OB Rag

For the first time ever, Juneteenth — Monday, June 19th — is being recognized by the city of San Diego as a paid holiday for city employees. Juneteenth, or Freedom Day, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and freedom for African Americans, and is now a federal holiday.

by Ernie McCray

An ex-president
getting a portion
of his due
through an indictment
and now an arraignment
that are about as overdue
as a book checked out of the library
in 1892,
makes me want to dance a jig,
bad back and all.
And the claim
that the charges against him,
amongst other things,
have been
a witch-hunt, from the get-go,
makes me want to chuckle

A brand new farmers market opened on June 4th in the Point Loma High School parking lot. The new weekly Sunday bazaar offers everything from fresh fruits and homemade goods to delicious food vendors.

Plus it has accommodations for parents and is a fund-raiser for a non-profit, Devoted to Youth, whose mission is to support local families.

Organizers Mariana Panzica and Brady Farmer say the Point Loma Farmer’s Market offers some unique accommodations for parents or other caretakers of a child, including areas designated for nursing and kids enrichment.

The main press in San Diego has come up with of list of the ten top and most popular beaches in San Diego County. And wouldn’t ya know it, Ocean Beach made the list.

Here’s the U-T’s colorful list — and here is what they say about OB:

Filled with local artists, surfers and dogs, Ocean Beach is known for having heart. The neighborhood isn’t afraid to be quirky and fully embrace its unofficial slogan: “Keep O.B. weird.”

By Donna Frye / San Diego Union-Tribune OP-ED/ June 9, 2023

Father’s Day reminds me of a lot of things, but some of the most memorable are the surprises my father brought into our daily lives. No matter their size, they were always special and appreciated.

When I was growing up in the late ’50s and early ’60s in Clairemont, Dad and Mom would take me and my brothers to the beach all the time. We would chase the waves and swim in the ocean. We hunted in the tide pools for sea creatures, and we found lots of tiny fish, starfish and crabs. We also looked for shells.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for a well-known and veteran Ocean Beach motorcycle ride who was seriously injured in a collision on June 6.

As the Beacon reports,

Ian Hughes was riding southbound on Catalina Boulevard just after 2 p.m. on the 6th when a Mercedes Benz, driving northbound, made a left turn onto Talbot Street directly into his path, the resulting impact completely destroying the front of the vehicle.

From the looks of things, the metropolis called San Diego deserves watching, deserves monitoring. Here are some recent developments deserving note.

* Noise Can Take Years Off Your Life
* LA Rams and Denver Nuggets Owner, Stan Kroenke, Becomes the “Main Man” at Midway Rising
* San Diego County Second Most Expensive Region in Nation — Local Seniors Feel It
* San Diego Rents Hit Record High
* One Local Point Loma Beach Makes “Honor Roll” and One Makes “Beach Bummer” List in Heal the Bay’s Annual Report Card
* San Diego’s new foam ban is going smoothly so far — partly because there’s so little enforcement
* Drones, cameras, trackers: San Diego police disclose list of tech tools used for surveillance, investigations
* U-T Editorial Board : San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, City Council must fix their flawed ban on homeless camps ASAP

Dear Friends!   Our first book sale in 2 years!!  Life is starting to feel like it is returning to normal!

Can you can help with the book sale?  We need:

by Ernie McCray

Pondering
some of what’s going on
in the nation
and the world,
I was in a low-grade funk
and then
I turned my TV on
to two talking heads
on ESPN
who were going on and on
about who was
the G.O.A.T.,
the greatest to ever play
in the NBA,

By Geoff Page

On Saturday, June 10, the public had a second chance to participate in the design process for the pier that will one day replace the aging OB Pier.  The second in a series of planned workshops was held at the Liberty Station Conference Center. There was a good-sized crowd at the first gathering and attendance at this second workshop was clearly higher.

The presenters asked those who had attended the first workshop in April to raise their hands. It was good to see a lot of hands go up signifying an on-going interest. It was equally encouraging to see how many people did not raise a hand, indicating a clear increase in public interest about the project.

New Ordinance Is Very Majestic for It Not Only Bans the Poor from Camping on Public Land, It Also Bans the Rich from Camping on Public Land

Late last night, a slim majority of the San Diego City Council approved a controversial homeless camping ban — that was amended with some changes.

After hundreds of people testified over four hours either in Chambers or online — most of whom opposed the proposed ordinance — and after another 6 hours or so of staff presentations and debate, Council members Marni von Wilpert, Joe LaCava, Stephen Whitburn – the author of the proposal, Jen Campbell, and Raul Campillo passed the ordinance. Council members Sean Elo-Rivera, Monica Montgomery Steppe, Kent Lee and Vivian Moreno voted against it.