OB Rag

Editordude: It’s not safe to dive into Mission Bay; it’s very polluted. But this article had an original headline of “Dive Into …”

By Laurie Delk / Pacific San Diego / Aug. 7, 2019

As one of the recreational hubs of San Diego, Mission Bay draws a multitude of visitors annually for its boat races, water sports, Belmont Park and Sea World attractions. But did you know the popular outdoor spot is human made?

PACIFIC teamed up with professor Andy Strathman, PhD, co-editor of The Journal of San Diego History and lecturer at California State University, San Marcos to find out the low down (or is it low tide?) of Mission Bay for the this year’s 250th anniversary of San Diego.

PACIFIC: What’s the connection between Mission Bay and its former name False Bay?

ANDY STRATHMAN: Originally it was called False Bay, partly because it was very shallow and practically dry at times. In a lot of ways it was more of a marsh than a true bay. The Spanish explorers gave it that name.

PACIFIC: How did the bay come into being?

Public Workshop scheduled for August 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the downtown Central Library.

San Diego Police have increased their use of so-called streetlight cameras that the City has installed recently, stating they’ve aided in the solving of crimes. At the same time, criticism of their use has increased, mainly around issues of lack of civilian oversight, the potentials for abuse and of outside hacking.

Since 2016, San Diego has installed roughly 3,200 streetlamp cameras with a goal of 4,200 by summer of 2020. The City’s corporate partner and sponsor, General Electric, beef the system up as the “world’s largest smart city platform.”

Initially called “smart streetlamps”, the City began the program ostensibly to collect metadata from cameras tracking the number of people walking, biking or driving through busy intersections. And as a LED upgrade, the City installed the recording system to the streetlamps. Officials tout all the savings the new bulbs will bring in by 2030 – enough money (on electricity savings) to pay for the $30 million program.

All these thousands of microphones and cameras in streetlamps made San Diego’s Police Department sit up straight and look into their potential. Which they did. Now police say they’ve used the videos from the smart streetlamps to aid them in over 140 investigations –

Perhaps the writers for a popular travel guide have just been at high altitudes for too long, or maybe they’ve lounged around in airport restaurants for too long, but somehow they have just declared that the “best airport” in the country is the San Diego International Airport.

Holy guacamole! Are you freaking kidding?

San Diego the best airport in the entire good ol US of A?

But this is what has happened. A new study of the best and worst airports around the country has just been completed by The Points Guy travel website, and yeah, they say – based on a myriad of factors of course – that we have the best.

The second-best is Phoenix Sky Harbor International and the worst is Chicago’s Midway International with – according to TPG – Orlando International the second-worst.

By Joni Halpern

Ohio is deemed one of the nation’s bellwether states, so we Californians need to give them some advice about the upcoming 2020 elections.

Dear Ohio,

I’m guessing that you, like most of us in California, have not given much thought to asking our presidential candidates about blueberries. Certainly you have not contemplated asking them about the red-state species known as the rabbiteye blueberry, which grows from central Florida to eastern North Carolina and from Eastern Texas to Southern Arkansas.

The humble rabbiteye blueberry is a hearty plant apparently unattractive to major pests. Depending upon care and environment, just one rabbiteye blueberry bush can produce about 15 pounds of blueberries in a single season. And darned good blueberries at that, filled with flavor and anti-oxidants, the latter a favorite ingredient of the “live-forever” patrons of high-end supermarkets.

Albert C Elliott hasn’t been taking photos as long as he’s surfed and shaped boards, but he’s still got a good eye. We’ve published many of his shots – more than a few black & white – over the last few years.

By-the-way, there’s a Go-Fund-Me page for ACE – and there’s a Saturday morning clean-up of his back yard – which once held a surfboard shaping garage but which was destroyed by fire on Tuesday. The community is stepping up and nearly $5,000 has been raised as of this post. But more has to be …. please join the 85 and more folks who have contributed to the fund to help Albert and Mindy get back on their feet.

