Little Italy: Drinking with a ghost named Wanda
Ed Bedford 2:59 a.m., May 22
Ocean Beach Stories
Ocean Beach ashcans cut down on cigarette litter
Surfrider says they still find plenty on beach
If you're still addicted to cigarettes but you're within easy reach of a place to dispose of that nasty stub, there's a good chance you're in Ocean Beach. Since launching the “Hold On To Your ...
Ocean Beach residents decide on new sign design
They want it to be the same
There must be something special about that soaring seagull and that great big red letter O, which, like much of the community of Ocean Beach, leans to the left. The results of a long-awaited vote ...
Homeless people drawn to former Apple Tree store in Ocean Beach
L.A. property owner contacted by police
Police and members of the Ocean Beach Town Council say they're going to turn up the heat on the property owner who once leased to the former Apple Tree market: they say little is being ...
Food Network shoots show at OB Noodle House
Guy Fieri visits Hodad’s again also
The Food Network recently brought the popular show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives back into Ocean Beach to shoot segments at Hodad’s (again) and the OB Noodle House for the first time. The program segment done ...
Deadly car crash in Ocean Beach
Pregnant woman survives
A head-on crash in Ocean Beach caused the death of a woman and sent another woman who is nine months’ pregnant to the hospital on the evening of April 21. The deceased had been traveling ...
Opposing traffic’s differing speed limit
Heymatt: Why do some local roadways have different speed limits depending on which way you’re going? Seaworld Drive between Friars and Ingraham is 55 in one direction and 50 in the other. West Point Loma ...
Dangerous: West Point Loma Blvd. and Ebers St. intersection
Stop signs or roundabout suggested
Following an accident at the intersection of West Point Loma Boulevard and Ebers Street on April 15 (in which there were no injuries), I talked to nearby residents Chris and Susie. We were out watching ...
Ocean Beach gets $20,000 more for lifeguard memorial
Sculptor was raised in OB, mentored by lifeguards
The San Diego City Council on April 16 unanimously approved funding “not to exceed $20,000” to help pay for a bronze lifeguard statue with a concrete foundation and an adjacent three-foot-square bronze plaque. The two ...
Community garden at Robb Field?
Collier Park waiting list too long
An unremarkable dirt lot at the extreme northwest edge of Robb Field could make a dandy place for people who want to grow their own vegetables if an Ocean Beach man has his way. Just ...
Neighbors on Long Branch save rape victim
“We all love each other.”
There is a lot to be said for the exemplary response that several citizens of Ocean Beach exhibited last Sunday night, March 24, when a woman being sexually assaulted on Long Branch Avenue cried out ...
Car hits motorcyclist on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard
Hill makes for problem intersection
Driving back from my friend's house on the south side of Ocean Beach on Saturday night, March 23, I came across a police barricade involving seven police cars. They were rerouting traffic as they did ...
Alleged renegade in Jeep crashes cars on Sunset Cliffs
Stolen car tips over in street
The dangers of parking your car on a busy street became clear to some Ocean Beach residents who were woken up at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, March 22, by the sound of crashing metal. ...
San Diego police to be booted from O.B. parking lot?
Is parking more valuable?
Should the police trailer in the Ocean Beach pier parking lot go somewhere else? Next week, the people will have their say. The trailer has been in the middle of the parking lot at the ...
RV parking ban planned for streets west of I-5
May extend to inland areas
An ordinance to ban recreational vehicles, boats, and trailers from parking overnight on public streets west of I-5 is in the works, said Michael Patton, representative for District 2 city councilmember Kevin Faulconer, at the ...
People's Food Co-op to expand – out of Ocean Beach?
Parking lot and storage space near capacity
The Ocean Beach People's Food Co-op is looking to expand their grocery store located at 4765 Voltaire Street. General manager Nancy Cassidy addressed the issue in the March 2013 monthly newsletter. "We are reaching full ...
Illegal recycler tracked down by SDPD in Ocean Beach
Officers cite woman for pilfering bottles and cans
I was sitting on my couch on a quiet, sunny morning in Ocean Beach on February 25, when the not-too-unusual sounds of police sirens made me get up to see what the ruckus was about. ...
U.S. Bank robbed in Ocean Beach
Thief walks past Girl Scouts
The U.S. Bank located on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach was robbed at around 3:45 p.m. on Friday, February 8. According to witnesses, a white man in his 40s with a medium build and goatee, ...
No third three-story home on West Point Loma Blvd.
O.B. Planning Board denies variance request
In a blow against the gentrification of Ocean Beach, architect Elizabeth Young's plans for a 400-foot variance on a planned three-story residence were shot down by the Ocean Beach Planning Board on February 6. The ...
Robb Field skate park crasher was asleep
Haz-mat follows rescuers
A barricade and orange cone mark the point of impact from a van that went flying over a fence surrounding Robb Field Skateboard Park on Tuesday morning, January 15. San Diego police have declared that ...
Free barbecue in Ocean Beach
Hot dogs for the homeless
I was riding my bike along Abbott Street and Saratoga Avenue on January 13 and smelled the smoke of a barbecue coming from Saratoga Park, right next to the sand. I saw a long line ...
Remodel starts on Ocean Beach’s Apple Tree Market
Pirates Cove coffee shop departs parking lot
The new occupants of the old Apple Tree Market that closed in Ocean Beach on December 31 have lost no time in gutting the aged supermarket and getting it ready to become a Foodland store. ...
House fire in Ocean Beach
Birds die; dogs and woman saved
On Thursday, December 27, flames broke out in the living room of a house located on the 2300 block of Seaside Street in Ocean Beach. At least a dozen birds died in the blaze. Although ...
Palm Patrol gathers downed fronds in Midway District
Road hazard eliminated
What many locals refer to as the “Palm Patrol" was out in force on Thursday morning, December 27, scouring the streets of the Midway District and Ocean Beach for palm fronds that litter the streets ...
The man behind the Lennon conspiracy van
Stephen King did it?
On Christmas Eve, I stumbled upon this van (pictured) on Newport Avenue, parked on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. The website “www.LennonMurderTruth, com” was written loud and clear on both sides of the van; and ...
Man’s wheelchair struck by car in Ocean Beach
In crosswalk next to fire station
An elderly man in a wheelchair was clipped by a car in an Ocean Beach crosswalk on Tuesday, December 19, at around 11:00 a.m. As the man crossed Voltaire Street at the Ebers Street intersection, ...
O.B. Surf & Skate won’t have homeless problem
Retail musical chairs over
The Apple Tree Market in Ocean Beach is closing at the end of the year and a new Foodland Market is said to be moving into the 4949 Santa Monica Avenue location. The Hirmez brothers, ...
Ocean Beach plans for lifeguard statue
A project to enhance and upgrade O.B’.s main lifeguard station with a bronze statue is being suggested for the lawn adjacent to the tower on Abbott Street. At the December 5 Ocean Beach Planning Board ...
Organic dream
I couldn’t believe the sunshine, 75 degrees, a soft wind playing over my skin. My husband and I grinned as we made our way from where we’d parked our car on Narragansett Avenue to Ranchos ...
Beauty Restored in Ocean Beach
The scraggly-looking display of succulents along the sidewalk at the foot of Santa Monica Avenue and Abbott Street have been spruced up. The little corner area near the Ocean Beach Lifeguard Tower has the San ...
Ocean Beach Grocery Store Won’t Close Until End of Year
The Apple Tree market in Ocean Beach recently won a brief reprieve from their scheduled November 27 closure. The longtime grocer located at 4949 Santa Monica Avenue “will now be open until December 31, 2012,” ...
O.B. Christmas Tree Arrives with Police Escort
The O.B. Christmas tree arrived at the foot of Newport Avenue yesterday, November 27, with a police escort. An Obecian donated the tree — a star pine — from their front yard. While O.B. has ...
Assault in Ocean Beach Goes Unreported
An Ocean Beach woman left a bar on Newport Avenue in the early morning hours of November 1, only to wake up covered in blood and being rescued by her neighbors. She told me she ...
Church Chips in to Maintain Ocean Beach Skatepark
If the Ocean Beach Skatepark is looking a little less ragged lately, you can thank Newbreak Church in Ocean Beach. The newly opened church on Cape May Avenue has a volunteer gardening group that gets ...
Three-Day Walkers Arrive in Ocean Beach
All the whooping and hollering and horn honking started early on Saturday morning, November 17, in Ocean Beach, as approximately 3500 people came through the community as part of a three-day walk to benefit the ...
