OB Rag

By Jim Varnadore

Now that we’ve begun making sense of the trash fees and the hateful parking fees at Balboa Park, you might give sober consideration to the suggestions your constituents sent you for bringing city expenses down to match its income.

One very helpful suggestion is to cut your personal staffs in half, eliminating the higher paid half but not increasing the lower paid half – neither numbers nor pay.  Your constituents would no longer pay staff members whose main job is to win your next election.

Every Saturday at 10:30 am. San Diego Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings.  June 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th.
Every Saturday 10 am – 12 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine:
Every Sunday 1:30 pm – 3:15 pm Otay Mesa Vigil Otay Mesa Detention Center

June 1st Monday 12 pm – 1 pm Interfaith Vigil for Earth Justice Event by Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice  U.S. District Court building
June 2nd Tuesday — Primary Vote Day

June 3rd 10 am – 3:45 pm Youth Summit Recommended by MidCity Can
June 3rd, 17th and 24th Wednesdays 4 pm – 5:15 pm Resist Trump Flash Banner Action –
June 4th Thursday 6 pm – 8 pm  Women+ In Green & Green Drinks Mixer
June 4th Thursday 5 pm Online film Premiere of “An Ordinary Insanity” Recommended by Peace San Diego

By Kurt Johnston / UCSD The Guardian / May 26, 2026

1. FIFA ‘Americanizes’ the game

In about two weeks, the U.S., Mexico, and Canada will host the most bizarre World Cup that FIFA has ever organized. Yes, that includes Benito Mussolini’s personal propaganda tournament in 1934, Vladimir Putin’s personal propaganda tournament in 2018, and the Qatari regime’s personal propaganda tournament in 2022. Take a bow, Gianni Infantino.

FIFA is billing the 2026 edition of the world’s biggest sporting event — soon to be President Donald Trump’s personal propaganda tournament — as an overdue expansion of the beautiful game. The month-long spectacle will span three host countries, increasing to 48 participants for the first time in World Cup history. It will instead be remembered for a number of other first-time inclusions that threaten the sport’s integrity.

Most egregiously, all matches will be paused for mid-half water breaks.

By Dave Rice

Is Measure A going to affect a significant number of properties? Is it going to affect affordable housing in any meaningful way? Come now, let’s not be dense – this hits a handful of rich people who can absolutely afford to drop $10K in the city coffers if they’re leaving a vacation home vacant on purpose – let’s say that’s their civic contribution that would be realized in other ways if they actually lived, worked, and shopped here full-time.

Or it hits STVR hosts, who can either factor the cost into their business model or give it up if margins are really that thin (maybe not everyone needs to fancy themselves an amateur hotelier). But let’s not kid ourselves and believe the kind of housing this will free up will be plentiful or affordable.

By Chase

Here are some counterpoints to the Rag post “Why I’m Voting No on Measure A”:

“Supporters claim it will free up housing supply by encouraging owners to sell their property or rent it out to local residents.”
– I would claim it will EITHER free up housing supply OR raise revenue as a penalty for underutilizing housing. Every property owner this applies to has a choice, utilize the property, OR pay the tax.

“It includes retirees who maintain a second home to be closer to doctors, family, or grandchildren. It could impact military families deployed for extended periods if they fail to properly file paperwork with a new city bureaucracy. It affects people navigating inheritance, relocation, family illness, or other life transitions.”
– This statement can be boiled down to “it includes property owners who are underutilizing housing” and I fail to see how “if they fail to properly file paperwork” is included in this. Every US citizen is at risk of arrest if they fail to properly file their taxes…

By Aaryn Belfer / San Diego Magazine / May 27, 2026

San Diego is just out here minding its own business. It’s long been cast as Los Angeles’s less ambitious sibling—the chill one, the one who shows up late for dinner reservations in flip-flops with a few provocative opinions. Architecturally it’s often cast the same: secondary, derivative, a footnote to California modernism that seems to begin and end with the Stahl House (Case Study House #22). LA has Pierre Koenig, Craig Ellwood, John Lautner. San Diego has the original fish taco.

But this version of the story is redacted, metaphorically speaking.

While the jazz hands of Hollywood and its hills cast a spell on historians and architecture buffs, San Diego had, and has, its own quiet evolution: It invented and reinvented itself through homegrown modernism, beginning with The Allen House (1907) in Bonita by Irving J. Gill.

By Shane Harris / Voice of San Diego / May 29, 2026

I don’t own a home in San Diego. Like many residents, I rent. I feel the pressure of rising costs. I understand how difficult it is for working people and families to find stable, affordable housing in this city. And like most San Diegans, I want real solutions to our housing crisis. That’s exactly why I’m voting no on Measure A.

