Category: Civil Rights

By Andrew Childers / Democracy Docket / October 19, 2026

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is asking a federal court to immediately prevent California from counting the ballots of 20,000 people the Trump administration has accused of being noncitizens who illegally registered to vote.

The request for a temporary restraining order is the latest escalation between California and the Trump administration over the midterms. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over the weekend accused President Donald Trump of attempting to rig the election.

“California not just refused to act; it made clear that it is committed to treating ballots from those likely noncitizens equal to ballots from American citizens, prompting this suit and motion that seeks commonplace election relief when ballots are called into question,” DOJ said in its filing in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The standoff began last week when the DOJ sent California a thumb drive with a hand-scrawled password on a sticky note that it claimed contained the names of 20,000 suspected noncitizens registered to vote in the state. The Justice Department gave California only 48 hours to validate those names and demanded that California not count the ballots of anyone on the list. State officials declined, calling the request “outrageous.”

By: Dani Miskell / 10News / Oct. 15, 2026

U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff visited Point Loma High School on Thursday, October 15, to discuss how immigration enforcement has impacted San Diego schools.

The visit marked the first time in 13 years that a U.S. senator visited a school in the San Diego Unified School District, according to the district. Former Sen. Barbara Boxer last visited a district school when she stopped at an elementary school in Barrio Logan.

About 100 juniors and seniors had the opportunity to meet with Schiff and ask questions, including about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations near schools.

Although no incidents of parents being detained near Point Loma High School have been reported, similar concerns have surfaced elsewhere in the district.

By Rag Staff

The San Diego Community Coalition publishes this email bulletin to keep our members and the general San Diego public informed about important Council hearings and other city public meetings.

Monday, October 19: City Council, Closed Session, 10:00 a.m.

Agenda:

Item CS-6: January 22, 2024 Flooding Litigation

Why it matters: Two years later, as 57 civil cases against the city move slowly forward, and Southeastern San Diego victims are still struggling to rebuild, we have to ask: Is City Hall better prepared for flood control when the new massive El Nino arrives?

Monday, October 19: City Council, 2:00 p.m.

Agenda:

Item S400: Confirming Appointment of Bethany Bezak to Position of City Manager (Chief Operating Officer)

Volunteers and residents gathered at 24 locations across San Diego County and Temecula on Saturday for “No Kings: Vote Early” events focused on encouraging early voting ahead of the November election. Rather than a single large rally, the day featured locally organized events shaped by the communities hosting them. Across the county, the mood was festive and welcoming with costumed attendees, drum lines, live music and passersby in cars honking in support.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SATURDAY

• Rep. Sara Jacobs visited events in La Mesa and Julian, speaking with attendees and encouraging early voting.
• Balboa Park’s “Drag Out the Vote” featured stilt walkers, drag performances, inflatable costumes, music and a “Power” wall created by attendees with their “I Voted” stickers.
• University City and Ramona included mock-voting booths for children, giving younger participants a chance to learn about voting.
• Several events built in a walk to a library or community ballot drop box, including Fallbrook, Julian, La Mesa, Mira Mesa, University City, La Jolla and Alpine.
• Scripps Ranch and Alpine held their first organized No Kings events.

Check out this short video by OBcean Phil Rockhold of the “No Kings” event in Ocean Beach on Saturday, October 17th.

By Michael Hernandez

It was a night like any other for Ocean Beach resident Scott Martinez, who says he was playing Scrabble in the garage of his next-door neighbor in the 4600 block of Del Mar Avenue when another neighbor popped in with news that left their jaws on the floor. A single-family home in the neighborhood was put up for sale, with a proposal for the construction of a 12-unit ADU “farm” in the backyard. Almost immediately, neighbors began to organize, and Scott found himself swept up in the fight to stop the project in its tracks.

The property at the center of this issue is 4637 Del Mar Avenue. Neighbors say the house used to belong to an elderly woman who lived there for decades. After her death, her children sold the house, and up until recently, it was listed as a short-term rental. However, neighbors allege the property may not have had the proper notices required by the City of San Diego for Airbnbs and other short-term rentals.

Melissa Scherer, another neighborhood resident who has lived on the block for about four years now, is deeply involved in the fight against the potential ADU farm. She recounts how early one Sunday morning in September, a maintenance crew arrived and began to do some work on the lawn and the house. By that afternoon, the crew was installing the frame for a real estate sign.

Rag reporter Michael Hernandez ended up going to two events in his area.

Here’s a series of articles highlighting recent developments over the last few weeks in San Diego development.

 Another Lawsuit Emerges to Challenge Controversial Development at Emerald Hills – It Alleges Racial Discrimination

By Katie Hyson / KPBS / September 30, 2026

Another lawsuit is challenging the controversial development coming to Emerald Hills — 123 homes on a hilltop that neighbors have long hoped would be a park.

