Category: Media

The Rag is in the beginning of our annual summer fundraising campaign. And we have to express that keeping the Rag alive does take donations from our readers and supporters, for afterall, a free press is not “free.”

We do have expenses — our annual server bill is $900 alone; plus subscriptions, utilities — and we actually pay many of our writers and reporters for reporting on community meetings and on issues that no one else covers.

Here are 17 Reasons to Support the OB Rag:

1. Our Progressive Politics: we stand for the Constitution, liberty and democracy and for a woman’s right to choose. We are diametrically opposed to Trump’s banana republic and against his authoritarianism — which include plans for the end the Rule of Law. We’re for racial and gender equality.
2. We Oppose the Direction that San Diego Has Been Going: the current city leadership has been taking us down the wrong road in its imposition of un-democratically-forced rules that threaten our neighborhoods, like the Bonus ADU program and Complete Communities.
3. We have been at the forefront of forcing reforms to the ADU policies along with neighborhood groups and networks like the San Diego Community Coalition and Neighbors for a Better San Diego.
4. We stand for more affordable housing, renters’ rights and an end to the corporate ownership of our housing stock. We also find it unacceptable that large campaign donors can reap the award of public land and development projects.
5. We also focus on maintaining parks and the public common — such as Mission Bay Park. We broke the story of how the Mayor wants to break off sections of Mission Bay and make them “surplus lands” in order to lease them to commercial and private interests in order to bring a cash-strapped city with a few bucks.

It’s that time of year again — the OB Rag’s annual summer fundraising campaign during the first weeks of August.

We only do this once a year, so help us reach our goal of $3,000 over the next two weeks. We do have bills — just our annual server bill is $900. We do pay some of our reporters and writers a small amount, usually $35 to $50 an article, plus we have subscription bills and utilities to pay.

Over this last 2 years, the Rag has become the online platform for dissatisfied residents of many neighborhoods besides Ocean Beach and Point Loma – disgruntled and frustrated fellow citizens upset with the leadership of the city, the mayor’s Bonus ADU program, the so-called Complete Communities plan  – that people from University City, Encanto, Middletown, Hillcrest, Talmadge, Pacific Beach, Linda Vista, Clairemont — the list keeps growing – are increasingly using the Rag to sound off.

For some reason, locals are having trouble gaining traction about their travails from the mainstream or other online media and press. So, increasingly, they look to the Rag for support.

As the Rag is a platform of and for citizen journalists, we are often there for them.

So, help us keep it going.

How to Support Us

Send us a one-time donation via our PayPal button on the homepage; or

Become a regular monthly contributor; via PayPal on the homepage; or

Send us a check made out to “OB Rag” to:

OB Rag
PO Box 7012
Ocean Beach, CA 92167

Here are more reasons to contribute to the OB Rag:

Editordude: The Rag broke this story days ago July 9th to be exact —  and ever since we’ve tried to find a mainstream reporter to take the story up; none of the reporters we contacted took it up or even responded. Now, finally, today, July 29, Jeff McDonald at the UT has written about this — but of course does not give the Rag any credit, which is par for the course. Mainstream reporters hardly ever accredit us. But at least McDonald quotes Donna Frye, who wrote several articles about this “surplus land” issue in Mission Bay here at the Rag. 

By Jeff McDonald / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 29, 2025

Mayor Todd Gloria is asking the City Council to declare three parcels in city-owned Mission Bay Park surplus land — the first step toward redeveloping over 28 acres of commercial property in the popular open space.

The idea, according to the city’s Economic Development Department, is to remake a conference center, two marinas and a restaurant into new community assets — in particular a hotel, as called for in the city’s long-term master plan.

“The city leases portions of Mission Bay Park to various entities,” Director Christina Bibler wrote in a report to the council. “The city intends to issue requests for proposals to offer three of these properties for separate long-term ground leases, with the goal of facilitating redevelopment.”

The affected parcels include the 23-acre Marina Village banquet and conference center on Quivira Way, the 4.5-acre Dana Landing Marina on Ingraham Street and just under an acre nearby that hosts the Sportsmen’s Seafood restaurant and various water-related businesses.

In her report to the council, Bibler notes that the Surplus Lands Act is generally used as a tool to develop affordable housing.

But the Mayor’s Office said the city is not seeking to build homes on the properties. Instead, the city wants a new hotel at the site of the banquet center.

