Category: San Diego

By Kate Callen

When I moved to San Diego to live with my new husband, Neal Matthews, he drove me around town to show me many places he loved and a few he loathed.

In the first category, we visited The Black, where we bought a water pipe. “Ocean Beach,” he said, “is the real San Diego.”

The second category took us to another coastal stop: Coronado Shores, a cluster of ten 15-story towers that would be a strong contender for “most monstrous development on the Western Seaboard.”

Neal was a San Diego Reader reporter who had covered the saga of the Shores construction in the 1970s. “These eyesores,” he said, “are partly why California established a Coastal Commission.”

Thanks to the Commission, developers can no longer turn San Diego into Miami Beach by erecting massive towers that block off the ocean. But there are smaller ways that arrogance can commandeer public spaces for private benefit.

I saw an example on April 16, when I drove to Coronado to walk on the beach. I regularly park in a public access lot that Coronado Shores was required by law to provide. It fills up on weekends, but spaces are available on weekdays.

Today, Monday, marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when cannabis fans gather in clouds of smoke at music festivals, celebrate with all-you-can-deals on chicken wings and other munchies, and take advantage of pot-shop discounts in legal weed states.

This year’s edition provides an occasion for activists to reflect on how far their movement has come, with recreational pot now allowed in 21 states and the nation’s capital, as well as a national political climate that hasn’t moved as quickly on legalization as many expected.

Here’s a look at the holiday’s history.

Why 4/20
The origins of the date, and the term “420” generally, were long murky. Some claimed it referred to a police code for marijuana possession or that it arose from Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35,” with its refrain of “Everybody must get stoned” — 420 being the product of 12 times 35.

But a consensus has emerged that it started with a group of bell-bottomed buddies from San Rafael High School in California, who called themselves “the Waldos.” A friend’s brother was afraid of getting busted for a patch of cannabis he was growing in the woods at Point Reyes, so he drew a map and gave the teens permission to harvest the crop, the story goes.

During fall 1971, at 4:20 p.m., just after classes and football practice, the group would meet up at the school’s statue of chemist Louis Pasteur, smoke a joint and head out to search for the weed patch. They never did find it, but their private lexicon — “420 Louie” and later just “420? — would take on a life of its own.

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

Monday, April 20: City Council, 10:00 a.m.

Closed Session Agenda:

Item CS-3: Class action case alleges the City violated Proposition 218 by charging tiered water rates to single family residential water customers and seeks refunds. City Attorney’s Office will update Mayor and City Council on status and seek direction.

Why it matters: “Recent court rulings on tiered water rates are creating confusion and uncertainty at water agencies across California, including in San Diego, where one ruling will mean rate hikes for most single-family homes.” [Union-Tribune, March 13]

Item CS-4: The Council will meet with its negotiator on price and payment terms for potential long-term ground leases with Midway Rising, LLC, to redevelop the City-owned real property.

Why it matters: The state Court of Appeal ruled that the city failed to perform an adequate environmental review of the Midway-Pacific Highway area around the proposed project. The Supreme Court agreed and declined to hear the city’s appeal. So why is the city moving ahead to negotiate price and payment terms for the project without analyzing the environmental impacts and the scope of the court’s ruling?

From Adams Ave Association

On April 25, 2026, Adams Avenue will host the free musical walkabout, Adams Avenue Unplugged. This event features 90 live musical performances at 26 locations hosted by restaurants, bars and coffee houses lining a two-mile stretch of Adams Avenue.

by Debbie L. Sklar / Times of San Diego / April 8, 2026

At the foot of Mt. Woodson in Ramona stands a remarkable stone-and-adobe residence that locals affectionately call the Ramona Castle. Despite the nickname, there were no princesses or royalty here. The home was conceived and built as the private vision of Irene Amy Strong, a San Diego dress designer and entrepreneur who wanted a residence that combined craftsmanship, artistry, and harmony with nature.

A Home Born of Craft and Personal Vision
In 1909, Strong, a successful designer catering to San Diego’s social elite and known for sourcing fabrics from Europe, acquired the Woodson Ranch property. She commissioned architects Emmor Brooke Weaver and John Terrell Vawter to design a home reflecting the American Craftsman Movement, which emphasized handcrafted detail, natural materials, and integration with the environment.

Construction began around 1916 and concluded in 1921 at a reported cost of $50,000 — a significant investment for the era. The resulting structure spanned roughly 12,000 square feet, with 27 rooms over multiple levels. Thick stone walls, flagstone floors, and a great room with a 16-foot ceiling highlighted the home’s grandeur. Materials were sourced largely from the property itself, including eucalyptus, oak, and redwood, complemented by rock, adobe, brick, plaster, concrete, and stucco.

After years of lawsuits, delays, and archeological surprises, Oceanside’s Ocean Kamp surf lagoon is finally under construction near real ocean waves.

By Dashel Pierson / SURFER / Apr 7, 2026

Key Points

• The $45 million Oceanside wave pool project is finally moving forward after years of delays.
• The 92-acre mixed-use development will include a 3.5-acre customizable surf lagoon as centerpiece.
• Developers aim to open before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics; no official date yet.
• News about Oceanside’s inbound wave pool is, well, nothing new.

The San Diego, CA project has been in the works for years, in fact, but there’s been a number of setbacks that have left the manmade surf park – located near the coast, and one of the Golden State’s popular, although sleepy, surf towns – in something like limbo.

But now, it appears the $45 million project is moving finally moving forward.

