Category: Civil Rights

by Michael J. Stepner and Mary Lydon / Times of San Diego / May 12, 2026

Theaster Gates is an urban planner, artist and a professor at the University of Chicago in visual arts. In 2019 he received the prestigious Urban Land Institute’s J.C. Nichols Prize for Urban Development.

“Many cities are looking to reinvent themselves, and Theaster’s work represents art and culture as important elements of reinvention,” said Michael Spies, the Nichols Prize jury chairman. Recognition by this respected international real estate organization becomes a powerful justification for art being at the core of community and economic development.

Meanwhile, Mayor Todd Gloria is proposing to cut $11.8 million from the arts and culture grant program to help shore up the overall $118 million city budget deficit in the next fiscal year. The majority of the San Diego Union-Tribune’s “Econometer” expert panelists stated that the arts are a nice to have amenity, but the city needs to make difficult budget decisions.

We beg to differ. The impact of the arts cannot be commodified on a spreadsheet.

This is a call for OBceans and Point Lomans to join their neighbors tonight at a presentation by the City of San Diego on a seawall project that could permanently harm Sunset Cliffs.

Question this project — and be prepared to ask ‘Why are we spending $32 Million on this project when the City is cutting library and rec center hours?’ And why is a project that began two years ago with less than an $8 million price tag, now up to $32 million?

See this notice by neighbors.

From SOHO

On Saturday, May 9, nearly 100 attendees joined us via Zoom for a truly outstanding program featuring a presentation by Donovan Rypkema, principal and founder of PlaceEconomics, on San Diego’s landmark study, The Urban Vitality Blueprint: A Data-Driven Analysis of Equity, Affordability, and Vitality in San Diego’s Historic Districts.

Rypkema’s presentation was followed by a robust 30-minute Q&A, which deepened the discussion and offered additional insight into the findings, implications, and broader importance of the work. Those in attendance left with a clearer understanding of how historic preservation in San Diego functions not only as cultural stewardship, but as a measurable driver of economic and community vitality.

This study gives us exactly what is so often needed in public conversations about preservation: a strong factual foundation. When preservation is questioned or misunderstood, we are now able to respond not only with lived experience and professional expertise, but with rigorous, independent research. As Donovan made clear, we now have data.

By Rag Staff

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

Monday, May 11: City Council, 10:00 a.m.

Closed Session Agenda:

Item CS-7: Mary Brown, et al. v. Joe LaCava, et al.

Why it matters: The Council will discuss a settlement offer in a citizens’ lawsuit challenging the legality of the City’s bait-and-switch trash fees. If the settlement isn’t approved, opening statements in the trial are scheduled for Tuesday, and Mayor Gloria, Council President LaCava, and other City officials will be called as witnesses.

Monday, May 11: City Council, 2:00 p.m.

Agenda:

Item 204: Update to the Land Development Code and Local Coastal Program, Minor Amendments to the Downtown Community Plan and General Plan

By Geoff Hueter of Neighbors for a Better San Diego

First, it is important to highlight that on Thursday night, May 7th, the San Diego City Council voted to follow the City Planning Department’s restriction of SB 79 to 1 mile walking distance and the phased approach to implementing SB 79 in the following areas:

• high fire hazard zones,
• low resource areas,
• historic resources, and
• areas subject to sea level rise.

This is the most important outcome of the ordinance that was adopted last night and what we supported.

By Zain Khan / Yahoo Finances New York Post  / May 4, 202

State Farm is in crisis mode in California as officials look to slap it with massive fines and suspend its license over the handling of the deadly 2025 Palisades Fire.

The California Department of Insurance issued a damning verdict on the state’s largest insurer after an investigation into its actions towards customers following the inferno.

The probe, released in part on Monday, found a staggering 398 violations of state law in 114 of the 220 sample claims it looked into.

Among the key findings was claims were not investigated or resolved within required timelines, payouts were unreasonably low and policyholders were frequently reassigned to different adjusters — creating confusion some described as “adjuster roulette.”

Smoke damage claims, which made up nearly half of all complaints, were also mishandled, with delays, denials and missing explanations cited by investigators.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said Monday: “Wildfire survivors came to us for help, and we followed the facts.

