Category: Culture

By Debbie L. Sklar / Special to the OB Rag

A December 1928 photograph captures the Strand Theatre on Newport Avenue when it was only about 3 years old, its Mission Revival architecture standing prominently along one of Ocean Beach’s emerging commercial streets.

The theater opened Nov. 6, 1925, replacing the earlier Ocean Theatre and giving the growing beach community a larger movie house. According to the city of San Diego’s Ocean Beach Community Plan, The Strand became an important neighborhood landmark and helped spur development along Newport Avenue. The building was designated Historic Resource Site No. 561 on Dec. 20, 2002.

The Strand arrived at an interesting moment in American entertainment. Movies were evolving rapidly, and theaters were becoming gathering places as well as destinations for the latest films. The Strand served children and adults, with Saturday serials for younger audiences and new movies for evening crowds. A plaque on the building recalls the weekly screenings and the black-and-white sundaes sold at the neighboring Strand Sweet Shop.

For generations of Ocean Beach residents, The Strand was much more than a neighborhood movie theater. By the late 1970s, it had developed a following for its eclectic programming, including Friday and Saturday night screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It also showed films such as Woodstock, The Endless Summer, Gimme Shelter and Rust Never Sleeps, according to OB Rag’s retrospective on the theater.

By Lori Saldaña

On October 13 the San Diego city council voted to approve the Seaworld master plan and expansion update on Mission Bay, across the river from the Sports Arena/ Midway region. This includes plans for a hotel and below-grade parking

To the Park’s credit, they did an excellent Sea Level Rise (SLR) assessment and vulnerability analysis- but it’s already nearly 7 years old.

Also- the park is counting on the city to maintain adequate access roads as sea level rises around Mission Bay:

“Based on the information above, a SLR of 3.3 feet has been identified as the threshold for exposure in Planning Area 2 (Guest Parking). In order to maintain uninterrupted access to SeaWorld facilities, adaptation measures outside of the leasehold would be required. As impacts to public infrastructure (i.e., roads) are anticipated, it is likely that before SLR has reached 3.3 feet, adaptation measures that look to address inundation of the public roads will have already been implemented by the City.” [emphasis added] From here

The Council approved this plan – and if they had read this SLR analysis, they did so with the understanding the city will be taking “adaptation measures” to maintain “uninterrupted access to SeaWorld facilities.”

Does the city have an adaptation plan and money for maintaining these access roads? SeaWorld Drive is already showing signs of SLR stress. It’s in very rough shape. Groundwater pressure is already creating problems in this area. It has lifted up the road and stressed the asphalt and road bed on Sea World Dr.

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.

Experience more than 35 Ocean Beach restaurants, breweries, and wine bars in one night.

Brandon Hernández / San Diego Beer News / October 11, 2026

Each fall, national trade organization, the Brewers Association, puts on the country’s largest beer fest in its home base of Denver, Colorado. Dubbed the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), the multi-day event has been taking place since 1982, and while it has seen great growth over much of the past four decades, there has been a drop in attendance in recent years. Because of that, this year the event was reduced from three days to two and moved from its longtime host venue, the Colorado Convention Center, to an outdoor venue in Denver’s Ruby Hill neighborhood called Levitt Pavilion. That’s a lot of changes for such a longstanding, tradition-driven event, but one aspect of GABF that hasn’t changed is its professional brewing competition component.

Medals garnered at GABF remain the most coveted awards for American brewers. Whether members of expansive production teams at macro-sized beer companies or armies-of-one brewing nano-sized batches at small neighborhood breweries, anyone can find themself taking the (nationally televised) stage to accept a gold, silver or bronze acknowledgment of their exceptional craftsmanship. It’s a key reason so many industry professionals not only flock to Denver to staff the event and attend the awards ceremony, but also show up many days in advance to assist in the extensive judging process. GABF is a big deal, and even though it has an international sister competition called the World Beer Cup (AKA: “The Olympic of Beers”), for U.S. brewers, no brand of bragging rights eclipses those earned in Denver.

The 2026 edition of GABF included 7,267 entries (including ciders) in 100-plus style categories from 1,300 U.S. breweries and cideries. Those entries were judged by 225 certified judges and experienced veterans from the brewing industry (including professionals from San Diego County beer companies). This year, there were six style categories which garnered 150 entries or more.

By Paul Krueger

When I tell friends that Nextdoor “temporarily suspended” my account for no good reason, they just roll their eyes and ask why I waste my time on that social media network.

They’re correct that Nextdoor has its share of trolls, extremists, and dim-wits, but those aggravations are no worse than what I encounter on “X.” (I post almost exclusively about news and politics, and find Facebook users to be the most engaging and civil of those three sites.)

Nextdoor’s neighborhood focus also has distinct advantages: I can post information about issues and problems in my Talmadge/ Kensington/ College Area, generate interest and attendance at meetings, answer other resident’s questions, and get new and helpful information from readers who share a common interest.

When one of my Nextdoor posts generates significant interest and discussion, it really can go “viral.” I’ve had seven thousand or more local views on an issue, and my local viewership routinely exceeds what I get on X or Facebook. If someone disputes a post, I respond politely with the facts as I see them. And if my attempts at a meaningful conversation go south, I just ignore it and move on.

The following is the opinion of the group and is not necessarily that of the OB Rag

From Democratic Socialists of America – San Diego

On San Diego County Measure A

This measure is a package of proposed reforms to the governing charter of the county of San Diego. Reform packages can be uniquely opaque to voters because substantive policy changes are delivered to voters alongside procedural and bureaucratic adjustments. For instance, this measure proposes significant structural changes alongside capitalizing defined words for syntactical consistency—hardly a proposal most voters can be expected to parse. On balance, the procedural and substantive changes proposed move the County in a positive direction towards increased transparency and an empowered public.

There are two key provisions we think are worth noting.

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.

From Voice of San Diego / October 12, 2026

With fewer than two months left in the exclusive negotiating agreement between the city of San Diego and the Midway Rising development team, the City Council will begin discussing the actual deal staff has hashed out.

The Land Use and Housing Committee will consider the proposed lease and details of the deal at a special meeting Friday, Oct. 16.

Friday, October 9, city staff released its report on the proposal, which you can read here. The city claims it will be the largest affordable housing project in the state of California.

The following is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect that of the OB Rag.

It’s About County Measure A on the November 2026 Ballot

By Lu Rehling

My decision to vote NO on Measure A might have been easier to make if that single measure did not include three quite distinct types of changes to the San Diego County Charter, each with its own major long-term consequences. That bundling was the choice of the Supervisor who initiated the measure, Terra Lawson-Remer (the Board Chair), supported by her fellow Democrats on the Board, Monica Montgomery Steppe and Paloma Aguirre.

Their crucial decision to pass a bundled measure on to voters was pretty obviously political: A way to help the medicine of an unpopular extension of term limits go down by adding in a spoonful of sugar—promises about ethics oversight and increased accountability.

If those promises stood up to scrutiny, I might be casting a reluctant yes vote on Measure A, despite my mixed feelings about the term limits provision. However, we all know how political promises can go south once an election is over, so a closer look is in order.

Here are the THREE major provisions of Measure A: