Category: Ocean Beach

The Black — OB”s legendary headshop — is back.

Apparently, the shop’s longtime owner, Kurt Dornbusch, has partnered with a group of unidentified new owners, who wish to keep the place going. Just weeks ago, Dornbusch announced he was retiring after 57 years and was closing the store. Yet, things changed.

As SanDiegoVille reported:

Both Dornbusch and the incoming ownership group have confirmed that new buyers have secured the naming rights to The Black and are currently finalizing a lease agreement to continue operating the store at its longtime home on Newport Avenue.

Tessa Balc at the Times of San Diego dropped a stunning article on Sunday the 8th of March, by declaring there soon could be a Walmart at the former RiteAid property in Ocean Beach.

The new owner of the property is seriously considering putting in a Walmart Depot — but it wouldn’t be a “walk-in” store to buy anything but a location for delivery drivers to pick up wares and products to distribute nearby.

An application to install one was submitted to the City of San Diego recently and, as Balc reported:

“describes Walmart Depots as non-branded facilities, stocked with high-demand delivery items. Based on the description, it would not be open to the public, instead serving only authorized delivery “drivers/shoppers.” [Rag emphasis.]

Let’s back-up by returning to Balc’s article.

She reports that Murfey Construction Company is a developer who bought the RiteAid property in January, whom she also describes as “a well-known developer in the beach neighborhoods ….” (See below.) Balc in addition stated the company “is also considering a housing development.”

Balc also maintains the City staff is on board with this idea, having already reviewed the idea and reported back to Murfey that it did not run afoul of any development restrictions.

Assemblymember Ward Introduces Legislation to Protect Mission Bay Park and an Update on City Leases for Dana Landing and Sportsmen’s Seafood

By Donna Frye

It’s a nice change to write about something that is good, respects the public’s concerns, and protects and preserves dedicated public parkland. It’s not a usual occurrence which makes it all the more welcome.

The good news is that Assemblymember Chris Ward introduced legislation (AB 2525) on February 20, 2026 to exempt all of Mission Bay Park from the State Surplus Land Act.

Even though it has to go through various legislative committees and the governor needs to sign it to become law, I am optimistic that Mission Bay Park will be protected and preserved as the voters intended it to be. It will also eliminate any conflicts between the San Diego City Charter and the Surplus Land Act.

For those who may not be aware of why this is such good news, here is some background about how we got here.

The San Diego Community Coalition publishes this email bulletin to keep our members and the general public informed about important Council and Planning Commission hearings and other city public meetings.

Wednesday, March 11: Audit Committee, 9:00 a.m.

Agenda:

Item 2: 2026 High Risk Re-Review: Performance Audit of The Fire-Rescue Department’s Emergency Medical Response Process

Why it matters: The auditor’s report flagged several problems, chiefly “slow turnout times across all stations … crews do not leave the station to respond to an incident for about 4 minutes and 20 seconds after a medical call is received, on average.” Auditors recommend that the department “track all phases of the emergency dispatch process and evaluate and standardize dispatch times to achieve accountability.”

Wednesday, March 11: Public Safety Committee, 2:00 p.m.

Agenda: 

Item 5: Electronic Bicycle Safety Regulations Pursuant to AB 2234

Why it matters: In response to an increase in head trauma and orthopedic injuries related to e-bike use, “many involving children and teenagers,” this ordinance would seek to prevent accidents by “establishing a minimum operating age for younger riders, reinforcing helmet requirements, and clarifying passenger limitations.”

From OBCF

Submit your Candidate Statement Today! Voting begins on Thursday, April 9th.

Dear OB Community,

The Ocean Beach Community Foundation is opening nominations for our 2026 Board of Directors election. We have 5+ open seats, and we want to fill them with people who genuinely love this town and want to help keep it running.

Here’s what that actually means:

When the OB Town Council dissolved, OBCF stepped up to carry on its traditions — including events that have been part of this community for over 40 years. The Holiday Parade, the Pancake Breakfast, the Restaurant Walk, the Food & Toy Drive, the Santa Experience at Veteran’s Plaza, the Holiday Auction — these don’t happen without a small group of volunteers who show up and do the work. That’s us. And we need more of us.

Ken Abbott, 61, started his cross-country trip from Ocean Beach Wednesday ten years after receiving a heart transplant.

