OB Rag

Most people who spend some time in San Diego understand that it’s a coastal desert city. “Desert” being the main word here. Because of this understanding, many adjust their behavior into conserving a desert’s most priceless commodity: water.

People take out their green grass and plant cacti and succulents; they don’t wash their car as much; they use less water in their normal day-to-day living and chores. And up to now, those residents who use less water were rewarded by a city of San Diego water rate system in which customers who use less water paid a lower rate, and those who use more water paid more.

Now, all of that is going to change.

A recent court ruling against the city of San Diego and its tiered pricing system has prompted a proposed rate change that would eliminate the city’s tiered pricing system.

Which means, if enacted, San Diego residents who use less water could see their monthly water bills increase next year and those who don’t use less water will actually see a decrease in their monthly bills. If approved, all customers would pay the same rate, regardless of how much water they use.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

Where would the incentive to save water go?

And critics of the proposed changes malign the idea as just one more cost being heaped on the average consumer.  One Kensington homeowner, Cynthia Hillman was quoted by local TV station 7SanDiego as saying the potential increase comes at a difficult time for many families.

“For somebody who’s having to pay higher gas prices, higher grocery prices, this is just one more thing that makes life very uncomfortable,” she said. She also expressed concern about who would bear the added cost. “You’re asking the little guy to pay more,” she said.

Kensington resident Connie Kirk also was quoted: “That doesn’t sound very fair because if they’re using more that means they’ve got more property, which probably means they’ve got more income period.”

Rag readers have also expressed outrage.

The proposed changes stem from a legal decision in a case against the city of San Diego that requires the city to move away from a rate structure that incentivizes lower water usage.

OBCF Hosts Second Kickback

By Jillian Butler

The Ocean Beach Community Foundation (OBCF) hosted its second “kickback” style meeting, on Monday, July 20. Hosted at the Harp Irish Pub on Newport Avenue about 20 various community members were present.

Founded in 2000, the OBCF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit centered around promoting the greater good of Ocean Beach and its residents. The group operates off of the values of community, collaboration and inclusivity, respect, creativity and innovation, and civic engagement. It is responsible for a multitude of events, including the lighting of the Crooked Tree and food and toy drives.

Unlike specific task force and community forum meetings, the kickbacks are intended to be a more casual get together. Community members are able to support a decades old ocean beach eatery and meet in a laid-back setting.

The meeting was led by Cody Machado, the organization’s new president and a lifelong Ocean Beach resident. Other board members were present, as well. As per Machado’s observation, the size of OBCF has grown since the kickback meetings began. It is his hope that one day OBCF will be able to fill the Harp and speakers will have to use the stage to speak.

Public Has Until August 24 to Give Feedback to Port

By City News Service / 7SanDiego / July 10-13, 2026

The comment period for a proposed redevelopment of East Harbor Island for a Topgolf and Waterfront Park Project is open, Port of San Diego officials announced Friday.

The port published a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the project, with the public comment period open through Aug. 24.

The project, if approved, would entail a 10.1-acre public waterfront park with a promenade, plaza areas, playgrounds, restrooms and public art. It also includes a 16.5-acre section designated as an entertainment district, with 9.8 of those acres set aside for the popular arcade/ driving range company Topgolf. The remainder is slated as “eatertainment” concepts, to be determined by a competitive public solicitation process.

Additionally, the proposal calls for realignment of Liberator Way with new public parking, sidewalks, planting buffers and reconfiguration of adjacent intersections.

Eighteen US service members have died so far in Trump’s war with Iran and 420 have been wounded. These mounting casualties come with escalating attacks and strikes by both sides. Iran declares it is fighting a “full-scale war.” And Trump threatens to intensify bombings for every American killed. Bridges and ports are struck. The price of oil shot up as did gasoline of course, and stocks fell. (Closing on 300 points Monday.)

The big question as the conflict looks to inflame the whole Middle East region is whether negotiations between the two sides are continuing or not, and if not, is there a chance they can continue?

The US has just bombed Iran for the 9th day / night in a row in a dramatic shift in the four and half month old war after weeks of a so-called cease fire under the Memorandum of Understanding. Iran has retaliated — not in striking U.S. targets but in going after countries that host US military personnel and facilities, like Jordan and Bahrain and other Gulf allies for the U.S. Some sources report that diplomats said talks to de-escalate were continuing.

