Category: San Diego

by Debbie L. Sklar / Times of San Diego /  Feb. 13, 2026

For centuries, the waters off Point Loma have been both a gateway and a hazard. Guarding the entrance to San Diego Bay, the peninsula’s rocky shoreline, strong currents, and frequent fog made it one of Southern California’s most treacherous stretches of coast. Long before visitors hiked the bluffs, ships ran aground, illicit cargo moved ashore, and maritime stories took root — shaping local lore that still echoes today.

Navigation into the bay was especially tricky in the 19th century. Fog often concealed the narrow channel, and early nautical charts were incomplete. The Old Point Loma Lighthouse, first lit in 1855, was intended to guide ships safely to harbor. Instead, its high perch often placed the light above the fog, making it invisible to sailors below. Mariners complained, and shipping records indicate that vessels continued to run aground. In 1891, the lighthouse was abandoned and replaced by a new light positioned closer to the water.

Shipwrecks along the Point Loma coast were not uncommon. Many vessels were damaged rather than destroyed, but contemporary newspaper accounts describe ships stranded on shoals, cargo lost overboard, and crews rescued under dangerous conditions. These incidents reinforced the area’s reputation as a hazardous passage — a reputation that lingered even as navigation tools and harbor improvements advanced.

The current rain and wind storm badgering San Diego has brought snow to the local mountains,  particularly Mt. Laguna. Here is a photo from the webcam at Mt. Laguna Lodge taken Monday, Feb. 16, at approx. 10:25 p.m.

Ping ‘Jenny’ Gao took money from three firms; ‘went on a spending spree’ and bought $2.9 million home in Point Loma and new Porsche

City News Service — SDU-T / February 13-14, 2026

A San Diego woman who pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $8.5 million from her employer and laundering the money was sentenced Friday to five years and three months in prison.

Ping “Jenny” Gao took money from three aviation investment firms and then “went on a spending spree” that included buying a $2.9 million home in Point Loma and a $160,000 Porsche, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

She was later sued by her employer in San Diego Superior Court upon discovery of the theft and prosecutors say her defense case included repeated acts of perjury, in which she claimed the actual owner of the companies was an imposter.

OB Rag Staff

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, February 18: Rules Committee, 9:00 a.m.

Agenda:

Item 2: Amendments to Council Policy 000-21 related to the submission of ballot proposals by the Mayor, the Council, City Hall departments and public agencies.

Why it matters: This proposal by Councilmember Raul Campillo would place new requirements on City-initiated ballot measures

OB Rag Staff Report

KPBS Public Media informed staff on February 11 that News Director Terence Shepherd and Director of People and Culture Lois Hoyt were “no longer with” the station. The internal memo signed by Chief of Staff Travis Tamasese gave no specifics about why both senior executives were leaving simultaneously.

“We recognize that these announcements, though unrelated, are being shared at the same time and reflect a great amount of change for the organization,” Tamasese wrote. “Please know that we are here to support you if you would like to touch base.”

Shepherd joined KPBS in 2022 after eight years as news director of WLRN, Florida’s major public news outlet. He previously worked as a business editor at the Miami Herald.

In a potentially explosive development, the largest private section union in San Diego has called upon the state-wide teachers’ union to withdraw their recommendation of Richard Barrera for California State Superintendent. Barrera is a trustee with San Diego Unified School District.

On February 9, the head of Local 135 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, Todd Walters, sent a letter via email to David Goldberg, president of the influential state-wide California Teachers Association (CTA) requesting that they withdraw their recommendation of Barrera because of his role and lack of leadership during a scandal involving his former union, UFCW Local 135. It revolves around a former UFCW Local 135 president, Mickey Kasparian, who eventually resigned in disgrace.

In a statement from the Local, the main claim is explained:

“At the center of UFCW Local 135’s concerns are Barrera’s record of leadership, specifically his refusal to speak out or take meaningful action during” the scandal.

“Barrera served as Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW Local 135 and was widely regarded as Kasparian’s right-hand man. During a period marked by public allegations and lawsuits involving sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation, Barrera remained silent. He did not publicly challenge Kasparian, nor did he stand with the women who came forward.”

Residents of Pacific Beach and other coastal communities who’ve been watching all the maneuverings by the developer, the city and mainline politicians around what’s called the PB Tower, (or Turquoise Tower, or Project Vela), may have become familiar with the name Matt Awbrey.

Matt Awbrey has become the face of Kalonymus, the developer of the Tower as he’s assumed the role of spokesperson. Just recently, Awbrey informed city planning officials that Kalonymus planned to resubmit plans for the 23-story structure, at 970 Turquoise Street, for a fifth time. This was in response to the ongoing dispute between the city and Kalomymus.

