Category: Economy

OB Staff Report

With a week to go before the November 3 elections, the Rag is taking one last look at how much money candidates have raised in the Council District 2, 4, 6, and 8 races. The data are taken from Follow the Money.org (FTM), a self-described “coalition of non-partisan organizations working together to create transparency for campaign contributions and expenditures with local San Diego candidates.”

To help the public fully understand campaign finance, FTM, where one of the key groups is the League of Women Voters, reports what has been spent in support of a candidate (“why you should vote for X”) and what has been spent in opposition to the candidate (“why you should not vote for X”).

Money spent in support is generally considered “campaign contributions” that are given directly to the candidate or party. They are subject to contribution limits, and they must be publicly disclosed.

Money spent in opposition typically comes through “independent expenditures” by outside groups or individuals for public communications (ads or mailers) for or against a candidate. There are no spending limits, but funders must file disclosure reports and identify themselves in the materials, almost always in small print.

Here are the races:

From Voice of San Diego / Oct. 23, 2026

Ever since we broke the news that a huge data center might be built in downtown San Diego, local Democrats have been insisting its time to pump the breaks.

Thursday morning, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria posted a photo of himself signing an executive order that temporarily bans data centers on X.

“San Diego is putting clear rules in place before we allow data centers in our city,” he wrote.

San Diego Councilmembers Sean Elo-Rivera, Joe LaCava and Kent Lee gathered outside City Hall later that day announcing the proposal of a new city law that would place requirements on data centers built under their jurisdiction.

by Ernie McCray

It seems to me
that the most bothersome aspect
regarding Donald J
talking out of his asshole
about Iran
taking out Los Angeles
and San Diego,
should be the cheers of support that rose
from his followers.

I mean there wasn’t a single boo
that escaped the lips
of the MAGA folks
this traitorous felon
was talking to
and that leaves one to wonder
how anybody,
with an ounce of love in their soul,
never mind their politics
or points-of-views
or personal situations,
can be okay

Immigration arrest near Lemon Grove nail salon has some in Vietnamese community on edge

From KPBS: On Saturday, community activist Arturo Gonzalez said he received a video from an employee who works at a business next to Peacock Nails in Lemon Grove. shows ICE agents arresting a woman described by firsthand witnesses as a nail tech. Gonzalez said when he arrived on scene, cars with immigration agents were already leaving. He said this arrest outside a nail salon marks the first time he’s seen ICE agents at businesses like this one since he started documenting arrests about 18 months ago.

“I have not seen anything like this in particular. But I have seen restaurant workers and hotel workers get picked up by ICE,” Gonzalez said. Gonzalez said he’s been documenting ICE arrests on social media with a network of community activists in the greater San Diego area.

“That same day the woman was picked up, we got a tip almost 30 minutes later that ICE was staging in the Hazard Center plaza in Mission Valley,” he said. “When we arrived to the scene we noticed the vehicles were faced towards another nail salon.”

Billionaire Stan Kroenke Is Starting with a 7-Story 223-Unit Project at Former Perry’s Cafe

By Dorian Hargrove and Andrew Keatts / Times of San Diego / Oct. 16, 2026

Billionaire Stan Kroenke, the nation’s largest landowner and professional sports team mogul, is looking to transform the Midway District.

And he’s not stopping at Midway Rising, the megaproject to redevelop the city-owned Pechanga Arena property that is on its way to a City Council vote.

His development team is nearing completion just under a mile away, across from the Old Town Transit Center, on a seven-story, 223-unit housing project.

That tower is at the site of the former Perry’s Cafe, a once-popular greasy spoon diner on the edge of Old Town. It is now the first piece of the puzzle for Kroenke’s Midway vision.

By Scott Lewis / Voice of San Diego / October 17, 2026

Friday, October 16 a committee of the San Diego City Council advanced the project that Midway Rising leaders have been working on for five years.

It was a moment that had been building for years. Union members who have advocated for it every step of the way cheered loudly in the City Council Chambers. But the Midway Rising hurried out and issued a simple written statement attributed to Brad Termini, from Zephyr Partners.

“We’re honored to receive a unanimous 4-0 vote in support of Midway Rising from the City’s Land Use and Housing Committee and look forward to presenting this transformational project to the full City Council in the weeks ahead,” Termini wrote.

They may be “honored” but, by several accounts, they were not pleased at all.

The committee advanced their deal with one significant amendment: It would require the Midway Rising team to ensure the affordable housing units built at the site are “net-new” – a reference to what we wrote about Friday. We revealed that city staff had preferred the deal prohibit the property from becoming a so-called “receiver site” for the affordable housing other developers in San Diego were going to have to deliver anyway.

By Rag Staff

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

Monday, October 19: City Council, Closed Session, 10:00 a.m.

Agenda:

Item CS-6: January 22, 2024 Flooding Litigation

Why it matters: Two years later, as 57 civil cases against the city move slowly forward, and Southeastern San Diego victims are still struggling to rebuild, we have to ask: Is City Hall better prepared for flood control when the new massive El Nino arrives?

Monday, October 19: City Council, 2:00 p.m.

Agenda:

Item S400: Confirming Appointment of Bethany Bezak to Position of City Manager (Chief Operating Officer)

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

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.

By Staff

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

Tuesday, October 13: City Council, 2:00 p.m.

Agenda:

Item 330: 2020 SeaWorld Master Plan Update

Why it matters: SeaWorld has a history of forceful expansion (and not paying its rent on time). Major projects on the horizon include a 300-room hotel, a special events center, and marina expansion. The Planning Commission has recommended the update with a caveat: Phase out the controversial fireworks show in the next five years.

By Dan Plante / Yahoo News Fox-KUSI   / October 7, 2026

It’s one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Ocean Beach, with families going back generations.

But as it stands now, it’s also the latest target for developers to build a massive Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) farm adjacent to where a single-family home now sits on a hillside.

“Twelve units on a single-family property? It’s abuse,” said Ocean Beach resident Scott Martinez. [He was referring to the 4600 block of Del Mar Avenue.]

Like other neighborhood groups fighting for the character of their communities, the battle is on to stop this project before it’s too late.

“When we heard about the units that were becoming available, we said, wait a minute, 12 units on a small single-family property — there’s no way that can fit,” said resident Dr. Mike Sherer.

The house at the center of this issue was most recently a short-term rental. But now it’s on the market, listed by Colwell Banker, with a hefty price tag.

By Debbie Sklar / Times of San Diego / October 6, 2026

For a brief moment in the 1880s, Ocean Beach was supposed to become one of San Diego’s grand seaside resorts.

At the center of that dream stood an imposing Victorian hotel at the foot of Niagara Avenue, overlooking the ocean.

It was called the Cliff House.

Built by real estate promoters William H. “Billy” Carlson and Frank J. Higgins, the Cliff House was designed to attract vacationers, prospective land buyers, and anyone willing to believe that the remote stretch of Point Loma was about to become San Diego’s next great resort destination.

The timing seemed perfect.

San Diego was in the middle of a spectacular real estate boom, and Carlson and Higgins were selling lots in their new Ocean Beach subdivision. They filed their subdivision map on May 28, 1887, and promoted the area with elaborate public events, including mussel roasts, bands, free ice cream, rental bathing suits, and hot-air balloons.

The developers needed something impressive to give their new community a centerpiece.

They built the Cliff House.