OB Rag

The following is a letter to the editors of San Diego Union-Tribune by OBcean Steve Pond, published Sunday, September 14.

La Jolla library hours are a telling comment on City Hall

Re “La Jolla Library maintains Monday hours with a little help from its Friends” (Sept 4) [see below]: The wealthy community members of the would-be “city of La Jolla” stepped up and donated enough money to keep their community library open on Mondays.

That seems to be OK with the San Diego City Council, but what about the rest of us? If the city had some kind of fair rules and guidelines, the La Jolla donors would have to donate the funds to the city of San Diego to be placed into a city library hind where donations were collected for all nine council districts.

This seems to be a clear case of the “haves” and “have nots.”

— Steve Pond, Ocean Beach

Here’s the original SDU-T article, pubished in their La Jolla Light:

By Paul Levikow / East County Magazine / Sept. 10, 2025

The Cottonwood Sand Mine project in Rancho San Diego was rejected unanimously Wednesday by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

In a packed board room, the supervisors heard from more than 100 speakers in a span of over two hours, including more than a dozen by phone.

The vote apparently means the end of a years-running saga for East County residents since sand mining along the Sweetwater River was first proposed seven years ago.

In July, the San Diego County Planning Commission voted to deny a Major Use Permit and Reclamation Plan for the project. That led the project applicant, Cottonwood Cajon ES, LLC, to appeal the decision to the Board of Supervisors.

The project proposed converting part of the Cottonwood Golf Club on Willow Glen Drive in unincorporated El Cajon into a 10-year sand mining operation, with an additional two-year reclamation period.

Once word got out that the plan would involve sand excavation and processing on 214 acres of a 280-acre site, and that the operation would run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday for 10 years, opposition proved fast, furious and focused.

Email Letter to Mayor and San Diego City Council

By Lisa Mortensen

Good morning Councilmembers:

I wanted to congratulate you, Councilmember Moreno, for pushing forward legislation through the council to launch a $5 million fund to buy apartment complexes in order to preserve existing affordable structures.  While this is a good start, I want to pull back the lens and take a big picture view of some pitfalls that could hamstring your truly earnest efforts.

First off, will the city do its due-diligence when considering making an investment like this?  Because let’s face it, the city’s track record in buying real estate has been extremely costly and not profitable.  If the city continues their approach to real estate investing, it would be doubtful that $5 million dollars would go very far and we hope that the city will spare San Diegans any further taxpayer bailout.

This good intention of yours, Ms. Moreno, will be blindsided by the mayor’s upcoming push to pass the Preservation and Progress program that actually will eliminate any protections for properties more than 45 years old, properties designated as historical, and/or certified as Mills Act.

By Ben Christopher / CalMatters Times of San Diego / Sept. 13, 2025

California lawmakers just laid the groundwork for a highly targeted building boom.

Senate Bill 79, authored by San Francisco Democrat Sen. Scott Wiener, would “upzone” neighborhoods immediately surrounding train, light rail and subway stations in many of the state’s most populous metro areas. That means apartment developers will be able to construct residential buildings — some as tall as 75 feet — regardless of what local zoning maps, elected officials or density-averse neighbors say.

In a legislative year teeming with controversial housing bills designed to kick-start more construction in California, SB 79 has been among the most controversial. Because it would override the planning decisions of local governments, the bill had to overcome opposition from a host of city governments and their defenders in the Legislature, while fracturing the Capitol’s reigning Democratic Party over questions of affordability, labor standards and who ultimately has the final say over what gets built where.

The bill now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom – supporters expect he will sign it.

By Joni Halpern

It was said of the vitriolic commentator, Charlie Kirk, that he died for his faith, making him a Christian martyr. Having never listened to his performance before, I decided to do so, thinking perhaps his was the voice of Christian heroism. It has been said he was a man who sacrificed his life because he chose to follow in the footsteps of Christ himself, a path seen by many Christians and non-Christians alike as a challenging but inspiring quest to understand the power of love.

What I discovered from Charlie Kirk’s program was a Christian message I did not recognize. It was a forceful commentary spoken by a “preacher,” but bearing no resemblance to the compassionate life of that first and truest martyr of Christianity. Instead, it was an icy, sharply worded voice that cut like a butcher knife into the already inflamed flesh of my countrymen, drawing blood with every strike.

It was the New Christianity, a narrative woven with the dominant themes of fear and vengeance. A “Get them before they get you” message that invites followers to the precipice of taking arms, and then leaves them at the edge, their toes gripping the ledge, their arms flailing for balance, waiting for the signal to leap into the abyss of civil war.

