Category: History

By Debbie Sklar / Times of San Diego / June 5, 2026

Back in the day, the sounds in Ocean Beach carried a little differently.

You might have been walking near the shoreline and heard it before you saw it — music drifting from wooden pavilions set directly on the sand, where people gathered to dance within sight and sound of the Pacific.

Surviving photographs from the early 20th century show more than one pavilion-style structure associated with beachfront recreation in the Ocean Beach area, including buildings identified as dancing pavilions and bathhouse facilities positioned near the shoreline.

These were not informal gatherings on open sand. They were designated structures built for recreation and public leisure at a time that Ocean Beach was emerging as one of San Diego’s growing coastal destinations.

Historical planning references and community records suggest the “New Ocean Beach Dancing Pavilion and Bath House” stood near the foot of Newport Avenue during the late 1910s. In addition to the primary pavilion structure, the beachfront area included related bathhouse and recreation buildings that formed part of an organized system of coastal leisure facilities.

Over time, the main pavilion was repurposed as a skating rink before eventually disappearing as shoreline development and land use patterns changed.

By Margot Sheehan / San Diego Reader Archives / Republished June 6, 2026

The Frontier Homes Housing Project — 3500 “temporary” dwellings constructed in the first nine months of 1944. One of the largest developments of its kind ever built in the USA — Designed to last for two years and enduring (parts of it, at least) for 20. Was there ever such a project, so grand, so ghastly, and so successfully erased from civic memory?

Don’t look for Frontier in the Journal of San Diego History or in any of those big picture books that Neil Morgan used to crank out. The only people who really remember the project are the people who lived there. Old timers who didn’t live there, even folks who drove past Frontier every day, will give you all kinds of cockeyed answers when you ask about it. “Oh, yeah, you mean those military barracks.” “Frontier? That was Navy housing.” Someone might even offer that 1950s misconception that Lait and Mortimer provide in USA Confidential: “a low-income housing project for Mexicans and Negroes.”

 Developer HomeFed’s 3,000+ Project Halted After Its Appeal Denied

by Dorian Hargrove / Times of San Diego / June 4, 2026

An appellate court on Thursday denied an appeal from the developer looking to build a massive, 3,008-home project in Santee known as Fanita Ranch.

In the ruling, the appellate court said that the city of Santee and developer HomeFed pushed the project through despite knowing it violated state planning and environmental laws.

The ruling now puts the massive residential development, which was first proposed in 2017, on hold, once again, and likely for good, barring any petition to the California Supreme Court.

The appellate court judges found Santee and HomeFed improperly tried to push the project through without the city amending its General Plan. The plan had allowed for the construction of 1,395 homes on 2,638 acres in Northern Santee.

By Katherine Clements / the Log / June 4, 2026

Tucked along the north end of San Diego Bay near Point Loma, Shelter Island continues to serve as one of the region’s most active centers for recreational boating, marine services, and waterfront culture. While longtime boaters still recognize the area for its marinas, sportfishing fleet, and working waterfront atmosphere, the harbor district continues evolving through new upgrades, changing boating trends, and increasing demand for marine services tied to modern boating lifestyles.

For many boaters, Shelter Island functions as far more than a place to dock a vessel. It has become a full-service boating ecosystem where owners can outfit, repair, provision, upgrade, launch, and maintain their boats within just a few blocks of one another.

That concentration of marine businesses continues making Shelter Island one of the busiest boating corridors in San Diego Bay.

Recent years have brought growing interest in electronics upgrades, stabilization systems, lithium battery conversions, modern navigation equipment, and comfort-oriented improvements designed to support longer stays aboard. Local marine businesses increasingly are seeing boaters invest not only in performance and reliability, but also in onboard livability.

As more owners use their vessels for extended cruising, overnight trips, and remote work flexibility, demand has expanded for upgraded interiors, refrigeration systems, air conditioning, solar integration, and connectivity improvements.

Reporter David Garrick at the Union-Tribune today wrote an article entitled, “Public displeasure with San Diego City Hall boils over in early election results.”

He wrote that the primary results “show notable voter backlash against San Diego City Hall, with outsiders leading in three out of four council races as some well-funded insiders struggled and incumbents fared worse than usual.”

He’s right, of course, as ‘public displeasure’ with City Hall has been building dramatically over this last year or two. All one has to do to survey this building displeasure — or even rage — is to peruse the pages of the OB Rag. From the devastating San Diego extremist rules for bonus ADUs, the increased fees for paid parking, the trash fee debacle to the paid parking in Balboa Park quagmire, the budget crisis and threats to libraries and rec centers, the cuts to arts funding, to the general sense by the San Diego public that city hall is trying to “nickel and dime” them to death.

This “displeasure” with downtown San Diego political leaders has finally surfaced in results that the establishment can recognize — voting tabulations and results.

By Dave Maass / Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF / June 2, 2026

People around the world are pushing back against the mass surveillance that undermines privacy and free expression for everyone.

