Category: San Diego

By Teri Figueroa / San Diego Union-Tribune / December 8, 2025

Two years after a split San Diego City Council agreed to install 500 automated license plate recognition cameras throughout town, the technology is up for review — and it’s still controversial.

On Tuesday, the council is slated to look at the plate readers as part of a review of 54 surveillance technologies that police use, which also includes cameras officers wear on their uniforms and SWAT robots and tactical equipment.

San Diego police hail the readers as a force multiplier that helps solve crimes. In 2024, San Diego had 36 homicides in San Diego. Information gleaned from the license plate readers aided in nearly a third of the investigations and helped lead to six apprehensions, police said. Without the technology, a spokesperson said, four of those cases would not have been solved.

Police also note that since the system was launched, they have recovered $6 million in stolen property, including more than 400 vehicles.

Critics argue that the automated license plate readers create a mass surveillance network and intrude on civil rights. And as communities reel from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns, many fear the federal government could muscle access to local surveillance systems despite laws barring such. An Associated Press investigation published last month said the U.S. Border Patrol is using a license plate reader program that flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on travel routes and locations.

by Roberto Camacho / Times of San Diego / Dec. 3, 2025

Arturo González started his morning on Nov. 18 the same way he has most days since the beginning of last summer — patrolling the neighborhood looking for potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity — when he came across an unmarked vehicle similar to models commonly used by federal agents.

González, a San Diego-based social justice activist, first began documenting events during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protest when he was 17.

González is unlike many others who started community patrols as federal law agencies increased immigration enforcement. He is unaffiliated with any formal organization, a one-man shop who is well known locally for broadcasting his patrols to more than 422,000 followers on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Over the summer, González began covering protests in Los Angeles during the Trump administration’s massive surge of ICE raids there, which sparked days of protest and Trump deploying Marines and National Guard troops in response.

By OB Rag Staff Report

Much like Cabinet meetings at the White House, the San Diego City Council on Monday re-elected Council President Joe La Cava unanimously and with tributes that were downright worshipful.

The casting of ballots took mere minutes and seemed to follow a script where each Councilmember recited a different set of La Cava’s awesome leadership skills. Only Councilmember Henry Foster III declined to join the performance. Councilmember Jen Campbell was absent.

Excerpts:

Council President Pro Tem Kent Lee (made the nomination): “President La Cava has approached this role with thoughtfulness, integrity and transparency and has shown a willingness to work thoughtfully and collaboratively with the community.”

By Colin Sekerka / The Point PLNU / Dec 9, 2025

Human trafficking in San Diego is prevalent, profitable, horrific and about as American as apple pie.

Over the past year and a half, I researched, interviewed, wrote and presented on the topic of human trafficking in San Diego, statewide and international sociopolitical spheres. As a fourth-year political science major minoring in economics, I owe an incredible deal of research and topic-relevant guidance to Point Loma Nazarene University’s History and Political Science Department professors, especially in helping me pinpoint where this wicked sociopolitical economic issue ought to be addressed.

I’ve dedicated my time, discipline and skillset this semester to conducting an honors research project on the nature of human trafficking in America’s Finest City.

The conversation around human trafficking is drenched in anger, disappointment, sympathy for the victims and frustration. In the time I’ve spent researching, interviewing high-caliber personnel involved in regional anti-human trafficking efforts and mapping trends in previous political science courses, I’ve grown familiar with its origin. To tackle the issue and attempt to assess the root causes for its presence in San Diego, there are a couple of realities to keep in mind.

By Paul Krueger

Mayor Gloria and his minions routinely claim credit for accomplishments they didn’t make happen. In their latest PR contrivance, the “Todd Squad” is crowing about a national survey that shows 76 percent of San Diego residents are “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their city.

According to Gensler Research, San Diego ranks second in “satisfaction with their city as a place to live,” trailing only San Antonio, TX, with a 78-percent score. (Axios, which published the results, cautioned that “satisfaction” is a “broad” term, defined as “a general vibe check on how people are feeling about job opportunities, housing costs, safety, and other key urban issues.”)

Our ever-smiling Mayor immediately plastered his social media accounts with the upbeat poll results. Remember, this is the man who rammed through lax multi-unit ADU development, agreed to revise them in the face of neighborhood outrage, and then had the temerity to take credit for the reforms.

Still, did anyone in the Land of Todd even read the Gensler report? A glance at the survey methodology reveals a very significant — even disqualifying — limitation: The poll was conducted more than a year ago, from July 18 to November 24, 2024.

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There may be a major shake up in the race for the District 2 San Diego City Council seat.

Times of San Diego reported on Friday, Dec. 5, that former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey has moved to San Diego — but even more specific, Times reports, “he confirmed this week he now lives in Point Loma.”

That could mean that Bailey is now planning to campaign for the D2 seat, now occupied by termed-out Jen Campbell.

The title of he Times piece expressed this thought: “Coronado’s former mayor moved to San Diego. He’s acting a lot like someone running for something.”