By City News Service / July 22, 2025

The owner of the Los Angeles Times plans to take the newspaper public in the next year, allowing it “to be democratized and allow the public to have ownership of this paper,” he said.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong told Jon Stewart on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” that he was “working through” the move with “an organization that’s putting that together right now.”

Soon-Shiong did not say whether the deal would involve an initial public offer to sell shares of the company or another investment arrangement.

By the SD Union-Tribune Editorial Board / June 27, 2025

As expected, the San Diego City Council on Tuesday [June 24] approved a plan to begin collecting its new monthly fee for trash collection — with a base rate of $43.60 a month — from 226,000-plus single-family homes in lump sums twice a year via property taxes. Approved on a 7-2 vote, it was billed as a cost-saving measure that would avoid $18 million in start-up costs and $10 million in annual operating expenses for an in-house city billing system.

But did the seven supporters take seriously the criticism the plan faced? As Steven Cordova, a North Park retiree who owns a small multi-unit building, wrote for U-T Opinion, “The fee becomes part of the secured tax obligation on your property. If unpaid, it’s treated like a delinquent tax — risking liens, penalties and collections.”

The idea that residents should trust a city coming off 30 years of grievous management errors to handle this task well is hard to believe. Nevertheless, that’s the expectation of Councilmember Joe LaCava, who dismissed the idea that this change could imperil any homeowners.

Raul Campillo, one of the council “no” votes along with Henry Foster, struck the proper note of caution: “I have significant concerns about the impact this method could have on low-income property owners, particularly seniors and homeowners on fixed incomes.”

The following link is a critical incident video regarding an officer-involved shooting that took place on May 31, 2025, in OB at Bermuda Avenue and Ebers Street, offered to the public by the SDPD.

By Washington Post staff / June 18, 2025 

What do Americans think about the possibility of launching U.S. airstrikes against Iran, which President Donald Trump threatened this week unless the country dismantles its nuclear program? The Washington Post texted more than 1,000 people on Wednesday to ask.

The poll finds Americans opposing U.S. airstrikes against Iran by a 20 percentage-point margin — 45 percent to 25 percent — with a sizable 30 percent saying they are unsure.

Two-thirds of Democrats oppose airstrikes against Iran but Republicans are not as united, with 47 percent supporting strikes while 24 percent oppose them and 29 percent have no opinion. Independents lean against the strikes by about a 2-to-1 margin, with more than one-third unsure.

Editordude: The Rag’s Paul Krueger broke the story 4 days ago that longtime San Diego Union-Tribune opinion editor Laura Castañeda was fired right after her editorial on ICE raids was rejected by her bosses. Here, KPBS — without a mention of the Rag — interviews her for more details of this saga. 

By Amita Sharma / KPBS / June 17, 2025

The news media’s status as a check on the government is under attack. And in some cases, it’s unfriendly fire from within news outlets.

Longtime opinion editor Laura Castañeda says she’s a casualty. She says The San Diego Union-Tribune fired her last week shortly after managers nixed an editorial on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles. She spoke with KPBS.

Laura, describe the circumstances that precipitated your firing last week from the Union Tribune.

By Paul Krueger / June 13, 2025

Laura Castañeda, a long-time journalist with a distinguished career in print and broadcast reporting, has been terminated from the Union-Tribune Editorial Board after five years as Deputy Editor/Editorial & Opinion.

Castañeda announced her departure on her Facebook page:

“On the same day a team editorial at @sdutOpinion on the ICE protests was pulled, my position as deputy editor was suddenly eliminated. Thanks to the SD community for allowing me to lift your voices. My next chapter TBA. I won’t be silenced and neither should you.”

The U-T’s staff bio of Castañeda, which was still posted this morning, says this:

By OB Rag Staff / June 6, 2025

In a decision that has received international “only in California” news coverage, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that San Diego’s 2024 ban on teaching yoga at shoreline parks and beaches is unconstitutional.

The judgement, which reversed a lower court ruling that yoga instruction is not protected by the First Amendment, clears the way for plaintiffs Steven Hubbard (aka “NamaSteve”) and Amy Baack to resume their free oceanfront yoga instruction.

Dear Rag Readers:

I just got off the phone with Editordude Frank Gormlie. He certainly didn’t sound like a man who just underwent successful bypass surgery. Frank’s voice was clear, and his mood was mellow. But knowing Frank, that mood is transitory: The morning after his surgery, he was irked because the hospital was late in bringing him breakfast. It was an early and sure sign that he’s well on the road to recovery.