Category: Media

By Kate Callen

Shortly before 12 noon on May 4, I nearly killed a bicyclist.

After I made a full stop at the 30th & Upas four-way stop sign, I stepped on the accelerator to start moving through the intersection. Within seconds, a speeding cyclist ran the stop sign meant for him and flew past the front of my car.

If I hadn’t slammed on the brakes, I would have crashed into him, and it’s doubtful he would have survived. News stories would have accurately reported that I hit him. Biking activists would have vilified me as a murderer.

This awful scenario happens all too frequently in neighborhoods across San Diego because too many cyclists think stop signs and stoplights are a nuisance.

They will literally bet their lives that they can frighten motorists into giving them the right-of-way that the law doesn’t grant them. If they lose the bet, motorists who obeyed the law can still face criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits.

Bicycling activists often talk about “bike safety.” For them, the term seems to mean that drivers should always be deferential to the needs of cyclists.

Back in the late Sixties in San Diego, there was only 3 local TV stations and TV 8 (the future CBS8) was one of them. And one of their best reporters was Harold Keen – who later wrote for San Diego Magazine during its hey-day.

In this video from the past, Keen does a story on OB’s Inbetween, a youth drop-in center on Newport Avenue. Come inside to check it out.

Are the County Supervisors executing a term-limits power play? Yes, says the U-T Editorial Board.

Everything You Need To Know About The San Diego Padres New Husband-And-Wife Owners — SanDiegoVille has the story.

San Diego’s roller coaster effort to cement long-term public control of Liberty Station is broken down by David Garrick at the U-T. It is becoming steadily more bitter as city officials and the complex’s largest leaseholder trade barbs and accusations.

Kayla Epsteinand and Madeline Halpert / BBC / April 29, 2026

Former FBI Director James Comey surrendered to authorities on Wednesday to face a charge alleging that an image he briefly shared on social media posed a threat to the life of President Donald Trump.

It stems from an Instagram post shared by Comey, which contained a photo of seashells on a beach arranged to read “86 47”. “Eighty-six” is a slang term for “get rid of”, and prosecutors allege it encourages violence against Trump, the 47th president.

Comey denies any wrongdoing, saying he did not know what the numbers meant, and accused the prosecution of political motivation.

This marks the second time the justice department has brought criminal charges against Comey, a longtime critic of Trump.

Comey did not enter a plea or speak during his brief appearance at a Virginia court on Wednesday afternoon.

by Brooke Binkowski / La Jolla Village News / April 21, 2026

Ernest McCray has never stopped to consider whether something is impossible. There’s only one thing he says he isn’t capable of.

“I tried to be a grown-up — for about 30 seconds,” he said, laughing.

McCray’s life began in Arizona to a hardworking, music-loving family in which he was raised mainly by his mother. It was a different country then, and Tucson was still enforcing Jim Crow-style segregation.

“I was born in 1938, to give you an idea,” said McCray. “They didn’t desegregate schools in Tucson until I was going into the 8th grade. We couldn’t eat at the white restaurants, we could only swim in the ‘colored’ swimming pool.”

He found refuge from Jim Crow in the local library. Despite the animus enforced from above, McCray knew he had a voice — and he used it.

“That’s how I make it in the world,” he said. “Through writing and being an educator and a teacher and a principal…  I use my writing in school communities and working with kids and turning them on to writing.”

Above all, McCray said, he does everything he can to make the world a kinder place.

The surreal mural on the east side of the Template in OB has gotten some attention. Richard Schulte runs a photo-dominant blog called cool san diego sights and recently shared a series of pics of the mural.

Signatures by the artists appear to be MURALIS, ART BY SOUP, EATHDUST, HAILYBROUS, JORDINDAVID, and SOURCE!

Here are Shulte’s pics, including details:

As we finish up the four weeks of Trump’s war on Iran, it’s time to offer some key observations from Southern California.

