OB Rag

Is a 5-unit bed & breakfast coming to the 4700 block of Voltaire Street?

That’s what the applicant hopes. A Coastal Development permit has been applied for by Stephanie Ibarra to build a 2-story, 5-unit bed and breakfast at 4744 Voltaire. The property is right across the street from the former People’s cafe. She filed the application on November 19 and the community was notified just recently.

First, the permit requests the “demolition of an existing 6,430 S.F. 2-story Single Dwelling/Storefront/Garage structure” –

Old Town has “returned” to District 2. It’s part of the latest redistricting map changes the volunteer commission has made of late. And the decision to keep all of Clairemont in D2 and say ‘bye-bye’ to Pacific Beach helps Jen Campbell keep her seat in her upcoming re-election campaign.

The adjustment to take Old Town from District 3 and place it with Ocean Beach, the Midway, Mission Beach, Clairemont, and the Peninsula was all ostensibly about finding balance — balance in population.

District 2 lost population in the map redrawings and the 1,200 residents of Old Town will boost its people number. Old Town used to be in District 2 until the 2011 redistricting changes and boundaries redrawn.

Some believe District 2 has been “radically redrawn”

SANDAG Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata admits the agency “screwed up” its plan to create 70 miles of bicycle lanes and bikeways throughout San Diego County.

Since 2013, when the plan was adopted by the San Diego Association of Governments — eight years ago, it has completed 14 miles of bikeways and spent $186.5 million. SANDAG is planning to finish 11 more miles by spring of 2022 and to begin on another 18 miles by the end of 2022.

The original plan was to build 77 miles of streets and pathways by 2023 for $200 million. Now, the cost has risen to $446 million, even after SANDAG dropped 7 miles from the project. Officials say that rising construction costs have contributed to problems.

A man was stabbed in the 5000 block of Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach early Thursday morning, December 9.

Fortunately, he sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital.

The unidentified victim was talking to a couple around 1:30 am near the intersection of Newport and Bacon Street when the assailant “ran up to the victim swinging his arms,” according to San Diego Police.

From the Appeal

Right-wingers and ultranationalists convened in San Diego and Pacific Beach days after the Washington insurrection, but the police crackdown that day fell on counterprotesters.

At least five people involved in the Capitol rally on Jan. 6 attended a violent pro-Trump “Patriot March” in San Diego just three days after the democracy-shaking event. But police declared an unlawful assembly that only applied to anti-fascist counterprotesters.

By Jeff Butts / The Mac Observer / December 8, 2021

Even though AT&T and Verizon have agreed to limit transmission power on their C-Band 5G transmitters, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is still worried. The agency is so concerned it is restricting low-visibility landings at airports near the 5G towers.

Concerns Regarding 5G Towers Interfering with Radio Altimeters

In poor visibility, pilots often rely on radio altimeters to tell them how high in the air they are flying. FAA officials worry that the increase in 5G mid-band radio traffic could interfere with that equipment. The frequencies used for these 5G towers aren’t the same as radio altimeters, but regulators still worry about interference.

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / Dec. 8, 2021

A city proposal to ban new drive-thru restaurants near mass transit in San Diego is facing strong opposition from the restaurant industry and some community leaders.

Supporters say the plan would be a logical and necessary step as San Diego strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging people to give up their cars in favor of public transit, cycling and walking.

Drive-thru restaurants, they say, encourage people to use their cars and trucks and make it more dangerous to walk and bike,

Apparently, on Wednesday 15 teachers and three education specialists walked out of their classrooms at High Tech Middle School in Point Loma.

Teachers have recently formed a union called the High Tech Education Collective and have been in contentious meetings with the administration over pay, late paychecks and other issues.

The CEO of the schools had a meeting with staff on Wednesday before school started and it did not go well.

The school claimed the walk-out was an “unlawful work stoppage” and that school kids were left unattended

The CEO of the schools had a meeting with staff before school started and it did not go well.

By Kevin Reichard / Arena Digest / Dec. 5, 2021

Oak View Group is out and new investors with ties to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings are now in, as five groups seek city approval of the affordable-housing and San Diego arena project.

It’s been quite the journey in the San Diego arena project, what with one false start and a redo of the bid project to include affordable housing to meet state guidelines. So, in keeping with the tumultuous nature of the process, it’s no surprise that the final bids–which were due Friday [December 3]–included some last-minute changes. (We’ve previously covered other bids for the 48-acre site; check it out.)

In the biggest change, venue giant Oak View Group is out. An original plan for the Midway Village+ group included a housing plan from Toll Brothers and a climate-neutral arena from Oak View Group, which has certainly been the most active player in arena development recently.

by Ernie McCray

Baby
came into our lives
near the turn of the century
about eighteen years ago,
out of nowhere,
it seems,
a kitten
tramping through
our yard
and hanging out
on our front porch,
perhaps sensing
that she was at the right place

No Trees, No Parking, No Set-Backs, and No Affordable Rental Units:
By Paul Krueger

The listing boasts of the “incredible income opportunity for an investor” on a “tree lined street in the historic district of Talmadge” at 4754-4756 Madison Avenue.

For $2.4 million you can buy your own four-bedroom/four-bath “mini-dorm” with adjoining two-story, four-bedroom, two-bath “accessory dwelling unit”. But this “incredible opportunity” for speculators and absentee landlords is, more importantly — the latest example of the pressing need to sensibly revise San Diego’s building and development codes.

And you thought you were upset at antifa at the Pacific Beach demonstration. What about these guys – with flags, shields, leg guards and masks – all chanting “Reclaim America.”