OB Rag

From LA Times:

Sustainable builder Steve Pallrand, founder and principal designer of the L.A. firm Carbon Shack Design, designed and built an 888-square-foot zero energy accessory dwelling unit, or ADU.

To make sure the systems he puts into place tread lightly on the planet, Pallrand added many eco-friendly solutions: Wood from the dilapidated barn was saved to frame the interior non-structural walls of the ADU. The barn’s redwood siding was reused on half of the house and new redwood siding was added to finish the rest of the exterior. Old roof sheeting was reused as flooring. Board-and-batten barn siding was used to make the cabinets and millwork. The concrete slab was broken up and used as pathways, and when the city forced them to remove a cedar tree for fire access, they used it to create live edge countertops and furnishings in the kitchen.

Pallrand details his strategies for creating environmentally friendly housing that will help fight climate change:

By Edwin Decker / Exclusive to the OB Rag

Hi Ed, I have a condition commonly known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The symptoms of my particular brand of ADHD are . . . excessive fidgeting, impulsiveness, disruptive arguing, interrupting others and inappropriate speech among other things. I get how this can be frustrating for my loved ones, but many of them think that it’s, “All in my head” and that with a little effort I can “get over it.” Any advice?

Sincerely,
ADHD chick

Dear Chick, I must say, in the 21st century, it’s hard to believe everyone isn’t hip to the very real symptoms of ADHD. That’s why I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t a fake question. Apologies if you’re the real deal. The last thing I want is to dismiss you in the manner which your friends and family have. Therefore, I will afford the benefit of the doubt and respond in kind.

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican

Vanderbilt Professor Joanne Golann recently published Scripting the Moves. It is a book which expands on her research into no-excuses charter schools. Beginning in March of 2012, Golann spent 18-months doing an ethnographic study of a representative school employing the no-excuses approach. She discovered many unintended consequences.

In 2019, the leader of the Ascend Charters, Steven Wilson, wrote,

“And even when No Excuses was best realized at Ascend, its ceaseless structure was doing little to prepare our students to function autonomously in college and beyond.”

Thurs. Sept. 16- The Lost and Found Balboa Park Gardens of Kate Sessions

Once in a while, a news story about a change comes along that resonates, and here is one that does. I personally have been championing this specific change for some 20 years now. And it has finally happened.

The site of the 1960 Winter Olympics near Lake Tahoe is having its name changed. Its owners have decided that the old name that rhythms with “fall” is offensive to Indigenous women. The new name is Palisades Tahoe. Historically, it’s also been called Olympic Valley.

By David Helvarg / The Hill / September 14, 2021

As a journalist covering wars, disasters and the environment, I’ve come to realize the existential threats we now face are not just bad people and governments committing mass murder; it is the ongoing elimination of the natural systems that sustain life on earth. The UN defines genocide as actions intended, “to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

But what if your actions are intended only to maintain the profitability of what until recently, was the largest industrial combine in human history?

The local group, Neighbors for a Better San Diego, are calling for an immediate one-year moratorium on zoning changes in “transit priority areas.” And they’ve started a Petition towards that goal.

Here is their statement:

Moratorium on San Diego Zoning Changes in Transit Priority Areas

By Colleen O’Connor

What a night. The results were in, way faster and better than Democrats could have imagined, while the somewhat stunned newscasters stumbled to keep up the non-existent suspense.

It was all over except the shouting and cheering and booing and lying, in less than an hour.

True, mail-in ballots were counted first; same day and late arrivals are still to come, but nothing will overtake the huge win for Democrats and the “fire bell” in the night for Republicans.

It was all caps at The San Diego U-T:

NEWSOM SURVIVES RECALL ATTEMPT

The lede at the Los Angeles Times:

NEWSOM PREVAILS – Californians overwhelmingly reject Republican-led recall effort

The California Coastal Commission has just given the San Diego International Airport the go-ahead to begin construction of the $3 billion “expansion” plan for Terminal 1. The expanded terminal will replace the current Terminal 1, built in 1967.

The tentatively-approved plan calls for the demolition of the existing 336,000-square-foot, 19-gate Terminal 1 building, and replacing it with a structure three times its size and designed to serve 40 million passengers by 2040. The new building will be 1.2 million-square-feet housing 30 gates. The airport’s record level of 25 million passengers was just reached in 2019.

California lawmakers have passed a bill to expand and make permanent a program that allows a select group of community colleges to offer baccalaureates in specific programs. The measure now heads to the governor.

Currently, 15 community colleges in the state offer bachelor’s degrees in workforce fields with high demand and unmet needs. However, the pilot program is set to expire in 2026. Assembly Bill 927 would make the program permanent and allow up to 30 community colleges to offer similar bachelor’s degree programs.

From OB Woman’s Club:

Garden-Themed “Bring a Friend” Monthly Meeting

This is an extra special meeting where we celebrate friendship by encouraging everyone to bring a friend (or more)! Adding to the occasion, this will be a garden-themed evening…we’ll meet in the garden in our favorite garden garb—extra big hats and floral attire welcomed! Can’t wait to see the creative outfits you and your friends come up with!

by Ernie McCray

I’d been anticipating the football game between the University of Arizona Wildcats, my hometown team, and the San Diego State Aztecs, my adopted town’s team.

My alma mater got creamed: 38 to 14. Oh, well, if they’ve got to lose to somebody it might as well be to a team I almost love as much as I do them.