OB Rag

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?

OB’s Dog Beach had the most trash during Surfrider’s “Morning After” annual clean-up of beaches on July 5th. It came in at 560 pounds. The OB Pier had 223 pounds. In comparison, Belmont Park weighed in with 317 pounds.

Here’s Surfrider’s report:

Surfrider Volunteers Remove 1,457 Pounds of Trash from San Diego’s beaches after 4th of July Holiday

More than 600 volunteers gathered at six popular beaches yesterday morning to assist with the Surfrider Foundation San Diego’s annual post-Fourth of July “Morning After” beach cleanup series. In only two hours, Surfrider volunteers had recovered more than 1,457 pounds of trash

by Peter Andersen / Times of San Diego / July 6, 2021

Senate Bill 10, which is making its way through the California legislature, is a blatantly anti-democratic measure masquerading as a housing bill. It could affect the voting rights and quality of life for every Californian.

Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, who is now listed as co-author of the bill and is the most powerful state senator in California, is the one person who can fix this bad bill before it becomes law.

Housing continues to be a top priority for policymakers in Sacramento, and rightly so. The health and humanitarian crisis facing the millions of Californians who struggle to afford housing must be addressed.

As of this writing, over 13,140 people have signed the petition to stop SeaWorld’s nightly fireworks. The goal is to reach 15,000. Here is the petition.

From the petition statement:

SeaWorld is damaging the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of San Diegans on a nightly basis,every day for 3 months straight during the summer season alone. They are damaging the overall physical well-being of the citizens of San Diego who live within a 20 mile radius or larger.

The fireworks at SeaWorld constitute animal cruelty.

Here is the official agenda for the Ocean Beach Planning Board monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 7.

Here is the link to register for the meeting.

From today’s San Diego Union-Tribune

In July 1971, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution became law. The amendment, which had passed through Congress and been ratified by the states, lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

An estimated 11 million young Americans between 18 and 21 became eligible under the new age limit.

The youth vote had a noticeable effect in San Diego.

By Matt Potter / The Reader / June 30, 2021

The e-scooter industry has long had a friend in San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.

“Banning new technology because it’s a nuisance or because we don’t immediately understand how it fits into our lives is rarely the best approach.” then Assembly Democrat Gloria wrote in an August 19. 2019, San Diego Union-Tribune op-ed piece. “I don’t believe that banning dockless electric scooters is the right answer, either,” added Gloria. “We have to think bigger than a ban. That’s not the easy answer, but it’s the one that will get us closer to creating a city that works for all of us.” …

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free future.

Nuclear Plant Shutdown During Another Power Crisis in Texas

Previously Nuclear Shutdown News reported on a nuclear plant shutdown in Texas last winter while arctic air descended on the Lone Star state, leaving millions without electricity, heat or water for weeks, and causing 200 deaths. Other state sources of electrical power, also overwhelmed by the frigid weather, also failed, but the shutdown of a 1000+ Megawatt reactor at the South Texas nuclear plant aggravated the crisis.

By MacKenzie Elmer / Voice of San Diego / July 6, 2021

Around 11:50 a.m. on June 19, a whale watching tour captured drone footage of dolphins swimming through a 50-mile stretch of rainbow-colored oily mess about 70 miles from San Clemente Island, according to Gone Whale Watching Captain Domenic Biagini, who posted the video to his Instagram page.

That same day, only about an hour earlier, the Coast Guard had received another call reporting another slippery-looking sheen off Point Loma in San Diego

By Diane Bell / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 1, 2021

One doesn’t have to go to the Safari Park to see wildlife. Some wild animals are camping out in yards and walking the streets of the beach communities of Pacific Beach and La Jolla.

Photos and videos of sightings of foxes and coyotes, many captured on night-time cameras and security surveillance devices, are commonly posted on the Nextdoor app, which shares residents’ neighborhood news.