Category: Ocean Beach

Congrats to Mandy Havlik, Andrew Hollingworth, Angela Vedder, Dee Brown, Cori Salcido, who were elected to 3 year seats on the Peninsula Community Planning Board and Eric Law and Robert Jackson who were elected to 1 year seats.

Here are their bios from the PCPB website:

Mandy Havlik

Mandy Havlik currently serves as the First Vice Chair of the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB). She is a proud spouse of a disabled Navy Combat Veteran, a mother of two, and an indigenous woman who is a registered member of the Timiskaming First Nation in Canada. Most recently, Mandy ran for City Council in District 2 in 2022 and is preparing to run again in 2026.

If You Want Chaos and Community — Go to Dog Beach in OB

By Lark Coryell / DogTrekker

San Diego has more dedicated dog beach than any city in California, and most of the state doesn’t even come close. Four beaches allow dogs, each with a different personality. Here’s what actually matters at each one.

Dog Beach, Ocean Beach
This is the original. Dog Beach at the south end of Ocean Beach has been off-leash since 1972, making it one of the first legal off-leash beaches in the country. It runs about a quarter mile from the Ocean Beach Pier south to the San Diego River channel.

The sand is wide and flat, the surf is mellow, and on any given Saturday there are 100 dogs doing exactly what they want. No permit, no check-in, no nonsense. Just park on Voltaire Street or Abbott Street, walk past the sign and unclip the leash.

Two things to know: the river mouth at the south end gets murky after rain, and the parking situation is genuinely bad on weekends. Go before 10 a.m. or accept your fate.

Fiesta Island
If your dog needs to run — really run — this is the place.

Evan Anderson, who was the driver that struck and killed Tracy Condon, a woman experiencing homelessness while she sat on a curb in Ocean Beach has pleaded guilty to hit and run and possession of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas.

Anderson on November 4, 2025, was doing some kind of parking maneuver around 5 pm with his Toyota Tundra pick-up on Santa Monica Avenue, when he hit Condon on the curb next to her wheel chair. Anderson fled, leaving his truck at the scene, but returned a few hours later and was arrested.

On Friday, March 27, the prosecutor said that Anderson will receive a sentence of two years’ probation, “with custody to be decided at sentencing.”

The maximum sentence is four years and six months in state prison, though San Diego Superior Court Judge Marian Gaston announced the defendant would likely receive probation. A year in jail is also possible. The Deputy District Attorney said he did not sign the plea agreement, which sometimes occurs if the prosecutor doesn’t agree with the terms.

Three OBceans were just elected in March to the OB Planning Board.

There were Tracy Dezenzo, Greg Diamond, and John Phillips. Here are their bios from the OB Planning Board website:

Tracy Dezenzo

Tracy Dezenzo has been an OB Planning Board Member since September 2018, has been a renter/resident in the OB “war zone” for over 25 years. She lives with her husband Bill, who volunteers as the OB Holiday Santa, and her aloof rescue pup Gia, who has zero impulse control but nevertheless is a good doggo.

She served as Commissioner on the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture from December 2019 to September 2024 and served on the Board of Directors of the Ocean Beach Town Council from September 2021-January 2024 as Chair of the Advocacy Committee for 2 1/2 years and Corresponding Secretary for 9 months.

Recently, Voice of San Diego ran their “Politics Report” on the “the Midway Rising Bill” (behind a paywall) where they begin with this dire warning:

“…San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has entered the nothing-is-going-to-get-in-our-way phase of the plan to build a new arena and more than 4,000 new housing units on the city’s nearly 50 acres of land along Sports Arena Boulevard in Midway.”

The focus of the report was on how different politicians and parties reacted to State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson’s brand new bill to exempt Midway Rising from the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.

The Voice noted, “The city is officially sponsoring the legislation …that would exempt the Midway Rising project from the sometimes onerous requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. Inadequately fulfilling the requirements of CEQA and getting sued has caused countless projects delay or failure.” (We take exception with this phrase, “the sometimes onerous requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA”.)

Because this project — the Midway Rising redevelopment of the Sports Arena area — has been so contentious and important to our readers, we here recount the responses to this bill by both politicians and wannabe pols — like those running for District 2.

City News Service – CBS8 / March 29, 2026

8 to 9 Million Turn Out Nation-Wide

A record 94,000 people participated in 21 separate “No Kings” protests in San Diego County on Saturday, organizers said Sunday.

