OB Rag

By Ann Menasche, Coleen Cusack, and Matha Sullivan / OpEd San Diego Union-Tribune / Dec. 29, 2022

The human-made catastrophe of mass homelessness can be deadly. There have been at least 1,425 preventable deaths in San Diego County since 2020. Elected officials and their appointees in San Diego County have failed homeless people since at least 1996, when the city of San Diego reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that “inability to pay high rents” was among the most common reasons for homelessness.

This is a policy failure of epic proportions —

By Colleen O’Connor

Forget all the negative political news, the wars, and the ugly financial and criminal headlines. Stop reading and just look at a photo. Take a gander at these truly “awesome” photographs and/or discoveries from 2022.

All true.  All gorgeous.  And all reasons to wish everyone a Happy New Year, if 2023 it accomplishes anything like the previous one.

Take a long look at these charts inside. This was San Diego County exactly one year ago, Dec. 28, 2021.

Here are new laws that will take effect in California on January 1, 2023.

Abortion (AB-2223) —  It protects a woman or pregnant person who chooses to end a pregnancy from prosecution, even if the abortion is self-induced or happens outside the medical system. It also abolishes the requirement that coroners investigate stillbirths and protects someone who helps a pregnant person end their pregnancy voluntarily from criminal or civil liability.

Minimum wage (SB-3) — The statewide California minimum wage will rise to $15.50 per hour for all employer sizes.

Public Service Announcement

With the new year just a few days away, here are new traffic safety-related laws that will take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

The laws include:

— SB 1472 expands the criteria for “gross negligence” to include drivers involved in sideshow activity, exhibition of speed or speeding over 100 mph resulting in a fatality.

— AB 2147 prohibits police officers from stopping pedestrians for certain pedestrian-specific violations such as crossing the road outside of a crosswalk, unless there is an immediate danger of a crash.

A water advisory issued by San Diego County health officials on Wednesday to avoid contact with ocean water due to recent rain that could have carried bacteria into the ocean and bays is still in effect.

The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality issued an advisory that warns surfers, swimmers and other water users that “rain brings urban runoff which can cause bacteria levels to rise significantly in ocean and bay waters, especially near storm drains, creeks, rivers and lagoon outlets. Swimming, surfing and diving should be avoided during rain and for 72 hours following the rain event.”

by Joaquin Antique

After being closed for repairs for much of the past two years, the pissoir in the restroom below the Cabrillo lighthouse has finally been repaired and is now accepting deposits.

Known to savvy world travelers for providing one of the finest views from any toilet in the USA,

Ocean energy could take its place alongside solar and wind in helping to decarbonize the power grid

By Brooke Staggs / Orange County Register / December 27, 2022

If you’ve ever gone surfing or felt seasick or simply watched as the ocean crashed onto shore, you know the power that waves hold. The potentially world-changing question is, can that power be harnessed in a cost-effective way to produce clean, reliable electricity?

Solar and wind dominate discussions about renewable energy.

Union Bank has sold its Ocean Beach branch at 1858 Cable Street and four others, most in San Diego County. The OB branch was built in 1964, and has 5,379 square feet.

Included presumably in the sale is the large parking lot on the property. There is also an OB mural from a past Street Fair on its north side, but there is no word at this point about its fate.

The total package was $19.25 million; the buyers have not been identified.

Here are the entries in the OB Rag photo contest of King and very low tides (in no particular order).

No. 1 above —Santa Cruz Beach, Point Loma; 12/23/22 8:00am

Here is a recent entry into the Rag’s King Tide Photo Contest. The view is of South Sunset Cliffs. And it reminds us that along with King Tides, there are extremely low tides as well.

Today, Tuesday, Dec. 27, is the last day of the contest.

by Ernie McCray

So much is said of Peace and Good-Will
during this time of year
and wouldn’t it be wonderful
if we adhered
to such
in our
everyday lives?