Category: Culture

Safe Harbor Marina

By Angelo Haynes

On a balmy, calm August afternoon, budding sailors-to-be, met with an energetic and fatherly sea captain, to “learn the ropes” of sailing. That captain is Robert Capita, the current head coach of the UCSD sailing team and President and CEO of Project Bluewater Racing  (PBWR – or simply “the Project) — an environmental non-profit in San Diego that aims to connect a new generation with the water through competitive sailing, education, marine science and environmental activism.

The Project’s mission statement is to “cultivate the next generation of offshore sailboat racers as the sole non-profit in San Diego providing adults access to offshore sailing education and training while upholding the values of environmental stewardship.”

In addition to instruction on sailing, the Project integrates marine technology to perform a critical environmental monitoring role, using data loggers, hydrophones and Lagrangian drifters to study the flow of the ocean’s currents.

PBWR’s unique vessel allows them to monitor what they refer to as nontraditional places — shallow areas of San Diego’s near shore environment and restricted waterways inaccessible to larger, motor-powered vessels. In this way PBWR fills in valuable gaps in oceanographic data painting a better picture of San Diego’s nearshore environment for scientists.

Currently, the Project is collaborating with the Deheyn Lab at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, where the water samples their DK46 boat, named Maasai, collects water samples that are being used to generate data on concentrations of microplastics and microfibers in San Diego Bay.

Mayor Todd Gloria and other city leaders Wednesday announced the bathrooms at Mission Bay Park that were closed in early July due to budget constraints will reopen at the end of this week.

Gloria said 13 restrooms at one of the city’s most popular destinations will be back open starting Friday. He told the media that money from a state grant award and allocations from council office budgets is helping reopen the bathrooms.

The bathrooms will stay open until the end of the year, according to the mayor.

Editordude: Here’s a rather bland report from KPBS — full of bias — about how the city of San Diego wants the public’s input on the establishment’s new blueprint for the Mid-City communities plans updates. The draft calls for 30,000 more homes and 89,000 more residents over 30 years (see CBS8 report at end). There’s no mention of how activists from these Mid-City neighborhoods have resisted and opposed these updates over the last couple of years, or how the Planning Commission rode roughshod over their attempts to get the city planners to listen to their deep seated concerns. 

City News Service – KPBS / August 11, 2026

San Diegans are being asked to provide input on an update to the Mid-City Communities Plan draft released Monday, which would create capacity for an additional 30,000 homes over the next 30 years.

The update — the first of its scale for the area in 25 years — took two years to shape, featuring engagement with more than 3,000 city residents participating in more than 100 events and resulting in more than 9,300 comments.

Mid-City includes the neighborhoods of City Heights, Eastern Area, Kensington-Talmadge and Normal Heights.

City News Service – Times of San Diego / August 11, 2026

Following an attempt to inspect the Otay Mesa Detention Center in February, the county released a public report Monday detailing conditions in the facility.

The conditions during the inspection were generally within recommended state standards for detention facilities, areas of concern in the findings included an individual who was not provided a needed medical device 18 months after admission, as well as not having any vaccines in stock, the report reads.

Another major area of concern was lack of responsiveness with County Public Health to coordinate tuberculosis-related cases. Two tuberculosis cases “were not reported from the facility’s medical staff but were instead discovered through a facility vendor that provides medical testing services.”

The facility was unresponsive for several weeks before the facility finally cooperated with the communicable disease investigation.

“Tuberculosis requires immediate reporting and a coordinated response to identify exposed individuals, initiate appropriate treatment, and prevent further transmission,” said County Public Health Officer Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan.

“Suspicious Origin Theory” Discounted

By Debbie L. Sklar /  Special for the OB Rag

At about 10 a.m. on April 20, 1872, smoke began rising over Old Town San Diego.

Within hours, flames had swept through the heart of the community, destroying some of its most important buildings, including the old courthouse, the Franklin House, the Colorado House and other structures around the plaza.

The destruction was devastating.

But the fire also marked an important turning point in San Diego history.

Major Destruction

The blaze did not single-handedly move San Diego from Old Town to the waterfront. That transition was already underway. But the destruction of much of Old Town’s commercial center came at a crucial moment, helping cement the shift toward the growing community that became today’s downtown San Diego.

The fire began in the former courthouse building on San Diego Avenue near the plaza. Built in 1847 with the help of members of the Mormon Battalion, the small brick structure had served many purposes over the years, including as a courthouse, meeting place, church, school and polling place.

Editordude: Before the stairs at Ladera Street at the cliffs, there was nothing except slippery toe holes, a small stretch of rope and the cliffs themselves. Making your way down holding onto a 9′ 6″ log was taking your life in your hands — which I did countless times back in the mid-60s. This was the reality of getting to Garbage Beach below until the 1980s. Thanks to Doug Smith, it all changed.

By Shona Neufeld / San Diego Reader / Aug. 5, 2026

“San Diego City built a staircase at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Ladera Street.”

— from Kathy Blavatt’s San Diego’s Sunset Cliffs Park: A History, written for the Ocean Beach Historical Society

There are other entry points to the beach below Sunset Cliffs; but none of them are as easy to navigate as the Ladera Street stairs. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people use them every week. Families come to check out the tidepools, bringing young kids and old folks who otherwise might have trouble making it down there. And of course, there are the surfers, who use them to reach the break at Garbage Beach.

