Category: Economy

OB Rag Staff Report

Jack McGrory has seen a lot happen in San Diego over the past 50 years, and he knows a lot about how the city has evolved. In his 24 years at City Hall, where he rose from a trainee in 1973 to City Manager between 1991 and 1997, McGrory had a singular role in helping shape our city government.

At a June 20 dialogue hosted by the San Diego Community Coalition and Neighbors for a Better San Diego, McGrory answered questions about City Hall’s perilous state with astonishing candor.

In this Part I of a report on the forum [link], McGrory discussed how a lack of professionalism at City Hall has led to financial instability and public distrust.

Today, in Part II, he describes how concentrating political power in the executive branch has tipped the city into chaos.

On “strong mayor” government: When we went to district elections in 1988, the downtown business interests got pissed off. They thought: The neighborhoods will control the City Council, so how will we protect our interests? The next move was to go to a strong mayor, which happened in 2004. In a strong mayor government, you lose a professional corps of administrators who know how to do trash, water, and sewage. They know how to deliver services. It’s like running a business. Now look. I’ve had three goddamn trash cans in six months.

In the public sector, some employees are in a civil service classification that gives them protection, and some are “unclassified” – they are not protected, and they operate at a higher level. When I was city manager, I had about 25 unclassified employees. That number today is 432.

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

Monday, June 29: City Council, 2:00 p.m.

Agenda:

Item S400: Proposed FY 2027 Recreation Center Fund Budgets, Opportunity Fund Budget, and 2025 Come Play Outside

Why it matters: Funding for city Rec Centers and the proportions of available funding that go to “low resource” neighborhoods continue to be an issue of concern.

Item S401: Information Guide on Group Participation Updates and Council Determination of Community Engagement Efforts

Why it matters: Community Planning Groups have seen their input on density and development issues greatly reduced under the Faulconer and Gloria regimes. The Community Planners Committee is demanding a “Seat at the Table” on important land use decisions. Background:

Editordude: For decades, OBceans and Point Lomans drove past Perry’s Cafe as it stood at the very visible intersection of I-5 and I-8. That ended two years ago. The fabled eatery closed and was demolished. In its stead, something slowly rose up encased in scaffolding and mystery. Here, Rag writer Michael Hernandez breaks it all down.

By Michael Angelo Hernandez

The Latest on Perry’s Multifamily Apartments, Formerly Known as Perry’s Cafe

Nearly two years ago, in August of 2024, Old Town’s beloved, family-owned diner, Perry’s Cafe at 4620 Pacific Highway, served its last meal and closed its doors for the final time.

The iconic restaurant was founded in 1985 by Greek immigrants Constantine (a.k.a “Costas”) and Margaret Georgakopolous. Named after the couple’s daughter, Perry Eulmi, Perry’s cafe went on to serve millions, becoming a cherished destination for both tourists and locals alike in search of their classic American diner experience, famously massive portions, and nostalgic atmosphere.

For nearly four decades, the restaurant stood as a local community staple, weathering multiple mishaps over the years including a number of cars flying off the Interstate-5 and landing right onto their parking lot, a 2009 fire which closed them down for four months and cost them an estimated $300,000 dollars in damages, and even the lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 1992 when the original owners, the Georgakopolous, opted to retire, the reins of the business were handed down to their daughter who ran the restaurant along with her son until 2024 when she too decided to retire. August 15 was the date announced for the diner’s last ever day of service, however, Perry’s Cafe ended up closing more than a week earlier on the fifth, reportedly due to staff burnout following the huge crowds drawn by the announcement of the closure.

OB Rag Staff Report

Jack McGrory has seen a lot happen in San Diego over the past 50 years, and he knows a lot about how the city has evolved. In his 24 years at City Hall, where he rose from a trainee in 1973 to City Manager between 1991 and 1997, McGrory had a singular role in helping shape our city government.

At a June 20 dialogue hosted by the San Diego Community Coalition and Neighbors for a Better San Diego, McGrory answered questions about City Hall’s perilous state with astonishing candor.

In this Part I of a report on the forum, McGrory discusses how a lack of professionalism at City Hall has led to financial instability and public distrust.

On city government “best practices”:

We always measured ourselves against other large cities. All the city managers would meet every six months, and we’d exchange ideas about best practices. San Diego went to automated trash pickup because I saw Phoenix doing it, and they showed me their numbers. Before we had automated pickup, we had two or three people on every truck handling 11 tons of trash a day. The costs of back injuries and workers’ comp were insane.

At another one of these conferences, someone described a new technology for fixing potholes that used trucks with computers and hot tar dispensers. The truck would drive over the pothole, and the computer would drop the hot tar and tamp it down. I bought eight pothole trucks, and we were fixing potholes in 24 hours.

Then one day, I saw a city employee fixing a pothole by shoveling in hot tar. I asked, “Where are the pothole trucks?” He said, “One of the drivers got carpal tunnel syndrome, so the union lobbied the Council, and they got rid of the trucks.”

From San Diego Energy Justice Alliance

With City studies concluding a not-for-profit utility would save San Diegans billions, a coalition of groups is calling on the City Council to begin organizing a public utility.
The most recent city-funded study will be presented to the council this Monday afternoon, June 22, during a meeting set to begin at 2 p.m. in council chambers.

Using the most conservative assumptions, the city’s consultants concluded in the study that not-for-profit public power would save utility customers $500 each year.
Under more realistic assumptions, projections, total savings for customers are projected to reach tens of billions of dollars in coming decades. An earlier city funded study also found a not-for-profit public utility would lower electric bills for customers.

