Author: Source

Satire by Tom Mullaney

I read that the City of San Diego has purchased 25 acres of open space land to add to Mission Trails Park.  That’s good news!

The next piece of good news that I am anticipating —

Mayor Todd Gloria will make this announcement:

1. He realizes that the various developer incentives, including zoning waivers, have not been beneficial.

2. He’ll acknowledges that housing prices in the City of San Diego and the region are  a function of market forces.  Housing prices have risen throughout the nation.  Prices in San Diego are higher than many regions in the U.S. because many Americans’ want to live here and invest here, and have the money to do it.

Enjoy this lengthy video of “Trolley to the Beach” by the OB Historical Society. Originally published in February 2021.

Here is the text from OBHS when it was published:

Trolley to the Beach is a survey of suburban public transportation in the first half of the 20th Century in San Diego, California, and a multi-media presentation written and produced by Eric DuVall. Originally recorded December, 2020.

Part 5

By Colleen O’Connor

How many ways?  How many times?  How many places?  How many photos? Does it take to clean up the city?

This is the fifth attempt to get Mayor Todd Gloria and members of the City Council to leave their white tablecloth lunches and walk just 8 blocks from their offices to see what residents, visitors, businesses, postal workers and taxpayers must wade through every day.

It is a disgrace as these photos demonstrate.  It is also a serious health risk amid both a COVID and monkeypox medical emergencies. We should be appalled.  In fact, most San Diegans are more than that.  They are outraged.

Here is Part 2 of Kevin Hasting’s “Coastal Access in Ocean Beach – 2022 Update.” (Part 1 here.)

Kevin is the vice-chair of the OB Planning Board and made the this power point presentation at the board’s most recent meeting.

Kevin Hastings, the vice-chair of the Ocean Beach Planning Board — and OB’s foremost expert on the status of the different ocean access points — has put together a power point presentation on the “Coastal Access in Ocean Beach – 2022 Update.” He gave the presentation at the last OBPB meeting.

The Rag has split Kevin’s presentation into 2 parts. Here is Part 1:

Since 2017, California has collected more than $1.6 billion in real estate fees to fund affordable housing after Sen. Toni Atkins ushered SB 2 through the Legislature. Less than a quarter has been disbursed and San Diego’s cost of living has soared.

by Catherine Allen / Voice of San Diego / August 10, 2022

In 2017, the state passed SB 2, a law its sponsors said would alleviate the cost of shelter in California by providing an ongoing source of affordable housing funds in an industry that mostly relies on single-use money.

by Dave Schwab / Peninsula Beacon / August 10, 2022

The Federal Aviation Administration has implemented a new San Diego International Airport (SAN) departure procedure intended to lessen noise impacts to areas in the flight path, by having planes fly further out over the ocean before turning back south of Point Loma.

The new ZZOOO3 departure procedure was implemented by the FAA based on a recommendation made first by the Airport Noise Advisory Committee (ANAC) subcommittee.

By Lori Weisberg / San Diego Union-Tribune / Aug. 10, 2022

SeaWorld’s fourth roller coaster in six years got the green light Wednesday from the California Coastal Commission, setting the stage for a possible opening next year.

While the San Diego marine park continues to keep details and renderings of the attraction under wraps, what is known is that it is being designed as a more family-friendly ride that will not exceed 30 feet in height.

By Paul Krueger / Presidio Sentinel / August 9, 2022

There were many reasons for the City Council to soundly defeat Mayor Todd Gloria’s ill-conceived settlement proposal for the Ash Street litigation. But one very important factor was lost in the machinations that led to the council’s July 26 approval of the settlement.

One month earlier, on June 27, Council President Sean Elo-Rivera and the Mayor abruptly withdrew a previously scheduled discussion vote on the proposed settlement. At that time, the council president and Mayor said they were delaying the vote to give taxpayers more time to study the proposed deal.

By Colleen O’Connor

In May of last year, I wrote a column with a rather outlandish prediction:

“A terrifying defeat looms for Trump.  As I wrote about the 2020 Presidential race, ‘It is not Biden v. Trump, but COVID-19 v. Trump.’  And COVID-19 won.”

“In 2022, it will not be Biden v. Trump, but Cheney v. Trump.  Imagine losing once to a virus and a second time to a woman.”

Yet, here we are.  Possibly within reach.  Liz Cheney, against all odds, might prevail in her primary election race this coming Tuesday in Wyoming.

A Deep Dive Into San Diego’s “Regional Housing Needs”

By Mat Wahlstrom

On July 13, there was an extraordinary story by Voice of San Diego on San Diego’s current Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA, pronounced “ree-na”) cycle, which was implemented in 2021. This mandates the number of units that a city must have planned to be built by 2029, or else face having more of their oversight on land-use decisions transferred to Sacramento.

And what’s extraordinary about it is that, for once, the RHNA projections were called out as the farce that experts usually only privately admit they are. No less than *the* go-to guy on local land-use economics, Gary London, was quoted as saying, “I don’t think it’s possible” to meet the state’s RHNA goals, as “15,000 units a year is a fantasy.”

By Times of San Diego Editor / August8, 2022

PETA has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, calling on the agency to investigate SeaWorld San Diego after an incident that apparently took place Friday.

The animal activist group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is accusing the park of federal Animal Welfare Act violations over housing incompatible animals together. The filing came about, the organization said, after a park-goer sent in video of a clash among orcas Friday morning at the attraction.