OB Rag

The City of San Diego is pushing to build a seawall between Adair and a few blocks south, and it’s planned within the Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, which explicitly prohibits seawalls. Here’s a report from Times of San Diego by Dave Schwab (The Rag’s Kathy Blavatt is quoted at the end):

During a May 12 meeting, Point Loma residents gathered for a city project update to learn more about an effort to build a new seawall along Sunset Cliffs.

The Seawall Improvement Project in Sunset Cliffs is estimated to cost approximately $32 million and will help curb coastal erosion along the coastal bluffs.

In addition to a new seawall, project engineers look to protect access to the coastline, update public infrastructure for the area near the bluff and for the surrounding Sunset Cliffs residential community.

However, a slideshow presentation on seawall improvements by officials during the May 12 meeting at Point Loma/Hervey Branch library drew mixed reactions from residents.

Residents in attendance questioned the improvement project’s projected cost, its timing, possible environmental damage and its potential impacts to public safety and traffic disruption along Sunset Cliffs Boulevard.

Grandson Steaks 
2690 Historic Decatur Rd Ste 102
Liberty Station
San Diego, CA 92106
www.grandsonsteaks.com

By LK Bruce

Grandson Steaks just opened in Liberty Station across from Con Pane where the Banyan Café and Wildflour used to be. Two weeks ago they had a steak dinner for four for $69. Not $69 per person, $69 for ALL FOUR diners. It was amazing. Yes, “was” is the key word because the same fabulous dinner has since gone up to $95 for four. Still not too bad but that’s how things are going now during the war.

So what does this feast look like? You get a pound and a half of sliced choice ribeye steak, along with a cup of fresh guacamole, a cup of their homemade birria, a cup of Adobada, a cup of refried beans, six tortillas, eight quesadillas, grilled onions and peppers and a couple of spicy sauces. Oh yes, and some bone marrow. It was awesome. You can even order an upgrade to “prime” beef for $20 more. (For $5 more per person it could be worth it. Our “choice” grade steak was fine by me but my husband thought the upgrade might be a little more tender.)

A Point Loma man pleaded guilty earlier this week to attempted murder and domestic violence charges. When police responded to the residence of William Stephens, 66, after his wife had called 911, on Jan. 23, 2025, Stephens intentionally drove his Jeep at an officer and struck him, seriously injuring him.

Stephens is expected to be sentenced to 12 years to state prison in June.

Prosecutors allege that as Officer Matthew Salisbury approached the home’s driveway, Stephens sped toward the officer, who attempted to evade the vehicle by moving behind a bush located near the driveway’s entrance.

On a stretch of coastline where surfers now line up for morning waves, Ocean Beach once hosted an amusement park at the edge of the Pacific.

Few traces of Wonderland Amusement Park remain, but it reflects early Ocean Beach as a developing coastal community, part of a broader era when seaside amusement parks— including attractions such as Belmont Park in Mission Beach— were part of a trend of seaside amusement development along San Diego’s coastline.

Big changes
In the early 20th century, San Diego’s coastline was changing rapidly.

Streetcar expansion opened access to previously remote shoreline areas, triggering a wave of development aimed at turning the coast into a center for leisure and recreation. Ocean Beach was part of that shift.

By David Hogan / East County Magazine / May 13, 2026

Conservation groups have sent a letter to officials at the Cleveland National Forest opposing the proposed Laguna Mountains Forest Restoration Project.

The groups condemn the Forest Service’s so-called “restoration” plan to log trees, bulldoze and burn natural chaparral shrublands, and spray herbicide across more than 13,000 acres of scenic mountains near San Diego.

This project is pure Orwellian doublespeak.

It’s not forest “restoration” if you use bulldozers, masticators, chainsaws, herbicides, and fire to beat the environment into conditions that never existed in the first place. National Forest land belongs to everyone and shouldn’t be sacrificed to private companies that stand to massively profit from destroying delicate mountain environments.

By City News Service – KPBS / May 13, 2026

Trial began Tuesday, May 12, in the lawsuit brought by a collection of homeowners who are challenging San Diego’s trash collection fee.

