OB Rag

By Robert Welsh

Here is a quote from the City’s Clairemont Community Plan, dated 1989: “In summary, Clairemont Mesa is an urbanized community and for the most part is built out.” It must be said, that Clairemont has not gotten less “built out” in the 37 years since then.

Recently I was in a discussion about excessive apartment building development in Clairemont Mesa, noting 8 locations where significant developments had been completed, were under construction or were planned. I decided to visit each location in person, to get a first-hand view, and these are my observations.

I was both surprised and shocked with what I found.

I was surprised to find that 2 of the notorious cul-de-sac ADU builds (12 units @ Shoshoni, and 17 units @ Almayo) did not look as awful from the front as they did while under construction. You might easily drive by them without noticing the depth of their development, from front-to-back. Of course, you wouldn’t be driving past them because they are both in cul-de-sacs, and the parking problems are obvious and extreme. There simply is no parking for these locations.

I was shocked to see how many smaller (4-8 unit) ADUs existed or were under construction around Clairemont ! Unless you drive around and look, you will not fathom the incredible amount of construction that has been or is being undertaken.

My focus here will be on the large builds.

By Angelo Haynes

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors convened a meeting at the County Administration Center to discuss ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) use of county property and facilities for firearms training. A period of public comment was held on Agenda discussion item #24, which drew 57 public comments with 38
being in person. Many giving public comment in attendance represented groups from all over Riverside and San Diego counties, in some cases, working in coalition.

This issue of training of ICE and CBP officers at county facilities was brought about by a recommendation from County Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer (District 3) and Pro-Tem
Paloma Aguirre (District 1). This was in response to the growing number of violent encounters in communities being targeted by ICE and CBP raids. The discussion was for whether or not the county should continue allowing ICE and CPB use of our facilities for training.

Groups represented in the meetings proceedings included: Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), San Diego Legal Aid Society, San Diego Immigrants Rights Consortium (SDIRC), Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) and CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations). Many of the comments were in support of the Aguirre’s and Lawson-Remer’s proposal.

Bailey says the city should ‘return to 2015 staffing levels’ by cutting 1,054 employees and the services they provide.

By Michael Zucchet Voice of San Diego

City Council candidate Richard Bailey continues to promise budget fantasyland to San Diegans.  He says the answer to San Diego’s persistent budget shortfalls includes no new fees, no increased taxes, and no service cuts whatsoever – in fact he claims that somehow service levels will magically improve – if we simply “return to 2015 staffing levels” in the city of San Diego.

Bailey moved to San Diego last year, changed his political party affiliation this February, and within days announced that he was running for City Council.  Since then, and again last week in an interview with NBC’s “Politically Speaking,” he has repeatedly claimed that if we just “return to 2015 staffing levels,” the city’s general fund budget will swing from what he says is a $100 million annual deficit to more than a $300 million surplus with “no need to cut any services.”

By Darryl

She is alone. Her family now restricted. Her visitors, of days long since gone, no longer come for her, but for others.

Vacant of purpose, she is seen as a relic, an eyesore harboring forgotten memories, a throwback to an era long since gone. For her five decades of contributions to her community and those that love her, segregation, isolation, and deterioration are now all that is requited. But despite her diminished and ignored stature, she stands tall every day, gazing longingly at her birthplace with its residents and guests bustling about, as she recalls early memories from happier times.

Shortly after her arrival, and amongst much fanfare, she was fully embraced by her new hometown. As the center of much attention, she hosted guests continuously, day and night, with little respite.

She quickly achieved an iconic state of being and cemented her place amongst the prominent and sight worthy features of the greater community. People knew her well, and frequently referenced her with landmark prestige.

Trump Calls Reports of Bad Conditions on Board Carrier “Fake News”

On Monday, August 17, members of San Diego’s congressional delegation expressed their view that an independent investigation into the monthslong deployment of the locally based USS Abraham Lincoln is warranted given all the reports of deplorable conditions and a few suicide attempts on board the carrier. The sailors and marines on board are serving on the longest consecutive stretch at sea without a port call in modern U.S. military history.

U.S. Congressmembers Scott Peters, Juan Vargas, Mike Levin and Sara Jacobs — all Democrats — asked in a letter that the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General to “undertake an independent review of the processes, rationale, and decisions surrounding the extended deployment” of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the strike group it is leading. The local congressional members were joined by California U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla.

The U-T reported that the carrier — “based out of Naval Air Station North Island, and Carrier Strike Group 3 have been deployed for more than 240 days and at sea for more than 200.”

Editordude: Thanks to reporter Dave Schwab and the Times of San Diego, we have an update on what’s happening with the OB Pier replacement project. It’s been nearly a decade since the Rag broke the story that the pier had reached the end of its service life. (They call it the OB Pier “Renewal Project”, but that sounds like the current pier will simply be “renewed.” Not so, as the current pier needs to be “replaced.”)

By Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / August 18, 2026

Given the city’s existing budget crunch, residents and business owners have been asking if the Ocean Beach Pier Renewal project has been put on the back burner until the next city administration takes office in 2028 or the budget rights itself.

