OB Rag

Dying palm trees in Ocean Beach made the news Monday. Sadly.

The San Diego U-T had a spread on Monday that focused on OB and Point Loma at its start:

Ocean Beach and Point Loma have both reported dead palm trees due to the palm weevil. In Ocean Beach, diseased palms can be seen along Santa Monica Avenue, according to Mark Winkie, President of the Ocean Beach Town Council. And in Point Loma, the trees that line Catalina Boulevard are showing signs of infestation, according to Mike McCurdy, chairman of the Point Loma Association.

Ginnette Riquelme, of the Associated Press, has a photo that’s news itself. A woman protester was captured just before throwing a Molotov cocktail during a Women’s Rights demonstration in Mexico City. This is how women celebrated International Women’s Day in that city.

From today’s San Diego Union-Tribune:

Volatile protests engulfed Mexico’s capital on Monday as police clashed with thousands of feminist activists calling for an end to what they say is a crisis of violence against women.

By Roberto “Rob” Camacho

In the unprecedented global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has been forced to take a hard look in the mirror and acknowledge societal ills and inequities which unattended have festered for decades.

Over the past twelve months COVID presented a chance to reimagine things such as housing, education, wage increases, access to technology, healthcare, and more. However, due to the actions of the economic elite, and a stubbornly complicit legislature, the lives of everyday people have been crushed to ensure that even in the midst of a deadly pandemic, the status quo has remained the same at all costs. Including the lives of more than half a million people in the U.S. who have died of COVID over the past twelve months.

By Geoff Page

Unfortunately, even the ease of attending community meetings on-line these days is not enough to get folks out for some things. This was evidenced by public attendance at the Peninsula Community Planning Board’s annual Candidate Forum held Thursday, March 4, from 6:00 to 7:30. Of the attending crowd of 25 plus, only three were members of the public.

Historically, it has been this way with Candidate Forums for the PCPB – the public never shows up in any numbers. This is not for lack of trying as the PCPB advertises the event in social media and on its website. Considering how much easier it is to attend, now that the forum is on-line, the lack of interest is glaring.

But, there could be another reason. These candidate forums are not the most fascinating events to attend, to put it politely. Candidates talk about how they want to do good things for the community, which they all do, and there is no really interesting question and answer experience.

By Colleen O’Connor

Pace yourselves and brace yourselves. The pandemic is not going away anytime soon.

Another surge is coming. Look to Europe’s opening/closing and infecting scenario, caused by a new COVID variant, soon to be dominant here.

Germany, a disciplined country, announced they are in the middle of a “third wave.” Also, in the “third wave,” is the Netherlands, where infection cases rose by nearly 19 per cent over the past seven days. Add Stockholm to the list, with a 27 per cent rise in case numbers in recent weeks; again, all due to the new mutation.

So, candor is required. Faced with the latest wave, amid a newer, more efficient strain, the current attempts at mandatory school re-openings (with financial incentives) are near reckless.

One size does cannot and should not fit all students, teachers, schools, all districts or all states.

About International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (IWD) is marked on the 8th of March every year and is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for those social achievements.The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is one of the most important days of the year to:

• celebrate women’s achievements
• raise awareness about women’s equality
• lobby for accelerated gender parity
• fundraise for female-focused charities
  

History

History of International Women’s Day (From International Women’s Day)

International Women’s Day (IWD) has been observed since the early 1900’s – a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

Originally posted September 29, 2010

By Anna Daniels

“Feminism is doomed to failure because it is based on an attempt to repeal and restructure human nature.” … “What I am defending is the real rights of women. A woman should have the right to be in the home as a wife and mother.” Phyllis Schlafly

“Schlafly’s discussion reveals a paradox. She was able to have it all: family and career. And she did it by fighting those who said they were trying to get it all for her.…” Pia de Solenni

When I walked into the unisex bathroom at the Livingroom coffeehouse, I deftly threw a kung fu kick, successfully lowering the toilet seat from its upright position with a soul satisfying BANG! accompanied by my hissed words “Here’s to you Phyllis Schlafly!”

