OB Rag

Debbie L Sklar / Times of San Diego  / Sept. 18, 2026

A motorist traveling through San Diego in the 1930s didn’t need a large hotel to spend the night. Small tourist courts offered a room, a parking space, and a convenient stop along the road.

The tourist court emerged as automobile travel became more common. By the 1930s, Americans increasingly needed lodging that accommodated both themselves and their cars, and San Diego’s major automobile routes became natural locations for this new kind of business.

The city of San Diego identifies the tourist court — also called an auto camp or auto court — as the predecessor of the modern motel. Early courts generally consisted of small, one-story buildings with a limited number of rooms and nearby parking, or individual cabins arranged around a central parking area.

One example was the El Portal Motel and Apartments at 5252 El Cajon Boulevard, along Business Route U.S. 80. A vintage postcard advertised the property as “Doorway to Western Hospitality” and described it as a 54-unit motel and apartment complex with kitchens, a heated pool, and other amenities.

By Michael J. Stepner & Mary Lydon / San Diego Daily Transcript / Sept. 17, 2026

Residents in San Diego County overwhelmingly feel a deep sense of ownership for their beloved Balboa Park, but there is not an entity with comprehensive resources and authority to run it. The result is a dysfunctional dynamic that has been brewing for decades. Without a plan for sustainability, Balboa Park is doomed to a slow, steady decline.

Earlier this month a city of San Diego planning team presented its strategy for updating the Balboa Park Masterplan to the City of San Diego Balboa Park Committee. This is an official advisory committee for the mayor and city council on policy issues relating to the acquisition, development, maintenance and operation of Balboa Park.

Mayor Todd Gloria called for the plan to be updated three years ago but there was no money in the budget for it. Now, thanks to grants from the State of California, SANDAG and the Prebys Foundation, the planning process is moving forward.

Since the plan’s original adoption in 1989, it has had four amendments. Longtime park leaders and planners Howard Blackson and Vicki Estrada recommend amending and updating the existing Master and Precise Plans into one unified Master and Implementation Plan for the entire park to save time and money.

A 23-year-old man died at the hospital after his motorcycle crashed into an SUV in the Sunset Cliffs area of Point Loma Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 16.

Shortly after noon, the unidentified young man was riding a 2003 Harley motorcycle northbound on 1000 Catalina Blvd. toward the intersection with Varona Street, San Diego police said.

However, at the same time, a 58-year-old man driving a 2016 Jeep Patriot drove into his path as he headed east on Varona Street toward Catalina Boulevard.

This apparent fatal error caused the motorcyclist to slam into the SUV. It was the motorcycle rider’s right of way, and the SUV was attempting to cross Catalina Boulevard.

From SOHO

EACH YEAR, SAVE OUR HERITAGE ORGANISATION honors the people, organizations, public agencies, and homeowners whose vision and dedication ensure that San Diego County’s historic places continue to enrich our communities. The People In Preservation Awards celebrate those whose work reminds us that while preservation is about protecting our historic places and buildings it is also about stewarding the places that tell our collective story.

The 2026 People In Preservation Award recipients exemplify preservation in its fullest sense. This year’s honorees include individuals whose decades of leadership have shaped the preservation movement, homeowners who embraced the responsibility of caring for significant historic residences, skilled professionals who restored architectural landmarks with outstanding craftsmanship, and public agencies that invested in the long-term future of some of San Diego’s most treasured civic buildings.

OB Historical Society Presents

Did you know that Shelter Island, which we are all familiar with, started out as a sandbar and a shifting shoal that was considered to be a navigational hazard? The Island was nearly dredged out of existence before it was ever connected to Point Loma

By Angelo Haynes

An emergency ICE Out rally was held at the corner of Fairmount and University Avenues in City Heights in response to a recent surge in ICE raids at various K-12 schools and across the city. The event appears to have been coordinated within 24 hours among some city officials and activist groups, resulting in several hundred people appearing at the busy intersection.

The rally’s purpose appears to be an effort to bring together elected officials, faith leaders, community groups and concerned citizens to highlight the stories of recent civilians abducted by ICE. A recent spike in ICE activity and attempted arrests of minors and parents at streets near schools in the past week prompted this rally. Incidents include a young man who was chased onto City College campus and arrested by ICE, and arrests at city schools Edison Elementary, Marshall Elementary, and Hoover High School.

