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by Debbie L. Sklar / Times of San Diego / June 18, 2026

Sand dunes, mussel beds, picnics.

Ocean Beach’s shoreline has been described in different ways over time, long before it became the coastal community known today.

Ocean Beach today is probably best known for its surf culture, its long concrete pier [that is permanently closed], and a tightly-knit neighborhood identity. But its earlier history is rooted less in formal place names and more in how people described the landscape: a broad stretch of sand shaped by wind, shifting dunes, and the former course of the San Diego River as it reached the Pacific.

That began to change in 1887, when developers William “Billy” Carlson and Frank Higgins subdivided the land and began marketing it as a seaside residential community under the name Ocean Beach.

By John McNab

We rarely talk context of why the public coast is disappearing and high rises are sprouting up everywhere.  The below is a perspective on going from freeing animals to caging humans – San Diego’s shift in priorities

A black-and-white movie on TV in the early 60’s was about a boy who went to the zoo with his grandfather. Upon seeing the animals in cages, he broke down. Likely because he loved to spend time under the warm sun playing in the canyons with the lizard and birds. Seeing the zoo animals poorly treated broke his heart.

Upon getting home, he was still in tears. It was recommended he did something. So he started protesting at the zoo. The editor at the local paper thought the story was cute and ran a piece on the boy and his protest. It struck a nerve and suddenly citizens were up in arms. So the embarrassed zoo changed. The last scene, in Technicolor, was the front of the San Diego zoo.

Yet what could be a sequel to the story?

A mother had many errands to run so she dropped off her son with his grandfather. The son, full of energy, got on the grandfather’s nerves. “Why don’t you go outside and play?” The boy answered in tears, “there’s nowhere outside to play”.

By Debbie L. Sklar

Little Italy today is one of San Diego’s most visible dining and residential districts, but much of what people see now sits on top of a far more industrial and working-class
waterfront history. The neighborhood’s transformation didn’t happen all at once, and many layers of its earlier identity are still embedded in the streets, buildings, and public spaces that remain.

Here are five things you might not know.

1. It was once a major tuna processing hub

Before restaurants and redevelopment, this area was closely tied to San Diego’s tuna industry. Italian immigrant families were central to fishing, canning, and dockside work along the waterfront. The neighborhood functioned as part of a larger working harbor economy, where industrial labor defined daily life far more than residential or
commercial activity.

Election denialists have been installed in key positions and are using series of measures to change voting rules

By Peter Stone / The Guardian – U.S. / June 17, 2026

The Trump administration is waging war on voting rights using justice department lawsuits, FBI investigations and an executive order to limit voting by mail, moves mirroring the US president’s false claims he lost the 2020 election due to voting fraud, say election experts and ex-officials.

Since Donald Trump began his second term, numerous 2020 election denialists have been installed in key agencies such as the Department of Justice, the FBI and elsewhere to pursue widely discredited claims of fraud, which can intimidate election workers and voters in swing states that Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020.

The justice department has also filed lawsuits seeking sensitive voter data from 30 states – even though, by law, states control elections – and the FBI has launched investigations into debunked allegations of voting fraud in Georgia, Wisconsin and a few other swing states that Trump lost in 2020.

Trump in late March this year issued an executive order sharply tightening mail-in voting rules, which Trump has long claimed without evidence contribute to fraud. The order gives the United States Postal Service unprecedented powers to issue new rules making voting by mail harder.

The administration’s multi-pronged push to change voting rules is under way despite laws that empower states and Congress to set election rules, sparking lawsuits from states and non-partisan voting rights groups.

Firefighters quickly contained an early morning commercial fire Sunday, June 14, at a business office building in Point Loma, preventing more extensive damage, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue officials.

Crews were dispatched around 5 a.m. to reports of a commercial structure fire at at 3405 Kenyon Street, identified as the Point Loma Business Center. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke coming from the first floor of the five-story office building. Crews entered the building with hose lines and located the fire inside a first floor office suite. Crews conducted a primary search of the entire building and found no occupants inside.

