OB Rag

Trump’s Assault Undermines Protections of Our Coastal Waters

By David Helvarg / The Progressive / March 11, 2026

My half-century as a journalist and two decades as an ocean advocate has taught me that democracy is not a guarantee of environmental protection for our public seas or people—it’s a prerequisite.

That’s why, in advance of what will be the third No Kings Day of mass protest against President Donald Trump’s increasingly authoritarian and unpopular administration, on March 28, a few activists from my organization, Blue Frontier, among others, are pushing for a greater focus on ocean-related issues, including clean beaches, safe and sustainable seafood, and oil- and plastic-free public seas.

While previous administrations have promoted offshore drilling and attacked climate science, the Trump Administration stands alone in ignoring the law and Constitutional separation of powers to undermine protection of our coastal waters.

Among other assaults on legal precedent, it has acted to undo the U.S. Civil Service Act during mass firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and elsewhere. It has also thumbed its nose at the Congressional War Powers Act and the military code of conduct in the September 2 killing of two survivors of a shipwreck, as part of a wave of deadly attacks on alleged drug-runners at sea.

From The Washington Post / March 11, 2026

The Iranian elementary school building where scores of children were killed as the U.S. and Israel began their massive aerial campaign was on a U.S. target list and may have been mistaken for a military site, multiple people familiar with the strike told The Washington Post.

The deadly attack occurred in the first few hours of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran — just as parents were hurrying to the two-story schoolhouse to take their kids home to safety — and killed at least 175 people, many of them children, according to Iranian state media.

It is still not clear why the building was hit, but one person familiar with the school strike said the building had been identified as a factory and had been an approved strike target. A second person familiar said there was an arms depot target located in the same area and did not know if the United States hit the school by mistake, or if U.S. officials had the wrong intelligence and thought the building was the arms depot.

“Initially there was some confusion on why it was on the target list,” said a third person familiar with the strike. The individual would not go into further detail, citing the military’s ongoing investigation into the strike.

By Tyler Faurot / Point Loma – OB Monthly SDU-T / March 11, 2026

Dozens of road segments on the Point Loma Peninsula have been identified in a city of San Diego analysis as candidates for speed limit reductions. And as city leaders review the study, some members of community planning boards in Point Loma and Ocean Beach are bemoaning what they see as an ineffectual approach for their neighborhoods, despite welcoming the idea of lower speeds.

California Assembly Bill 43, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021, allows municipalities to reduce speed limits, provided the reductions are justified by an extensive analysis. The city of San Diego compiled a 135-page speed management plan that was published in February and presented to the City Council’s Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

All four members of the committee voted Feb. 19 to recommend that the full council approve city staff’s proposals for new speed limits on the streets specified in the plan.

By David Garrick / SD Union-Tribune / March 10, 20226

San Diego took a key step Tuesday toward cementing long-term control of the Liberty Station mixed-use complex — despite objections from the company that manages much of the area.

The City Council unanimously approved payouts to the county and some other local agencies — mostly school districts, community college districts and health districts — that have a financial interest in Liberty Station. The council’s approval shifts the power to those agencies, which now must approve the payouts they will receive in exchange for relinquishing to the city their long-term rights over the sprawling property east of Point Loma.

Of the 13 agencies with a financial stake, four have approved their compensation agreements, one was slated to vote Tuesday night, three are scheduled to vote next week and five haven’t taken action. Those approvals are crucial to finalizing the city’s efforts to declare Liberty Station a “future development” site, which will allow the city to continue owning it, instead of a “liquidation” site that the city must sell.

By Steve Rodriguez

List of operational code names reads
like a best hits collection. Just Cause
and Desert Storm titles evoking
nostalgic memories of victory.

Not so much Iraqi Freedom, begun
with WMD promises and statues
toppled. Surging to a crescendo,
then lingering like a bad relationship.

The San Diego Veterans For Peace, Hugh Thompson Memorial Chapter #91, is very pleased to announce that a billboard reminding Active Duty Troops that they have a duty to disobey illegal orders, has been installed on the NE side of Harbor Drive going north, between 32nd and 28th Streets in San Diego.  This billboard is part of a national program by Veterans For Peace, with many similar billboards now being posted across the United States.

The San Diego billboard will be up for one month ending in early April.

Please see the VFP website: https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/service-member-support

Background

Veterans For Peace has launched a campaign to remind our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters and grandchildren, who have joined the military, that they have the right and the responsibility to refuse illegal orders, and that we will support them when they do.

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / March 10, 2026

Seven candidates seeking to represent Clairemont and Point Loma on the City Council clashed at a recent forum over bike lanes, ADUs, Balboa Park parking, the city’s budget deficit and a proposed empty homes tax.

