Author: Source

Group Accuses City of Caving to Public Pressure as Local Politicians Line Up in Opposition

by Dorian Hargrove / Beach & Bay Press (Times of San Diego) / Nov. 2, 2026, 5:05 p.m.

A pro-housing advocacy group says San Diego officials are violating state housing laws by requiring special approval of a proposed 23-story mixed-use tower on Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach.

Developer Kalonymus first pitched “Project Vela” at 970 Turquoise St. in 2024. The developer proposed a 23-story tower offering 65 market-rate housing units, 10 low-income housing units, and 139 hotel units. The novel proposal would allow the developer to maximize the housing they could build by including the 139 hotel units, which would be filled through traditional long-term leases, not nightly or weekly hotel stays.

Pacific Beach residents quickly organized in opposition to the project, mostly because it exceeded the city’s 30-foot height limit on new coastal buildings.

The city has also laid out its concerns with the project.

In a December 2025 letter, San Diego planners alleged Kalonymus was trying to pawn off housing units as hotel rooms to avoid abiding by the height restrictions.

But in an Aug. 10 letter to Mayor Todd Gloria, the YIMBY Democrats of San Diego say the city is ignoring state housing laws aimed at expediting affordable housing construction.

by Dorian Hargrove / Times of San Diego / Nov. 9, 2026

A little over a month after the City of San Diego fired its top lifeguard for mishandling a sexual harassment complaint, the second-highest-ranking lifeguard is now suing the city and department for barring her from applying for the top lifeguard post, allegedly hiring a less qualified man instead.

In a newly filed lawsuit, Maureen Hodges, the city’s first and only female captain, says the city refused to let her apply for the open chief position after former Chief James Gartland was terminated in early October.

Hodges has served as a San Diego lifeguard for 20 years and currently serves as the department’s Marine Safety Captain of Strategic Operations.

Following Gartland’s termination, Hodges’ lawsuit alleges she went to acting chief Dan Eddy to inquire about applying for the open chief position.

His true source of power has still not been exposed and may re-surface

By Bill Eddy / Bill Eddy’s Substack / Nov. 9, 2026

Voters Have Spoken – for Now

Last Tuesday, on November 3, 2026, the national electorate spoke and soundly rebuked the corrupt, dangerous, and uncaring reality of the Trump administration and his Republican enablers in Congress. While he had a very narrow win in the Presidential Election of 2024, Democrats had a record win in the midterms with an across-the board sweep that hasn’t been seen in 50 years. This is good.

But has Trump finally reached the end of his hidden power over America? Has the Trump bubble burst?

The Trump Bubble

In May 2016, I put out a little book titled Trump Bubbles: The Dramatic Rise and Fall of High-Conflict Politicians. In it I explained: “I define a trump bubble as occurring when emotions trump thinking in politics. When fear trumps facts. When leader love trumps logic. It could be a politician, a policy or a war. In 2016, the trump bubble is Donald J. Trump himself.”

Trump bubbles are essentially kept afloat by hot air—the false and absurd statements of the politician, their negative advocates, partisan media, and especially social media, who repeatedly promote the fantasy of this politician’s strength and competence. I gave several examples in history when such trump bubbles occurred and how they eventually burst when reality set in and the hot air evaporated. I, of course, suggested that this dynamic fit Donald J. Trump and that his bubble would burst, I just didn’t know when.

Access Hollywood Tape Scandal

In October 2016, a month before the Presidential Election, I thought that his Trump Bubble had burst.

By Alex J. Chavez / OnlyinSanDiego / November 9, 2026

Todd Gloria needs to understand something: San Diego is not obligated to love him, defend him or continue giving him the benefit of the doubt.

And no amount of communications strategy, carefully crafted talking points or political spin will change that.

When I previously asked what Todd Gloria had delivered for San Diego, the question concerned his record. But the deeper problem is becoming impossible to ignore. Gloria has surrounded himself with a political team that appears more interested in protecting its own authority than earning the trust necessary to govern.