The city says no.

“The Ocean Beach Pier Renewal project is still in the permitting and environmental review phase,” said senior city spokesman Tyler Becker. “Given the scale of the project, a comprehensive Environmental Impact Report is required under the California Environmental Quality Act, which can typically take anywhere from two to five years, depending upon the findings and potential impacts.”

Planning for a new replacement pier has been ongoing for about 3 ½ years starting in early 2023, when the city began formal public workshops and concept development. However, initial structural studies pointing to the end of the pier’s service life began eight years ago in 2018, when consultants determined continually repairing it would cost more in the long run than replacing it.

From ACLU

The ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties (ACLU-SDIC) has launched a petition calling on the San Diego City Council and Mayor Todd Gloria to “Get the Flock Out” and cancel all of San Diego’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) contracts, including those with Flock Safety, the company that owns and operates the city’s ALPR system.

The City of San Diego is currently using taxpayer funds for the San Diego Police Department’s ALPR system, an invasive, around-the-clock mass surveillance technology that collects a massive trove of location and identifying data captured from vehicle and personal information that reveals intimate details of a person’s life. This information demonstrates travel patterns of individuals as they go to work, drop their children off at school, or attend a house of worship, doctor’s office or protest.

DOJ Claims Some State Election Officials Knowingly Allowed Non-Citizens to Vote But Offers No Evidence

By Yunior Rivas / Democracy Docket / August 17, 2026

The Trump administration plans to deploy approximately 1,000 Department of Justice election monitors across the country in November, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said Monday, August 17.

In an interview on Bloomberg’s Balance of Power, Dhillon also said the Justice Department could take its failing campaign to obtain unredacted state voter rolls all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

Dhillon’s interview offered one of the clearest previews yet of how the department’s Civil Rights Division intends to approach the 2026 midterms.

Good news! After just one week of fundraising, the Rag has exceeded our goal by $3,000! Our goal was $3,500 but we’ve now reached over $6,600 in donations from readers, friends and supporters.

This means the Rag can continue the quality and quantity of our writings and reports. We can keep our lights on. This is crucial because the country is about to enter one of the most turbulent periods in modern history. Donald Trump is gearing up to unleash a multi-level attack on our November elections — and this is no time for the Rag to go silent.

by Nadia Lathan / Voice of San Diego / August 18, 2026

They’re going for the wholesale workaround.

San Diego lawmakers are weighing new legislation to allow San Diego’s Midway Rising project to bypass state environmental review — a pivot from earlier proposals that sought to exempt parts of the project from certain environmental rules.

The Midway Rising plan involves a 16,0000-seat arena and roughly 4,250 housing units.

Under the new proposal, the city’s own study of the project’s environmental impacts would be enough to meet requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, according to proposed amendments of the bill obtained by Voice of San Diego.

A public hearing on the bill — which amended previously unrelated legislation about human remains — is expected to take place later this week. Lead author Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson could not be immediately reached for comment.

Assemblymember Chris Ward, who’s a co-author on the bill, said lawmakers are introducing the bill now after facing roadbacks locally.

By Debbie L. Sklar / Special to the OB Rag

The Fleetridge section of Point Loma doesn’t look like most postwar neighborhoods.

Its streets curve with the hills instead of following a straight grid. Homes sit on generous lots, tucked among mature trees and landscaping. And the neighborhood’s midcentury character feels remarkably intact.

That was no accident.

When Fleetridge was developed in the 1950s, its planners deliberately worked with the natural contours of Point Loma rather than flattening the hills and laying out a conventional subdivision.

The story begins in December 1949, when the Point Loma Holding Corp. purchased 175 acres. The corporation was headed by aviation pioneer Reuben H. Fleet, with attorney Ruel H. Liggett as secretary and paving contractor Roscoe E. Hazard. In November 1950, the corporation recorded the first Fleetridge subdivision map, containing 72 lots. Unit 2, with another 108 lots, followed in 1953.

The man whose name became part of the neighborhood was David Girton Fleet, Reuben Fleet’s son.

The Jetty
4934 Voltaire St.
Ocean Beach 92107
Open from noon – 9pm
www.thejettyob.com
 
By LKBruce

The Jetty Bodes Well

Some might question the wisdom of reviewing a restaurant before it’s officially open but Yelpers and Googlers are already out there so why not.

Having opened on June 12 for the first American soccer match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, The Jetty has been testing and refining its menu ever since.

It’s time for SUMMER FUN at …
OB Historical Society’s first Ice Cream Social!

Thursday, August 20, 2026, 6 pm.

by Nadia Lathan / Voice of San Diego / August 14, 2026

A new bill related to San Diego’s Midway Rising project was set in motion Thursday, August 13, as lawmakers began a process to gut and amend an unrelated bill that would potentially give broader environmental exemptions for the planned dual sports arena and housing complex.

New bill language isn’t available yet, but it’s expected to appear next week ahead of an Assembly Natural Resources Committee meeting