One of the people who joined the fight for digital rights is EFF client Will Freeman. Will created the website DeFlock.me to reveal the dangers of automated license plate readers (ALPRs)—cameras that collect location data on every vehicle they see and upload that to a massive nationwide police database. Deflock.me turns the tables by enlisting ordinary people to track the locations of tens of thousands of ALPR cameras.

But when the police spy-tech company Flock Safety went after Will’s website with legal threats citing trademark law, he saw it for what it was: an attempt to silence critics and dim the light on mass surveillance.

by: Amber Coakley / Fox5 San Diego / May 31, 2026 

A new report released by San Diego Coastkeeper is raising concerns about ongoing water quality issues in Mission Bay, finding that pollution levels remain persistently high in several creek systems that flow into one of the region’s most popular recreational waterways.

The nonprofit environmental agency group published its 2025 Mission Bay Water Quality Monitoring Report last week, detailing two years of monthly water quality testing at 10 locations throughout Mission Bay. The findings point to both storm-related pollution and year-round contamination sources affecting the bay, particularly at Rose Creek and Tecolote Creek.

According to the report, bacteria levels surged across all monitoring sites following rainstorms. However, researchers found that both of the creeks consistently recorded elevated bacteria counts even during dry weather conditions, exceeding state recreation safety standards at least half of the time.

Environmental advocates say those findings suggest chronic pollution sources may be contributing to water quality problems.

By Theodoric Meyer and  Mariana Alfaro / Washington Post / June 3, 2026

The House passed a resolution Wednesday to block President Donald Trump from ordering further strikes on Iran, ratcheting up pressure on the administration to find a way to end the unpopular war.

The 215-208 vote marked the first time that such a measure has cleared the House or Senate on a final vote since the start of the conflict more than three months ago. The Senate advanced a similar resolution last month on a procedural vote, reflecting growing impatience with a war Congress hasn’t authorized.

The effort faces sizable hurdles, however, before Congress could force Trump to end hostilities.

In the House, four Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie (Kentucky), Tom Barrett (Michigan), Warren Davidson (Ohio) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania) — joined Democrats in voting to force Trump to end the war.

With the clarity of the morning after, the California Primary results of 2026 show that Xavier Becerra — the top Democrat in the slugfest that was the gubernatorial race — will be the first Mexican-American to be elected governor of the state. This will be the first time since 1846 when the last Mexican governor, Pio Pico, fled to Baja as American military forces swarmed into Alta California after war between the U.S. and Mexico began.

A bold assertion? Just look at the numbers. Steve Hilton, the top Republican, received 27.8% of the total vote to Becerra’s 25.4%. But if one adds up the percentages for Tom Steyer, Katie Porter and Mike Mahan — you get 28.3%, and coupled with Becerra’s, you have 53.7% of the vote available for Xavier. That smashes Hilton even with Bianco’s numbers — a total of 39.1%. (A Republican has not won a state-wide race in California for years.)

Absent some unforeseen upset or crisis or calamity, Becerra will journey to the General Election in November — and win it.

This victory 6 months away will result in the first Mexican-American elected as governor for California — the first time since the state has been in the Union.

by Katheryn Rhodes

On June 10th of this year, the California Coastal Commission will hear the case of Coastal Development Permit (CDP) 6-26-0202 (Item w17c-6-2026) to revise vehicle parking restrictions at 35 Coastal Public Parking Lots and public access areas with a consolidated CDP.

These consist of approximately 9,255 off-street parking spaces the City manages, including parking lots from Sunset Cliffs to the Torrey Pines Gliderport, and beach and bay access in Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Mission Bay Park, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla.

By Scott Lewis / Voice of San Diego / June 1, 2026

A campaign text message hit phones Friday with a striking claim: “No more overdevelopment! Richard Bailey will stop the Midway Rising mega-development, limit ADUs, and stop city hall politicians from destroying our communities.”

The mailer was paid for by Steven Richter, the resident who poured money into an effort to support Larry Turner for mayor in 2024,

This was interesting because we’ve tracked Bailey on Midway Rising for months now and, while he was at first saying pretty harsh things about it, he seemed to be settling into a it’s-not-my-favorite-but-what-are-you-going-to-do message.

Nearly 100,000 Impacted in San Diego County; 665,000 in California

New federal rules will go into effect Monday, requiring some San Diego County residents who receive CalFresh food benefits to meet work or volunteer requirements to get or keep benefits.

State-wide, the updated CalFresh work rules impact approximately 840,000 recipients, with state officials estimating that up to 665,000 Californians are at risk of losing their food benefits if they do not meet the new requirements.

The updated federal rules apply to certain Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents, or ABAWDs, who are applying for or renewing CalFresh benefits. Those affected are individuals who:

• Are between 18 and 64 years old;
• Are not living with a child under 14;
• Do not meet a federal exemption;
• Are physically and mentally able to work; and
• Are not pregnant or disabled.