San Diego

Prosecution Lays Evidence Upside Down in Pacific Beach Riot Case – Jury Hears Opening Statements

April 3, 2024 by Source

By Ken Stone / Times of San Diego / April 2, 2024

Dressed in fear-inducing “black bloc,” antifa members Jeremy White and Brian Lightfoot Jr. traveled from Los Angeles spoiling for a fight in Pacific Beach, prosecutors said.

Wearing outfits to avoid being doxxed or injured, the defendants aimed to confront far-right Donald Trump fans and protect likeminded counterprotestors three days after the Capitol invasion, their lawyers said.

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‘Complete Communities’ Is Not a Cure for San Diego’s Affordable Housing Crisis

April 3, 2024 by Source

by Danna Givot / Times of San Diego / April 2, 2024

The Building Industry Association touts the Complete Communities Now program as ramping up production of more affordable homes, but this deserves a closer look. Complete Communities is not a cure-all for San Diego’s housing problems.

[Please see original for important links]

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SDSU Stalls on Requests for Sports Arena Documents

April 3, 2024 by Source

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa San Diego / March 30, 2024

San Diego State University has arbitrarily delayed disclosing documents requested by La Prensa San Diego beyond the timeline allowed by California law.

The requested documents are related to discussions in 2022 between SDSU officials and a Denver-based development company to build a new sports and entertainment arena as part of SDSU West in Mission Valley.

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April 2024 Events from the Ocean Beach Green Center

April 2, 2024 by Source

Ongoing events

Every Saturday at 10:30 am. Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings April 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th.  Keep up-to-date on climate issues and Climate Action events. To register email Jon Findley at  jon@climatemobsd.org.  More info: https://www.facebook.com/SDClimateMobilization/

Every Saturday 12 pm – 1 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine: Advocate for Peace and Justice in Gaza and Everywhere Join CODEPINK SD, San Diego Veterans for Peace, and Palestine Pals every Saturday at 12:00 pm on the plaza corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and W. Point Loma Blvd., entry to Ocean Beach, San Diego. Wear pink and bring a peace-related poster if you have one! Contact: Nathanael · nathandw@riseup.net

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San Diego Should Return to Tarring to Fix Our Streets

April 2, 2024 by Source

By Mark Doering / SD U-T Op-Ed / April 1, 2024 

While in plain sight, the root cause for why potholes are forming rapidly is not visible to most. I am a native San Diegan and licensed engineer who for years has seen our city streets deteriorate from what they once were — beautiful and smooth — to what they are now, potholed and dangerous. The cause of the deterioration of our streets is very apparent if you know what to look for and know a little of San Diego’s road maintenance history.

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Future Design of OB Pier to Be Unveiled at Community Workshop — Saturday, April 6

April 1, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

The City of San Diego is set to show the public what a replacement design for the OB Pier may look like, and is prepping for the unveiling of a final, preferred design concept at a community workshop on Saturday, April 6.

Three potential design concepts for a replacement pier were presented in September of 2023, and the city has been collecting feedback from San Diegans ever since on what they want to see in the new pier. And now city officials are saying the preferred design is an amalgamation of the three concepts, using the public input received to combine preferred features from each design.

The session will be held 2 to 5 p.m. April 6 at the Liberty Station Conference Center, 2600 Laning Road.

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It’s César Chávez Day in California — Here’s His Life History

April 1, 2024 by Source

In San Diego, City, county and local offices will be closed today, Monday for César Chávez Day along with courts, public health clinics, family resource centers, libraries and animal shelters. County parks, campgrounds, and neighborhood day-use parks will largely remain open, though county officials said certain facilities will be closed Monday.

There will be mail delivery because César Chávez Day is a federal commemorative holiday, first proclaimed by then-President Barack Obama in 2014, and not a federal holiday.

