Category: Media

By JW August / The SD Monitor

The work of a dozen artists, Black, white, Latino, can now be seen on large murals painted on underpasses along Imperial Avenue in San Diego.

The paintings speak to the history and the culture of the neighborhoods that surround them.

The new artwork is visible to anyone driving on the Imperial Avenue underpass at Interstate 15, or on the same street at the 19th Street underpass at Interstate 5.

Some 280,000 vehicles a week pass these two sections of Imperial, according to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Census Program.

A ribbon-cutting commemorating the murals was held Saturday at 37 20th Street and included live music and refreshments.

Four years in the making, the project was made possible when Caltrans approved $270,000 in funding that would go toward paying artists from the local community to create colorful and vibrant impressions of their communities.

Here is a short video by Charles Landon on the 2026 Oktoberfest held in Ocean Beach.
Come inside.

By Kate Callen

In the 24 hours since the Rag published “Bailey Backers Get Belligerent,” the story has received over 1,400 views and 13 comments.

That’s not unusual for a political article. What is unusual is that the Rag has been contacted by several readers with stories of being harassed because they posted on the Nextdoor forum.

On September 22, local news reported that there had been four rapes and one sexual assault at or near the campus of California State University San Marcos. Given the heightened awareness these days of how universities treat such sexual assaults like at Cornell, one would think that the local media would be on top of the most up-to-date news of the cases, their investigations, possible suspects.

Yet it’s been a full two weeks since the last news report of the scandal in San Marcos. And according to our take on the media, there hasn’t been anything.

The rapes and assault all occurred within a month — three on campus and one at an on-campus residency hall.

The only announcement coming out of the university administration is what they’re going to do to prevent future assaults.

The four incidents of rape reportedly occurred from Sept. 5 to 18, Cal State San Marcos representative Jerry McCormick said.

• Sept. 5 incident happened at The Quad Residence Hall
• Sept. 6 incident happened at the University Village Apartment
• Sept. 13 incident happened at Black Oak Hall
• Sept. 18 incident happened at The Quad Residence Hall
• Sept 21 sexual assault in Black Oak Hall.

All incidents are unrelated, and in each case, the people involved knew each other, except for the most recent incident.

By Kate Callen

The OB Rag has always gotten pushback on its endorsements of political candidates and ballot measures. But our choice of Nicole Crosby for the District 2 Council seat has triggered an unusual backlash from supporters of Richard Bailey.

We expected individuals to post negative comments on our Crosby story — that comes with the territory. But we never thought an advocacy group like San Diego United Communities (SDUC) would use its Instagram account to vilify us as “the worst and cringiest newspaper in San Diego.”

We respect the work of SDUC in fighting for sustainable growth in residential neighborhoods. But we are saddened by their scorched-earth tactics. They don’t just disagree — they attack, and often in personal terms.

There was a photo accompanying today’s San Diego U-T report on last night’s District 2 candidate forum at the Point Loma Library. But the photo is very suspicious. It’s very unflattering of Nicole Crosby — it shows her with her face all scrunched up, furrowed brow as she jabs her finger while being very emphatic while Richard Bailey sits there cool as a cucumber (which he is not, by the way).

The photo is a reflection of the old sexist attitudes about women —

By Kate Callen

Here in San Diego, recent news stories about developer Christian Spicer have revealed that he is facing multiple lawsuits, loan defaults, forced property auctions, and code enforcement sweeps.

But readers of the New York Times aren’t aware of his collapse. From what they’ve been told, Spicer has been and always will be a pioneer in urban housing development.

Times housing reporter Conor Dougherty first wrote approvingly of Spicer in an October 2021 article headlined “Where the Suburbs End.” The story said that Spicer’s approach to stacking up accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on single-family lots was “a vision for California’s future.”

Dougherty described Spicer as “a mellow presence” who is “trying to make money by building new housing instead of by making existing housing more expensive.” In an October 2022 podcast about Spicer, Dougherty noted, “ADUs are just the first crack in ending the domination of single-family homes in California.”

Speaker Mike Johnson could block the seating of victorious Democrats in the House of Representatives on January 3.

By Marjorie Cohn / Truthout / September 23, 2026

After the 2020 presidential election that resulted in a clear victory for Joe Biden, Donald Trump tried mightily to overturn the outcome. He has persistently insisted to this day that he won and Biden lost. On January 6, 2021, Trump ordered then-Vice President Mike Pence to violate his constitutional duty to certify the duly elected electors before the joint session of Congress by counting only some of the electoral votes from certain states and returning the rest to state legislatures.

But Pence refused to obey Trump — and, in response, MAGA fanatics threatened him with execution by hanging. Court after court rejected Trump’s entreaties to reverse the results of the election.

Now it appears that Team Trump may be poised to undertake a similar tactic to prevent Democrats who prevail in the midterm elections from being seated in the House of Representatives.

In an explosive op-ed in The New Republic, former Judge Michael Luttig, a noted conservative, argues that the “catastrophic end [of U.S. democracy] could well come on January 3, 2027, when Trump and his Republican congressional allies wage the final battle in Trump’s determined war to corrupt America’s democracy and deliver a lasting political victory over the Democrats for his MAGA Republican Party.”

News Stations File for Emergency Ruling

From CNN / Sept. 24, 2026

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed an emergency request for a hearing Thursday morning after reporters were refused access to the White House despite a court order.

Federal Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s access to the White House after they were banned from the premises by President Donald Trump.

In his ruling, Kelly found the revocation of reporters’ press badges was done without “constitutionally adequate due process.”

The ruling — which comes just hours before Trump is set to welcome Chinese leader Xi Jinping — means journalists should now be able to return to work at the White House complex, but some staffers from all three outlets were refused entry.

CNN reporter Betsy Klein and a photojournalist were denied access to the White House grounds despite multiple attempts, including one after 9:00 a.m. One CNN producer was able to enter the White House using their pass after 6:00 a.m. It was not immediately clear why the person had been able to access the building.

From SOHO

EACH YEAR, SAVE OUR HERITAGE ORGANISATION honors the people, organizations, public agencies, and homeowners whose vision and dedication ensure that San Diego County’s historic places continue to enrich our communities. The People In Preservation Awards celebrate those whose work reminds us that while preservation is about protecting our historic places and buildings it is also about stewarding the places that tell our collective story.

The 2026 People In Preservation Award recipients exemplify preservation in its fullest sense. This year’s honorees include individuals whose decades of leadership have shaped the preservation movement, homeowners who embraced the responsibility of caring for significant historic residences, skilled professionals who restored architectural landmarks with outstanding craftsmanship, and public agencies that invested in the long-term future of some of San Diego’s most treasured civic buildings.

U.S. Military and Defense Dept. Have Hidden Extent of Damage to Aircraft, Buildings and Vehicles

By Cameron Adams / Daily Beast / Sep. 15 2026 

Bombshell leaked photos have exposed the extent of serious damage to buildings, aircraft and vehicles at U.S. positions in the Middle East after punishing attacks by Iran.

President Donald Trump’s war is now in its seventh month, with no clear timeline for when it might end. The damning photos contradict Trump’s repeated claims that the conflict has been “won” and that Iran’s military has been decimated by the U.S.

The photos, leaked to CBS News by active service members on condition of anonymity, tally with an inspector general’s report released on Monday. In it, the Pentagon watchdog revealed that “hundreds” of buildings used by the U.S. and “dozens” of aircraft had been damaged or destroyed by Iranian attacks.