Serving OB, the Peninsula and San Diego Beaches
In a breaking news development, the San Diego trash fee law suit has been settled which will result in much lower monthly fees but also the settlement includes the repeal of paid parking in Balboa Park. In just minutes, Councilmember Stephen Whitburn will hold a press conference to announce the settlement of the city trash fees and Balboa Park paid parking.
4 Republicans — Including Bill Cassidy — Joined Democrats Led by Tim Kaine in Voting to Enforce War Powers ResolutionBy Theodoric Meyer / Washington Post / May 19, 2026
The Senate voted Tuesday to advance a resolution to block President Donald Trump from ordering further strikes on Iran, defying the White House nearly three months into an unpopular war.
Four Republicans — Sens. Rand Paul (Kentucky), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Bill Cassidy (Louisiana) — joined Democrats in voting to discharge a war powers resolution from committee, the first step toward forcing Trump to end a war that Congress never authorized. Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) was the lone Democrat to vote no.
The 50-47 procedural vote was a breakthrough for Democrats, but the measure still faces considerable hurdles before it could force Trump to end the war.
By Lester Black / SFGate / May 18, 2026
Marijuana legalization has meant millions of Americans have easier access to cannabis than ever before. But flying with marijuana remains a tricky subject, as airports are regulated by federal law, which still forbids many pot products.
That creates a challenging question for cannabis fans who may want to bring their preferred marijuana products when they travel. This is especially thorny when flying between two legal states, with travelers not knowing if a Transportation Security Administration officer will stop them from carrying a pack of edibles or joints on a route like San Francisco to New York City.
The TSA quietly updated its website’s listed policy last month to reaffirm that “medical marijuana” can be included in both carry-on and checked bags. The administration’s April 27 update added that its security procedures are focused on security threats, not drugs.
“TSA security officers do not search for illegal drugs, but if any illegal substance or evidence of criminal activity is discovered during security screening, TSA will refer the matter to a law enforcement officer,” the statement.
by Debbie L. Sklar / Times of San Diego / May 16, 2026
Mission Beach exists because of geography; it also exists because of development. The neighborhood sits on a narrow strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and Mission Bay, a coastal landform that shaped how the area could grow from the beginning.
The popular beach developed on a narrow sandy landform shaped over time by wave action, sediment movement, and shoreline processes. Unlike broader coastal plains, the geography limited expansion in both directions. The Pacific Ocean created a fixed western boundary, while Mission Bay formed the eastern edge, confining development to a narrow corridor.
In the early 20th century, the area became part of San Diego’s growing coastal recreation landscape. As shoreline access improved, Mission Beach developed as both a residential neighborhood and a seaside destination. Early on, tents and temporary structures occasionally appeared along the sand, reflecting its use as a seasonal coastal destination before full development. One of the most significant early projects was Belmont Park, which opened in 1925 during a broader era of California coastal amusement park development.
by Frank Sabatini Jr. / Times of San Diego / May 14, 2026
Former Ocean Beach resident is on a hardcore foraging adventure. He’s back with tips on how to live off the land
Not every person who adopts a healthy diet undergoes the culinary awakening that has thrust Robin Greenfield into the national spotlight.
Greenfield, 39, is an extreme forager. He eats strictly off the land, which includes at times cooking deer killed roadside by cars.
Yet his lifestyle changes extend far beyond his diet. His largely demonetized life is devoid of credit cards and bank accounts. He doesn’t own a cell phone, although he possesses a computer for managing speaking engagements and educational foraging lessons that he conducts throughout the country.
by Scott Hopkins / Times of San Diego / May 19, 2026
A first-time occurrence of any kind is big news at a 101-year-old school and Point Loma High’s boys volleyball team accomplished the feat May 16.
Playing in the San Diego CIF Div. V finals, the Pointers defeated Hoover High 3-0 to win the school’s first volleyball title.
The Pointers entered the playoffs as a No. 4 seed with a first-round bye. Next was a match against No. 5 seed Southwest of El Centro. The Pointers defeated them 3-0 before winning 3-1 in a huge match at No. 1 seed Del Lago Academy, sending them on to the finals against the No. 2-seeded Cardinals.
Both the Pointers and Cardinals had to travel to Oceanside’s MiraCosta Community College, site of the finals. But the Pointers arrived ready for action, led by head coach Ethan Phung and assistant Justin Phung.
From Governing / May 12, 2026
It’s a warm April day, bordering on hot, with the midday sun overhead. Still, Savannah Flores stays beneath a black tarp she has fashioned into a tent. If she tries to climb out, she says, it might collapse. So she agrees to talk through a small hole in the plastic.
Two or three days a week, she says, city crews sweep through this half-block stretch of 17th Street. The roughly two dozen people who usually camp there get 24 hours’ notice to pack up. Flores, 35, has been homeless for about a year. Whenever police come to clear out the area, she goes around the corner and returns later.
“They come and they treat us pretty much like we’re part of the trash,” she says. “They tell us to disappear somewhere, to be invisible.”
by Jenna Ramiscal / inewsource / May 19, 2026
Hundreds of residents whose taxpayer dollars fuel daily operations have taken to City Hall in recent weeks to air their frustrations over Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed answer to San Diego’s budget crisis this year.
That’s because Gloria’s budget slashes millions of dollars in funding for arts, parks, libraries and more in order to close a more than $140 million deficit. Those cuts would impact the city’s lower-income, racially diverse areas the most, according to the Independent Budget Analyst office. About 40 city jobs would also be eliminated.