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At 6,000 Feet Mount Laguna Is Having a White Easter

March 31, 2024 by Staff

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Trumpist Amy Reichert Resurfaces Opposing ‘Ban’ on Businesses Using Public Beaches

March 28, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

When the Rag ran a story on how the City of San Diego was beginning to enforce a prohibition on businesses using public beaches and certain parks for their own private benefit, the response by our readers was one of satisfaction; people were glad that the public beaches would remain for the, uh, public.

So, earlier this week, a small handful of businesses gathered at La Jolla Shores to rally against what they’re calling a “ban” on public events and services held on city beaches.

And leading the rally and effort at pushback was none other than San Diego’s own Trumpist Amy Reichert, recent candidate for office (she was trounced) and head of Restore San Diego,

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Local Fishermen Fined for Poaching

March 28, 2024 by Source

By Phil Diehl / San Diego Union-Tribune / March 27, 2024

State Department of Fish and Wildlife officials have fined a network of San Diego fishermen a total of $145,000 for poaching bluefin tuna, yellowtail and mahi mahi.

A six-month investigation showed more than 5,500 pounds of fish were bought from recreational fishermen and sold in commercial markets, according to a recent news release from the department.

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Local Escondido Doctor a Plaintiff in Current Supreme Court Case – Wants to Limit Women’s Access to Abortion Drug Mifepristone

March 27, 2024 by Source

Escondido physician Dr. George Delgado, is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit before the US Supreme Court right now. And clearly, he wants to limit women’s access to the abortion drug Mifepristone. He believes forcing women to live by his religion is more important than women’s rights.

Delgado directs medical operations at Culture of Life Family Services, a Catholic organization providing “pro-life medical care and pregnancy clinic services.” Delgado has already made headlines with his “Abortion Pill Reversal” program — a

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Gloria Joins Infamous List of Damaged Mayors – Dick Murphy and Roger Hedgecock

March 27, 2024 by Source

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa / March 25, 2024

It’s now apparent that a majority of San Diego voters are shopping for a new Mayor after Todd Gloria fell to less than 50% in last week’s primary election.

The incumbent Mayor seeking re-election now joins a list of damaged mayors who failed to garner more than half of the vote in a primary and limped into a head-to-head matchup where voters seemed willing to make a change at the top to push the City into a new direction.

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Midway Rising Developer Gave $650,000 to Campaign to Remove Height Limit in Sports Arena Area

March 27, 2024 by Source

By Alberto Garcia / La Prensa / March 26, 2024

The same developer who gave over $100,000 to elect Todd Gloria in 2020 before being selected to rebuild the Sports Arena site later contributed $650,000 more to remove the 30-foot building height limit around the Midway area, raising questions about the timing of his selection by the Mayor and City Council.

Brad Termini and his wife donated $100,000 to a campaign committee supporting Todd Gloria’s 2020 campaign for Mayor, and Termini and other relatives also gave another $6,900 directly to Gloria’s personal campaign before he won the November 2020 election.

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City Council Committee Sides With Upstart Planning Group in Uptown and With Existing Group in La Jolla

March 26, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

David Garrick at the U-T wrote an extensive status report on the “power struggles” between existing community planning groups in Uptown and La Jolla with the new, upstart groups that are challenging the status quo. The power struggle played out last week at the city council committee that deals with land use and housing issues. Garrick summarized it this way:

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San Diego’s Open Records System Is Failing

March 26, 2024 by Source

by JW August / Times of San Diego / March 19, 2024

[Last week was] Sunshine Week, a celebration of democracy and the transparency that keeps it alive in this country — and you don’t just have to be a journalist to join the celebration. It’s for civic groups, government employees, and anyone who cares about maintaining our rights to access public information so that we can keep an eye on our government at all levels.

The California Public Records Act is  one of those powerful “hammers” the public can use to find out what the government is up to.

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Mayoral Candidate Larry Turner Calls for City to Rebid Midway District Redevelopment Project

March 26, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

San Diego mayoral candidate Larry Turner on Monday, March 25, called for the city to rebid the Midway District redevelopment project, accusing Mayor Todd Gloria of having ties to a member of the development team.

