OB Rag

On May 1, San Diego’s short term rental occupancy ordinance took effect. The goal was to regulate an industry that’s accused of reducing the number of places people can live and decrease quality-of-life issues that can arise between vacationers and locals. But it appears at least one property owner in Ocean Beach has discovered a loophole that bypasses the spirit of the ordinance.

Each short-term rental license requires a “host.” That person must have the legal right to occupy the unit. A host isn’t allowed to hold more than one license at a time. But a host isn’t the same thing as the property owner, and NBC 7 Investigates found a single property owner named Michael Mills is connected to 114 short-term rental licenses in Ocean Beach.

The Ocean Beach Pier Renewal Project Community Workshop  is occurring this Saturday, June 10th, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Liberty Station Conference Center, 2600 Laning Road. This is the 2nd in-person Community Workshop on the pier held by the city.

San Diego police arrested a motorcycle rider Tuesday night in connection with a large brawl outside a bar in Ocean Beach that ended with one man being stabbed and a second being knocked unconscious.

The incident began when three men — ages 19, 20 and 21 — got in an argument with several bikers outside a bar on Newport Avenue near Bacon Street.

In most major U.S. cities you will find common street names like Broadway, Market, Oak, Elm, First, Second, etc. But in Southern California, one unique street name found in two cities transcends real history and hip-hop history: Rosecrans.

Rosecrans Avenue is a major, 27-mile thoroughfare in Los Angeles and Orange counties. It is also a bustling street in the Point Loma area of San Diego.

So where does the name come from?

The owner of Harry’s Coffee Shop has opened a new outpost of sister concepts Cass Street Bar & Grill and Harry’s Taco Club in Ocean Beach’s former Japanese restaurant, Sopporo at 5049 Newport Avenue. Sopporo was a favorite of locals and was the first Japanese eatery in OB to offer sushi.

Earlier this year, the space was taken over by the local hospitality group operated by John Rudolph, who owns Harry’s Taco Club and Cass Street Bar & Grill in Pacific Beach. The space briefly housed JJ’s Bar & Grill.

By Paul Sisson / San Diego Union-Tribune / June 6, 2023

Employees at Kaiser Zion Medical Center in Grantville are calling for the suspension of all surgeries at the facility due to what they say is visible contamination of the trays that hold sterilized surgical instruments.

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / June 1, 2023

Backlash against San Diego’s plan to transform much of northeast Mission Bay into marshland has prompted significant revisions, including a 10 percent boost in land devoted to golf, tennis, youth sports and other recreation. City officials have also added new language to the plan promising to minimize disruptions if fields get relocated.

The Ocean Beach Planning Board meets this Wednesday, June 7th, at 6 pm at the OB Recreation Center. And there are potentially 3 hot topic items on the board’s agenda.

At the top of their agenda is a presentation of the purchase of the apartment complex at 2147 Abbott Street, currently owned by the OB Community Development Corporation (CDC). The purchase of the 13-unit complex is being made by Wakeland Development Corp.

In addition, the board will review a letter from an OB Town Council committee that wants the city to close a loop hole in the rules allowing short-term rental permits.

All events are online and free unless stated otherwise

* Every Saturday 10:30 am. Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings  June 10th, 17th and 24th

June 13th Tuesday  City Council considers citywide ban on survival camping by unhoused residents
June 13th Tuesday 6 pm – 7pm Fight Climate Change From Your Kitchen

June 17th Saturday 9 am – 11 am Miramar Landfill Bus Tour
June 17th Saturday 11 a.m. to noon, Your Home’s new Green Bin workshop
June 18th Sunday 9 am – 3 pm Celebrate Juneteenth with our friends and community partners at Paddle for Peace 

COME INSIDE for details

By Delaney Eyermann / WRAL / Jun. 1, 2023

A new study discovered that a chemical found in sucralose, which is sold under the trade name Splenda, damages DNA.

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found sucralose-6-acetate, the chemical that forms when we digest Splenda, is “genotoxic,” meaning it breaks up DNA.

by Ernie McCray

Amanda Gorman
gifted us with
“The Hill We Climb”
at an
inaugural celebration,
a poem inspiring hope
which hangs on weakly
by a thread
in our nation,
a poem a parent had
removed from a school
because in her narrowed way
of looking at things

After a 5-hour hearing Thursday, June 1, on Mayor Todd Gloria’s Housing Action Plan which would incorporate the implementation of Senate Bill 10, the San Diego Planning Commission decided they needed more time to evaluate the proposal and voted to take it up again on August 3rd.

Senate Bill 10 was the prominent source for debate in council chambers during public comment. The most significant criticism of the bill by far was that it becomes irreversible once the City opts in.

CBS8 reported:

About 70 people filled council chambers in addition to a few dozen who called in over the phone, and while the majority spoke out against SB 10, a handful of supporters showed up too.