Category: Health

In the midst of a 5-day strike against Kaiser Permanente that began Tuesday, Oct. 14, by thousands of nurses, pharmacists and other frontline staff who are demanding safe staffing, fair pay, and improved benefits, pharmacy workers just overwhelmingly voted to authorize their union to enact an Unfair Labor Practice strike.

Currently there’s an estimated 2,000 Kaiser workers on strike in San Diego County, part of a larger, 31,000-member walkout across California, Hawaii and Oregon. And the strike is scheduled to run through Sunday during which the unions and Kaiser are holding ongoing negotiations. UFCW members have joined them in solidarity on the picket lines.

But now the pharmacy workers are threatening to strike as well. Kaiser pharmacy members’ contracts expire on November 1, 2025, and while this vote does not mean a strike is immediately underway, it allows their union, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), to call a strike if deemed necessary by the bargaining committee. A ten-day notice must be provided before any strike begins.

Meanwhile, the thousands of health care workers on strike are represented by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals who walked off the job Tuesday morning at Kaiser Permanente facilities across San Diego County. Union leaders said the strike isn’t just about pay or staffing, but also about better retirement security and benefits. They said Kaiser’s perks do not fully make up for years of stagnant wages.

By Austin Grabish / 10News / Oct 06, 2025

Some business owners are speaking out to warn others after being threatened with lawsuits over the type of receipt paper their stores use.

“We feel strong about taking a stand,” said Adam Zack, owner of Jensen’s grocery store in Point Loma, who was served with a Prop 65 violation notice in May.

The notice, signed by attorney Noam Glick of Entorno Law, is on behalf of Environmental Health Advocates, which alleges a Jensen’s receipt had BPS, a chemical California has linked to cancer and listed as a reproductive toxin.

BPS is almost like an invisible ink that’s used to make words appear on thermal receipt paper.

Thermal receipt paper can contain a chemical called BPS that is linked to reproductive harm and cancer.

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / Oct. 6, 2025

For more than three decades, Surfrider Foundation San Diego County Chapter has gathered in the fall for its annual Paddle for Clean Water event, celebrating and defending the oceans.

The annual event, a cornerstone of Surfrider, brought together surfers, paddlers, and ocean lovers to raise awareness about the urgent need to protect clean water and healthy coastlines.

However, Surfrider has decided not to hold the Paddle for Clean Water this year, pausing the event until further notice.

Times of San Diego contacted Tom Cook, Surfrider’s executive committee chair, for a Q&A about the rationale behind the organization’s canceling one of its signature events until further notice.

TOS: Why was the Paddle for Clean Water canceled?

COOK: It was a very tough decision that our staff and volunteer leadership had to make and was not taken lightly. There were a number of factors we considered, but mostly, it came down to the point that the level of effort required to put on an event of this size exceeded what we could provide.

On Saturday afternoon, October 4, a 58-year-old man riding an electric scooter was injured when he lost control of the vehicle and was ejected. He sustained an open fracture to his fibula, necessitating immediate transportation to a local hospital for treatment.

Both news stories on this incident reported it occurred in “Point Loma Heights.” But it wasn’t — it occurred in Mission Valley. The accident happened at approximately 3:22 PM along 2100 Hotel Circle South. Both reports mentioned this address.

The headline from 10News: “58-year-old man injured, ejected from electric scooter in Point Loma Heights”.

The headline from Hoodline San Diego: “Man Suffers Serious Leg Injury in E-Scooter Accident in Point Loma Heights, San Diego”.

Most observers can tell right away that the 2100 block of Hotel Circle South is not in Point Loma Heights.

By Sydney Brammer / LomaBeat  / Sep 12, 2025
 
Following the tragic accident of Point Loma Nazarene University student, Dakota Briley, an auction with over 300 items, including hotel stays to surfboards signed by professional surfers, went through Monday, Sept. 15, to raise money for his rehabilitation funds.

Nearly three months ago, Briley was hit by an 18-year-old driver while on the side of the road in Haleiwa, HI. Crushed between two cars, Briley’s spine, skull and lower body were critically injured.

After spending 58 days in the Queens Medical Center in downtown Honolulu, mostly in a coma, Briley was transferred to Craig Hospital in Colorado, where they believe his rehabilitation needs will be better met, said Erin Lau, his sister.

Since the accident, Briley has awakened from his coma, undergone 11 surgeries, can hold conversations,

By Dani Miskell / 10News KGTV / Oct. 2, 2025

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Harmony Grove Village South development on Wednesday, October 1.

Harmony Grove Village South will build 453 homes and businesses in unincorporated San Diego near Escondido, despite fierce opposition from residents who say the project puts lives at risk during wildfires.

