OB Rag

Today — Tuesday — was Mayor Todd Gloria’s big announcement of a series of big budget cuts that will save the City of San Diego more than $5 million dollars. These cuts were “designed to generate cost savings and minimize service-level reductions,” his office said.

Here it is — the big cuts — I hope you’re sitting down — Gloria announced that 31 city jobs, that’s right, 31 FT jobs would be eliminated, including that of Chief Operating Officer Eric Dargan. The only catch: all these positions were already vacant — except for Dargan’s.

Dargan’s pay package of $448,810 alone probably accounted for nearly 10% of the new savings.

And in the meantime, Gloria will assume the role of city manager — yet, wasn’t he already the head cheese, the head honcho, the guy calling the shots? Wasn’t Gloria and all his mid-managers making six-figures running the show already?

Feb. 20, 2025, 7 pm, at Waters Edge Community Center, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

The Ocean Beach Historical Society presents: Romantic Victorians: Dating, Marriage, and Love.

Join lecturers Sandee Wilhoit, Gaslamp Quarter Historcial Foundation Historian, and Jamie Laird, GQHF volunteer, to delve into the intricate customs and traditions surrounding dating, marriage, and love in the Victorian Era.

San Diego’s airport is dealing with a significant shortage of air traffic controllers, Axios San Diego reports.

This news comes as the Trump administration fired about 400 recently hired support staff employees at the Federal Aviation Administration over the weekend as part of the the mass terminations of federal workers.

Axios:

San Diego International Airport is fending with a 17.9% vacancy rate among air traffic controllers, per the most recent FAA data. … By the numbers: San Diego’s airport tower is five short of its FAA target of 28 air-traffic controllers.

In the second of four 2025 Budget Review Town Hall forums, San Diegans challenged their city government to distribute resources more equitably and asked why elected officials funnel money into projects that don’t deliver widespread benefits.

More than 20 people came out on a rainy night for the February 13 event in Lincoln Park. Independent Budget Analyst Charles Modica led off with a presentation. Also present were Chief Operating Officer Eric Dargan; Korral Taylor, Community Representative for Mayor Todd Gloria; and Tiffany Harrison, Director of Policy for District 4 Councilmember Henry Foster III.

By Rene Kaprielian

The fast-moving brush fire that swept through the canyon off Montezuma Road near San Diego State University on Oct. 31 reminds us how fast disaster can strike. It wasn’t just the fire, which came within 10 feet of homes on the canyon rim, but the chaos and hours-long traffic jams of residents trying to evacuate the area. If that fire had gotten further out of control and jumped to adjacent neighborhoods, people could have been trapped in their homes and cars and possibly died.

After this harrowing incident and the Los Angeles fires, it’s unconscionable that SDSU is planning to build 13-story towers on a cul-de-sac at the northwest corner of campus on a peninsula surrounded by canyons. In SDSU’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the “Evolve” project, the land is classified as a “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.” Besides being in a severe fire zone, this massive project is out of scale for the area.

SDSU wants to demolish 13 buildings, most of which are two-story apartment buildings that house 702 students, and replace them with five 13-story and one nine-story tower that will house 5,170 students.  A recently built apartment complex adjacent to this proposed project and an existing dorm together house another 1,000 students.

To put it in perspective, SDSU’s proposal would put more than one and a half times the population of the city of Del Mar in a two-block area surrounded by canyons, with only one way in and out on a two-lane residential street.

Site Used to Be an Exxon Gas Station

Point Loma residents are waving the red flag and trying to get everyone’s attention about the proposed development at Rosecrans and Talbot.

The planned development of 56 units at the corner lot is under way but residents are calling attention to a hazard on the lot that no one seems to be dealing with or appreciating. Especially the City of San Diego — and the developer.

The lot used to be an Exxon gas station and currently sits on contaminated land. (See the attached documented benzene groundwater survey of this project’s site.)

By time the crowds had come and gone, a 1,000 San Diegans from all over the County had rallied in front of the County Admin Building denouncing Trump, Musk and the policies of the new authoritarian administration.

The “No Kings On President’s Day” protest was one of dozens across the nation, many organized by the 50501 Movement — referring to “50 states, 50 protests, one day” — and were started by grassroots organizers spreading the word on social media platforms.

“We witness, with growing alarm, how our constitutional rights are trampled upon, how the authority of the President is being usurped by those who seek to consolidate power for personal gain,” 50501 said in a statement.

By Judi Curry

Since the holiday season I have received a few calls from readers of the Rag asking if I am okay. Several of the callers have said that they have missed my writings, so perhaps because I feel like a volcano getting ready to explode, I thought I should do two things – explain my lack of writings, and rant over the situation facing the United State!

In March of 2024 while asleep one night I had a stroke. Unfortunately because it happened while I was asleep I did not have enough time to get to the hospital for the injection that is what they give stroke victims within a time period to lesson the effects of the stroke. And, it turned out that I went blind in the left eye.

The eye doctor said there was a small chance that I would regain sight in that eye by six months; almost no chance after that.  Sad to say I am now blind in the left eye.  The results are terrifying – had to sell my car because I can’t see well enough to drive; have to depend on others – or Uber – to get places; there is no tracking of the two eyes together and so I do not see things on the left side of my body.

By Geoff Page

The “Space For Lease” sign that appeared in the window of 4851 Newport Street, where James Gang Printing is located, has taken some people by surprise. The Rag looked into it but some pieces of the story are still missing.

The James Gang, for those not very familiar with it, is a venerable, Ocean Beach home-grown business by the James family. The business involved screen printing on clothing, T-shirts, sweatshirts, uniforms, and more. Because of its history, there is local interest in what might be happening.

Most of us old timers probably thought the James family still owned the business, but that changed at some point. Some oddities popped up researching the company, such as not even the AI assistant being able to find information about the James family selling the company.

There is information on the current owners, and that story has oddities. The best source of information was the August 2024 OBMA newsletter. There was a piece on Travis Doroski, the newest elected member of the OBMA Board of Directors, elected in July 2024.

SAY NO TO MUSK UNELECTED
SAY YES TO DEMOCRACY SAY NO TO MUSK

Join other San Diegans today, Monday, Feb. 17 for a day of dissent in San Diego and across the USA as we say NO to Trump & Musk’s plans to crown themselves kings!
Join us for a day of dissent!

It’s for Monday, February 17, 2025, beginning at 10:00 AM there will be:
– Speakers
– Strategic Organizing Discussion
– Music
– Protest Chants
– A chance for our folks to meet
Bring your friends, your signs and banners, bring a tarp and blanket or camp chair (it might be muddy), water, some food or snacks, and get ready to build the movement together which is protecting our Constitution and defending our country against a self-appointed king!

This is nation-wide.

The very next City budget town hall forum will be held on Saturday, February 15, 11:45 am–1:15 pm, at the Mission Valley Library, located at  2123 Fenton Pkwy, San Diego, CA 92108. This will be the third in a series of four community-run forums.

These forums are not run by the city, but the city council views will be present. They are moderated by community leaders, fully interactive, receptive to constituent voices, and focused on what taxpayers want for their tax dollars.

Mayor Gloria is threatening deep cuts to constituent services, including many that are highly valued in neighborhoods and communities. The Town Halls will take a broader view.

Our friends at Peninsula News have been following the repair of the Boat Launch at Shelter Island. Here’s their latest report: