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By Julie Gallant / San Diego Union-Tribune / January 22, 2026

Poway’s Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center is considered a sacred site in part because the rock formations around it resemble animals.

A large rock outcropping at the top of the 5-acre site off Poway Road includes shapes in the form of a turtle, bottlenose dolphin and a small whale, Docent Robert Holton pointed out on a Jan. 17 tour.

According to the Native American creation story, humans and animals and even plants are all equal, Holton told his group.

“They spoke to each other and had a partnership in life,” he said. “What might be natural shapes in stones reminds them of animals and makes this site sacred.”

The interpretive center at 13104 Ipai Waaypuk Trail is one of five Kumeyaay villages in the Poway area. The others are on Garden Road and at Sycamore Canyon, Twin Peaks and Sabre Springs.

Kumeyaay translates as “those who face the water from a cliff.” Ipai indicates their territory. The Kumeyaay indigenous people who live north of the San Diego River in Mission Valley are known as Ipai and those who live south of the river in Southern California and Baja California, Mexico are referred to as Tipai.

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / Jan. 21, 2026

Liberty Station’s historic North Chapel, closed since the previous tenant proposed modernizing the building to convert it into a restaurant and event venue, has been reopened and repurposed.

The World War II-era North Chapel accommodates 320 guests for weddings, services, meetings, or other special occasions. Since 1942, the building has hosted Navy services, weddings, memorials, and numerous other community events.

The chapel was officially reopened last December by Michael Esposito, founder of Snake Oil Venue Co. He is also co-founder and chief executive officer of Snake Oil Cocktail Co.

Esposito took over for the previous tenant, 828 Events, which had proposed altering the historical building to adapt it for possible new uses. That notion drew serious blowback from some preservationists and neighbors, who dismissed the character-altering chapel proposal as being insensitive and inappropriate to the building and its original design and mission.

A man who was responsible for punching another guy in Ocean Beach so hard that he fell and hit his head on the pavement, lapsing into a coma and dying 3 months later, has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Andrew Phillip Restrepo, 34, had been charged with the murder of Sean Glenn for administering what was called a “Superman punch”, agreed to the new charge and having the murder charge dropped, just before he was to stand trial.

The incident occurred on May 10, 2023 in the 5000 block of Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. Restrepo also pleaded guilty to felony assault for punching another man on an MTS bus in the Midway area in a month before the fatal encounter.  Restrepo was arrested in August 2024.

By Donna Frye

Back in the mid ‘90s, I remember going to city council meetings to speak on issues that were important to me such as clean water and the public’s right to know what its government is doing and why.

I showed up because I hoped it would make a difference and also to help educate the public about their right to participate in government decisions, before, and not after, the decision was made. The open meeting laws that require public decisions to be made in public are known as the Brown Act. It also includes laws about public participation and remedies if the laws are not followed.

More often than not, however, I would wait hours to speak for my two or three minutes only to be made to feel like what I had to say didn’t matter; it felt like the decisions had been made in advance of the public meeting.

I referred to this exercise as “going through the drill.” The Brown Act refers to it as a collective concurrence and it’s not allowed. But it was usually really hard to prove.

Marimar Martinez is the Chicago woman who was shot 5 times by an ICE agent back in October 2025 and who lived to testify about it before a Congressional committee last week.

Because her testimony was edited by every news network and effectively back paged for lack of a better term, we here quote verbatim Marimar Martinez’ testimony before Congress in it’s entirety, just weeks after getting shot 5 times and leaving 7 bullet holes by ICE. This is the testimony that should have been heard by every American and heard around the world. Marimar Martinez testimony should have dominated the news cycle last week:

To the Rag reader who sent us the following, “Marimar is strength and love personified. This is what courage looks like, and she is an example for us all.”

[00:00:00:30 – 00:00:01:57]

Thank you for having me here.

[00:00:02:57 – 00:00:13:55]

Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude. Thank you, Chairman, for giving me the opportunity to be here today, for taking the time to hear my testimony.

City News Service – Times of SD /  Feb. 6, 2026

A San Diego federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to return three families that he ruled were deported unlawfully.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw wrote in a Thursday, Feb.5, ruling that the deportations “clearly violated the spirit” of a 2023 settlement agreement that he approved, which sought to reunite and provide services for families separated at the southern border.

“Each of the removals was unlawful, and absent the removals, these families would still be in the United States and have access to the benefits and resources they are entitled to under the Settlement Agreement,” the judge wrote.