Mike Rickey, a Merchant Marine from Clairemont, was the most vocal critic of new bike lanes being created across San Diego to encourage people to use cycling to commute and get around. “The money that we’re spending on these bike lanes and removing street parking is absurd,” Rickey said.

Jacob Mitchell, a chemist from Point Loma, said the biggest problem with new bike lanes is that they often don’t connect well with other safe areas to cycle.

Mandy Havlik, a Point Loma neighborhood leader, said the need for a safe cycling network should be balanced against the impact on businesses of removing street parking. “A lot of small business owners feel like they’re competing with a bike lane to stay open,” Havlik said.

Nicole Crosby, a deputy city attorney who lives in Clairemont, said bike lanes don’t make a lot of sense in communities like Clairemont where hills and canyons are a major challenge. “It’s putting the cart before the horse,” she said.

Richard Bailey, a former mayor of Coronado who now lives in Point Loma, said the city’s nearly $8 billion backlog of infrastructure projects means bike lanes must be a low priority. “Bike lanes are more of a nice-to-have, not a must-have,” Bailey said.

Ocean Beach Surf & Skate Shop and Ocean Beach Elementary PTA are teaming to hold the 14th annual Skate for the Kids fundraiser on March 15 at Robb Field Skate Park.

All proceeds from the event will go to the school’s PTA to fund programs, materials and campus improvements at the campus on Santa Monica Avenue.

The fundraising event at 2525 Bacon St., held from noon to 3 p.m., is a fun way to bring the community together, foster a love of skating and encourage healthy habits while providing much-needed support to a neighborhood school.

The Black — OB”s legendary headshop — is back.

Apparently, the shop’s longtime owner, Kurt Dornbusch, has partnered with a group of unidentified new owners, who wish to keep the place going. Just weeks ago, Dornbusch announced he was retiring after 57 years and was closing the store. Yet, things changed.

As SanDiegoVille reported:

Both Dornbusch and the incoming ownership group have confirmed that new buyers have secured the naming rights to The Black and are currently finalizing a lease agreement to continue operating the store at its longtime home on Newport Avenue.

Community Planning Group Elections This Week

San Diego’s Community Planning Groups (CPGs) hold annual elections every March.

Here are dates, times, and locations for in-person voting at some of this week’s elections. Be sure to bring your driver’s license or another form of ID showing your home address.

Monday, March 9

Southeastern San Diego will hold its election starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Mountain View Community Center, 641 South Boundary Street

Tuesday, March 10

Eastern Area will hold its election starting at 6:00 p.m. at Teen Challenge, 5450 Lea St.

University will hold its election from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 9880 Campus Point Drive on the third-floor patio of Alexandria’s GradLabs building.

Kensington-Talmadge is offering four in-person voting opportunities before its meeting on Monday, March 16:

Tessa Balc at the Times of San Diego dropped a stunning article on Sunday the 8th of March, by declaring there soon could be a Walmart at the former RiteAid property in Ocean Beach.

The new owner of the property is seriously considering putting in a Walmart Depot — but it wouldn’t be a “walk-in” store to buy anything but a location for delivery drivers to pick up wares and products to distribute nearby.

An application to install one was submitted to the City of San Diego recently and, as Balc reported:

“describes Walmart Depots as non-branded facilities, stocked with high-demand delivery items. Based on the description, it would not be open to the public, instead serving only authorized delivery “drivers/shoppers.” [Rag emphasis.]

Let’s back-up by returning to Balc’s article.

She reports that Murfey Construction Company is a developer who bought the RiteAid property in January, whom she also describes as “a well-known developer in the beach neighborhoods ….” (See below.) Balc in addition stated the company “is also considering a housing development.”

Balc also maintains the City staff is on board with this idea, having already reviewed the idea and reported back to Murfey that it did not run afoul of any development restrictions.

By Rene Kaprielian / Op-Ed SD Union-Tribune / March 6, 2026 

Once again, the city of San Diego faces financial upheaval as it attempts to backfill a huge budget deficit caused by historically poor management and misguided priorities.

Our mayor and City Council remain focused on two predictable but ultimately futile strategies: raising fees and taxes and/or cutting services, including hours at libraries and park and recreation centers.

Regrettably, our elected representatives rarely question the financial giveaways to large entities and industries that contribute to the imbalance.  Whether it’s long-term franchise agreements with SDG&E or bad real estate deals, these commitments translate to higher rates and taxes for residents and less money for needed existing infrastructure improvements.

San Diego State University is a major recipient of this misplaced generosity. The city has given SDSU carte blanche in its expansion in the College Area and is silent on the lack of progress in developing the former Qualcomm Stadium site. As a state university, SDSU is not required to adhere to local land use laws on land it owns. When the city deeds land to SDSU it can no longer collect property tax, development impact fees, or control the size and scope of the project, while saddling taxpayers with substantial infrastructure costs. These subsidies include fire protection and major improvements to intersections and streets.