Now, with a recall effort underway, the mayor and his advisers face a reckoning they should have seen coming.

This did not happen overnight. And they did not arrive here by accident.

They Have Confused Access to Power With the Ability to Lead
Gloria entered office with nearly every political advantage imaginable: experience, established relationships, an initially friendly City Council and communities that believed he would represent their interests.

What happened to that promise?

For too many residents, the disappointment goes beyond policy disagreements. It concerns an administration perceived as inaccessible, dismissive and increasingly disconnected from the people it was elected to serve.

Communities that once stood with Gloria deserve to know why their concerns seem less important now than they were when their support was politically useful.

Requests for meetings should not become exercises in frustration. Constituents should not have to fight for basic engagement. Community leaders should not be left wondering whether promises made during campaigns were simply transactional.

And residents should never feel that disagreeing with their mayor means forfeiting the opportunity to be heard.

From Voice of San Diego / November 10, 2026

More than eight years ago, the city of San Diego, then led by former Mayor Kevin Faulconer, stopped signing new long-term leases with the businesses that rented land around the Sports Arena. At the same time, it began updating the zoning plan for the neighborhood.

As we wrote then, it looked like the city was finally, truly planning a massive redevelopment for the nearly 50 acres of land it owns in Midway.

Then, we watched one failure after another, as the city pursued what Faulconer and then his successor, Mayor Todd Gloria, envisioned. The courts threw out two ballot measures. Nevertheless, the city persisted and selected a development partner, negotiating an agreement over four years. With another lawsuit looming, the city’s leaders took the extraordinary effort of getting state lawmakers and the governor to give them special protection from lawsuits.

Finally, Monday night, the San Diego City Council approved the $4.2 billion redevelopment project known as Midway Rising.

The revamp on the Pechanga Arena site will include a new 16,000-seat arena. It will be where Dixieline Lumber sits now. Developers believe it will be close enough to the Old Town Transit Center to walk and that the investment they’re making will spur investments all along that walk. And that will make it somewhere you would want to walk.

Where and How, Exactly, Is Todd Gloria “Languishing”?

By Geneviéve Jones-Wright

I read Kate Callen’s op-ed about the recall of Todd Gloria published on the Rag November 4th, in which she argued that San Diegans should simply “let him languish,” and I have one question: Where and how, exactly, is Mayor Gloria languishing?

He has not been removed from power. He has not been stripped of his title. He has not lost his $244,727 annual base salary. He has not been shunned from public life or deprived of the authority of his office. He remains the Mayor of San Diego, the chief executive of the eighth largest city in the country, responsible for overseeing City operations and proposing the City’s budget.

That is not languishing. That is retaining the power, authority, platform, and institutional stature of the Mayor’s office— advantages that plainly matter to any elected official contemplating future public office.

Mayor Gloria also currently serves as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a national leadership position to which he was recently elected by his peers. Far from being politically exiled or cast aside, he was selected to lead their national organization and represent their collective interests on issues affecting America’s cities. That position has given him an even larger national platform, which he is now using to travel the country talking about affordability and the rising cost of everyday life.

There is something deeply disconnected about that; and the hypocrisy is hard to ignore.

From Neighbors for a Better San Diego

Councilmembers:

Regarding the currently proposed Midway Rising project, Neighbors For A Better San Diego is concerned that the planned affordable units may not get built by the developer, and that, despite the intervention of the Legislature, further environmental review may still be needed.

Given that the Council is relying on recently-enacted state laws (SB 344 and SB 958, both authored by Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson) to proceed forward with the Midway Rising project,
Neighbors For A Better San Diego would like to raise concerns with these bills.

