OB Rag

By Ernie McCray

I like my birthdays mellow and this year’s was just that, a little time with my querida and some of my family at her house and before they arrived I stretched out in my easy chair and listened to Lila Downs sing corridos in ways only she can. Oh, that voice of hers was born in some special place.

Lila warmed my insides and made me want to dance, so I got my 76 year old body up and put some Maceo on. The Maceo James Brown used to call out to when he yelled to the beat, “Macio! Hit me! Take me to the bridge!” when he wanted to take the jam to a different groove, making everybody want to move.

And Maceo had me getting down like I was the hippest coolest stepper in town. My mood, at this point, was easy and sweet, and that directed how I moved my feet, as I enjoyed my special day.

In between, my little Soul Train routine, my mind wandered here and there, about places I’ve been, things I’ve seen, countries I’d like to see. Cuba occupied most of those thoughts and that historic island isn’t that faraway. …

By Judi Curry

As a mother, an Office Manager, and a School Principal I have been called on to make some difficult decisions. But no decision has been more difficult that the one I had to make just the other morning. The heartache and grief supersedes anything I have ever had to do.

I have had the most wonderful companion for over 10 years. He was born on my birthday many years after I came into this world. He was always so happy to see me; he always had a smile on his face; he never questioned decisions I made; never argued with me, and made me feel better after having a difficult day. That is why this decision is so hard to make. Of course I am talking about my Golden Retriever.

I’ll never forget the first day we met him at the Golden Retriever rescue in Temecula.

NEW UPDATES !

By Matthew Wood

OB Restaurant Week is back. This time it’s bringing some hotels along for the ride.

The week kicks off Sunday -April 27 – with four hotels/B&Bs hosting a launch party with samples from the 20 participating restaurants. Then the restaurants take over, offering specials every day from Monday to Sunday.

“We’re excited. We really have enhanced the event since the first year by letting the hotels host the event,” said Liz Greene, Creative director for Ocean Beach Mainstreet Association, which is one of the event sponsors.

“It’s like an open house for them to be able to show locals, visitors, everyone who wants to see.”

Report of Monthly Meeting of Wednesday, April 23

If you want to see a hundred people who care passionately about OB, come to an OB Town Council meeting. They may not all agree, but they let their opinions be known. Everyone is welcome – newcomers find out what is happening in our community, families bring their children, people come and go – it was more OB than ever.

And what is more OB than a community complaint fest against the homeless.

So, when the new Police Captain for the Western Division, Captain David Rohowits, was introduced, the tone of what had been billed as a “community meeting” appeared to devolve into a verbal complaint session against the homeless in OB, and despite the chair’s best intentions, the regular agenda items were pushed to the end of the meeting and truncated. Even newly-appointed Councilman Ed Harris – there to introduce himself – got into the mix.

The topic of discussion had many names: the homeless, vagabonds, travelers, bums, visitors … but there seemed to be a general consensus of impatience, frustration and outrage against what was felt were violations of the common civility of the community of those attending.

Third in a Series

By Cara Wilson-Granat

“Lots of people talk to animals. Not very many listen, though. That’s the problem.” –Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

This is the third in a series of ten in which we meet one of the San Diego 10 orcas and hear from an advocate who continues to be one of the voices of these imprisoned voiceless, never stopping until the whole world listens. (Here is Orca Profile #1 and #2.)

Prisoner #3: Ulises

Age: About 36

Ulises, the oldest male orca in captivity, and the second largest (the largest being Tilikum, 12k pounds) is also a good candidate for a full return to the ocean. This hefty, Icelandic orca is 19 feet 6 inches (5.94 m), weighing 9,200 pounds (4,200 kg). Easily discernible, one can recognize him as not only being the largest captive whale imprisoned in Sea World San Diego, but he has the tallest dorsal; it stands straight up and droops ever so slightly to the right at the top.

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner

Watch this short video. It showcases our city’s top politicians strutting their stuff as hotshot Top Gun naval aviators.

It’s a droll skit. You’ll chuckle watching the honorable men I recently wrote about as they bond in a boys-will-be-boys ritual.

