An elderly woman in Pacific Beach woke up Friday morning to find a man in a Chargers jersey sleeping on her couch. The 81-year-old woman, who lives in the 1300 block of Thomas Avenue, called San Diego police around 7:30 a.m. to report that man that was asleep in her living room. The man was ...
Commentary, Crime and Safety, Drunk in PublicHere is a report of the new 2010 US Census compared to 2000 numbers in various categories. My goal was to learn more about our demographics insofar as age groups, family orientation and housing. Also, for the researchers out there, here’s a workbook with individual year data with more detail. There are interesting shifts showing ...
Commentary, Demographic Balance, Life in PB, SolutionsThese videos include various incidents witnessed by this author during the month of August 2011. Learn more about potential solutions here. We clearly need better camera and computer video-processing equipment. If you believe our collection of impactful videos will help us change conditions in Pacific Beach and the greater San Diego please consider making a ...
CommentaryHere’s a letter I sent to the San Diego Police Vice Department, the ABC as well as a number of community groups and committees (PB Town Council, Hospitality Task Force, Discover PB): As an individual community activist and blogger, communicating with a subscriber base of approximately 250 interested folks, I am writing this letter in ...
Bars and Restaurants, CommentaryFrom a reader: Not surprising you didn’t post this article to your web site. It doesn’t help your cause. http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/data-drive/article_11d044a6-b33e-11e0-b0ea-001cc4c03286.html It mentions the East Village in downtown SD as an area where alcohol related crime has increased significantly. Didn’t I hear at a PB Planning Committee meeting that downtown SD has a CUP in effect? ...
Alcohol Licensees, Business District, Commentary, Crime and Safety, CUP/DAO
Dear Shore Club, You’re spamming our community with your posters promoting Shore Club’s 2nd annual Oyster Event being held downtown this year at the Embarcadero. Not only is this illegal (I believe potentially yielding you a $100 per sign fine regardless of who distributes them) it’s unethical as you promote yourself ad nauseam as a ...
After making a post about the Charger’s Applewhite getting a DUI and researching the history of our players and their DUI charges (among many other charges not DUI-related) I found many other NFL players that have been arrested since January 2010. To date 21 players, a couple of coaches and a team owner. The NFL ...
Perhaps every San Diego State student debates moving to Pacific Beach. The rumors are alluring, but the mystery of the place is overwhelming enough for the devils-advocate within to pooh-pooh the idea out of reality. Oftentimes, students forfeit the beach lifestyle to the intimidation of change or fear of the unknown. The leap just seems ...
Commentary, Life in PB
Pacific Beach seems to draw the worst out of our NFL Chargers players. What are the odds that such a small group of players could have so many alcohol-related crimes done by or near them? In November 2009 Antonio Cromartie, then a NFL Charger’s player was questioned after someone broke a champagne bottle over another ...
A telling survey which you can see in it’s entirety here was done by San Diego State University (SDSU) revealed many telling facts about actual alcohol establishment behaviors insofar as it relates to over-pouring and over-serving. Here’s some examples: Over 33% of bartenders over-poured drinks Over 90% of servers over-served significantly by selling drinks containing ...
Designated driver sign Originally uploaded by pbSpirits Bar encouraging people to use designated driver progeam. Do these designated driver programs really work? Or, is this just a weak effort to promote a program from a PR perspective?
Commentary
Parked Hare Krishna van struck Originally uploaded by pbSpirits Looks like the Hare Krishna van got rear ended on the morning of January 16th. They were parked just East of Cass St. On Grand Ave. Wonder if it was a hit and run?
It is just before noon on a Saturday morning and many of the collegic inhabitants of Pacific Beach are just now wiping the sleep from their eyes, emitting tequila-scented yawns, and regretting that last shot at Dirty Birds at 2AM. More than a handful will roll over in bed and attempt to induce the concentration ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Commentary
Immigration boycotts and counter boycotts didn’t seem to keep beachgoers from Arizona away from the San Diego shore over the Memorial Day weekend. Pacific Beach was packed on Monday, despite an organized campaign on the website azfightsback(dot)com to get Arizona residents to stay out of San Diego. “Whoever wants to go San Diego or go ...
If you missed the car show this weekend in Pacific Beach you missed seeing many amazingly beautiful autos from the 1920′s through today. I would love to support this event in the future but, am concerned by what transpired to get this show approved.
The following is a handout presented to the La Jolla Town Council as part of my personal public comment: Alcohol Licenses and a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) / Deemed Approved Ordinance (DAO) The dread we experience in Pacific Beach several evenings a week and most weekends throughout the year appears to be building over La ...
Alcohol Licensees, Commentary, La JollaThings were relatively mild in the Floatopia held today. There was a significant police, rescue and lifeguard force at the ready – their not knowing if 1,500 or 5,000 would show up to the event. My belief is the biggest mitigating factor to the event being small in size, compared to previous events, is that ...
