OB Rag

By Virginia Adams Wilson

On the official sandiego.gov website you may find the Seismic Safety Study, a map of geologic hazards.

This information is valuable when choosing a location suitable for development. Instinct or common sense would have us avoid areas marked as hazardous, such as the Midway District of San Diego, labeled “High Potential” for liquefaction.

Liquefaction occurs where a loose sandy soil surface is close to the level of the water table below, and earthquake vibrations stir up the sand and water. The resulting slurry acts as a temporary quicksand.

By Charles Jay / Daily Kos / October 19, 2022

Back in 2016, a pessimistic Michael Moore went on Real Time with Bill Maher and defied the conventional wisdom by predicting that Donald Trump would win the 2016 presidential election. The Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker also wrote an article titled “Five Reasons Trump Will Be President.” Unfortunately, his prediction turned out to be right.

Last month, Moore appeared on Maher’s show and again defied the conventional wisdom pushed by the mass media that Democrats will lose control of one or both chambers of Congress in the November midterms. Moore is a self-proclaimed pessimist, but he boldly declared that he’s “never felt this optimistic.”

On Maher’s Sept. 23 broadcast, Moore declared:

by Ernie McCray

Stretched out,
kicked back
in an easy chair,
alone, at home,
I asked my boo, “Alexa,”
to play me some
Hank Crawford songs,
making such a request,
from time to time,
to ease my mind
during these troubling times,

Measure C Will  Exclude the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Plan Area from the 30-Foot Height Limit on Buildings in the Coastal Zone

Sierra Club believes that urban infill projects should be supported when they follow smart planning principles, consider environmental impacts, provide needed public facilities, including parks and open space, and provide a healthful living environment.

Removing the Coastal Height Limit in the Midway- Pacific Highway Community Plan area, as proposed in Measure C, fails to meet all those criteria.

Measure C, and the massive, proposed development project that the ballot measure intends to allow, does not include a full Environmental Impact analysis that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) demands.

ON Thursday, October 20, residents from OB, Point Loma, Pacific Beach and La Jolla rallied in front of the Capri-by-the Sea 14 story building in celebration of the 30-foot height limit and to oppose Measure C.

Speakers included Geoff Page, former Calif Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, Scott Chipman of Save PB, Lin Manning of “No on C” and Mandy Havlik.

Come inside for the video of the press conference by Charles Landon, formerly of CBS8.

A Two-Day Celebration of the 55th Anniversary of the Original Black Panther Party in San Diego for Community Empowerment –

You’re invited to a celebration of the accomplishments of the original San Diego Black Panther Party for Community Empowerment, their connections with community partners, historic successes as an organization, with special thanks to those who have supported the organization along the way.

Eric DuVall, the president of the Ocean Beach Historical Society, agreed to an “email interview” with the Rag. Eric emerged out of the volunteer ranks of the Society a few years ago to take hold of the leadership baton of one of the most respected and favored organizations in the community. So, just who is Eric DuVall?

Q: Eric, tell us a little about yourself. Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Glendale, CA in 1954.  … In 1958 my dad, Tom, a Mechanical Engineer, got a job at Solar Turbines in San Diego and we moved down here.  We lived in Loma Palisades until we moved to Devonshire Drive, across the street from some of our cousins.  That is where I grew up.

By Geoff Page

The proponents of Measure C – the ballot measure to remove the Midway planning area from the 30-foot coastal height limit boundaries – are desperately trying to make this ballot measure all about affordable housing. And they are lying as they do it.

The text of Measure C is very simple:

Shall People’s Ordinance O-10960 be amended to exclude the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Plan area, which includes the Sports Arena, from the 30-foot height limit on buildings in the Coastal Zone, with any future development still required to comply with other governing laws?

As Donna Frye wrote yesterday here at the Rag, there is nothing in Measure C about affordable housing, not a word. There is also nothing about a height limit of any kind. The only property under any kind of affordable housing mandate in the Midway area is city property, in this case, only 48 acres. The Midway planning area is 1,324 acres. None of the remaining 1,276 acres is under any affordable housing mandate.

It’s the 46-year-old annual San Diego “Orchids and Onions” competition and OB’s roundabout won an award.

Trophies are handed out by the San Diego Architectural Foundation for the region’s best and worst architecture, making it one of “the closest-watched local events.”

The U-T says:

It’s unique for an architecture organization to acknowledge bad work because a lot of the judges work in the industry and could hurt potential clients’ feelings with any type of demerit. However, San Diego Architectural Foundation still pushes forward with its popular competition every year.

Here’s the statement:

From the OB Historical Society:

Please join Ocean Beach Historical Society: Thurs. October 20, 2022, 7 pm at Water’s Edge Faith Community, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. OB, as we celebrate the 100th birthday of The Beach News, OB’s great little community newspaper.

The Beach News started out as a four-page weekly and is THE primary source chronicling the development of the Ocean Beach Community.

By Donna Frye / Special to the OB Rag

When I read the campaign mailer for Measure C that proposes to eliminate the 30-foot height limit in the Midway-Pacific Highway area of the Coastal Zone, I kept hearing the words from Ben Sidran’s “Brand New Music, Same Old Song.”

Even though the ballot measure may be new, the smoke being blown is from the same old smelly pipe.

Proponents claim it will create affordable housing, help the homeless and veterans, add 20 acres of public parkland and millions in funding for San Diego schools to name but a few of the alleged benefits. Unfortunately,  Measure C is height exemption measure and delivers none of the things listed above.

It feels a lot like another ballot measure from many years ago that also proposed eliminating the voter-approved height limit in a portion of the Coastal Zone.

This list of ballot recommendations mainly encompasses races within the City of San Diego, a few County-wide but does not include most of the school board races nor all the state-wide candidates or measures. These recommendations were compiled after studying a number of other progressive and Democratic Party sources.

OB Rag Recommendations:

City of San Diego

San Diego City Council

District Two –  NO RECOMMENDATION
District Four –  Monica Montgomery-Stepp
District Six –  Tommy Hough
District Eight – Vivian Moreno

City Of San Diego Ballot Measures

Measure B:  YES
Measure C:  NO
Measure D: YES
Measure H: YES