Author: Frank Gormlie

SB 79 and Budget Cuts in Letters to Editor

Sometimes the truth is more forthright and evident in the Letters to the Editor than in the news articles — or lack of — themselves.(I always check them out in both the U-T and LA Times daily.)

Here’s two from today, Wednesday, Sept. 23, that speak volumes; they both are responding to the news that San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System may have to make budget cuts that would eliminate over one-third of the current bus routes, force cut backs on another third, and less frequent trolley trains on all four lines. The letters make the case that with drastic, even draconian budget cuts to MTS, the foundational logic for Senate Bill 79 and other pushes for high-density near transit has been lost. Despite this, our politicians are not taking note of these potential heavy-weight changes to our urban landscape.

Let’s say that again, as it’s very important and immediately stands out amid this news.

The grim news of potential major service cuts— including eliminating a third of bus routes and reducing trolley frequency due to projected $100M–$150M deficits by fiscal year 2030—has intensified criticism that building high-density, low-parking housing near transit stops under laws like Senate Bill 79 is losing its foundational logic.

Here’s the first from RC of Sunset Cliffs:

What an eye-opener. After years of the “build, baby build” housing policies of the YIMBYs, Todd Gloria, our City Council and the state Legislature — pushing the building of high-density housing along transit routes — we learn that MTS is going broke and may need to cut back bus routes and trolley service. Yet our politicians keep wanting to build high-density housing with minimal parking requirements.

Corey Bruins, the former president of the OB Town Council, who drove the long-time favorite OB organization into the drink — forcing it to re-organize itself under a new name and leadership, and then who was charged with embezzling thousands of dollars from the group — has now had his apparent stalling tactics brought to an end, hopefully. Bruins was originally charged more than 18 months ago.

Bruins is charged with nine felonies, including embezzlement as an aggravated white collar crime, grand theft, and six counts of identity theft. He pleaded not-guilty, and was released from custody shortly after his arrest without posting bail.

Bruins’ and his lawyers have repeatedly delayed his preliminary hearing, at which prosecutors will submit evidence and testimony about Bruins’ alleged embezzlement and identity theft.

Most recently, a judge agreed to delay the preliminary hearing after Bruins parted ways with his private-practice attorney, Earl Pott. The public defender’s office then assumed Bruin’s case, and his preliminary hearing was rescheduled for later this year, to give that attorney time to familiarize themselves with the evidence.

Budget Crisis Could Force End to One-Third of Bus Routes and Less Frequent Trolleys

David Garrick at the U-T reported on a scary scenario for San Diego’s mass transit system. Garrick stated “a looming budget crisis” could “eliminate one-third of bus routes,” — and “reduce service on another one-third” and force “San Diego trolley’s four lines [to run] less frequently.”

This is certainly a doomsday outlook as Metropolitan Transit System officials attempt to deal with “annual budget deficits of $100 million to $150 million” but not until fiscal year 2030.

It’s all a “rough draft”, Garrick says. But it could “wipe out 33 of the 95 MTS bus routes….” That’s a lot of bus routes. Garrick must get his info from MTS and he reports the wipe out could include “the end of service to SeaWorld, Cabrillo National Monument, Tierrasanta and parts of Mission Hills.”

There would be notable service reductions for another 29 routes. Like, “Sunday service could be eliminated on a route or the frequency of service could be reduced from once every half an hour to once every hour.”

All four trolley lines – blue, green, orange and copper – would also see reductions in service frequency, MTS officials said. Trains now typically run every 15 minutes on most routes.

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Friday, September 25: 6:00 – 10:00pm

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32 Player Bracket, Co-Ed Competition.
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It has begun. San Diego’s recent budget battle has now reached Ocean Beach and Point Loma.

It started on Saturday, August 29th — over a dozen San Diego recreation centers had their operating hours cut drastically — including the Ocean Beach Rec Center. Hours were cut from 60 to only 40 hours — that’s 33% — a third!