In many ways, a city’s budget is an outline of its leaders’ priorities. It drives community services like public safety, parks, libraries and transportation. When cuts are made, certain departments and services have to roll back.
Here in San Diego, cuts will impact the city’s 1.4 million residents who rely on those services.
Gloria’s $6.4 billion spending plan is not final. It will have gone through several revisions once the City Council approves a budget in June.
Here’s the timeline:
Everyone is invited to come out and celebrate a 50-year old community victory for Ocean Beach. It’s the half-century celebration of the very first election to the OB Planning Board — and we’re having it this Tuesday, May 26th, at Dirty Birds OB. From 6 to 8pm.
We’ll have some finger-foods, good vibes and brief statements in solidarity of this election. There will be representatives from different OB groups including members of the current OB Planning Board.
If you’ve ever been a volunteer for anything in OB, then you’ll appreciate this event — and help honor the hundreds of OBceans who have volunteered for the planning board over the many years it has been in existence.
Top Lawyer at Treasury Resigns in Protest and Disgust at $1.8 Billion GriftThe Treasury’s most senior lawyer has dramatically quit, just hours after the Trump administration unveiled a vast $1.776 billion fund to enrich Jan. 6 rioters and other MAGA loyalists. Brian Morrissey, the department’s general counsel, stepped down a mere seven months after his Senate confirmation, three sources aware of his decision told the New York Times.
His abrupt departure came on the same day that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” Morrissey, who also served in Trump’s first administration, is a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a George H. W. Bush appointee.
Go to Daily Beast for more
By Steve Benen / Maddowblog / May 19, 2026
The fact that we knew the scheme was coming didn’t make it any easier to accept. Three months after Donald Trump filed a radical (and by any fair measure, frivolous) $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, the president’s lawyers announced Monday morning that they had agreed to withdraw the case.
Hours later, the other side of the agreement came to public light: In exchange for dropping his rather silly lawsuit, Trump’s own Justice Department announced the creation of a pool of money that it’s calling “The Anti-Weaponization Fund” — which Democrats and legal experts are more accurately characterizing as a “slush fund.”
The San Diego Community Coalition publishes this email bulletin to keep our members and the San Diego general public informed about important Council and Planning Commission hearings and other city public meetings.
Editor’s note: Last Wednesday’s Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee agenda included an item on the impact of paid parking on Balboa Park. The item was pulled before the meeting at the request of city staff.
Item 200: FY2026 Third Quarter Budget Monitoring Report
Why it matters: FY2026 revenues are expected to be down $10.5 million versus the budget. Fortunately, expenditures will likely be $1.7 million less than the decreased $2.1 billion revenue. But here’s the fine print: If revenues don’t exceed expenditures, “authority is requested, as a contingency, to draw from the General Fund Stability Reserve as needed to ensure the General Fund ends the fiscal year balanced.”
Item 202: May Revision to the FY2027 Draft Budget and Public Hearing on the 2027 Draft Budget
Come celebrate the 50th anniversary of the very first election to the OB Planning Board! We’re having a party!
On May 4th, 1976, thousands of OB residents, tenants, property owners and business owners voted in the first democratic election of a neighborhood volunteer panel. And it’s still here — and so are over 40 other planning boards across the City of San Diego. But Ocean Beach was the first.
The celebration party will be Tuesday night, May 26th from 6 to 8 pm at Dirty Birds Ocean Beach, 1927 Cable Street.
The OB Rag, as well as other community groups, are hosting the celebration — the OB Historical Society, the current OB Planning Board, and we’re hoping others will jump on the bandwagon, such as the OB Mainstreet Assoc., the OB Community Development Corp., The OB Woman’s Club, the OB Community Foundation.
Dirty Birds is opening up their lower dining area for the party and because the event is community-oriented, is giving us a huge break on the price for finger-foods. (There will be a no-host bar.) Guests will be asked for a small donation.
Ocean Beach has entered a time period that in less than two weeks, the coastal neighborhood celebrates the 50th anniversary of the very first community-wide democratic election to its OB Planning Board — a volunteer board that still exists to this day, Earth Day 2026.
May 4th, 1976 was a day when thousands of Ocean Beach residents, property owners and business owners voted on candidates for a 14-member board to help make urban planning and infrastructure decisions and recommendations to the city.
Not only was it the first election of the OB Planning Board, it was the first democratic election of ANY community planning group in San Diego’s history. So, May 4th ought to be celebrated by the over 40 community planning groups across the city.
Nine months before the scheduled election, on July 3, 1975, the San Diego City Council heard presentations about a so-called “OB Plan.”
It was standing room only in the Council Chambers, which brimmed with residents, property-owners and merchants from OB. After all the public testimony and speeches, after more discussion among councilmembers and staff, the Council – with Republican Mayor Pete Wilson at the ceremonial helm – took a vote and passed the OB Precise Plan — which included a number of amendments made by an OB grassroots organization, called the Community Planning Group.
The most important of these amendments was the provision for a community election of a planning committee. The City Planning Department was ordered to implement a Planned District for Ocean Beach, from the motion itself:
“the new committee formed for the purposes of implementing the Plan, should be elected by the citizens of Ocean Beach in a democratic fashion, using a process monitored by a neutral party to be appointed by the Mayor and Council.”
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