• Trump is lying about the pace of “negotiations” with Iran in order to garner more time to accumulate more US troops in the region; this is all his “art of the deal” — confuse your opponent, make them believe you’re about to “walk away” from any talks on resolution. In this case, Trump has confused the American people, the mainstream media, European allies — even his own staff at the White House. On Thursday, he stated he didn’t care about the negotiations.
• Trump earned his TACO nickname, and changed his deadline for Iran, again for the third time. Trump Always Chickens Out.
• Despite Trump’s claims the “war is already won”, Iran and Israel continue to shell each other — even escalated attacks — and more deaths and injuries mount. Iran says 1400 of its people have been killed in the strikes over the last 4 weeks.
• The Straits of Hormuz are still closed to Iran’s adversaries. Trump couldn’t get any NATO or other ally to help free the fiery zone.
• Troops, marines, sailors are on their way; there’s reports that Trump has ordered another 10,000 soldiers to the region; there’s two ships filled with sailors and marines on their way to the Mid-East; there’s a brigade of the 82th Airborne Division on its way.
• America is on the verge of experiencing the largest protest — No Kings — in history, tomorrow March 28th as over 7 million people will be marching and protesting. Thousands of San Diegans will be protesting at the  22 events just in San Diego County. (The Rag will host an all-day liveblog about the events.)
• San Diego is about to enter the war big time: thousands of Marines from Camp Pendleton have been mobilized to go; many of their families live in the San Diego region, and if there are boots on the ground, expect to see many locals on casualty lists.

Olivia Rosane / CommonDreams / Mar 14, 2026

In a move one administration critic described as “fragrantly unconstitutional,” Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr wrote a post on social media on Saturday that appeared to threaten the broadcast license of any media outlet that reported information concerning President Donald Trump’s war on Iran that the president did not like.

“Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions—also known as the fake news—have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not,” Carr’s message began.

Carr also shared a screenshot of a Trump post on Truth Social complaining about “Fake News Media” coverage of five US Air Force refueling planes that were reportedly hit and damaged in an Iranian missile strike on Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia.

“The[is] is the federal government telling news stations to provide favorable coverage of the war or their licenses will be pulled,” wrote Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on social media in response to the post. “A truly extraordinary moment. We aren’t on the verge of a totalitarian takeover. WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. Act like it.”

Judge Admonishes SDSU Lawyer for “Uncivil Comments” about Publisher

From La Prensa News Desk / March 11, 2026

La Prensa San Diego Publisher Arturo Castañares won a lawsuit last week against San Diego State University over its failure to release documents related to an offer for a free sports arena in Mission Valley, with the judge admonishing the University’s lawyer for making “uncivil” comments about Castañares in an official court filing.

The lawsuit was filed after SDSU failed to provide records Castañares requested about a trip to Texas taken by SDSU officials and local civic leaders to tour the University of Texas sports arena in Austin in May 2021.

That trip was scheduled by Oak View Group, which developed the Austin arena, and had indicated interest in entering into a similar deal with SDSU to build and operate a sports arena alongside Snapdragon Stadium at no cost to the University.

The disclosure of the trip and subsequent offer of interest from Oak View Group helped put important events regarding a potential sports arena in San Diego into perspective.

After the trip to Texas in May 2021, California State University trustee Jack McGrory, who went on the trip, met with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria to relay the news about a potential deal for a new sports arena.

McGrory later testified in a sworn deposition that Gloria asked him not to pursue the offer because he was about to move forward with an alternative plan at the existing site of the Sporta Arena in the Midway area of the City.

by Roberto Camacho / Times of San Diego • Palabra / March 1, 2026

In a typically cool spring morning in San Diego, muralist Daniel Angeles took a phone call that chilled his soul: His first piece of public art in the city’s Latino-centric Barrio Logan, a large mural called “Birth of the Hummingbird,” was being erased. He clicked on a live video and was horrified that his masterwork was being painted over — the vibrant colors of his mural gradually covered by mundane, muddy browns.

Angeles called the property’s owner, who, years before, had allowed him to paint the building’s street-facing wall and fence. Angeles thought of invoking the California Art Preservation Act and the federal Visual Artist Rights Act of 1990, written to help artists preserve public works. Damaging or modifying works without an artist’s consent can be unlawful. Property owners are supposed to send notice three months before demolition or repainting, giving artists time to remove, document or relocate their murals.

“I was shocked. I couldn’t do anything since I was at a music performance for my oldest daughter,” Angeles said. “She was performing when this youngster FaceTimed me as he was running toward the wall to show me a couple of guys were going over the art with rollers and dark paint. I couldn’t believe that it was going away.”

Angeles, who paints under the name Dentlok, is a celebrated muralist, tattoo artist and long-time resident of the neighborhood. He said he received no warning before his prized mural was erased.

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