OB Rag

by Jim Miller

After the Iowa debacle ended with an embarrassing mess that left Sanders and Buttigieg on top of the wreckage with Joe Biden struggling for air underneath it, a good number of corporate media pundits and panicked Democrats have been learning to love Mike Bloomberg.

Their lack of confidence in the inexperience of Mayor Pete, whose polling plummets once the primaries move to states with people who aren’t white, combined with their fear of a Democratic Socialist frontrunner has them pining for a billionaire savior.

With Trump riding high on his post-impeachment acquittal and the Democratic party not looking ready for prime time, many in establishment circles as well as fearful liberals terrified of the prospect of Trump’s re-election are finding solace in Bloomberg …

Random Street Art in OB

Newport Pizza to Close With Hopes of Moving to Jungle Java

There’s more news about Newport Pizza. The OB Rag first reported the ale and pizza house was set to close in October 2019. Now we’ve learned it will shut its doors on February 9 but with the hope of relocating in what’s now Jungle Java, the open-air coffee patio by the end of summer. ….COME INSIDE FOR MORE

City Prepares Groundwork for Massive Redevelopment of Midway District

Jennifer Van Grove wrote in the Feb. 7 issue of the San Diego Union-Tribune about how the City of San Diego is laying the groundwork for a massive redevelopment of the Midway District, centered around the old sports arena complex. COME INSIDE FOR MORE

Dear Ocean Beach: this is your opportunity to save the iconic mosaic

By Colleen O’Connor

Quick. Put in an application. Encinitas is in a twist about the “Surfing Madonna’s” future.

You know that iconic piece of art put together in the dead of night — under a bridge overpass — to everyone’s surprise and delight.

The 10×10 foot mosaic of the Virgin of Guadalupe, surfing a wave, cape waving and hands praying, with a “Save the Ocean” inscription became national news.

Few locals cared about the lack of permits or the mystery behind the artist’s name or inspiration. It was a kind of “love at first sight.” The devotion and intrigue grew.

The city of Encinitas, however, declared the Madonna “graffiti” and ordered it removed. No permits.

By Judi Curry

Sometimes I get so peeved at happenings going on around me.

Certainly the farce of acquittal of the dictator in the White House is an example of “the emperor wore no clothes.” The stupidity or fright of all the Republican Senators – save one, Mitt Romney – has changed America for generations to come.

We may never heal from the horrible renderings of these balless people. How can one ignorant man have so much power over the members of Congress is a mystery to me.

Wednesday, Feb. 5, local San Diegans joined thousands of others across the country in more than 200 protests of the coverup and Trump’s acquittal.

The San Diego chapter of Indivisible mobilized people at several street corners, and about 40 demonstrators showed up at the corner of Sixth and University avenues in Hillcrest, the SanDiegoUnion-Tribune reported. A steady stream of supportive honking from drivers flowed by. The group chanted slogans such as “sham trial, not above the law” and “come November, we will remember.”

There were other protests including one on North Harbor Drive.

It was a packed, standing-room-only crowd at last night’s meeting of the Ocean Beach Planning Board. The various issues on the busy agenda each brought out their own numbers of residents and this reporter counted 50 people in the audience over the scope of the meeting in the OB Rec Center.

The board of community volunteers received a presentation on the design for the new stairs at the foot of Bermuda, shot down a project proposed for the 4600 block of Orchard, were asked to support parents at OB Elementary in their efforts to achieve pedestrian safety improvements around the school, and were asked to okay reaching out to the Mission Bay Park Committee to seek improvements to the River Bike Path trail.

By Robert Tait / The Guardian / Feb. 1, 2020

For decades, its mesmerizing blend of baroque and Gothic beauty was closed to mass tourism by the iron curtain that divided the communist east from the capitalist west during the cold war.

Now Prague, which has gained an unenviable reputation as a destination for stag nights and pub crawls, has become the latest European city to propose a radical assault on Airbnb and other short-term letting platforms as over-tourism threatens to overwhelm it and drive out residents.

Under plans pushed by the city’s liberal mayor, Zdenek Hrib, property owners would be barred from leasing out entire flats except when it was their own home and they were temporarily vacating it.

The city council person who represents Ocean Beach and Point Loma – as well as the rest of District 2 – gave a “State of the District” speech late last week, Jan. 30. Yet the only print media this writer has seen about the address is the account by Dave Schwab at the Peninsula Beacon.

And thanks to Schwab, we have a sense of what Councilmember Dr. Jennifer Campbell said and did during the event at the Liberty Station Conference Center in Point Loma. Schwab said she “touched on everything from monarch butterflies and pesticide use to housing, homelessness, electric scooters, and short-term vacation rentals.”

The Ocean Beach Elementary PTA is hosting the 10th Annual Skate for the Kids fundraiser on Sunday, February 9, 2020. The fundraiser for Ocean Beach Elementary marks its tenth year of, as they say, fostering a love of skating in local school kids while contributing to their education.

It all happens from 12-3 p.m. at Robb Field Skate Park.

The PTA is partnering with the Ocean Beach Surf & Skate Shop for the event.

Two Impeachment Protests Wed., Feb. 5 in San Diego: Downtown at North Harbor Dr. and at Genesse & Governor Dr.

Reject the Coverup protests are scheduled for this afternoon at multiple locations in San Diego County .The protests begin at 4:30 and 5:30 with flag waving citizens on street corners protesting the impeachment trial that was not a trial but a coverup.

This action is part of a nationwide mobilization with the simple demand of End the Coverup.

Livingston’s Mexican Grill & Chicken Kitchen on Newport Ave in Ocean Beach has closed.

The hole in the wall Mexican eatery at 5026 Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach has been next to Sunshine Company Saloon for more than two decades. Sunshine customers could also order from a separate counter inside.

The Ocean Beach bike path between Pacific Highway and Morena Boulevard is now closed temporarily. It is expected to re-open on Friday, February 28th.

The closure began Feb. 3. Bicyclists, joggers and pedestrians are urged to look out for detour routes and to be especially careful while traveling in the area where construction is going on.