Category: Health

By Michael J. Stepner & Mary Lydon / San Diego Daily Transcript / Sept. 17, 2026

Residents in San Diego County overwhelmingly feel a deep sense of ownership for their beloved Balboa Park, but there is not an entity with comprehensive resources and authority to run it. The result is a dysfunctional dynamic that has been brewing for decades. Without a plan for sustainability, Balboa Park is doomed to a slow, steady decline.

Earlier this month a city of San Diego planning team presented its strategy for updating the Balboa Park Masterplan to the City of San Diego Balboa Park Committee. This is an official advisory committee for the mayor and city council on policy issues relating to the acquisition, development, maintenance and operation of Balboa Park.

Mayor Todd Gloria called for the plan to be updated three years ago but there was no money in the budget for it. Now, thanks to grants from the State of California, SANDAG and the Prebys Foundation, the planning process is moving forward.

Since the plan’s original adoption in 1989, it has had four amendments. Longtime park leaders and planners Howard Blackson and Vicki Estrada recommend amending and updating the existing Master and Precise Plans into one unified Master and Implementation Plan for the entire park to save time and money.

A 23-year-old man died at the hospital after his motorcycle crashed into an SUV in the Sunset Cliffs area of Point Loma Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 16.

Shortly after noon, the unidentified young man was riding a 2003 Harley motorcycle northbound on 1000 Catalina Blvd. toward the intersection with Varona Street, San Diego police said.

However, at the same time, a 58-year-old man driving a 2016 Jeep Patriot drove into his path as he headed east on Varona Street toward Catalina Boulevard.

This apparent fatal error caused the motorcyclist to slam into the SUV. It was the motorcycle rider’s right of way, and the SUV was attempting to cross Catalina Boulevard.

By Debbie L. Sklar / Special to the OB Rag

Today, it is difficult to imagine that the Point Loma waterfront once contained a federal medical complex whose job was to help keep contagious diseases from entering San Diego.

But for decades, a quarantine station operated at La Playa, on the Point Loma waterfront.

The location had a long history before the federal government arrived. La Playa was the site of the Mexican-era hide houses and one of the earliest commercial areas around San Diego Bay. By the late 19th century, however, the federal government had another concern: ships arriving in San Diego could bring contagious diseases with them.

The Quarantine Station at La Playa was established in 1888, according to the San Diego History Center’s History of San Diego, 1542-1908. Work on its buildings began in 1891, and the Marine Hospital associated with the station occupied nearly the site of the old hide houses.

The federal quarantine system was becoming increasingly important as San Diego’s maritime connections expanded.

The National Archives records describe the Point Loma station as a federal quarantine facility responsible for San Diego Bay. When ships arrived, inspectors boarded them and reviewed the voyage and the health of passengers and crew.

A body was found in the water off Ocean Beach shortly after midnight on Monday, September 14, authorities said.

San Diego police were called shortly after 12:30 a.m. after someone spotted a body in the water off Brighton Avenue, south of Lifeguard Tower 5.No information about the person found was released.

Authorities have not released the identity of the person found, and the case has been referred to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office, which will determine both the cause of death and the person’s identity.

An Ocean Beach native by the name of Bryson is hospitalized after surviving a 45-foot fall from the top of a palm tree while trimming it at work Tuesday, Sept.8. He suffered more than 25 broken bones, including severe fractures to his femur, elbow, ankle, pelvis, wrist, nose and forehead, all on the right side of his body.

Bryson has already undergone three emergency surgeries, with another scheduled, and faces months of hospitalization and rehabilitation. His family launched a GoFundMe to help cover his medical care, physical therapy and living expenses while he is unable to work. As of this writing, over $15,000 has been raised. As an aside, he should be eligible for Workers Compensation as well.

Here is some of the text from the GoFundMe page:

On Tuesday, our brother Bryson fell roughly 45 feet (around four stories) from the top of a palm tree during work tree trimming.

The fact of him being alive is a miracle.

