City Council Committee Sides With Upstart Planning Group in Uptown and With Existing Group in La Jolla

March 26, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

David Garrick at the U-T wrote an extensive status report on the “power struggles” between existing community planning groups in Uptown and La Jolla with the new, upstart groups that are challenging the status quo. The power struggle played out last week at the city council committee that deals with land use and housing issues. Garrick summarized it this way:

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San Diego’s Open Records System Is Failing

March 26, 2024 by Source

by JW August / Times of San Diego / March 19, 2024

[Last week was] Sunshine Week, a celebration of democracy and the transparency that keeps it alive in this country — and you don’t just have to be a journalist to join the celebration. It’s for civic groups, government employees, and anyone who cares about maintaining our rights to access public information so that we can keep an eye on our government at all levels.

The California Public Records Act is  one of those powerful “hammers” the public can use to find out what the government is up to.

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The Hidden Environmental Cost of Mining Sand

March 26, 2024 by Source

By Martin Kuebler / DW / March 25, 2024

A winter of heavy storms and flooding, especially in late December, has washed away vast stretches of protective sand dunes and bathing beaches on Germany’s North Sea islands.

Coastal areas on islands such as Sylt, Borkum and Norderney, which together attract millions of tourists, will need to be rebuilt before the summer holidays — an extensive and expensive procedure.

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Mayoral Candidate Larry Turner Calls for City to Rebid Midway District Redevelopment Project

March 26, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

San Diego mayoral candidate Larry Turner on Monday, March 25, called for the city to rebid the Midway District redevelopment project, accusing Mayor Todd Gloria of having ties to a member of the development team.

The Midway Rising project would redevelop a dilapidated area of warehouses and two strip clubs, building 4,250 new homes, replacing the aging Sports Arena and creating an urban park and adjacent entertainment district.

But in a letter to the mayor, Turner requested a rebid because of “modifications to the initial plan, significant cost increases being passed on to taxpayers, and the appointment of a major campaign donor as the project developer.”

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City Begins Street Resurfacing in Ocean Beach and Point Loma

March 26, 2024 by Source

The city of San Diego began Monday with street- resurfacing and repair projects in Ocean Beach and Point Loma, as well as Clairemont Mesa and Rancho Penasquitos, officials said.

The following local streets will be resurfaced:

  • Voltaire Street
  • Udall Street
  • Narragansett Avenue
  • Guizot Street
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‘SoCal baby wave community panics as lease for San Onofre nears expiration!’

March 25, 2024 by Source

U.S. Marine Corp poised to reabsorb Old Mans.

By Chas Smith / Beach Grit / March 25, 2024

There are many places in Southern California where baby wave enthusiasts can gather with their longer craft, malinger in parking lots, talk small talk, vibe then paddle out into tiny ocean lumps for to make glide but none more iconic than San Onofre. Just south of Upper Trestles and pressed up against the Marine base Camp Pendleton,

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San Diego City Council Breaks TRUST

March 25, 2024 by Source

By José Martinez / Electronic Frontier Foundation  / March 15, 2024

In a stunning reversal against the popular Transparent & Responsible Use of Surveillance Technology (TRUST) ordinance, the San Diego city council voted earlier this year to cut many of the provisions that sought to ensure public transparency for law enforcement surveillance technologies.

Similar to other Community Control Of Police Surveillance (CCOPS) ordinances, the TRUST ordinance was intended to ensure that each police surveillance technology would be subject to basic democratic oversight

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Officials at SDSU Kept Secret an Offer of a Free Mission Valley Spots Stadium — Possible Conflict Seen With Midway Rising Stadium

March 25, 2024 by Source

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa San Diego – Editor-at-Large / March 23, 2024

San Diego State University officials received a proposal in 2022 to build a new sports arena within the Mission Valley development at no cost to the public but have kept the offer under wraps even as the City of San Diego is currently negotiating to develop a similar facility at the existing Sports Arena site.