The development will be built on open land off Country Club Drive, but longtime residents argue the new homes could block their only evacuation route during a fire emergency.

At Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors land use meeting, Supervisor Jim Desmond pressed Rancho Santa Fe Fire Chief Dave McQuead on fire evacuation safety concerns.

By Rachel Becker, Kristen Hwang, Alejandro Lazo, Cayla Mihalovich, and Jeanne Huang / CalMatters / September 29, 2025

John Lauretig remembers the filthy bathrooms, the overflowing trash cans and the community of people who rallied to clean up Joshua Tree National Park the last time the U.S. Government shut down.

For more than a month from December 2018 through January 2019, thousands of National Park Service employees were furloughed nationwide — but the Trump administration kept many national parks open.

Unsupervised, visitors drove through wilderness and historic sites, camped where they weren’t supposed to, and vandalized plants and buildings at parks across California. The trash — and the feces — piled up. In the days after the shutdown ended, park staff found at least 1,665 clumps of toilet paper littering Death Valley alone, where an estimated half-ton of human waste had been left outside the restrooms.

“It was insane to leave the gates open and tell the staff not to show up in the park — for our public lands, and all of our special places in this country, to be unprotected,” said Lauretig, a retired law enforcement park ranger and president of the Friends of Joshua Tree nonprofit.

Now, facing the prospect of another imminent shutdown, conservation groups and retired park service employees including Lauretig are calling to keep the gates locked at national parks and historic landmarks.

They’re among many Californians bracing for the shutdown, which is expected to begin Wednesday unless Democrats and Republicans can make a deal by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday.

An online petition has been started in the hopes it will motivate the City of San Diego to install a lighted pedestrian crosswalk at Catalina Blvd. and Varona St. in Point Loma.

Begun by Sarah Mathy, the petition at Change.org, has, at this writing, 436 signatures.

It reads:

Install a Lighted Crosswalk at Catalina near Pt. Loma Little League & Parks

The Issue

The intersection of Catalina Blvd. and Varona St. in Point Loma is the frontage road to Pt. Loma Little League and Pt. Loma Park. There is a constant flow of vehicle traffic on Catalina in front of the parks’ entrances from surrounding workplaces, PLNU, and sunset/beach traffic.  These parks are vibrant hubs of local activity, where little league baseball games, summer concerts, and various recreational activities take place.  Hundreds of people are crossing Catalina  each week to access the parks.

Unfortunately, despite the high foot traffic, this vital intersection lacks a lighted crosswalk, making it dangerous for pedestrians, especially our children. The nearest crosswalks are a quarter mile away, which forces families and park visitors to take unnecessary risks crossing without any safety measures. This safety concern is personal to me and many in our community, as it directly affects our day-to-day lives.

Neighbors for a Better Pacific Beach says the city allows developers to change the face of the community without any public input.

By Dorian Hargrove/ CBS8 / September 18, 2025

The city of San Diego will soon have to defend its ADU program in court.

A Pacific Beach community group, Neighbors for a Better Pacific Beach, filed a newly amended complaint Thursday, Sept. 18, against the city, claiming the law has paved the way for unchecked, unbridled development and environmental harm in San Diego neighborhoods.

Their lawsuit now seeks to overturn the city’s ADU program, limit the number of new units in single-family zones, and require public input for larger ADU projects.
Originally filed on Aug. 15, amended to challenge projects citywide, claims city staff are unlawfully fast-tracking dozens of dense, apartment-style ADU projects without any environmental review or public notice.

Tragedy struck on Saturday, September 6, around 4:40 pm when a 21-year-old woman driving a BMW sedan entered a pedestrian pathway near the entrance to Naval Base Point Loma, hit a steel bench, and then struck a 5-year old girl riding a scooter before crashing into a tree.

The girl was left with life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital with severe head injuries and may not survive, authorities said.

As alcohol was a factor in the collision, the driver was arrested at the scene, located near 2500 Laning Road.

County Planning Staff and Planning Commission both recommend denial of the project

Following a nearly seven year process, including members of the public signing thousands of opposition petitions, expressing concerns at dozens of public meetings, and sending hundreds of letters detailing the many significant safety, environmental, and community impacts, the controversial Cottonwood Sand Mine proposal is scheduled to be heard by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors this Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 9 a.m.

Following the July vote to deny the project by the County Planning Commission, the applicant filed an appeal with the Board of Supervisors.

The County’s Department of Planning & Development Services (PDS) is also recommending the project application be denied, noting that the legal findings required for a Major Use Permit cannot be made.

Both PDS and the Planning Commission cited their concerns that the project will have a harmful impact on the desired community character and the site is not suitable for a large-scale industrial sand mine. These are the same concerns Stop Cottonwood Sand Mine has raised since 2018.