of over $12 million it owes the city. And now we’re told that if SeaWorld missed its midnight deadline, the city will sue for breach of contract. Here’s the latest by U-T reporter Jennifer van Grove in Wednesday’s edition.

By Jennifer van Grove / SDU-T / Sept. 6, 2023

The city of San Diego will Thursday move forward with a breach-of-contract lawsuit against SeaWorld San Diego if the theme park fails to meet a midnight deadline to pay $12.2 million in outstanding rent and penalties, the city attorney’s office said Wednesday.

by Ernie McCray

We seem to be a country
that looks at its most pressing
social and political problems
with mystified eyes
and shoulder shrugs
that say
“Oh well.”
Like we dismiss
the nation’s propensity
for mass murders
that break hearts in two
with a prayer or two
and get right back
to whatever it is we do.

By Ken Stone / Times of San Diego / Sept. 6, 2023

Ten years after Greenpeace saw one of its ships seized by Russia, the same 166-foot icebreaker is docked at San Diego’s Broadway Pier.

The mission of the Arctic Sunrise is less dangerous this time.

Colleen O’Connor’s views are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the OB Rag.

By Colleen O’Connor

In December of last year, I posted a prediction: “Neither Biden nor Trump will be elected the U.S. President in 2024.”

I stand by those postings.  Now some very prominent politicians and strategists are beginning to agree. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said, “there’s a ‘good shot’ neither Biden nor Trump will be on the 2024 ballot.”

Add Senator, Tim Kaine (D-Va.) who declared that there is a “powerful argument” to be made that the 14th Amendment disqualifies former President Trump from even running in 2024.

Parents of students at Correia Middle School threatened a “sit-out” for Thursday morning after they were dissatisfied with the response by school officials over an alleged gun threat and allegations of sexual harassment of girl students by a group of boys, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

3 Design Alternatives for OB Pier Replacement to Be Presented at Public Workshop Sat, Sept. 9

The city of San Diego says three initial design alternatives for a planned replacement of the Ocean Beach Pier will be presented during a public workshop Saturday, Sept. 9.

Summer Moratorium on Vendors Lifted: Vendors Allowed on Newport Between Abbott and Sunset Cliffs Blvd

At tonight’s OB Planning Board meeting, the board will consider a number of drastic recommendations being made by an ad hoc sub-committee. The sub-committee was established to figure out how the Board can comply with the city’s new draconian demands and to make suggestions for changes to the Board’s rules, their bylaws.

The bylaw recommendations, to put it mildly, if implemented, would be the most radical shake-up of the Ocean Beach Planning Board since its inception in 1976.

On Sunday, Sept 3, our good friend Byron Morton visited the House of Ukraine at Balboa Park’s International Cottages for the Ukraine Festival. It was “a celebration of culture, with dance, music and food,” he told us in an email with attached photos of the festival.

House of Ukraine has its own small cottage in the heart of Balboa Park furnished and manned by members of their organization. It presents exhibits about their culture, history and traditions. All work is done by unpaid volunteers. The cottage is open on Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.