OB Rag

By Jim Miller

2017 awaits us fierce as a tiger with major assaults looming on multiple fronts. As I have written here quite recently, it is not an overstatement to say that we face existential threats . With so many things to worry about in the near future, what should labor and progressives be focusing on in anticipation of the coming storm?

Let me start by saying that our first order of business should definitely not be whether you are with or against the imperiled San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council President.

By Ernie McCray

It makes perfect sense to me that the House Republicans tried to secretly curtail the powers of the Office of Congressional Ethics because, if you have no ethics, you damn sure don’t want some nosy person poking around documenting it.

And these GOP characters are as to ethical behavior as a sea turtle is to Death Valley. They’ve demonstrated for decades, which anyone can google, that they are not, by any means, on speaking terms with anything anywhere near synonymous with “ethics.” They are, in a word, ethic-less, if you will.

Oceana Restaurant
Catamaran Hotel
3999 Mission Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92109
858-488-1081

As so often happens to those of us living in San Diego, we have friends and relatives that come to visit and we go out to eat with them. Usually when that happens to me I make a suggestion as to where we might like to go, depending on their preference for food. But this time my friend Nel was staying at the Catamaran Hotel with her children and while they were at the beach, we were going to have lunch together.

She suggested the Oceana, because it is the restaurant in the hotel. It wasn’t until I began writing this review that I found it was listed as an “upscale eatery.” It talked about the beautiful view – it is – and the seafood is their specialty.

Study’s Proposed Expansion of Floor Area Ratio Will Not Fly in Ocean Beach

Editor: Much of following is from a Press Statement by Circulate San Diego.

Transportation and land use think tank Circulate San Diego published a report on Monday, Jan. 9 on how the City of San Diego can better facilitate transit oriented development (TOD).

Circulate San Diego’s report titled “Transit Oriented Development” outlines a variety of policies the City of San Diego can implement through city-wide municipal code updates. To promote more TOD, the report details proposals covering a variety of policies, from reform of parking requirements, updates to traffic models, and implementation of the City of San Diego’s groundbreaking update to the Affordable Homes Bonus Program.

Respected Latinas Step Forward with Shocking Claims Against UFCW President Mickey Kasparian

By Brent E. Beltran /San Diego Free Press

On December 17, 2016 NBC 7 San Diego broke the news that former UFCW Local 135 organizer Sandy Naranjo had filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against UFCW President Mickey Kasparian.

A few days later on December 21 NBC 7 San Diego came out with another story on Kasparian. This time it was regarding allegations of sexual harassment filed by former employee Isabel Vasquez. Vasquez’s complaint was full of lurid details.

By Ernie McCray

I had moments not too long ago when I thought that I just might not be around in 2017 – based on the complete lack of energy I was enduring day after day, with my belly under siege by some bacteria that just didn’t want to leave.

But I’m still here on the scene, happy as a lark, slowly getting back to my routines. Wanting to write something regarding my making it to 2017, I checked a writing prompt website and chose number 17 of the choices, as a symbol for 2017, and it read: “In 400 words create your ideal place.”

That put me in a nice place because the prompt could have been something like “Write a 150 word profile on somebody named ‘Margaret Mallory’” or write about “something wrapped” which would have called on more creativity than I wanted to own. I just wanted to kick the new year off in a nice tone.

There are now seven events being planned in response to the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump as President. They include 4 events on Friday, the 20th and two on the 21st. Plus there is a group of artists doing street theatre. And the folks who organized the “OB Sez No to Trump” rally late last year are attempting to mobilize an Ocean Beach contingent on both days.

PROTESTS ON JANUARY 20TH

Protest Inauguration Day and Fight Trump – San Diego Alliance for Justice
Friday, January 20, 10:30am
San Diego City College
1313 Park Blvd
For More Information

This is a call by to mobilize against the bigot, Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, sexist, Trump and everything he stands for. On inauguration day the people of San Diego will unite and fight! We will send our message loud and clear to those at the top: We Reject the President Elect!

Daytime Rally: We gather at City College at 10:30am, speakers start at 11:00am. We march to the Federal Building to rally at 12:00 Noon!

Evening Rally: We join with allies from Unión del Barrio to protest at Chicano Park 5pm-9pm. There will be a march in a loop back to the park. A contingent will stay in the park during the march to welcome fellow protesters as they get off work.

SeaWorld in San Diego wants to add another roller coaster ride to its array of thrillers at the aquatic theme park. This one, called the Electric Eel, would have a 150-foot high ascent with loops, an inverted roll and twists. SeaWorld management hopes to open the ride in the early summer of 2018.

If built, it would be the fastest and tallest roller coaster on the SeaWorld site in Mission Bay, and is planned for an area to the west of another ride, Journey to Atlantis. Its other ride is the Manta, which opened in 2012. Manta’s fastest speed is 42 mph, whereas Electric Eel would reach 62 mph.

By Anna Daniels / San Diego Free Press

The 115th Congress convened for the first time earlier this week. After their disastrous behind closed doors attempt to gut the Office of Ethics went down in flames, they decided that it was time to concentrate on the number one priority–Repeal and Replace Obamacare.

Repeal and Replace Obamacare has been the Republican mantra since 2009. Their call for repeal of the Affordable Care Act is gratuitous, but it has kept the base hopeful if not happy. Repeal is infinitely easier than proposing a replacement and Republicans have nothing to offer in its place.

By John Lawrence

The Safety Net Will Soon be in Shreds

The Trump administration will take over in a couple weeks. Essential benefits for tens of millions of low-and moderate-income Americans are in danger of being phased out or canceled immediately.

These include the Affordable Care Act, the Medicaid health-insurance program for the poor and further reduction of already squeezed funding for scores of other important programs serving the most vulnerable Americans such as rental vouchers for low-income families, programs to fight homelessness, job training, funding for poor school districts, Head Start for young children and Pell grants to help low-income students afford college.

Restaurant “Re-review”

Point Break Cafe
2743 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
619-758-9870
pointbreakcafe.com

I have been asked by many of my readers if I ever revisit places that I reviewed in the past, either to see if the quality of food has changed or if menus have changed. Since several of the places I reviewed last year – and gave less than a stellar rating have closed – I decided I would start out the new year with a revisit every month or so. The first place I went to is the Point Break Café.

(Here is Judi’s first review of the restaurant in July 2013.)

‘Millions must rise up in a resistance [to] stop the Trump/Pence regime before it starts!’

By Nadia Prupis / Common Dreams

Thousands of activists, journalists, scientists, entertainers, and other prominent voices took out a full-page call to action in the New York Times on Wednesday making clear their rejection of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence with the simple message: “No!”