Author: Staff

In the third of four 2025 Budget Review Town Hall forums, public testimony again questioned whether the spending priorities of the Mayor and the City Council are in alignment with the spending priorities of communities and taxpayers.

More than 50 people gathered for the February 15 forum at the Mission Valley Library to hear a presentation from Independent Budget Analyst (IBA) Charles Modica and to express their own views about city finances.

The series title is “Now that Measure E Has Failed, Where Should City Budget Cuts Be Made?” The goal is for constituents to communicate directly with elected officials about their budget priorities and their concerns about city taxing and spending.

Members of the Mission Valley audience called for greater investment in infrastructure and more robust code enforcement, especially as neighborhoods are feeling the strain of infill densification.

Today, Wednesday Feb. 19, San Diego lifeguards in Ocean Beach responded to a report that a surfer saw a body in the ocean near the OB Pier around 7:30 a.m.

Several lifeguard vehicles and a helicopter responded but the initial search was called off just before 9 a.m. due to weather conditions. Lifeguards turned the search over to dive teams.

The body could be that of a missing 40-year-old kayaker from Arizona who has been missing since last Friday while on the water near Mission Beach. Danny Marron’s snapped-in-half kayak washed ashore but Marron was not located, despite a three-day search that the U.S. Coast Guard called off on Monday.

Site Used to Be an Exxon Gas Station

Point Loma residents are waving the red flag and trying to get everyone’s attention about the proposed development at Rosecrans and Talbot.

The planned development of 56 units at the corner lot is under way but residents are calling attention to a hazard on the lot that no one seems to be dealing with or appreciating. Especially the City of San Diego — and the developer.

The lot used to be an Exxon gas station and currently sits on contaminated land. (See the attached documented benzene groundwater survey of this project’s site.)

By Geoff Page

The “Space For Lease” sign that appeared in the window of 4851 Newport Street, where James Gang Printing is located, has taken some people by surprise. The Rag looked into it but some pieces of the story are still missing.

The James Gang, for those not very familiar with it, is a venerable, Ocean Beach home-grown business by the James family. The business involved screen printing on clothing, T-shirts, sweatshirts, uniforms, and more. Because of its history, there is local interest in what might be happening.

Most of us old timers probably thought the James family still owned the business, but that changed at some point. Some oddities popped up researching the company, such as not even the AI assistant being able to find information about the James family selling the company.

There is information on the current owners, and that story has oddities. The best source of information was the August 2024 OBMA newsletter. There was a piece on Travis Doroski, the newest elected member of the OBMA Board of Directors, elected in July 2024.

SAY NO TO MUSK UNELECTED
SAY YES TO DEMOCRACY SAY NO TO MUSK

Join other San Diegans today, Monday, Feb. 17 for a day of dissent in San Diego and across the USA as we say NO to Trump & Musk’s plans to crown themselves kings!
Join us for a day of dissent!

It’s for Monday, February 17, 2025, beginning at 10:00 AM there will be:
– Speakers
– Strategic Organizing Discussion
– Music
– Protest Chants
– A chance for our folks to meet
Bring your friends, your signs and banners, bring a tarp and blanket or camp chair (it might be muddy), water, some food or snacks, and get ready to build the movement together which is protecting our Constitution and defending our country against a self-appointed king!

This is nation-wide.

The very next City budget town hall forum will be held on Saturday, February 15, 11:45 am–1:15 pm, at the Mission Valley Library, located at  2123 Fenton Pkwy, San Diego, CA 92108. This will be the third in a series of four community-run forums.

These forums are not run by the city, but the city council views will be present. They are moderated by community leaders, fully interactive, receptive to constituent voices, and focused on what taxpayers want for their tax dollars.

Mayor Gloria is threatening deep cuts to constituent services, including many that are highly valued in neighborhoods and communities. The Town Halls will take a broader view.

There was a  lot of interest in the development of a piece of land in the 4900 block of Saratoga Avenue in OB where once stood an historic cottage.

The interest was piqued due to the apparent lack of notice to the community or the neighbors in the demolition of the cottage.

Rag reporter Geoff Page took a look at the lot this morning, Friday, Feb. 14, and found, “Nothing more than dirt.”

It was revealed Wednesday that due to the potential for hazards from leaking fuel from the Navy aircraft that plunged into San Diego Bay, there is a water-contact closure order or Kellogg Beach in Point Loma.

After the crew members were pulled from the water, paramedics took them to UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest for evaluations. They were in listed good condition on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation, according to Navy officials.

There will be at least three future Citizen Budget Review Town Hall Meetings with Independent Budget Analyst (IBA) Charles Modica this month, February.

The title of the series is to the point: “Now that Measure E Has Failed, Where Should City Budget Cuts Be Made?”

Dates and locations are:

• Thursday, February 13, 6:00 pm–8:00 pm, Porter Elementary School in Lincoln Park, SE San Diego
  
• Saturday, February 15, 11:45 am–1:15 pm, Mission Valley Library
• Thursday, February 20, 6:00 pm–8:00 pm, Mira Mesa Senior Center

The OB Rag needs help — no, not money donations — but writers and reporters.

OB – Point Loma Restaurant Reviewer

With the retirement of our mainstay restaurant reviewer, Judi Curry, we are without one. It’s a very popular gig and chore to check out the eateries in Ocean Beach and Point Loma and express your opinions and experiences. If you have any culinary experience, writing experience, live in either OB or PL and would like to be considered, please contact us at our gmail account — obragblog@gmail.com and indicate which position you’re applying for. We can afford $35 to $50 a review.

Local Reporter / Writer From the Peninsula

We’re also looking for a writer or reporter and more for local news in Ocean Beach or Point Loma. If you have any writing experience, live in either OB or PL and would like to be considered, please contact us at our gmail account — obragblog@gmail.com and indicate which position you’re applying for.

A military E/A-18 G Growler fighter jet crashed into the San Diego Bay off Shelter Island late Wednesday morning, February 12,2025, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Prepared by Kate Callen

Source: Citizens Budget Review Committee

The first of four 2025 Budget Review Town Hall forums explored a range of public concerns about San Diego city finances, from diversion of developer impact fees (DIFs) to inflated management payrolls to sparse infrastructure maintenance.

More than 50 people gathered for the February 8 forum in the Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Knox Library on Washington Street. Chief Operating Officer Eric Dargan and Randy Reyes, a Community Representative for Mayor Todd Gloria, were in the audience. Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, whose District 3 includes Mission Hills, did not attend.

Throughout the two-hour forum, which began with a slideshow from Independent Budget Analyst Charles Modica, several points of public consensus came through strong and clear, including:

When constituents challenge City Hall funding decisions, and they are told, “Well, that’s what the policy dictates,” they must exert pressure on their elected officials to change the policy.