Category: Environment

News Item: In 2025, the San Diego City Council passed a final budget that reduced the San Diego Humane Society’s (SDHS) annual animal services contract by $1 million. While the city initially proposed a more devastating 20% ($3.5 million) cut, the compromise forces the organization to evaluate fee increases and operational adjustments while facing critical shelter capacity issues.

By Debbie L. Sklar

Public discussion has included questions about the San Diego Humane Society, including shelter capacity, animal control responsibilities, and executive compensation. San Diego Humane Society President and CEO Dr. Gary Weitzman is compensated at more than $500,000 annually, according to publicly available IRS Form 990 filings. Records published through ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer list total compensation of approximately $509,396 in the most recent reporting period, including salary and other reportable compensation. The filing also lists approximately $72.8 million in annual revenue and more than $100 million in net assets.

Weitzman has served as president and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society since 2010.

Executive compensation within nonprofit organizations is determined through internal governance processes, typically reviewed by a board of directors and informed by comparative data from similar-sized organizations in the animal welfare and nonprofit sectors. Public filings provide one element of that broader oversight framework. Compensation structures in large nonprofits are generally designed to reflect organizational size, operational scope, regional cost of living, and responsibilities associated with managing substantial budgets, staff, and multi-jurisdictional contracts.

SeaWorld and San Diego Environmental Groups Settle Lawsuit Over Fireworks Pollution in Mission Bay

Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation (CERF) have reached an agreement with SeaWorld Parks

Residents, Businesses and Workers Not Happy With New Parking Meters on Adams Ave.

Residents and workers in San Diego’s Kensington neighborhood are voicing frustration as parking meters along Adams Avenue officially went live last week

Point in Time Homeless Count ‘Not Accurate Reflection of Reality’

The unsheltered population is down in San Diego — but coastal areas are seeing an uptick in people seeking services. But that drop noted in San Diego’s annual Point-in-Time count isn’t necessarily reflected in the day-to-day reality of shelters and services

City Of San Diego Hit With $16.45 Million Jury Verdict Over Parking Citation Penalties

A San Diego jury has reportedly awarded more than $16.45 million against the City of San Diego in a class action lawsuit accusing the city of improperly assessing and collecting parking

 The Navajo Community Planning Group has reinstated the Mission Gorge Rock Quarry to Assist Neighborhood in Flying Debris

San Diego artist reaches $450K settlement over bubble show citation

What began as a dispute over bubbles in a city park ended three years later with a nearly half-million dollar settlement in favor of a San Diego-based artist. 
 

By Michael A. Hernandez

On Thursday, May 21, San Diego-based nonprofit organization ‘Serving Seniors’ and management firm Hyder Property Management, held a resident’s meeting in the campus’ Judith L. Seltz Wellness Center to provide an update on concerns and take questions from the public.

The last-minute resident’s meeting was held two days before a press conference the Senior Residents Council was slated to take place; and comes in the wake of a recent article titled “Clairemont’s Mt. Etna Project: The Affordable Housing Misnomer,” posted on the local community initiative and media platform Explore Clairemont.

In her article, Explore Clairemont writer and publisher Tanja Kropf compiles the growing number of concerns voiced by the senior residents including the lack of parking, a rent hike, and fear for their safety, even though they were promised affordability, ample parking, and safety prior to moving in. Kropf writes before seniors even completed their first year living at the residence, just one day before Thanksgiving of 2025, they were told their rent was going up by 8.8%. The increase would be more than three times the 2.8% they receive annually from the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment.

Another failed promise is the 465 parking spaces originally proposed for the Mt. Etna project during community planning and outreach stages in late 2018.

Here’s three media reports on the candidates for District 2, including on the last candidate debate / forum, held May 14th at Paradise Point Resort & Spa. We have reports from Times of San Diego, the Union-Tribune and Axios San Diego.

Here’s Dave Schwab of Times of San Diego‘s account:

District 2 candidates Richard Bailey, Josh Coyne, Nicole Crosby, Mandy Havlik, Jacob Mitchell, Mike Rickey and Paul Suppa answered curated questions from a panel of community leaders on far-ranging issues from the city’s budget to people living out of their vehicles, homelessness, housing density, public safety and quality of life.

The Ocean Beach Community Foundation along with the Pacific Beach and Mission Beach town councils joined forces to host the event ahead of the June 2 primary election. It is the last public candidate forum before the primary, which will send the top two vote getters to a November runoff election to replace termed-out incumbent Jennifer Campbell.

A Conservancy Would Offset City’s Budget Cuts to Mission Bay; Prevent Closure of Public Restrooms

by Dave Schwab / Beach & Bay Press / May 19, 2026

Bradley Schnell has an idea for how to maintain city-owned structures and services around Mission Bay Park during these trying fiscal times: create a nonprofit conservancy.

The owner-CEO of Mission Bay Beach Club (formerly the Mission Bay Visitor Information Center) at 2688 E. Mission Bay Drive, Schnell has initiated a process to do exactly that.

Land conservancies are 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofits operating exclusively for charitable purposes and cannot distribute profits to private individuals. Their tax-exempt status allows the conservancy to receive tax-deductible donations and hold conservation easements in perpetuity.

Schnell’s effort to establish a Mission Bay Park Conservancy seeks to offset deep cuts proposed in the city’s FY2027 proposed budget.

A conservancy would accomplish a number of purposes including preventing 13 Mission Bay restrooms from closing

By Kate Callen

Sometimes you can fight City Hall.

A citizens’ lawsuit that once seemed quixotic has compelled the city to scale back the money it collects for its hated trash fees.

The fees will now begin at $38.75 starting July 1, 2027 and will not be raised for two years. Unfortunately, fees will still be collected as an add-on to county property tax bills, so the risk of house foreclosure will remain in place.

For good measure, the city is also giving up its hated parking fees for Balboa Park. Starting January 1, 2027, parking will again be free for all Balboa Park visitors.

The tentative settlement was approved by the City Council in a 7-0 closed session on May 20. The decision was announced hours later in a news conference featuring the strangest political tableau in recent memory.

A radiant Councilmember Stephen Whitburn presided over the news conference. Whitburn said he and Michael Zucchet of the San Diego Municipal Employees Association hammered out the trash fee agreement. They tossed in the parking fees, he said, because “knowing that the same folks calling for repeal of the trash fees were calling for repeal of the Balboa Park parking fees, we saw synergy there.”

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.

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: