Residents, tenants, landowners and businesses of Ocean Beach need to step up and protect fire rings, library and Recreation Center hours from Mayor Gloria’s “slash and burn” budget cuts.
The mayor and city council are trying to trim $258 million from the budget.
Mayor Gloria wants to remove all the beach fire pits — which will save a whopping $135,000.
Supporters of fire pits say these savings for scrapping San Diego’s fire rings is out of line with what the city is. “That is why people come to San Diego is to have that beach culture experience, catching a wave during the day, having a beach bonfire at night, that’s what makes San Diego,” said Richard Bailey, a Mission Beach business owner and former Coronado Mayor.
The thing about removing the fire pits is that people will still build fires at the beach – and when they’re done, they’ll leave live burning hot coals — which other people will then walk on and suffer extreme burns and have to have life guards call ambulances. So, really no savings there.
Gloria’s budget draft also wants to eliminate 2 days from the library’s schedule and hack off 20 hours from rec centers’ open times.
Okay. It’s time for OBceans to sit up and notice and give Gloria, Jen Campbell (who’s fine about taking out the fire pits) and other councilmembers some needed push back. Call, text, email and attend budget hearings over the next couple of weeks. Protest in front of the OB Library and the OB Rec Center. It’s your culture on the line.
OBceans have done it before and can do it again.
Need a direct line to the Gormlie bat cave. Couple of interesting articles for you.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/sinaloa-cartel-leaders-charged-narco-terrorism-material-support-terrorism-and-drug
And then
https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2025/05/14/cartel-family-u-s-deal-trump-administration/
Are you sure you posted these links to the right story? They seem to be on another topic.
My opening comment was to alert Frank. I don’t have a direct line to him. But the revised budget is out now. While it’s still poor, Elo-Rivera is trying to score points for his likely attempt at a mayoral run I suspect.
Yes let us protest lack of libraries. need full days of libraries — no cutbacks at all. instead of protesting building we need to care about saving libraries. we need full libraries hours
MTS budget out. They’re beginning to run into growing operating budget deficits in the next few years. Get ready for a price hike.