Category: Ocean Beach

By Lori Saldaña

On October 13 the San Diego city council voted to approve the Seaworld master plan and expansion update on Mission Bay, across the river from the Sports Arena/ Midway region. This includes plans for a hotel and below-grade parking

To the Park’s credit, they did an excellent Sea Level Rise (SLR) assessment and vulnerability analysis- but it’s already nearly 7 years old.

Also- the park is counting on the city to maintain adequate access roads as sea level rises around Mission Bay:

“Based on the information above, a SLR of 3.3 feet has been identified as the threshold for exposure in Planning Area 2 (Guest Parking). In order to maintain uninterrupted access to SeaWorld facilities, adaptation measures outside of the leasehold would be required. As impacts to public infrastructure (i.e., roads) are anticipated, it is likely that before SLR has reached 3.3 feet, adaptation measures that look to address inundation of the public roads will have already been implemented by the City.” [emphasis added] From here

The Council approved this plan – and if they had read this SLR analysis, they did so with the understanding the city will be taking “adaptation measures” to maintain “uninterrupted access to SeaWorld facilities.”

Does the city have an adaptation plan and money for maintaining these access roads? SeaWorld Drive is already showing signs of SLR stress. It’s in very rough shape. Groundwater pressure is already creating problems in this area. It has lifted up the road and stressed the asphalt and road bed on Sea World Dr.

Experience more than 35 Ocean Beach restaurants, breweries, and wine bars in one night.

Brandon Hernández / San Diego Beer News / October 11, 2026

Each fall, national trade organization, the Brewers Association, puts on the country’s largest beer fest in its home base of Denver, Colorado. Dubbed the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), the multi-day event has been taking place since 1982, and while it has seen great growth over much of the past four decades, there has been a drop in attendance in recent years. Because of that, this year the event was reduced from three days to two and moved from its longtime host venue, the Colorado Convention Center, to an outdoor venue in Denver’s Ruby Hill neighborhood called Levitt Pavilion. That’s a lot of changes for such a longstanding, tradition-driven event, but one aspect of GABF that hasn’t changed is its professional brewing competition component.

Medals garnered at GABF remain the most coveted awards for American brewers. Whether members of expansive production teams at macro-sized beer companies or armies-of-one brewing nano-sized batches at small neighborhood breweries, anyone can find themself taking the (nationally televised) stage to accept a gold, silver or bronze acknowledgment of their exceptional craftsmanship. It’s a key reason so many industry professionals not only flock to Denver to staff the event and attend the awards ceremony, but also show up many days in advance to assist in the extensive judging process. GABF is a big deal, and even though it has an international sister competition called the World Beer Cup (AKA: “The Olympic of Beers”), for U.S. brewers, no brand of bragging rights eclipses those earned in Denver.

The 2026 edition of GABF included 7,267 entries (including ciders) in 100-plus style categories from 1,300 U.S. breweries and cideries. Those entries were judged by 225 certified judges and experienced veterans from the brewing industry (including professionals from San Diego County beer companies). This year, there were six style categories which garnered 150 entries or more.

Jason Cha Became PLNU Dean of Students in March 2025

By Alena Dasha Peethala – Vanderbilt University/ The College Fix / October 9, 2026

Some Point Loma Nazarene University alumni are raising concerns about the Christian university’s dean of students, alleging he told student leaders that identifying as being “in Christ alone” reflected “white privilege.”

The controversy centers on PLNU Dean of Students Jason Cha, whose 2023 dissertation at Azusa Pacific University is titled “Raging Waters of Whiteness: Addressing White Evangelical Racism in Higher Education.”

Cha’s dissertation examines the “lived experiences of diversity professionals addressing whiteness at Christian colleges” through frameworks including “critical race theory, critical white studies, and evangelical postcolonial studies.”

Cha became PLNU’s dean of students in March 2025. In this role, he oversees several areas of student life, including multicultural and international student services, new student engagement, and residential life.

Two of Cha’s most prominent critics are PLNU alumni Lidiya Harvey and Isabella Simmons, who say his hiring reflects the university’s broader progressive direction.

