OB Rag

By Steve Rodriguez

Up until last week, even critics of President Donald Trump found it hard to accept that his war rhetoric could get much more extreme, or his threats against both enemies and traditional allies more outrageous. However, recent news about the Pentagon’s interaction with the Vatican, along with Trump comments made in the past few days that are highly critical of Pope Leo XIV, have proven such concepts wrong.

Fortunately for the Vatican, I contend the Pope, a critic of Trump’s actions and words related to the Iranian War, does possess a unique advantage he can employ to escape our president’s wrath.

According to reports in the Free Press, the Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S. was summoned in January to the Pentagon, where he was advised the Vatican needs to play ball with the Trump administration’s efforts in the area of national security. Pentagon officials supposedly asserted the U.S. has the military power to “do whatever it wants” and that “the Church had better take its side.” while making references to “the period in the 1300’s when the French Crown leveraged its military power to dominate the Avignon Papacy.” The threat sounds right out of The Sopranos, something akin to a thug character threatening …“Nice Sistine Chapel you got there, padre. Be a real shame if it should be damaged in a bombing.”

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / April 14, 2026

Three Point Loma High School students have swept first through third places in a districtwide public service announcement contest about school safety — and earned $2,500 for their efforts.

First place and $1,200 in prize money went to Seraphina Bush for her video titled “Life is Worth Too Much,” offering an anti-suicide message. Her work is especially poignant, given that a PLHS student tragically ended her life on campus in 2024 while a school football game was happening nearby. …

Second place, along with its $800 in prize money, went to Natalia Ritterman for “PSA.SSSS.” Third place and $500 in contest winnings were claimed by London Kwasizur for his video “Ebike.”

All three students are in the class of theatre instructor Anthony Palmiotto.

by Daniel Zeller  / CNM VIP Voice / December 2013

Introduction
Much has been written about the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, and this paper brings together from multiple sources a single summary of information that will be useful to Cabrillo National Monument staff, volunteers, and guests.

Interpretation Period
We interpret the lighthouse as being set in the year 1887, and we do this for two main reasons.

First, the lighthouse was painted white in 1887, and if we were to accurately interpret the lighthouse prior to that year, we would have to strip the white protective paint from the house and revert to the natural color of the sandstone blocks, exposing them to the elements and erosion. Obviously, this is not an option.

Second, by interpreting later in the life of the lighthouse, we have more history to look at than if we interpreted at the beginning of the lighthouse’s life.

The flag that we fly on the flagpole outside of the lighthouse has 38 stars representing the 38 states in the United States in 1887.

 The Old Point Loma Lighthouse

Site Selection
Chief Topographer, U.S. Coast Survey, A.M. Harrison recommended the location of the Point Loma Lighthouse near the end of Point Loma 422 feet above sea level during his survey in 1851.

By Jennifer Van Grove / San Diego Union-Tribune / April 16, 2026 

SeaWorld San Diego will soon light up the night sky over Mission Bay in a whole new way as it embarks on a yearlong test of a more eco-friendly alternative to its frequent fireworks displays.

On Wednesday April 15, the California Coastal Commission approved a coastal development permit for a one-year pilot program — the first of its kind in the state — that allows the San Diego theme park to conduct up to 110, 15-minute drone shows, each using as many as 1,000 illuminated autonomous aircraft. The permit, which defines the boundaries for the drone show and allows the aerial vehicles to fly up to 660 feet in the sky, also requires the theme park to monitor its first two shows and a portion of the rest to document noise impacts, light levels and bird strikes.

By Alex Cheney / CBS8 / April 15, 2026

A section of the bluff near the Arch atset Cliffs broke off yesterday morning [April 14], prompting warnings from geologists and local safety experts about the dangers of cliff diving in the area.

The collapse occurred near a popular spot where people frequently jump from an arch that extends from Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. Warning signs posted in the area alert visitors to potential fines and possible arrests for jumping.

Natural geological processes caused the collapse, according to a geology professor at SDSU. “This is not an unexpected event here at all,” said Dr. Pat Abbott. The rocks surrounding the cliff are 75 million years old and fracture as the earth moves and waves crash against the cliffside. “And those natural fractures mother nature’s fractures occasionally then gravity will pull one of those blocks off and it’ll hit the ground. And you can even see the fracture edges on that bluff it looks like it was cut during construction it’s so perfectly cut,” said Dr. Pat Abbott.

There are still water quality advisories in effect at Dog Beach in OB all the way to 300 feet south of the River outlet, according to the County of San Diego Beach Water Quality website. This has been in effect since April 2th under the catch-all advisory: “Bacteria levels exceed health standards. Avoid water contact in the advisory area.”

This is the statement on the Water Quality Board website:

Advisories are issued to warn beach users as follows:
– A Bacterial Exceedance Advisory is issued when ocean or bay water sample results exceed State health standards due to high bacteria levels.
– A Precautionary Advisory is issued when DEHQ determines there is a potential for elevated bacteria due to dredging, lagoon opening or other sources in the vicinity of coastal areas.

The City continues to charge $10 per hour at downtown parking meters during Padres’ games and other “special events”.

