OB Rag

San Diego International Airport published a statement earlier this month that marked “2024 as its busiest year ever with 25.24 million passengers recorded traveling through the airport’s terminals. This record-breaking year surpasses the previous busiest record of 25.18 million passengers served in 2019.” That was pre-Pandemic.

Said Kimberly Becker, President and CEO, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority: “Each year following the pandemic, the numbers of travelers recorded at our airport has increased.” She added this was a sure sign or recovery.

The airport says there are some main reasons for this growth.

One is the addition of two new airlines, Breeze and Porter Airlines who have service to nine new nonstop destinations.

From Public Power San Diego

If past form holds, Sempra Energy’s annual earnings announcement Tuesday, Fe. 25, won’t be highlighting the massive profits it records from SDGE, one of its largest subsidiaries.

Sempra will instead bury SDGE’s huge profits by including them with earnings from other businesses.

But SDGE’s profits can still be found in Sempra’s legally required filings. After reporting $670 million in profits through the first three-quarters last year, it’s likely SDGE will report annual earnings last year of about $900 million.

“It’s a simple formula,” said Bill Powers, a board member of Public Power San Diego. “SDGE charges the nation’s highest rates and that results in enormous profits. Every dollar of those profits came out of our pockets.”

By Kate Callen

If you’re a property owner, pay close attention to the mail you receive in April. A flyer resembling this water rate notice will ask you to vote on the City’s proposed trash collection fees.

If a majority of recipients send back a “No” vote, the trash fees will go the way of the sales tax hike – straight to the dumpster. And the Gloria administration will be dealt yet another setback.

By Steven Mihailovich / PB Monthly – SD Union-Tribune / Feb. 25, 2025

Opposition to accessory dwelling units continues to grow as Pacific Beach residents name multiple projects they say are wrong for their community.

Around 60 residents filled the Crown Point Junior Music Academy’s auditorium for the Feb. 19 Pacific Beach Town Council meeting to discuss recent building developments and efforts to block the construction of the proposed 22-story Vela project on Turquoise Street.

But that project is not the only large multi-unit housing project to which they object. They say developments on small lots are stretching the City of San Diego’s ADU bonus program beyond recognition.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Marcella Bothwell, a PB Town Council director who is also the PB Planning Group chair and also chairs the non-profit Neighbors for a Better California, an advocacy group for responsible planning.

“This ADU stuff is now starting to come into our neighborhood,” Bothwell said. “So we’re going to have to fight this.”

A six-story, 110-room 1970s hotel on Nimitz Boulevard in Point Loma — closed for 6 years — has been sold for $17.4 million. And the new owner has plans to turn it all into market-rate and student housing.

The 63,234-square-foot building at 2901 Nimitz Blvd., known over the decades by various names — currently the Consulate Hotel — was purchased by Encinitas-based Ambient Communities. Its previous owner was a La Jolla-based family trust called Nobel Legacy LLC.

Ambient Communities claims, reports the San Diego U-T, that the old hotel built in 1971 “has entitlements in place that facilitate an easy transition for rehabbing the structure.” Those entitlements include 48 parking spaces, space for meetings, an on-site bar, a restaurant and a pool. Ambient did not provide a timeline for when construction could be completed.

There will be nothing but talking trash at the City of San Diego’s 10 community forums to get feedback on the proposed monthly trash fees. They’ve actually begun and the first one was last night, Monday, Feb. 24th at the Otay Mesa Nestor Library.

Will the feedback help determine whether the city follows through on plans to add several new services and features to its trash and recycling program that would push the fee higher than it could otherwise be, or not? There’s been plenty of irate responses to the proposed fees in “letters to the editor” in local papers and at town hall budget forums held of late.

List of Forums

Employees of Yosemite National Park hung an upside-down flag on El Capitan to protest the Trump administration’s firing of about 1,000 park service employees.

The group of protesters said in a statement to the press that the “purpose of this exercise of free speech is to disrupt without violence and draw attention to the fact that public lands in the United States are under attack.”

The Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) is announcing their upcoming annual elections.The PCPB will hold elections on March 25th, 2025 to fill five (5) board vacancies. Each seat carries a three-year term, awarded to the five candidates who receive the most votes. There will be a candidates forum on March 13.

Eligibility Requirements for Candidates:

To qualify as a candidate, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Reside, own property, or operate a business within the PCPB boundaries (boundary map available at www.pcpb.net).
• Have attended at least one regular PCPB meeting in the past 12 months. Attending the Candidates’ Forum meets this requirement.Election Details:

The fourth and final City of San Diego 2025 Budget Review Town Hall forum in Mira Mesa was the largest and angriest gathering of the series. Hot-button issues included the contentious trash fee proposal, inadequate road repair, city salaries and pensions, and the obscure management of developer impact fee (DIF) revenues.

Nearly 100 people gathered for the February 20 forum at the Mira Mesa Senior Center. There were no representatives from the Mayor’s office nor from any Council District office.

Throughout the two-hour forum  which began with a slideshow from Independent Budget Analyst Charles Modica, community members expressed outrage at City Hall’s persistent stonewalling of constituents.

They traced the erosion of public trust in local government from the still-murky 101 Ash Street debacle to the trash fee analysis that began with modest payments and ended with costly assessments.

The following excerpts from public comments provide highlights.

By Herman Collins

Recent changes by the Mayor of San Diego affect all of us, particularly those captured under the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) flag. It prompts the question, why now, are we signally to the Feds we’re with you? Are we trying to curry favor with the corporations who have tucked away their commitment to diversity with no explanations?

Eric Dargan was selected as the City’s third Chief Operating Officer (COO), following the departure of Jay Goldstone. On Tuesday (02/19/2025) Mayor Gloria announced Dargan’s departure from the city, referencing office reorganization, budgetary constraints, and the need for greater control over economic dynamics.

Dargan’s arrival in San Diego was seen as visionary, promoting public-private partnerships to tackle homelessness and infrastructure needs. Dargan was hired for his skill in securing resources for unfunded services. In short, Dargan’s success would be measured by his ability to secure private funding to boost city revenues.

By a Concerned OBcean Finding His Voice:

I used to (and still do) consider myself a fairly progressive left-wing liberal, however given that I can no longer recognize or sit with the politics occurring at the national level, I have promised myself to dive more deeply into local policy and activism to help protect the town that I love and preserve it for my 10 month-old son. Given that I have no idea how to actually do that yet, let this rant to the editor of a grass roots and independent local newsletter be my first step.

Stream of consciously and in no particular order:

While I am, on principle, a believer in higher taxes (especially for the wealthy) and deeply appreciate the services they bring, I wish that local governments do better with the tax money we the citizens already generate (which is among the highest nationally) and not make the function of our city dependent on a tax bill to make it even higher.

From SanDiegoVille / February 20, 2025

San Diego’s restaurant industry is facing increased scrutiny as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intensifies its raids, bringing the city’s role as both a border town and a sanctuary city into sharp focus. With federal immigration enforcement at odds with California’s protective policies, local restaurant owners and workers must understand their legal rights to safeguard their businesses and employees. In a climate of heightened immigration enforcement, knowing what ICE can and cannot do is critical for navigating this evolving landscape.

San Diego, a vibrant border town and one of California’s sanctuary cities, is experiencing a surge in ICE activity, stirring concern among its diverse communities. As a key player in the U.S.-Mexico border region, San Diego County has seen heightened enforcement efforts under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, with over 7,500 undocumented immigrants arrested nationwide since the administration took office (local numbers are unknown). For the city’s restaurant industry – where immigrants of all statuses comprise a significant portion of the workforce – this escalation poses unique challenges.