Category: San Diego

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.

Voice of San Diego Staff / March 26, 2026

State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson has introduced a bill that would exempt the Midway Rising project from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.

We had reported that San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and his team were considering seeking legislation like this to ensure the project could survive legal challenges even after courts threw out two voter-approved ballot measures to raise the height limit in the Midway area. Developers were confident they could rely on the state’s density bonus housing laws to ensure they could build higher than the 30-foot building height limit on the coast.

Now legislation is moving forward to pre-empt any legal challenges.

The bill: It’s SB-958. You can read it here. It would have the Legislature declare the many attributes of the project — the thousands of new homes, including many restricted for people with low incomes, new parks, new arena and other improvements.

By NPR Staff / Updated March 25, 20261:43 PM ET 

Iran’s government on Wednesday rejected President Trump’s plan for ending the war and vowed to continue fighting until a list of Iran’s own conditions are met. Iran’s demands include war reparation payments and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Although the response may be a blow to the U.S. proposal, it signaled the opening of some sort of negotiating between the two countries as the war approaches the one-month mark.

Israel is determined to keep fighting Iran and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Iran makes a counterproposal demanding reparations
Iran has rejected President Trump’s plan for ending the war and presented five conditions of its own.

Tens of Thousands Expected Across San Diego County for No Kings March 28 

Organizers anticipate largest San Diego turnout yet after 80,000+ joined October mobilization

Tens of thousands of San Diego County residents are expected at 22 rallies, marches and family-friendly events on Saturday, March 28, building on the 80,000+ who mobilized countywide in October 2025. Participants say they are mobilizing in defense of democratic institutions, civil liberties, and social programs affecting San Diego families. Events are scheduled across San Diego County, including Downtown San Diego, Ocean Beach, La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Mira Mesa, Carlsbad, Oceanside,Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, Fallbrook, Temecula, Valley Center, Rancho Bernardo, Ramona, La Mesa, El Cajon, Chula Vista, Otay Mesa and Borrego Springs.

Here’s the updated list of No Kings events within San Diego County, March 28

MAIN SAN DIEGO RALLY & MARCH
Waterfront Park
10:00 a.m.–noon | 1600 Pacific Hwy, San Diego, CA 92101

Schedule:
10:00–10:45 a.m. — Main program & speakers
10:45 a.m.–noon  — March; return to Waterfront Park

By Kate Callen

The people of San Diego are the real stakeholders of Balboa Park, and they are ready to take back their “crown jewel” from a city government that has neglected and exploited it.

A grassroots drive to create a public-private Park conservancy will launch Saturday, March 28, at a San Diego Community Coalition town hall at 9:30 a.m. at the Mission Valley Library, 2123 Fenton Parkway. The forum is co-hosted by Neighbors for a Better San Diego.

Send Email to Rag if You Can Cover Event(s) Here in SD County

Over 3,000 events are planned this Saturday, March 28 for the No Kings nation-wide protests. 19 are planned just in San Diego County. (See below for more context.)

Meanwhile, the Rag is searching for volunteers to take photos at the different event sites. We’ll be doing a livestream of the day’s protests and will be posting the photos up on the Rag. So far we have half a dozen people who have committed to taking photos at some of the sites — and we need more volunteers.

If you are attending one of the San Diego County events and can take and send us several photos, please email Editordude at obragblog@gmail.com and let us know which event or events you can cover.

Compiled by Lisa Mortensen

by Frank Sabatini Jr./ Uptown News / March 22, 2026

The brouhaha over paid parking in and around Balboa Park became exceptionally clear to me after making two visits by car to our gorgeous public land in recent weeks.

My first visit under the new revenue- generating program was on a balmy weekday in February. It was 50 days after the initiative was implemented in early January — the plan was championed by Mayor Todd Gloria and approved by the San Diego City Council — seemingly enough time for city officials to acquaint us with a cohesive payment system.

I was there to briefly meet a friend at the Timken Museum of Art. I drove into the park at its northwestern section off of Sixth Avenue. That put me onto tree-lined Balboa Drive before hanging left to cross the Laurel Street Bridge. It’s the route I always take to my favorite parking lot located behind the Organ Pavilion, which sits in proximity to the park’s cultural heart, the El Prado.

The sight of pay stations and heavy signage pertaining to the new reality of paid parking was saddening. The materials are aesthetically cold and gawky against the park’s backdrop of lush foliage and historical architecture. It’s as through somebody walked into a large, airy room with good feng shui and cluttered it.

Bigger disappointments followed.

by Thomas Murphy / Beach & Bay Press / March 23, 2026

A 75-year-old waterfront restaurant in Mission Bay could be forced out by the city of San Diego’s redevelopment plan, putting Joe Busalacchi’s family business and one of the bay’s oldest tenants at risk.

Sportsmen’s Seafood was the first lease signed in Mission Bay, operating even before the area’s first bridges were built.

Busalacchi has run the restaurant for 36 years, continuing a three-generation family business after his father passed away.

“The city is supposed to serve and protect the citizens of San Diego. They want to kick out all of these people who have to pay rent and pay for their children,” said Busalacchi. “How is that serving and protecting? They ain’t serving me, any of my employees, or anyone on the docks.”