Category: Health

By Lynne Miller

PREFACE: In 2023/24 a small article was posted in the OB Rag by the editordude, Frank.  It alerted my neighbors that 4705 Pt.Loma Ave was moving forward with building plans.  Without the OB RAG, the city would have built the project, unchallenged.  The City was using the ministerial law embedded in Complete Communities, that does NOT require public notification.

Thanks to the Rag and its years of sleuthing, neighbors found out, fought the project and won. The only way to beat the City corruption which smells like the wetlands in Imperial Beach, is to unite, and take action. Since 2023 many organizations have started individual battles against the unhinged power of the City and State. In order to defeat the billionaire driven machine of builders and government collusion we must unite!

The title of this article is not intended to be just cute, it is based on a scientific reality about the Midway land.

Saturday, I attended a meeting held by SDUC (San Diego United Communities.  Their website is sandiegounitiedcommunities.com.

This is one of several groups who are fighting for the Finest City.  It is worth the fight, and it will take you, your friends, and their friends to unite in the common and urgent cause, Save San Diego.

Two recent reports out on San Diego’s bicycle network find troubling problems with the hundreds of miles of bike lanes, from difficult and dangerous corridors, gaps in the infrastructure and insufficient bike routes for school kids.

One report from San Diego State University — the “State of the Ride”– published in May, ” identifies corridors for improvement and highlights how biking could feel safer for more communities, as UT writer Maura Fox reported August 5. She wrote that “San Diego’s expansive bicycle network remains difficult and sometimes dangerous for cyclists to navigate and contains key gaps that prevent continuous riding.”

The report was done in conjunction with the group BikeSD, whose executive director quipped:

“It’s not the question of, how many miles did we build? It’s more like, can an average child or a 70-year-old woman actually ride there?”

The report highlighted these issues, looking at what it says is the nearly 700 miles of bike facilities :

• Only about 75% of the 2013 bike master plan’s goal for bike infrastructure has been implemented;
• The most common type of facility — which accounts for nearly 60% of the mileage — are class II bike lanes, which are designated specifically for cyclists.
• bike infrastructure is not distributed evenly across the city.

By Philip Hernandez / Seasonal Entertainment / July 31, 2026

SeaWorld San Diego has no fireworks scheduled on any night in 2026. The park’s nighttime calendar now runs on the 600-drone Ocean of Dreams show …, a change that comes out of a Clean Water Act lawsuit: SeaWorld sought the drone pilot while the case was pending, and the settlement signed in May requires it to pursue drones as a permanent replacement for fireworks. Last summer’s Enchanted Wonders was the final fireworks season, closing a run local reporting puts at nearly six decades.

(Please go to the original for all the great links)

What the Settlement Requires
San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation (CERF) sued SeaWorld in March 2025 over repeated noncompliance with the park’s Clean Water Act fireworks permit, documenting plastic, foil, sharp wiring, and toxic metal residues recovered from Fiesta Island and the Mission Bay seabed. The settlement, announced May 20, 2026, requires SeaWorld to pursue drones as a permanent replacement for fireworks in good faith and to run more robust pollution prevention and cleanup for any fireworks it still shoots.

by Ernie McCray

Regarding all that’s being said
about Anthony Fauci’s
handling of the Covid-19 pandemic,
what he did or didn’t do
to keep us safe,
we, as a nation,
have to come to understand
that science, inherently,
is a mixture of failures
wherein an approach to a problem
put into use one day
might require dismissal
the very next day
based on new data
that has come into play,
something I noticed
without a real grasp of the situation
as a child at play
when people in charge of public health
deployed all kinds of do’s and don’ts
that had me asking my mom an array of questions
about why the pool was closed

By Debbie L. Sklar / Special to the OB Rag

(All photos courtesy of the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club)

The Ocean Beach Woman’s Club is a familiar landmark to many OB residents — a historic building at the corner of Bacon Street and Muir Avenue that has hosted meetings, fundraisers, celebrations and community gatherings for generations.

But the story of the club is about more than a century-old building. It is about the women who kept it alive through changing times, shifting generations and the challenges faced by many longtime civic organizations.

Founded in 1924, the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club recently celebrated its 100th anniversary and continues its mission of community service, friendship and philanthropy with members ranging from their 20s to their 90s. Some of the most interesting chapters in the club’s story are found in the details — the unexpected turns, personal connections and challenges that shaped the organization over the decades.

Here are 10 things behind the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club.

1. The club’s first “home” was a disappearing landmark

When the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club was founded in 1924, members did not have a permanent clubhouse. Early meetings were held in rented locations, including Ocean Beach’s Flatiron Building at Abbott Street and Newport Avenue.

‘We haven’t seen anything like this for 30 years.’

by Jake Kincaid / inewsource / August 2, 2026

Why this matters: The number of San Diego County residents using food stamps has plummeted. Experts say new rules and longstanding fears are behind the decline.

A line of umbrellas stretched around the corner and down the street as dozens of people sheltered themselves from the baking sun while they waited for cardboard boxes full of fresh produce and protein at a San Diego Food Bank distribution in San Ysidro Tuesday.

“The lines are getting longer,” Maria Lewis said. “People are worried now.”

Lewis, an outreach coordinator, walked up and down the line, trying to sign people up for the federal aid program known as food stamps, called CalFresh in California. Some were reluctant.

People in need have been pushed increasingly into food lines and away from federal aid by a combination of new policies limiting program eligibility, increasingly difficult and frequent applications to receive benefits and rising fears that the government will use identifying data to deport people getting food stamps or to take away their permanent resident status.

The changes to the program are part of President Donald Trump’s signature spending bill, which he signed into law a year ago, to help eliminate fraud, abuse and waste in the program.

