LOCAL MAN STARTS?CLEAN-UP MOVEMENT AT PACIFIC AND MISSION BEACHES Adam Huntington (right) is convinced it has become necessary for beach communities to take matters into their own hands in cleaning up and maintaining landscaped medians.
A loan consultant, Huntington has become something of a beach clean-up crusader. He has begun rattling the cages of City Hall, and anyone else he can buttonhole, to see if there’s anything that can be done to streamline and improve maintaining landscaping in medians and other public spaces in Mission and Pacific beaches.
Huntington is using all forms of social media to try and get his message across, posting videos on Facebook, titled “Fix The Beach: Part 2, and Instagram (@loans_and_drones).
Huntington’s Facebook video shows him standing in a weed-infested median in the heart of Mission Beach in between Saska’s steakhouse and Gone Bananas boutique.
“These took several years to grow,” notes Huntington in the video pointing out large, untended scraggly weeds. “Either somebody’s not reporting these weeds that need to be manicured, or somebody doesn’t care. It also tells me that somebody hasn’t cared — or done anything — in several years. This is ridiculous.
“There’s no reason for this,” continues Huntington in the video referencing discarded cigarette butts littering the median he’s standing in. “We (San Diego) have $2.7 million for weed abatement.”
An additional video on Instagram depicts time-lapse images of local residents sweeping sand off the boardwalk and Mission Bay path.
Huntington has also extended this open-ended offer to the City: “Let me borrow a few weed-whackers from Rose Canyon and our neighborhood will do it (median cleaning) for you like we swept the boardwalk,” Huntington said, adding, “I’m happy to organize and help y’all, but we pay property taxes for this type of thing and we are not here to do your job ‘every’ weekend like this.”
Concludes Huntington, “We want plans, schedules, and work completed properly in a timely manner. Anything less than this is not acceptable.” VANDALISM AT BEACH FORCING CHANGES The lifeguard tower in Pacific Beach may be having its flagpole removed due to continued vandalism allegedly committed by the homeless. 
The most-recent act involved tying trash cans to the halyard rope, which was raised up the flagpole. In the past few months, the halyard has been cut twice, and other trash tied to the rope. Worst of all, the American flag itself was pulled down from the flagpole on one occasion. 
“When we resort to taking down a flagpole and not flying the American flag at a government facility, we’re basically signaling that we’ve surrendered to the homeless and are allowing them to have free rein over an area that is for all to enjoy,” said a whistleblower requesting anonymity. MAYORAL CANDIDATES TO?DEBATE AT MBHS Pacific Beach Town Council is hosting a mayoral candidate forum on coastal issues for the beach and bay communities on Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Mission Bay High School Auditorium, 2475 Grand Ave.
Participating organizations include Ocean Beach Town Council, Mission Beach Town Council, Point Loma Association, Clairemont Town Council, Pacific Beach Planning Group, Save San Diego Neighborhoods, Ocean Beach Planning Board, San Diego Lifeguards, Surfrider San Diego, San Diego Coastkeeper and SavePB.
The campaign for the mayor’s office kicked off in early January 2019, when San Diego City Council president pro tem Barbara Bry and California State Assemblymember Todd Gloria officially announced their candidacies. They were joined in the race later that month by community activist Tasha Williamson, who works with families who’ve lost members from police violence. Activist attorney Cory Briggs, displeased by Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s loosening of development restrictions, also announced his bid for mayor in January, but reconsidered dropping out by May.
One of the early issues distinguishing the candidates was housing policy, with Bry favoring strong local control over land use, while Gloria prefers statewide efforts to increase housing supply.
The non-partisan 2020 San Diego Mayoral primary election is March 3, with the general election on Nov. 3 to replace termed-out incumbent Mayor Kevin Faulconer. THE HEART OF PB RESTAURANT WALK The Heart of PB Restaurant Walk is Sept. 11 from 4 to 9 p.m.
Sponsored by Discover PB, the community’s business improvement district, the walk showcases the beach community’s finest culinary delights. 
This year, attendees will enjoy a leisurely stroll on this self-guided food tour of 20 restaurants in the heart of PB between Dawes and Lamont streets. Sample a variety of menus from local restaurants. Bring your appetite. All food is included at this popular annual event.  
Spend the last days of summer with friends and family by enjoying the best of Pacific Beach’s eclectic and international cuisine. This event will be vegetarian friendly, and restaurants that offer a vegetarian option will be noted on the map.  
New this year to the restaurant walk are Powerhaus Pizza, 55 Thai, Hoboken Pizza and Mr Shawarma Food Truck. Other participating eateries include: Barrel Republic, Broken Yolk Café, Café Athena, Costa Brava, Freshii, Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream, Moonshine Beach, Mr Frosties, PB Cantina, PB Fish Shop, SD Taproom, Tavern at the Beach, Vallarta Express, Woodstock’s Pizza and Yogurt on the Rocks.
In honor of September 11th Remembrance Day, an additional donation option has been added for those choosing to add to their ticket price. One hundred percent of those donations will go to the Pacific Beach Fire Station 21.
Cost is $25 pre-sale, $30 the day of the event. For more information, visit pacificbeach.org.  Discover PB is a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing and promoting the Pacific Beach community physically and economically. LOCAL SURFERS TO PARTICIPATE IN ANNUAL 100 WAVE CHALLENGE
Scheduling conflicts won’t keep local surfers Rodger Dougherty and Chris Probasco from participating in the 10th Annual 100 Wave Challenge Saturday, Sept. 8, beginning at 6 a.m. at Tourmaline Surf Park. When Boys to Men Mentoring Network’s annual surf-a-thon hits the waves of Mission Beach on Saturday, Sept. 21, the two wave warriors already will have completed the Herculean feat, while raising several thousand dollars for an organization dedicated to guiding disconnected, often fatherless, boys on their journey to adulthood. Although approaching their day in the water from different perspectives (Dougherty is a 10-year veteran; Probasco will participate in the 100 Wave Challenge for the first time) these determined watermen will be united in a common purpose: Surfing their hearts out for the boys of Boys to Men Mentoring Network. BEACH ADVISORIES ISSUED FOR MISSION BAY, SHELTER ISLAND, AND LA JOLLA San Diego County officials recently announced beach advisories and one beach closure on Sept. 6. Unhealthy bacteria levels in the water triggered advisories issued along Shoreline Park at Shelter Island, Fiesta Island (Northwest Shoreline), La Jolla Cove beachline, La Jolla’s Children’s Pool, and Mission Bay’s Leisure Lagoon (Comfort Station swim area) and North Cove (Vacation Isle).
A beach closure was issued for the shoreline between the U.S.-Mexico border and the north end of the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge due to sewage-contaminated water.
Find updated information at sdbeachinfo.com.