Schlafly spear headed the anti-Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) movement in 1974, maintaining that the ERA’s passage would lead to compulsory military service for women, same sex marriage and (drum roll please…) public unisex bathrooms!

Apparently, the so-called high costs of a recall campaign pushed by Jen Campbell and her supporters are misleading. Campbell and the contra-recall consultants have been propagating the figure of $2 million for any possible recall.

But according to a story by David Garrick in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune, city officials and the County Registrar of Voters are pushing back on that price tag. Campbell & Associates have been claiming their number was based on an email from a Registrar official in February. City and registrar folks are saying that $2 million number was the high end of a “rough cost projection” subject to many variables and many unknowns – known and unknown.

Garrick reports that Liliana Lau, a registrar official, wrote the following in an email to Campbell’s staff on February 8:

“Without the specificity required, there is too broad of a cost range to make an appropriate projection. A rough cost projection based on prior elections that were similar on size is approximately $1.6 million to $2 million.”

By Geoff Page

Board Continues Its Efforts to Mitigate STVR Ordinance

It was apparent at the Ocean Beach Planning Board’s regular monthly meeting March 3rd that the board has no intention of giving up the fight over the short-term vacation rental ordinance promoted by District 2 council member Jennifer Campbell. Most of the meeting was taken up with a lengthy discussion of what to do next since the passage of Campbell’s ordinance by city council.

The OBPB previously put in a lot of effort coming up with a list of recommendations for changes to Campbell’s ordinance. They produced a letter that they shopped around to other planning boards for support, which they mostly found. One glaring exception was the Midway Pacific Highway Planning Group that refused to lend any support.

The list of recommendations was presented to Campbell who ignored them. Campbell was already in disfavor for brokering the “deal” that resulted in the ordinance, and her unwillingness to consider OB’s well thought out suggestions only made that worse.

by Ernie McCray

For being able to basically snatch rebounds and whip outlet passes to start fast breaks and swish the ball through the hoop from all over the place, a space has been made for me, alongside some other guys who could really play, in the “Basketball Ring of Honor” at my alma mater, the U of A.

Just the other day.

And pretty much all I can say is “Wow!”

I’m loving it and how.

And I’ve loved my university and its teams since before I knew what a basketball was.

I became a fan at my mother’s breast as she listened to Arizona Wildcat football and basketball games on the radio, humming soothing lullabies.

I used to pick cotton in Marana on Saturdays so I could pay for a cheap seat in the knothole section at the night’s football game and a butterscotch milkshake at Dairy Queen on my way home from the game.

Did the same thing after track meets, basketball, and baseball games.

By Bob Edwards

It was a sad time last July when Run For Cover bookstore closed its doors on Voltaire Street after almost two years of serving the reading population of Ocean Beach and greater San Diego.

With revenues down 60% due to the pandemic and overhead costs remaining the same, it was just not sustainable to maintain the storefront, according to Peninsula resident and owner Marianne Reiner. Book lovers mourned the loss of OB’s only independent source for new books (other than the intriguing but limited selection of mostly counterculture and graphic books at the Black).

So, it was great when the OB Rag received an email from local resident Elizabeth Burke reminding us that Run For Cover is still in business and serving San Diego’s readers even though they no longer have a brick and mortar presence. Elizabeth suggested we contact Marianne Reiner and get the scoop on what is still going on with Run For Cover.

This reporter spoke with Marianne last weekend. She had a lot to say about how she has adapted to the new ways of doing business in 2021.

There’s a group out there who firmly believe San Diego is heading the wrong way in its current Master Plan for parks. The group – Parks And Recreation Coalition (PARC) – is made up of a network of volunteers who are highly critical of the city’s Parks Master Plan. They’ve been going around lately and giving presentations to local planning boards and other civic groups, called “Parks for All”.

For instance, they’ve given presentations at the Midway planners and the Peninsula planners.

But their point – in a nutshell – is that the master plan – the first one in 50 years – is wrong, and will actually translate into fewer parkland for this growing city. So, here is an introduction of PARC and their concerns – from their powerpoint presentation.