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David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / Feb. 25, 2026

San Diego softened its historic preservation rules Tuesday in order to accelerate homebuilding, despite objections from leading local historians and many Ocean Beach residents worried about community character.

The City Council voted 5-1 to approve a package of rule changes that include allowing the City Council to overrule the city’s Historical Resources Board when the board designates a property historic.

The updates also allow developers to take advantage of the city’s controversial Complete Communities incentive in Ocean Beach as long as a property isn’t the site of a historic cottage.

Developers and city officials praised the changes as modest and sensible reforms that will boost the impact of dozens of pro-housing updates and policies the council has approved in recent years.

by Todd Walters / Times of San Diego / Feb. 24, 2026

Public office demands more than ambition. It demands principles. It demands courage. And above all, it demands accountability.

That is why I cannot stay silent about San Diego Unified Board President Richard Barrera and his bid for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Leadership is not defined by titles held or campaigns launched. It is defined in moments of crisis, when speaking up carries risk, when loyalty to power conflicts with loyalty to people, and when silence becomes a choice.

During one of the most painful chapters in our union’s history, Barrera made that choice.

For years, former United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 135 President Mickey Kasparian faced multiple public allegations and lawsuits involving sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation. These were not whispers. They were reported, litigated, protested and deeply felt by labor and the broader community.

At that time, Barrera served as secretary-treasurer of the union. He was widely regarded as Kasparian’s right-hand man, a senior officer with influence, access and authority. If there was ever a moment that called for moral clarity, this was it.

And yet, he remained silent.

by Debbie L. Sklar / Times of San Diego / Feb. 20, 2026

In 1916, the sands of Mission Beach were dotted with striped canvas tents and cabana-style shelters, forming a temporary seaside neighborhood known as Tent City. Visitors and a handful of longer-term residents pitched their lives on the shoreline, enjoying the Pacific breezes, the surf, and a rare chance to live directly on the sand.

Tent City was located in:

• Old Mission Beach, generally west of present-day Mission Boulevard.
• Near Redondo Court, site of the former bathhouse.
• Beachfront parcels that later became permanent residential lots.

Promoted as an affordable coastal retreat, Tent City offered rental sites and small lots for sale, appealing to families and vacationers who wanted more than a day trip to the beach. The settlement reflected a broader early-20th-century trend in Southern California: transforming open beachfront into planned, accessible recreational communities.

The following photos were submitted by Cory Miller and taken at the Tuesday, Feb. 24 City Council hearing on OB’s historical district in City Council Chambers. Text was submitted by South OB Girl, an irregular Rag columnist.

A full half hour early, approximately 30 OBceans had already arrived. Council Chambers wasn’t open yet and we waited in the lobby. Security opened the Chambers up since so many people were waiting . Everyone began submitting their speaker slips right away. 20 people in this photo with at least 10 to a dozen people not in the photo.

The San Diego Bird Alliance is proud to announce the return of the San Diego Bird Festival,  scheduled from February 25 to March 1, 2026, at the Marina Village Conference Center in Mission Bay. This  premier five-day celebration centered around the theme “Where Passion Takes Flight” invites birders of all  backgrounds, abilities, and experience levels to explore the region’s unique biodiversity.

Join us Saturday, February 28th anytime between 10 am-6pm and Sunday, March 1st,10am-3pm for Family Friendly Community Days that offer FREE activities, live birds, food vendors, art & more at the Marina Village Conference Center.

The 2026 festival features an expanded lineup of world-class keynote speakers across iconic San Diego venues.  Highlights include Jason Hall at Festival HQ, Makeda Dread Cheatom and Marilú Lopez-Fretts at the WorldBeat  Cultural Center, Dexter Patterson at the San Diego Natural History Museum, and birding legend Kenn Kaufman at  the Hyatt Regency.

By Erwin Chemerinsky / Los Angeles Times Op-Ed / Feb. 20, 2026

The Supreme Court’s decision invalidating President Trump’s tariffs sends a clear and crucial message: The justices will not be a simple rubber stamp approving presidential actions. In the first year of Trump’s new term, 24 challenges to presidential actions came to the court, almost all on its emergency docket. In 22, the justices ruled in favor of the president. But Friday’s 6-3 decision striking down his tariffs is a huge victory for separation of powers and the rule of law.

The importance of tariffs to Trump, and their consequences for the world, cannot be overstated. The president said that their invalidation “would be a total disaster for the country” and “would literally destroy the United States of America.” In its petition to the Supreme Court, Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer said “the tariffs are promoting peace and unprecedented economic prosperity” and “pulling America back from the precipice of disaster, restoring respect and standing in the world.”

Trump has treated tariffs as something he can impose or rescind at will. But not anymore.

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by Calista Stocker and Myckenzie Smith / Daily Aztec / February 17, 2026

On the first day of CSU Unit 6’s Unfair Labor Practice strike, members were met with support, administrative attention and some police pushback.

From 5 a.m. to 12 p.m., more than 50 skilled trades workers — including facilities services, electricians and technicians — showed up at SDSU to fight for unpaid contractual raises and step increases that were promised to them in July 2025.

As a facet of the Local Teamsters 2010, CSU Unit 6 represents more than 1,100 skilled trades workers systemwide. From now until Friday, union members are withholding their labor across CSU’s 22 campuses.

For the striking members, the campus disruption is a necessary evil and a last resort to obtain their overdue raises.

By Scott Case

The City’s Developmental Services Department has confirmed that the proposed Columbia Street high-rise preliminary review findings (PRJ-1126254) have expired since there has been no further submittals in the past year, as governed by the Information Bulletin 513.

Any new project proposal will need to be re-evaluated against the current city code and conditions.

By Anonymous OBcean

Dear representatives of Councilmember Campbell and Mayor Gloria,

I am writing to express my outrage after receiving a citation under San Diego’s “daylighting” parking enforcement near an unmarked crosswalk.

This law, as currently enforced, functions as a trap. There are no signs, no painted curbs, and no visible warnings to alert drivers that parking is prohibited. Residents and visitors are expected to somehow know they must remain 20 feet from an invisible, unmarked crosswalk. That is not reasonable governance — it is punitive and predatory.

Public safety should never be implemented through gotcha enforcement.

“We’re still “Enron-by-the-Sea”

By San Diego U-T Editorial Board / Feb 20, 2026

Most of San Diego’s elected leaders keep confirming that they can’t be trusted. There’s their hypocrisy about the “digital divide” — it’s awful when supermarkets inconvenience people who aren’t tech-savvy but not when city parking programs do far worse. There’s the two-facedness about “fairness” and affordability — Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera nobly criticizes all the evil corporations and out-of-towners that he says are exploiting San Diegans, then embraces the city’s plans to hammer residents, especially poorer ones, by adding to existing fees or creating new ones.

[Please go to original for links]

And at the top of the ladder is Mayor Todd Gloria, who never hesitates to offer preposterous descriptions of his administration’s actions. This was on display in early January. After the disastrous rollout of paid parking at Balboa Park, the U-T reported that he argued “the new system is functioning well and being ‘actively adopted’” — even as he suspended the collection of fees.

The League of Women Voters San Diego have just announced that they have set up two candidate forums for City Council District 2 this spring.

The first is scheduled for Thursday, March 5  –    5:30-7:30 PM  at the Cathy Hopper Clairemont Friendship Center, located at  4425 Bannock Ave, San Diego 92117   This Forum is hosted by the Clairemont Town Council and the League of Women Voters, SD