Category: Civil Rights

On Tuesday, December 16, the San Diego City Council approved new updates to community plans of two long term neighborhoods– Clairemont and the College Area. The updates are considered blueprints for development changes over the next 30 years — and both project thousands of new residents to both of the neighborhoods by allowing mid-rise and high-rise housing in more places.

Although approved on the same day by votes of 7–1, the updates were treated differently. The College Area plan slams the community with a projected tripling of the current population to nearly 77,000. U-T reporter David Garrick calls the approach to College as “more aggressive…” Clairemont is projected with a 50% population increase.

Also, as Garrick reported:

The number of housing units in Clairemont would rise by 59%, from 33,300 to 52,800, while the number of units in the College Area would more than quadruple, from 8,200 to 34,000.

By Danna Givot

If rudeness to his constituents and fellow council members (as noted by Paul Krueger in “Councilmember Elo-Rivera Leaves the Dias while Resident Speaks at City Council Meeting”) isn’t enough to kill Sean Elo-Rivera’s political career, there is plenty more working against him besides bad manners.

On December 16th, Sean was the primary cheerleader for the College Area Community Plan Update that quadruples the density in this area with no funds or firm commitment to remedy the long term park, recreation center, and fire station deficiencies in this neighborhood in his District 9. The upzoning in the newly passed College Area Plan will immediately make those upzoned properties more expensive based on their development potential. That will please Sean’s campaign donors, but it won’t
solve the community’s serious and long term infrastructure deficiencies, and it won’t make housing more affordable, as noted by Council President Joe LaCava.

While chairing the Select Committee on Addressing the Rising Cost of Living in San Diego, Elo-Rivera has supported exorbitant trash fees

by Calista Stocker / Times of San Diego / Dec. 16, 2025

In 2017, the Metropolitan Transit System spent $1.4 million upgrading bus stop benches throughout the county. In addition to improved water drainage and material updates, the new benches came with dividers, which their contractor refers to as “vagrant bars.”

That was a year after the city of San Diego raced to install jagged rocks downtown under Interstate 5 in time for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Petco Park, and five years before the Downtown Partnership built a controversial bike rack/bench designed to deter lying down.

These are all examples of what urban designers call “hostile architecture.” Commonly referred to as “anti-homeless architecture” or “defensive design,” the concept is used to describe public infrastructure design intended to subtly (or not so subtly) change behavior.

San Diego-based urban designer Howard Blackson argues that hostile architecture reflects the hostility of human nature.

By Paul Krueger

If you’re motivated enough to share a concern with our elected city officials be prepared for some disrespect.

As a rule, only two council members — Steve Whitburn and Joe LaCava — will even acknowledge your presence during non-agenda public comment. They’ll make eye contact with you, and at least give the appearance of listening.

The other seven council members might be listening but they don’t show it. They usually won’t even glance up from their phones or laptops when you start speaking, and rarely give the slightest indication of any interest in what you’re saying.

There have been some recent displays of more blatant disrespect by council members.

On November 19, Vivian Moreno and Sean Elo-Rivera abruptly walked out of a council Rules Committee meeting — with no explanation — depriving the Committee of a quorum and ending discussion of a citizen-proposed ballot measure to reinstate free parking on Sundays in Balboa Parking.

But on December 8th, Sean Elo-Rivera raised the bar for discourtesy.

By Alyssa Ray / Yahoo News / December 8, 2025

Jon Stewart accused the Trump administration of giving him Iraq War déjà vu over their reasoning for the looming conflict with Venezuela.

The comedian addressed the “eerie” similarities between the two separate conflicts during Monday’s monologue for “The Daily Show,” where he slammed the president and his administration for recycling old Iraq War-era justifications amid the growing conflict in South America.

“So the two dictators [Nicolás Maduro and Saddam Hussein] share a remarkably similar taste in facial hair, body shape, ceremonial sabers and headgear. It doesn’t mean that the pretext for the wars will be the same,” Stewart joked before airing news footage of MAGA supporters accusing narco-terrorists of being in possession of fentanyl, which they called “weapons of mass destruction.”

“Are you f–king kidding me right now?” Stewart sounded off. “You guys have the balls to tell us that the pretext for Iraq was bulls–t, and that war was a mistake, and we’re not like that, and also, Venezuela has weapons of mass destruction, and we have to stop them. Or is WMD just the new slang, like, ‘Yo, bro.Venezuela’s total WMD, 6-7.’”

He also fact checked the fentanyl claim, sharing “almost none of it [in the U.S.]” comes from Venezuela.

By William Menard / Op-Ed San Diego U-T / December 12, 2025

Immigration officers have ignited a global outcry recently as masked ICE agents have patrolled communities across the country, arresting people at their homes, work and schools. While this is extremely distressing, ICE is now taking actions that have received much less attention but are just as concerning: arresting immigrants lawfully applying for green cards.

A few weeks ago, I was preparing my client and her husband for their green card interview at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service field office in San Diego. My client was from Australia, lawfully entered the United States, and had no criminal record whatsoever.  While she was here, she fell in love with her husband, a U.S. citizen and veteran of the U.S. Navy who received numerous commendations during his service. They lived together with their dog in a San Diego suburb.

