OB Rag

While the City of San Diego plans to make key changes to how it regulates the local cannabis industry, city officials are hosting eight community forums this spring to encourage residents to speak about barriers they’ve encountered in entering the legal cannabis industry.

Residents will also be asked about any ideas they may have for ways to make the industry more inclusive. The forums, which are being held in neighborhoods with relatively high minority populations, will take place May 23 through June 16. There will also be a June 15 forum on Zoom.

Everyone is invited to the Ocean Beach Historical Society’s presentation on “Romantic Old Roseville” by Kitty McDaniel.

Please join them for the free program Thursday, May 19 at 7 pm at Water’s Edge Community, 1984 Sunset cliffs Blvd.

The Ocean Beach branch of the San Diego Library opened today, May 16, and currently has a limited hour schedule and is only open for 4 days a week. But it’s open and it has opened even before it was “scheduled” to reopen.

Here are the new hours:

Monday and Tuesday: Hours are 11:30 am to 8 pm.

Wednesday and Thursday: Hours are 9:30 am to 6 pm.

The following are the comments about District 2 endorsements by the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board:

District 2: Joel Day and Lori Saldaña

There’s a lot to unpack in this race, so we’ll stick to the highlights — or lowlights.

Incumbent and former City Council President Jennifer Campbell might seem like the frontrunner

By Sheila Pell / San Diego Reader

A dispute over an addition to the Salk Institute in La Jolla has ended. Last week, the Planning Commission denied an appeal claiming the proposed design ruins the historic integrity of the East Torrey Pines building.

It’s like installing a two-story-high picket fence around Stonehenge, as one critic put it.

By Heather Hope / CBS8

From armrests in the middle of benches to large rocks added underneath bridges and along sidewalks, some homeless advocates in San Diego call these designs “hostile architecture” or anti-homeless. In Hillcrest along University Avenue, it’s not hard to spot a metal bench at MTS bus stops with armrests that prevent people from sleeping on them.

MTS spokesperson Mark Olson says the benches are industry standard. “Prevents people from sleeping on them, so multiple people can sit down. Partitions also offer dedicated space to sit and help people with mobility issues stand up to get on the bus,” said Olson, via text message.

Our country is facing a healthcare crisis. We invite you to show up for reproductive rights and freedom now!

by Ernie McCray

It sometimes seems like our country is overwhelmed by lies, a mixture of little white lies and innocent lies, all the way up to the infamous “Big Lie!”

Now the Supreme Court has joined in, acting as though their plot to deprive women of the right to terminate a pregnancy, is protecting children, children yet born, by the way.

The lie here, another big one, is the implication that we, as a society, hold children dear while millions of them live among us in despair:

In European culture, Friday the 13th, conjures up bad luck. And some bad things have happened on the date. I was once kicked in the leg by a pony while ridding another pony as a young pre-teen. But good things have happened also — my mate, Patty Jones, was born on Friday the 13th.

But some people have taken it seriously over the years. For instance, did you know that certain older high-rise buildings in downtown San Diego don’t have a 13th floor?

There’s lots of myths of its origins.

According to some folklore historian, the unlucky nature of the number “13” originated with a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party in Valhalla. The trickster god Loki, who was not invited, arrived as the 13th guest,

By Geoff Hueter –Chairperson, Neighbors For A Better San Diego

Partly thanks to a recent CBS8 news story about neighbors fighting back against multi-unit ADUs in the College East area, Neighbors For a Better San Diego has a lot of engagement. (An ADU is an accessory dwelling unit, sometimes called a “granny flat.”)

In the news story, Eric Rosenzweig was interviewed and spoke for many residents when he outlined the very negative consequences of building eight-unit apartments in older neighborhoods that were designed, engineered, and built for single-family homes.

You’ve heard the arguments before, but they’re always worth repeating:

David Garrick at the San Diego U-T wrote up a summary of Monday night’s District 2 candidate forum at the Point Loma Library. We’ve reconfigured it and broke it down around the main issues discussed. (Comments are Garrick’s.)

As we know, incumbent Democrat Jen Campbell is being challenged by 3 other Democrats, Lori Saldana, Joel Day and Mandy Havlik, and one Republican, Linda Lukacs. The primary is June 7 and the top two vote getters will move on to the General Election.

Go here for the link to the video of the candidate forum, sponsored by the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board.

Vacation Rental Legislation

Campbell fought back against opponents’ attack on her compromise vacation rental legislation she has touted as a major success