SDSU President Adela de la Torre, the University’s Athletic Director, and several prominent San Diegans flew to Texas on a private jet in May 2022 to tour the Moody Center at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA) at the invitation of the company that led the development project.

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Sunday in the Neighborhood – Rain, Rainbows, Runners and RBG

March 25, 2024 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

The wind, weather, and small craft advisories did not stop great fun in the greater Point Loma/Ocean Beach neighborhoods. Crowded streets were non-existent while the weather commanded attention. Rain, winds, and small craft advisories.

First, the many calculations on rain and winds fluctuated wildly, but most came true. Over time, they ranged from 1.2 inches of to .5 of rain, with wind gusts from 20-30 mph. The two-day rain tally hit .85…and winds did whistle by at 20 to 30 mph.

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San Diego’s Sun After the Storms Shines on the Snow

March 25, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

The sun shines on the snow at Mt. Laguna, at 6,000 feet, Monday, March 25 at 9 a.m.

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The Raccoons of Point Loma

March 22, 2024 by Source

By Amber Paulin / Lomabeat.com / March 20, 2024

To be a Point Loma Nazarene University student is to come into contact with our furry, nocturnal raccoon friends of San Diego. Maybe their fluffy silhouettes bumble across Caf Lane as you take a sunrise run. Or perhaps a pair of reflective eyes beams down at you from the top of the dumpster leaving you unsure of how to process the contents of your trash bag at 11 p.m.

The Loma raccoons are icons, and while PLNU’s mascot is technically the sea lion, the @loma.raccoons Instagram account might just hint otherwise.

But how much do we know about our stripe-tailed neighbors? It turns out that with March well upon us, raccoon breeding season is in full swing,

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Point Loma Garden Club Annual Plant Sale — Saturday, March 30

March 22, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

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The San Diego Community Planning Group Shell Game Begins at Today’s Land Use Committee Meeting

March 21, 2024 by Source

Rival Groups Challenge Uptown and La Jolla CPGs

By Mat Wahlstrom

Today — Thursday, March 21 — at 1:00PM, the City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee will vote to recommend which community planning group (CPG) will better represent the planning areas of La Jolla and Uptown: those currently elected, or those vetted for appointment by the mayor.

This represents the culmination of a years-long effort to paint elected CPGs as not representative of their communities by virtue of the fact that the people elected can’t be counted on to toe an ideological line.

Much like a shell game, in which an object is hidden under a number of covers which are shuffled around, the existing CPGs have been repeatedly tasked

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Domestic Argument in OB Pier Parking Lot Results in Woman Being Run Over and Man Shot — Both Expected to Recover

March 21, 2024 by Staff

Apparently, a domestic argument in the parking lot of the Ocean Beach Pier Wednesday night devolved into the 22-year old man running over the 20-year old woman and the guy getting shot. Both are expected to recover.

According to police, the two got into an argument with the ex-boyfriend trying to mediate around 9 pm. SDPD Officer John Buttle told NBC7:

“The 22-year-old male got into his girlfriend’s car, put it in reverse and ran over his girlfriend. Shortly after two gunshots were heard.”

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Mayor Picks From Within for New San Diego Police Chief: Asst. Chief Scott Wahl

March 21, 2024 by Staff

Mayor Gloria has picked from within the current ranks of the San Diego Police Department for his new chief – and announced Thursday that it will be Assistant Chief Scott Wahl. The current chief David Nisleit retires in late June.

Wahl, a native San Diegan, was selected after a nationwide search for candidates and still must be approved in a majority vote by the San Diego City Council before being sworn in.

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City Approves Affordable Housing Project on Abbott Street in OB

March 20, 2024 by Source

Check out this report from 10News:

The San Diego City Council has approved an agreement to build an affordable-housing project featuring support services in the Ocean Beach neighborhood, and construction is expected to begin next month. The agreement approved Tuesday, March 19, calls for the city and the San Diego Housing Commission to collaborate on developing the $6.8 million Abbott Street Affordable Housing Project and have it open next year, officials said.