Binge Drinking, Commentary, FloatopiaOne of the last Floatopia events will take place July 17, 2010. Our hope is that no one is seriously injured. Revelers use a loophole in the 2008 San Diego beach alcohol ordinance to continue their excessive drinking – caring little for the Sail Bay residents, families visiting the only family-friendly park in the area ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Commentary, FloatopiaUpdate: Well, it’s been almost 7 months now and most if not all of the nearly 70 streetlights reported back in December 2009 are still not repaired. After another survey tonight we found an additional 39 burned out lights. We weren’t able to add these new lights to the map right away but, you get ...
Business District, Commentary, Infrastructure IssuesKPBS did an interview to discuss the alcohol issues in Pacific Beach with Scott Chipman from the PB Planning Group, Andra Brown from the San Diego Police, Jennifer Hill from the ABC and Eric Ligenfelder from the Tavern, a local bar.
Alcohol Culture in PB, Commentary, CUP/DAO, SolutionsReporting on the PB Town Council meeting last night: There were obviously many (i.e. estimated 25 minimum) new ‘members’ (in the strictest sense of the word) attending what looked like their first PB Town Council meeting. Coincidentally, where the issue of the Shore Club was on the agenda, many of these new ‘members’ said they ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Alcohol Licensees, Alcoholic Beverage Control, Bars and Restaurants, Business District, Commentary, CUP/DAO, Liquor StoresWell, it appears the Pacific Beach Town Council, well past its 50th year in existence, is at it again. I served on this Board for years and am bothered about recent blocks of membership enrollments. Word has it that, earlier this year, the allowed nearly 40 applications for membership to be bought by one entity ...
Alcohol Licensees, Alcoholic Beverage Control, Bars and Restaurants, Business District, Commentary
Here’s a slideshow pbSpirits.com created and presented to the gathering attendees of the June 2010 Pacific Beach Planning Group’s community forum. The forum is the culmination of much work done by their Alcohol License Review committee’s and included a visit from Ventura’s police officer trained by the ABC to oversee their conditional use permit. This ...
Letters to the Editor San Diego Union Tribune A recent commentary (“Floatopia and the beach booze ban,” March 25) described an isolated incident of spring break partyers (sic) taking advantage of a loophole. The author took the opportunity to take this legal issue and somehow connected it to the local business environment of Pacific Beach. ...
Business District, CommentaryFor the second year in a row, partiers found a way to float around San Diego’s beach booze ban. Revelers took advantage of a loophole that allows alcohol consumption in the water. The ban was approved in 2008. Over 5000 people showed up for Floatopia 2010 on Saturday carrying floats of every shape and size. ...
Commentary, FloatopiaHere’s a letter I sent to our city and state leaders as well as many colleagues: Executive Summary: Visit www.pbSpirits.com, join newsletter, leave feedback on posts, invite others Dear Friends and colleagues, I wanted to invite you to visit a new website created to illustrate and document the levels of alcohol issues in Pacific Beach. ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Commentary, Drunk DriversPacific Beach DUI checkpoints shown in red yield far more drunk drivers than most San Diego areas. Click the image for an enlarged image or click here for a PDF. Checkpoints are often seen as high-visibility reminders and not necessarily the most effective enforcement opportunity, i.e. compared to saturation patrols. However, in my limited-knowledge opinion ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Business District, Commentary, Drunk Drivers, Local LawsRoger Lee, General Manager and family member that owns PB Bar and Grill, Tremors and Johnny V in Pacific Beach, when asked about the alcohol beach ban was quoted as saying: “I understand and appreciate the ban,” he says, “because I have seen firsthand how out of control these beach parties can be. I also ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Bars and Restaurants, Business District, Commentary, Drunk DriversIn Memory Of Those Murdered or Critically Injured by Drunk Drivers in Pacific Beach This website was created to honor the memory of the many people who have been killed or critically injured by drunks, especially drunk drivers, who were drinking in Pacific Beach the day of their crime. Enough is enough. As a community ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Binge Drinking, Business District, Commentary, Crime and Safety, Drunk Drivers, Local Laws, The ProblemsA year-round survey is conducted by asking impaired drivers, arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), to respond to a variety of questions. One major purpose is for researchers to determine the offender’s place of last drink (POLD). This is the location the arrested individual reported they had their last drink before being detained. The ...
Alcohol Licensees, Bars and Restaurants, Commentary, Drunk DriversThe Special Events Committee, comprised of representatives from the Pacific Beach Town Council, PB Planning committee and Discover PB the local Business Improvement District met this evening to review and make recommendations to the city about, a special event called Cuervo (Tequila) Games. Many members from the community, including myself, attended to hear the pitch ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Commentary, Special EventsWe provide many statistics in our Key Facts page found in our top navigation area. One latest analysis looks at 2007-2009 Federal Index crimes. These are crime numbers every major city in America sends the FBI for compilation. A major development in our beach communities is the elimination of all legal alcohol use in the ...
Business District, Commentary, Crime and SafetyThe Pacific Beach Special Events Committee called a special meeting on March 3 at 6pm (see link and click here for a post related to this meeting). The one item on the agenda? Cuervo Games. Turns out Cuervo Tequila is hosting an X-games type event in cities all over the US, starting in Orlando in ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Commentary, Special EventsMany important intersections in PB are in need of streetlight repair or replacement. The following is a map of these streetlights. This map will also be sent over to the San Diego City Streets Division so they can make the necessary repairs. Here’s the list in a spreadsheet format. We’ll report back when they are ...
