OB Rag

by Jake Peterson / The Reader / July 10, 2025

Slightly Stoopid’s ties with Sublime reach all the way back to the Ocean Beach band’s beginning: they were discovered by Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell and signed to Skunk Records in 1995. Shortly after, they released their first album, Slightly $toopid. Since then, the band has consistently evolved over the past thirty years while still remaining loyal to its reggae rock roots.

“As you get older,” says founding member Miles Doughty, “your sound progresses. We mix so many different styles between the reggae, hip-hop, punk rock, blues, and acoustic. I think as you get older and more experienced in music, your style and influence changes, and you incorporate that into what you’re doing. Now we have the sound that we have today. It’s been incredible — just the fact that you could be in the same band for 30 years, still doing it on a high-level, and having fun with friends making music.”

A suspect in the fatal stabbing of a man near Interstate 5 on the Fourth of July was arrested Thursday.

Authorities took Ruben Perez, 46, into custody in the 3300 block of Midway Drive shortly after 10 a.m. on suspicion of killing Jason Poindexter, also 46, according to San Diego police.

Patrol officers responding to a report of an assault found Poindexter wounded just outside a homeless encampment behind a Walmart store at Commercial and 21st streets in Logan Heights at about 1:30 a.m. Friday, Lt. Lou Maggi said.

Paramedics took the victim to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

by CBS8 Staff / July 10, 2025

Attorneys for 15 property owners who are suing to overturn San Diego’s new trash fees have laid out their argument.

In a newly amended complaint, former city attorney Mike Aguirre and law partner Mia Severson say the city purposely inflated the cost to provide trash collections to generate cash to balance a massive budget deficit.

“The city is in dire financial shape, which we appreciate, and that puts all the pressure in the world on city officials to come up with some way to plug the hole, and that’s what this is,” Aguirre told CBS 8.

Plaintiffs argue that the city used “inflated and hidden” cost projections, including a $5 million consultant study and an operational analysis that added more than $41 million to the budget, to justify the fee.

“We’re not asking for money, we’re not asking for anything draconian,” said Aguirre.  “We are just asking for what the public is entitled to.”

The lawsuit contends that the city’s projected costs for fiscal year 2026 nearly double actual recent costs, resulting in a surplus that plaintiffs say will be diverted to cover unrelated budget shortfalls, such as pension debt and deferred maintenance.

The Pacific Beach group, Neighbors For A Better California, is sponsoring a short march and rally to stop the 23-story, 200-unit monster tower being planned for 970 Turquoise Street in PB.

It’s on Saturday, July 19th at 5:30 pm. Organizers are asking people to meet at the Dunn-Edwards parking lot at 5180 Mission Blvd and walking the .2 miles to the proposed site.

by Jack Lee /  San Francisco Tribune – MSN /July 9, 2025

Storm and surf forecasts in California will become less accurate this year when federal funding for a network of ocean buoys disappears in September.

Federal support for the Coastal Data Information Program, operated by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, was drastically cut by nearly 70%. The drop in funding, set to take effect Sept. 1, will force some ocean buoys offline, scientists say, making weather forecasts less reliable, compromise public safety and hamper ship operations.

“If you lined up a hundred meteorologists and asked them, ‘Are buoy observations important to the forecast process and important to the mission of saving lives?’ every one of them will say, ‘Yes, absolutely,’” said Troy Nicolini, the meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service Eureka office.

The Coastal Data Information Program network comprises about 90 buoys, not just along the West Coast, but also off the Gulf and East coasts and in the Pacific Islands. The buoys measure ocean waves, providing data used by scientists, meteorologists, boat captains, surfers and more.

July 4, 2025

We, the undersigned, former members of New York’s Gay Liberation Front, condemn the Trump administration and its supporters in all levels of government for their vicious attacks on our community and on other marginalized communities.

The Gay Liberation Front was the first and most radical LGBTQ+ organization formed directly after the Stonewall Uprising in June, 1969. Our guiding message, equal inclusion of all people into society and the body politic, is even more urgent today.

One of the administration’s first targets was the transgender community. It is attempting to eject them from the military. Trans people seeking to renew their passports are now faced with the indignity of having their pre-transition gender stamped on the documents. Ten states now deny them appropriate medical care. The administration is encouraging a climate of hatred that has led to increased violence against trans people.

The Trump administration has cut funds for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, both in the United States and abroad. This will result in a worldwide increase in disease and death— an increase that will not stop at our borders.

By Karen Pearlman / East County Magazine / July 9, 2025

…”I have never seen such a destructive project with such negative impacts on the people who live in a community.” — former Supervisor Dianne Jacob, a Jamul resident

The Cottonwood Sand Mine is a wash, at least for now.

