OB Rag

When it came time for the applicants of a Coastal Development Permit to construct a new 3-story residence with decks and a new detached 2-story guest quarters on an empty lot at 4744 Cape May Avenue to appear before the OB Planning Board at Wednesday night’s meeting – planners had a case of deja vue.

The applicants – Alan and Nancy – had appeared before the Board earlier – they were in front of the Project Review Committee (a sub-committee of the entire board, which usually makes recommendations on projects), back on December 19, 2018. Here is our report from the Project Review Committee’s review of that project:

Owners of 4744 Cape May Ave Requested to Return to the Drawing Board

Author G.M. Ford is all set to give a talk on his latest mystery novel, “Heavy on The Dead” which is set in Ocean Beach, of all places.

Ford will lead the discussion of his Leo Waterman mystery at the OB Library, this Saturday, September 7. The OB Library is at 4801 Santa Monica Ave. It’s at 2pm.

Back in July, our Bob Edwards wrote a review of the book and here is part of what he said then:

An award winning mystery and thriller novelist, G.M. Ford has just published a new book, Heavy On The Dead (Thomas and Mercer, Seattle, 2019) that is set largely in Ocean Beach.

From the first pages of the book when a body is discovered next to the Santa Cruz Avenue stairs during a beach cleanup to an episode searching for a homeless man along the San Diego River, to the protagonists battling traffic on Sea World Drive at rush hour, Heavy On The Dead has numerous local references that most OBceans will recognize.

‘Come Show OB Some Love’ – 8th Annual After Summer Community Cleanup

By Dan Rather /Dan Rather facebook / Aug. 28, 2019

Beware fatigue. It is easy to say, of course, much harder to achieve.

Memories jump to mind of fourth quarter huddles with my high school football team and a coach exhorting us to dig deeper. The thought enters the mind, “Sure coach, but you don’t know how licked we are.” Of course you would never utter the words, and deep down you knew he was right. I have seen so many times where those with the advantage falter from exhaustion.

We are at a moment when the sheer cumulative toll of the Trump presidency strikes with the relentlessness of a summer heat waves (which many of us have also been contending with this year, thanks likely to the climate crisis the President dismisses).

On August 28, Public Watchdogs, a nonprofit advocacy group, requested an immediate court-order to halt the transfer of deadly radioactive nuclear waste at the San Onofre Nuke plant into “thin-walled” dry storage canisters.

The group filed a temporary restraining order (TRO) with the United States District Court, and is petitioning the courts to step in and protect the environment and the lives of more than 8 million people who live within the radiation plume zone identified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

The attorney for Public Watchdogs, Chuck La Bella, stated:

“My immediate concern is for the health and safety of the millions of people who could be impacted by a toxic cloud being released from SONGS. The consequences of a nuclear accident are catastrophic and would last for generations.”

By Ernie McCray

Friday, November 22, 1963.

I woke up that morning as I did every morning, cursing my alarm clock for waking me.

Getting that off my chest I got my day underway primping and talking to that dude in the mirror about what he and I might do that day to keep about 40 sixth graders at Oliver Hazard Perry Elementary excited and challenged and eager to come back for more the next day.

So when I made my merry way to school in my raggedy 49 ford (all I could afford at the time with the paltry pay a second year teacher raked in) I was probably humming and singing the tunes of the day: “Our day will come,” adding my bass; “You’ve really got a hold on me,” thinking of love with a smile on my face; “Walking the dog” for a change of pace…

That was literally how I “rolled” on the mornings of a school day.

Thank you Ocean Beach and Point Loma! We made our fundraising goal of $2,000 – thanks to all the donations. The OB Rag is assured to be able to operate for another year.

We had 35 donations come in since last week – 25 of them from Ocean Beach and Point Loma residents.

By Jim Hare

The Peninsula Community Planning Board, of which I am a member, has considered the matter of a potential 78-unit workforce housing development on Housing Commission Site #428. The site is off Nimitz Boulevard near the end of Catalina Boulevard in Point Loma.

While the potential project is unknown except for a site feasibility study, many in the community and some members of our Board have sought abandonment of the project and dedication of the property to open space. That position prevailed by vote at the PCPB on August 28th. I cast a vote against the action based on these thoughts:

The Ocean Beach Planning Board has 4 projects before it when it meets this Wednesday, Sept. 4th. It will also take up the possible appointment of a new board member to District 3 OB Planning Area and review the Street Vendor Ordinance that goes before the City Council in October. The Board meets at 6pm sharp at the OB Rec Center, 4726 Santa Monica Avenue.

From OBTC:

Please mark your calendars! The 21st Annual OB Pier Pancake Breakfast will take place on Saturday, September 21st from 7:30am – 12:00pm.

Proceeds of this community event benefit our holiday events including the annual OB Food and Toy Drive, which helps as many 100 local families and seniors in need during the upcoming holiday season. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children. Tickets can be purchased online.

The Ocean Beach Town Council is seeking Table Sponsors for the Pier Pancake Breakfast. To become a Table Sponsor which includes 8 tickets to the OB Pier Pancake Breakfast, please

Early September – after Labor Day is when Ocean Beach gets back to “normal” and locals breathe a sigh of relief; the tourists and visitors are gone and the community returns to some kind of normalcy.

And it has returned – the Seasonal “ahhhh”.

This morning, the parks and fields were empty. The streets were mellow – no long lines of cars at the stop signs. Less pedestrians with cameras around their necks, less people packing up their vehicles from their short-term vacation rental stay. I saw only 3 plates from out-of-state and one of the cars had an OB sticker on the back windshield.

By Joni Halpern

Dear Ohio,

Today Americans are asked to support government conduct that imperils adults and children who have the temerity to ask for asylum from the raging violence or desperate poverty ravaging them in their home countries.

Our country now wants to broadcast far and wide that we are no longer in the market for the “poor and huddled masses yearning to be free.” We are not interested in their sad stories of abuse, deprivation, or torture. Look us up, however, if you are among the well-educated, well-trained, healthy, affluent, select few who want to take advantage of new opportunities in an American venue.

Americans have been told this change of focus is necessary, because immigrants of a lesser god are sucking us dry, committing serious crimes, and