Serving OB, the Peninsula and San Diego Beaches
by Ernie McCray
I, along with a room
of other people,
just spent
“An Afternoon with Josefina Lopez”
who just happens to be
an award-winning
highly acclaimed Chicana
playwright and screenwriter
who gave to the world,
early in her career,
the play, “Real Women Have Curves,”
which later
became adapted into a film
and then
a Broadway musical,
by Debbie L. Sklar / Times of San Diego / April 8, 2026
At the foot of Mt. Woodson in Ramona stands a remarkable stone-and-adobe residence that locals affectionately call the Ramona Castle. Despite the nickname, there were no princesses or royalty here. The home was conceived and built as the private vision of Irene Amy Strong, a San Diego dress designer and entrepreneur who wanted a residence that combined craftsmanship, artistry, and harmony with nature.
A Home Born of Craft and Personal Vision
In 1909, Strong, a successful designer catering to San Diego’s social elite and known for sourcing fabrics from Europe, acquired the Woodson Ranch property. She commissioned architects Emmor Brooke Weaver and John Terrell Vawter to design a home reflecting the American Craftsman Movement, which emphasized handcrafted detail, natural materials, and integration with the environment.
Construction began around 1916 and concluded in 1921 at a reported cost of $50,000 — a significant investment for the era. The resulting structure spanned roughly 12,000 square feet, with 27 rooms over multiple levels. Thick stone walls, flagstone floors, and a great room with a 16-foot ceiling highlighted the home’s grandeur. Materials were sourced largely from the property itself, including eucalyptus, oak, and redwood, complemented by rock, adobe, brick, plaster, concrete, and stucco.
Forecasters are sounding the alarm that the return of El Niño this year could be one of the worst in California’s history if it develops as many meteorologists have recently predicted — and the phenomenon already appears to be in motion.
This week, a cluster of tropical cyclones were recorded on both sides of the equator in the western Pacific Ocean, generating a westerly wind burst that is pushing warm water eastward, and accelerating “real potential for the strongest El Niño event in 140 years,” Paul Roundy, an atmospheric scientist at the University at Albany told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The rare cluster of tropical cyclones, which are fueling the westerly wind burst, points to signs El Niño could be emerging and may set records. The strong westerly wind bursts have been documented in the Pacific Ocean all year, pushing unusually warm water, following the end to the La Niña pattern.
Roundy estimated the setup could cause El Niño to arrive quickly, within one to two months. Last month, one of the leading weather forecast models calculated a 62 percent chance that a strong El Niño could develop in the summer.
Over the past two decades, the name El Niño has become synonymous with extreme weather. El Niño occurs when there is a change in the Pacific Ocean’s typical pattern of water movement, temperatures and air flow, which happens about every two to seven years. The southern jet stream strengthens, especially in the eastern Pacific Ocean, bringing more moisture into the southwest and storm activity in the southern part of the country.
By David Garrick / San Diego U-T / April 17, 2026
Fares to ride local buses and trains would rise 30% under fare increase packages approved Thursday by the county’s two transit agencies, the Metropolitan Transit System and the North County Transit District.
It would be the first fare hike in 17 years for monthly passes on local buses, the San Diego Trolley and the Sprinter. The cost of a pass would jump from $72 to $85 this fall and then to $95 in fall 2027 — up nearly 31%.
And it would be the first increase in seven years for one-way fares, which would rise from $2.50 to $3 this fall and then to $3.25 in fall 2027. That’s a 30% hike, far steeper than the last increase in 2019 from $2.25 to $2.50.
Pazzo’s Italian
2163 Abbott St. in Ocean Beach (92107)
619.230.5303
https://pazzos.net (sadly there’s no content here)
by LK Bruce
Just when you thought you knew a place. Your neighborhood. After all these years. Then a Rag reporter says why not review Pazzo’s and you go, “huh?” having never heard of it. Well this is word that needs to get out.
Abbott Street in OB is the second location for Pazzo’s, the first being in Scripps Ranch. The original, Pazzo’s Pizza was founded way back in ’93 by four guys of Italian descent – southern Italian to be exact – using recipes from Grandma Antonia. Everything is made fresh daily, including breads, dough and sauces.
The OB shop opened in 2024 and is located on the corner of Abbott and Muir in northern OB where Sugarlab Bakery & Desserts, Surfrider Pizza and Wild Things Pizza all used to be. The owners made good use of the corner locale to foster people-watching through large rolling garage-door style windows. A few tables dot the center of the space, better for those not into dining on stools.
The menu consists of “Sicilian, Italian, and California Nouveau-style” food says the owner and though the OB menu is not on their website, we’ve got you covered with a pic. First we tried the pizza because if that’s what you’re primarily known for, it better be good. It is.
The San Diego Community Coalition publishes this email bulletin to keep our members and the general San Diego public informed about important Council and Planning Commission hearings and other city public meetings.
Item 200: Performance Audit of the Mission Bay and San Diego Regional Parks Improvement Funds, FY2024.
Why it matters: City audits should be performed in a timely manner. This item was heard at the Audit Committee meeting on November 12, 2025, and the City Auditor reported they “could not confirm that all Mission Bay Lease Revenue payments in FY2024 have been applied appropriately and the correct amount of funds were transferred…” There does not appear to be any updated information since then.
Item 251: Propositions for the November 3, 2026 Ballot Forwarded for 2nd Committee Review
Here’s what’s happening baby around Point Loma this month of April. Thanks to our friends at Peninsula News for getting it all together
After years of lawsuits, delays, and archeological surprises, Oceanside’s Ocean Kamp surf lagoon is finally under construction near real ocean waves.By Dashel Pierson / SURFER / Apr 7, 2026
Key Points
The San Diego, CA project has been in the works for years, in fact, but there’s been a number of setbacks that have left the manmade surf park – located near the coast, and one of the Golden State’s popular, although sleepy, surf towns – in something like limbo.
