OB Rag

by Katheryn Rhodes and Mandy Havlik 

In a Times of San Diego interview Mayor Todd Gloria discussed upcoming Budget cuts and he stated: “I am willing to do tough things. And I am willing to tell the public the truth. And they are probably not used to that.”

City of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria claimed that the City Council directed him to exhaust every revenue option before entertaining any budget cuts. In November 2024, Measure E for a new +1% Sales Tax to the General Fund barely failed 50.31% to 49.69%.  And the only 06/02/2026 ballot measure for new revenue is the “Empty Homes Tax.”

However, new revenue streams have not been exhausted. Since 2014 Katheryn Rhodes has put forward several Ballot proposals to Reclassify Online Travel Companies (OTC) as Hotel Operators in the plain language of the TOT Ordinance in order to get the full Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) rate to no avail.

In 1965, before Online Travel Companies (OTC) existed, was the first and only time the citizens of San Diego voted to approve the City’s Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Ordinance, including Definitions.

by Ernie McCray

Oh, I wish so much of the news
didn’t give me the blues,
as hearing Dolores Huerta weigh in
on Cesar Chavez’s sexual abuse
of women and minor children
with allegations
of situations
he put her in
darkened my soul
like midnight
on a moonless night,
making me weep
as I read of her emotional pain,
of how she has kept quiet
over time
so as not to bring negative attention
to the United Farm Worker’s struggles,

No Kings protests are being organized for Saturday, March 28. Over 3,000 events are being planned across the country — 19 just here in San Diego County (so far). From Otay Mesa, downtown San Diego to Borrego Springs and Oceanside — thousands of County and city residents will be mobilizing.

Figure out the nearest one to you and RSVP to one of them here.  See official statement from NO KINGS below.

Also sign up to volunteer to be a Rag photographer and reporter for the day. Send name and contact info to Editordude, obragblog@gmail.com

Here’s the lists of No King protests in the city and county — they are all on Sat., March 28th but some have different times):

No Kings Day in City of San Diego

Construction Could Start As Soon As Late 2027

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / March 17, 2026

For those wondering what’s happening with the affordable housing project proposed in Famosa Canyon, the project is still a go.

It’s just taking a little while.

“Bridge Housing Corp.’s proposed development of affordable housing at the property at the corner of Famosa and Nimitz boulevards is still in the pre-development phase,” said Scott Marshall, vice president of communications and government relations for the San Diego Housing Commission.

Bridge Housing plans to conduct community outreach, submit plans to the city for consideration, apply for necessary financing, and request and obtain building permits before construction can begin.

Construction could start late in 2027, said Marshall. “However, many factors related to these pending items could affect the timeline,” he added.

From Point Loma–OB Monthly / March 15, 2026

Ten Questions is a series in the Point Loma-OB Monthly that shines a spotlight on notable locals. This month’s featured personality is Glenn “Croc” Millar, president of Point Loma Summer Concerts, which recently received the Community Champion Award from the Point Loma Association.

Millar also is president and chief executive of Call Glenn Again Handyman and Home Services in Point Loma.

Q. What attracted you to the Point Loma-Ocean Beach area as a place to live and/or work?

A. My then-girlfriend, now-fiancée, Alexandra Watkins, and I came down here for a romantic trip in November 2017. We both love San Diego (she grew up here), so we decided to look at some houses just for grins. On the 10th house we walked into, Alexandra looked around and said “We’re buying this house.”

There is a 12-unit ADU project in Roseville on Canon Street that nearly slipped our collective mind. But our friends at Peninsula News are now reminding us – with the following “tour.”

By Dave Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / March 19, 2026

San Diego voters could consider ballot measures in November that aim to boost the City Council’s budget power, make campaign money more transparent, revamp hotel tax rules and ban paid parking at bays and beaches.

The City Council’s Rules Committee endorsed Wednesday moving all four of those measures one step closer to the November ballot and having the city attorney’s office craft formal ballot language.

Support was unanimous for three of those measures, but the Rules Committee vote was only 3-2 in favor of the measure to ban paid parking at beaches and bays.

And council President Joe LaCava said his “yes” vote was largely just to allow more research on the concept, including whether the state’s Coastal Commission would let the city exempt residents from parking fees.

Conflicting claims are flying around Point Loma these days regarding the property at 1004 Rosecrans — where a proposed four-story, 56-unit mixed-use project right next to the elementary school was on deck to be constructed. But community opposition quickly developed led by a grassroots group called Protect Point Loma — and it was recently announced that the owner / developer wanted to sell the site instead.

That was good news.

People in PL began celebrating – and started trying to find a developer and local investors who would create a more neighborhood-friendly project.

Eric Law, chair of both the Peninsula Community Planning Board and Protect PL, told Times of San Diego that the sale of the property / project to local investors would benefit everybody — seller, buyer and the community as a whole.

Law said Protect Point Loma is working with Peninsula developers of one sort or another with the idea of producing a different type of development that would be better for the community. He said real estate comparables, or “comps,” in the area are substantially lower than what the developer wants for 1004 Rosecrans.

Join them as the Ocean Beach Historical Society celebrates Daylight Saving Time at the Wisteria Patio Cottage, under the century-old Wisteria vines, on Thursday, March 19, 2026, 4:30 – 7:00 PM at 4761 Niagara Ave., in O.B.

By Donna Frye

On Wednesday, March 18, there was a discussion at the San Diego City Council Rules Committee to consider a ballot measure proposed by Councilmember Raul Campillo to maintain free parking at beaches and bays in the City of San Diego.

According to the staff report:

“The proposed ballot measure would add a new section to the San Diego Municipal Code establishing that parking in City-owned beach and bay parking lots shall remain free of charge. The measure would not apply to existing parking meters or other paid parking programs elsewhere in the City. Codifying this policy in the Municipal Code would help preserve access to beaches and bays for residents and visitors while maintaining the City’s longstanding practice of providing free parking in these coastal lots.”

On Thursday morning, March 19, 2026 the City of San Diego Planning Commission is holding a workshop on the Mid-City Communities Plan Update (MCCPU), which includes the four communities of Normal Heights, Kensington-Talmadge, Eastern Area, and City Heights.

The agenda can be found at: https://www.sandiego.gov/planning-commission/documents/agenda.

The address is 7650 Mission Valley Road, San Diego, CA 92108.

David Moty (Chair, Kensington-Talmadge Planning Group) wrote an article about the MCCPU that includes background and recommendations about the plan update,

By David Moty from Neighbors for a Better San Diego

I’ve never seen this before: A community plan update that wipes out most of a community’s single-family zoning. That’s what’s happening to Normal Heights, Kensington, and Talmadge under the City of San Diego’s undemocratic Mid-City Communities Plan Update.

And if this plan is adopted, state law makes these changes permanent. Even a future City Council couldn’t undo it.

Even if you do not live in Mid-City, please continue reading to understand how the City is bypassing the democratic process to implement the Mayor’s upzoning plans for San Diego. Your community may be next.

The City is close to developing an official draft plan, and everything indicates that they intend to upzone nearly all of Normal Heights and Kensington-Talmadge for multi-family housing, [ to see graphs and maps go here }as shown on the following Concept Plan #2:

The near-total upzoning of single-family neighborhoods in this concept would be in addition to the 8-story buildings recently allowed on Adams Avenue, and potential 18-story buildings on El Cajon Boulevard.