The Guardian reports:

Iranian media reported strikes around Tabriz, believed to hold underground missile bases, as well as Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power plant. The US military said it had struck “military command centers, air defence and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks”.

By Andrea Margolis / Fox News / July 18, 2026

A family’s unusual discovery in a rental home that left some TikTok viewers shocked finally has an explanation.

Libby Birrell and Aubrey Birrell, two sisters from Utah, recently went viral on social media after checking into an Airbnb rental and recognizing members of their own family in a framed beach photo hanging on the wall.

In an interview with Fox News Digital this week, the sisters admitted they were extremely “creeped out” by seeing the picture.

They were at a rental home in Oceanside, San Diego, with about 30 relatives to celebrate their grandfather’s 80th birthday in early July, they said, when they spotted the photo.

“The moment we saw it, we made everyone come up and look, and they were all in awe,” Aubrey Birrell said. “I started FaceTiming my friends because they all know my family. They were in shock, too. It was crazy.”

By JW August / Special to OB Rag

San Diegan Shirley Weber, California’s Secretary of State, has received a warning from the U.S.Department of Justice, advising her that she or “any election officer” in California faces serious criminal charges for “knowingly retaining non-citizens on the Statewide Voter Registration List.”

The letter, sent July 7, was signed by Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights  Division. At one time, she was one of the most influential  Republican women in California politics, and her stature has grown even more since following President Trump to Washington, where she is now a powerful voice in the party. Under her direction, the division, which 69 years ago was created to protect voting rights and to fight inequality, has changed course.

Before joining the administration, Dhillon was in private practice, and the firm she founded filed lawsuits in support of many of Trump’s goals.  This included a case in San Diego, where a Trump anti-vax supporter’s protests were gaining momentum.

Fast forward to the current Trump admiration and her role is again in support of conservative causes. In a recent Los Angeles Times article, a dozen former attorneys in the division said “the division has taken on a far more partisan approach.”

In the same story, Dhillon defended her work, stating that “the division’s actions aren’t political.”  She added her work isn’t combative; instead, “it’s transparent.”

Dhillon believes there is clear potential for non-citizens to vote in California elections. The letter to Weber comes amid increasing pressure by the Trump administration to discredit the nation’s voting systems, which the President says are inherently flawed.

By Sam Halpern, M.D.

I have spent my working life in medicine as a clinician and a medical scientist.  I have watched with awe as basic and applied medical science placed new and effective tools in the hands of physicians to diagnose and treat diseases that were once a death sentence.

The progress we have made in medical research has only been possible because the American people supported a commitment to long-term funding and scrupulous attention to awarding funds to research judged by the scientific community to be the most promising and well-conceived among competitive proposals.  Who a scientist voted for in an election, or whose political priorities they supported, never entered into the question of whether a grant proposal merited funding.

But on July 13, 2026, I was stunned to see a headline in the Los Angeles Times: “WARNING AGAINST POLITICS IN RESEARCH FUNDING,” by Corinne Purtill.

The article states that a new rule, proposed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, has the potential to overhaul the way federal grants are awarded and overseen. One scientific society has said that it would “all but end the use of scientific merit in the selection of grants and programs across the government.”

The new rule will give political appointees control over federal grants for scientific research, education and infrastructure and specifies that government funds can be spent only on projects “aligned with administration policies and priorities.” That shocked me! I had never heard of this proposal, and it has been around since May!

David Garrick at the San Diego U-T wrote an analysis of the current City Council races on July 12th, and here is a summary of some of his findings.

First, they “attracted an unprecedented amount of cash this year from groups funded by labor unions, business interests and statewide organizations,” and he found “the results were decidedly mixed.”

For example, in the District 2 race, “A committee supporting Josh Coyne … spent $300,000, but Coyne didn’t come close to making the November runoff.” In contrast, “Richard Bailey finished first in District 2 thanks partly to more than $200,000 in committee support.”

Yet, candidate Rafael Perez in the District 8 race finished last despite $150,000 in committee support. One of the candidates who made the primary run-off was Gerardo Ramirez “after benefiting from more than $200,000 in committee support….”

Overall, the monies spent on these races “are dramatically higher than typical San Diego council race contributions from independent committees, which allow supporters to exceed the $800 maximum an individual can contribute directly to a campaign,” reports Garrick.