Initially, the City Council wanted Measure A described as an “empty homes” tax until a judge ruled that the city could not use that misleading language. Now the measure is identified as a “non-primary homes” tax. Supporters claim it will free up housing supply by encouraging owners to sell their property or rent it out to local residents. It sounds simple, even appealing. But when you look closer, the reality is far more complicated — and far more concerning.

This measure isn’t just about abandoned or speculative properties. It creates a tax of up to $10,000 annually on homes deemed not to be a primary residence and “vacant” for more than half the year. That definition sweeps in far more people than many voters realize.

This is a brief summary of David Garrick’s piece at The San Diego Union-Tribune, published May 26-27, 2026, entitled “Here’s who’s drawing the most money in San Diego City Council races”. Our primary focus is on District 2, and Garrick’s review was primarily on the candidates drawing the most money.

Josh Coyne

Josh Coyne — who’s a Democrat (as are all the D2 candidates except Bailey) has been receiving strong financial support — “more than $200,000 — from an independent committee led by Local 89 of the Laborers International Union of North America.”

In terms of positioning for a future campaign should he be one of the winners in the Primary, Coyne has “essentially nothing — he has $30,000 in cash on hand but a matching $30,000 in unpaid bills,” reports Garrick.

However, all the top Democrats in this race expect party and labor help for whichever of them wins in the Primary.

Nicole Crosby

Nicole Crosby, is also getting labor support, mainly from the largest labor union for city workers — the Municipal Employees Association

By Katie Anastas / KPBS /  May 28, 2026 

On an April morning in downtown San Diego, Elizabeth Johnson and a half-dozen other parents with children in the San Diego Unified School District gathered to protest.

Johnson stuck letters onto a piece of cardstock to spell “teachers over tech.” Other signs read “less screens, more humans” and “ed tech is the biggest grift in education.”

The group is part of the local chapter of Schools Beyond Screens.

They stood in front of the Manchester Grand Hyatt outside of a sold-out conference, where school district leaders, college presidents, tech executives and startup founders were speaking about the latest in artificial intelligence and educational technology.

Johnson and a growing number of other parents are asking the district to reevaluate the role technology plays in its classrooms. They’re concerned about kids’ learning, attention spans, eyesight, privacy and social skills.

A resolution on the issue could go before the school board as soon as next month.

Winners Part of C-SPAN’s Annual Student Cam Competition

by Dave Schwab / Peninsula Beacon – Times of San Diego / May 27, 2026

Correia Middle School students were honored for their prize-winning documentaries in C-SPAN’s annual Student Cam competition.

C-SPAN, a public affairs network created in 1979 as a nonprofit public service, and Cox Communications run the annual Student Cam competition, which presents awards and recognizes winning students, grades 6-through-12, and their teachers, who serve as the StudentCam advisers.

In recognition of the United States’ 250th anniversary, C-SPAN, in cooperation with its cable and satellite television partners, challenged middle- and high-school students across the country to examine the enduring power and relevance of the Declaration of Independence.

For the challenge, students had one of two options: They could explore the Declaration of Independence’s influence on a key moment from America’s 250-year history, or focus on the Declaration of Independence’s impact on them or their community.

Through this project-based learning experience, students competing in the StudentCam competition conduct in-depth research, critical analysis, and original storytelling to explore matters of both personal and national importance.

On May 19 at Correia Middle School, Rachel Katz of C-SPAN recognized prize-winning students for their work.

by: Sharisse Cohee / Fox5 San Diego / May 27, 2026

The San Diego Harbor Police confirmed it responded to reports Wednesday, May 27, of a collision between a San Diego Seal Tour boat and another vessel near Shelter Island.

Harbor police said the collision, which happened Wednesday afternoon in San Diego Bay, was minor and no injuries have been reported. The Coast Guard will investigate the incident, as the other vessel involved was commercial.

OB Rag Staff Report

San Diego’s 22-year experiment with a “strong mayor” has been hobbled by a string of financial crises.

Is it time to consider restoring the position of City Manager?

Jack McGrory, the last person to hold the job, will share his thoughts at a town hall forum on “Why We Need a City Manager and Other Insights” on Saturday, June 20, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Mission Valley Library, 2123 Fenton Parkway.

Sponsored by the San Diego Community Coalition (SDCC) and Neighbors for a Better San Diego (NFABSD), the forum is the fifth in a series of question-and-answer sessions on important civic issues.

These events are free and open to the public, but seating is limited.