OB Rag

Take a Pictorial Stroll Through What Could Be Coming to Ocean Beach

Having never been inside a Target Express, I wanted to visit one plus I wanted to show the people of Ocean Beach with my camera what to expect if one does show up on Newport Avenue. So, I visited the one in South Park (actually the only one in San Diego) to glimpse a view of a possible storefront future for OB.

The Target Express in South Park is on a large lot mainly by itself. It has a huge parking lot – which is the first thing any OBcean would notice, with reportedly 99 spaces. But that’s triple the parking for any T. Express at the Newport Ave Antique Center.

As the San Diego City Council is about to sit down on December 12th and hammer out what probably will be some kind of compromise on one of the most contentious issues in the city – short term vacation rentals – it is interesting to know that some community leaders who serve on beach and coastal planning committees tried to come up with something different earlier this year.

Called the “Coastal Exception”, members of these volunteer panels – including the OB Planning Board – tried to carve out literally an exception to what has looked like a consistent drumbeat for Airbnb’s march across neighborhoods among many City Council members. Faced with the possibilities of a very horrible compromise that would allow Airbnb and such businesses to legally ride roughshod over beach communities, these planning board members drew up draft legislation, called Draft Coastal Zone STVR Legislation. OBPB Chair John Ambert and Vice-chair Blake Herrschaft participated in drawing up this draft.

Conservative Assumptions Camouflage Benefits of this New Energy Option

By Tyson Siegele / San Diego 350 / San Diego Free Press

San Diego struggles under the yoke of the highest electricity prices in the state. Meanwhile, thousands of cities across the United States have executed a plan to reduce their electricity prices, called Community Choice Energy. City officials hired an expert to determine if Community Choice would work here too. The technical study, also known as the feasibility study, found that San Diego would benefit from Community Choice, just like thousands of cities before it.

In July, when the City released the technical study, several publications such as the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Voice of San Diego highlighted the main finding of the study:

“San Diego could provide cheaper, greener energy than SDG&E.”

Meeting at New James Gang Location on Newport

OBceans are invited to a “No Target in OB” organizing meeting at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 15.

The meeting will be held at the new James Gang location – 4851 Newport Avenue.

Agenda Items to date:

“O.B. Walkabout-Talkabout”

Starring: Dean Hollenbeck – Produced by Kathy and Ray Blavatt

Ocean Beach is known for its characters, and Dean Hollenbeck is one of our most endearing.

Dean loves to walk… and talk! He has made countless friends on his meandering walks in Ocean Beach and the peninsula.

At 89-years-old Dean some days walks up to 16 miles … though it may take him the whole day depending on how many people he talks to. Ocean Beach Historical Society’s Kathy and Ray Blavatt filmed Dean on his O.B. adventures

By Ernie McCray

Debbie, my first born,
is gone, and now
is but a sweet memory for me
as I mourn.
With tears in my eyes
I reflect on our journey in life together
since she arrived,
seemingly out of the rich blue
of the Tucson skies
on January 4th, 1957,

As Ocean Beach becomes increasingly like one gigantic play ground for adults, we decided to check out the other type of playgrounds – the ones for kids, here in Ocean Beach – and see how they’re doing in comparison. I took my 10-year-old granddaughter Bella with me to get a kid’s eye view on everything. I asked her to give a letter grade for each playground we visited.

And we have to report back that the playgrounds of OB – in total – are not doing well. In fact, overall, they get a “D”.

Robb Field Playground = D+

The very first playground we visited was the one in Robb Field. It’s got 2 sets of swings, a tire swing, 1 small slide and a climbing dome – all within a large sand pit. And it has a few benches around part of the sand.

Restaurant Review

Humphrey’s
2241 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
619-224-3577

As a general rule, I stay away from doing reviews of known entities because they are generally priced out of my budget, and they are usually well-established businesses. I had no intent of doing a review of this restaurant when I knew I was going to go to celebrate my “besties” 65th birthday, but the experience was so good I knew within several minutes of being seated that it would become a review.

Last week brought welcome news for those of us looking for some light at the end of the tunnel as we close in on the first year of the Trump era when voters repudiated Republican rule by handing resounding victories to Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey, and elsewhere around the country.

While this is clearly a morale booster for beleaguered progressives, let’s hope that it does not stop folks from continuing to ask the hard questions that need to be answered if we truly want to change the course of the country from the dangerous path we are on.

* OB Town Council Presents Holiday 2017 Artwork Design
* James Gang Open for Business
* Fitness Center to Open on Newport
* Creations Throws Wide Its Doors
* Why OB Surf Was Rotten This Summer and September
* Froude Project Hole
* No Target in OB Organizing Meeting – Wednesday, November 15th
* OB Las Vegas Hero Honored by City Council
* OB Muralist Celeste Byers Finds Hope in Mexico City’s Rescue Dog
* Local Writer Tracks Down History of “Feigley House” – at 4921 Voltaire Street
* Liberty Station’s Public Market Has Fans

COME INSIDE FOR THE STORIES

As I sat in the beauty shop the other day waiting to have my hair cut, I picked up a copy of the latest People magazine. On the cover was a picture of Harvey Weinstein and page after page of women talking about how he had molested, raped, threatened etc. And as I looked at the pictures – I wasn’t really interested in reading about all of their experiences – I had to sit back and reflect over my life time, because what happened to those women did not just happen to famous people; it happened, and is still happening to women all over the world.

I am getting old. Very old. But it sure doesn’t take much to remember the assaults that I faced; the threats I faced; the acts foisted upon me. And the interesting thing is that even at my age it hasn’t stopped.

The OB Rag recently was notified by a neighbor of an apartment complex on Abbott Street in OB who was concerned the units were being converted into short term vacation rentals.

The neighbor was referring to the 2-story, 4 unit complex on the northeast corner of Abbott and Brighton Avenue, 2101 – 2107 Abbott. Each unit has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.

I was definitely familiar with the building – So, the other day, I ventured up close to the complex to check it out.