OB Rag Staff Report

Rag stories about Balboa Park have what reporters call “legs” — they get lots of views and comments. This has been especially true since City Hall imposed parking fees that have threatened the Park’s solvency by driving away visitors.

So we weren’t surprised when our April 27 story on a $1.8 million reduction in the 2027 Park budget became a “top post.” Commenters generally agreed that the city has utterly failed the park and must turn over its management to an independent nonprofit.

But one comment piqued our interest. Don said the city hadn’t actually cut $1.8 million from the park. He contended that the city was simply going to shift $1.8 million from a “Developed Regional Parks” fund over to pay for Balboa Park operating expenses.

By Erwin Chemerinsky / Op-Ed Los Angeles Times / April 30, 2026

The Supreme Court has again dealt a devastating blow to voting equality in the United States.

On Wednesday, April 29th, in Louisiana vs. Callais, six justices effectively nullified a 1982 federal statute that prohibits states from running or establishing election systems, such as election districts, that have a discriminatory effect against voters of color. Simply put, unless it can be shown that a state or local government acted with the intent of racial discrimination — something very difficult to prove — it will be impossible to successfully challenge laws as having violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 or the Constitution.

The Voting Rights Act is, simply put, one of the most important federal laws adopted during my lifetime. Although the 15th Amendment, adopted in 1870, prohibits denying someone the right to vote based on race, this was a hollow promise due to an array of practices used to keep Black individuals from voting. In Mississippi in 1964, for example, only 6.7% of eligible Black citizens were registered to vote. At the time it had the highest Black population of any state in the U.S.

by Dorian Hargrove / Times of San Diego / May 6, 2026

The saga over a proposal to build a 136-unit accessory dwelling unit project in Pacific Beach continues.

Pacific Beach residents discovered public notices were placed near the parcels on Pacifica Drive and Chalcedony, indicating the property, referred to as Chalcifica, is in default and heads to auction on May 28 if developer SDRE does not catch up on the amount owed.

Opponents of the project should not get their hopes up.

The president of the development company that now owns the Chalcifica says the notices are part of a dispute with the lender.

“The foreclosure is without merit,” said Brian Doyle, president of Infill Innovation. Doyle says his company acquired ADU-developer SDRE in April 2026.

This Thursday, May 7th, the City Council is holding a “Special Meeting” to vote on an ordinance implementing Senate Bill 79, the new state law that allows 5+ story apartments within one-half mile of trolley stops and certain major bus routes.

And a Call to Action has been announced for residents to help limit the impact of SB 79 by attending or by using the city’s online comment system.
It’s Agenda Item 600.

Here’s more on the situation from Neighbors For A Better San Diego (NFABSD):

To use the protections allowed under the law, San Diego must adopt an implementing ordinance before SB 79 takes effect on July 1.

 While Neighbors For A Better San Diego (NFABSD) opposed the bill in Sacramento, the Planning Department’s phased approach is the best available path under a bad law and deserves support. It limits immediate exposure in high-fire-hazard zones, low-resource areas, historic sites, and sea-level-rise areas, and it applies the state’s optional one-mile walking-distance cap to reduce the most unreasonable overreach.

/>bold /italicBased on a polling of our writers, the OB Rag now endorses Mandy Havlik for District 2 of the San Diego City Council.

Mandy has long been active in the communities of Point Loma and Ocean Beach and has ingrained the wishes, dreams and complaints of the residents of this sector of District 2. For instance, she’s been the first vice-chair of the Peninsula Community Planning Board for years, has been active in helping maintain Sunset Cliffs as a local treasure, active in the local Rotary and among the leadership of the local Democratic club.

On April 27, the mayor sent a memo to the City Council laying out three options for cutting costs at libraries:

Option 1 focuses on preserving hours in Districts 4, 8, and 9 (historically underserved communities), while cutting hours at 14 other branches. Six of these branches would eliminate a full day of service. Eight branches would be reduced to a half-day on Saturdays.

Option 2 would result in more uniform cuts across the city for branches open Monday-Saturday. Most locations would lose Saturday hours, and four locations (Carmel Valley, North Park, University Heights, and Allied Gardens) would lose Monday hours entirely.