But most of all, this doozy of a video spotlights why — in the hands of our current politicians and the people who prop them up — San Diego is destined to stagnate as an underachieving, plodding, uninspired, also-ran kind of city.

10-Year Anniversary Celebration and Fundraiser for City Works Press
Saturday, April 26th, 5-7 pm

For more information contact Kelly Mayhew at cityworkspress@earthlink.net
Ten years ago, Jim Miller and Kelly Mayhew co-founded City Works Press, a nonprofit publisher that they edit in concert with the San Diego Writers Collective. Both Jim and Kelly are well known to the San Diego Free Press community.

Jim has written a weekly article for his Under the Perfect Sun column since we launched the site in 2012 and prior to that he submitted articles to the OB Rag, our sister publication. Kelly wrote a series of articles about Golden Hill restaurants when SDFP provided a neighborhood focus on that community.

Originally published April 24, 2014

By Marc Snelling

Opposition to SeaWorld San Diego and their corporate business model has been well documented in recent OB Rag stories. Easter Protest at SeaWorld San Diego by Zach Affolter, “The Night I Decided to Stop Going to Sea World.” by Lori Saldaña, and the ongoing Orca Profiles in Captivity series represent a wave of voices speaking up for the animals and the community.

By Tony de Garate / Special to the OB Rag

Suddenly, a little-known, often-avoided area in the Midway community has a great, big bulls-eye on it.

Or maybe instead of a bulls-eye, make that a marijuana leaf.

Under a new ordinance passed by the San Diego City Council in February, medical marijuana dispensaries will be restricted to a very few commercial and industrial zones, and will be further limited to four storefronts for each of the nine council districts. Most of the 60 or so currently operating storefronts won’t be able to legally stay open.

In Ocean Beach and Point Loma, no zoning exists for allowing dispensaries. But an industrial zone tucked away behind the strip clubs and other businesses on West Camino Del Rio and south of Interstate 8 may soon be known for something other than warehouses, auto-related businesses and street parking for homeless RV owners.

By Frank Gormlie

On occasion, we publish a ‘what’s happening around Newport Ave’ type of news summary, providing an update on the comings and goings of merchants on OB’s main commercial street and within the blocks surrounding it.

Here, then is our latest – and we note that at least 4 new restaurants are either about to open on Newport or will be opening in the near future – and all of them expect to serve alcohol.

* Where Is CVS?
* Newport Pizza’s Brewery & Restaurant
* New Police Trailer
* BBQ House Expansion On Hold Till After Summer
* The Salt Water Takes Over for Surf n Sea
“* Trunk Show” Coming at Gilmore Family Jewelers
* OB Hookah Lounge Open at Night
* Sal’s Greek and Middle-Eastern Restaurant
* Italian Ice Coming
* Swanky Sugar Spa is Sure Swanky

COME INSIDE FOR THE STORIES …

By Matthew Wood

You might have heard about the new crosswalk that opened next to Ocean Beach Elementary School on Santa Monica Avenue. We’ve certainly talked about it enough.

Now that the crosswalk is finally in place and the street is open again, you would think that all is safe with the school and the only looming threat for the kids are this week’s spelling quiz and forgetting their backpack.

But that’s not the case, as I learned firsthand.

In talking to the two volunteer crossing guards – Wayne Simard and Joseph “Moondoggie” Pina – they said it’s still pretty crazy in the morning rush and that people still don’t always stop for the kids.

By Judi Curry

I have been hosting foreign language students for the past 20 years. My first student was in April of 1992 and to date I have had 401 students living with me for a variety of weeks, months and/or years. Each of these students has come to the United States with a substantial sum of money, and all of the students have needed to open up checking/ATM accounts at a bank in the area.

Because these students do not have social security numbers, they have to open up checking accounts and not savings accounts. This doesn’t make much difference to them, because all they want to do is to have access to the ATM machines so they have a supply of money available at all times.

Because we live in Ocean Beach and Chase Bank is only a mile away, I suggested to Marco, my student from Switzerland, that he open an account there. The fact that there is a Chase Bank across from his school also makes the account easily accessible, either from school or home.