There is no mention of Doug Smith in Blavatt’s account of those stairs. And even after Adam Bloomberg and the Garbage Beach Surf Club held an event on March 29th of this year to honor Smith’s contribution to the stairs’ creation, you could be forgiven for never having heard of him. They intentionally kept publicity to a minimum, handing out only a few fliers to the regular Cliffs crew in order to reduce crowds and allow easy access for the 91-year-old Smith and his friends. “If we had advertised, it really would have been out of control,” said Adam. (I learned about it from local surfer Richard Aguirre while I was out riding my bike.)

Change Begins With ME Overpass Alliance Marks One Year of Weekly Bridge Activism For 52 weeks,

Change Begins With ME volunteers have returned to the bridge with changing messages and one enduring call: Pay attention. Stay engaged. Vote.

On Monday, August 10, 2026, Change Begins With ME (CBWM) will celebrate the one-year anniversary of its Overpass Alliance, marking 52 weeks of sustained grassroots activism above San Diego freeways.

Since August 11, 2025, volunteers have gathered every week at the I-5 overpass at Clairemont Drive, holding large-scale banners and handmade signs addressing some of the most consequential issues facing our country and communities.  Each week, those messages are seen by thousands of passing drivers—and thousands of potential voters—giving CBWM’s Overpass Alliance a unique opportunity to reach people where they are.

The messages change from week to week, responding to current events and issues ranging from democracy and immigration to civil rights, government accountability and the rule of law. One of our messages was picked up by Congressman Mike Levin on Instagram, taking it viral with Meidas Touch and Occupy Democrats!

By Jeff Zevely / CBS8 News / August 2, 2026

In Southeast San Diego, a non-profit machine shop called Rise Up Industries is offering a fresh start for former inmates, providing them with jobs and support as they transition back into society. Founded in 2013, the program aims to reduce recidivism and empower individuals with the skills needed for sustainable employment.

The shop manager, Ernie Garcia, who spent 28 years in prison for a triple murder, emphasizes the transformative power of belief. “I had people believe in me when I really didn’t believe in myself,” he said.
Garcia understands the challenges of being incarcerated. “I know what it is to live and not have hope,” he said.

After Garcia’s release, he found purpose in helping others at Rise Up Industries, where he believes in second chances.

Two things happened on last Thursday, August 6th, that affect you and your utility bill.

First, Sempra — the company that owns SDG&E — released its earnings report for the second quarter of 2026, from April thru June, and revealed it made nearly $800 million, a significant increase from the $460 million it earned during the same period last year. The earnings are Sempra’s consolidated profit across California, Texas and infrastructure businesses. SDG&) is a regulated subsidiary and owned utility of Sempra.  SDG&E provides energy for 3.7 million people across San Diego and Southern Orange County.

While Sempra stock holders are reaping it in, San Diego utility customers are having a difficult time paying  their bills. A March 2026 report from the Public Advocates Office at the California Public Utilities Commission found that nearly one in five San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) customers is behind on their bills. The average past due balance for these customers is around $500, reports CBS8.

The OB Rag holds one fundraiser every year and it’s that time again. It’s the second week of August and here we go!!

Please help us reach our goal of $3,500 over the next two weeks. We do have bills — just our annual server bill alone is $900, plus hopefully you’ve noticed, but we have added new writers. And miracle upon miracle, we do pay them a small amount, usually $50 an article, plus we have subscription bills and utilities to pay. It costs us more than $3,500 to run the Rag for a year, but that’s what we’re asking.

Over these last three years, the Rag has become the online platform for whole groups of dissatisfied residents besides Ocean Beach and Point Loma – fellow citizens who are upset with the leadership of the city, the mayor’s Bonus ADU program, the so-called Complete Communities plan  – not to mention the Midway Rising and NAVWAR massive redevelopment projects.

Residents across the city are having trouble gaining traction about their travails from the mainstream or other online media and press. So, increasingly, they look to the Rag for support.

As the Rag is a platform of and for citizen journalists, we are often there for them.

So, help us keep it going.

How to Support Us

Send us a one-time donation via our PayPal button on the homepage; or

Become a regular monthly contributor; via PayPal on the homepage; or

Send us a check made out to “OB Rag” to:

OB Rag
PO Box 7012
Ocean Beach, CA 92167

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By Lynne Miller

PREFACE: In 2023/24 a small article was posted in the OB Rag by the editordude, Frank.  It alerted my neighbors that 4705 Pt.Loma Ave was moving forward with building plans.  Without the OB RAG, the city would have built the project, unchallenged.  The City was using the ministerial law embedded in Complete Communities, that does NOT require public notification.

Thanks to the Rag and its years of sleuthing, neighbors found out, fought the project and won. The only way to beat the City corruption which smells like the wetlands in Imperial Beach, is to unite, and take action. Since 2023 many organizations have started individual battles against the unhinged power of the City and State. In order to defeat the billionaire driven machine of builders and government collusion we must unite!

The title of this article is not intended to be just cute, it is based on a scientific reality about the Midway land.

Saturday, I attended a meeting held by SDUC (San Diego United Communities.  Their website is sandiegounitiedcommunities.com.

This is one of several groups who are fighting for the Finest City.  It is worth the fight, and it will take you, your friends, and their friends to unite in the common and urgent cause, Save San Diego.