“We have the studies and know the facts,” said Dorrie Bruggemann, a board member of Public Power San Diego, which is among the groups in the newly formed San Diego Energy Justice Coalition.

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

Monday, June 22: City Council, 2:00 p.m.

Agenda:

Item 200: Public Power Feasibility Study, Phase II Report

Item 201: SDG&E Franchise Independent Audit Report and Compliance Review

Why they matter: These items will shed light on two options: a new municipal energy utility (MEU) vs. the existing SDG&E utility. The Phase II report found that “financial projections support the feasibility of establishing an MEU.” The review found that SDG&E complies with its franchise agreement but adds “compliance alone does not fully resolve broader concerns regarding affordability, rate impacts, and alignment with the City’s policy objectives.”

Tuesday, June 23: City Council, 10:00 a.m.

Agenda: 

Item S501: Municipal Code Amendment Relating to Electric Bicycle Safety

What’s New on Newport Avenue?

By Michael A. Hernandez

“Pop Punk Never Dies”. That’s the message written on the outside of the building at 5049 Newport Ave in Ocean Beach. Once home to OB’s first Japanese sushi and sake joint, Sapporo Restaurant, then later housing an outpost of Pacific Beach’s beloved dive bar and eatery, Cass Street Bar and Grill, 5049 Newport Ave is currently under new ownership, and what’s coming may be of interest to those who are anti-establishment… but pro-drinking establishment.

On February 13 of this year, a Public Notice of Application For Ownership Change was posted on the front door of the building.

The applicant’s name: “Drink 182 OB, LLC”. Marketing itself as San Diego’s Original Pop Punk Bar, Drink 182 promises to bring “a new kind of hospitality experience to Ocean Beach – built around the music, culture, and nostalgia that defined a generation”.

One of the owners of the pop-punk bar is creative director Jay NightRide. According to his profile on Linkedin, NightRide has collaborated with big names such as internationally renowned DJ and music executive Steve Aoki, motorcycle manufacturer and global lifestyle brand Harley Davidson, and legendary pop-punk band Blink-182, whose name served as the main inspiration for the name of the bar.

An’s Gelato Named No.2 in America; Free Scoops Offered on July 1 at Ocean Beach Shop

San Diego’s An’s Gelato company has been named the No. 2 independently owned ice cream shop in America in USA Today’s 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards, which were announced Wednesday. It’s the fourth year the local company has been ranked in the USA Today contest. An’s ranked No. 1 in 2025 and 2024, and No. 2 in 2023.

An’s operates four shops in San Diego County, including Ocean Beach where in 2025, they opened An’s Electronic Repair in a former phone repair shop. A fifth is set to open soon in Oceanside’s iconic Top Gun House. The judges praised An’s for its scratch-made gelato and unique flavors, like brown butter, brookies (brownies and cookies), watermelon and mint sorbet. The judges also noted An’s  generous sampling policy, where employees encourage visitors to taste all seven flavors of the day before they buy.

To celebrate the latest 10Best honor, An’s scoop shops in OB, Normal Heights, and Del Mar will give away one free small gelato cup or cone per customer from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 1, while supplies last. Then the shops will close for the rest of that day to give employees the evening off.

by Ernie McCray

Juneteenth is a celebration
that causes me to wonder
what enslaved men and women
felt when they got the news
of their emancipation
approximately 900 days late.

So many of them, surely,
must have stood gasping and crying, in disbelief,
feeling joy from such an outrageously delayed freedom
while, simultaneously,
grieving from the realization
of all the hardships
that came from the years stolen from them,

By John McNab

We rarely talk context of why the public coast is disappearing and high rises are sprouting up everywhere.  The below is a perspective on going from freeing animals to caging humans – San Diego’s shift in priorities

A black-and-white movie on TV in the early 60’s was about a boy who went to the zoo with his grandfather. Upon seeing the animals in cages, he broke down. Likely because he loved to spend time under the warm sun playing in the canyons with the lizard and birds. Seeing the zoo animals poorly treated broke his heart.

Upon getting home, he was still in tears. It was recommended he did something. So he started protesting at the zoo. The editor at the local paper thought the story was cute and ran a piece on the boy and his protest. It struck a nerve and suddenly citizens were up in arms. So the embarrassed zoo changed. The last scene, in Technicolor, was the front of the San Diego zoo.

Yet what could be a sequel to the story?

A mother had many errands to run so she dropped off her son with his grandfather. The son, full of energy, got on the grandfather’s nerves. “Why don’t you go outside and play?” The boy answered in tears, “there’s nowhere outside to play”.

San Diego Gas & Electric has just formally requested an 8.6% rate increase with the California Public Utilities Commission. SDG&E wants it to begin in 2028.

The utility seeks approximately $3.8 billion for 2028, including about $2.9 billion for electric operations and $900 million for natural gas service. If the CPUC approves their request, “SDG&E estimates the increase would add roughly $14.03 per month to the average residential electric bill and $8.45 per month to the average residential gas bill compared to 2027 rates,” reports CBS8. That’s a combined $22.48 to the average monthly bill, reports the OB Rag.

The filing by San Diego’s for-profit utility, launches “what is expected to be an 18-month review process before state regulators determine whether to approve, modify or reject the proposal,” says CBS8/

Meanwhile, the San Diego City Council on Tuesday, June 16th, voted to endorse 10 bills in the state legislature aimed at lowering electricity rates and making investor-owned utilities more accountable to ratepayers, reports KPBS.