Month: August 2025

Petition Against Tower Has Nearly 400 Over 500 Signatures

By Tyler Faurot / Point Loma – OB Monthly SDU-T / July 29, 2025 

A project that seeks to install a 30-foot cell tower in Point Loma’s Collier Park is drawing community opposition as it goes through the city of San Diego’s review process.

The city Development Services Department sent a notice of application dated July 2 to nearby tenants and homeowners.

According to the notice, the project proposed by AT&T would install a 30-foot-tall “faux mono-eucalyptus” tree that would house 12 antennas and nine remote radio units, or transceivers. The plan also calls for a 395-square-foot ground-mounted equipment enclosure surrounded by landscaping and screening, as well as a 30-kilowatt generator, cables and protective fencing.

Scott McCaskill, chairman of the Advocacy Committee for the Ocean Beach Community Foundation, said community consensus seems to be against the project, largely because of its proposed site in Collier Park at 2351 Soto St., near the eastern boundary of Ocean Beach. The park’s neighbors include the Ocean Beach Community Garden, Greencliff Apartments and dozens of other homes.

By Alex Horton and David Ovalle / Washington Post / August 12, 2025

The Trump administration is evaluating plans that would establish a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” composed of hundreds of National Guard troops tasked with rapidly deploying into American cities facing protests or other unrest, according to internal Pentagon documents reviewed by The Washington Post.

The plan calls for 600 troops to be on standby at all times so they can deploy in as little as one hour, the documents say. They would be split into two groups of 300 and be stationed at military bases in Alabama and Arizona, with purview of regions east and west of the Mississippi River, respectively.

Cost projections outlined in the documents indicate that such a mission, if the proposal is adopted, could stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars should military aircraft and aircrews also be required to be ready around-the-clock. Troop transport via commercial airlines would be less expensive, the documents say.

The proposal, which has not been previously reported, represents another potential expansion of President Donald Trump’s willingness to employ the armed forces on American soil. It relies on a section of the U.S. Code that allows the commander in chief to circumvent limitations on the military’s use within the United States.
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The documents, marked “predecisional,” are comprehensive and contain extensive discussion about the potential societal implications of establishing such a program. They were compiled by National Guard officials and bear time stamps as recent as late July and early August. Fiscal 2027 is the earliest this program could be created and funded through the Pentagon’s traditional budgetary process, the documents say, leaving unclear whether the initiative could begin sooner through an alternative funding source.

San Diego Harbor Police asked the public for help in identifying a driver and vehicle involved in the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian late Aug. 8 in Point Loma.

The crash occurred at about 11:30 p.m. in the 4400 block of North Harbor Drive near Laning Road, according to Harbor Police.

Responding officers began lifesaving measures on the pedestrian, later identified by the San Diego County medical examiner’s office as Mandy Booth, 51,

By Jeff McDonald / SD Union-Tribune / August 13, 2025

— A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 10 on a request from a group of San Diego homeowners for an injunction that would postpone the city’s implementation of the monthly trash fee for single-family homes.

Judge James A. Mangione approved the schedule Tuesday at a hearing held over from last week, when the plaintiffs initially asked for an expedited September trial. Instead, both parties agreed that the plaintiffs would pursue an injunction.

“We have worked out an arrangement with your honor’s permission,” said attorney Michael Aguirre, who co-represents the plaintiffs. “We came to a mutual agreement that we would file a week from this Friday for a preliminary injunction.”

The city argued last week that it could not properly prepare for a trial starting as soon as next month.

By Donna Frye

On August 11, I received notice from the city that records were available for public review for Mission Bay Park, specifically the documents related to declaring three properties surplus lands and the communications between the city and the state.

Here is the link to the City of San Diego’s Next Request for Request 25-5691. [ https://sandiego.nextrequest.com/requests/25-5691 ]

Many of the documents were not shared with the public at the Land Use and Housing Committee Special meeting on July 2, 2025, the City Council meeting on July 29 or the Mission Bay Park Committee meeting on August 5.

While some are duplicative of one another, they do provide a partial timeline and some answers as to how the decision was made to declare all three properties in Mission Bay Park “surplus land”. There are some time gaps in the emails.

I have reviewed the documents briefly but focused on the emails for now. I have not gone through all the attachments and the following are just my initial observations.

The documents show that the city made a request to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)  seeking an exemption to the Surplus Land Act (SLA ) on April 8, 2025, through HCD’s online portal.

OB Planning Board approves list of recommended local improvement projects but report indicates San Diego may need to give back millions in fees unspent for such projects

By Steven Mihailovich / Point Loma – OB Monthly SDU-T / August 12, 2025

A July county grand jury report saying the city of San Diego should refund $179 million in fees to developers cast a shadow over the Ocean Beach Planning Board’s list of recommended capital improvement projects it approved at its meeting last week.

