OB Rag

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.”

By Van Whiting / Times of San Diego /  April 21, 2026

In 2020, the city of San Diego budget authorized 11,820 full-time-equivalent positions. The budget for fiscal year 2026 carries 13,062. That is roughly 1,200 added positions in six years, while city population held flat.

The mayor’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 eliminates nearly $12 million of the city’s $13.8 million arts and culture budget — a cut of roughly 85% — along with reductions to libraries and recreation. But it trims only about 290 of the 1,200 positions added since 2020.

This is neither logical nor good governance. Start with the math.

City employees do not cost only their salaries. Fringe benefits — pensions, health care, related costs — add roughly 50%-60% on top of pay. A manager at $200,000 costs the city about $320,000 fully loaded. That figure is illustrative of the marginal, higher-compensation positions driving growth in internal functions, not the average employee.

By Alexandra Mendoza / San Diego Union-Tribune / April 18-19, 2026

The people of Tecate, Mexico, had heard the Trump administration would be continuing construction on the border fence in the area. But the blasts that have echoed through the small border town in recent weeks were not what residents had expected.

Heavy machinery and explosions have rumbled up the U.S. side of Kuchamaa Mountain, a place sacred to the Kumeyaay people on both sides of the border.

“It feels like they’re hurting a part of us,” said Luis Rafael Cota, who lives in the Juntas de Nejí y Anexos Kumeyaay community in Tecate and has witnessed the blasts, “a part of our culture.”

Kuchamaa Mountain, also known as Tecate Peak, or Cerro Cuchumá in Spanish, sits between two towns with the same name — Tecate in California and Tecate in Baja California.

In 1992, Kuchamaa Mountain was the first sacred mountain to be added to the National Register of Historic Places, as an “important religious site to the Kumeyaay Indians of San Diego County and Baja California,” the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said at the time.

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / April 21, 2026

A new analysis by Balboa Park leaders says paid parking has caused already-falling attendance and revenues to drop even more steeply, warning that the decline could lead to layoffs and program cuts.

According to the nonprofit Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, average attendance is down nearly 34% at museums and other park venues in the months since paid parking began Jan. 5, compared with the same period last year.

The partnership also says revenue is down $5 million total across its organizations year-over-year and is predicting revenue will be down $10 million for the calendar year.

City officials released parking data from Balboa Park on Monday that show revenue has kept rising since January, raising questions about why museum attendance would be down if more people are using the park.

The cultural partnership, an umbrella group for organizations within the park, is calling on city officials to make “swift and meaningful changes” to the parking rules and policies but also contends a major city retreat in February actually made things worse.

The San Diego Community Coalition publishes this email bulletin to keep our members and the San Diego public in general informed about important Council and Planning Commission hearings and other city public meetings.

Monday, April 20: City Council, 10:00 a.m.

Closed Session Agenda:

Item CS-3: Class action case alleges the City violated Proposition 218 by charging tiered water rates to single family residential water customers and seeks refunds. City Attorney’s Office will update Mayor and City Council on status and seek direction.

Why it matters: “Recent court rulings on tiered water rates are creating confusion and uncertainty at water agencies across California, including in San Diego, where one ruling will mean rate hikes for most single-family homes.” [Union-Tribune, March 13]

Item CS-4: The Council will meet with its negotiator on price and payment terms for potential long-term ground leases with Midway Rising, LLC, to redevelop the City-owned real property.

Why it matters: The state Court of Appeal ruled that the city failed to perform an adequate environmental review of the Midway-Pacific Highway area around the proposed project. The Supreme Court agreed and declined to hear the city’s appeal. So why is the city moving ahead to negotiate price and payment terms for the project without analyzing the environmental impacts and the scope of the court’s ruling?

By JW August / Times of San Diego / April20, 2026

After a 12-year journey, “The Black Family” statue will soon resume its place in one of San Diego’s oldest parks — and in the city’s arts world.

A new version of the statue will replace the 52-year-old original that was removed due to years of decay, at its old home at the front of Neal Petties Mountain View Community Park, formerly known as Mountain View Community Park. It will be unveiled on June 13 as part of the annual Juneteenth celebration.

The stainless steel statue, like the original made from painted redwood, will continue to honor late artist Rossie Wade’s image of Black values and community pride, as it did when it was dedicated in the southeastern San Diego park in 1974.

Wade’s concept was inspired by an abstract painting he created in the 1950s of a Black family of four. The new statue is intended to reflect the earlier work’s message of hope, depicting a Black family of four including a father, mother, son and daughter reaching for the sky.

By Kristina Houck / Patch San Diego / April 17, 2026

Eighty-three hospitals in California are among 446 across 44 states and Washington, D.C., facing a heightened risk of closing, cutting services or laying off workers due to federal medicaid funding cuts, according to a new report. Three from San Diego County are numbered among those at risk.

The cuts to Medicaid were included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025.

The report by Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, says the law will cut $911 billion in federal spending on Medicaid and CHIP over 10 years, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.

Could Kamala Harris become the next governor of California?

What with Swalwell’s exit from the race and now Betty Yee’s departure, suddenly there is renewed speculation and interest in the former vice-president and defeated 2024 presidential candidate being a candidate for governor of the arguably bluest state in the union. As many have observed, there aren’t any stand-out top-tiered faces in the crowded race, and now Kamala’s is being visualized.

