OB Rag

by Ernie McCray

Vladimir Putin
pursues his lifelong dream
of reigning over all
the land
and air
and sea
in his proximity,
singling out Ukrainians to take the brunt of his
inhuman atrocities:
bombing and storming them,
looting their wealth and shooting them,
rolling his tanks down their avenues and streets…

Public Service Announcement:

After weeks of decline, experts who track coronavirus levels in San Diego’s wastewater at the Point Loma plant say they are starting to see a slight uptick in viral load, which could be an indication that the new wave of the pandemic that has hit foreign countries has now reached Southern California. The last data analyzed from Point Loma on March 13 and March 14 show an uptick.

“This slight uptick is not something to be alarmed about, but something we’re watching with caution,” Dr. Christopher Longhurt, Chief Medical Officer at UC San Diego Health,

By Geoff Page

A spirited discussion at the Peninsula Community Planning Board’s regular monthly meeting March 17 was a microcosm of the housing dilemma that seems to be affecting everyone in some way today.

Apartments to Condos on Worden Street

A few years ago, 21 apartments on Worden Street, with great unobstructed views of everything to the west, were remodeled. The apartments are located just past the intersection of Worden and Bob Street, heading north. They are on the left as the road rises, bends to the right, and becomes Leland. The property owners now want to convert the units to condos. That means 21 fewer apartments available for rent being replaced by homes the renters probably will not be able to afford.

Thousands of union grocery workers at Ralphs, Albertsons, and Vons, from Central California to San Diego, will be voting the week of March 21 on whether to authorize an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike against their employers.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 135, along with sibling UFCW Locals in the bargaining unit, have filed multiple ULP charges with the National Labor Relations Board against these companies for violating the rights of members. These unfair labor practice charges range from trying to influence members by providing gifts and bonuses while negotiations are ongoing

A Voice for Residents, Not Special Interests, in City Hall

By Joel Day

Over the last months knocking on doors, attending community meetings, and listening to OB residents, I have heard a clear desire for new leadership in District 2.

I am running to be your council representative because we need a council that works for working families, not special interests. For me, that commitment isn’t just talk – it’s deeply personal. My father went to prison for 25 years when I was 6 years old. My sister and I grew up in a household of serious economic, addiction, and mental health challenges.

But we had a lifeline at our public library – where I learned to read and which set me on a path

By Colleen O’Connor

Apologies to George Eliot for cribbing her classic title about life in a provincial English town. Putting it to more contemporary use, here are three pieces of fantastic news just as relevant now, in the middle of March.

First, the good news from Live Science. “Our universe may have a twin that runs backward in time. An anti-universe running backwards in time could explain dark matter and cosmic inflation.”

The Midway planners, officially called the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Planning Group, are hosting an Open House for the public to come and learn about the 5 different proposals for the Sports Arena Redevelopment.

The event will be Thursday, March 24, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm, at the EF International Language Campus, 3455 Kenyon St., San Diego, CA 92110.

All proposers will be making presentations and, according to a public service announcement by the planning group, “this is a chance to see all at once and to meet the people proposing. Anyone interested in what might happen with this development should try to attend.”

By Jennifer Van Grove / San Diego Union-Tribune / March 16, 2022

San Diego City Council members, as well as the public, will soon get to weigh in on the five development teams looking to remake the city’s sports arena site in the Midway District with thousands of apartments and a new or refashioned entertainment venue.

Proposing teams, which are battling to win a long-term ground lease for the 48-acre property currently home to Pechanga Arena, are scheduled to pitch their plans to the city’s Land Use and Housing Committee on April 21 at 1 p.m.

By Edwin Decker

Dear Ed, I want to watch my wife have sex with another woman but she won’t do it. What’s up with that? Is this a normal feeling to have?

Sincerely, Casper
From a campsite in Andrew Jackson State Park, South Carolina.

Dear Casper, I have my doubts about this being a “real” question for two reasons. The first being that any brain-having, adult human male who has to ask if this is “normal” must not have many married, male friends. The second reason I think it’s a faux question is because of the query, “What’s up with that?” as if it’s out of the bounds of reason she would decline the request.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

By Geoff Page

Whenever you plan to take an action you know is wrong, it helps to have confederates around you so when the feces hit the fan, they won’t all blow on you. In this case, there were, allegedly, three confederates, the FAA, the airport, and the city. The action, that someone clearly knew was wrong, was the attempt to cut down historic tall palm trees in the 4300 and 4400 blocks of Newport Avenue.

The Concept is not new. See what other cities are doing.

Houseless people in downtown San Diego are getting $2 a bag to pick up trash in their neighborhood to earn a little cash as part of a new pilot program.

Retired attorney Brian Trotier handed out the cash as part of a pilot program he created called the Triangle Project which comes from the downtown triangular areas the project covers, one bordered by 16th Street, Commercial Street and National Avenue and the other bordered by 17th Street, Logan Avenue and Commercial Street.

by Ernie McCray

Oh, how about those Wildcats,
the way they get after it,
winning both the
Pac-12 regular season
and the Pac-12 Tournament
basketball championships
looking, to me, better
than any Arizona team I’ve ever seen