OB Rag

We’ll certainly miss the OB Pier fireworks, which has been cancelled again for the third year in a row. Watching those blazing white sparkles flow off the pier into the ocean were a sight worth remembering. And holding your child up so they could see the colorful explosions illuminating the night sky over OB is a memory worth cherishing.

This year we’ve been told that the pier cannot handle trucks and other weight-causing activity.

But, you know, maybe it is time to move on. Something different. Did you see how Imperial Beach this July 4th is replacing its fireworks with a high-tech drone show?

Here in OB, we need to accept the reality.

The reality is that pyrotechnics from and over the Ocean Beach Pier cannot continue – for two main reasons:

Now, there are alternatives — see inside. In the meantime …

by Ernie McCray

We’ve got a court
that’s considered “Supreme,”
yet, it has trampled on women’s
hopes and dreams,
taking away their right
to have autonomy regarding
their health and their bodies
that go back to the previous century,
leaving their
granddaughters
and great-granddaughters
to face a reality
where they, might, someday,
serve time in the penitentiary
for bringing an end to a pregnancy,

The Imperial Beach fireworks show that was set to take place on July 4 is now canceled and will be replaced with a high-tech drone show, according to officials.

Fire potential from traditional fireworks is the one of the reasons behind the change as well as reducing noise, smoke and debris, City Manager Andy Hall stated in a press release Monday.

Officials say they are “excited to introduce a new way to enjoy the 4th of July” as the drone show synchronizes with music that will broadcast at Pier Plaza and be available on personal devices from the city’s website.

By Colleen O’Connor

Stressed out? Feeling drained? Angry or a little anxious about all the chaos? You are not alone. The whole world shares your pain.

According to a new Gallup Poll, the world is “more stressed out than ever.”

“In 2021, four in 10 adults worldwide said they experienced a lot of worry (42%) or stress (41%),

Fear not, Hollywood had given us a $10 solution. Go to the movies. Escape.

Covid-19 brought us Downton Abbey, Death on the Nile and Dr. Strange. Great cinematography and storytelling.

CNN Business News / June 28, 2022

Airbnb announced on Tuesday, June 28, that it will make permanent a ban on parties originally implemented in the early months of the pandemic, citing its effectiveness at curbing unauthorized gatherings.

The company announced a temporary ban on all parties in August 2020 as part of an effort to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 through social distancing efforts. It also followed reports of Airbnb customers throwing unauthorized ragers in the homes they rented through the platform.

NPR/PBS NewsHour/ Marist National Poll: The Overturning of Roe v. Wade, June 2022

From Marist Poll

In a majority decision, the United States Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade which, for nearly fifty years, guaranteed access to abortion in the United States.

However, majorities of Americans oppose the Court’s ruling and have concerns that the decision will have broader constitutional implications.

By Carson Davis

The Street Fair has returned! After two years of dormancy, the Annual Ocean Beach Street Fair has finally come back and is more with the times than ever.

Offering booth after booth of consumerism blended with community, there was something for everyone.

With over 80 artist alley booths, 35 food vendors, 130 volunteers, and a chili cookoff that offered 18 different local and corporate competitors to around 1,000 community judges, this year’s street fair was as expansive as ever.

One minute you could find yourself watching one of the three murals being lovingly added onto by a passionate artist, and the next be hit in the face with a t-shirt by a chicken-wing eating contest chicken mascot.

From the OB Mainstreet Association:

Chili Cook-Off Winners & Awards

AMATEUR DIVISION
Judge’s Awards

1st Place: Tom Wilber with “The Devil’s Ice Cream
2nd Place: Anthony To “Taste Buds”

People’s Choice Awards

1st Place: Emmanuel Solis
2nd Place: Sergio Pelayo “Tomasello & Sons”

Thanks to artist Monte Wolverton, who thanks Randy Cate, cuz of OB Rag columnist Colleen O’Connor.

By Mat Wahlstrom

You may have heard that today, Monday June 27, the City Council is being called into a special meeting to formally approve a ‘settlement’ agreement possibly illegally negotiated in just a week ago.

The original deal being ‘settled’ is the disposition of the 19-story building at 101 Ash St. Approved in 2016, it called for taxpayers to lease to own a building for $128 million that insiders knew was really only valued for $67 million — and that was before anyone outside their circle realized it’s a toxic vertical landfill.

There’s currently a lawsuit, likely to prevail, claiming this deal was illegal and so not only is it void, but all the millions paid to date in rent would have to be refunded. Not only isn’t this lawsuit costing the city a penny but, even if it were to fail, there are other lawsuits and remedies.

After a 2 year hiatus the Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off was held Saturday the 25th of 2022. Tens of thousands attended what turned out to be a flawless event with the OB Mainstreet Association and Town Council.

Video by Cape May Productions by Charles Landon and Carson Davis, music by Phil Rockhold.

By K-B Gressitt / Blog / June 25, 2022

“Fuck” has a multitude of applications. It can be rude, endearing, outraged, kinky, mean, funny, clever, crude, and the list does go on. (For guidance on its many applications, refer to English as a Second F*cking Language, by Sterling Johnson.)

Nonetheless, for many moons I spurned the word in my own writing, and the newspaper for which I opined would never in a million f*cking years have published it (tee and hee). Indeed, my request to include the lesser “shit,” in a direct quote by a woman describing her beastly encounter with breast cancer, was bumped up to the publisher’s office where I had to explain to the white, affluent man that having a breast excised in a patriarchal culture that values women’s breasts more than the people who bear them was really f*cking horrible.