In late August, Harvey and Simmons published a joint Instagram post alleging that during an official 2025 student leadership training, Cha told students that if their identity was “in Christ alone,” they “have white privilege.”

By Kate Callen

An outspoken supporter of San Diego City Council District 2 candidate Richard Bailey has used her position as a Nextdoor moderator to sanction a Bailey political rival on the social media platform, according to documentation obtained by the Rag.

Margaret Virissimo, a founder of the pro-Bailey group San Diego United Communities, engaged in a tense Nextdoor interaction on March 20 with D2 primary candidate Mandy Havlik. What began as an argument escalated into an official Nextdoor reprimand.

In a screenshot of the exchange sent to the Rag, Virissimo said, “Mandy, you are proving to be exactly who you are, a disrespectful hot head.” Havlik responded, “You’re upset because you are being challenged with the truth.”

Virissimo then filed a formal complaint against Havlik for violating Nextdoor rules. And in her authority as a volunteer moderator on the platform, she voted with Matt Capron, another pro-Bailey moderator, to issue a warning to Havlik about using unsuitable language.

From Voice of San Diego / October 12, 2026

With fewer than two months left in the exclusive negotiating agreement between the city of San Diego and the Midway Rising development team, the City Council will begin discussing the actual deal staff has hashed out.

The Land Use and Housing Committee will consider the proposed lease and details of the deal at a special meeting Friday, Oct. 16.

Friday, October 9, city staff released its report on the proposal, which you can read here. The city claims it will be the largest affordable housing project in the state of California.

Come inside to find all the No King events from across San Diego County. Volunteer-led events will help residents register, check their registration status, and make a plan to vote ahead of the November election

On Saturday, Oct. 17, volunteers across San Diego County and Temecula will hold 21 “No Kings: Vote Early” events, marking what organizers call the next phase of the “No Kings” movement: channeling the power communities have built over the past year directly into the ballot box.

No two communities are the same, and each location has designed its own event around its own neighborhood, from library walk-to-vote routes to mutual-aid donation drives, as part of a broader election-protection effort to help every eligible voter register, check their status, and make a plan to vote before the November election. The Oct. 17 events take place just two days before California’s Oct. 19 voter-registration deadline.

Events are scheduled in Alpine, Balboa Park, Borrego Springs, Carmel Valley, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Fallbrook, Julian, La Jolla, La Mesa, Mira Mesa, University City, Ocean Beach, Oceanside, Ramona, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, Temecula, Valley Center and Vista.

BACKGROUND 

Unlike past “No Kings” mobilizations, there is no single mass rally planned for Oct. 17 in downtown San Diego. The upcoming “No Kings: Vote Early” day is designed differently on purpose.

By Debbie L. Sklar / Special to the OB Rag

Before San Diego had satellites, cellphones, or the internet, the Navy was sending messages across the Pacific from a small wireless station high on Point Loma.

The station used a Massie-type spark transmitter — primitive by modern standards but part of a revolutionary technology that allowed ships and shore stations to communicate without wires. It was placed in service on May 12, 1906.

Getting the equipment to Point Loma was an undertaking. According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the transmitter was unloaded at San Diego’s Santa Fe wharf and hauled up the peninsula by horse-drawn wagon. The journey took nine hours, and the equipment was installed in a small building overlooking the ocean.

The station initially used the call sign TM. It was later assigned NPL, a call sign that remains associated with the Navy’s San Diego radio operations.

The new station helped extend the Navy’s communications network along the West Coast. Wireless allowed operators to exchange messages with ships at sea, reaching far beyond the limits of ordinary wired communications.

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

These photos were taken around 10 am on Saturday, October 10, by former OBcean Scott Kessler.

From Pt Loma & OB Democratic Club

Meet & Greet with Nicole Crosby Tuesday, October 13, 5:30pm
Join Gale and Jim Hill and get to know Nicole, candidate for District 2

Pt Loma & OB Dems clubmember Gale Hill and her husband, Jim, are hosting a meet and greet with District 2 City Council candidate Nicole Crosby on — Tuesday, October 13, at 5:30 PM

Gale & Jim have invited us to join them to meet Nicole, hear her perspective on the issues facing District 2 and San Diego, and join the conversation.

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.