Category: Health

An enlarged tree branch fell in the children’s park at Ebers and Saratoga on Sunday, August 10, which could’ve seriously injured or even killed any of the 12 toddlers playing at the park that day had they been right underneath it.

A local parent immediately contacted the city — as well as the Rag about this. He had one question: “Have recent city budget cuts affected tree maintenance and surveillance at public parks?” He wrote:

This is unacceptable, this is the only child’s park in Ocean Beach. This deserves more awareness and exposure.

He wrote:

My wife and I are very shook by what we saw (we saw it fall in real time) Because they were many children, including our own, in that area minutes prior. We have many family pictures picnicking under that tree as well. It just adds to a growing sentiment we have about the city falling short in protecting its residents, including its most vulnerable—children.

By Blake Nelson / The San Diego Union-Tribune / August 26, 2025 

Several residents of San Diego’s designated camping areas for homeless people are suing to overhaul the program, alleging that both lots are dirty, lack quality food and remain unequipped to aid those with disabilities.

The safe sleeping sites hold hundreds of two-person tents near Balboa Park. Each location is “rodent infested” and a “fire hazard,” according to the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court. They are also host to “excessive and dangerous heat” during part of the year as well as “cold and flooding in the winter,” weather that often leaves belongings “saturated with mold.”

All in all, “living conditions in the Camps” are “untenable, seriously threatening and aggravating mental and physical health,” the filing says.

The lawsuit asks a court to force reforms on the effort.

by Drew Sitton / Times of San Diego  / Aug. 24, 2025

A controversial 453-unit housing development has been unanimously approved by the San Diego County Planning Commission in Harmony Grove, an unincorporated rural residential area in North County sandwiched between Escondido and San Marcos.

Several neighbors spoke out at the meeting over the controversial proposal because it does not include a secondary access road to escape wildfires.

They fear entrapment if a wildfire came from the direction of the single dead-end road.

Winding approval
The project, Harmony Grove Village South, had been before the commission in 2018 and later approved by the Board of Supervisors.

However, CEQA litigation from the Sierra Club, residents and other parties had delayed construction.

The board rescinded approval in 2022 after a trial court sided with residents. However, a state appellate court then found all but one aspect of the project complied with CEQA.

The same project as in 2018 is now headed back before the board for the third time,

By Abbie Black / CBS8 / August 15, 2025

What appears to be pristine water in San Diego Bay is hiding a disturbing secret beneath the surface.

University of San Diego graduate students working with a local company have discovered alarming levels of heavy metals, microplastics and invasive species in Mission Bay and San Diego Bay using innovative cleanup booms made from recycled materials.

The partnership, called 24/7 Blue, pairs USD students with San Diego-based Earthwise Sorbents to test sustainable cleanup technology that could serve as a model for ports and marinas nationwide.

“It’s unbelievable the amount of material that we are picking up,” said Dr. Michel Boudrias, who chairs USD’s sustainability task force. “We’re picking up 30 times the amount of heavy metals that are typically out there.”

The 5-pound, 10-foot booms are placed in local waters for two to three months before being replaced. When flipped over, the seemingly clean-looking devices reveal the extent of contamination lurking in San Diego’s waterways.

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / Aug. 20, 2025

Some residents are pushing back at plans by AT&T to install a 30-foot “faux eucalyptus” cell tower with 12 antennas, 9 radio units and a large ground equipment box.

Those opposed to the proposal, at 2315 Soto St. on public land in Collier Park, have requested that the city deny a conditional use permit for it in its fenced-off area. They’re arguing that public land is inappropriate to build a new cell tower on, disguised or not, contending it should be used for another purpose.

Disguising cell towers as trees, often eucalyptus or other types, helps them blend into the landscape, making them less noticeable and reducing the feeling of visual clutter. Faux trees are primarily used to address public concerns about visual pollution and to make towers more acceptable in residential areas.

These disguises help mitigate the aesthetic impact of cell towers, which can be perceived as eyesores, especially in areas where they might clash with the surrounding environment.

Eric Law, chair of the Peninsula Community Planning Board, speaking for himself, said residents oppose the cell tower project for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that some view Collier Park as a sacrosanct recreational community resource.

Law noted AT&T, a publicly traded company, not a public utility, is seeking to upgrade its 5G telecommunications system in the area.

The controversial Harmony Grove Village South (HGVS) project is front and center again, because the San Diego County Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the project during their August 22nd monthly hearing, starting at 9:00a.m.

Opposition to the project has only grown in recent months, stemming mainly from its lack of a secondary wildfire evacuation route. The housing development, as currently designed, would only have one viable evacuation route for 453 new homes and 70 legacy homes, in violation of current state fire code. The previous Board of Supervisors allowed the developer to bypass this crucial fire code requirement by identifying an unimproved dirt path that might serve as a backup evacuation if the main exit were blocked. That vegetation-choked path, which winds through numerous properties, is impassable by passenger vehicles and cannot reasonably be used for evacuation in an emergency.