The bill also cut off benefits to some immigrants such as asylum seekers, human trafficking victims and refugees starting in April in California. In June, people were given three months to meet new work requirements.

The new eligibility requirements have been hitting states at different times. They took effect in California in April and June, but there has seen a steady drop in participation for the past year.

Public Comment on This Use of Public Land Closes After August 24

by Andi Ruiz / Times of San Diego / Aug. 4, 2026

Lights, poles and nets at a proposed waterfront golf and entertainment center could have a negative impact on habitats and native species, according to an environmental analysis of the project.

The concerns are addressed in a draft environmental impact report (EIR) on the redevelopment of East Harbor Island being sought by the Port of San Diego, which would include a Topgolf complex and waterfront park, each covering about 10 acres.

The report cites light pollution and height of the Topgolf poles and nets as notable impacts.

Bright light, according to the analysis, could disrupt the behavior of birds and attract them to nets in the structure, leaving them entangled.

A proposed alternative would limit the Topgolf to one story, as compared to the currently proposed three stories. The planned 108 hitting bays would drop to 34 and the height of the netting poles would fall from 170 feet to 140 feet with the shift to a one-story structure.

San Diego Police Have Recently Issued 18 Misdemeanor Citations and 300 Warnings at Sunset Cliffs 

By Omari Fleming / 7SanDiego / August 4, 2026

A cascade of cliff-jumpers continues to catapult themselves off Sunset Cliffs, a week and a half after two high-profile rescues. One case involved a 17-year-old who jumped and crashed on the cliffs. The other involved a man who fell trying to climb the cliffs.

Law enforcement has made it abundantly clear — cliff jumping is illegal.

San Diego police and lifeguards said they have increased patrols in light of the recent issues.

NBC San Diego crews witnessed lifeguards in boats using bullhorns to try and get jumpers off the cliffs on Tuesday, Aug. 4. A crew was also stationed in one of their trucks, parked off the cliffs, trying to dissuade illegal activity.

San Diego police said they handed out over 300 warnings and 18 misdemeanor citations to would-be jumpers. But people who take the plunge say that won’t do the trick.

By Jillian Butler

Residents of Mariner’s Cove Apartments in eastern Ocean Beach say years of deferred maintenance have left some affordable housing units with mold, deteriorating cabinetry, broken stairways and other unresolved problems, raising concerns about whether tenants in subsidized units are receiving the same level of maintenance as market-rate residents.

As the cost of living soars, many people turn to government programs in order to find a place to live. Being the ninth most expensive city in America, San Diego is no exception to this. In fact, there are approximately 80,300 people in San Diego County living in government subsidized housing. However, some landlords give preferential treatment to those not in subsidized housing, creating two separate classes of people.

Several sources have reached out to the OB Rag, citing negligence towards those in rent controlled units at the Mariner’s Cove Apartment complex. Issues range from mold to the landlord illegally painting over fire lanes.

Mariner’s Cove is a two story apartment complex with 500 units. Of those 500 units, 300 are considered “affordable”, with 100 being low income. Many such residents are elderly, have disabilities, or both.

One resident I spoke with recounts:

“For years, I have expressed serious concerns regarding the lack of ventilation and potential mold in my unit, as well as the deteriorating plywood and peeling veneer in my kitchen. These issues pose legitimate safety and health risks rather than cosmetic concerns. Although management acknowledges the poor bathroom ventilation and has previously patched a water-damaged wall, they have refused to test for mold. Furthermore, the deteriorating wood in my kitchen cabinets sheds debris onto my dishes every time the drawers are opened.

By Paul Krueger

July has slipped away, and with it, the best chance we had to force City Hall to reopen the 13 Mission Bay restrooms closed in pursuit of  so-called “fiscal responsibility.”

We now have little more than a month until the traditional end of summer to find a solution to this civic embarrassment. And I’m not optimistic.

The city council is on vacation until mid-August, so we can’t organize a protest outside city hall and try to shame council members during non-agenda public comment for their lack of unified response to this actual threat to public health.

Mayor Todd Gloria is only seen in public at pre-scripted ceremonies where he cuts ribbons and fills potholes. So there’s no opportunity to confront him about his false narrative that City Hall can’t spare the $550,000 needed to reopen the restroom doors.

And the council member who should be speaking loudest about the need to protect public health has been regrettably – though predictably — silent on the issue.

Jen Campbell, whose District 2 includes Mission Bay, is a family physician. She knows public health is at risk when people can’t find a restroom.

By Steven Mihailovich / PB Monthly / July 30, 2026

Local outrage over the city’s closure of 13 public restrooms in Mission Bay Park to balance the budget was evident at the Pacific Beach Town Council’s July meeting.

As the sole city government official present, Savannah Stallings — PB rep for Council President Joe LaCava — bore the full brunt of criticisms and frustrations arising from the move projected to save San Diego about $547,000 through the elimination of six custodian positions at the Parks and Recreation Department. Their responsibilities included the public restrooms’ maintenance.

The audience of about 35 was audibly upset that the city’s decision caused outsized disruptions for minor savings.

“Personally, don’t you think this should go a little further than just, it’s a budget cut, just accept it?” asked Ron, a resident who didn’t give his surname. “I understand it’s a budget cut. What about the people in the community? I mean, we’re all not homeless here. We’re all taxpayers here. I don’t understand why they targeted the bathrooms.”

Stallings said the initial budget proposal called for closures of restrooms along the shore, but were reinstated after heavy lobbying by LaCava.

In addition, Stallings said only one of the 13 closed restrooms is located in District 1 under LaCava. The remaining 12 are in District 2 served by Councilmember Jennifer Campbell.