OB Rag

Straight Up With a Twist

By Edwin Decker

Dear Ed, Me and the wife like to play blackjack at the casino from time to time. The problem is that she is a terrible player. It’s not the money I care about but the groans and eyerolls (sometimes even outbursts) she receives from players who are seated after her. As a blackjack player yourself, you know how much it sucks playing behind a bad player. Especially when they hit when they should be standing and end up taking the card YOU were waiting for.

By Kathy Blavatt

“G” is a “Great” letter. So many “Good” words start with “G”. One of my favorites is “Green”.

The world is on the path to understanding that without GREENING, we will not be walking down a garden path to any livable future, which leads to my starring “G” word “Garden.”

Ocean Beach once again is getting its green on! The San Diego Floral Association is featuring the “Vistas and Verandahs: The Gardens of Ocean Beach Garden Tour,” The tour is Saturday, June 26, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Appletree on Newport Avenue just joined the modern age with a brand new mural of Padres player Fernando Tatis.

Muralists Paul Jimenez and Signe Ditona were the creators of the large image – which is part of a series of murals the Padres commissioned they are painting.

The muralists also did the Tony Gwynn and Joe Musgrove murals earlier this year.

Short Update on Liz Cheney v. Trump

By Colleen O’Connor

What a real time Master Class in politics. Liz Cheney is “a hero,” as Reuters headlines. She may be “down, but not out.”

What a wonder.

Cheney now has a national audience and she got it on the cheap! Think of how many campaigns, how many fundraisers, and how many elections battles that countless other politicians have endured, and never even earned a national headline, let alone dominated them for months.

Then, there is Liz Cheney. She took on the biggest villain in the room; literally and figuratively.

by Ernie McCray

Feeling Langston.
Mr. Hughes.
Feeling how he could piece together
a rhyme
that gives you the blues
or string a line of words
sweet
as the floral taste
of late summer
honeydew,
making
Black folk’s hearts
sing
like a bird,
once caged,

The sign for the Ocean Beach Fishing Pier is right at the entrance on the concrete wall, before you get to the gate in the pier.

Reading the sign makes you realize

Are They a Cause for Concern?

By Miguel Leyva

When shopping for produce, you might know that it sometimes comes with potentially harmful pesticide levels. Even organic food, grown without chemical additions, suffers from pesticide overexposure.

What you eat today may have been sprayed with pesticides. Pesticides are used on crops to control insects, weeds, and other pests that could harm the growth of plants. In addition to agricultural use, some pesticides can be found in homes and gardens for insect control.

By Colleen O’Connor

Sometimes, I am happy to be wrong. And this is one of those times.

In my article, “Save the Libraries: Throw Books at the Mayor: Part II,” I implied that the Municipal Employees Association supported the Mayor’s cuts to the libraries.

Specifically, I asked:

“Is it the Municipal Employees Union that is blocking the Library funding? Surely, their membership includes families and friends who use the libraries. Or people who want jobs. Or just rational individuals who understand that depriving library users in every neighborhood free access to knowledge is just plain stupid.”

The MEA’s, General Manager, Mike Zucchet, was kind enough to respond and correct that impression.

A coalition of sorts of a group of environmental and nonprofit groups want the San Diego City Council to bar SDG&E from bidding on any new utility franchise agreements. In a letter addressed to all Council members sent last week, the group is pushing the Council to hold a hearing to discuss whether the utility giant can be debarred from bidding.

The letter asks the Council to hold a Debarment Proceedings Against SDG&E as soon as possible. Items are placed on the Council docket by the council president, Jen Campbell, who has not committed at this point in doing so.

The groups state that since SDG&E has been in material breach of its current franchise agreement with the City, it cannot by law bid on any new agreements.

Part I

By Colleen O’Connor

A bit of good news. Brought to you by good people. And lots of human effort.

A new hotel built in Point Loma, where the community worked with developers to get what each wanted most. Something attractive, with an emphasis on “local” faire; a family friendly meeting place, a restaurant with local chefs, local beers, and local morning coffee.

‘You cannot manage anything you cannot measure’

By Ashley Mackin-Solomon / La Jolla Light / May 8, 2021

Hoping to find quantitative data that can measure the impact of short-term rentals under the city of San Diego’s new ordinance, the La Jolla Community Planning Association will work with the Ocean Beach Planning Board on a set of metrics to submit to the city.

The idea came from the San Diego Community Planners Committee, which has representation from all the city’s planning groups. The metrics were to be taken back to the groups for feedback before a final list is voted on this month.

The new STR ordinance was signed into law in April and is to be reviewed annually for effectiveness. “We already know STRs impact our quality of life,” said Ocean Beach Planning Board Chairwoman Andrea Schlageter.

by Bill Powers/ Times of San Diego / May 8, 2021

Point Loma Nazarene University’s Fermanian Business & Economic Institute on April 27 published a summary review of public power for San Diego. The review somehow concluded that San Diego transitioning to a nonprofit public utility would have an uncertain impact on rates and little impact on the city’s struggle to deal with climate change.

Unfortunately, the Fermanian review relies on misinformation, worst-case assumptions and omissions to make its case. The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce paid for the review. The chamber was the recipient of over $250,000 in dues and contributions from Sempra and its affiliate San Diego Gas & Electric in 2020. There is no mention