Obecians are up in arms again over those San Diego Union Tribune coupon circulars (labeled “Community Values” on their plastic bags) that end up all on their sidewalks every Friday. A grassroots movement, organized by …
May 25, 2015
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Stories by Mercy Baron
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Maybe new U-T management will help
Fire at new O.B. apartment building
A fire broke out in Ocean Beach on the patio of the new two-story apartment complex on Abbott Street where it meets Saratoga Avenue Friday, May 22, firefighters at around 1:45 p.m. Lori Wagner and …
May 22, 2015
Hot prowl burglaries heat up Obecians
In light of the recent seven hot-prowl burglaries in the Ocean Beach community, over 60 people showed up to voice their concerns and offer solutions at what was billed as a “community discussion.” The organizers …
January 22, 2015
O.B. Christmas tree: too normal
The journey of the Ocean Beach Christmas tree always has a good backstory and this year was no exception. The tree was donated by a family in the Loma Portal area. Sal and Nancy DeMaria, …
December 2, 2014
The little-building people win one
In a unanimous vote by the San Diego City Council on July 29, Ocean Beach was allowed to maintain its community plan that it has been working on and revising for the past 12 years. …
July 29, 2014
We're targeting bad behavior
Elite Security guards are now patrolling O.B.'s streets, the result of a partnership between the O.B. Mainstreet Association and the Ocean Beach Hotel's Steve Grosch, who is helping to manage the project. Over 80 merchants …
July 26, 2014
Man on fire
On Friday afternoon, July 18, at about 12:30, a man apparently set himself on fire next to the Home Depot parking lot, across the street from the Valley View Casino Center. The victim had been …
July 18, 2014
Marshmallow skirmishes, but no war in O.B.
To avoid the possibility of being pelted with marshmallows this year, two friends and I watched the Ocean Beach fireworks from my rooftop apartment. We were curious to see if the O.B. Town Council’s “Mallow …
July 5, 2014
Councilman Harris: "Feed the cops, not the homeless!"
The Ocean Beach Town Council introduced new Western Division police captain David Rohowits at their packed April 23 meeting along with interim District 2 councilman Ed Harris. Harris is completing the eight months left in …
April 25, 2014
New police trailer rolls into O.B. Pier parking lot
The old police trailer in the Ocean Beach Pier parking lot that has caused much controversy over the past couple of decades was replaced with a new smaller unit on April 10, courtesy of the …
April 10, 2014
Airport cabbies Uber angry
“If San Diego were a human body, then San Diego airport would be the butt,” said a taxi driver at San Diego International Airport. He was referring to how he felt cabbies are treated since …
February 19, 2014
Carlsbad mall security banishes steampunk group
Over 40 people in steampunk garb (Victorian dress meets sci-fi/time traveler) were turned away from the Westfield Plaza Mall in Carlsbad on February 9 — mall security told them to leave because they were breaking …
February 11, 2014
Bubble-maker on Ocean Beach Pier
I saw the bubbles all the way from the far end of the Ocean Beach Pier on New Year's Eve day. When I got closer, I couldn't believe how huge they were! Bubble-meister Alan Kier …
January 5, 2014
Shoot-out in Point Loma, U.S. Marshal injured
After a December 30 shoot-out on Catalina Boulevard in Point Loma, a briefing was given by Lt. Jose Duran of the San Diego Police Department at 11 a.m. He said a U.S. Marshal Violent Crimes …
December 30, 2013
O.B. Planning Board approves liquor license for new CVS
On December 5 the Ocean Beach Planning Board voted 8-1 in favor of allowing the proposed new CVS Pharmacy to sell liquor; it will be an ABC license Type 21 with certain limitations that relate …
December 7, 2013
Nice Ocean Beach Christmas tree, Charlie Brown
The O.B. Christmas tree has been a much-talked-about tradition for 34 years. If it looks perfect, people complain it's not O.B. enough. But when it gets partially destroyed, as it did several years ago at …
December 5, 2013
Taggers caught in the act in Ocean Beach
A citizen saw several young men tagging a public handrail on Ocean Front Street and Del Monte Avenue on November 21 and called in a description of the men and their vehicle to the police. …
November 22, 2013
Ocean Beach talks about the next 30 years
Over 60 people turned out for the Ocean Beach Town Council’s “town hall” meeting at the Masonic Lodge on November 13. Attendees were there to help decide how to shape the community over the next …
November 14, 2013
Alcohol sales at new Ocean Beach CVS a hot topic
A heated and vociferous standing-room-only crowd attended the Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting on November 6. Residents were there to hear and discuss the proposal to allow alcohol sales in a new, as-yet-unestablished CVS Pharmacy …
November 9, 2013
Cops clip deadbeat dad cruising Ocean Beach
Two men were pulled over by police on the afternoon of November 2 for having a non-functioning brake light on their car. The incident, which occurred in front of the Ocean Beach Hotel on Newport …
November 5, 2013
Police take blood samples at foot of Newport Avenue in O.B.