Petition Against Tower Has Nearly 400 Over 500 Signatures

By Tyler Faurot / Point Loma – OB Monthly SDU-T / July 29, 2025 

A project that seeks to install a 30-foot cell tower in Point Loma’s Collier Park is drawing community opposition as it goes through the city of San Diego’s review process.

The city Development Services Department sent a notice of application dated July 2 to nearby tenants and homeowners.

According to the notice, the project proposed by AT&T would install a 30-foot-tall “faux mono-eucalyptus” tree that would house 12 antennas and nine remote radio units, or transceivers. The plan also calls for a 395-square-foot ground-mounted equipment enclosure surrounded by landscaping and screening, as well as a 30-kilowatt generator, cables and protective fencing.

Scott McCaskill, chairman of the Advocacy Committee for the Ocean Beach Community Foundation, said community consensus seems to be against the project, largely because of its proposed site in Collier Park at 2351 Soto St., near the eastern boundary of Ocean Beach. The park’s neighbors include the Ocean Beach Community Garden, Greencliff Apartments and dozens of other homes.

by Salvador Rivera / Fox5 / Aug 7, 2025 

During the last whale season along the Pacific and down into Baja California, 92 gray whales died as a result of climate change, according to Fey Crevoshay, communications director for Wild Coast, an international environmental group based in San Diego.

Crevoshay admitted the exact cause of death for the whales has not been identified, but said many whales were observed to be very malnourished and thin during the last whale-watching season.

A 69-year-old man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after being struck by a vehicle early Sunday morning, August 3 in the Midway District neighborhood, authorities said. (News reports placed the accident in the “Point Loma Heights” neighborhood.)

According to the San Diego Police Department, the collision occurred around 3:22 a.m. in the 4100 block of Sports Arena Boulevard.

Investigators say the man was crossing the street mid-block when he was hit by a southbound 2015 Toyota RAV4 driven by a 28-year-old woman. The driver reportedly did not see the pedestrian before the impact.

Emergency responders transported the victim to a local hospital for treatment. His current condition has not been released. Police have not said whether drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.

By Allison Depner

You’ve probably seen me traipsing around O.B. wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt or dress along with dangly earrings while using my white cane.  Lately, I’ve added sunglasses and a hat to my ensemble. As a blind person, I’ve encountered all sorts of behaviors from sighted people. The most common reaction I encounter is unsolicited help in the form of taking hold of my arm. Other reactions include telling me that a curb is coming up and silencing a conversation until I pass. I’ve also been accused of pretending to be blind or being able to see more than I let on.

Until yesterday, these mostly benign behaviors have been somewhat easy to ignore and could be attributed to ignorance. Sure, sometimes I feel annoyed, and respond with impatience and irritation.  I try to remind myself that the average well-meaning person on the street probably doesn’t know that telling me about the upcoming curb actually distracts me from focusing on the tactile information that I receive from my cane. I realize that most people truly want to help, and their hearts are in the right place.

So, what happened yesterday?

Voice of San Diego reporter MacKenzie Elmer explains that when pressed as to why SeaWorld’s summer fireworks are still with us after saying they had to go a year ago, City Council President Joe LaCava answers, “It’s complicated.” Here is Elmer’s full report:

After some nesting birds nearby died last year following back-to-back pyrotechnics for the Fourth of July, the most powerful person on the San Diego City Council said SeaWorld’s nightly summertime fireworks have got to go.

Almost a year later and Mission Bay is still booming night after night.

When asked what San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava’s done so far to make good on his promise, his office told me it’s complicated.

By Carl Yaeckel / Op-Ed San Diego Union-Tribune / July 31, 2025 

Climate change is coming.

This year climate seems to be the forgotten topic (there are a few other things going on!). But ignoring something doesn’t make it go away.

Have you heard that due to climate change impacts (fire, flood, storm) in “10 or 15 years, there are going to be regions of the country where you can’t get a mortgage,” quoting Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s recent testimony to Congress?

Did you know during the last year the United States spent 3% of its GDP on recovery from climate disasters? That’s a trillion dollars. Throw in increased insurance premiums and the figure goes higher. Oh, about insurance, particularly homeowners insurance: it’s required for a mortgage and the price is going up, particularly in areas more prone to fire, flood and storm. Premiums have doubled since 2017.

Got kids (or grandkids)? A recent study published in the journal Nature concludes that “children and young people born in the present decade face exposure to heatwaves, crop failures, floods, droughts, wildfires and tropical cyclones, in a way that their parents and grandparents never did — and that this applies pretty much anywhere in the world.”

Climate change is coming, even if you believe, hope or pretend it isn’t.