The Midway Rising project would redevelop a dilapidated area of warehouses and two strip clubs, building 4,250 new homes, replacing the aging Sports Arena and creating an urban park and adjacent entertainment district.

But in a letter to the mayor, Turner requested a rebid because of “modifications to the initial plan, significant cost increases being passed on to taxpayers, and the appointment of a major campaign donor as the project developer.”

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San Diego City Council Breaks TRUST

March 25, 2024 by Source

By José Martinez / Electronic Frontier Foundation  / March 15, 2024

In a stunning reversal against the popular Transparent & Responsible Use of Surveillance Technology (TRUST) ordinance, the San Diego city council voted earlier this year to cut many of the provisions that sought to ensure public transparency for law enforcement surveillance technologies.

Similar to other Community Control Of Police Surveillance (CCOPS) ordinances, the TRUST ordinance was intended to ensure that each police surveillance technology would be subject to basic democratic oversight

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Officials at SDSU Kept Secret an Offer of a Free Mission Valley Spots Stadium — Possible Conflict Seen With Midway Rising Stadium

March 25, 2024 by Source

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa San Diego – Editor-at-Large / March 23, 2024

San Diego State University officials received a proposal in 2022 to build a new sports arena within the Mission Valley development at no cost to the public but have kept the offer under wraps even as the City of San Diego is currently negotiating to develop a similar facility at the existing Sports Arena site.

SDSU President Adela de la Torre, the University’s Athletic Director, and several prominent San Diegans flew to Texas on a private jet in May 2022 to tour the Moody Center at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA) at the invitation of the company that led the development project.

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San Diego’s Sun After the Storms Shines on the Snow

March 25, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

The sun shines on the snow at Mt. Laguna, at 6,000 feet, Monday, March 25 at 9 a.m.

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The San Diego Community Planning Group Shell Game Begins at Today’s Land Use Committee Meeting

March 21, 2024 by Source

Rival Groups Challenge Uptown and La Jolla CPGs

By Mat Wahlstrom

Today — Thursday, March 21 — at 1:00PM, the City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee will vote to recommend which community planning group (CPG) will better represent the planning areas of La Jolla and Uptown: those currently elected, or those vetted for appointment by the mayor.

This represents the culmination of a years-long effort to paint elected CPGs as not representative of their communities by virtue of the fact that the people elected can’t be counted on to toe an ideological line.

Much like a shell game, in which an object is hidden under a number of covers which are shuffled around, the existing CPGs have been repeatedly tasked

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Mayor Picks From Within for New San Diego Police Chief: Asst. Chief Scott Wahl

March 21, 2024 by Staff

Mayor Gloria has picked from within the current ranks of the San Diego Police Department for his new chief – and announced Thursday that it will be Assistant Chief Scott Wahl. The current chief David Nisleit retires in late June.

Wahl, a native San Diegan, was selected after a nationwide search for candidates and still must be approved in a majority vote by the San Diego City Council before being sworn in.

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Open Letter to Mayor Gloria and Councilmember Whitburn: ‘Stop City’s Undemocratic Takeover of Our Community Planning Group, Uptown Planners!’

March 20, 2024 by Source

By Lisa Mortensen

Good Morning:

I am writing all of you because I hope Todd and Steve are aware of the complete outrage from the Uptown community regarding the city’s undemocratic takeover of our community planning group, Uptown Planners.   WE WANT UPTOWN PLANNERS TO REMAIN OUR PLANNING GROUP!!

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The Case Against YIMBYism

March 19, 2024 by Source

Why encouraging more private development won’t solve the housing crisis

By Michael Friedrich/ The New Republic / March 15, 2024

Sonja Trauss, the charismatic founder of the YIMBY movement, recently spoke at a conference of fellow travelers about the importance of supporting small home builders. “Most neighborhoods are still zoned low-density, and so if you’re seeing new housing, it’s going to be small projects,” she said at Austin’s YIMBYtown 2024, a gathering of people who believe that saying “yes in my backyard” to private development will fix America’s housing crisis.

