OB Rag

The number of houseless people in downtown San Diego reached a record high for the fourth straight month in November, according to a count conducted by the Downtown San Diego Partnership.

November’s count found 1,706 people sleeping on sidewalks and in cars along downtown streets, up from 1,660 from October and increasing the monthly average for the year to 1,485.

The numbers increased by more than 50% from the same time last year, when the count was at 1,124.

by Ernie McCray

A silly
lie spewing Black man who
would rather be
a werewolf
than a vampire
lost a
|frighteningly and ridiculously
close Senate race
to a dignified Black man
who was born to inspire,

San Diego police are searching for a man responsible for detonating a so-called “cricket bomb” in a restroom at Dusty Rhodes Park Sunday morning, Dec. 11.

One man was in the restroom at the time of the explosion but was not injured, although he did suffer ringing in his ears. He called police around 8:45 am. The victim told police another man had exited the restroom as he walked in. Now, police are looking for a 45 to 50-year-old suspect described as a 6 feet tall white male wearing a red shirt and pants.

Screen grab from Mount Laguna live cam, Dec. 12, 2022 at 8:20 a.m.

In today’s San Diego Union-Tribune, the editorial board slammed District Attorney Summer Stephan, the San Diego Police and San Diego State University officials over their handling — or lack of handling – last years gang-rape case involving SDSU athletes.

They say that DA Stephan’s statement was “inadequate” over the refusal to file charges, given the “high-profile” nature of the case. “Both the DA and SDPD need to explain their decision-making.” The long history of the mistreatment of victims in many sexual assault cases “hangs over the case,” and that it “shows why for many sexual assault victims, the process of seeking justice only yields new agony.”

If you get a chance to pick up the Dec. 7 edition of the San Diego Reader, you’ll find OBcean Deanna Polk, all masked up giving the peace sign, on the front cover.

The paper’s frontcover article by Siobhan Braun is all about “How Covid tore San Diego friends and neighbors apart.” Polk is interviewed and spouts a lot of good common sense, but another person interviewed Amy Reichert, a co-founder of the very controversial group ReOpen San Diego, doesn’t. Polk and Reichert are diametrically opposed.

On Thursday, Dec. 8, the Union-Tribune announced:

The city of San Diego and development team Midway Rising have cemented an agreement to negotiate the lease and redevelopment of the city’s 48-acre sports arena site in the Midway District.

Monday, the parties executed what’s known as an exclusive negotiation agreement, or ENA. The milestone solidifies the pairing, and starts the clock on a two-year period that requires the developer to produce important material at set dates and not deviate too far from its winning bid.

by Ernie McCray

Woke up this morning
after a nice sleep
last night
and turned on the news
to a scene
that had me
brimming with delight,
the incredibly beautiful sight
of Brittney Griner
boarding a flight,

By Aliah Fabros / LomaBeat.com / Dec. 7, 2022

A colossal canine skeleton hangs from the ceiling, its jaws cracked open in a toothy grin. This is definitely not Starbucks. Above the espresso machines, a surrealist melting clock ticks an hour ahead. By the entrance, a woman delicately plucks a harp.

Welcome to The Template coffee house, home to any local university student who owns a pair of low cut Doc Martens and Diesel the pitbull.

In a travel website, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse is listed as one of three on the California coast that are “supposedly haunted by their old keepers.”

The Star reports:

What is it about lighthouses that ghosts like so much?

Maybe it’s the mist that often seems to shroud their lonely towers. Maybe it’s their historic role as a beacon to keep sailors safe from shipwrecks.

Whatever it is, up and down the California coast you’ll find lighthouses supposedly haunted by their old keepers – and others on the opposite side of the veil.

From Times of San Diego

San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is celebrating the completion of 5,000 sound-insulated homes through its Quieter Home Program.
The Quieter Home Program is San Diego International Airport’s residential sound insulation program in which certain residences around SAN, as determined by the Federal Aviation Administration, may be eligible for sound insulation treatments to mitigate aircraft noise.