So, here we re-post some of ACE’s “best”:

By Kit-Bacon Gressitt / Excuse Me, I’m Writing

“Peligro,” I said. “La mujer fotografia tu auto.”

It was pitiful Spanish—I really need to learn the language—but it was my best, and I wasn’t convinced it was the right thing to do, but I did it anyway.

It all started with my early morning walk, accompanied by my not-quite-right dog and my quite-all-right neighbor. This morning, we were halfway into a good sweat when another regular dog-walker pulled up in her very snazzy pickup. She leaned out the window with her phone, poised in camera mode.

“Do you see that car? Do you see what’s in that car?” She held the phone to her angry face and started shooting photos.

By T. Ultican / Tultican / July 27,2019

There has been a fifty-year push to reform education using business management principles. In the period, Harvard Business School has trumped Columbia Teacher College concerning pedagogy. Unfortunately, the results are an unmitigated disaster for most communities and students.

This market based endeavor – financed by billionaires – has transformed public schools into non-democratic profit centers. It is the precursor to the ultimate goal of dismantling universal free public education.

The radical right is pushing to privatize everything from policing; to prisons; to schools. They have spread the gospel that governments are incapable of solving problems but businessmen can. In his first inaugural address, Ronald Reagan declared “…, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Viewing society as consisting of “makers” and “takers,” these apostles of privatization fear the tyranny of democratic majorities. They strive to make property rights the paramount civil right.

By Joni Halpern

Dear Ohio,

Patriotism is big among American politicians. They wear patriotic clothing of red, white and blue. They spout patriotism in their rhetoric. They mouth the words of patriotic songs. They wear lapel pins referring to God and country. They eat patriotism with their hot dogs and french fries.

But what is a patriot?

Is he or she a loyalist? A nationalist? A flag-waver? A chauvinist?

I will go out on a limb here and offer my humble definition of “patriot.” In the United States of America, the oldest representative democracy in the world, a “patriot” is a person who lives the values of our constitution, no matter the cost.

Albert C Elliott has been making surfboards for decades in Ocean Beach.

Albert – known as ACE – has carried on the old, classic OB tradition of making surfboards in the back shed or garage. In ACE’s case, he has been making them in his detached garage in the back of the old house on Froude Street he and his wife, Mindy, have owned for many years.

And in truth, ACE has become a sort-of iconic OB legend. Many people have bought his boards over time. The 70 old-year local has been handling his camera more often than his surfboard these days – and the OB Rag has published many of his photos.

Trouble is – yesterday – August 6 – his entire garage burnt down. Along with all his personal surfboards and those he wanted to sell. And all his tools were destroyed as well.

From SanDiegoVille.com / August 7, 2019

Former MLB All-Star Sues OB Noodle House Owner Over Alleged Skrewball Whiskey Deal

Former Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher David Wells has filed a lawsuit against the founder of San Diego’s popular OB Noodle House for allegations that include breach of contract. The purported hand-shake deal was to include equity ownership in the Ocean Beach-based company behind Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey.

Last year, Cambodian-born Steven Yeng – who owns OB Noodle House, Bar 1502, and recently unveiled The Holding Company, all in San Diego’s Ocean Beach neighborhood – launched his own bottled peanut butter whiskey based on a popular signature shot he has long-served at his restaurants.

From the Ocean Beach Green Center

Ocean Beach Green Center, 4862 Voltaire Street, Ocean Beach 92107 oceanbeachgreencenter@gmail.com

Events at the Ocean Beach Green Center

Every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Climate Mobilization Coalition Meeting. 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st Ocean Beach Green Center 4862 Voltaire St. Come help plan for the upcoming Climate Action events. More info https://www.facebook.com/SDClimateMobilization/

Long-time OBcean and the community’s resident-ecologist, Jim Bell, has passed.

Friends say he passed away peacefully Friday, August 2 at his home. Jim Bell has left the planet.

Here’s a statement from our friends at the OB Green Center:

In the last year we have periodically talked about our friend and mentor, Jim Bell, who graciously provided a new home for the Ocean Beach Green Center. Jim peacefully passed away this morning