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Open Letter to Mayor Gloria and Councilmember Whitburn: ‘Stop City’s Undemocratic Takeover of Our Community Planning Group, Uptown Planners!’

March 20, 2024 by Source

By Lisa Mortensen

Good Morning:

I am writing all of you because I hope Todd and Steve are aware of the complete outrage from the Uptown community regarding the city’s undemocratic takeover of our community planning group, Uptown Planners.   WE WANT UPTOWN PLANNERS TO REMAIN OUR PLANNING GROUP!!

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The Case Against YIMBYism

March 19, 2024 by Source

Why encouraging more private development won’t solve the housing crisis

By Michael Friedrich/ The New Republic / March 15, 2024

Sonja Trauss, the charismatic founder of the YIMBY movement, recently spoke at a conference of fellow travelers about the importance of supporting small home builders. “Most neighborhoods are still zoned low-density, and so if you’re seeing new housing, it’s going to be small projects,” she said at Austin’s YIMBYtown 2024, a gathering of people who believe that saying “yes in my backyard” to private development will fix America’s housing crisis.

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Former Councilman Byron Wear Re-Surfaces as Public Supporter of Midway Rising But Fails to Disclose He’s Their Paid Consultant

March 19, 2024 by Source

By Alberto Garcia/ La Prensa / March 18, 2024

A former San Diego City Councilman is publicly supporting a proposed redevelopment of the Sports Arena near his Point Loma home but he has not disclosed being a paid consultant for the project when he lobbies the Council making decisions on the project.

Byron Wear, who served on the San Diego City Council from 1995 to 2002, has attended at least four Council meetings to speak in support of the proposed Midway Rising development project at the existing San Diego Sports Arena site but uses a loophole in the City’s lobbying disclosure requirement to conceal his direct involvement with the massive development project. Last week, Wear spoke before the full City Council during open public comments period

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‘La Prensa’: Grift Expands on Midway Rising Re-development Project

March 19, 2024 by Source

By Arturo Castañares / Publisher of La Prensa / March 14, 2024

The details of a controversial redevelopment proposal for the current San Diego Sports Arena site continue to morph from bad to worse as the team now seeks public financing for their $1 billion project, but it’s not the first time the developer shrunk a proposal and sought public freebies.

The Midway Rising team, headed by developer Brad Termini, was selected in late 2022 by Mayor Todd Gloria and a compliant City Council

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California Gas Prices Are Highest in Nation. Why? Don’t Trust Big Oil’s Answers

March 19, 2024 by Source

Gas prices are on the rise across the country, but if you’re filling up your tank in California, you’re likely paying far more than travelers in other states, according to a new AAA study. California is ranked first out of the 10 U.S. states with the most expensive gas, according to the AAA study released last week. In California, travelers were paying about $4.86 per gallon — $1.47 higher than the national average of $3.39.

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‘Footloose’ — Latest Show by Wildsong at Former OB Playhouse

March 19, 2024 by Source

By Sara Blanche Hayes

It’s been almost three months since Wildsong took over the OB Playhouse space. Artistic Director Brooke Aliceon looks like she hasn’t slept since the last time The OB Rag caught up with her.

“If anything, owning the space has only pushed us to work even harder and create even bigger and better shows.”

The improvements to the old playhouse are immediately apparent. The front entrance boasts a professional coat of black paint with mood lighting. The concessions are served on movie theater racks, with a new silver fridge that lights up when you knock on the glass.

“That feature was particularly exciting,” said Aliceon, grinning.

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Power San Diego: SDG&E Inflates Costs, Keeps Rates Sky-High

March 19, 2024 by Source

From Power San Diego

Creating a non-profit utility in the City of San Diego deserves serious cost-benefit analysis, said Bill Powers, chairman of the Power San Diego campaign, which is gathering signatures to put creation of a public electric utility on the ballot this November.

