Category: Health

From San Diego Americans for Safe Access

Dear Esteemed Members of the City Council,

As the San Diego Chapter of Americans for Safe Access, a national non-profit dedicated to advancing safe access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research, we are writing to express our strong opposition to the proposed increase in San Diego’s cannabis business tax.

Within the City of San Diego, consumers already pay over 30% in taxes at the final point of sale—including an 8% cannabis business tax, a 15% cannabis excise tax, and a 7.75% sales tax. In addition, the cannabis excise tax is currently set to increase another four percentage points this summer. If both tax increases are adopted, San Diego consumers could soon be required to pay up to 6 percentage points more for legally acquired cannabis products—almost 40% in total taxes. This increase will impact all cannabis consumers but will place a particular strain on both patients and small and mid-sized cannabis businesses, threatening equity in access and cannabis business ownership while undermining public health goals and sustainable revenue generation.

By Lori Weisberg / The San Diego Union-Tribune / March 7, 2025

Two environmental groups sued SeaWorld last week accusing the San Diego marine park of illegally discharging pollutants into Mission Bay during the dozens of fireworks shows it puts on each year.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court by San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation (CERF), cites multiple violations of the federal Clean Water Act and the parks’ own permit that allows it to conduct up to 150 fireworks shows a year.

The 39-page complaint documents not only instances of paper, plastic and metal fireworks debris in the bay following SeaWorld shows, but it also claims to have found concentrations of metal pollutants such as aluminum, antimony and copper that far exceeded normal levels elsewhere in the bay.

San Diego’s airport is dealing with a significant shortage of air traffic controllers, Axios San Diego reports.

This news comes as the Trump administration fired about 400 recently hired support staff employees at the Federal Aviation Administration over the weekend as part of the the mass terminations of federal workers.

Axios:

San Diego International Airport is fending with a 17.9% vacancy rate among air traffic controllers, per the most recent FAA data. … By the numbers: San Diego’s airport tower is five short of its FAA target of 28 air-traffic controllers.

Site Used to Be an Exxon Gas Station

Point Loma residents are waving the red flag and trying to get everyone’s attention about the proposed development at Rosecrans and Talbot.

The planned development of 56 units at the corner lot is under way but residents are calling attention to a hazard on the lot that no one seems to be dealing with or appreciating. Especially the City of San Diego — and the developer.

The lot used to be an Exxon gas station and currently sits on contaminated land. (See the attached documented benzene groundwater survey of this project’s site.)

It was revealed Wednesday that due to the potential for hazards from leaking fuel from the Navy aircraft that plunged into San Diego Bay, there is a water-contact closure order or Kellogg Beach in Point Loma.

After the crew members were pulled from the water, paramedics took them to UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest for evaluations. They were in listed good condition on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation, according to Navy officials.

By Lisa Mortensen

There will be a Fire Safety Town Hall on Thursday, February 13, at 6:00 PM at the Balboa Park Club Ballroom (2150 Pan American Rd W, San Diego, CA 92101). Representatives from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and Councilperson Stephen Whitburn will be in attendance to discuss fire safety related topics.

(Subscription Needed for Full Article at SD Mag)

By Jackie Bryant / San Diego Magazine / Feb.6, 2025

OB People’s Food Co-Op has been San Diego’s go-to for organic, vegetarian, and locally sourced groceries for over 50 years. In this week’s Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with general manager Sarela Bonilla and marketing director Nina Gordon to talk about why this neighborhood institution still matters. From its humble beginnings in a garage to becoming a cornerstone of Ocean Beach, People’s is more than just a grocery store—it’s a community hub, a sustainability champion, and a beacon for food lovers who give a damn about where their groceries come from.

At a community meeting tonight in Clairemont tonight, Jan. 28, a proposal will be made that calls for an emergency moratorium on all infill construction projects in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones within the City of San Diego until comprehensive risk assessments and mitigation measures are completed.

Paul Coogan, Secretary of the Community Planning Committee will present the proposal at the Cathy Hopper Clairemont Friendship Center at 4425 Bannock Avenue, San Diego, 92117. The meeting runs from 6:15 to 8:00 p.m.

All community members, stakeholders, and media representatives are encouraged to attend. (Click HERE to Join the Meeting Via Zoom)

By Mat Wahlstrom / Special to the OB Rag

My attention was caught by a throwaway statement in Wednesday’s [1-15-25]  Union-Tribune article about dangerous street intersections and Vision Zero. Vision Zero is a public policy initiative that has taken priority over and bled into the other programs and initiatives being pursued by the City of San Diego.

For those who don’t know, Vision Zero has as its singular goal “to reduce traffic fatalities to zero within a decade.”

As such, one might understandably think that this initiative merits applause and anticipate these street intersections will become less dangerous. Yet readers were greeted with this airy admission: “Vision Zero hasn’t reduced injury crashes or fatalities since it was launched in 2015. But instead of giving up, city officials said they plan to spend more money on safety features and other initiatives.”

I, too, needed to reread that sentence to be sure I understood it correctly.

The intersection of Rosecrans and Kurtz streets in the Midway District will soon get new safety features including flashing beacons, countdown timers, pedestrian-friendly delayed-green stoplights and crosswalks aimed to boost visibility.

The intersection is one of seven road locations considered among the most dangerous in San Diego. The upgrades are part of the city’s 10-year-old Vision Zero campaign, which intends to reduce traffic deaths to zero.

Each of the locations had five or more crashes in 2023. The city’s Transportation Department annually studies intersections and street segments with the most crashes involving pedestrians and injuries.

Traffic engineering teams are now designing and scheduling the safety improvement projects for five intersections and two street segments.

Along with Rosecrans and Kurtz, the other dangerous intersections or segments are:

By Kelly Davis / SD Union-Tribune/ January 13, 2025

San Diego County Sheriff’s Office policy requires weekly sanitation and hygiene inspections at its jails, but a report by an environmental health specialist, hired by attorneys suing over jail conditions, questions whether that policy is being followed.

“Based on the conditions observed during my inspections, it is doubtful if meaningful sanitation and hygiene inspections are occurring,” Debra Graham wrote in her Aug. 7 report.

From Stanford University / Science Daily /January 14, 2025

Beneath sandy beaches, microbes filter chemicals from groundwater and safeguard ocean health. A Stanford-led study reveals that sneaker waves provide a lens to explore the impending impacts of sea level rise on beach hydrology, chemistry, and microbiology.

A hidden world teeming with life lies below beach sands. New Stanford-led research sheds light on how microbial communities in coastal groundwater respond to infiltrating seawater. The study, published Dec. 22 in Environmental Microbiology, reveals the diversity of microbial life inhabiting these critical ecosystems and what might happen if they are inundated by rising seas.

“Beaches can act as a filter between land and sea, processing groundwater and associated chemicals before they reach the ocean,”