Andrea Hetheru was the community planning group chair in 2024. She didn’t understand how the development was allowed. The area wasn’t zoned for that density. It sent her down a long, complicated rabbit hole. “Did I think it was going to take two and a half years of my life? Hundreds of hours? You know, not going to sleep – for how many days have I not had any sleep at all over Footnote 7 and particularly this issue? Heck no,” she said.

The city council voted to add Footnote 7 to city code in 2019. It allowed for much denser development only in the mostly Black, Latino and low-income neighborhoods in southeastern San Diego.

Jason Cha Became PLNU Dean of Students in March 2025

By Alena Dasha Peethala – Vanderbilt University/ The College Fix / October 9, 2026

Some Point Loma Nazarene University alumni are raising concerns about the Christian university’s dean of students, alleging he told student leaders that identifying as being “in Christ alone” reflected “white privilege.”

The controversy centers on PLNU Dean of Students Jason Cha, whose 2023 dissertation at Azusa Pacific University is titled “Raging Waters of Whiteness: Addressing White Evangelical Racism in Higher Education.”

Cha’s dissertation examines the “lived experiences of diversity professionals addressing whiteness at Christian colleges” through frameworks including “critical race theory, critical white studies, and evangelical postcolonial studies.”

Cha became PLNU’s dean of students in March 2025. In this role, he oversees several areas of student life, including multicultural and international student services, new student engagement, and residential life.

Two of Cha’s most prominent critics are PLNU alumni Lidiya Harvey and Isabella Simmons, who say his hiring reflects the university’s broader progressive direction.

In late August, Harvey and Simmons published a joint Instagram post alleging that during an official 2025 student leadership training, Cha told students that if their identity was “in Christ alone,” they “have white privilege.”

by Drew Sitton / Times of San Diego / Oct. 9, 2026

“If the city’s not going to defend its $45 million investment (in the library), it’s up to us,” said longtime College Area leader Robert Montana.

The site of a monthly community meeting in the College Area was significant. It took place at a local union hall rather than the library, and the agenda only had one action item, to discuss ideas to keep the library accessible.

It was also significant who attended – and who didn’t – as residents grappled with the effect of a major construction project on the library.

The audience questioned a representative for Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera and the city’s library director. But no one from Mayor Todd Gloria’s office or the developer behind the project attended, an absence noted by both residents and Elo-Rivera’s representative alike.

Fears for future
The project is of particular significance to the community because of how much residents rely on the College-Rolando Branch Library, the only public space in the College Area, which has no parks.

By Kate Callen

An outspoken supporter of San Diego City Council District 2 candidate Richard Bailey has used her position as a Nextdoor moderator to sanction a Bailey political rival on the social media platform, according to documentation obtained by the Rag.

Margaret Virissimo, a founder of the pro-Bailey group San Diego United Communities, engaged in a tense Nextdoor interaction on March 20 with D2 primary candidate Mandy Havlik. What began as an argument escalated into an official Nextdoor reprimand.

In a screenshot of the exchange sent to the Rag, Virissimo said, “Mandy, you are proving to be exactly who you are, a disrespectful hot head.” Havlik responded, “You’re upset because you are being challenged with the truth.”

Virissimo then filed a formal complaint against Havlik for violating Nextdoor rules. And in her authority as a volunteer moderator on the platform, she voted with Matt Capron, another pro-Bailey moderator, to issue a warning to Havlik about using unsuitable language.

Come inside to find all the No King events from across San Diego County. Volunteer-led events will help residents register, check their registration status, and make a plan to vote ahead of the November election

On Saturday, Oct. 17, volunteers across San Diego County and Temecula will hold 21 “No Kings: Vote Early” events, marking what organizers call the next phase of the “No Kings” movement: channeling the power communities have built over the past year directly into the ballot box.

No two communities are the same, and each location has designed its own event around its own neighborhood, from library walk-to-vote routes to mutual-aid donation drives, as part of a broader election-protection effort to help every eligible voter register, check their status, and make a plan to vote before the November election. The Oct. 17 events take place just two days before California’s Oct. 19 voter-registration deadline.

Events are scheduled in Alpine, Balboa Park, Borrego Springs, Carmel Valley, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Fallbrook, Julian, La Jolla, La Mesa, Mira Mesa, University City, Ocean Beach, Oceanside, Ramona, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, Temecula, Valley Center and Vista.

BACKGROUND 

Unlike past “No Kings” mobilizations, there is no single mass rally planned for Oct. 17 in downtown San Diego. The upcoming “No Kings: Vote Early” day is designed differently on purpose.