OB Rag

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.

The Obama Administration continues to rollback oppressive sentences for those with non-violent drug convictions

By Cliff Weathers / AlterNet

An unnamed White House official has told Yahoo! News that President Barack Obama is preparing to grant clemency to “hundreds, perhaps thousands” of people who have been imprisoned for non-violent drug violations.

This news comes a few months after the administration’s announcement that it has encouraged defense attorneys to suggest inmates who should be considered for early release from prison. This indicates that the Obama administration will continue in its efforts to curtail severe penalties in low-level drug cases.

OB Elementary School Crosswalk Finally Opens!

The long-sought-after crosswalk for school kids on Santa Monica Avenue is finally installed. It took over a week of construction – and several years of organizing – but OB Elementary School has the mid-block addition.

Rumors of CVS Pharmacy Pull Out Are False

The OB Rag has heard rumors that CVS Pharmacy had changed its corporate mind and was pulling out of the former Apple Tree Market. But they are not true. As of March 26, CVS rep Steve Laub contacted the OB Town Council and had this to say: …

Brighton Cottages Sold

Seven cottages containing eight residential units in Ocean Beach at 5065-5071-1/2 Brighton Ave., San Diego 92107, have been sold for $1.6 million, cash. …

And much more. ….

By Daniel Gutiérrez / San Diego Free Press

La Jolla, California — On Tuesday, April 15th, UAW Local 2865, representing graduate student-workers across the University of California system, reached a tentative agreement with UC management regarding the procurement of all-gendered bathrooms and lactation stations.

UC management succumbed to the necessities demanded by UAW Local 2865, acknowledging that both all-gendered bathrooms and lactation stations are a labor right to graduate student-workers. The historic achievement was reached after the union went on strike for two days early this month, in which nearly two dozen students were arrested and many others intimidated.

By Laura Barrett / Huffington Post / April 21, 2014

San Diego’s sunny beaches and beautiful college campuses can be deceptive. The city’s soaring housing costs force university students and low-income families to sleep on couches and to depend on free meals. Many, too, end up living out of cars. The waiting list for Section 8 housing is 10 years long, and as a result, families are being forced to move out of state.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a renter in San Diego’s Metropolitan Statistical Area would need to earn $26.58 an hour to afford a fair market two bedroom apartment, yet, the average renter’s wage is just $17.28. Despite this, the City of San Diego is trying to take away federal money that provides a source of relief.