OB Rag

By Dryw Keltz / San Diego Reader / June 6, 2022

The County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation is working to construct a seamless network of trails that will follow the route of the San Diego River from the mountains down to the coast. The project is still in the planning stages and has been in progress for decades now. It seems to have new momentum after the county board of supervisors recently prioritized it. The project is being referred to as the San Diego River Park Trail.

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican

California Assemblywomen Delaine Eastin wrote legislation creating the Financial Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT) in 1991. Her legislation was in response to the bankruptcy of the Richmond School District and requests for financial help from four other districts.

In 1992, Governor Pete Wilson signed the legislation into law and located FCMAT (pronounced Fick-Mat) under the auspices of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. Since then, its power has grown and portfolio expanded with little oversight. Today, there is a burgeoning chorus of critics calling for reform or even termination.

by Candice Woo / Eater San Diego / June 8, 2022

San Diego native and fourth generation commercial fisherman Tommy Gomes is, without a doubt, the most famous of all local fishmongers.

A passionate advocate of sustainable seafood, Gomes developed a large following of chefs and community members during the 17 years he spent working for seafood wholesaler Catalina Offshore Products and parlayed his expertise into his own television show, The Fishmonger, on the Outdoor Channel, which is currently gearing up to film its third season.

Public Service Announcement

After weeks of warnings about the worsening California drought, San Diego will adopt new statewide restrictions on water use for residents on Friday, June 10.

California’s State Water Resources Control Board ordered the new rules late last month. The emergency water conservation regulation carries the following changes for residents in the city of San Diego:

A Public Service Announcement

With never-seen video, new audio and a mass of evidence, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will attempt to show the “harrowing story” of the deadly violence that erupted that day and also a chilling backstory as the defeated president, Donald Trump, tried to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory.

Thursday’s prime-time hearing will open with eyewitness testimony from the first police officer pummeled in the mob riot and from a documentary filmmaker tracking the extremist Proud Boys, who prepared to fight for Trump immediately after the election and led the storming of the Capitol.

Despite U-T reporter David Garrick’s claims that Tuesday’s primary in District 2 became “an old-fashioned Democrat-versus-Republican battle,” — it didn’t — we now have an admittance by the Jen Campbell campaign that a mailer they paid for that attacked Democrat Lori Saldaña while promoting Republican Linda Lukacs worked.

“The mailer promoting Lukacs was pivotal,” said Dan Rottenstreich, Campbell’s campaign consultant and main attack-dog.

“On her own, Lukacs wouldn’t have been able to consolidate Republicans.”

Thanks to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, a group of 11 leftist counter-protesters were just indicted by a county grand jury for their role during a January 2021 Pacific Beach “Patriot March” organized by Trump supporters. The indictment does not add any charges beyond what they were initially charged with in December in San Diego Superior Court.

But incredibly, the 11 charged individuals are facing more serious sentences than defendants in the January 6 insurrectionist cases.

More trees have been cut down in Point Loma. First the palm trees on upper Newport Avenue – and now eucalyptus trees at Liberty Station. And some Point Loma residents are upset.

Point Loman Alex Loker spoke to 10News last week and said on Wednesday, June 2m two large eucalyptus trees near the entrance of Liberty Station were taken down:

“These trees have been here easily for 100 years. They’re about 150 feet tall, and there’s no replacing that as kind of our gate guards into the entrance of Liberty Station.”

by Ernie McCray

My goodness.
Evil people slaughter
our children
and all we do is pray
and send loving thoughts
the survivors’ way
and TV punditry
airs it out
this way and that way
and the folks
we vote in
to protect us from such tragedies
suck up to the NRA

By Geoff Page

The centerpiece of the Ocean Beach Planning Board’s regularly monthly meeting on June 1 was a city presentation on the Pier, it’s current condition and the future. The meeting was held at the New Break Church. Attendance was not outstanding. One District 2 candidate, Lori Saldaña, attended.

James Nagelvoort presented for the city’s new Strategic Capital Projects Department. Nagelvoort explained that this new department was formed by the city to oversee large and complex projects like the Pier. This by itself was news.

Point Loma High alumni have put together a video on the school’s grand re-opening. OB Rag readers have enjoyed previous peeks at the rehabilitated old school, nearly 100 years old, thanks to Peninsula News published online by the Point Loma Association. But now we have the official PLHS alumni video and news from their website:

From the PLHS Alumni News:

Hello Pointers!

Today is Monday June 6, 2022 and at long last the ribbon cutting for the modernization of PLHS is taking place. In honor of that event we have put together a sneak peak slideshow of the newly renovated campus.

Come inside for the video