OB Rag

By Paul Krueger

State Senator Toni Atkins has joined the unlikely chorus of elected officials opposing a planned 22-story “Pencil Tower” on Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach.

“It represents an extreme misuse of the State Density Bonus Law, consisting of 75 housing units, of which only 10 are income-restricted, alongside a staggering 139 visitor accommodation units,” Atkins told the director of the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in a publicly-released letter.

It was always a long shot – the Larry Turner for San Diego Mayor campaign — but when a poll came out in mid-September ( 10News-San Diego Union-Tribune ) that showed a fairly tight race between Gloria and Turner, hope appeared — not at Vine Street but within the Turner camp and among all those San Diego residents disgusted with Gloria.

According to the poll, 37% of those asked said they’d vote for Gloria if they were filling out their ballot right now, while 33 % said they’d vote for Turner. Meanwhile, 28% indicated they were undecided. This totally upset the campaign of coasting to victory for Gloria and even the U-T called him out on it.

Yet, as the race settles down in its last few weeks, it has become clear the San Diego establishment has turned against Turner.

Back in September, a group called Kalonymus LLC filed a building permit application with the city of San Diego’s development services department. This type of interaction occurs every week. So what’s the big deal?

What’s different is that Kalonymous wants to build a 239-foot-tall, mixed-use tower in Pacific Beach, just a couple of blocks from the beach at 970 Turquoise St.

The project this for-profit development firm wants would hold 213 total units — including 10 residential units reserved for very-low and middle-income families — and 311 parking spaces on the 0.67-acre site.

By Dana Williams /7SanDiego / October 3, 2024

A newly-approved bill signed in late September by Gov. Gavin Newsom allows cities within San Diego County, or the county itself, to ban electric bicycles for riders who are younger than 12 years old.

The bill, AB 2234, was written by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, who is the California State Representative for the 77th District that includes much of coastal San Diego County. She shared that while she is a mother of kids who enjoy using their e-bikes to get around, there needs to be more regulations around how they are used.

As more and more cities within San Diego County pass “No Camping” bans, the numbers of our fellow citizens who live along the San Diego River have increased until now it’s over 400.

According to figures just released by the San Diego River Park Foundation, there’s an estimated 423 people living along the San Diego Riverbed, marking an increase over the last count in the spring. That figure comes from the Foundation’s homelessness census, conducted by volunteers over four days in late September.

By Aaron Amerling / East County Magazine / October 8, 2024

A Call for Ethical Leadership in the 79th

As a long-time resident of La Mesa, I’ve had the opportunity to observe our local politics closely. Today, I feel compelled to share my concerns about Colin Parent’s candidacy for the 79th District Assembly seat. My intention is not to attack, but to spark a thoughtful discussion about the ethical standards we expect from our representatives.

Here is the OB Rag 2024 General Election Ballot Guide. Ballots began arriving in San Diego County mailboxes the week of October 7, while the first vote centers open October 26.

So, this is a guide to the major state and county candidates, issues and ballot measures in the election. (For some races and offices, there’s no need for discussion.) What we’re not covering are the school board and other-than-City of San Diego races, generally. (Our recommendations are next to the office or initiative listed.)

President – Kamala Harris

Senate – Adam Schiff -(D)

Adam Schiff, a 12-term Democratic Congressman from Burbank, is of course going after the seat held by the late Dianne Feinstein and is going against Republican Steve Garvey, a former Dodgers and Padres star who is seeking his first public office. Garvey is a two-time supporter of Trump. Note that you have to vote for your candidate twice — both to fill two months of Feinstein’s unfinished term, and then for the full six years beginning in January.

By Lynne Miller

As San Diego City officials continue to sneak quietly behind their constituents and  groom our communities for financiers and builders, there is a grassroots movement gaining traction.

I went to a Pacific Beach protest last night, joining about 200 people. The group ‘leader’ found out 5 days ago about the 23 story building planned for Pacific Beach. He did not read it in the San Diego UT, hear it on the radio, or get a flier from the City. Kudos to the OB RAG for posting the article that exposed the city’s intentions.

A woman motorcyclist suffered life-threatening injuries when her bike crashed while she was traveling eastbound on Midway Drive Tuesday night, October 8.

The unidentified person suffered a collapsed lung, fractured collarbone, multiple rib fractures, as well as lacerated liver and spleen.

She was traveling east in the 3100 block of Midway Drive around 8:30 p.m.

Neighbors for a Better San Diego

We sent six questions to San Diego’s Mayoral and City Council candidates. Four of the six candidates responded. Their responses are below.

Note: Neither Mayor Todd Gloria nor Councilmember Stephen Whitburn have replied, but if/when they do, we will post their replies.

Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, District 9, declined to answer the questions specifically. He instead sent the following one-sentence reply to our questionnaire:

“I stand by my record of championing tenant protections, investing in more affordable housing, increasing safe and sustainable mobility options, and strengthening the Council’s role in the legislative process.”

By Mat Wahlstrom

Of the fifteen state and local measures on this November’s ballot, arguably none would be more beneficial to the largest number of Californians than Proposition 33. Which is why it’s curious that one cannot find a single mainstream media outlet which supports it.

Proposition 33 is a clean repeal of the 1995 Costa-Hawkins Act, which bans cities and counties from limiting the amounts that new and existing tenants can be charged for rent. That’s it. It doesn’t specify any limits; it simply allows them to be enacted.

And that’s the ugly truth that’s being ignored: we already have rent control, but it protects landlords not renters. Current state law prevents even the possibility of tenant relief.