OB Rag

In the midst of a fentanyl epidemic in San Diego, an Ocean Beach man was sentenced recently to 150 months – or 12 1/2 years – for selling fentanyl to another Ocean Beach man who died of an overdose in 2020.

Anthony Souza, 47, was sentenced to federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel for causing the death of Chad Stevens, 28, who worked for two years at the Wonderland Ocean Pub, a well-known OB restaurant.

Join the OB Town Council and Point Loma Association in their:

Virtual Voter Information Forum – October 17 @ 6:30PM

On Tuesday, October 11, the San Diego City Council approved an $8 million contract to start working with a consulting firm to replace the Ocean Beach Pier.

Moffat & Nichol will now begin the process of planning for a brand new pier with the city’s engineering team. The firm was approved back on September 14 by the council’s transportation and infrastructure committee for additional services needed for the OB Pier improvement project.

The consultation company expect to begin an evaluation of the pier this year and to have construction begin on the new pier by 2026.

Numerous groups oppose Measure C on November’s ballot, not only Keep the Coast30. Here’s a recent Op-Ed in the Presidio Sentinel from the group “Save San Diego’s Character”:

Save San Diego’s Character, an organization created in response to the U.S. Navy’s proposal to redevelop the NAVWAR/SPAWAR site, opposes San Diego County Measure C. This Measure would remove the 30-foot height limit on construction in the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Plan area. It would affect approximately 1,300 acres stretching from Interstate 8 south along Interstate 5 to the San Diego International Airport currently included in the Coastal Zone of the City of San Diego.

From Global Security

According to H.R. Haldeman, the President’s Assistant, Nixon intentionally planned to signal to Moscow and Hanoi that he was a “madman” capable of any irrational deed, up to and including using nuclear weapons, to end the stalemate at the negotiating table and bring about an end to the war.

The so-called “madman theory” was first suggested in Haldeman’s memoirs, published in 1978.

Nuclear Shutdown News October 2022

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

At this writing in early October, much of Florida is still devastated by Hurricane Ian. Little reporting mentions the role of global warming in this disaster. Less refers to the threat of the state’s nuclear power plants.

The Turkey Point’s two reactors started up in the early 1970s, making them a half century old now. Located in the greater Miami area, they represent another catastrophic threat to Floridians. Nuclear reactors are designed to run only 40 years. But as many US nuke plants approach or surpass that age, their owners have been applying to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend their operating lives for 20 years or more.

By Colleen O’Connor

Do you miss the civility of political conversation? Or the green of the forests? Or even just the rain?

Here are some photos to cheer you up. An actual Rain Forest in the Pacific Northwest. Olympic National Park and Forest, to be exact.

By Judi Curry

In today’s world there is much going on that does not cause laughter. Well, of course, there are many different kinds of laughter, some of which is fun, some of which is nasty, some of which is sarcastic, etc.

I might have a little bit of laughter for YOU – (certainly not for me.) Here is my story.

Several years ago I wrote an article for the OB Rag about the new residents of Ocean Beach/ Pt. Loma.  Namely the rats were moving in. And I don’t mean the two legged kind – I mean the true, four-legged rats.  At times one could stand on Sunset Cliffs Blvd and watch the rats run across the street.  That was then.  Let me get you current. Those damn rats found that Sunset Cliffs and its environs were a perfect place to raise their families,

by Ernie McCray

In the
winter of my existence
I feel gratitude
for being given
so many years of life,
life that’s been lived out
in a universe
that consistently
lays before us
an array of circumstances
over which we have little to
no control,

From the Peninsula Alliance

Ocean Beach draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, including many military families from all over San Diego. To honor those who have served our country throughout the years, a group of community organizations that include the nonprofit Ocean Beach Community Development Corp. (OBCDC), the Ocean Beach Town Council, OB Mainstreet Association, OB Planning Board, OB Woman’s Club, and The Peninsula Alliance have set out to build a brand-new Veterans Plaza that will
last as a place of respect and reverence for our military veterans.

The current Veteran’s Memorial Plaza at the foot of Newport Avenue and Abbott Street in Ocean Beach is in great disrepair.

Our Mighty 30-Foot Women with the Strength of a Redwood and the Beauty of a Rose

By Kathy Blavatt

Photos by Kathy Blavat and from Scherer Family Collection

Recently, Mignon Scherer, a good friend of mine from my past, has filled my thoughts because of the November election having Measure C on the ballot. The ballot measure triggers thoughts of Mignon because it threatens to do away with the 30 Foot Coastal Height Limit in the Midway District and Sports Arena public land.