OB Rag

Generations Keeping Point Loma “Festa” Traditions and Beauty Alive

By Colleen O’Connor

The flags are up, the bunting unraveled, and the volunteers are prepping for Point Loma’s 2022 “Festa” or Feast of the Holy Spirit, which celebrates the city’s oldest ethnic festival and commemorates Portugal’s Queen St. Isabel.

Portuguese Hall and St. Agnes Church will provide the customary venues for the tradition of nightly rosary prayers and end with a celebratory Mass and parade on June 5th.

San Diego’s new eviction moratorium just went into effect Sunday, May 22, and is now the rule that prevents landlords from removing tenants for ‘no fault’ reasons. It applies to renters who are up-to-date on their rent payments and abiding by the terms of their leases.

With the moratorium in place, if a landlord or family member wants to move into the unit, they need to provide the tenant with 90 days-notice. If they want to take the property off the rental market, they now must provide six months-notice.

The ‘no fault’ eviction moratorium is set to expire September 30 — or 60 days after the pandemic state of emergency ends, whichever comes first.

OB Rag Reporter Geoff Page One of Panelists

From Lori Saldaña for City Council

Three local investigative journalists will conduct an educational forum on Sunday, May 22 at 7:00 PM, to discuss a San Diego Political Action Committee (PAC) that is filling District 2 mailboxes with false and misleading attack ads.

The ads began in early May, and are intended to suppress votes in support of San Diego City Council candidate and former California Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña.

The video Ode to Jeff Stone is by Charles Landon with original music and lyrics by Phil Rockhold.

Jeff Stone adopted Ocean Beach in the late 1970s and he and his sweetheart Carole Landon raised their two sons, CJ and Cody from their house on Long Branch. Born on May 25, 1946, in New Jersey, Jeff passed on March 8.

Always the artist and intellectual, Jeff took on several personas during his OB life’s path: an oil painter, the drummer for the local punk band, “Bowling for Larva,” a photographer, a surfer, an Irish nationalist – but always the teacher. Jeff loved kids and he loved to teach them– which he did for decades. He constantly ran into former students as he moved about town and they always expressed their appreciation for him.
Come Inside for the Vid

San Diego Gas and Electric — which already charges its customers the highest electrical rate in the country — now wants to raise gas and electric bills even more — by almost 9 percent. This would begin in 2024 if state regulators authorize a proposed four-year spending plan submitted this week by the utility.

That means a typical residential customer would see their utility bills jump around $18 per month, according to the utility. (SDG&E defines “typical residential customer” as a user of 400 kwh hours of electricity and 24 therms of gas per month.)

by Ernie McCray

I sat
the other day
as a dancer,
a Black woman,
moved her body and feet
to African rhythms and beats,
giving honor
to how Black arts
have enriched humanity
since near the dawning
of our species.

As she danced
a young aspiring White supremacist,

From Regional Task Force on Homelessness

2022 Point in Time Count Data Released

Data shows progress and opportunities, provides insights into who is experiencing homelessness in San Diego County

The Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH) on Thursday, May 19, released the topline results from the 2022 WeAllCount Point-in-Time Count, a one-day snapshot of the minimum number of San Diegans living in emergency shelters, transitional housing, safe havens and on our streets and along our riverbeds.

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican

The Downtown Double Tree Hotel where the Network for Public Education (NPE) conference was held has great meeting facilities.

Over the May Day weekend of learning and being inspired, it was an easy trek from the five joint sessions in the large room to the six smaller breakout sessions. The difficult part was picking which of the eight panels available in each breakout sessions to attend.

Two teens from Arizona rescued two girls in the waters off Sunset Cliffs back in July 2020. Now, they’ve both been awarded the Carnegie Hero Award for their heroism and bravery.

Zachary Haugen and Jake Watson rescued an 18-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl who had been swept into the sea at the cliffs. there during a swell event. And the whole thing was caught on video. The dramatic rescue was considered heroic by many onlookers.

Veteran politics writer Matt Potter over at San Diego Reader has just contributed to our understanding of just who and what are attacking City Council candidate Lori Saldaña.

Potter found out that giant Sempra Energy, “which maintains one of Sacramento’s biggest influence peddling operations,” is funding the attack group New San Diego that has targeted Saldaña.

Repeating much of what Rag writer Geoff Page reported on in who has donated to the group mailing out hit pieces, Potter did state:

Sempra made its $2500 donation to New San Diego on December 20, per the corporation’s Major Donor filing for the year 2021, dated January 22, 2022.

By Geoff Page

Here is what passes for leadership in city council District 2. This came out yesterday:

Breaking: Lori Saldaña Caught Lying to Voters Again, Taking Money From Big Polluters

Lori Saldaña, candidate for San Diego City Council, has been caught lying to San Diego voters about her record of accepting campaign contributions and lavish gifts from California’s biggest fossil fuel polluters.

Saldaña is papering San Diego neighborhoods with seemingly bold claims that she ‘never’ takes money from fossil fuel corporations, but just a quick google reveals that’s yet another bold-faced lie from a politician with an already established reputation for saying and doing virtually anything to advance her political career.