OB Rag

By Judi Curry

For those of you that read my columns on the OB Rag, you are aware that I had to put my wonderful Golden Retriever down a few months ago because he developed cancer and there was no cure for him. “Shadow” lived up to his name to the nth degree.

I got him just a few months after my husband died, and he became my companion; he seemed to be able to know when I was sad, when I was happy; when I needed a hug, etc. There was no way I could find a “replacement” for him but I did not want to be without the doggie companion that Shadow was for me.  So I began looking for another Golden,

By Colleen O’Connor

Once you have witnessed a comet streak across the sky or a double rainbow stretch across a mountaintop, you never forget the sight.

Once, you have seen Rep. Katie Porter deliver a takedown of corporate and political bigwigs during Congressional hearings, using just a small white board and some numbers, you never forget that moment. And now, after just being sworn in for her third term, Porter has just delivered another memorable moment by stealing the march on multiple competitors and announcing her run for Senator Diane Feinstein’s seat.

by Ernie McCray

America today is a bit
whacky
and almost
out of control,
when we should be reaching
down deep in our souls
to make our nation
at least not a country
where one turns on his TV
to CNN or MSBNC
to a scene
where one US Congressman
is being restrained by a fellow Congressman
to prevent him
from going upside the head
of another Congressman

Public Service Announcement

Following recent news of natural gas prices skyrocketing and local utility bills going up, San Diego Gas & Electric announced Tuesday it is making $1 million in customer assistance funding available for those experiencing financial hardship.

The assistance will be disbursed through the Neighbor-to-Neighbor program, which provides up to $300 in one-time grants to help offset past-due bills

By Jake Johnson / Common Dreams / Jan 10, 2023

Republicans who have pledged to use their narrow majority in the House to pursue steep federal spending cuts have sent a clear message in recent days: The bloated Pentagon budget is safe, but Social Security, Medicare, and other key government programs are not.

By Geoff Page

The Ocean Beach Planning Board held its first regular monthly meeting of 2023 on Wednesday, January 4. The board has gone back to Zoom meetings after a few in-person meetings. There were no projects to approve or much else on the agenda. The following is a list of the information that was provided.

Council District 2 representative Manny Ries reported on four things:

• The street vendor ordinance goes into effect on January 13.
• Federal funding increased the OB Library fund by $4 million.
• A pier replacement task force is in place and meets Friday, January 13. It is not open to the public.

It has been confirmed that the City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee will discuss the proposed “Sustainability Development Areas” zoning change at its Thursday, January 12, 2023 meeting.

This ill-conceived proposal would allow high-density, high rise, and multi-unit ADU projects within one mile of an existing or planned bus or trolley stop. The planning department claims — without any evidence and in the face of contradictory facts — one mile is a reasonable “walking, riding, rolling” distance from a residence to a transit stop. (The widely accepted definition of “transit-friendly” development is one-half mile from a major transit stop.)

Why San Diego’s proposed Sustainable Development Areas won’t drive adoption of mass transit.

From Neighbors For a Better San Diego / January 5, 2023

Our research confirms that a one-mile walk far exceeds the distance that people are willing to travel to a transit stop, but that’s how the City of San Diego wants to redefine its (TPA) for transit-oriented development affecting local zoning codes.

They’re even giving it a new name: Sustainable Development Areas (SDAs). Truth is, it’s just a transparent ploy to encourage even more high-rise construction and investor-owned Bonus ADU apartment complexes in residential neighborhoods by expanding transit-oriented development to one-mile walking distance.

By Geoff Page

The UT ran a story on Sunday, January 8, about the OB Pier damage. In the story were three pictures. On close examination, it was apparent that two of the three pictures are of a section of old railing. These pictures show a stanchion that detached from the deck. This was the only part of the old railing to suffer damage.

The third picture piqued this writer’s interest because it showed the new railing, new this year.

This year, about 1,000 feet of rail on the south side was replaced. The stanchions are all new and were all moved back about 18” from the edge of the pier, which was where the old stanchions were. This was done because the edge of the pier is so badly deteriorated. The only way to set the new stanchions in good concrete was to move them in.

The following on point Letter to the Editor today 1-9-23 at the U-T says it all:

By Lisa Mortensen

San Diego does not have a luxury housing shortage. “America’s Finest City” has a shortage of affordable housing.

As long as San Diego’s for-profit developer donors are given carte blanche to build without oversight or proper foresight on what the future holds, the housing shortage will only get worse.

Here is a video by Charles Landon on the damage to the Ocean Beach Pier on Friday, Jan. 6.

Monday, Jan. 9’s U-T reported:

The Ocean Beach pier, damaged in last week’s stormy weather, will stay closed to the public until further notice. It could take weeks for crews to assess the damage and make repairs so it is safe, said San Diego lifeguard Lt. Rick Romero.

“That’s going to be out of commission for a couple of weeks, if not more,” Romero said. “We got hit pretty good. The swell we had was pretty significant, something we haven’t had, as far as size-wise, in a long couple of years.”