After nearly six hours of testimony, presentations and discussion, the San Diego County Planning Commission on Wednesday voted to disapprove a permit for the planned private sand mining operation in Rancho San Diego.

The six-member Planning Commission deadlocked to approve the project, and its tie vote constituted a no-go for mining about 215 acres of the 280-acre golf course site.

“We had a big win today, and it was a little too close for comfort, but 3-3 is a denial,” said Barry Jantz, part of the Stop Cottonwood Sand Mine Group.

From Peninsula Beacon

Thousands of people came out on a sunny Saturday for the OB Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off on June 28, and a good amount of those fest-goers filled their bellies with chili. After all the tastings were done (and the Tums were taken), the judges announced the results:

Amateur Division

For the Judge’s Choice category, the panel of judges found two amateur chili cookers worthy of top accolades:

• First place went to Shaka Chili Brah, and
• second place to Not Joe Mama’s Chili.

The People’s Choice Award, decided by community tasters, went to the following chili teams:

• First place for California Wild Ales,
• second place to Grate Full Chili, and
• third to Kane’s K-9 Animal Rescue.

By Kate Callen / July 10, 2025

You would think that before the City of San Diego endorsed a contentious state housing measure like Senate Bill 79, which aims to turbocharge urban density, the Mayor and the City Council would deliberate the issue in full public view.

You would be wrong.

Assemblymember Chris Ward’s July 2 announcement that the City of San Diego `has formally endorsed SB 79 caught San Diegans by surprise. The Mayor never announced any endorsement, and the City Council never discussed the bill or sought public input. What happened?

The mystery was solved by the release of a baffling two-page letter sent on June 3 to State Senator Scott Weiner, author of SB79. The letter was signed by Sacramento lobbyist Moira Topp of Topp Strategies. The first page is on official City of San Diego letterhead. The second page is on Topp Strategies corporate letterhead. [See letter below.]

Topp begins the letter by stating, “On behalf of my client, the City of San Diego, I am writing in support of your measure, SB 79.” She ends with, “The City of San Diego applauds Senator Wiener’s leadership in advancing this forward-thinking legislation and urges the Legislature to support SB 79. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.”

Well, we at the Rag have several questions.

By Geoff Page

It seems that City Hall – Todd Gloria – has found a new golden egg called “surplus lands.” This term first surfaced during the Midway redevelopment debacle. The city declared the 40 plus acres as surplus land so it could make a deal with a developer.

The term “surplus” land does not make sense, intuitively, when commercial and entertainment businesses cover the land, all making lease payments to the city. Surplus brings to mind unimproved scrub land not anything like the Midway property.

City Hall now wants to designate as “surplus lands” 23 acres at Marina Village, 1936 Quivera Way, 4.5 acres at Dana Landing, 1617 Quivera Way, and 0.8 acres at 2590 Ingraham Street, where Sportsmen’s Seafood is now.

The June 23, 2025 city staff report states:

The City intends to issue a NOA [Notice of Availability] for the lease of the Properties. In the NOA, the City will indicate that the following steps would be required to allow for the development of affordable housing on the Properties

Housing in Mission Bay Park? Affordable housing? Does this mean a hi-rise of multimillion-dollar condos with a few small, affordable apartments in the basement?

From Neighbors for a Better San Diego

WATCH: SB 79 Will Undo Everything

It’s bad, real bad, and it’s making its way through the State legislature.

SB 79 would allow 6-story apartment buildings to be built IN OVER HALF OF SAN DIEGO’s RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS. (Much worse than SB 10!)

We ask that you watch this short video on Senate Bill 79

By Tyler Faurot / Point Loma – OB Monthly (SDU-T) / July 9, 2025 

A community that already has several civic activism groups now has another one — Protect Point Loma.

The 501(c)(4) nonprofit and self-described grassroots organization was formed earlier this year, spurred primarily by opposition to a plan to develop the lot at 1004 Rosecrans St. into a four-story, 56-unit apartment building with 1,700 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and basement parking with up to 45 spaces.  The site was formerly occupied by the San Diego County Credit Union.

Residential and commercial neighbors of the site argue the project lacks enough parking, which would further compound traffic along Rosecrans and Talbot streets and create safety problems for nearby Cabrillo Elementary School.

Others have voiced worries about the building’s size and how it would impact businesses during construction.

Protect Point Loma leaders say they seek to put pressure on the city of San Diego to address community concerns.

The group’s president, Eric Law, also is chairman of the Peninsula Community Planning Board, a group that advises the city on local land-use issues.