Category: San Diego

OB Rag Staff Report

Our “Follow the Money” series on the biggest contributors in city elections continues with this review of the latest figures from Campaign Disclosure Reports (Series 400) of two District 6 City Council candidates, incumbent Kent Lee and challenger Mark Powell.

These reports fulfill the Rag’s promise to “scrutinize the candidates in the 2026 primary: who they are, what they’ve done, what they say, and most importantly, where their money comes from.”

District 6 includes Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa, Scripps Ranch, Sorrento Valley, and University City.

Kent Lee

Lee is in first place in D6 fundraising totals with $60,633. That money includes the maximum $1,600 donation from 16 individuals, some of whom are listed below. According to the Voters’ Voice Initiatives, Lee has raised almost 9 times more money from outside D6 than from inside. His contributors include Rep. Scott Peters ($800), Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera ($320), and Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe ($100)

Lee’s $1,600 contributors include:

Recently, Voice of San Diego ran their “Politics Report” on the “the Midway Rising Bill” (behind a paywall) where they begin with this dire warning:

“…San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has entered the nothing-is-going-to-get-in-our-way phase of the plan to build a new arena and more than 4,000 new housing units on the city’s nearly 50 acres of land along Sports Arena Boulevard in Midway.”

The focus of the report was on how different politicians and parties reacted to State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson’s brand new bill to exempt Midway Rising from the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.

The Voice noted, “The city is officially sponsoring the legislation …that would exempt the Midway Rising project from the sometimes onerous requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. Inadequately fulfilling the requirements of CEQA and getting sued has caused countless projects delay or failure.” (We take exception with this phrase, “the sometimes onerous requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA”.)

Because this project — the Midway Rising redevelopment of the Sports Arena area — has been so contentious and important to our readers, we here recount the responses to this bill by both politicians and wannabe pols — like those running for District 2.

Forum at Mission Valley Library Organized by San Diego Community Coalition – Also Hosted by Neighbors for a Better San Diego

From San Diego Today / March 29, 2026

San Diego community members are voicing concerns and calling for significant changes to the governance and funding of Balboa Park, following a public forum held at the Mission Valley Library on Saturday, March 28. Dozens attended the meeting, organized by the San Diego Community Coalition, to discuss the future of the iconic public space, with the central issue being the current city-controlled management system.

Why it matters
Balboa Park is a beloved and heavily utilized public space in San Diego, and the way it is governed and funded has major implications for its long-term health and vitality. The community’s push for change reflects a common challenge faced by urban parks and cultural institutions – balancing local control with the need for sustainable funding and regional benefit.

By David Garrick / San Diego U-T / March 27, 2026

Four leading candidates to represent areas including Clairemont and Point Loma on the San Diego City Council differ sharply in their experience, neighborhood involvement and how they would solve the city’s budget crisis.

Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby — who got key endorsements this week from the county Democratic Party and the city’s firefighters union — said she would bring strong institutional knowledge and deep community roots. Crosby, 46, has worked on housing issues for the city and has served on the Clairemont Town Council and as president of the parent-teacher association of Holmes Elementary, where her daughter goes to school.

Josh Coyne, who at the start of the year was leading in campaign fundraising, knows the district well as former policy director for termed-out incumbent Jennifer Campbell. Coyne, 46, now works for the Downtown San Diego Partnership merchants group. A Point Loma resident, Coyne says he would bring predictable leadership and reduce acrimony at City Hall.

Richard Bailey, a former two-term Republican mayor of Coronado who moved recently to Point Loma, says he would bring major change to City Hall, including with his plan to shrink and restructure city government. Bailey, 39, said he would provide the badly needed perspective of a small-business owner to the council, contending many of the city’s problems stem from having too many career politicians in charge.

Mandy Havlik, a Point Loma neighborhood leader, says she is the only candidate who has successfully fought City Hall and contends that she exemplifies what standing up for your neighborhood means. Havlik, 44, helped overturn a ballot measure that lifted the height limit in the Midway District around the sports arena. Since then, she’s broadened her focus to include infrastructure, environmental issues and e-bike safety.

City News Service – CBS8 / March 29, 2026

8 to 9 Million Turn Out Nation-Wide

A record 94,000 people participated in 21 separate “No Kings” protests in San Diego County on Saturday, organizers said Sunday.

The events were part of a nationwide day of demonstrations against the Trump administration that organizers were calling the largest single-day pro-democracy turnout on record.

The local crowds surpassed the more than 80,000 who mobilized countywide in October 2025. The figures came from an independent analysis by Take Action San Diego, the same organization that provided independent crowd counts for both previous No Kings events in San Diego, organizers said in a statement Sunday.

“What a day! San Diegans from every neighborhood, every background, and every generation came together around one simple truth: There are no kings in America,” said Wendy Gelernter, lead downtown organizer for Take Action San Diego.

5:40 pm PDT Hey everybody, we’re wrapping up our live blog, as we’ve been blogging since 8:15 this morning.

Chula Vista

5:29 pm PDT Byron Morton sent a batch of shots from Chula Vista. He reported, “There were about 250 people of all walks on the sidewalks bordering the intersection of H Street and Broadway. There were multilingual signs. Protesters blew whistles and cars honked constantly in passing.”

Downtown
4:26 pm PDT Even though the main march downtown San Diego has been over for hours, photos are still coming in to the Rag. Here’s a batch of the Waterfront march taken by OBcean Charles Landon:

“The Future of Balboa Park: A Community Conversation”

When: Saturday, March 28, 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Where: Mission Valley Library Community Room

“The Future of Balboa Park: A Community Conversation” will invite members of the San Diego public, who are the real stakeholders of the Park, to begin exploring new strategies for effective park stewardship and responsible park management.

The town hall, organized by the San Diego Community Coalition and Neighbors for a Better San Diego, will be facilitated by two foremost Balboa Park advocates, landscape architect/urban planner Vicki Estrada and former City Architect Michael Stepner.

With increased public interest in San Diego’s “Crown Jewel,” Estrada and Stepner will lead this public discussion of critical issues, including:

• How do we ensure that the park has the resources it needs to provide the services and benefits San Diegans deserve from this regional asset?
• How can we unify Park stakeholders to work together toward common goals?

By The Associated Press / 7SanDiego / March 26 -27, 2026 

The Trump administration has opened investigations into how race is considered in admissions at three medical schools, ratcheting up its pressure campaign against colleges and universities.

The Justice Department opened the investigations Wednesday into possible discrimination at the medical schools of Stanford University, Ohio State and the University of California, San Diego. Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, announced the investigations on X.

Through a series of investigations and executive actions, President Donald Trump has been ramping up scrutiny of universities he decries as overrun by liberal influence. His administration previously has targeted undergraduate admissions at selective colleges, demanding they collect data to show they are in line with a 2023 Supreme Court decision forbidding affirmative action in college admissions.

The investigations were reported first by The New York Times.

In a letter to Ohio State, Dhillon wrote that the Justice Department was seeking any documents related to “the use or lack of use of race” in evaluating applicants. She said they were also seeking all applicant-level admissions data and any reviews by the school of admissions trends or outcomes by race.

By Alex Cheney / CBS8 / February 25, 2026

The City of San Diego is actively searching for a new management company to operate the temporarily closed Tecolote Canyon Golf Course, a beloved community asset that has served local golfers for decades.

A trunk sewer line construction project forced the closure of the course, which cuts through the property and has rendered multiple holes unplayable. Construction equipment now occupies the fairways where golfers once played their rounds.

American Golf had managed the course for the last three decades before its lease expired. The city viewed the expiration as an opportunity to close that chapter and pursue a new operating plan.

“American Golf was on an expired lease, so it was the natural time to close out that former chapter, look toward the future investment of the course, and look toward a new operating and management plan,” said Jim Mandler with the City of San Diego.

by Mariana Martínez Barba / Voice of San Diego / March 24, 2026

Four years ago, researchers found that if the city opened a safe parking lot for 24 hours every day, it would be easier to connect individuals who live in their vehicles to services.

Those findings encouraged city officials to make a safe parking lot in Mission Valley available 24 hours a day. That meant people staying at the lot didn’t have to leave during the day and could access services with more flexibility.

Other city safe parking lots have curfews, which means people staying there need to leave during the day and return at night. That’s the case at a safe lot near the airport, known as H Barracks. The city is currently in a legal battle with homeless individuals over the lot’s accessibility.

One of the researchers involved in the previous study of city safe lots still believes it’s more effective to open lots for 24 hours every day. City officials maintain that H Barracks is working as is and are not considering changing its operation hours. Homeless advocates say extended hours could help, but San Diegans living in their cars aren’t sure.

Editordude: Two Rag writers take aim today at the city’s rollout of the new trash cans. South OB Girl and Abby (who has writes under Csaba) offer their observations.

The New Gray Trash Cans Have Arrived

By South OB Girl

The new City of San Diego Environmental Services gray trash cans have arrived.  The new policies regarding trash have been a topic of much discussion in previous months and there was much discontent expressed by many San Diegans when the ballot measure was voted into action and approved by San Diego voters.  Some residents have filed a lawsuit in response and it is still under way.  For those still deciding about their trash service and trash can options, here are links to contact City of San Diego Environmental Services and calculate your potential trash fee, which would be part of your taxes:

As we finish up the four weeks of Trump’s war on Iran, it’s time to offer some key observations from Southern California.

• Trump is lying about the pace of “negotiations” with Iran in order to garner more time to accumulate more US troops in the region; this is all his “art of the deal” — confuse your opponent, make them believe you’re about to “walk away” from any talks on resolution. In this case, Trump has confused the American people, the mainstream media, European allies — even his own staff at the White House. On Thursday, he stated he didn’t care about the negotiations.
• Trump earned his TACO nickname, and changed his deadline for Iran, again for the third time. Trump Always Chickens Out.
• Despite Trump’s claims the “war is already won”, Iran and Israel continue to shell each other — even escalated attacks — and more deaths and injuries mount. Iran says 1400 of its people have been killed in the strikes over the last 4 weeks.
• The Straits of Hormuz are still closed to Iran’s adversaries. Trump couldn’t get any NATO or other ally to help free the fiery zone.
• Troops, marines, sailors are on their way; there’s reports that Trump has ordered another 10,000 soldiers to the region; there’s two ships filled with sailors and marines on their way to the Mid-East; there’s a brigade of the 82th Airborne Division on its way.
• America is on the verge of experiencing the largest protest — No Kings — in history, tomorrow March 28th as over 7 million people will be marching and protesting. Thousands of San Diegans will be protesting at the  22 events just in San Diego County. (The Rag will host an all-day liveblog about the events.)
• San Diego is about to enter the war big time: thousands of Marines from Camp Pendleton have been mobilized to go; many of their families live in the San Diego region, and if there are boots on the ground, expect to see many locals on casualty lists.