Category: Culture

In a breaking news development, the San Diego trash fee law suit has been settled which will result in much lower monthly fees but also the settlement includes the repeal of paid parking in Balboa Park. In just minutes, Councilmember Stephen Whitburn will hold a press conference to announce the settlement of the city trash fees and Balboa Park paid parking.

By Lester Black / SFGate / May 18, 2026

Marijuana legalization has meant millions of Americans have easier access to cannabis than ever before. But flying with marijuana remains a tricky subject, as airports are regulated by federal law, which still forbids many pot products.

That creates a challenging question for cannabis fans who may want to bring their preferred marijuana products when they travel. This is especially thorny when flying between two legal states, with travelers not knowing if a Transportation Security Administration officer will stop them from carrying a pack of edibles or joints on a route like San Francisco to New York City.

The TSA quietly updated its website’s listed policy last month to reaffirm that “medical marijuana” can be included in both carry-on and checked bags. The administration’s April 27 update added that its security procedures are focused on security threats, not drugs.

“TSA security officers do not search for illegal drugs, but if any illegal substance or evidence of criminal activity is discovered during security screening, TSA will refer the matter to a law enforcement officer,” the statement.

by Debbie L. Sklar / Times of San Diego / May 16, 2026

Mission Beach exists because of geography; it also exists because of development. The neighborhood sits on a narrow strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and Mission Bay, a coastal landform that shaped how the area could grow from the beginning.

The popular beach developed on a narrow sandy landform shaped over time by wave action, sediment movement, and shoreline processes. Unlike broader coastal plains, the geography limited expansion in both directions. The Pacific Ocean created a fixed western boundary, while Mission Bay formed the eastern edge, confining development to a narrow corridor.

In the early 20th century, the area became part of San Diego’s growing coastal recreation landscape. As shoreline access improved, Mission Beach developed as both a residential neighborhood and a seaside destination. Early on, tents and temporary structures occasionally appeared along the sand, reflecting its use as a seasonal coastal destination before full development. One of the most significant early projects was Belmont Park, which opened in 1925 during a broader era of California coastal amusement park development.

by Frank Sabatini Jr. / Times of San Diego / May 14, 2026

Former Ocean Beach resident is on a hardcore foraging adventure. He’s back with tips on how to live off the land

Not every person who adopts a healthy diet undergoes the culinary awakening that has thrust Robin Greenfield into the national spotlight.

Greenfield, 39, is an extreme forager. He eats strictly off the land, which includes at times cooking deer killed roadside by cars.

Yet his lifestyle changes extend far beyond his diet. His largely demonetized life is devoid of credit cards and bank accounts. He doesn’t own a cell phone, although he possesses a computer for managing speaking engagements and educational foraging lessons that he conducts throughout the country.

From Governing / May 12, 2026

It’s a warm April day, bordering on hot, with the midday sun overhead. Still, Savannah Flores stays beneath a black tarp she has fashioned into a tent. If she tries to climb out, she says, it might collapse. So she agrees to talk through a small hole in the plastic.

Two or three days a week, she says, city crews sweep through this half-block stretch of 17th Street. The roughly two dozen people who usually camp there get 24 hours’ notice to pack up. Flores, 35, has been homeless for about a year. Whenever police come to clear out the area, she goes around the corner and returns later.

“They come and they treat us pretty much like we’re part of the trash,” she says. “They tell us to disappear somewhere, to be invisible.”

by Jenna Ramiscal / inewsource / May 19, 2026

Hundreds of residents whose taxpayer dollars fuel daily operations have taken to City Hall in recent weeks to air their frustrations over Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed answer to San Diego’s budget crisis this year.

That’s because Gloria’s budget slashes millions of dollars in funding for arts, parks, libraries and more in order to close a more than $140 million deficit. Those cuts would impact the city’s lower-income, racially diverse areas the most, according to the Independent Budget Analyst office. About 40 city jobs would also be eliminated.

In many ways, a city’s budget is an outline of its leaders’ priorities. It drives community services like public safety, parks, libraries and transportation. When cuts are made, certain departments and services have to roll back.

Here in San Diego, cuts will impact the city’s 1.4 million residents who rely on those services.

Gloria’s $6.4 billion spending plan is not final. It will have gone through several revisions once the City Council approves a budget in June.

Here’s the timeline:

To Donate, Go Here

Everyone is invited to come out and celebrate a 50-year old community victory for Ocean Beach. It’s the half-century celebration of the very first election to the OB Planning Board — and we’re having it this Tuesday, May 26th, at Dirty Birds OB. From 6 to 8pm.

We’ll have some finger-foods, good vibes and brief statements in solidarity of this election. There will be representatives from different OB groups including members of the current OB Planning Board.

If you’ve ever been a volunteer for anything in OB, then you’ll appreciate this event — and help honor the hundreds of OBceans who have volunteered for the planning board over the many years it has been in existence.

A person of interest in the death of a man who was assaulted in the Midway District last October has been arrested in Mohave County, Arizona. 60-year-old Noel Frischknecht remains in jail for an outstanding San Diego County Superior Court arrest warrant connected to the death of a 68-year-old Brian Salatino. He was arrested by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department.

Frischknecht is alleged to have assaulted Salatino around 5:40 p.m. on Oct. 26, 2025 in the 3300 block of Midway Drive in San Diego. Salatino was transported to a hospital, where he remained in a coma. After being hospitalized for approximately 100 days, he succumbed to his injuries and died on Feb. 3, 2026.

Here’s the agenda for this week’s meeting of the Project Review Committee of the OB Planning Board, Tuesday, May 19.

Projects come before the review committee for a first pass – and usually the committee gives a recommendation to the full board.

The first is a permit to demolish 2 existing one-story houses and construct a 3-story unit and a a 2-story home at 4866–4870 Del Mar Avenue.

And the second is a permit to remodel two existing homes to include a second-story to each, at 1759 to 1761 Ocean Front Street.

From 7SanDiego

More than 100,000 pounds of food were collected across San Diego County during the 34th annual Letter Carrier’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive last weekend, organizers announced Tuesday, May 12.

The National Association of Letter Carriers and the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank collaborated on Saturday’s – May 9 regional food drive. Residents across San Diego County donated bags of non-perishable food by their mailboxes and mail carriers collected the donations along their routes before delivering them to the food bank for distribution through its network of more than 450 nonprofit partners.