The in-your-face aggressiveness by Kalonymus over the past year has no doubt thrown Awbrey into a position that he savors, because this is not the first controversy he’s headed up. In a statement about the Tower to the Union-Tribune, Awbrey asserted, confidently:

It’s another one of those ‘who’s minding the store?’ moments for San Diego leaders. As U-T reporter David Garrick explained yesterday, Feb. 11:

A new audit finds San Diego is missing out on millions that could help close budget deficits by not aggressively updating leases for Fairbanks Ranch Country Club and seven other golf facilities the city owns but doesn’t operate.

Does this sound familiar? As Balboa Park patrons are forced to shell out good money for parking and as city residents are saddled with new fees, Garrick reports this new “audit criticizes city officials for allowing expired leases to remain in place at below-market rates despite golf’s sharp increase in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic began.”

Again, we ask, ‘which middle manager(s) making 6-figures are/ were overseeing this branch of the city?’ How did these highly-paid servants of the public miss this? Who is/ was responsible for regular site inspections of the golf courses? Who allowed the leases to lapse, causing them to remain in place “at below market-rates”, costing San Diego millions?

The budget crises have forced city leaders to contemplate cutting back on hours and services of our public recreations centers and public libraries, and to attach fees to just about every service or resource the city “provides”.

Here’s the rest of Garrick’s report:

In fiscal year 2024, the city earned only $3.7 million in lease revenue despite the eight properties — seven courses and the Lake Hodges driving range — generating $34 million in revenue.

Coastal Commission Public Hearing Keeps Getting Postponed

By Quinn Welsch / Courthouse News Service / January 30, 2026

For Ghalia Mohder, “the Knoll” is more than just a tall mesa overlooking the view at Scripps Coastal Reserve along the San Diego coastline.

Mohder said that she first discovered the Knoll — and its historic view of the Pacific Ocean — during her freshman year at University of California San Diego after a resident advisor in her college dorm took her and some other students for a visit.

“To be honest, ever since then I was hooked,” she said. “You could always go to La Jolla Shores and it’s a big public place, there was partying going on. This place was different. The people who went there, went there to enjoy the scenery.”

But public access to the Knoll has remained locked behind a gate along the mansion-lined La Jolla Farms Road community since 2020.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the university has restricted public access to a small number of people each week. Despite the passage of six years and multiple scheduled public hearings at the California Coastal Commission, that access remains limited and no resolution is apparent.

The Scripps Coastal Reserve is a nearly 1,000-acre reserve owned by UCSD that encompasses sandy shores, coastal canyons, a steep cliff face, and mesa top — the latter of which is known as the Mesa or Knoll, which overlooks a sweeping view of the ocean.

The beach remains open from other publicly available locations, but the gate to the Knoll and its beach trail has remained locked, despite the state’s lifting of Covid-19 precautions in 2023.

Efforts by the California Coastal Commission to bring the UCSD’s future plans for the Scripps Coastal Reserve to a public hearing have so far not been fruitful. Starting in 2024, permit applications for a managed access plan have been submitted, extended and withdrawn, only to start all over again.

By Julie Gallant / San Diego Union-Tribune / January 22, 2026

Poway’s Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center is considered a sacred site in part because the rock formations around it resemble animals.

A large rock outcropping at the top of the 5-acre site off Poway Road includes shapes in the form of a turtle, bottlenose dolphin and a small whale, Docent Robert Holton pointed out on a Jan. 17 tour.

According to the Native American creation story, humans and animals and even plants are all equal, Holton told his group.

“They spoke to each other and had a partnership in life,” he said. “What might be natural shapes in stones reminds them of animals and makes this site sacred.”

The interpretive center at 13104 Ipai Waaypuk Trail is one of five Kumeyaay villages in the Poway area. The others are on Garden Road and at Sycamore Canyon, Twin Peaks and Sabre Springs.

Kumeyaay translates as “those who face the water from a cliff.” Ipai indicates their territory. The Kumeyaay indigenous people who live north of the San Diego River in Mission Valley are known as Ipai and those who live south of the river in Southern California and Baja California, Mexico are referred to as Tipai.

By Kate Callen

The tangled saga of Mayor Todd Gloria’s decision to monetize parking in Balboa Park has taken a new and interesting twist.

San Diego County Crimestoppers is offering up to $1,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest of suspects “responsible for multiple cases of felony vandalism to [52] parking pay stations located throughout the Balboa Park area.”

According to the February 10 announcement, “The suspect(s) vandalized the parking pay stations by spray-painting them, shattering the digital glass screens, and placing a sticky substance on the keypads deeming them inoperable. The total cost of the damages is estimated to be approximately $77,500.”

The notice included pictures of kiosks that were smashed and covered with paint. It didn’t include pictures of a more common sight around the park: kiosks plastered with Todd Gloria name tags and petitions for Gloria’s recall.

The OB Rag does not condone vandalism. Destroying public property as a form of protest is counterproductive.