San Diego

Why San Diego Should Not Be Awarded Anything for Its ‘Bonus ADU’ Program — Not One ADU Unit Has Been Built as Low-Income Housing

April 18, 2024 by Source

By Paul Krueger

Mayor Todd Gloria is bragging about our city’s selection as a finalist for the “Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability.”

“This award honors feasible and scalable solutions to housing affordability,” the Mayor boasted on Twitter/X.

The non-profit that sponsors the awards was equally effusive. “The City has taken ADUs to the next level by allowing homeowners to build additional ADUs on their property, an unprecedented move that allows the City to rapidly increase (its) supply and density of affordable housing,” said Hannah Gable, Director of Strategy and Operations for Ivory Innovations.

But even a cursory Google search would have given Ms. Gable pause about slavishly embracing the City’s willful distortion of the actual results of its “Bonus ADU” program.

Fact is, the Bonus ADU program has utterly failed to provide even one unit of the intended — and desperately needed — very-low or low-income housing.

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Reader Rant on the New Warehouse Plan for San Diego’s Unhoused Citizens

April 17, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

By Lisa Mortensen / April 7, 2024

Dear Councilmembers:

In a few weeks’ time, you will be thrown a political football and it’s called Vine and Kettner.  Now, I know the local news media and the current city hall lobbyists will refer to us as NIMBYs but I hope you will see through the smoke and mirrors and make an educated decision on this fast-moving project before giving it a dutiful approval to satisfy Todd Gloria’s political intentions.

I will provide below a summary of bullet points that should be your guide to this very complicated project.  As someone who has spent close to 50 years in the real estate industry, twelve years in the development business and have represented principals in land development transactions, these due-diligence items are ones that I would present to any potential interested party to make sure their goals will be compatible with the subject property.

Here are the bullets:

  • The 35-year lease should be a non-starter.  Are you admitting that we will have the same homeless crisis way beyond our lifetimes?  What are the terms of this agreement; such as the ability to cancel.  Will the next Mayor be able to renegotiate these terms since they are assuming terms of a contract that they did not engage in or acknowledge (sign).
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Open Letter to Councilwoman Campbell on ‘Complete Communities’ from Point Loma Homeowner

April 17, 2024 by Source

Dear Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell,

By Vance Murphy

PLEASE, this must stop!

The proposed CCHS (Complete Communities Housing Solutions) is apparently proceeding without sufficient evidence of mitigating its potential detrimental impacts and ‘peer reviewed’ examples of successful implementations that serve as models for deployment.  I must therefore presume that this is an ‘experiment’ without appropriate oversight.

I feel that the Mayor, City Council and all involved parties must expose and explain this plan to the entire affected population with sufficient time to perform a validation of intent, impact and avoidance of ‘unintended consequences’.  These efforts (similar to SB-10) seem to be an ongoing over-reach by elected representatives to completely disregard (or overrule) the intent of ‘neighborhoods’.

For as long as anyone in San Diego can remember there have been Community Planning Boards with the specific responsibility to help preserve the character and ‘live-ability’ of these neighborhoods.

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More Ideas on Fixing San Diego’s Short-Term Rental Ordinance

April 17, 2024 by Source

Year-old law isn’t strong enough on Tier 2 rentals, hosts, enforcement, density and impact on long-term housing.

By Trudy Grundland / La Jolla Light Op-Ed/ April  ,2024

The first anniversary of the city of San Diego’s short-term vacation rental ordinance is May 1. The ordinance is good but has several gray areas that need fixing sooner rather than later:

• Tier 2: the cheater’s tier [home-share rentals where the owner lives onsite]. It’s impossible to regulate and enforce. In my opinion, this is what hosts will use. San Diego has 650,000 housing units. Hypothetically, they could all become Tier 2’s. There is nothing to prevent this from happening. Tier 2’s are not counted in the quotas. They can be rented full time as STVRs for nine months of the year. There’s no way to enforce.

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Gloria’s Budget Will Cripple San Diego Library Services, Advocates Say

April 17, 2024 by Source

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / April 17, 2024

The San Diego Library Foundation says proposed budget cuts to the city’s 36-branch library system would be crippling and worsen a track record of chronic underfunding.

Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget for the new fiscal year wouldn’t close any branches or reduce hours of service, but it would slash money for events, technology, employee training and donation matching. The reductions in events and technology funding would hit branches in low-income areas particularly hard,

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OB Historical Society: ‘Astounding Stories with John Freeman’ — Water’s Edge Church, Thursday April 18

April 16, 2024 by Source

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True Crime by Design – How the Energy Industry Fools Us

April 15, 2024 by Source

By Carolyn Chase

Why are our energy bills so high?