Previously, some four years ago, the Ocean Kamp project had been announced and everything seemed to be moving forward. But then, it stalled. The project got embroiled in a number of hurdles – including lawsuits, city approvals, and the discovery of Native American artifacts on the site. And so, the bureaucratic hoops, as they say, were set.

Construction on the project is currently underway, and according to the video above, the narrator describes: “A massive surf lagoon is coming to Oceanside, San Diego, and they’re targeting to have it finished by the [Los Angeles] 2028 Olympics…the centerpiece of this project is a $45 million surf lagoon. It’s going to have a 3.5-acre wave pool, which produces perfect, customizable waves all year round.”

Firefighters Live in a Trailer

by Mariana Martínez Barba / Voice of San Diego / April 16, 2026

In 2015, construction workers plowed through an abandoned gas station in southeastern San Diego to make way for a new, temporary fire station.

The site, which would house a fire engine and an ambulance, was opening to improve emergency response times in the area after our reporting revealed people died of gunshot wounds and overdoses because emergency responders came too late.

Then-Mayor Kevin Faulconer applauded the city’s efforts at a press conference outside the soon-to-be station in 2015. He made a bold promise: “In two to three years, we will begin building a permanent fire station right here on this very spot.”

That never happened. Instead, Fire Station 51 is still a temporary fire station. The fire truck sits under a large tent and firefighters’ living quarters are a mobile trailer.

George Duardo, president of the San Diego City Firefighters IAFF Local 145, has worked more than 100 shifts as a firefighter at Fire Station 51. He said it does not meet the standards of a “modern fire station.”

By Katie Anastas / KPBS / April 15, 2026

The San Diego Unified School District will offer free after-school child care for all elementary and middle school students starting next school year.

The district’s PrimeTime program is already at all 144 elementary and middle schools in the district, but space has been limited. At the start of the 2025-26 school year, about 7,000 students were on the waitlist.

The demand has grown over the last several years, said Tobie Pace, the district’s senior director of extended learning opportunities.

“Working families in San Diego County need quality, safe places for their kids to go,” she said.

By Steve Rodriguez

Up until last week, even critics of President Donald Trump found it hard to accept that his war rhetoric could get much more extreme, or his threats against both enemies and traditional allies more outrageous. However, recent news about the Pentagon’s interaction with the Vatican, along with Trump comments made in the past few days that are highly critical of Pope Leo XIV, have proven such concepts wrong.

Fortunately for the Vatican, I contend the Pope, a critic of Trump’s actions and words related to the Iranian War, does possess a unique advantage he can employ to escape our president’s wrath.

According to reports in the Free Press, the Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S. was summoned in January to the Pentagon, where he was advised the Vatican needs to play ball with the Trump administration’s efforts in the area of national security. Pentagon officials supposedly asserted the U.S. has the military power to “do whatever it wants” and that “the Church had better take its side.” while making references to “the period in the 1300’s when the French Crown leveraged its military power to dominate the Avignon Papacy.” The threat sounds right out of The Sopranos, something akin to a thug character threatening …“Nice Sistine Chapel you got there, padre. Be a real shame if it should be damaged in a bombing.”

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / April 14, 2026

Three Point Loma High School students have swept first through third places in a districtwide public service announcement contest about school safety — and earned $2,500 for their efforts.

First place and $1,200 in prize money went to Seraphina Bush for her video titled “Life is Worth Too Much,” offering an anti-suicide message. Her work is especially poignant, given that a PLHS student tragically ended her life on campus in 2024 while a school football game was happening nearby. …

Second place, along with its $800 in prize money, went to Natalia Ritterman for “PSA.SSSS.” Third place and $500 in contest winnings were claimed by London Kwasizur for his video “Ebike.”

All three students are in the class of theatre instructor Anthony Palmiotto.

by Daniel Zeller  / CNM VIP Voice / December 2013

Introduction
Much has been written about the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, and this paper brings together from multiple sources a single summary of information that will be useful to Cabrillo National Monument staff, volunteers, and guests.

Interpretation Period
We interpret the lighthouse as being set in the year 1887, and we do this for two main reasons.

First, the lighthouse was painted white in 1887, and if we were to accurately interpret the lighthouse prior to that year, we would have to strip the white protective paint from the house and revert to the natural color of the sandstone blocks, exposing them to the elements and erosion. Obviously, this is not an option.

Second, by interpreting later in the life of the lighthouse, we have more history to look at than if we interpreted at the beginning of the lighthouse’s life.

The flag that we fly on the flagpole outside of the lighthouse has 38 stars representing the 38 states in the United States in 1887.

 The Old Point Loma Lighthouse

Site Selection
Chief Topographer, U.S. Coast Survey, A.M. Harrison recommended the location of the Point Loma Lighthouse near the end of Point Loma 422 feet above sea level during his survey in 1851.

There are still water quality advisories in effect at Dog Beach in OB all the way to 300 feet south of the River outlet, according to the County of San Diego Beach Water Quality website. This has been in effect since April 2th under the catch-all advisory: “Bacteria levels exceed health standards. Avoid water contact in the advisory area.”

This is the statement on the Water Quality Board website:

Advisories are issued to warn beach users as follows:
– A Bacterial Exceedance Advisory is issued when ocean or bay water sample results exceed State health standards due to high bacteria levels.
– A Precautionary Advisory is issued when DEHQ determines there is a potential for elevated bacteria due to dredging, lagoon opening or other sources in the vicinity of coastal areas.