By Dorian Hargrove and Andrew Keatts / Times of San Diego / July 16, 2026

A 40-yard green dumpster sits in front of 1461 Hilger in Encanto. Trash and debris tower over the railing. Less than 40 feet below sits a dilapidated wooden shed, or, as neighbors describe it, the makeshift garage where stolen cars are stored and disassembled throughout the night. The two-story house on the other side of the dumpster is littered with appliances and trash.

At least, that was the scene at the home until Wednesday morning, when the property owner, San Diego police and code enforcement officers executed a massive clean-up on the property two days after Times of San Diego asked for comment on the derelict property. Squatters had been living there and engaging in lawless behavior for nearly 8 months, neighbors say.

The home, and a neighboring property that was also occupied by squatters, are owned by a company formed by Christian Spicer, whose companies have been at the forefront of capitalizing on the city of San Diego’s accessory dwelling unit regulations, which are among the most permissive in all of California.

His companies have specialized in converting single-family properties into large apartment complexes, capitalizing on the city’s ADU rules. That includes the Chalcifica project in Pacific Beach, which would have turned two parcels into 136 units.

In an investor brochure for SDRE, Spicer’s company, before he rebranded it to Infill Innovation, the ADU developer promoted his plans to convert 53 single-family homes spread throughout San Diego into 1,178 total units.

The total cost to acquire the 53 properties, according to the brochure, was just under $62.8 million. If all of his projects were built according to plan, Spicer predicted revenue from adding the 1,100-plus ADUs would be more than $538.8 million, a 750 percent increase.

But Spicer’s plan hit snags. Residents in Encanto, Pacific Beach, and the College Area pushed back, delaying the projects from starting, and in some cases, such as the Chalcifica project in Pacific Beach, the projects wound up in court, where a judge temporarily halted the project from moving forward until a trial is held.

By: Ben Higgins / 10News / July 16-17, 2026

Major League Pickleball is back in San Diego, bringing professional competition to Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma this weekend [July 18-19].

The event marks year two of Major League Pickleball in San Diego. Day one drew local fans to the venue while cameras and commentators streamed and broadcast matches for viewers around the world as pickleball’s popularity has continued to grow over the past decade.

The So Cal Hard Eights swept the Florida Smash on the opening day of competition. Among those leading the charge was Murrieta native Meghan Dizon, a pickleball pro who said the sport caught her attention during the pandemic.

From Calling a “National Emergency” Due to “Foreign Intervention in Elections” to ICE Agents at the Polls, to Attacks on Leftists, Trump’s Speech Tonight Has Myriad of Authoritarian Possibilities

By Maggie Miller, Gregory Svirnovskiy and Aaron Pellish / Politico / July 16, 2026
 
President Donald Trump seemingly has a plan for the nation’s election apparatus: Dismantle the existing system with a series of cuts, firings and threats, rather than a sledgehammer blow.

Just last week Trump eviscerated the relatively obscure Election Assistance Commission, alarming state election officials across the country who warned it could undermine cybersecurity resources for states and localities.

That was just one of the moves the White House has made since Trump returned to office. The president has repeatedly tried to change American election policy via executive order, only to be rebuffed by the courts. And he continues to squeeze congressional Republicans to pass legislation that would force voters to show proof of citizenship at the polls.

Elsewhere, the Justice Department has demanded states hand over their voter rolls, and sent letters last week to state officials threatening prosecution if they allowed any non-citizen voting, a move that voting rights advocates say is meant to sow distrust and is already illegal under several existing statutes. The DOJ’s efforts to compel states to turn over voting rolls has been rejected by more than a dozen courts.

They’re all parts of a strategy that spans the entirety of the existing system. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security threatened federal election security money for states if they don’t use a federal system to verify voter citizenship. And the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was forced to cut its election security programs after DOGE-led layoffs.

And now, Trump is set to deliver a speech Thursday evening that his allies have claimed will validate his long-held conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen from him. It’s the latest attempt by the president to undermine confidence in the electoral system, as he continues to obsess over 2020 and insist that elections both federal and local are rigged across the country.

“This is a concerted effort of death by a thousand cuts,” said Ingham County, Michigan, Clerk Barb Byrum, a Democrat. “Every day is another battle, but the war that we’re fighting is to maintain our democracy.”