But now, it appears the $45 million project is moving finally moving forward.
Previously, some four years ago, the Ocean Kamp project had been announced and everything seemed to be moving forward. But then, it stalled. The project got embroiled in a number of hurdles – including lawsuits, city approvals, and the discovery of Native American artifacts on the site. And so, the bureaucratic hoops, as they say, were set.
Construction on the project is currently underway, and according to the video above, the narrator describes: “A massive surf lagoon is coming to Oceanside, San Diego, and they’re targeting to have it finished by the [Los Angeles] 2028 Olympics…the centerpiece of this project is a $45 million surf lagoon. It’s going to have a 3.5-acre wave pool, which produces perfect, customizable waves all year round.”
Firefighters Live in a Trailerby Mariana Martínez Barba / Voice of San Diego / April 16, 2026
In 2015, construction workers plowed through an abandoned gas station in southeastern San Diego to make way for a new, temporary fire station.
The site, which would house a fire engine and an ambulance, was opening to improve emergency response times in the area after our reporting revealed people died of gunshot wounds and overdoses because emergency responders came too late.
Then-Mayor Kevin Faulconer applauded the city’s efforts at a press conference outside the soon-to-be station in 2015. He made a bold promise: “In two to three years, we will begin building a permanent fire station right here on this very spot.”
That never happened. Instead, Fire Station 51 is still a temporary fire station. The fire truck sits under a large tent and firefighters’ living quarters are a mobile trailer.
George Duardo, president of the San Diego City Firefighters IAFF Local 145, has worked more than 100 shifts as a firefighter at Fire Station 51. He said it does not meet the standards of a “modern fire station.”
By Katie Anastas / KPBS / April 15, 2026
The San Diego Unified School District will offer free after-school child care for all elementary and middle school students starting next school year.
The district’s PrimeTime program is already at all 144 elementary and middle schools in the district, but space has been limited. At the start of the 2025-26 school year, about 7,000 students were on the waitlist.
The demand has grown over the last several years, said Tobie Pace, the district’s senior director of extended learning opportunities.
“Working families in San Diego County need quality, safe places for their kids to go,” she said.
By Steve Rodriguez
Up until last week, even critics of President Donald Trump found it hard to accept that his war rhetoric could get much more extreme, or his threats against both enemies and traditional allies more outrageous. However, recent news about the Pentagon’s interaction with the Vatican, along with Trump comments made in the past few days that are highly critical of Pope Leo XIV, have proven such concepts wrong.
Fortunately for the Vatican, I contend the Pope, a critic of Trump’s actions and words related to the Iranian War, does possess a unique advantage he can employ to escape our president’s wrath.
According to reports in the Free Press, the Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S. was summoned in January to the Pentagon, where he was advised the Vatican needs to play ball with the Trump administration’s efforts in the area of national security. Pentagon officials supposedly asserted the U.S. has the military power to “do whatever it wants” and that “the Church had better take its side.” while making references to “the period in the 1300’s when the French Crown leveraged its military power to dominate the Avignon Papacy.” The threat sounds right out of The Sopranos, something akin to a thug character threatening …“Nice Sistine Chapel you got there, padre. Be a real shame if it should be damaged in a bombing.”
by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / April 14, 2026
Three Point Loma High School students have swept first through third places in a districtwide public service announcement contest about school safety — and earned $2,500 for their efforts.
First place and $1,200 in prize money went to Seraphina Bush for her video titled “Life is Worth Too Much,” offering an anti-suicide message. Her work is especially poignant, given that a PLHS student tragically ended her life on campus in 2024 while a school football game was happening nearby. …
Second place, along with its $800 in prize money, went to Natalia Ritterman for “PSA.SSSS.” Third place and $500 in contest winnings were claimed by London Kwasizur for his video “Ebike.”
All three students are in the class of theatre instructor Anthony Palmiotto.
by Daniel Zeller / CNM VIP Voice / December 2013
Introduction
Much has been written about the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, and this paper brings together from multiple sources a single summary of information that will be useful to Cabrillo National Monument staff, volunteers, and guests.
Interpretation Period
We interpret the lighthouse as being set in the year 1887, and we do this for two main reasons.
First, the lighthouse was painted white in 1887, and if we were to accurately interpret the lighthouse prior to that year, we would have to strip the white protective paint from the house and revert to the natural color of the sandstone blocks, exposing them to the elements and erosion. Obviously, this is not an option.
Second, by interpreting later in the life of the lighthouse, we have more history to look at than if we interpreted at the beginning of the lighthouse’s life.
The flag that we fly on the flagpole outside of the lighthouse has 38 stars representing the 38 states in the United States in 1887.
The Old Point Loma Lighthouse
Site Selection
Chief Topographer, U.S. Coast Survey, A.M. Harrison recommended the location of the Point Loma Lighthouse near the end of Point Loma 422 feet above sea level during his survey in 1851.
By Jennifer Van Grove / San Diego Union-Tribune / April 16, 2026
SeaWorld San Diego will soon light up the night sky over Mission Bay in a whole new way as it embarks on a yearlong test of a more eco-friendly alternative to its frequent fireworks displays.
On Wednesday April 15, the California Coastal Commission approved a coastal development permit for a one-year pilot program — the first of its kind in the state — that allows the San Diego theme park to conduct up to 110, 15-minute drone shows, each using as many as 1,000 illuminated autonomous aircraft. The permit, which defines the boundaries for the drone show and allows the aerial vehicles to fly up to 660 feet in the sky, also requires the theme park to monitor its first two shows and a portion of the rest to document noise impacts, light levels and bird strikes.
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