There was yellow police ribbon around the rock on Veterans Plaza at the foot of Newport Avenue on October 21. The ribbon was surrounding a blood splatter on the pavement. Two police officers were there …
October 23, 2013
New beachfront homes to be built in Ocean Beach
Demolition has begun on the corner of Saratoga Avenue and Abbott Street in Ocean Beach. What has been an unsightly locale with a fence around it for nine months has finally been torn down to …
October 18, 2013
How to stop Ocean Beach 4th of July marshmallow wars?
Ocean Beach’s decades-old Fourth of July tradition of a “marshmallow war” following the fireworks display has been taken to excess in recent years. So, this week, on September 26, the O.B. Town Council decided to …
September 28, 2013
Traffic violation sends Lexus driver to jail
A traffic stop on September 26 at around 4 p.m., in the parking lot between Target and Ross on Sports Arena Boulevard, ended up sending a driver to jail for felony warrants. As I drove …
September 27, 2013
San Diego bicyclists get state protection from aggro drivers
On September 24, Governor Brown signed bill AB 1371, better known as the “Three Feet for Safety Act,” which will require motorists to give at least three feet of space when passing a bicyclist on …
September 26, 2013
Citizen repossesses stolen bike in Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach resident Michelle had her third bike stolen on September 9. Three days later, her boyfriend Jay found it. But he had to fight to get it back. At about 8:30 a.m. on September …
September 19, 2013
Ocean Beach Woman’s Club, at 89, struggling
The Ocean Beach Woman’s Club is celebrating its 89th birthday this year. But it's uncertain whether or not the club will be around next year. The organization began serving the community in 1924, helping to …
September 12, 2013
Woman in Ocean Beach spits on, fights Arizona tourist
On the night of August 11 at around 11 p.m., an out-of-town visitor staying at the Ocean Beach Hotel was attacked by a drunk female in her 30s — reputedly not a hotel guest. Police …
August 12, 2013
Temper flares at Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting
Doors were slammed and chairs seemed on the verge of being thrown at yet another O.B. Planning Board meeting regarding the temporary, yet seemingly permanent, police trailer in the Ocean Beach Pier parking lot. The …
August 9, 2013
O.B. Town Council addresses July 4th “marshmallow wars”
At the monthly Ocean Beach Town Council meeting on July 24, no permanent solution was arrived at pertaining to the annual Fourth of July “marshmallow wars.” The tradition of throwing marshmallows at people following the …
July 25, 2013
Car crash on Bacon Street in Ocean Beach
At approximately 9:30 p.m. on July 18, I came upon a car stopped in the middle of Bacon Street facing sideways; the front right fender was smashed and the tire was flat. It looked like …
July 19, 2013
Daylong drunk in Ocean Beach
As I was bicycling away from the OB Farmers’ Market to catch the sunset on July 17, I came upon a man named Eric, who was being arrested. He was obviously inebriated and was being …
July 18, 2013
Ocean Beach Grave Babes seek contact with deceased
A new paranormal investigation group has popped up in Ocean Beach, and they are willing to help you determine who has been haunting your house, free of charge. Jennifer Kacizak, self-proclaimed “Grave Babe,” is the …
July 13, 2013
Bike-sharing business wins San Diego contract
Decobike has won a contract with the City of San Diego to put 180 solar-powered kiosk locations around the city for the first-ever bike-sharing program here, according to Andy Hanshaw of the San Diego County …
July 10, 2013
Missing from Golden Hill: Yoshi
Yoshi, a white, three-year-old, female terrier mix has been missing since September 7 of last year. The owner has contacted a police detective because, as the “missing” poster notes, “The people who found Yoshi are …
June 25, 2013
CSI Ocean Beach slaps on the paint, covers graffiti
Volunteers showed up to a table set up near the seawall at the foot of Newport Avenue in O.B. on June 12 to sign up and help out a new group trying to make a …
June 13, 2013
Rash of burglaries in Sunset Cliffs
It seems there has been a series of home burglaries in the past couple of weeks in the Sunset Cliffs neighborhood. After I registered to nextdoor.com (an info-sharing site similar to the Reader’s Holler pages, …
June 6, 2013
Former Apple Tree parking lot opens for business
It took complaints from many different people and organizations in Ocean Beach, but the parking lot and shrubbery surrounding the now-shuttered Apple Tree market was trimmed and weeded so it could open today, June 1. …
June 1, 2013
New lifeguard statue vandalized in Ocean Beach
The San Diego lifeguard statue in Ocean Beach, dedicated in a ceremony last week (May 23), has been vandalized. Last night, May 30, someone painted portions of the statue in three different colors. In a …
May 31, 2013
Drug-related arrest outside Brighton Ave. bathroom in Ocean Beach
I had just arrived at the beach at 11:30 a.m. on Memorial Day, May 27, when I saw a police van, a patrol car, and two officers handcuffing a woman outside the Brighton Avenue bathrooms. …
May 28, 2013