By JW August

It’s called the Black Family Statue. The original statue was installed 52 years ago, the work of local artist Rossi Wade and was created to honor Black family values.

A little more than a half century after the original Black Family Statue took its place in a Mountain View park, its long-awaited replacement was celebrated Saturday, June 13th with an official unveiling.

The community gathering at Neil Pettis Mountain View Park, which doubled as a Juneteenth celebration, capped a decade-long effort to replace the original wood statue that had grown so deteriorated that only a brass plaque and the brick and mortar foundation remained.

By Eric Sanchez / SanDiegoRed / June 14, 2026

Authorities and local residents are sounding the alarm after a dog exhibited neurological symptoms and tested positive for methamphetamine following a visit to the dog beach in Ocean Beach, San Diego.

The dog’s owner, Justin Voeller, took to social media to warn other pet owners about the incident involving his small dog, Angus. Voeller said he brought Angus to the specialized dog beach around 10:00 a.m. Initially, the dog appeared unwell but was simply “glued to the sofa and very alert,” leading Voeller to believe it was only a stomach issue.

However, by approximately 4:30 p.m., Angus began showing clear neurological signs, including repetitive movements, hyperactivity, and fully dilated pupils.

Opening of Strait of Hormuz and End to Israel’s Attacks on Lebanon Parts of Murky Details

By Jason Burke / The Guardian / Mon 15 Jun 2026

A framework peace deal between the US and Iran has been reached, Donald Trump and senior Iranian officials have said, bringing the 15-week conflict to a tentative end and offering hope of relief for the Middle East and the world economy.

The secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said war and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would end permanently from Monday night.

The precise terms of the deal remain unclear but in a statement posted to Truth Social on Sunday evening, the US president announced the opening of the strait of Hormuz as well as the removal of the US naval blockade. “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” he wrote.

Trump later clarified that reopening the strait would depend on the signing of an initial memorandum of understanding on Friday, which Pakistan, acting as mediator, said would take place in Geneva.

Leaked drafts suggest the memorandum will trigger an immediate 60-day period of intensive technical talks, during which the most contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme, will be discussed. Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed that negotiators would seek to reach a broader agreement that would include sanctions relief for Iran.

Gates to Be Installed at 7 Coastal Parking Lots

by Karen Pearlman / Times of San Diego / June 11, 2026

Thinking of a late-night run to listen to the waves at Dog Beach?

Don’t make plans to park your car in lots near the beach, bay, or shoreline park in the late night or early morning hours for the next 10 years.

The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved the city of San Diego’s plan to change existing parking restrictions and implement new restrictions at more than 35 coastal area parking lots in La Jolla through Mission Beach down to Ocean Beach and over to Sunset Cliffs.

The restrictions will include new nighttime vehicle closure hours, gates and time-limited parking.

The Coastal Commission’s approval of a Coastal Development Permit is the final hurdle for the city of San Diego to put the parking changes into action.

The reasons the city cited for the parking changes include an increase in nighttime criminal activity at certain lots, from controlled substances to attempted murders. Additionally, a steady increase in overnight parking by “van-lifers” or those living in their cars or RVs has also become a growing challenge.

SOHO / May-June Newsletter

Many SOHO members follow historic designation cases closely, but fewer people see what actually happens inside City Hall when an owner applies for a development permit for a building that may be historic.

San Diego’s 45-year review is the process city staff uses to determine whether a property might qualify as a historic resource before a permit moves forward.

Today, the City of San Diego is considering changes to its historic designation process that would significantly endanger the preservation of individual properties and historic districts. Among these changes, which are part of the Planning Department’s Preservation and Progress program, is a proposed move away from the 45-year review process.

SOHO maintains this potential “update” would present significant risks. Eliminating the 45-year review before completing a comprehensive citywide survey would expose countless historic structures to irreversible loss.