Other rec centers with these kind of cuts include La Jolla, Ocean Air, Pacific Beach, North Clairemont, Canyonside, Carmel Mountain Ranch/ Sabre Springs, Hilltop, Rancho Bernardo Glassman, Scripps Ranch Community, Kearny Mesa, Allied Gardens, and Tierrasanta.

These drops in a third of the hours opened were the results of the $118 million budget shortfall that the electeds couldn’t deal with. And they may mean that community groups – like the OB Planning Board – will have to find alternative locations.

A 10-unit, 2-story townhome apartment complex on Cape May Avenue has just been sold for $3,850,000 to a local multifamily investor.

The property at 4957 Cape May Avenue consists of eight (8) 1Bedroom / 1Bathroom units and two (2) 2Bedroom / 1.5Bathroom two-story townhomes — all on a 6,993 square foot lot.

Amenities for tenants include an onsite laundry facility, plus what the realty group providing the news calls “ample off-street parking spots, and a spacious floorplans.”

Good news! After just one week of fundraising, the Rag has exceeded our goal by $3,000! Our goal was $3,500 but we’ve now reached over $6,600 in donations from readers, friends and supporters.

This means the Rag can continue the quality and quantity of our writings and reports. We can keep our lights on. This is crucial because the country is about to enter one of the most turbulent periods in modern history. Donald Trump is gearing up to unleash a multi-level attack on our November elections — and this is no time for the Rag to go silent.

As we wind down the first week of the OB Rag annual summer fundraising campaign, we’ve now reached nearly half of our goal of $3,500. And we have to remind our friends and readers that keeping the Rag alive does take donations from our readers and supporters, for afterall, a free press is not “free.”

We do have expenses — our annual server bill is $900 alone; plus subscriptions, utilities — and we actually pay many of our writers and reporters for reporting on community meetings and on issues that no one else covers.

Here are Reasons to Support the OB Rag:

1. Our Progressive Politics: we stand for the Constitution, liberty, democracy, the rule of law, a woman’s right to choose and for racial and gender equality. We are diametrically opposed to Trump’s banana republic and against his push into authoritarianism — which include possible plans for rigging the upcoming Mid-Term elections.
2. We Oppose the Direction that City Hall Has Been Taking: the current city leadership has been taking us down the wrong road in its imposition of un-democratically-forced rules that threaten our neighborhoods, like the Bonus ADU program and Complete Communities. We can add the failed paid parking at Balboa Park and the closing of half of the public restrooms in Mission Bay Park — since reopened.
3. We have been one of the voices at the forefront of forcing reforms to the city’s ADU policies along with neighborhood groups and networks like the San Diego Community Coalition and Neighbors for a Better San Diego.
4. We stand for more affordable housing, renters’ rights and an end to the investor and corporate ownership of our housing stock. We also find it unacceptable that large campaign donors can reap the award of public land and development projects.
5. We also focus on maintaining parks and the public common — such as Mission Bay Park. We broke the story of how the Mayor wants to break off sections of Mission Bay and make them “surplus lands” in order to lease them to commercial and private interests in order to bring a cash-strapped city with a few bucks.

The OB Rag holds one fundraiser every year and it’s that time again. It’s the second week of August and here we go!!

Please help us reach our goal of $3,500 over the next two weeks. We do have bills — just our annual server bill alone is $900, plus hopefully you’ve noticed, but we have added new writers. And miracle upon miracle, we do pay them a small amount, usually $50 an article, plus we have subscription bills and utilities to pay. It costs us more than $3,500 to run the Rag for a year, but that’s what we’re asking.

Over these last three years, the Rag has become the online platform for whole groups of dissatisfied residents besides Ocean Beach and Point Loma – fellow citizens who are upset with the leadership of the city, the mayor’s Bonus ADU program, the so-called Complete Communities plan  – not to mention the Midway Rising and NAVWAR massive redevelopment projects.

Residents across the city are having trouble gaining traction about their travails from the mainstream or other online media and press. So, increasingly, they look to the Rag for support.

As the Rag is a platform of and for citizen journalists, we are often there for them.

So, help us keep it going.

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