OB Rag

By Herman Baca

If the so-called U.S. immigration issue is a historical labor issue as Chicano/Mexicanos activists, historians, scholars & academicians claim, what then has been the historical role of the U.S. Border Patrol (BP)?

To answer that question one has to study the U.S.’s historical addiction to free and cheap labor. That started when white supremacists created the Afro-American slave labor system in Jamestown, West Virginia in 1619. A town named after King James I of England who organized the slave trade in America, and translated the King James Bible?

Today, those white supremacists are represented by Republican party presidential candidate, Donald Trump, and his Know-Nothing let’s make America great again supporters.

There are currently 5 vacancies on the Ocean Beach Planning Board, a Board made up of 14 members, two each from OB’s 7 planning districts. The recent annual election in early March only seated one new board member, and at the same time, 3 members left the board. Two were termed out and 1 is moving out of OB.

Which means that there are vacancies in District 1, District 2, District 3, District 5 and District 7.

It is anticipated that the 2 termed out members will be applying to be appointed to vacant seats in the near future. In fact, one has already collected his signatures, and expects to be appointed at the May board meeting.

Often in situations like this, the Board makes appointments of eligible members to the vacant seats, even though those appointed do not live or own property or a business in the districts they are appointed to.

Editor: Here is indeed an interesting look back at Terriers’ – the TV series filmed in Ocean Beach. The show ran for 13 episodes on FX in 2010.

By Phil McCausland / A.V. Club / April 12, 2016

Terriers’ perfect one-season run defied description, marketability

FX needed a comeback in 2010.

In September 2009 FX made an unprecedented move, going six-for-six with pilot-to-series orders. Four of those shows came to define the network: Louie, Justified, Archer, and The League. A fifth, Lights Out, had promise but no audience.

The sixth was the lowest-rated program FX ever produced, and one of its most poorly named: Terriers.

By Ernie McCray

Obama first sold young people
on “Change we can Believe In”
and now Bernie
has them thinking along those lines again
in deeper ways
and I love watching their faces
at his rallies when he says to them
“Change comes from the bottom to the top.”
Their faces light up
as he teaches them how
they might best proceed
as they strive to meet
their world’s desperate needs.

By John Lawrence

On Saturday, April 2, the Chargers published a whole section of the San Diego Union-Tribune devoted to their proposal to build a football stadium for the Chargers combined with a non-contiguous expansion of the Convention Center.

The title of this section was “Notice of Intent to Circulate Petition.” Right off the bat I found several things wrong with this proposal. But before I go into that I want to discuss the MAJOR thing wrong with this proposal.

You see the Chargers think combining a Convention Center Expansion with a new stadium will make it more palatable to San Diego voters especially if the tax that will be raised to pay for it will be a tax on visitors not on locals.

By Michael Tan, Staff Attorney, Immigrants’ Rights Project, ACLU

In the federal criminal bail system, judges are required to consider someone’s financial ability to pay a bond and determine if alternative conditions of supervision — check-ins, travel restrictions — are enough to get the person to show up for court.

But such protections don’t apply to immigrants locked up in detention centers. The result is that people like Cesar Matias, a gay man from Honduras, end up jailed simply because they’re poor.

“Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease.”

In the “Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease” Department, the OB Rag has just been informed that because of concerns expressed by local OBceans on the encroachment into public space by The Joint restaurant on Newport Avenue, the City did a site inspection which resulted in the eatery’s owner being given a “correction notice”.

OBceans have for weeks been complaining to the City, via the OB Rag, through a poll we conducted, and through calls to Lorie Zapf’s office, that the recent installation of a gated outside railing by The Joint was encroaching too much into the space for the public sidewalk. Some thought it created a dangerous situation, especially on crowded days such as the weekly Farmers Market.

Apparently, on Wednesday, April 6th, a site visit was performed by the City’s Development Services inspection team with the restaurant’s owner, Mr. Lowe, present. Measurements were taken and at least a few of them “were found to be inconsistent with the approved and community plans,” ….

Sushi Pho Sure
3944 W. Pt. Loma, Suite D & E
San Diego, CA 92110
619-223-7624

Many years ago when my husband was still alive, we ate frequently at the Kobe Udon in the Longs Shopping Center.(Midway Towne Center). Kobe Udon is no more, nor is Longs, but “Sushi Pho Sure” is in the same location that Kobe Udon was those many years ago. Since Hitomi and I were going to shop at the Grocery Outlet we decided to try out the restaurant and see how it compared to “Seaside Pho & Grill”, which we reviewed several weeks ago.

I had hoped that they had continued with the Udon that I always enjoyed at Kobe’s, but they had not. The menu is extensive, in that there are many varieties of sushi and sashimi available. (Maki sushi; specialty sushi; Hand Rolls; Nigiri sushi; Special sushi’s, etc.) Their prices were also reasonable starting at about $3.85 for a 5 piece hand roll. In fact, all of their prices were very reasonable, from their starters at $1.00 – egg roll – to $5 for many of their items. I didn’t see anything on the menu more than $10.

Local Takes Tourist On Epic Search for the Only Taco Worth Writing Home About

By Sunny Rey

I met Shawn on a Saturday night, he mentioned he was in town for only the week and was here to find the best fish taco. This excited me. As a local, one of my biggest highs is showing the town off to noobs and cruising around seeing the city through the eyes of the traveler. The first time experience of Sunset Cliffs, the hearts feeling of repositioning itself during twilight at Seaport Village, lining your body up against the docked boats with a backdrop of silver and salmon colored sky.

A walk around the cross at Mt. Soledad, the families the edge and teen spirit at the boardwalk. The bars the craft donuts the music scene and pretty bodies on gorgeous beaches, all of it too much to squeeze into a week itinerary, but this small goal to find the best fish taco?! That- I could most defiantly take on!

Editor: Here we post, unedited, a statement from Ed Harris who is running for San Diego’s mayor. We do welcome statements from other candidates.

A mayoral debate has been set for the next OB Town Council meeting for Wednesday, April 27th. Harris and Lori Saldana have confirmed for the debate, but Mayor Kevin Faulconer has not.

Progress, Not Politics

By Ed Harris

Kevin Faulconer is a nice enough guy. He’s worked hard to build an image as a down-to-earth
problem solver. His political handlers claim that polls show he’s viewed favorably by most
voters. In fact, they say he’s done such a good job that he’s now a contender to be California’s
next governor.

So an obvious question is, why am I running against him for mayor in the June 7 primary
election?

By Jim Miller

Time to give credit where credit is due. It was not the noblesse oblige of individual politicians or the Democratic Party that brought us the $15 dollar an hour minimum wage, it was the labor movement.

Surely, the governors of New York and California and their fellow Democrats in those statehouses deserve credit for listening to the cry for economic justice and having the good sense to do the right thing, but the historic victory of the Fight for $15 that we have just celebrated would never have come to pass without the bold vision and prolonged struggle of working people standing together and demanding what many called impossible.

By Matthew Rice / Veterans Democratic Club of San Diego

The strongest right we as Americans have is our freedom of speech. On Monday 11 April 2016 at 4pm, we plan to use that speech to PROTEST TED CRUZ in San Diego! He is speaking from 6-8pm at:

Town and Country Resort
500 Hotel Circle North
San Diego, CA 92108