OB Rag

by Ernie McCray

Oh, I hope
that the image
of seeing a Black-on-Black Crime
that came out of nowhere
right in front of me
on my big screen TV
will someday escape my mind.

It was such an ugly sight to see,
the vision of a man,
Will Smith,
whom I associate with laughter and glee,

By Geoff Page

In September 2021, The OB Rag carried a piece titled, “The Politics of Fear: Bicycling Deaths, Crosswalks and Dog Bites,” by this writer. The piece contained a review of 13 cycling accidents and it created a howl of anger from cycling advocates.

The anger was directed at anyone who had the temerity to question the public agenda of those promoting cycling. It was shown in the article that the use of these 13 accidents to further the cyclists’ cause was dishonest. The reaction to the piece was so strong

By Colleen O’Connor

Surprise!

Despite all the nay saying, downer news, and extraordinarily weak approval ratings for President Joe Biden, the Democrats have reason to cheer.

Pessimists point to voter suppression in the former Confederate states; to gerrymandered census redistricting maps in numerous GOP controlled statehouses; higher gas prices; inflation; huge debts; and culture wars about “baby racists,” the definition of a “woman.”

And the Trump-inspired right-wing adoration of Putin’s war in Ukraine. Taken together that should cause most Democrats to throw in the towel; to give up; to weep in despair.

San Diego’s Fox5 reported yesterday that two Arizona teenagers are getting national recognition for a dramatic July 3, 2020 rescue that took place at Sunset Cliffs. A young woman and a 11-year old girl were saved by Zachary Johnson Haugen and Jake Vageli Watson of Scottsdale.

Here’s their report – followed by our original post in July:

According to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, Zachary Johnson Haugen and Jake Vageli Watson of Scottsdale, Arizona saved the lives of 18-year-old Thanya Huerta and an 11-year-old girl who had been swept into the Pacific Ocean from a cove at Sunset Cliffs.

(Come inside for a larger poster.)

by Ernie McCray

I can’t remember who the player was
in all the March Madness
the other day
but he
grabbed a rebound
with such power and grace
it etched a “Wow” in the expression on my face
and he had a look on his face
that I used to have when I played,

By Lori Weisberg / San Diego Union-Tribune / March 25, 2022

Last year, as more and more businesses fully reopened amid relaxed pandemic restrictions, long-deferred rental payments came due for hundreds of tenants occupying San Diego-owned properties — including SeaWorld. Even as it is now enjoying a resurgence of visitors, the theme park remains the only city lessee in default for unpaid rent — for a total of $10 million.

By Tony de Garate / San Diego Reader / March 25, 2022

At the Ocean Beach library, March 13 marked an occasion no one wanted nor expected to see: the beginning of its third year of complete closure.

It’s a status shared by only two other locations (Clairemont, Mountain View/Beckwourth) in the city’s 36-branch system. Library officials point out that, while the community’s historic, 1928 building at Santa Monica and Sunset Cliffs has been shuttered, services for OBceans have continued.

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican / March 23, 2022

A Petaluma Argus-Courier headline read, “Petaluma could soon welcome charter school.” Local prodigy, Gianna Biaggi, had come home to establish the Magnolia Global Academy for Leaders (MGAL). Biaggi had spent the previous year as a New School Creation Fellow at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education. She was exited to use her new training to establish a High Tech High inspired school where she grew up. Petaluma is a unique community with a lot of appeal.

By Mike James

Twenty five years ago on April 1, 1997, legislation became effective that would rip families apart, disregard fundamental human rights and send once honored individuals into exile.

After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, there was an uproar for new immigration laws. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 was the result. Signed into law by President Bill Clinton, he, like many other politicians, wanted to pass immigration legislation that emphasized enforcement prior to the run-up of the 1998 national elections.

Long-time readers of the OB Rag know that each year, we pause to remember March 28, 1971 – the anniversary of the infamous Collier Park Riot. Last year, we celebrated its 50th anniversary.

This year we want to use the occasion to honor and acknowledge DC Collier, the true founder of Ocean Beach, whose name and achievements for our seaside community are passing quickly out of our collective memory. Collier is whom the parklet in northeast OB is named after – and for whom a local junior high school was also named after.

Who is DC Collier?

This is what Ocean Beach looked like 2 years ago, at the beginning of the pandemic.

So, lets jog down ol’ memory lane, from the Spring of 2020. A photo gallery to remind us all of the way we were.