“Instead of serious analysis, SDGE has grossly inflated costs and completely ignored the benefits,” said Powers, a licensed electric systems engineer. “The utility seeks the veneer of independent review. But what their paid consultant says in footnotes and attributions is that the key data in their recent report came directly from SDGE, not from the consultant’s own assessments”

SDGE has already invested more than $560,000 in a political action committee to oppose the campaign for a non-profit utility.

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SDG&E Hikes Rates in March After Reporting Record Profits

March 19, 2024 by Source

By Erik Anderson / KPBS / March 18, 2024

San Diego Gas & Electric is going up in March, just a month after the utility reported record profits for 2023. The rate hike eliminates some savings from an unexpected 11% cut in delivery charges in January. The delivery charges jump 8.7% in the March billing cycle and the average customer bill will increase about $8 a month.

“Customers are still benefiting in March 2024, about a 6% savings than what they were spending in March of 2023,” SDG&E’s Anthony Wagner said. The move comes after the investor-owned utility posted record profits during the last calendar year. Company profits in 2023 hit a new record of $936 million, $21

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‘Compromise’ Plan for Northeast Mission Bay Supported by Council Committee

March 18, 2024 by Source

David Garrick of the U-T reported last week: A long-debated plan to transform much of northeast Mission Bay into climate-friendly marshland got official support Thursday [March 14] from San Diego City Council members for the first time. The council’s Environment Committee unanimously approved the plan, calling it a fair compromise between environmentalists, supporters of camping and advocates for recreation like tennis, soccer and water skiing.

The plan approved does these:

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Pizza Port’s OB Beers Win 3 Gold Medals

March 18, 2024 by Staff

Three of the Ocean Beach beers crafted by Pizza Port brewery won gold medals in this year’s competition in the annual Brewers Cup of California. Pizza Port also won a 4th gold medal from its Carlsbad location and two silver medals.

In total, six San Diego breweries brought home gold medals for their beers Wednesday in the competition’s fourth year. And all together, San Diego breweries won a total of 26 medals including 12 silver and five bronze.

Here are Pizza Port’s OB beers and its 1 Carlsbad beer:

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Miles Doughty of Slightly Stoopid and 3 Friends Bought The Harp in Ocean Beach

March 18, 2024 by Staff

There is some good news on Newport Ave in OB. Four locals have purchased The Harp bar and grill — including Miles Doughty of Slightly Stoopid and 3 friends — and they opened not coincidentally on St Patrick’s Day this past weekend.

The 3 friends include Jeremy Diem, the current president and CEO of Hodad’s, and longtime OB fixtures Tyson Green and Steve Ashton who are some of the people behind OB bars like the former Mother’s Saloon, the all-time popular Sunshine Company Saloon, and Aquarius Bar & Grille in closeby Mission Bay.

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A Deep Dive into the Recent History and Future of the ‘Upper Voltaire Corridor’

March 15, 2024 by Source

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Tunaman Memorial Invokes Portuguese Origins and Influence of ‘Tunaville’ in Point Loma

March 15, 2024 by Source

The tuna fishing industry had a profound influence on the Roseville community, known as ‘Tunaville.’

By Eric DuVall / Point Loma – OB Monthly /March 15, 2024

Commercial fishing can be a lucrative business. It also can be a very dangerous business.

The tuna fishing industry has had such a profound influence on the development of Point Loma’s Roseville community, aka “Tunaville,“ that the area was once widely known as the “Tuna Capital of the World.”

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New Banners for OB Celebrate ‘High Tides’ and ‘Good Vibes’

March 15, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

Thirty new banners are gracing the lamp posts of Ocean Beach. Thanks to the OB Mainstreet Association.

19 banners are on on Sunset Cliffs and 11 are on Newport. They will be up until November, when holiday-themed banners will take their spots.

Here the rest are:

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