The Energy Industrial Complex is picking your pocket. The EIC in California consists of:

  • The three for-profit monopolies: San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison
  • The CPUC – misnamed as the California Public Utility Commission – has ceased responsible oversight needed by ratepayers
  • Politicians and appointees that fail to ask critical questions and go along with unnecessary rate increases.  They accept project designs that are the most profitable instead of designs that prioritize affordability and climate progress.
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San Diego’s Society of Professional Journalists Grant Mayor Gloria the ‘Wall Award’ for Stonewalling the Press

April 15, 2024 by Source

Every year, the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists hosts an event called “Walls and Windows” in order “to honor those in our community who have worked hard to expand the public’s right to know by fighting for transparency — and hold accountable those who have stifled these efforts.”

This year, they awarded the “Sunshine Award” to Will Carless — a former San Diego journalist — who works for USD Today. The award “goes to a journalist or community member who went above and beyond to make the government more transparent and hold elected officials accountable.”

And the Society awarded the “Wall Award” to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, and here’s why:

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San Diego’s 420 Events on ‘All-Things-Cannabis’ Platform ‘EventHi’ Founded Locally

April 15, 2024 by Source

Roll up For Cannabis Equity – A monthly column

By Terrie Best

Saturday is 420. I love a good party tip and the all-things-cannabis EventHi.io platform is a great one. It’s a one-stop for cannabis events nation-wide so you can search for your cannabis community wherever you are in the US. Except not Boise, don’t expect to find any real canna-culture on display in places like Boise. Still, the site has a way to make clear the event is a non-consumption affair if cannabis-free Boise did want to get involved.

EventHi was born out of necessity. When folks tried to use that other platform, Eventbrite to sell cannabis event tickets Eventbrite had thoughts. Being a total buzz-kill, they deleted many weed-related events from the platform and they became a huge nuisance.  So a talented San Diego couple with extraordinary skills founded EventHi, a place where there are no party fouls and they will never ruin your ganja gala.

I decided to tour EventHi.io looking for local 420 events and give an overview of what I found for you.

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Ceasefire in Gaza Rally — Saturday, April 13th from Noon to 1 PM in Ocean Beach

April 12, 2024 by Source

This Saturday, April 13th, 2024 at Noon in Ocean Beach !!

Come join a growing number of your friends and neighbors, standing out on a busy corner in Ocean Beach, demanding a CEASEFIRE in Gaza, and demanding that the U.S. stop providing Israel with weapons that have already killed 30,000+ Gazans.

This weekly demonstration, organized by the San Diego Veterans For Peace and the progressive women’s group, Code Pink, will mark the eleventh consecutive Saturday at the same location, corner of West Point Loma Blvd and Sunset Cliffs Blvd, with the group growing in numbers each week. 

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Just How ‘Successful’ Has San Diego’s Camping Ban Been?

April 11, 2024 by Source

by Marisa Kendall/ Calmatters / April 11, 2024

Politicians pushing to make homeless encampments illegal across wide swaths of California point to one city as proof it will work.

“San Diego gets it,” Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones said during a recent press conference. “They are having great success so far with their ordinance, and we hope we can take that success across the state.” Jones’ proposal, Senate Bill 1011, is modeled after a controversial new San Diego ordinance that bans encampments near schools, shelters and transit hubs, in parks, and even, if shelter beds are available, on all public sidewalks.

But how well is San Diego’s “Unsafe Camping Ordinance” really working?

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Ban on Styrofoam in San Diego Goes Into Effect — Includes Takeout Containers, Egg Cartons, Plastic Straws and Utensils

April 11, 2024 by Source

Styrofoam is not allowed in the City of San Diego. After a grace period, a ban is officially in effect.

Businesses bringing in less than $500,000 annually were given a year to comply with the ban, which initially passed in April 2023. “The ordinance only dictates that you cannot use polystyrene foam. However, we do have preferences for the alternatives that are used, so things like rigid plastic that can be recycled,” said Jennifer Ott, a recycling specialist

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Labor Union Organizers at University of San Diego Want Free and Fair Election

April 10, 2024 by Source

By Ken Stone / Times of San Diego / April 7, 2024

After a rally and brief march Thursday, a group of labor-union advocates at the University of San Diego entered the Hughes Administration Center and made their way to Room 222.

The office of James T. Harris III, USD’s president. They buzzed for entrance. No answer. “The door was locked,” Meghan Donnelly told fellow nontenure-track faculty and supporters after emerging from the campus HQ facing the stately Immaculata Church. She reported that an election plan had been slid under the door, so Harris would see it when he returns.