By Shannon Handy / CBS8 / March 4, 2026  

A man who received a heart transplant a decade ago is embarking on a 3,000-mile bicycle journey from San Diego to St. Augustine, Florida, to raise awareness about the critical need for organ donors.
Ken Abbott, 61, started his cross-country trip from Ocean Beach on Wednesday after recovering from a life-threatening cardiac condition that nearly killed him in 2016. The journey commemorates ten years since his transplant and aims to educate people about the importance of organ donation and transplantation.

Abbott was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition years before his heart began to fail. In 2016, he walked into Mount Sinai’s emergency room, where doctors gave him only a 5% chance of survival.

From UC San Diego Today Now / March 5, 2026

The growth form of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is composed of shoots known as stipes instead of branches. From one parent holding fast to the hard bottom might come as many as 150 stipes.

Typically the tips of the biggest kelp bob at the ocean surface and calm the waters, appearing as patches of gold visible from land — a sign of the good health of the ecosystem that it anchors.

But the kelp as San Diego knows it is in trouble.

In January, a team led by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography released an unmatched history of kelp forests off La Jolla and Point Loma. Together spanning nearly 19 square kilometers (7.3 square miles), they are the largest on the United States West Coast. Amassed over more than 40 years, their story reveals a progression of steady decline that transcends typical cycles of crash and recovery.

Now, say the researchers, competing organisms usually cast in shadow by the kelp are emerging as winners. The giant kelp are losing, but so might be myriad other organisms – fishes and humans included – as another natural order is disrupted by climate change and other new circumstances.

The downsides range from a decrease in the catch available to recreational fishers in San Diego to the loss of the nurseries that sea stars and open ocean fishes use to protect their larvae. Even the beach wrack – the large piles of decaying kelp that wash up after storms – is diminishing. Though the absence of the pungent kelp will be a relief to some beachgoers, those piles attract the kelp flies that are an important source of food for seabirds.

The first District 2 candidate forum organized by the League of Women Voters San Diego is tonight, Thursday, March 5  –    5:30-7:30 PM  at the Cathy Hopper Clairemont Friendship Center, located at  4425 Bannock Ave, San Diego 92117   This Forum is also hosted by the Clairemont Town Council.

Seven candidates have confirmed their attendance, and several more may come.

From SOHO / March-April 2026 Newsletter

San Diego’s historic districts and individually designated resources are not abstract planning concepts. They are neighborhoods, cultural landscapes, and places that tell the story of our region and its people. Once protections are weakened or removed, the impacts are often permanent. That is why careful environmental review and adherence to adopted community plans are essential.

On February 24, 2026, the San Diego City Council voted to approve the so-called “Preservation and Progress Package A,” following extensive public testimony in opposition, and repeated warnings regarding the measure’s violations of law. Environmental review and preservation safeguards exist to prevent irreversible harm to historic neighborhoods. The Council chose to ignore those safeguards.

Many San Diegans left City Hall that day disheartened, not because preservation lost a political fight, but because the Council chose to advance destructive changes to our historic preservation ordinance without the environmental review and public accountability the law requires.

Citywide opposition was overwhelming. Since the City released the Preservation and Progress initiative, over 600 written comments were submitted, with roughly 12 to 1 opposed. Twenty-eight community planning groups voted no, along with 12 city wide historic organizations. The City’s own Historical Resources Board rejected it twice, in two separate votes. Preservation organizations representing thousands of residents across San Diego urged caution, transparency, and lawful process.

Yet Package A passed. Council President Joe LaCava acknowledged the breadth of public concern and voted against the measure. The remaining members present, who numbered only 5, as a third of the council was missing in action, voted in favor.

Historic District at Risk, Seawall Debate, and a Call for a “Seat at the Table”

By Jillian Butler

March 3rd, 2026–The Ocean Beach Planning Board met Tuesday night, March 3, at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center on Santa Monica Avenue. Only seven residents attended in person, with a handful more joining via Zoom — a modest turnout for discussions that could significantly impact OB’s historic character and coastline.

Notably absent were representatives from City Council District 2, State Senator Akila Weber, Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, and County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer. In a meeting centered on preservation, development, and public safety, their absence did not go unnoticed.

Mayor’s Rep Catches Flak Over “Package A” Passage

Randy Reyes, representing Mayor Todd Gloria’s office, informed the board that City Council had passed Preservation Package A. The new policy could affect OB’s  Emerging Cottage Historic District — potentially making it harder for the district to qualify for historic protection.