OB Rag

By Lois Lane

Everybody was happy. The determined OB Town Council had formulated a plan that routed the forces of anarchy at the marshmallow wars on the Fourth of July. It was also awards night, where 10 lucky and deserving recipients got grants from the Town Council for their projects.

The Town Council meeting on July 23 began with congratulations all the way around for the success of their “Mallow Out” campaign. The doom-sayers who predicted riots were proved to be wrong. Reported later by the Surfrider Foundation, the trash pickup the next day was dramatically reduced from 1802 pounds of trash in 2013 to 621 this year, not all of it marshmallows, of course.

By Eva Posner & Linda Perine / Democratic Woman’s Club

Relationships and money trails tell us who wields the power in our community.

It is hard to imagine, that in the 5th largest county in the United States, only a handful of people have any real influence on the day to day decisions that effect the lives of over 3 million people. But it’s true. And a lack of voter participation isn’t helping.

In both the February 2014 election to replace Bob Filner as Mayor of San Diego and in the June primary voter turnout was abysmally low. Overall voting turnout in the County in June was an anemic 27.2%, but many precincts registered in the single digits.

Back in 2011, a property owner on West Point Loma Avenue who while pleading for variances to build his 3-story McMansion, swore both to the OB Planning Board and to the Coastal Commission that if the variances were granted, he would live in the house as his home.

Alvin Cox swore it. So, he was granted the variances, and he built his mansion.

And now, Alvin Cox rents it out as a “vacation rental” for between $2,450 to $3,675 a week ($350 – $525 a day).

Launch of Corky 2 Freedom Journey

Organizers want help to display the historic Corky Freedom Banner within view of SeaWorld San Diego, where she is the longest-captive orca, to Launch the Corky 2 Freedom Journey, a renewal of the Corky Freedom bus tour up the West Coast with Corky’s Freedom banner in 1999.

Christine Caruso, a kindergarten teacher from Seattle, has secured the huge banner handcrafted of panels contributed worldwide for the original Corky’s Journey for display along this 2014 Corky 2 Freedom Journey.

The banner will be displayed on the large grassy area between Ingraham Street and Ski Beach Boat Launch, just north of the Entrance to SeaWorld on Vacation Isle, NOT South Shores Boat Launch as originally planned, from 8am to 6pm.

UPDATE: Police have confirmed a deceased man was found at the beach. There was nothing suspicious, no evidence of foul play, and the case has been referred to the Medical Examiner’s Office.

The name of the deceased: Bobbie James Stinnett.
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Was a man found dead the other day at the beach in OB? Police have confirmed it.

There was nothing in the news about it.

CAUTION: Inside photo of deceased.

On or about the 15th of this month, a man was found stretched out on the sand near the seawall at the end of Newport Avenue next to the Pier Parking lot appearing not to have any life in him. A wheel chair is near by.

By Dave Maass / Electronic Frontier Foundation

In the TV series Person of Interest, two government artificial intelligence programs—one gone rogue—can access virtually every surveillance camera across New York City, including privately operated ones in places like parking garages, hotels, and apartment complexes. The creators of the show try to stay one step ahead of modern technology. So the question is: do cities really create a network of interconnected private and public security cameras?

Yes, they do. If you’re going to San Diego Comic-Con (and the Person of Interest team is), you’ll want to pull on your Batman mask or slather on the Sith paint if you’re passing any of the marked locations on this new map. You might very be under surveillance as part of the San Diego Police Department’s “Operation Secure San Diego.”

By Marc Snelling

Dude, is it legal yet?

People have been saying this since the seventies. Speaking to activists from this era, it seems many felt that legalization of marijuana in the US was imminent in the early seventies. But other than Alaska in 1975 (re-criminalized in 1991) the seventies did not see legalization of marijuana come to pass.

The activists of the seventies (Baby Boomers) have now been joined by the next generation – the children of the seventies (Gen X). With these two generations working together public support for legal marijuana is now over 50% and is on the rise. Victories in the battle to change US laws continue as both generations of activists work towards change.

Today the answer to ‘Dude, is it legal yet?’ is becoming ‘Yes!’ for more and more people as Washington and Colorado have moved to legalization, nine states have decriminalized and twenty-three have introduced medical marijuana legislation.

By Norma Damashek / NumberRunner

Around this time last year San Diego’s former mayor Bob Filner was forced out of office. As it happens, he was the first bona fide “strong mayor” our city has yet seen.

We voters had no choice but to wield our black markers once again and fill in the ballot bubble to select a new mayor. The winner this time around was Mr. White Bread personified, Kevin Faulconer.

San Diego’s lead newspaper, the U-T, summed up the occasion in a neat sentence: “At least the day brought us one step further from our time of scandal and farce.”

The UT likes to play coy. They know perfectly well that scandal and farce are what make our city tick.

In a “semi-breaking” news flash, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has come out and publicly endorsed the current OB Community Plan – the Plan that is being supported by every group in the community and thousands of its residents.

The U-T reported today – July 22 – that “Faulconer er said through a spokesman this week that he prefers reverting back to the previous version of the plan, which strongly discourages city officials from allowing exceptions to the community’s strict density limits.”

Navy Ship Responsible From San Diego

The shooting down of the Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine on Thursday, July 17th – allegedly by separatists fighting the Kiev government – killing all 295 people on board, has shocked the world, and has intensified the demands for sanctions on those responsible.

But if no sanctions materialize, it wouldn’t be the first time a civilian plane carrying hundreds of passengers was shot down by combatants – with nothing happening to those responsible.

In fact, a lot of the general elements are the same. But the incident that I am reminded about is the day – back in early July 1988, when two US military missiles fired from U.S. Navy ship Vincennes hit Iran Air Flight 655, killing all 290 passengers and crew members on board.

There will be a Special Meeting of the Ocean Beach Planning Board this Wednesday, July 23rd. The meeting is called to have the Board formally take up the issue of the recommendations made by the staff of the California Coastal Commission to the OB Community Plan, being considered by the City Council on July 29th. … As per usual, the Board meets at the OB Rec Center, 4726 Santa Monica Avenue at 6pm sharp.

Reps from the Update committee and city planning staff will present the Board with the Coastal Commission’s proposed revisions, staff response, and how the update committee views them.

Also on deck is a proposed residential project at 2143 Bacon Street. The owner has requested that the Board give him feedback to his proposal.

* Mariscos Wagon Returns to OB From the looks of it, the Mariscos Wagon truck has returned to OB, and was seen in the parking lot of ….

* Disturbing Story About Locals Vandalizing Visitors’ Cars Local writer Dave Rice published a disturbing story recently …

* OB Town Council to Award $6,000 in Grants – Meets Wednesday July 23

* Ed Decker Warns SeaWorld: Stop exploding fireworks over the animals

* Point Loma Democrats Sponsor “Rockin’ the Boat: The Women Activists Who Made it Happen”- July 24th

* Mercy Baron Introduces San Diego to Steampunk

* “Sound of Music” at Presbyterian Church in Point Loma

* OB Town Council Looking for a Few Good Candidates