My client’s only issue was minor — she had overstayed her visa in the United States for a few months. This was extremely typical. Federal statute explicitly permits spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for permanent residence even if they had previously overstayed a visa. I had submitted hundreds of nearly identical applications in the past without any issue.

By Lori Saldaña  / Op-Ed  San Diego Union-Tribune / December 15, 2025

The Clairemont Mesa Community Plan Update — envisioning the future of the region’s 8,557 acres — goes before the City Council on Tuesday, seeking to update a vision last adopted in 1989.

It calls for tens of thousands of new homes in San Diego’s original, post-World War II “planned community” and seeks to enhance “mobility” and “connectivity,” “protect open space,” and preserve “historical resources and districts that embody architectural and cultural history.”

But while these are admirable, aspirational goals, the plan should not be adopted until it also addresses more recent housing and transportation concerns in Clairemont. They include:

Coalition Bulletin: “This Week at City Hall”

The San Diego Community Coalition publishes this email bulletin to keep our members and the public informed about important Council and Planning Commission Hearings. City Hall is beginning to wind down this week before it goes into a 3-week legislative recess for the holidays. We will resume this bulletin when the city government reopens Monday, January 12.

Monday, December 15: City Council, 10:00 a.m.

Agenda link:

Items include: Closed session discussion of “City of San Diego v. 101 Ash, LLC et al,” involving “the City’s claims against its contractors for negligent disruption of asbestos during renovations of the 101 Ash Street property.”

Why it matters: After 10 long years of civic disgrace and hundreds of millions of dollars gone, this albatross is still around the city’s neck. Will it ever end?

Monday, December 15: City Council, 2:00 p.m.

Agenda link:

By Paul Krueger / Times of San Diego / December 13, 2025

Mayor Todd Gloria is spreading the word about a national survey that shows 76% of San Diego residents are “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their city.

According to Gensler Research, San Diego ranks second in “satisfaction with their city as a place to live,” trailing only San Antonio with a 78% score.

But Axios, which published the results, cautioned that “satisfaction” is a “broad” term, defined as “a general vibe check on how people are feeling about job opportunities, housing costs, safety and other key urban issues.”

And the survey’s methodology reveals a very significant — even disqualifying — limitation: The poll was conducted more than a year ago, from July 18 to Nov 24, 2024.

Since then, there’s been a flurry of activity at City Hall, and most of it is having a negative impact on our personal finances.

City Says Environmental Impacts in Community Plan Updates for Clairemont and the College Area are Significant, Unmitigated, Unavoidable but Acceptable
City Council to Vote on December 16 to Approve Plan Updates without Requiring an Updated Environmental Impact Report

By Donna Frye

The following is a letter I sent to the city council on December 14 requesting a continuance on the Community Plan Updates for Clairemont and the College Area and the Overlay Zones.

RE: December 16 City Council Meeting, Items 609, 610 and 611; Request for a Continuance to Allow for the Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report

Dear Councilmember,

On December 16, the San Diego City Council will be voting on whether to approve the Community Plan Update for the College Area (Item 609), the Clairemont Community Plan Update (Item 610) and the Citywide Community Enhancement Overlay Zone and Removal of the Community Plan Implementation Overlay Zone for College Area and Clairemont Community Planning Areas (Item 611).

According to the city, Clairemont and the College Area have not had a comprehensive update to their community plans since 1989 – over 35 years ago. The updates will provide “ a comprehensive policy framework for growth and development over the next 30 years.”

By Francine Maxwell

San Diego, how many zeroes do we need to add up before this city finally admits what the community has been screaming for years? The San Diego Police Department is operating without real accountability, without effective training, and without consequences — and the cost keeps going up.

We just hit $50 million in payouts in one week. Thirty million dollars for the police killing of a 16-year-old. Another major payout for a foster youth whose trauma was so egregious it had to be discussed in closed session.

This isn’t bad luck. This isn’t “unfortunate.” This is a pattern — a pattern we keep paying for.

Let’s talk about that $30 million settlement for the killing of a child. Because yes, he was a child. Sixteen.

By Paul Krueger

Before the City Council on Tuesday, Dec. 9, approved a $30 million settlement to the family of a teen fatally shot by a San Diego Police officer, Councilmembers Henry Foster III and Sean Elo-Rivera offered their perspective on the shooting and the payment.

The preventable death of 16 year-old Konoa Wilson and subsequent lawsuit against the city and officer Daniel Gold has drawn national attention, including a New York Times story that highlighted the $30 million settlement as one of the largest — if not the largest —  payout to date by a local government for a wrongful death caused by law enforcement negligence or abuse.

But there have been no organized, public demands for answers about how and why the January 28th shooting happened, what discipline — if any — was imposed by SDPD on Officer Gold, and what changes — if any — have been made in officer training as a result of that fatal interaction.

Konoa Wilson was half-black, and Council Member Foster  — who is the city’s only black council member — spent considerable time addressing issues of race and the minority community’s history of mistrust and strained relations with law enforcement.

But Foster’s deeply emotional statements were highly personal.