Certainly she has great name recognition — for good and bad reasons — and as she makes signs of joining the 2028 presidential race, there are sounds of groans within Democratic — and generally progressive — ranks of voters. And the ranks of voters not enthusiastic for Harris to run for the White House again are thick — and this gambit — having her run for governor, might just solve a couple of problems.

Hundreds of San Diego residents and community leaders criticized Mayor Todd Gloria’s new proposed budget Monday for cutting money for arts, library hours, recreation centers, youth services and other programs.

In public testimony at City Hall and in comments submitted by email, critics said the mayor’s proposed spending plan for the new fiscal year prioritizes the wrong things and would make devastating cuts to key programs.

Many of the speakers are artists or members of local arts organizations frustrated by a proposed $11.8 million cut in city grants — money the organizations often use to secure matching grants.

“Cutting this funding is not fiscally responsible, it is short-sighted,” said local artist Sara Wilczynska. “Arts and cultural industries in the U.S. have grown faster than the overall economy in recent years, and public investment in the arts generates tax revenue and business activity far beyond the initial funding.”

Others were focused on libraries.

“Why is the San Diego Public Library being asked to absorb even more significant budget cuts on top of an already-slashed library budget?” asked Whitney MacKenzie. “Find the money somewhere else. Our communities need our libraries desperately.”

Vote in Support of Assemblymember Chris Ward’s Legislation, AB 2525

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / April 21, 2026

The San Diego City Council has unanimously voted to support AB 2525, which would exempt lands within Mission Bay Park from being declared as surplus and reused for housing.

The Surplus Land Act aims to make local public land no longer needed for government purposes available for building affordable homes. Under state law, once a property is declared surplus land, priority has to be given first to offering it for bid to affordable housing developers.

Authored by 78th Assemblymember Chris Ward of San Diego, AB 2525 was introduced in the state legislature on Feb. 20 prior to the council’s debating and supporting the bill on April 14.

Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, whose District 2 includes much of Mission Bay Park, spoke in favor of Ward’s legislation.

by Crystal Niebla / inewsource / April 9, 2026

Beside a 10-foot-tall pile of construction debris, dozens of people sat at folding tables and brainstormed how to reclaim a piece of land in National City used as a dumping ground.

The 7-acre site at Division Street and Palm Avenue, situated underneath Interstate 805 and near on-ramps, is the product of how freeway construction divided communities decades ago. Locals are now making their mark on the barren land with hand-painted signs, new plants and public art.

They say they want to see it turned into more.

Why this matters
The federal government’s construction of the interstate highway system decades ago including intentionally building through Black and brown communities and resulted in taking homes via eminent domain, exposing residents to higher levels of air pollution and unsafe pedestrian routes. Scholars — and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — have described the practice as racist.

Friday’s outdoor session kicked off the first of seven workshops across San Diego County assessing how to correct harmful infrastructure to historically underserved communities. The workshops will inform a study by the San Diego Association of Governments in partnership with Caltrans meant to explore projects related to transportation, housing, green spaces, and more “that support community reconnection.”

Organizers are calling the land Maat Mataa Yum — loosely translated from Kumeyaay to “where the people come together on the land,” said community organizer Janice Luna Reynoso.

A Report of the Ocean Beach Historical Society Meeting

By Jillian Butler

On April 17th, 2026, the Ocean Beach Historical Society held a presentation about the history of the “Dutch Flats”. Hosted in OB Joyfull (formerly known as Water’s Edge Community Center and OB’s Methodist church), with 30-50 present, this gathering delved into what few know is home of the roots of air travel in America.

The Ocean Beach Historical Society is a grassroots organization that “helps preserve local history through programs, postcards, the Sea Scrolls, articles, local events, and history conferences”. Their general meetings are held every third Thursday at OB Joyfull at seven PM. They are free and open to the public.

Before delving into the history of Dutch Flats, the meeting began with a general recap including the rebrand of Water’s Edge to OB Joyfull and the Wisteria Patio Party. It was also announced that the Ocean Beach Historical Society has branched out on social media, including both Instagram and Facebook.

Representatives from other local advocacy organizations were present as well. Lynn Miller from Coastal Caretakers, an organization centered around fighting against overdevelopment in San Diego took to the floor. She announced that Coastal Caretakers has paired with Save Our Heritage Organization to file a lawsuit against the city for failing to protect historical communities from developers. She is confident they will win, but requested donations from attendees.

Here’s how major California cities are trying to deal with or get around Senate Bill 79 — one of the most undemocratic housing mandates to ever come out of Sacramento.

Senate Bill 79 (SB79) goes into effect this year on July 1. When it passed — there were lots of machinations and maneuverings among state legislators to get it over the top in terms of votes — it made it legal for developers to build mid-rises — some as tall as nine stories — in major metropolitan neighborhoods near trains, subways and dedicated bus stops.

Yet some think that the final version “offered local governments plenty of wiggle room over the where, when and how of the new law,” wrote Cal-Matters reporter, Ben Christopher in his piece (reposted by Times of San Diego). Christopher wrote: “With the summer deadline rapidly approaching, cities across the state are starting to wiggle.”

Like a statewide game of Choose Your Own Adventure, local elected officials for the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles to San Diego are exploring ways to either lean into the spirit of the law, come up with their own plan tailored to the city’s whims and needs, or slow the local roll out for as long as possible while considering their options. Those that do nothing will be forced to accept the transit-oriented rezoning prescribed by state legislators.

We sifted through the piece and here offer a focus on the major cities, as per Christopher.