Ever since Bailey recently showed up on San Diego’s political scene, he has appeared to be a politician looking for an office. He has been shooting out mailers that look a lot like campaign literature, he was very visible during the brief anti-Senate Bill 79 campaign here in town, he’s been busy publishing websites and policy positions concerning San Diego issues, like trash fees and infrastructure.

And now, Bailey has immersed himself into a group that recently formed that seems to be his stalking horse for a council seat, called San Diego United Communities. They probably would deny that, but he was a featured speaker at their formation meeting and is very prominently displayed on the group’s website.

Bailey says he’s no longer a Republican and has told people he’s an independent now. Even though races for council seats are supposed to be non-partisan, party endorsements play a big part in this town.

Coalition Bulletin: This Week at City Hall

The San Diego Community Coalition publishes this email bulletin to keep our members informed about important Council and Planning Commission Hearings. Agendas may change before the meetings. For an updated list, visit the OB Rag on Monday.

Monday, December 8: City Council, 2:00 p.m.

Agenda Link:

Items include:

— Selection of a 2026-2027 Council President
— California Coastal Commission Modifications to Transit Priority Area Parking Reform and Housing Action Package 2.0
— “40th & C Project”: This will consolidate and subdivide sixteen existing lots into ten new lots and the construction of eleven new single-dwelling unit homes with eighteen new Accessory Dwelling Unit homes.

Trump Supporters Will Soon Control Most TV News Stations in San Diego

By JW August

San Diego County’s voter makeup has gone from red to blue over the decades, and there’s no better example in recent years than the evolving Democratic majority on the San Diego City Council and county Board of Supervisors.

While the region has slowly shifted Democratic, the broadcast industry in San Diego has been moving in a different direction — conservative. President Trump supporters will soon control most television news stations in the region.

Now, a bid for one of the remaining stations not under control by conservative ownership is being pursued. It is KGTV, aka 10News, the ABC affiliate in San Diego.  The pursuer is Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose executive chairman David Smith is a longtime supporter of Trump and the Republican Party. Sinclair’s target is 10News owner E.W. Scripps Company.

Full disclosure, I worked at 10News for 33 years, so I do have some familiarity with the news broadcast industry. Before 10News I worked as a freelancer in the early 1980s . My turf included both City Hall and county government.  It was a time when the city’s power structure, along with the City Council and Board of Supervisors were mostly white and male.  There were some important exceptions, which was sign of what was to come.

By San Diego Monitor News / December 5, 2025

San Diego officials are tightening the city’s belt once again, confronting a financial hole that continues to widen despite a wave of new fees and rate increases approved earlier this year. Mayor Todd Gloria has instructed every department to clamp down on spending immediately, warning that the coming budget cycle will demand even tougher decisions.

City leaders have been reviewing virtually every line of spending, from overtime to contracts that provide everything from homeless services to rented construction equipment. The mayor’s financial team issued the directive after discovering that equipment rentals alone cost the city more than six million dollars last year — often without full council review. Now, department managers must justify each contract and revisit their cost projections ahead of next year’s budget process.

Even with new revenue from trash pickup fees, parking charges in Balboa Park, and other rate adjustments, the city still faces a projected deficit nearing ninety million dollars for the fiscal year that starts next July. That number could swell past one hundred million if the city loses expected one-time homelessness funding or must expand staffing to meet operational needs. Roughly half of the gap represents long-term, structural problems that will require permanent fixes.

by Michael Casey / Associated Press – Fox5 San Diego / Dec 2, 2025 /

The Justice Department on Tuesday, Dec. 2, sued six more states in its ongoing campaign to obtain detailed voter data and other election information.

The department announced it was suing Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington over their “failure” to produce statewide voter registration lists. It has portrayed the litigation as part of an effort to ensure the security of elections, but Democratic officials have raised concerns over how the data will be used and whether the department will follow privacy laws in protecting it.

Tuesday’s actions bring to at least 14 the number of states the Justice Department has sued in its quest for the voter information [including California].

“Our federal elections laws ensure every American citizen may vote freely and fairly,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the department’s Civil Rights Division. “States that continue to defy federal voting laws interfere with our mission of ensuring that Americans have accurate voter lists as they go to the polls, that every vote counts equally, and that all voters have confidence in election results.”

The department has requested the voter data from at least 26 states, according to an Associated Press tally. It’s prompted concerns among some election officials because states have the constitutional authority to run elections and federal law protects the sharing of individual data with the government.

By OB Staff 

David Garrick, the San Diego Union-Tribune’s City Hall Reporter, will give a Saturday, December 13 presentation on “This Just In: Covering the City Hall Beat.”

The forum, part of a series organized by the San Diego Community Coalition, will take place from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. at the Logan Heights Library, 567 S. 28 Street. Following Garrick’s brief remarks, the floor will open for questions from the audience.

Garrick has had a front row seat in San Diego politics for more than a decade. When he started covering City Hall in 2014, Kevin Faulconer was the new Mayor, Todd Gloria was City Council President, and Sempra Energy occupied the tower at 101 Ash Street.