According to deportationdata.org, since January 2025, there have been 18,000 ICE arrests in San Diego and Imperial Counties,

By Debbie L. Sklar / Special to the OB Rag

Today, it is difficult to imagine that the Point Loma waterfront once contained a federal medical complex whose job was to help keep contagious diseases from entering San Diego.

But for decades, a quarantine station operated at La Playa, on the Point Loma waterfront.

The location had a long history before the federal government arrived. La Playa was the site of the Mexican-era hide houses and one of the earliest commercial areas around San Diego Bay. By the late 19th century, however, the federal government had another concern: ships arriving in San Diego could bring contagious diseases with them.

The Quarantine Station at La Playa was established in 1888, according to the San Diego History Center’s History of San Diego, 1542-1908. Work on its buildings began in 1891, and the Marine Hospital associated with the station occupied nearly the site of the old hide houses.

The federal quarantine system was becoming increasingly important as San Diego’s maritime connections expanded.

The National Archives records describe the Point Loma station as a federal quarantine facility responsible for San Diego Bay. When ships arrived, inspectors boarded them and reviewed the voyage and the health of passengers and crew.

By Robert Burns

I live part-time in Tijuana.  I have long shared the popular public dismay with M.T.S. and its often barely loaded big busses, limited ridership, and every rising fares.

In Tijuana public transit is provided by the private sector–not taxpayers– with fleets of single-level vans and large busses.  More of this is discussed below.

The Moovit app discusses public transit in Tijuana :

Get around Tijuana by public transit!
Traveling around Tijuana has never been so easy. See step by step directions as you travel to any attraction, street or major public transit station. View bus and train schedules, arrival times, service alerts and detailed routes on a map, so you know exactly how to get to anywhere in Tijuana.

U.S. Military and Defense Dept. Have Hidden Extent of Damage to Aircraft, Buildings and Vehicles

By Cameron Adams / Daily Beast / Sep. 15 2026 

Bombshell leaked photos have exposed the extent of serious damage to buildings, aircraft and vehicles at U.S. positions in the Middle East after punishing attacks by Iran.

President Donald Trump’s war is now in its seventh month, with no clear timeline for when it might end. The damning photos contradict Trump’s repeated claims that the conflict has been “won” and that Iran’s military has been decimated by the U.S.

The photos, leaked to CBS News by active service members on condition of anonymity, tally with an inspector general’s report released on Monday. In it, the Pentagon watchdog revealed that “hundreds” of buildings used by the U.S. and “dozens” of aircraft had been damaged or destroyed by Iranian attacks.

OB Community Development Corporation Launches “Better OB Contest,” Calling on Residents to Share Vision for the Neighborhood

Winner to be announced October 23 at the “Get to Know the OBCDC Event” – Idea submissions due by September 30, 2026

The Ocean Beach Community Development Corporation (OBCDC) has launched their Better OB Contest, a new community ideas competition inviting residents, business owners, and neighborhood groups to submit proposals for projects that would make Ocean Beach an even better place to live, work, and visit.

The contest was introduced by Scott Therkalsen, a long-time OB resident who joined the OBCDC Board of Directors in 2024.

As he explained:

“The OBCDC has been making Ocean Beach better for more than 30 years, we’ve done everything from planting the palms lining Sunset Cliffs and funding the entryway plaza, to helping fund the expansion of softball fields at Robb Field. We recently launched a grant program that has helped fund improvements at OBE and along Newport avenue and more but we really wanted to find a way to get individual community members from OB involved.

Rag’s Editordude One of Several Chosen by Save Our Heritage Organization

From SOHO / Sept. 16, 2026

SOME PEOPLE PRESERVE HISTORIC PLACES by restoring buildings. Others preserve communities by ensuring their stories are never forgotten, their spirit never compromised.

For more than five decades, Frank Gormlie has served as Ocean Beach’s chronicler, advocate, organizer, and conscience, documenting its history, defending its character, and giving voice to the people who have shaped one of San Diego’s most distinctive neighborhoods.

Frank’s commitment to community preservation began during the social upheaval of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1970, he founded the OB People’s Rag, which became one of Southern California’s most influential underground newspapers, providing a platform for a community determined to shape its own future. More than simply reporting events, the paper became a catalyst for civic engagement, neighborhood organizing, environmental activism, and grassroots preservation.

As large-scale redevelopment threatened to erase much of Ocean Beach’s historic fabric, the OB Rag consistently helped inform, organize, and unite residents in defense of their community. It also chronicled the movement that led to the creation of the Ocean Beach Planning Board—the first democratically elected community planning group in San Diego and among the first in California. This model continues to influence neighborhood planning today.