Reporter Interviews Editordude and Cites His Study, “Death and Distress at Sunset Cliffs”

By Andrew J. Campa / The Los Angeles Times / September 8, 2026

SAN DIEGO — As dusk approached San Diego’s seaside enclave of Ocean Beach, its Sunset Cliffs bustled on a recent Friday evening. Two engaged couples posed for wedding photos in between joggers, dog walkers and sightseers who clamored around Osprey Street to enjoy the day’s majestic sunset.

It was a deceptively idyllic setting for what authorities say is continued lawbreaking and peril, which authorities just can’t seem to quash.

The lawbreakers were gathered this day on a cliff and a nearby arch, a crowd of around 50 young people — 14- to 20-year-olds, mostly males. Buoyed by a youthful sense of invincibility, they dared one another to leap, waiting for another to move, like emperor penguin chicks before a first arctic plunge. After a few minutes, there was a dive off the arch, followed by a cannonball from the next person, a backflip from a third and then other more spectacular and daring stunts from the flock. The cliff divers, drawn to the thrills of the illicit jumps amplified by social media, reveled in dozens of leaps.

No one was injured that day, but that hasn’t always been the case.

From 10News – CNS / September

Homes in Ocean Beach and Loma Portal Eligible

The Federal Aviation Administration Tuesday, September 1, awarded the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority $15.3 million for its Quieter Home Program to provide sound insulation for around 400 homes in the airport’s flight path.

The funding comes from the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program centered on infrastructure projects.

“We are grateful to receive this funding for our Quieter Home Program,” said Atif Saeed, president and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. “We appreciate the unwavering support from Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, Congressman Scott Peters, and the entire San Diego congressional delegation. This funding will help us work with our neighboring communities and provide sound insulation treatment to reduce noise inside eligible homes located around the airport.”

by Karen Pearlman  / Times of San Diego / Aug. 31, 2026

The California Coastal Commission in mid-August voted unanimously to approve the city of San Diego’s De Anza Natural plan — but with some important changes required to what was passed by the San Diego City Council in May 2024 as the De Anza Natural Amendment to the Mission Bay Park Master Plan.

The plan to “re-wild” DeAnza Cove, a plan discussed by environmentalists and the city as far back as 2015, will eventually convert Campland on the Bay and much of the current Mission Bay RV Resort into wetlands. It will expand habitat in the area from about 70 acres to a little over 260 acres, and relocate some camping spots further inland.

“This is one of the last opportunities the city is ever going to have to really recreate the wetlands that were so characteristic of the Mission Bay area, and frankly the entire coastline,” said San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava.

HMCS Yukon Was Bought by San Diego to Eventually Scuttle for an Artificial Reef

By Team Global / The Economic Times / August 31, 2026

In 2000, the City of San Diego, working with the San Diego Oceans Foundation, acquired and refurbished HMCS Yukon, a decommissioned 366 foot Canadian warship, to scuttle it as an artificial reef about 1.85 miles off Mission Beach. However, there were some issues with the actual sinking of the ship. On July 14, 2000, the ship unexpectedly began to capsize and sank before divers could position it properly, settling on the seafloor at depths ranging from about 60 to 105 feet.

A 366-foot warship sinks prematurely off Mission Beach

After the Yukon was sunk, one pressing concern that arose for researchers was whether an artificial reef such as this one truly contributed to the production of marine life or merely drew fish populations that were already living elsewhere into the vicinity of the reef.

A person was found aboard a sailboat that was trapped on rocks near the Ocean Beach jetty early Tuesday, Sept. 1, and was taken to the hospital in unknown condition.

Around 6:39 a.m., lifeguards found a sailboat trapped on the North Channel jetty with one person aboard. Rescuers then had to extricate that person from the boat.

By Steve Anderson / Times of San Diego / August 27, 2026

Summer has come to an end for our little OBceans as they made their way back to the classroom two weeks ago. However, the focus in our community remains on the outside of schools, particularly the roads surrounding them.

In October 2025, three children were struck by a vehicle while attempting to cross the street outside of Pershing Middle School in San Carlos. One student, Andrew Olsen, was killed while his two siblings sustained injuries.

Since then the San Diego Unified School District has been attentive toward school speed limits and safer crosswalks. If you haven’t noticed, Ocean Beach Elementary sits on one of the busiest roads in our community.

This school year, leadership at OB Elementary has requested safety improvements along the surrounding roads.