It is not just Mr. Kirk, but many others in the New Christianity who are talking up the hatred and “otherness” of fellow Americans, like a coach giving a pep talk to stir the hearts of a team that conceives of itself as losers to those who have no meritorious right to a level playing field. And whose rebuke must eventually be handed to them in bloody battle — a championship game of civil war among 340 million members of a nation-state that once took pride in our foundational preamble, “We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union…”

The San Diego Police Department is seeking the public’s help in identifying two persons of interest in the murder of the victim now identified as 22-year-old Joseph Bojorquez Jr. that occurred in Hodad’s parking lot Ocean Beach on September 10, 2025.

On Charlie Kirk’s killing: the Left — condolences and calls for gun reform; the Right — calls for war against the Left

By Patty Ducey-Brooks

This past week, I saw direct comments from a staff member of City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn that shocked and upset me more than I expected. Though I had been reviewing previous emails on various topics, after seeing the comments from this staff person, communicating rather rudely to a member of the community, I had to respond.

What I am observing and learning is that the staff of our elected officials (mayor and down), have a growing tendency to speak in a derogatory manner to their constituents. And if you don’t agree with them, you become the enemy. Unfortunately, this appears to be the direct result of a “movement” being led by many elected officials throughout the state of California.

It appears to be associated with the YIMBY movement that has become very radical. If you don’t agree or side with their philosophy, you are the enemy. There is no middle ground. It’s also counter to providing a civil and neutral environment for quality discussion and outcomes, perhaps outcomes that can benefit most of the public at large.

The 43rd Annual Adams Avenue Street Fair, presented by San Diego Foundation, features 75 musical acts on seven stages and is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. Southern California’s largest free two-day music festival is held on 10 city blocks in the community of Normal Heights.

2025 headlining performers are: Mexican electronic music legends Nortec: Bostich + Fussible, Rockabilly icons Dave & Deke Combo, garage rock favorites The Schizophonics, touring Blues master Chris Cain Band, LA indie punk rockers Strawberry Fuzz, Soul all-stars The Styletones, surf-garage rockers The Creepy Creeps, dynamic female salsa band Sabrosas Latin Orchestra.

An application has been made for a Process 2 Coastal Development Permit for 4611 Newport Avenue, dated September 8.

The application calls:

• to demolish a 1,354 square foot existing single dwelling unit
• to construct two new single dwelling units with attached accessory dwelling units.
• one unit would be 3-story, 2,540-square-foot single-dwelling unit with an attached carport,
• that unit would have an attached 2-story, 639-square-foot accessory dwelling unit.
• a second new unit would be a 2-story 1,859-square-foot single-dwelling unit with (2) attached garages (front and
  back), and
• an attached, 2-story 779-square-foot accessory dwelling unit.

By Paul Krueger

Mayor Todd Gloria has rejected proposed discounts for paid parking in Balboa Park, setting up a contentious debate at the Monday, September 15th, city council meeting. The Mayor and a majority of council members have embraced new parking fees in and around Balboa Park to help close a huge deficit in the city’s 2025-26 general fund.

But Park users, volunteers, and employees harshly criticized a proposed fee system that would generate $10.3 million annually to help close the budget gap. At a raucous July 28 council meeting, residents urged the council to abandon the plan or significantly reduce the Mayor’s proposed fee schedule.

In response, council members discussed the following concessions:

• Reducing from $12 to $10 the daily rate for the Organ Pavilion and other lots in the park’s core, with a 50 percent discount for “verified” city residents.
• Reducing to $5 a day the cost of parking in outlying lots, with four hours of free parking at Inspiration Point.
• Additional free parking on the park’s “West Mesa” (west of the Cabrillo Bridge, bordering 6th Avenue)
• Free parking everywhere after 6 pm

Every Saturday at 10:30 am. San Diego Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings September 13th, 20th, and 27th. Keep up to date on climate issues and Climate Action events. To register email Jon Findley at jon@climatemobsd.org.  More info: https://www.facebook.com/SDClimateMobilization/

Every Saturday 10 am – 12 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine: Advocate for Peace and Justice in Gaza and Everywhere Join CODEPINK SD, San Diego Veterans for Peace, and Palestine Pals every Saturday at 10:00 am at Ocean Beach Gateway Plaza, on the corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and W. Point Loma Blvd.  Wear pink and bring a peace-related poster if you have one!  Contact: Nathanael sandiego@codepink.org  More info:  https://www.instagram.com/codepinksd/

The San Diego River Park Foundation has volunteer opportunities in Ocean Beach: Point Loma Native Plant Garden Club on the 2nd and 4th Sundays. For details and many other volunteer opportunities go to https://sandiegoriver.org/

September 13th  Saturday 10:30 pm – 12:30 pm Picnic For Our Solar Future: Sun Day 2025  Event by Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice Co-sponsors include GreenFaith, a global interfaith organization to protect the planet and create a compassionate, loving, and just world; SanDiego350, a volunteer-led non-profit working to prevent the worst impacts of climate change and climate injustice; and Third Act, an elder-led movement for climate action and democracy protection.