Month: June 2024

It’s no secret that ground squirrels have overrun the grounds at Liberty Station. The growing population of ground squirrels have been seen running around and also taking over the San Diego waterfront over the last few weeks.

A spokesperson for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department said staff are keeping “an eye on all areas of Liberty Station park space that fall under the City of San Diego’s jurisdiction” for population growth of the ground squirrels.

Yet, Mayor Gloria’s team — with an eye on the upcoming election — has recommended that the squirrels be trapped and placed in a warehouse near the airport. Rachel Laing, Gloria’s PR person, claims a 1,000 squirrels could be housed in a warehouse Team Gloria has identified near freeways and away from residential areas.

It is an important acknowledgement — but it didn’t go far enough, however. On Monday, June 10, the San Diego City Council formally recognized that the city sits on unceded Kumeyaay land and it passed a resolution honoring the tribe — but without ceding them any land.

The land acknowledgement statement reads:

“We respectfully acknowledge that the Kumeyaay Nation are the original inhabitants of the unceded land now known as San Diego. Despite enduring the horrors of genocide and colonization, the Kumeyaay spirit remains unbroken. We honor the resilience of their ancestors who fought to protect their culture and land. Today, they carry their legacy forward, ensuring that their traditions continue to thrive in gratitude and strength. We stand with the Kumeyaay Nation, connected to our past and committed to a thriving future.”

The San Diego Land Use & Housing Committee will hold a public hearing on three major land use proposals all on the same day — Thursday, June 13 at 1:00 pm.

• San Diego BluePrint,
• University Community Plan Update and
• Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment.

From that point, the Planning Commission will recommend approval, conditional approval, or denial to the San Diego City Council for adoption of those proposals, including the University Community Plan Update.

Dear Council members:

You have conducted three closed-session meetings on the Kettner and Vine mega shelter that have been preceded by several hours of public comment prior to each closed session.  Throughout each public comment period, there have been speakers from all communities of our city, from all walks of life, from all professions, and some who have had the ‘lived experience’ of being homeless so your flipped remark of Nimby-ism is a false flag to defend this upside-down project. 

The Callen Report

By Kate Callen

What happens when local government plunges into an ethical vortex, public coffers empty out, news organizations hit the skids, greed turns neighbors against neighbors, and people who used to be calm become very angry?

You get citizen watchdogs like Nice Neighbors San Diego.

Founded by Jay Goldberg, who works for Google and calls himself a “volunteer short-term rental compliance watchdog,” Nice Neighbors has an interactive website that is stunning in its sophistication.

The homepage features a map of short-term rental (STR) licenses that looks like a disease outbreak zone in a pandemic. Browsers can click a button to report a possible STR. The “Tools” webpage allows searches for valid STR licenses and Airbnb listings.

“Bike and Walking Path,” Permanent Dunes, One-Way Street for Section of Sunset Cliffs Proposed — Plans Workshop in Pacific Beach

Under the guise of something called “San Diego’s Coastal Resilience Master Plan,” the City of San Diego is bringing back the idea of a “boardwalk” across the beachfront of Ocean Beach.

It’s purpose is worthy and is to help mitigate sea-level rise and loss of beaches due to the climate crisis.

But just the mention of a “boardwalk” across OB raises old wounds that many thought had been dealt with. It’s called a “multi-use path for walking and biking” — nowhere near the title of something the city wanted to build decades ago and met with a tsunami of opposition when proposed.

There’s such a “stir on social media” about the latest renditions of maps that show the locations of short-term vacation rentals in San Diego that the private site that posts them, niceneighbor.org , is on the verge of crashing.

Jay Goldberg has been analyzing the city of San Diego’s short-term rental locations for a year and a half. He posts maps on his website: niceneighbors.org.

“The concentration is surprising,” said Goldberg. “You’re talking about 6.2 percent of all dwelling units in Ocean Beach currently licensed as short-term rentals.”

There’s a lot of different spellings of a “native” resident of Ocean Beach. Yet, a decade ago — in 2014 while the OB Community Plan was going up for renewal, a decision was made of the proper spelling.

June 20, OBHS Presents- Dialogue: Q&A with SOHO’s Bruce Coons and David Goldberg

Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 7 PM, at Waters Edge, at 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., Join the Ocean Beach Historical Society for a Q&A session with Save Our Heritage Organization’s Executive Director Bruce Coons and board president David Goldberg where OBceans can ask about the pressing issues and concerns surrounding preservation efforts.

After being closed for remodeling, La Playa Books is back up and running in a more spacious, freshened space with a new floor in Point Loma Village.

The success of a small independent bookseller is all about networking, noted Amy Hesselink, manager of La Playa Books at 1026 Rosecrans St. “We have connections with Cabrillo Elementary, with Point Loma Assembly, and the Point Loma Association and with our other brick-and-mortar neighbors,” she said. “We create events. It’s an active part of the community and that’s important for us.”

In reviewing the brand new budget for the City of San Diego for the next fiscal year, I could not help but notice there are no funds for a new lifeguard station for Ocean Beach, although there is $120,000 for a “long-awaited” lifeguard station in Pacific Beach.

Really? How long has OB been waiting for a new lifeguard station?

I seem to recall that PB has a “new” lifeguard station; so does Mission Beach and La Jolla. Obviously, PB is larger than OB and needs more lifeguards.

Here’s a brief outline of the city’s new $5.8 billion budget for the next fiscal year, passed unanimously by the council on Tuesday, June 10. A final vote will take place before the end of the month.

Also, Mayor Gloria vowed to sign the spending plan without changes. It reverses many of  the cuts proposed by the mayor in April that critics said would have disproportionately impacted low-income neighborhoods, homeless San Diegans and people of color.

The final budget includes: