OB Rag

There’s two new books by two different local Ocean Beach and Point Loma authors. One is already published in paperback and other will be released in mid-April.

Kathy Blavatt and Dianne Lane are the local authors; Kathy wrote “Ocean Beach: Where Land and Water Meet” and Dianne has written “From Where We Sail: A Family’s Six and a Half Year Journey Around the World on Sorcery“.

Every year as one of its signature events, the Ocean Beach Historical Society throws a wonderful Wisteria Garden Party on the 4700 block of Niagara.

The party is held under the largest wisteria canopy in Ocean Beach.

OBHS invites everyone to spend the afternoon in the garden of the historic O.B. Wisteria Cottage, listen to live music

The vast majority of Point Loma High School students joined a national walk-out against gun violence, this Wednesday morning – the 14th of March.

There’s 1900 students on campus the principal told me and by far most of them had gathered near the east end of the school’s football field. A few minutes before 10:00am – the hour of the walk-out – a bell went off and students began streaming towards the southern end of the school where the athletic fields are.

By time I got to the football field, massive numbers of students were listening to and cheering on a series of speakers – most of them students – plea and demand changes to how this society handles guns and violence

By Joaquin Antique

by anonymous

All the following statements are direct quotes or paraphrased from either local social media pages or comments I’ve heard in Ocean Beach:

Multiple cars vandalized on the block Those damn trolls.

Arson in our alley. Hey, I saw a troll with matted hair going through our recycling cans the same day. Must have been him that set the fire.

That stabbing on Newport last year: Probably a beef between a couple homeless guys.

Graffiti sprayed on my back wall. Homeless again.

In a parking lot of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in San Ysidro, 500 San Diegans rallied against President Trump and his wall. Trump was over at the prototypes during part of the rally.

The general theme, “Build Bridges Not Walls”, was highly visible as a variety of faith-based organizations and groups that have mobilized since Trump’s election came together to oppose his policies on the wall, immigration and other issues. Folks from Women’s March, Indivisible, ImpeachTrump mingled with immigrants’ rights groups and Democratic party activists.

Someone once said ‘all politics is local politics.’ This is no truer right now than here in Point Loma, where politics are indeed swirling around the local planning committee’s annual election.

Apparently, false accusations have been spread against some candidates running for seats on the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB). And one of those candidates is Geoff Page – a Point Loma activist, former chair of that planning group, consultant – and a writer / reporter for the OB Rag.

On the surface, the imbroglio surrounds the controversial recycling center at Stump’s Market on Voltaire, and who supports it and who doesn’t. Page and 3 other candidates have been falsely accused by a sitting Board member of supporting the recycling center and who also has sent out emails urging Peninsula voters to not vote for them.

Here is Geoff Page’s response to an email

On the eve of Trump’s visit to San Diego to view wall prototypes at the border, this sign was spotted by over the 163 freeway in San Diego.

Point Loma’s other local community planning committees – other than Ocean Beach – have their annual elections coming up in March.

The Peninsula Community Planning Board holds theirs on March 15th and the Midway Community Planning Group has theirs on March 21st. (The Ocean Beach Planning Board had theirs on March 7th. )

Here are the details:

Peninsula Community Planning Board Elections

The Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) will be holding elections in March 2018 to fill five (5) vacancies. Board terms are three (3) years, with exception of unexpired terms which are filled.

Nuclear Shutdown News for February 2018

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

New Jersey Oyster Creek Nuke “To Shut Down for Good”

On February 2, 2018 the Asbury Park Press, Bruce Springsteen’s hometown newspaper, reported that the New Jersey Oyster Creek nuclear power plant is “to shut down for good in October more than a year ahead of schedule-in a surprise announcement by plant owner Exelon.”

The Park Press also reported the nuke plant is the “oldest in the US” and will be 49 years old when it it ceases operations.

Oyster Creek started up at the end of the year in 1969, as Richard Nixon was finishing his first year in office

By Jim Miller

In the early days of the Trump administration, most savvy observers were quick to note that, populist bluster aside, Trump’s policies would be a disaster for America’s already historic level of economic inequality. As economist Charles Ballard wrote in The Hill, “the main thrust of policy proposals from President Trump is to maintain, and even accelerate, the anti-egalitarian policies of recent decades.”

A year later, it’s now abundantly clear that the anti-egalitarian nature of this administration has only poured gasoline on the fire.

Avoid Contact With Water for 72 Hours Following Rain of March 10

There is a General Rain Advisory in effect for all of San Diego’s coastal waters – including, of course, all Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliffs, Point Loma, Mission Bay – all the other beaches.

The water quality advisory is due to contamination by urban runoff following rains that occurred on March 10, 2018.

Swimmers, surfers, and other ocean users are warned