Business District, Commentary, Infrastructure IssuesWelcome to the pbSpirits.com blog. This blog focuses on alcohol-related issues in Pacific Beach, California. We look forward to helping continue the dialog about our significant alcohol-related issues so that we can together develop solutions.
Alcohol Culture in PB, Commentary, Drunk DriversThere are several considerations to make before the Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) assessment proposal is voted upon. Are you happy with the current proposal? Do you know the details? I’ve expressed my opinions on several issues relating to the existing work of Discover Pacific Beach (BID) as well as the use and allocation of funds ...
CommentaryPolice found approximately 70 marijuana plants in a Pacific Beach home after a man suspected of drunk driving crashed into the house on Morrell Street on Sunday, March 22 at approximately 4 p.m., according to police officials. Police arrested an uninjured, 63-year old Timothy Woodhouse after he drove into the house. He may have hit ...
CommentaryLetter to the Editor Normal Heights More needed to fight binge drinking Regarding “Police review rise in rape cases/More cases linked to binge drinking” (Our Region, July 29): It’s not clear from the article whether the spike in rape cases is a direct result of binge drinking. Is the article suggesting there is some new ...
Binge Drinking, Commentary, Crime and SafetySummary: Providing the city cannot completely enforce the crowds on most nights in PB, should area businesses and local homeowners pay to watch over the thousands of patrons who cause most of the security problems? Or, should those bars and restaurants foot that bill? The proposed MAD assessment includes $136k+ to provide security for Friday ...
CommentaryThis portion of an email was communicated to a resident by Councilmember Faulconer’s office. I was personally told by several residents in this area that they did not receive many of these communications. Are you a business or resident in the proposed MAD district and did you receive these communications? According to the City staff ...
CommentaryThe following are key dates in the timeline for the MAD implementation: Tuesday June 10, 2008 – City Council Meeting10 a.m. City Administration Building 202 ‘C’ Street, 12th Floor Review Engineer’s ReportAuthorize BallotingSchedule Public Hearing(all by Resolution) May be moved to afternoon agenda. Item R-2008-1036 Tuesday July 29th, 2008 – City Council Meeting10 a.m. City ...
CommentaryDisclaimerEverything written in the main body of the blog is my own opinion. My opinion may be based on incorrect information and I may be competely and utterly clueless and wrong. If you disagree with any of my posts or opinions, please feel free to leave a comment. Intelligent discourse is always welcome. Fair Use ...
CommentaryI was surprised to hear the tone of the Mayoral debate yesterday (La Jolla High School 5/9/08) on several issues including parking meters, oversize vehicle ordinance and the beach alcohol ordinance. That is, it seemed every time Mayor Sanders addressed one of these issues he implied that the beach communities should determine the fate of ...
CommentaryIs it just me or is it strange to you that an alcohol-industry executive would write a letter to the editor about not doing DUI checkpoints and encouraging doing more roving patrols? What could be her motive? Getting more of her clients (bars/restaurants/stores) customers arrested? Hmmmmm. Here’s the letter: Chula Vista police spent a lot ...
Checkpoints, Commentary, Drunk DriversCHULA VISTA: Seven people were arrested on suspicion of drunken driving during a police checkpoint conducted Friday and Saturday, Chula Vista police said. Officers contacted 518 drivers in the two days in the city, including at the checkpoint at Bonita Road and Willow Street. Roughly 50 drivers were cited for various violations, such as driving ...
Checkpoints, Commentary, Drunk DriversCLEAN PB This is a program, done in cooperation among two primary groups including a student-team from The Art Institute of San Diego and the Pacific Beach Town Council Safe & Beautiful Committee. Our goal is to develop a CLEAN PB campaign including the design, printing and implementation of trash receptacle signage as well as ...
CommentaryThis is the second of three installments of my moderating the VoiceofSanDiego.org Cafe San Diego Installment One – Installment Two – Installment Three Our Police Chief Lansdowne has stated something to the effect of wanting to keep drinking on the beach so the police can keep a better handle on the crowd. He said that ...
CommentaryOur Labor Day fiasco has garnered many headlines for Pacific Beach. Is this how you want Pacific Beach portrayed in the news? This Associated Press story – and similar variations shown below – appeared in many markets including: The Globe and Mail – Canada: Story 1 – Video Story Yahoo! News – Video Story USAToday.com ...
Assault, Commentary, Drunk in Public, Holidays, Labor Day Riot 2007Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 This is the sixth installment of the general topic: The Predominant Culture of Alcohol in Pacific Beach, CA . Please feel free to contribute to any section posted, which you will see below. To read other’s comments click the link at the end ...
CommentaryPart 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 From my understanding of alcohol marketing most makers and distributors of alcohol products advertise to gain market share of their particular brand. Of the entire drinking universe each market segment already consumes the level they are comfortable with – some extremely high and ...
Commentary