The homeowners sued the city following the passage of Measure B, which ended free trash pickup services for single-family homes. The plaintiffs allege the fees violate Proposition 218, a state ballot measure that holds utility fees cannot exceed the costs of providing those services.

Former San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre, one of the attorneys representing the homeowners, said in his opening statements on Tuesday afternoon that while voters approved a monthly fee of between $23 and $29, the San Diego City Council approved imposing a nearly $44 monthly fee.

Aguirre also said the city used an incorrect estimate for the number of customers that would be paying the fee, resulting in higher monthly costs than expected for homeowners.

From OB Mainstreet Association website

By Lynne Miller

San Diego City Hosted a meeting at Point Loma/Hervey Library.  The room was packed.  Compliments to Dalton Consultation, the company presenting their plans to the community. I have attended a few meetings in the past 5 years, and this presentation was well designed and presented.  Fielding the 30+ questions concluded the meeting.

I agree that the ‘cliffs are falling into the sea’ and plans to slow the erosion are delinquent. Past plans may have increased the erosion, it depends on who is compiling and presenting information and why.

Compliments to everyone who attended, including the presenter and the city official who was MC at the event. There was a wealth of information and it appeared that the private consultation company and the city official listened to us.

Will that listening transform into action?  Will the serious suggestions and concerns voiced by an educated audience improve the design plans and ultimately work to slow erosion?

by Katheryn Rhodes

The City of San Diego’s Engineering and Capitol Project Department held a Community Informational Meeting on Tuesday the 12th of May at the Point Loma Hervey Branch Library (as an earlier article indicated) to introduce the public to the Sunset Cliffs Seawall Improvement Project.

Located on the western side of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, between Adair Street and Osprey Street, the project consists of constructing a new seawall between the two existing concrete seawalls near Spalding Point. In addition to the new seawall, the project also includes street resurfacing, curb ramp upgrades, and guardrail replacement to support safe and reliable access in the area.

Approximately 50 community members and several City staff and consultants attended. The meeting lasted 1.5 hours with a long question and answer period.

Kimberly Wender of Dokken Engineering presented the City’s project, and she and City of San Diego Program Manager Elizabeth Schroth-Nichols answered questions. The Geotechnical Engineer Matthew Martinez of GeoEngineers, and staff from Moffatt and Nichol were available for discussions before and after the meeting.

By Virginia Wilson — Special to the OB Rag

Do the people of San Diego need or want a new seawall at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park? Should we spend $32.59 million on such a project while city services are minimized or eliminated?

The city presented its plan for The Sunset Cliffs Seawall Improvement project to the public on Tuesday, May 12th at the Point Loma Library. The amount of information and detail provided was enough for a basic understanding of the project. Dozens of people attended, and at least as many questions were asked and answered.

The proposed seawall would fill the gap between two existing portions of seawall and is meant to protect a short stretch of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard between Adair and Osprey Streets.

The project would consist of a 205 foot length tie back wall and 130 feet of secant wall, for a total of 335 lineal feet. The current estimate of $32.59 million equates to a cost of nearly $100,000 per foot.

But rest assured, that figure does include a fresh coat of asphalt on the roadway between Adair and Osprey, plus our choice of cliff edge barrier – post and rail or post and chain.

Aside from the issue of money, there is a conflict on a deeper level.

by Debbie L. Sklar / Times of San Diego / April 30, 2026

Mission Valley has never stayed still — and neither has the river that shaped it.

A river that shaped the valley
Before roads and retail defined the corridor, the San Diego River flowed freely through this inland Mission Valley basin, widening across the valley floor in wet years and retreating in dry ones. The result was a shifting floodplain that supported plant life, wildlife, and seasonal movement by the Kumeyaay people, who lived throughout the region long before Spanish settlement.

View of Mission Valley in about 1890. The view appears to be looking northeast. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

With the arrival of Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769, land use in the surrounding area began to change. Spanish and later Mexican-era records describe the valley in agricultural terms — fertile ground for grazing and cultivation — reflecting a shift in how land and water were managed.

A seasonal ecosystem increasingly became structured around permanent settlement and production.