Man Has Seizure at Dog Beach
A man and his dog were enjoying the day at Dog Beach November 13 when the man fell to the ground and began having a seizure, according to the Hubble family who witnessed the incident. ...
Midnight Attack in Ocean Beach
On November 9, around midnight, a 26-year-old Ocean Beach woman was attacked on the 1900 block of Ebers Street. She said she noticed a man walking near her and told him not to walk so ...
Date Rape Reported in Ocean Beach
A rape reportedly occurred in the 5100 block of Muir Steet in Ocean Beach on November 2, according to crimemapping.com In an interview with San Diego police Lt. Natalie Stone, she said the victim met ...
Halloween Violence on Newport Avenue
Halloween on Ocean Beach’s Newport Avenue produced a woman getting her cheek bitten and a man lying unconscious on the sidewalk. In the cheek incident, Steve Perez said he and his girlfriend were enjoying the ...
Zombie Steals from Kitty in Ocean Beach
On Halloween night at around 8 p.m. at the Ocean Beach Farmers’ Market, Todo Mundo was performing in the street. A lot of people were wearing costumes, dancing, and enjoying the beautiful music and weather. ...
Bilbray a No-Show, Peters Appreciative at Ocean Beach Forum
Brian Bilbray, Republican candidate for the 52nd congressional district on the November 6 ballot, was a no-show at a scheduled forum hosted by the Ocean Beach Town Council on October 24. With Bilbray absent, Scott ...
Sexual Assault Suspect Caught in Ocean Beach
A sexual assault suspect was captured in Ocean Beach early on the morning of October 28, hiding out in the backyard of the victim he allegedly had just attacked. The victim was reportedly sleeping on ...
Stories from Ashes Found at an Ocean Beach Car Wash
Since news broke last week of the cremated remains of Henry Renaud Lefebvre found at the OB Suds Car Wash on Voltaire Street, the story has circled the world. It was reported that the owner ...
Victim Tells Story of Attempted Rape in Ocean Beach
A 25-year-old Ocean Beach woman was punched in the eye with an object, groped from behind, and was being dragged away in broad daylight on the morning of October 17 in an attempted rape incident. ...
Ocean Beach Grocery Store Cited for an Overcharge
The Apple Tree Market, located at at 4949 Santa Monica Avenue in Ocean Beach, was recently given a “failed inspection” notice to post in their window — as required by county law — after being ...
Restaurants for Hardworking Foodie Freelancers
A roundup of eateries that are open when you, the hardworking foodie freelancer, need them to be.
Ocean Beach’s Portugalia for Sale
Portugalia, the now-closed Portuguese restaurant and pub located at 4839 Newport Avenue is on the auction block. Signs promoting a "quiet auction" are posted in several places in front of the former business that was ...
Stabbing and Groping in Ocean Beach
A stabbing victim was pulled from the crowd in the beer garden at the Ocean Beach Oktoberfest on Friday evening, just 30 minutes before the first “Citizens’ Patrol” was launched. The Citizens' Patrol was organized ...
Women Learn Self-Defense Following Ocean Beach Crimes
Vault Combat Academy on Newport Avenue offered a free self-defense class on October 11. Women who had been to an O.B. Woman's Club meeting and a citizens’ patrol meeting earlier in the week showed up ...
San Diego Police Help Mom in Ocean Beach
Several San Diego police officers arrived at Azucar bakery/café on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach on October 9 at around noon. Two patrol cars parked in the adjacent gas-station parking lot; two more police cars ...
Ocean Beach Citizens’ Patrol to Mobilize This Week
The night of October 8 saw the formation of the first meeting of the Ocean Beach Citizens’ Patrol. Over 40 people showed up at the Tower Two Café on Abbott Street to organize themselves into ...
Meeting Offers Solutions to End Ocean Beach Sex Crimes
Over 60 people met at the Ocean Beach Woman's Club on October 3 to discuss the recent sex crimes against women in the community. Ideas were presented on how to make more women aware of ...
Artist’s O.B. Bathroom Ceiling Project Criticized
A man claiming to have deciphered the jumble of words on the ceiling of the newly built Brighton Street “comfort station” (bathroom) in Ocean Beach presented his case to the Ocean Beach Town Council on ...
