OB Rag

by Chris Jennewein / Times of San Diego / Dec. 4, 2024

Mayor Todd Gloria announced Wednesday, Dec. 4th, that the city will freeze most hiring and review capital spending to address a $258 million budget deficit.

Speaking at a press conference at City Hall, Gloria said defeat of the Measure E sales tax increase in November left no option but an immediate effort to save money.

He said San Diego voters made it clear that “they want to continue to operate this city with our existing resources,” adding that he sees this as “an opportunity to reimagine how our city operates and the services it provides.”

The immediate cutbacks outlined Wednesday include:

By James Downie / MSNBC Opinion Editor / Dec. 4, 2024

Just before 11 p.m. local time Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a televised address to the nation. Shortly after, Gen. Park Ahn-Soo, the martial law commander, announced that “all political activities” would be banned and that “all media and publications will be subject to the control of the Martial Law Command.”

[Go to original for links]

Within three hours, lawmakers and protesters gathered outside the National Assembly, as soldiers tried to bar the entrances. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, livestreamed himself clambering over a wall to enter the building. Within five hours, 190 legislators unanimously overturned Yoon’s decree. And within six hours of the president announcing his power grab, Yoon made a second television address ending his declaration of martial law. By Wednesday afternoon, the opposition had introduced articles of impeachment against Yoon, with a vote possible as early as Thursday.

The heroics of South Korea’s Democratic-led opposition were a welcome and riveting sight for supporters of democracy around the world. And they provided a lesson for Democrats and other Trump opponents in America.

By Scott Rodd / KPBS / December 3, 2024

Earlier this year, Mayor Todd Gloria chose one of his biggest platforms to unveil his administration’s latest initiative to solve homelessness.

“Tonight, I’m announcing a philanthropic campaign to help the city carry out our ambitious plans to end our homelessness crisis,” Gloria said at his State of the City address in January, as the name of the new initiative appeared on a giant screen behind him. “Called San Diegans Together Tackling Homelessness, this campaign already has commitments for a quarter of a million dollars.”

From Neighbors for a Better San Diego

Now that the 2024 election is final, Neighbors For A Better San Diego would like to highlight several trends that may have been missed while attention was given to more high-profile races:

SANDAG’s transit plans aren’t credible. NFABSD has repeatedly emphasized the flawed assumptions of SANDAG’s transit plans,

By Colleen O’Connor

Beat the crowd. No need to be a celebrity. Just get to Balboa Park today. Wednesday.

Parking will be better. Trams are available. And you can admire the “Jewels of the Season” exhibition at the Timken Museum in enviable surroundings.

And it is free. Thanks to the generosity of two old San Diego families. The Putnam sisters who “were rich and reclusive and changed San Diego’s art world forever” and the Timken family.

The Ocean Beach Christmas Tree has arrived and has been erected at the foot of Newport Avenue. See the video by Rag videographer Charles Landon.

Celebrating 45 Years of Ocean Beach Christmas Parade Magic

By Mike James

This Saturday marks my 45th year as an announcer at the Ocean Beach Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting—a tradition started by my brothers and that’s grown into an important part of my life.

It all began in 1980 when my brother Rich and a few friends strolled down Newport Avenue to the very first OB Xmas Tree playing Christmas carols on kazoos. That year, I officially MC’d the OB Tree Lighting, so I’m counting it as the start!

Private Company that Holds Substantial Leases in Liberty Station Argues in Court San Diego Must Sell It

It is true. The City of San Diego may very well lose ownership of Liberty Station, the former military base turned market-cafe-artsy rich that also holds historic, cultural, park and recreational resources for the public. And it may lose ownership to a large, private management company that already holds mucho leases at the site.

The company, Seligman Properties, has taken the city to court and argues San Diego must offer to sell the 20-year-old Liberty Station development to the highest bidder because the city has no plans to further develop it, which the company contends state law requires for the city to continue ownership. And Seligman is in a great position to be that highest bidder, by implication.

As you may recall, Liberty Station, formerly the Naval Training Center, was acquired by the city in 2000. And immediately mixed-use development began under a city deal with the McMillin Cos for housing, retail and an arts district. Critics called the deal one of the greatest public land give-aways in modern San Diego history.

Here are some disturbing issues about current La Mesa City Councilmember Colin Parent who just lost the Nov. 5 race for the 79th Assembly District to LaShae Sharp-Collins, by U-T reporter Jeff McDonald on December 2.

For starters, McDonald reported that throughout the year-plus that Parent ran for the Assembly, he was also soliciting donations to the nonprofit that employs him — Circulate San Diego. (To addictive Rag readers, this is not news, of course, and the name Circulate San Diego should be familiar to many.) McDonald reported:

According to records at the La Mesa City Clerk’s Office, Parent disclosed hundreds of thousands of dollars in what are called behested payments — donations that individuals and companies make to charities at the request, or behest, of elected officials.

Every Saturday at 10:30 am. San Diego Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings December 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. 
Every Saturday 10 am – 12 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine

December 2nd. Monday 3:30 pm – 7 pm Second Annual Regional Climate Recap Event by San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative
December 2nd. Monday 6:30 pm Film The Palestine Exception Event by UCSD Divest

December 5th Thursday 6 pm – 8 pm 13th Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Legacy Celebration Event by Project New Village Park
December 5th Thursday 4:30 pm – 8:45 pm Joy Ride & Golden Gear Awards 2024 Event by San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

December 6th Friday 5 pm – December 7th Saturday 2 pm  Positioning for Progress. CCL’s Fall Virtual Conference Event by Citizens’ Climate Lobby

December 6th Friday 7 pm – 9 pm Resisting Reagan: Global and Local Solidarities In Reactionary Times Event by Jewish Voice for Peace
December 7th Saturday 10 am – 12 pm Donation Drive Event by Black Panther Party of San Diego

See this chart for mid-December

By Gary Wonacutt

San Diego International Airport (SDIA) is in a convenient downtown location largely because the tourism industry, including the downtown convention bureau and hoteliers, pushed hard to keep it there in a city-wide vote. However, these groups have overlooked the eventuality of SDIA reaching capacity. Over the decades, the number of operations has approached capacity, only to drop off due to global events like the 2008 economic crash and the 2021 pandemic. Once again in 2024, operations are nearing capacity.

Initially beginning at about 85 percent of capacity, the airport becomes constrained. Besides irate passengers waiting on the taxiways, there are significant consequences. The airport is surrounded by hills to the east and west and has a parking structure that decreases arrivals runway length. Coastal weather also leads to one of the highest number of missed approaches per operation in the US. Recently, an incident occurred when an aircraft was cleared to cross the runway at the same time another was cleared for takeoff. Fortunately, the aircraft was able to stop by hitting the brakes hard.   Such incidents might increase as the airport becomes constrained. The Airport Authority, supported by the FAA, may maximize operations or may decide to limit the number of operations before there are too many issues.