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Muslim Students Need a Different Vibe

April 9, 2024 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

Well, it seems
that my friend, Lallia Allali,
a renowned leader in the Muslim community,
is no longer
welcome
to tend to the learning needs
of Arab students in San Diego City Schools
ever again,
in spite of the district’s supposed
restorative justice practices wherein it claims
to be about cultivating relationships that help build and sustain
school cultures
that are positive and welcoming
for students, staff, and families.

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Missed the Wonder of the Eclipse? Catch the Fabulous Butterflies

April 9, 2024 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

If you missed the excitement of the Eclipse or passed on the Carlsbad flowers this season. Or if you didn’t catch the Women’s National basketball semi-finals, with Caitlin Clark awing the country with record-breaking 3-point shots, don’t despair.

There is still a bit of wonder. Butterflies.

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San Diego’s Soaring Rents Pricing Out Working Class

April 8, 2024 by Source

Locals are bearing the cost of increasing rates, with many spending more than half of their income on rent

By Sasha Abramsky / San Diego Magazine – The Nation / April 4, 2024

Teresa, a 52-year-old with a solidly middle-class job in the healthcare industry, recently separated from her husband. At the time, the couple lived in Encinitas, in a large home they bought in 2010 for $450,000. When interest rates plummeted, they refinanced at less than 2.5 percent with only 13 years of payments left. Each month, the mortgage, the insurance, and the money they set aside for real estate taxes came to $2,900 between them.

But now, the market has shattered Teresa’s financial calculus. Even after she and her husband sold their house and split the profits, affording to buy again seems impossible.

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Who Knew What and When About Secret Offer to Build Free Arena for SDSU

April 8, 2024 by Source


La Prensa Offers Time Line to Latest Scandal Affecting Midway Rising and Sports Arena Redevelopment

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa / April 8, 2024

Sometimes it takes time and distance to see more clearly how relationships and interests help explain the actions of others.

We learned that lesson with the 101 Ash building debacle that was exposed by the media more than three years after insiders had worked together to fleece taxpayers and left a $200 million hole in the City’s budget with only a toxic, empty building to show for it.

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Partial Solar Eclipse Here in San Diego

April 8, 2024 by Staff

In Southern California during today’ total solar eclipse, we’ll see a less dramatic blockage of the sun with about 50 percent totality as the moon slips between the sun and Earth.

Here are the eclipse times to keep in mind on Monday (all times our local times):

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The Beauty of the Snow in Our Local Mountains

April 6, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

Lake Cuyamaca this Saturday morning – 930ish.

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Decision by City Council to Pay Millions to Consultant to Figure How Much to Charge for Trash Collection Met With Laughter

April 5, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

Of all the decisions that the San Diego City Council has made of late, none have suffered the derision and mockery that the go-ahead to spend $4 to $5 million for a consultant to study how much the city should charge for trash pick-up has.

The mid-March decision by a 7 to 1 vote of the council will pay as much as $4.5 million to determine how much single-family homes in the city should be charged for trash and recycling services. And consultant HDR Engineering will be paid to conduct a study.

Councilmember Raul Campillo cast the lone “no” vote and said then he thought the city would be paying too much. “That’s incredibly high. In my opinion, it looks like it’s too much to get a sense of what customers want.”

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In Memory of Herbert Shore — November 18, 1939 – February 12, 2024

April 5, 2024 by Source

Herbert Shore was a founding member of DSA in 1982 and San Diego chapter until he passed in February of 2024

by Mark Sherman and Virginia Franco / Democratic Left / March 29, 2024

In Herb’s own words “I was born in 1939 in Brooklyn, New York to secular, Jewish, working class parents. My parents were not actually Communist Party members, but our lives revolved around the ‘fellow traveling’ milieu that existed until the mid 1950s. So you might say I was born into the socialist movement; though no one in my family knew Karl Marx from Groucho Marx.” Those roots stayed with Herb throughout his life.

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DOJ Investigation of SANDAG ‘Is Long Overdue’ Says UT Editorial Board

April 5, 2024 by Source

By The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board / April 4, 2024

The recent report that the San Diego Association of Governments is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department said agency officials weren’t exactly sure what prompted the federal probe. That is in its own way a testament to the fact that SANDAG — the main regional transportation planning agency with a huge $1.3 billion annual budget — has been so awful on several fronts that any might trigger an inquiry.