SB 344 creates clear expectations of the number of affordable units that will be built by the project:

21080.77. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) The City of San Diego has approved, or may approve, a mixed-use development project known as the Midway Rising project, consisting of approximately 4,254 new homes, of which 2,000 are deed-restricted affordable homes at or below 80 percent of area median income, up to 130,000 square feet of commercial uses, approximately 14.5 acres of public parks and open space, and a new 16,000-seat multipurpose entertainment center. [emphasis added]

By Donna Frye

It’s no wonder the public doesn’t have a lot of trust when it comes to big development projects in the City of San Diego. Too often, what we are told is not accurate.

On Monday November 9, the San Diego City Council is scheduled to hear the Midway Rising development project.

Items 600, 601 and 602. see link inside

From the beginning, the project has been promoted as a massive affordable housing project.

The proposed project is on 48.5 acres of public land and includes an entertainment center, 2,000 affordable housing units, 2,250 market rate housing units, between 123,500 and 130,000 square feet of retail space, 8.2 acres of parks, and 6.42 acres of public spaces.

One of the many documents the council will be voting on is the Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA).

The DDA is over 600 pages long and is a complex and complicated document to read, let alone understand.  It includes such things as the leases for the property and determines the order in which the development will occur.

The DDA was first made public one week before the City Council Land Use and Housing Committee meeting on October 16. The public has had very limited time to review all the documents and provide comments.

By Steve Price / CBS8 /  November 4, 2026

More than 2,400 players have descended on Point Loma for the 17th annual USA Pickleball National Championships from Oct. 31 to Nov. 8, showcasing a sport that continues to explode in popularity across the country.

Nearly half of the competitors are at least 60 years old, highlighting pickleball’s broad appeal among older athletes, while also drawing younger players looking for competition and community.

For many participants, the excitement of the tournament is undeniable. “That was so intense!” player Monika David said after a hard-fought match at the Barnes Tennis Center.

The sport’s rapid rise has turned pickleball from a recreational pastime into a lucrative professional endeavor. According to USA Pickleball CEO Mike Nealy, top players are now earning significant income through tournament winnings and endorsement deals.

By: Michael Chen / 10News / Nov 03, 2026

The co-owner of an Ocean Beach e-bike shop says a burglar smashed through the business’s front window and stole a $2,800 e-bike in an early-morning break-in.

The burglary happened last Monday, Nov. 2 at E-Bike Super Shop along Bacon Street.

Co-owner Devin Raymond said an employee discovered the damage that morning.

“Like a gut punch in the morning,” Raymond said.

Surveillance video from the business shows two men outside the entrance shortly before 4 a.m. Raymond believes one of them used a tool to break the glass in the front window.

“Looks like they broke the glass in advance to see if it would set off the alarm,” Raymond said.

Raymond said the alarm never went off.

About 30 minutes later, surveillance video shows an SUV pull up near the entrance and a masked man get out. The man eventually makes his way through the broken window and enters the shop.

City News Service – NBC7 / November 5, 2026

An 80-year-old man and a 45-year-old man suspected of distributing psilocybin gummies to at least 15 trick-or-treating children in Sunset Cliffs were taken into custody Wednesday following a search operation.

Multiple bags of psilocybin-infused gummies were left on a residence’s porch Saturday night and were later taken by children between 1 and 6 years old, according to the San Diego Police Department.

Police said the children’s parents noticed the suspicious candy packages and, upon inspecting them, suspected they contained controlled substances.

The parents then confronted the homeowners and later filed a police report with the department, saving the packages of the gummies for law enforcement evaluation, which later tested positive for psilocybin.

From ACLU

This election reaffirmed the power of people coming together to defend our democracy and the values we share. When the federal government sought to undermine voting rights and intimidate voters, Californians stood firm. And when asked to pass Prop 39 and add unnecessary hurdles to exercising the right to vote, California voters sent a resounding message to those who tried to roll back voting rights: hands off our elections.

ACLU-SDIC Executive Director Norma Chávez-Peterson said:

“Yesterday, California voters showed up at the polls to protect their voting rights and reject an anti-democratic agenda — and they succeeded. Prop 39 has been defeated, but the fight to protect our constitutional rights is far from over.