Padres’ fans are definitely not the only ones subject to this outrageous fee, which starts two hours before the event, and continues for four hours from the event’s start time, for a total of six hours.

The area subject to this $60 per event fee extends well beyond any logical boundaries, all the way north to Broadway, and east to 17th Street and the I-5.

Worse, it’s a devastatingly regressive tax, because it penalizes renters who don’t have off-street parking, and can only park at meters. It hurts downtown’s restaurants and small businesses, who lose customers who can’t or won’t pay $10 an hour to buy groceries, mail a package, or eat a meal.

Here’s more on the District 2 candidates — first in a video of the April 7 Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting where 3 candidates were questioned, and second, in interviews of 3 candidates by the editor of Explore Clairemont, an online platform.

OB Planning Board video

— Only three were present as per plan by the OBPB. They will interview others at the next board meeting. See OBPB for the video.

h4>Interviews of Bailey, Rickey and Crosby by Explore Clairemont publisher Tanja Kropf

Belmont Park in Mission Beach is unveiling a multimillion-dollar revamp just in time for the busy summer season, featuring upgrades to its historic Giant Dipper roller coaster and new attractions for visitors.

The nearly century-old amusement park expects about 150,000 visitors during peak summer months as families return to enjoy the updated rides, beachfront views and classic attractions.

One of the park’s most iconic features, the Giant Dipper, recently underwent a $1.6 million rehabilitation project focused on improving the ride experience.

“So the Giant Dipper, which just turned 100 years old last year, it’s going into a 101st birthday in July, just went under a six-week rehab this past February,” said Sarah Abelsohn, marketing director for Belmont Park.

The work primarily focused on smoothing out the wooden track to enhance comfort for riders while preserving the coaster’s historic charm.

In addition to the coaster upgrades, Belmont Park has introduced new attractions, including a free-access play structure near Shipwreck Cove designed for younger visitors and families.

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / April 15, 2026

San Diego would sharply reduce funding for local arts organizations, city libraries, recreation centers and many other programs in a proposed budget for the new fiscal year Mayor Todd Gloria will release Wednesday.

The proposed $2.2 billion spending plan would close a projected $146 million deficit with $26 million from worker furloughs, $44 million in new revenue and $76 million in service cuts that would come with about 130 layoffs.

The budget, which will be debated and adjusted by the mayor and the City Council between now and June, also merges three city departments into others and eliminates entirely the Office of Child and Youth Success.

Other cuts include homeless services, facilities maintenance, zoning enforcement, park rangers, restroom closures in some parks and elimination of a team that adds bike lanes across the city.

The cuts are required because of recent employee pay raises, including 23% hikes over three years awarded to most workers in 2023, and relatively sluggish growth in city revenue.

Hotel tax revenue is projected to decrease 3% when it usually goes up about 6% per year, sales tax revenue is expected to rise 2% instead of its usual 4% and property tax revenue is projected to rise 4% instead of its usual 6%.

By Joni Halpern

We have a new savior. We saw his picture on the holy card of Truth Social.

He wasn’t exactly like the old Jesus, but the new look was brighter overall. The new savior’s hair was shiny blond and precisely coiffed, as if he had emerged from a salon only minutes before ministering to the crowd of sick people and worshipers. His white cassock looked as if it were a discard from a “Call the Midwife” scene, just before the wet, bloody baby is hauled into the world, spoiling the bleached white garment of the imperturbable midwife.

The red shawl that draped over the new savior’s shoulders was only shades darker than the ruddy red complexion of his face. In this picture, the new savior’s eyes were nothing like those in the portrait that presently adorns the walls of federal buildings. None of that glowering, sinister presence that dares his supplicants to ask for mercy.

The image of the new savior does contain some anomalies, of course: fighter jets and warriors riding the rays of the sun above a battle flag; the Statute of Liberty stuffed into a small space between the worshipful face of a soldier gazing at the new savior; an adoring nurse looking upward at the new savior’s right hand, which lies upon the forehead of a presumably sick fellow slumbering on a pillow, his head emitting rays of blinding light due to his contact with the new savior; the palm of the new savior’s left hand holding a concentrated source of light, and finally, a couple of other contented admirers whose faces and prayerful hands suggest they have finally contacted the Real Thing.

On the beach at the end of Cape May in the sand has stood what locals call “The Lifeguard Chair” — a neighborhood treasure that has been maintained and repaired by people who live on those sandy blocks.

However, lately – after locals spend hours and money on repairing the chair after it had been swept out to the water during a storm — someone with a hatchet walked up to it at night and destroyed it. People were heartbroken … but they haven’t given up.

They’ve established a gofundme to raise dough to rebuilt the chair “one again.”  Here’s their statement:

The Cape May community is coming together to repair ‘The Lifeguard Chair,’ a beloved fixture on the beach in front of our neighborhood for nearly two decades. This chair has been a gathering spot, a symbol of our shared love for the ocean, and a project that many neighbors have poured their time and resources into over the years. After a recent storm destroyed the chair, a group of us spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars rebuilding it, determined to keep this tradition alive for everyone who enjoys our beach.