OB Rag

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / Nov. 15, 2022

The San Diego City Council unanimously approved Tuesday a new funding source to pay for upgrades to the San Diego River, which officials say could become a regional attraction with recreational amenities and riverfront dining.

The upgrades include parks, bicycle bridges and flood-prevention efforts that could make private-sector investment more likely along the 52-mile river, which runs from Ocean Beach, Mission Valley, El Cajon, Santee, Lakeside to Julian.

Incredibly, an animal rescue group that calls itself “environmental” is suing the City of San Diego to block work on the replacement of the OB Pier. What?

That’s right. The suit, filed Tuesday, November 15, by the Animal Protection and Rescue League, claims the initial work is proceeding without proper environmental review.

by Elizabeth Ireland / Times of San Diego / Nov. 15, 2022

Styrofoam products are on their way out in San Diego following the city council vote on Tuesday, Nov. 15 approving an ordinance banning all single-use polystyrene foam food containers, utensils, coolers and pool toys effective next year.

According to a staff presentation at Tuesday’s meeting, while Styrofoam products are accepted in the city’s blue recycling bins, it is difficult to find a market willing to recycle them, and they often are sent to the landfill — if they don’t break up into tiny pieces and get into the region’s environment first.

On Monday, November 14, the San Diego City Council voted to tentatively expand its recent street vending ordinance to the city’s coastal areas, including Ocean Beach. The council will take its final vote on the issue probably December 7, which will make it official and then go into effect in 30 days by early January 2023.

The council was able to take the vote because of a deal the city made with the California Coastal Commission. Up to now, it has been assumed the Commission had to give its approval before it went into effect in the coastal neighborhoods because the new law — passed on June 22 — would require a change to Local Coastal Programs, which serve as planning documents for coastal communities.

The August deal between the city and the Commission allowed the city to move on expanding enforcement of the ordinance into the coastal areas, provided it agreed to add a regulation prohibiting vendors from blocking public shoreline access.

Edited from BusinessNews, November 16, 2022

It’s official. The United States Navy is officially seeking bids to renovate NAVWAR, the 70.3-acre complex in San Diego’s Midway District, launching the largest real estate competition in the federal agency’s history.

On Tuesday, the Navy released  the RFQ, the request for qualifications for the lease and development of the NAVWAR property, which includes Naval Base Point Loma, and Old Town Complex. The 182-page solicitation published on federal procurement site SAM.gov formally puts the property on the market and invites development teams to respond by February 7, 2023 with their high-level vision for the site and financing plans.

By Judi Curry

Ten years ago a dog washed up on the beach at Rosarito and was taken to the Baja Dog Sanctuary .  He had the stinger of a sting ray stuck in his head, and he was bedraggled from his swim to shore from the boat that he must have fallen off.

There was no doubt that he was a thoroughbred Golden Retriever, and I heard about him through Trish Penneck, the physical therapist I was using for my Golden Retriever “Buddy,” that was suffering from hip displasia.

Almost immediately after Trish told me about this water-logged dog, I contacted the rescue organization and we planned a meeting so we could meet each other. I took a few of my friends with me to meet this dog in Poway, and it was love at first sight.

By Colleen O’Connor

What’s a woman to do?

Specifically, Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  Just off a near miracle election that defied all odds, almost all odds makers and every doomsday prediction cited by pollsters that the House Democratic majority could lose as many as 45 seats.

In 2018, then House Minority Lead, Pelosi promised to stay around.

“As long as (Trump’s) here, I’m here.”

She did acknowledge that it’s “up to the caucus” to select her party’s leader and that “it’s time for new blood” in the party but added that given the current political climate she should remain in her role.

Here’s Michael Smolens, renowned U-T columnist, shaking the boat with assertions that San Diego’s establishment “bi-partisan” Democrats attacked fellow Democrat Saldaña and promoted Republican Linda Lukacs in order to get Campbell re-elected (the Rag has been making the same assertions since June):

San Diego City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell may have secured her re-election in June when an independent committee waged a negative campaign against Lori Saldaña, a high-profile San Diego political figure who has served in the Assembly and run for a number of other elected positions.

A Democrat like Campbell, Saldaña is a former chair of the Sierra Club’s local chapter who has a strong following among progressive Democrats, and her criticism of development has appealed to neighborhood groups.

Mike’s Midterm Tsunami Truth #42 — Can you bring yourself to say we will win the House?

By Michael Moore / November 14, 2022

It’s hard, isn’t it, to believe in ourselves? Especially when you’ve spent the past few months feeling politically hopeless and trying not to believe the “predictions” shoved down our throats that we are all going to drown in a Trumpian Red Wave of election deniers and right wing nutters. And so millions of you — good people, liberals, lefties, Democrats, Montessori parents — sink into a despair, knowing in your heart of hearts we are doomed.

Between Biden’s low approval ratings, the “record high“ inflation, and the media telling us over and over how the first midterm election of a new president is usually a slaughter (Obama lost 63 House seats in his first midterm), most liberal voters simply gave in to the inevitable.

Edited From KPBS

Thousands of researchers and student employees at the 10 University of California campuses have gone on strike as of 8 a.m. this morning, Monday, Nov. 14, in an effort to secure improved pay and working conditions.

Contract talks affect 48,000 workers, including 17,000 student researchers, at the 10 schools in the UC system, including UC San Diego. They voted to authorize a strike in October. UC officials are in contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers regarding four separate academic bargaining units

It’s been a week now since San Diego voters officially cast their ballots, and Measure C is still too close to call. Although as of this report, November 14, the “Yes” votes lead the “No”s by 6,058. Percentage wise, that’s only a difference of 1.82%.

The County Registrar of Voters says there are still another 165,000 outstanding ballots (county-wide). Their next posting won’t be until 5 pm today.

by Ernie McCray

I was just thinking
about Blair and Kimberly,
two people very dear to me,
thinking how
unbelievable it is
that it’s been
some 50 years
since we met
when I was the principal
at John Muir Alternative School
and they were among a population
of students