[For those interested here’s where you can find the report: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/grandjury/reports/2024-2025.html It’s titled Never Been Challenged: City of San Diego Development Impact Fee Program Redux (Pub. 5/30/2025) ]

The $179 million represents the total amount of development impact fees that have not been spent within the legally mandated five-year time limit from when they were collected. DIFs are assessed on new developments to pay for projects to help mitigate their impact on infrastructure and public services.

Planning Board Chairwoman Andrea Schlageter estimated that $20 million of the funds in question were derived from developments in Ocean Beach.

By Steven Greenhut / Op-Ed San Diego U-T / August 10, 2025 

I grew up in the 1970s in and around one of the “safest” big cities in the United States, Philadelphia. That might be news to you given the City of Brotherly Love—now a relatively placid place—was known during that era for its gang-related murders and social dysfunction. It was news to residents, too, given that the streets felt so menacing. But why argue with statistics?

A year after law-and-order populist Mayor Frank Rizzo won his election to clean up Philly, he bragged about the drop in crime. But as news reports made clear at the time, the administration likely gamed the statistics by reclassifying serious crimes as simple assault. “The chances of being victimized on the street are much greater now than ever before,” a top criminologist told The New York Times in 1973.

I thought of that experience in the light of Donald Trump—and not just because his divisive style mirrors Rizzo. Last week, Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s a statistical job, which oversees the compilation of economic data about jobs, labor costs and productivity. The BLS reports to the labor secretary, but operates independently.

By Abbie Black / CBS8 / August 11, 2025

Two deteriorating buildings at San Diego’s Liberty Station stand as stark reminders of delayed redevelopment plans, plagued by fires, vandalism and illegal encampments while city officials work to secure demolition contracts.

The abandoned structures, part of the former Naval Training Center that the city acquired in 2000, present a sharp contrast to the upscale retail, dining and cultural attractions that have transformed much of the 361-acre Liberty Station development into a premier destination.

One building, a former Marine barracks, drew public attention to its deteriorating condition. City records show multiple “Get It Done” reports about homeless encampments on the property.

by Salvador Rivera / Fox5 / Aug 7, 2025 

During the last whale season along the Pacific and down into Baja California, 92 gray whales died as a result of climate change, according to Fey Crevoshay, communications director for Wild Coast, an international environmental group based in San Diego.

Crevoshay admitted the exact cause of death for the whales has not been identified, but said many whales were observed to be very malnourished and thin during the last whale-watching season.

By Steve Price / CBS8 / August 11, 2025

The Garfield Shopping Center, located on the Northeast corner of Balboa and Clairemont Drive and a fixture in Clairemont for decades, may soon face closure to make way for a large housing development, leaving longtime businesses and loyal customers in limbo.

Sew Hut, a beloved store that has served the community for 45 years, is among the businesses potentially affected by the rumored changes.

“Devastated. I’ve been coming here for 30-something years, and I’m a newbie,” said customer Christie McGuire, reflecting the sentiment of many patrons.

The plans, which have been circulating on social media platforms like Nextdoor, suggest the entire shopping center could be demolished to make room for approximately 600 apartment units. This has sparked a heated debate among local residents.

The folks at the Ocean Beach Community Foundation are hosting a “Community Open Forum” this Thursday, August 14th, from 7pm – 9pm.

This will be an In-person gathering at the Ocean Beach Elementary School, at 4741 Santa Monica Ave. San Diego, CA 92107.

Online Meeting Link: Video call link: https://meet.google.com/zkt-ipmx-sve

As you may know, the Community Foundation is the new name for what used to be the OB Town Council. The board has had a recent election and all board members are relatively new. \

Also, there’s this:

OB Holiday Tree Wanted: Donate Your Tree for a Festive Cause

Doug Poole, a Mission Hills resident who has joined neighbors in fighting against a high-rise apartment building planned for the the Ft Stockton lot that was the site of the “little red house,” wrote the following open letter to his councilmember, Stephen Whitburn.

Councilmember Whitburn,

The residents of Mission Hills and surrounding neighborhoods are deeply concerned about two high-rise developments – 820 Fort Stockton and the Columbia Street project – both of which threaten to fundamentally alter the character, livability, and infrastructure of our communities.

We now know from City records that 820 Fort Stockton is not a Complete Communities project. That means the City and your office have direct influence, and the oft-repeated claim that “the developers can do what they want under Complete Communities” does not apply here. As our elected representative, you have both the ability and the obligation to engage with your constituents before this project advances further.

Yet, despite repeated written requests, there has been no dedicated community meeting to address this development. Your July 10 “Town Hall” included, by your office’s own account, dozens of topics and only a passing mention of 820 Fort Stockton. For a project of this magnitude – a 12-story, 120-unit factory-built tower across the street from existing homes – that level of attention is unacceptable.