The latest scandal certainly qualifies. Evidence shows SANDAG wrongly charged up to 45,000 drivers for a toll road they did not use, and an internal inquiry found agency officials knew of the bogus charges for more than a year without telling the agency’s Board of Directors. If a private business knowingly and persistently kept charging people for services they didn’t use, the indictments would be swift and public condemnation would be overwhelming.

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Reader Rant: ‘The City Should Buy Back Half of the County Administration Building Instead of Building New City Hall’

April 5, 2024 by Source

Our friend Roger Showley (PLHS 1966]  just had some ideas of how San Diego could handle the “chase [of] the mirage of a new City Hall” that was published in the U-T Letters to the Editor:

Here’s an off-the-wall, back-to-the-future solution: The city buys back the half of the County Administration Center on Pacific Highway that it sold to the county in the 1960s.

The mayor, City Council and key administrators move in and develop a lot more collaboration with the county on a whole range of duties and projects.

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ADUs Are Not Being Built for Low Income San Diegans

April 5, 2024 by Source

Despite incentives from the City, developers are opting to build units for higher income tenants.

By Steve Price / CBS8 / April 4, 2024

Under the City of San Diego’s bonus Accessory Dwelling Unit program, a developer can build more than one ADU on a property as long as every other unit they build on the lot is set aside for affordable rent. But according to city records, the program is not working as city leaders had hoped.

A perfect example can be seen in the College East neighborhood, where six brand new ADUs just went up on a lot that used to have just one single family home.

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San Diego Mayor Proposes 1,000 Bed Homeless Shelter for Kettner Blvd Warehouse

April 5, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

On Thursday, April 4, Mayor Todd Gloria announced that he is seeking to turn a large warehouse on Kettner Blvd into a 65,000 square foot homeless shelter. The building — at 3570 Kettner — is at the corner with Vine Street, just next to the I-5 freeway and near Pacific Highway. Gloria says it will be space for 1,000 people, showers, a kitchen, recreational facilities and counseling services.

If his proposal passes the city council, then he plans to turn the controversial H Barracks site into a parking lot for roughly 200 spaces of designated parking to accommodate people living in vehicles.

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It’s Hailing in San Diego and Snowing in Local Mountains

April 5, 2024 by Staff

We were warned today would be San Diego’s coldest day of the year and it’s already hailing in parts of the city and county.

And it’s snowing in our local mountains – like at Mt Laguna, Lake Cuyamaca and the town of Julian. These screen captures of the live cams were taken at 10:30 this morning.

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Prosecution Lays Evidence Upside Down in Pacific Beach Riot Case – Jury Hears Opening Statements

April 3, 2024 by Source

By Ken Stone / Times of San Diego / April 2, 2024

Dressed in fear-inducing “black bloc,” antifa members Jeremy White and Brian Lightfoot Jr. traveled from Los Angeles spoiling for a fight in Pacific Beach, prosecutors said.

Wearing outfits to avoid being doxxed or injured, the defendants aimed to confront far-right Donald Trump fans and protect likeminded counterprotestors three days after the Capitol invasion, their lawyers said.

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‘Complete Communities’ Is Not a Cure for San Diego’s Affordable Housing Crisis

April 3, 2024 by Source

by Danna Givot / Times of San Diego / April 2, 2024

The Building Industry Association touts the Complete Communities Now program as ramping up production of more affordable homes, but this deserves a closer look. Complete Communities is not a cure-all for San Diego’s housing problems.

[Please see original for important links]

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SDSU Stalls on Requests for Sports Arena Documents

April 3, 2024 by Source

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa San Diego / March 30, 2024

San Diego State University has arbitrarily delayed disclosing documents requested by La Prensa San Diego beyond the timeline allowed by California law.

The requested documents are related to discussions in 2022 between SDSU officials and a Denver-based development company to build a new sports and entertainment arena as part of SDSU West in Mission Valley.

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April 2024 Events from the Ocean Beach Green Center

April 2, 2024 by Source

Ongoing events

Every Saturday at 10:30 am. Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings April 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th.  Keep up-to-date on climate issues and Climate Action events. To register email Jon Findley at  jon@climatemobsd.org.  More info: https://www.facebook.com/SDClimateMobilization/

Every Saturday 12 pm – 1 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine: Advocate for Peace and Justice in Gaza and Everywhere Join CODEPINK SD, San Diego Veterans for Peace, and Palestine Pals every Saturday at 12:00 pm on the plaza corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and W. Point Loma Blvd., entry to Ocean Beach, San Diego. Wear pink and bring a peace-related poster if you have one! Contact: Nathanael · nathandw@riseup.net

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