The events were part of a nationwide day of demonstrations against the Trump administration that organizers were calling the largest single-day pro-democracy turnout on record.

The local crowds surpassed the more than 80,000 who mobilized countywide in October 2025. The figures came from an independent analysis by Take Action San Diego, the same organization that provided independent crowd counts for both previous No Kings events in San Diego, organizers said in a statement Sunday.

“What a day! San Diegans from every neighborhood, every background, and every generation came together around one simple truth: There are no kings in America,” said Wendy Gelernter, lead downtown organizer for Take Action San Diego.

By Gabriella Rubio

Picture this; it is a sunny, 75-degree, Sunday afternoon in Ocean Beach, San Diego, and ‘The Bubble’ is filled with energy, from beachy visitors to vibey nomads in colorful, flowy clothing. Whether you’re passing through or an Obcean through and through, the energy here is unmistakable. And if you’re fortunate enough to spend time in this place, you’ll be changed by the community and connections built on kind smiles, music, art, and care.

Now, meet two local goddesses, Kat Hall and Nicole Pino, whose hearts are full of love for their community and a desire to give back. They are collaborating with The Template, a local café on Niagara Avenue run by owners Marie and Shine.

Combining Kat and Nicole’s creative souls with Marie and Shine’s welcoming space, they are hosting their first Free Market, a donation-based, community-driven pop-up store. Locals can come together to bring gently used items such as clothing, books, décor, kitchenware, non-perishable foods, or even baked goods. Those who donate may, in turn, take what they need for free. They ask participants to give items they’d love to trade and to take only what they need. This event will be held at The Template on 5032 Niagara in Ocean Beach on Sunday, March 29th, from 12:00 to 5:00 pm.

5:40 pm PDT Hey everybody, we’re wrapping up our live blog, as we’ve been blogging since 8:15 this morning.

Chula Vista

5:29 pm PDT Byron Morton sent a batch of shots from Chula Vista. He reported, “There were about 250 people of all walks on the sidewalks bordering the intersection of H Street and Broadway. There were multilingual signs. Protesters blew whistles and cars honked constantly in passing.”

Downtown
4:26 pm PDT Even though the main march downtown San Diego has been over for hours, photos are still coming in to the Rag. Here’s a batch of the Waterfront march taken by OBcean Charles Landon:

By Alex Cheney / CBS8 / February 25, 2026

The City of San Diego is actively searching for a new management company to operate the temporarily closed Tecolote Canyon Golf Course, a beloved community asset that has served local golfers for decades.

A trunk sewer line construction project forced the closure of the course, which cuts through the property and has rendered multiple holes unplayable. Construction equipment now occupies the fairways where golfers once played their rounds.

American Golf had managed the course for the last three decades before its lease expired. The city viewed the expiration as an opportunity to close that chapter and pursue a new operating plan.

“American Golf was on an expired lease, so it was the natural time to close out that former chapter, look toward the future investment of the course, and look toward a new operating and management plan,” said Jim Mandler with the City of San Diego.

by Mariana Martínez Barba / Voice of San Diego / March 24, 2026

Four years ago, researchers found that if the city opened a safe parking lot for 24 hours every day, it would be easier to connect individuals who live in their vehicles to services.

Those findings encouraged city officials to make a safe parking lot in Mission Valley available 24 hours a day. That meant people staying at the lot didn’t have to leave during the day and could access services with more flexibility.

Other city safe parking lots have curfews, which means people staying there need to leave during the day and return at night. That’s the case at a safe lot near the airport, known as H Barracks. The city is currently in a legal battle with homeless individuals over the lot’s accessibility.

One of the researchers involved in the previous study of city safe lots still believes it’s more effective to open lots for 24 hours every day. City officials maintain that H Barracks is working as is and are not considering changing its operation hours. Homeless advocates say extended hours could help, but San Diegans living in their cars aren’t sure.

Editordude: Two Rag writers take aim today at the city’s rollout of the new trash cans. South OB Girl and Abby (who has writes under Csaba) offer their observations.

The New Gray Trash Cans Have Arrived

By South OB Girl

The new City of San Diego Environmental Services gray trash cans have arrived.  The new policies regarding trash have been a topic of much discussion in previous months and there was much discontent expressed by many San Diegans when the ballot measure was voted into action and approved by San Diego voters.  Some residents have filed a lawsuit in response and it is still under way.  For those still deciding about their trash service and trash can options, here are links to contact City of San Diego Environmental Services and calculate your potential trash fee, which would be part of your taxes: