Category: San Diego

By City News Service – 7NBC / October 28, 2025

Water rates for San Diegans will rise 14.7% next year and 14.5% the following year after the San Diego City Council Tuesday passed an amended water and wastewater rate hike.

A staff proposal before the council was to increase water rates by 63% through 2029 and wastewater rates by 31% in the same period. The much-reduced, two-year plan passed by a 5-4 majority Tuesday was proposed by Councilman Stephen Whitburn.

In a back-and-forth with Lisa Celaya, executive assistant director for the city, and Jordan More of the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst, Whitburn repeatedly tried to figure out the lowest possible rate increase to keep water flowing amid increased costs from the San Diego County Water Authority and asked the consequences of not meeting that number.

by Robert Reich / Robert Reich’s Substack- Reader Supported News / October 29, 2025

Friends,

He’s now saying it out loud — blurring the line between his so-called “war” on alleged foreign drug smugglers and his war on the “enemy within” the United States. Both now involve the deployment of the U.S. military. Neither requires proof of wrongdoing.

That was his message yesterday when Trump told American troops in Japan that he would send “more than the National Guard” into cities to enforce his crackdowns on crime and immigration:

“We have cities that are troubled, we can’t have cities that are troubled. And we’re sending in our National Guard, and if we need more than the National Guard, we’ll send more than the National Guard, because we’re going to have safe cities … . We’re not going to have people killed in our cities. And whether people like that or not, that’s what we’re doing.”

In the same speech, Trump defended U.S. military strikes against suspected drug smugglers — more than a dozen on vessels from South America that have killed 57 people so far, without evidence they were actually smuggling drugs. (Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced yesterday that the military had carried out three more strikes on Monday.)

Residents Say Enough Is Enough to Mayor Todd Gloria’s New Fees

By San Diego Monitor News Staff / October 28, 2025

San Diego’s patience is wearing thin. From Paradise Hills to Clairemont, from Rancho Bernardo to Southcrest, the same refrain is echoing through backyards and block parties: “We’re getting nickel-and-dimed to death.” This time, it’s not the potholes or the parking tickets—it’s the trash fee.

A century-old promise has been tossed to the curb, and homeowners are furious. For the first time in more than a hundred years, single-family homeowners in San Diego are being billed directly for trash pickup, a service once covered by property taxes since before most residents’ grandparents were born. San Diegans are calling it betrayal. Across social media, neighborhood boards, and kitchen-table conversations, San Diegans are venting about what they see as the city’s latest money grab. “It’s not about twenty-five dollars a month,” says one resident, a homeowner in North Park. “It’s about trust. Todd Gloria told us this was about fairness, but we weren’t told the real story—that it’s about plugging budget holes they created.”

At City Hall, the mayor’s allies on the council pushed through the measure, arguing that the city’s long-standing People’s Ordinance, which guaranteed free trash collection for single-family homes, was outdated and unfair to renters who already paid private haulers. But many homeowners see through that framing.

By Paul Krueger

Mayor Todd Gloria and City Attorney Heather Febert have followed through on their effort to overturn an appeals court ruling that requires a thorough review of the environmental impact of high-density, high-rise housing throughout the Midway District.

They’re now asking the City Council to approve a long-shot and costly appeal of that ruling to the State Supreme Court.

This dispute broke loose on October 17. That’s when a panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal issued a unanimous, strongly-worded ruling faulting the city for preparing an incomplete analysis of the negative impacts of waiving the voter-approved 30-foot height limit and allowing intense, high-rise development throughout the Midway District.

The justices said voters were deprived of information about the impact of that development when they narrowly approved the controversial height-limit waiver.

“As Save Our Access (the group that sued to invalidate the election results) stated in one of its comment letters, ‘San Diegans deserve to know the complete picture’ of removing the 30-foot Coast Zone height limit,” the ruling states. “We agree that the California Environmental Quality Act requires as much.”

Proponents of smart, managed growth rejoiced at the ruling. They believe the City must prepare a complete analysis of the environmental impacts and share that information with voters, so they can make a fully-informed decision before voting yet again to approve or reject any effort to invalidate the 30-foot coastal height limit.

By David Garrick /// San Diego Union-Tribune / October 26, 2025

San Diego may shift the second phase of the city’s Pure Water sewage recycling system to a more efficient purification method that could save billions of dollars, preventing steep jumps in local sewer and water bills.

The new method could dramatically change the size, scope and cost of the massive project’s Phase Two, which had been expected to be nearly twice as large as the nearly complete first phase.

City officials say it could let them avoid building expensive pipelines to either San Vicente Reservoir or Lake Murray from a new purification plant to be built in Mission Valley.

That change is possible because California recently loosened its purification rules to allow purified wastewater to be pumped directly into a water system, instead of being stored for months in reservoirs or underground basins.

The rule change, which took effect last fall, came just as San Diego was already re-evaluating Phase Two of Pure Water, because conservation has depressed local water demand and construction costs have soared.

By Frank Gormlie, OB Rag Publisher/ Editordude

I want to extend my personal congratulations to Shane Harris, the new owner and publisher of the San Diego Monitor and Business Journal, and to warmly welcome him to the local news media community in this town.

Shane has a distinguished record of civic leadership and of advocacy for civil rights. He has been a powerful force for justice, and has spoken out for so many whose voices are too often silenced. Now he will become a force for the mission of journalism, which is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.

Rag Staff Report

The San Diego Community Coalition’s inaugural “Town Hall with a Newsmaker” forum on October 25 was a frank and productive conversation between District 7 City Councilmember Raul Campillo and community leaders from across San Diego.

The Coalition held the event because San Diegans rarely get a chance to engage their representatives in direct face-to-face talks. The unwritten rule at City Hall forums is that elected officials speak at length and on script while their constituents listen and are given scant time to ask questions.

For 90 minutes at the Linda Vista Library, a relaxed Campillo broke that rule and clearly enjoyed the spirited give-and-take.

Here are excerpts.

Scott Case, Middletown: We’re trying to understand where all the proposed and approved Complete Communities projects are. Development Services Department (DSD) told me the City does not make that information public. Perhaps the City Council could direct DSD to do that.

Campillo: If the Mayor wanted to release that information, there would be no problem. It sounds like what you’re looking for is a searchable and understandable database to learn what projects are going into what spots.

By Richard Allyn / CBS8 / October 22, 2025

With less than two weeks until California’s special election on Prop 50 [on November 4], a new CBS News poll released on Wednesday reveals that 62% of likely voters support the ballot measure, which would redraw the state’s congressional lines in ways that would make it easier for Democrats to win five districts currently held by Republicans.

The poll, which surveyed more than 1,500 registered California voters, shows a significant jump in support compared to earlier polls that put backing in the low 50s. However, according to Governor Gavin Newsom, the ultimate outcome depends on voter participation.

“Polls don’t vote, people vote. And this is a special election. I’m not naive, it is about turn-out, period, full-stop,” said Newsom.

The CBS News poll reveals starkly different motivations between supporters and opponents of the measure. Among those voting yes, 75% say it is a way to oppose President Donald Trump, and 70% cite opposition to national Republicans.

Mildred Falls Part of 58-Acres Bought by San Diego River Park Foundation

by Tainá Fonseca / Times of San Diego / Oct. 26, 2025

The San Diego River Park Foundation has successfully purchased a 58-acre parcel from a private owner, the organization announced this week.

Why is that important?

Because that land includes the one and only Mildred Falls, San Diego County’s tallest waterfall, located about five miles west of the Pine Hills community. Its dramatic cascade drops roughly 300 feet to where Ritchie Creek plunges toward the San Diego River.

This is a huge accomplishment for the San Diego River Park Foundation, especially as Scenic Treasure Ritchie Creek is a key tributary to the San Diego River.

Ownership of Mildred Falls will help the foundation protect a golden eagle nest, a California gnatcatcher habitat, southwestern pond turtles, arroyo toads, cougars, and other large mammals.

More than 250 donors raised more than $300,000 to buy the property. With the sale closed, the waterfall and surrounding land are now conserved and held in trust for the public.

Associated Press – CBS8 / October 27, 2025

Nearly 42 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, referred to as SNAP, will not receive federal benefits next month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed in a new notice that no SNAP funds will be distributed on Nov. 1. The news puts a strain on families across the country as the government shutdown drags on.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA notice says. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”

The government shutdown, now the second longest in U.S. history, has entered its fourth week with no end in sight. It’s not clear whether the pause in the program will shift anything in the negotiations to reopen the government.

However, the news of the SNAP benefits pause is leaving beneficiaries, states and food banks scrambling for ways to fill the gaps.

From Aguirre & Severson, LLP Law Firm

On Friday, October 24, San Diego County Judge James A. Mangione set the trial date of May 1, 2026, for the San Diego Superior Court lawsuit to void the trash tax San Diego City officials imposed on 224,000 San Diego homeowners. (Brown v. LaCava, case number 25CU025589C). Judge Mangione set the trial at least six days to try all the issues in the case.

San Diego homeowners, represented by attorneys at Aguirre & Severson, LLP, allege that the solid waste collection fee increases imposed by the City of San Diego violate California Constitution Article XIII(D) (The Right to Vote on Taxes Act). The alleged Constitutional violations are:

US Reps Vargas, Peters, Padilla, Jacobs and Levin Refused Entry

by City News Service – Times of San Diego / Oct. 27, 2025

A delegation of legislators representing San Diego County was once again refused entry to the Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse on Monday as they attempted to conduct oversight on an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detention center.

Reps. Juan Vargas and Scott Peters, both San Diego Democrats, were refused entry a week ago. On Monday, they were joined by fellow Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla,, Rep. Sara Jacobs, and Rep. Mike Levin, and were again refused entry, the lawmakers said.

“As members of Congress, we have the right and the responsibility to enter detention sites in order to conduct oversight without prior authorization,” Vargas said.

“Today, we were again blocked from entering. If nothing is wrong here, why are we not allowed in? What is ICE hiding? We came here to confirm that the law is being followed.