Sabraw, who has in previous rulings found that the Trump administration has violated the terms of the settlement, wrote that the family members were removed despite legally being in the U.S. on parole.

By Arturo Castañares – Editor-at-Large / La Prensa / Jan. 29, 2026

A member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors has launched a campaign for County Treasurer-Tax Collector against the person a majority of the Supervisors just recently appointed to the position, while his own Party is considering supporting another candidate to run against him.

Supervisor Joel Anderson, a longtime elected Republican, just entered the second year of his second four-term on the County Board of Supervisors, but recently filed to run for County Treasurer in this year’s election cycle.

Joel Anderson

If Anderson were to win the election in November, he would vacate his Supervisor seat halfway through his term and create a vacancy his Democratic colleagues could fill.

The race for a usually low-profile position comes after longtime Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister announced his unexpected resignation on August 2nd after having been elected to the post six times over the past 24 years. McAllister’s current term expires in January 2027.

Every month, local writers unite in Ocean Beach to work through guided creative prompts in community. At the end of each meeting, the group selects one piece of writing from a participant to share with the wider community. The featured work below was written during a recent Writing Club gathering.

If you enjoy what you read and would like to get involved, please contact shanecoopersmith@gmail.com for more details.

And below is the selected piece from January’s Writing Club

By Donna Frye / Op-Ed SD Union-Tribune / Feb. 8, 2026

On Jan. 5, the city of San Diego began charging residents and nonresidents to park at Balboa Park. To say that the rollout went badly is a gross understatement; the only way it could have been worse is if the city made everyone parallel park before paying.

There was extensive news coverage both before and after the paid parking was enacted showing widespread opposition to the parking fees for residents and nonresidents alike.

On Jan. 27, three City Council members who had voted in support of paid parking in Balboa Park held a press conference inside City Hall.

At that press conference, Council President Joe LaCava, Council President Pro Tem Kent Lee and Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera jointly announced their proposal to suspend paid parking fees for residents, but keep the parking fees for nonresidents.

LaCava said he was docketing their proposal for the council meeting that would be held on Monday, Feb. 9. There was no mention of a ballot measure as part of their proposal.

On Jan. 28, the Rules Committee had a meeting. LaCava, Lee and Elo-Rivera are three of the five members who serve on the Rules Committee; LaCava is the chair and Lee is the vice chair.

Fox5 San Diego / Feb. 7, 2026

The San Diego Lifeguard confirmed four people were rescued from Sunset Cliffs Saturday afternoon, Feb.7, after recreationally leaping off the cliff before becoming stuck.

Three of the jumpers were saved by cliff-rescue operations, while the fourth was rescued by a watercraft around 1:45 p.m., authorities said.

By Mark Sherman / The Associated Press – 7SanDiego / February 4, 2026

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voter-approved congressional map that is favorable to Democrats in this year’s elections, rejecting a last-ditch plea from state Republicans and the Trump administration.

No justices dissented from the brief order denying the appeal without explanation, which is common on the court’s emergency docket.

The justices had previously allowed Texas’ Republican-friendly map to be used in 2026, despite a lower-court ruling that it likely discriminates on the basis of race.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in December that it appeared both states had adopted new maps for political advantage, which the high court has previously ruled cannot be a basis for a federal lawsuit.

Republicans, joined by the Trump administration, claimed the California map improperly relied on race as well. But a lower court disagreed by a 2-1 vote. The Justice Department and White House did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The justices’ unsigned order keeps in place districts that are designed to flip up to five seats now held by Republicans, part of a tit-for-tat nationwide

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / Feb. 5, 2026

Campaign contribution disclosures filed this week highlight how wide open the races are for open San Diego City Council seats in mid-coastal District 2 and South Bay District 8 just four months ahead of the June 2 primary.

Four candidates in the District 8 race have raised more than $30,000. And candidates Gerardo Ramirez and Antonio Martinez closed the gap on fundraising frontrunner Venus Molina during the second half of 2025.

Three candidates in District 2 have raised more than $30,000. But former City Hall staffer Josh Coyne widened his fundraising lead during the second half of 2025.

Coyne, who now works for the Downtown San Diego Partnership, raised nearly twice as much as both Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby and Point Loma neighborhood leader Mandy Havlik.

In southeastern San Diego’s District 4, incumbent Henry Foster appears to have at least one viable challenger. Foster was out-raised during the second half of 2025 by nurse and community organizer Martha Abraham.