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‘La Prensa’: Grift Expands on Midway Rising Re-development Project

March 19, 2024 by Source

By Arturo Castañares / Publisher of La Prensa / March 14, 2024

The details of a controversial redevelopment proposal for the current San Diego Sports Arena site continue to morph from bad to worse as the team now seeks public financing for their $1 billion project, but it’s not the first time the developer shrunk a proposal and sought public freebies.

The Midway Rising team, headed by developer Brad Termini, was selected in late 2022 by Mayor Todd Gloria and a compliant City Council

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Power San Diego: SDG&E Inflates Costs, Keeps Rates Sky-High

March 19, 2024 by Source

From Power San Diego

Creating a non-profit utility in the City of San Diego deserves serious cost-benefit analysis, said Bill Powers, chairman of the Power San Diego campaign, which is gathering signatures to put creation of a public electric utility on the ballot this November.

“Instead of serious analysis, SDGE has grossly inflated costs and completely ignored the benefits,” said Powers, a licensed electric systems engineer. “The utility seeks the veneer of independent review. But what their paid consultant says in footnotes and attributions is that the key data in their recent report came directly from SDGE, not from the consultant’s own assessments”

SDGE has already invested more than $560,000 in a political action committee to oppose the campaign for a non-profit utility.

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SDG&E Hikes Rates in March After Reporting Record Profits

March 19, 2024 by Source

By Erik Anderson / KPBS / March 18, 2024

San Diego Gas & Electric is going up in March, just a month after the utility reported record profits for 2023. The rate hike eliminates some savings from an unexpected 11% cut in delivery charges in January. The delivery charges jump 8.7% in the March billing cycle and the average customer bill will increase about $8 a month.

“Customers are still benefiting in March 2024, about a 6% savings than what they were spending in March of 2023,” SDG&E’s Anthony Wagner said. The move comes after the investor-owned utility posted record profits during the last calendar year. Company profits in 2023 hit a new record of $936 million, $21

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‘Compromise’ Plan for Northeast Mission Bay Supported by Council Committee

March 18, 2024 by Source

David Garrick of the U-T reported last week: A long-debated plan to transform much of northeast Mission Bay into climate-friendly marshland got official support Thursday [March 14] from San Diego City Council members for the first time. The council’s Environment Committee unanimously approved the plan, calling it a fair compromise between environmentalists, supporters of camping and advocates for recreation like tennis, soccer and water skiing.

The plan approved does these:

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Pizza Port’s OB Beers Win 3 Gold Medals

March 18, 2024 by Staff

Three of the Ocean Beach beers crafted by Pizza Port brewery won gold medals in this year’s competition in the annual Brewers Cup of California. Pizza Port also won a 4th gold medal from its Carlsbad location and two silver medals.

In total, six San Diego breweries brought home gold medals for their beers Wednesday in the competition’s fourth year. And all together, San Diego breweries won a total of 26 medals including 12 silver and five bronze.

Here are Pizza Port’s OB beers and its 1 Carlsbad beer:

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Rain, Winds and Snow in San Diego

March 14, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

A storm sweeping into our region is forecast to bring Santa Ana winds through Friday, with rain countywide and gusts up to 70 miles per hour in high desert areas.

Mountains and deserts could have thunderstorms through Saturday, with snow down to 5,000 feet in elevation. The above photo was taken off the Mount Laguna Lodge live webcam today at 3:25 pm.

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OBceans React to New City Crackdown on Private Businesses Staging Events on City Beaches

March 14, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

The big news coming out of City Hall that affects the beach is that San Diego is no longer allowing private companies to stage picnics, corporate events, large parties, bonfires or similar organized activities on the vast majority of city beaches.

According to David Garrick today at the Union-Tribune:

A city spokesperson said the crackdown, which comes as spring break is beginning and just before the busy summer beach season, was prompted by complaints from beach-goers and nearby residents.

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