OB Rag

by Ernie McCray

“What musical artist do you resonate with the most and you feel best tells your story?” was a question posed on Facebook.

I could never answer that with one choice, as there are so many singers and instrumentalists on the list of artists who have, at least, accompanied if not told my story over time.

Billie Holiday immediately comes to mind. Hers was one of the first voices other than my mother’s and my dad’s that I can remember hearing.

I was but a child but the sound of her voice as she sang, that sadness and raspy-ness, touched me all over, and melted into my very being, matching what I, even though I was in my infancy, was already sensing intuitively about the world I had been born into near the end of the 30’s.

Loved me some Andrews Sisters, too, their boogie woogie melodies and jitterbugging and jaunty harmonies that led to harmonizing being one of my favorite things to do.

By Thomas ltican / Tultican

Two pieces of legislation are racing through California’s state legislature both advancing the school privatization agenda. A third piece designed to protect taxpayers from the ravenous charter industry has been squashed. Public schools and sound pedagogy are being harmed by a radical market based ideology. Democrats continue their complicity in this conservative agenda.

The Charter School Give Away

A few weeks ago, Oakland school board Trustee Mike Hutchinson raised alarm bells about Governor Newsom’s education budget trailer bill.

The California state budget signed recently by Gov. Gavin Newsom includes $8.4 million to the city of San Diego for the Ocean Beach Pier “renovation.”

Lawmakers are still ironing out details, but according to the Voice of San Diego – which made a list of what San Diego is set to get out of the budget so far – OB’s Pier will get some of that share.

By Kathy Blavatt

All photographs by Kathy Blavatt

Up at the top of the hill overlooking Ocean Beach are the “Heights,” sometimes referred to as “Ocean Beach Heights,” other times called “Point Loma Heights,” which depends on who describes the area or what maps and documents they are reading.

This neighborhood above Froude Street is formally in the “Peninsula Community Planning Area.” Many residents feel that the houses’ styles and vibe are much more in tune with Ocean Beach.

Two of the area’s large early homes played essential roles in the local history:

Partnering with a labor law firm, a sexual harassment hotline has been established, training and a Code of Conduct is underway

By Abbie Alford / CBS8 / July 8, 2021

Two months since the Me Too movement erupted in the brewing industry across the country, women’s voices are being heard and the San Diego Brewers Guild is taking action.

What started out as a reckoning in May, with women reporting misogyny, racism, sexism, sexual harassment, and assault by men in breweries across the world including in San Diego has turned into an important message of empowerment.

by Jill Castellano / inewsource / July 1, 2021

Hundreds of California inmates will charge to the front lines of rapidly spreading wildfires this summer, risking injury and death in exchange for shorter sentences and a few dollars a day.

When the flames recede, they will return to their living quarters at one of 35 low security camps, where picnic tables and barbecues once bustled with families — a perk that higher security prisons don’t allow.

Now, the inmates have the grounds to themselves.

There will be a small celebration of Dorrette Jackson’s life held on the Ocean Beach pier on July 9th at 6:30 PM open to any who wish to attend and tell a story or simply share in the moment, hope you can join us. For more information call Eric Jackson @ 619-520-9403

Dorette passed peacefully at her home in Oregon on July 9th 2020, surrounded by friends and family on a beautiful summer day. She is survived by her four children Eric and his wife Chrissy, Kim, Annette and Kyrmet and her grandchildren Kevin, Shelby and Cameron and step-grandchildren Rory and Elena.

By Mark Saunders / ABC10News / June 29, 2021

Airbnb said Monday, June 28, that its crackdown on unauthorized parties in the San Diego area has blocked thousands of potentially risky reservations.

The vacation rental booking company said that since it began its campaign last year, 6,000 people were either blocked or redirected while making potentially risky reservation attempts. That’s compared to 15,000 in Los Angeles and 4,500 in Las Vegas, according to Ben Breit, the head of Trust and Safety Communications for Airbnb.

By Andrea Lopez-Villafana / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 6, 2021

Next week, construction crews will begin striping the road along 30th Street in North Park for the city’s newest protected bikeway project.

Known as the 30th Street Protected Bikeways Mobility Project, it calls for protected bike lanes from Juniper Street to Adams Avenue. It does away with some 450 curb parking spots along the corridor,

By Deborah Sullivan Brennan / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 7, 2021

The exodus of Californians forecast in recent news headlines isn’t likely to happen soon, UC San Diego researchers reported in a survey released Wednesday.

The UC San Diego survey queried more than 3,000 Californians, including 295 who completed the questions in Spanish. It found that nearly two-thirds of residents still believe in the “California Dream” of opportunity and prosperity.

by Ernie McCray

I see so many memes on social media about “fake friends” as opposed to “true friends.”

They’re posted as warnings by folks who apparently aren’t doing well in the friend department.

I usually just glance at them but this one caught my eye the other day: “Pay close attention to those who don’t clap when you win.”

And I found myself saying out loud: “Come on, now. Really?” I should focus on somebody who doesn’t care diddly-squat about me when I’ve got friends who wish the world for me?