OB Rag

by Debbie L. Sklar / Times of San Diego /  Feb. 13, 2026

For centuries, the waters off Point Loma have been both a gateway and a hazard. Guarding the entrance to San Diego Bay, the peninsula’s rocky shoreline, strong currents, and frequent fog made it one of Southern California’s most treacherous stretches of coast. Long before visitors hiked the bluffs, ships ran aground, illicit cargo moved ashore, and maritime stories took root — shaping local lore that still echoes today.

Navigation into the bay was especially tricky in the 19th century. Fog often concealed the narrow channel, and early nautical charts were incomplete. The Old Point Loma Lighthouse, first lit in 1855, was intended to guide ships safely to harbor. Instead, its high perch often placed the light above the fog, making it invisible to sailors below. Mariners complained, and shipping records indicate that vessels continued to run aground. In 1891, the lighthouse was abandoned and replaced by a new light positioned closer to the water.

Shipwrecks along the Point Loma coast were not uncommon. Many vessels were damaged rather than destroyed, but contemporary newspaper accounts describe ships stranded on shoals, cargo lost overboard, and crews rescued under dangerous conditions. These incidents reinforced the area’s reputation as a hazardous passage — a reputation that lingered even as navigation tools and harbor improvements advanced.

The current rain and wind storm badgering San Diego has brought snow to the local mountains,  particularly Mt. Laguna. Here is a photo from the webcam at Mt. Laguna Lodge taken Monday, Feb. 16, at approx. 10:25 p.m.

By: Marie Coronel / 10News / Feb 16, 2026

A growing trend in San Diego is helping address the housing shortage as companies convert vacant hotels into apartment complexes, offering residents new housing options at competitive rental rates.

Ambient Communities has been working for years to transform the former Consulate Hotel, which was built in the 1970s and sat vacant for years, into the Celeste Point Loma Apartments. The project will offer 127 units in an area that has seen limited new housing development.

Robert Honer, a principal for Ambient Communities, said the conversion provides an alternative housing option for young professionals and students in a desirable neighborhood.

“If you’re going to graduate school, if you get your first job this is a community that people like to live in. For me the only way we could afford it was we put a bunch of kids in a single family home and did it that way. So this is an alternative to that,” Honer said.

From Peninsula News

Please join the Ocean Beach Historical Society on Thursday, February 19, 2026, 7pm, at Water’s Edge Community, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. Local author Jill Hall discusses her recent novel “On a Sundown Sea”

OB Rag Staff

The San Diego Community Coalition publishes this email bulletin to keep our members and the general public informed about important Council and Planning Commission hearings and other city public meetings.

Wednesday, February 18: Rules Committee, 9:00 a.m.

Agenda:

Item 2: Amendments to Council Policy 000-21 related to the submission of ballot proposals by the Mayor, the Council, City Hall departments and public agencies.

Why it matters: This proposal by Councilmember Raul Campillo would place new requirements on City-initiated ballot measures

OB Rag Staff Report

KPBS Public Media informed staff on February 11 that News Director Terence Shepherd and Director of People and Culture Lois Hoyt were “no longer with” the station. The internal memo signed by Chief of Staff Travis Tamasese gave no specifics about why both senior executives were leaving simultaneously.

“We recognize that these announcements, though unrelated, are being shared at the same time and reflect a great amount of change for the organization,” Tamasese wrote. “Please know that we are here to support you if you would like to touch base.”

Shepherd joined KPBS in 2022 after eight years as news director of WLRN, Florida’s major public news outlet. He previously worked as a business editor at the Miami Herald.

From Protect Point Loma

Jan. 23, 2026 Point Loma Community,

Protect Point Loma group wanted to update you on our fight to protect PL from the predatory developers.

The owner/developer, Michael Contreras, pushed his project to build an over-height, 4-story, 56-unit apartment building to be permitted and start construction in early 2026. He is there.

However, community opposition – coupled with the real threat of drawn-out legal action and the increased costs of environmental mitigation – is working. The community’s action appears to have paused the development of 1004 Rosecrans. In over a year, the community has stepped up repeatedly to voice our opposition in public, to our elected representatives, and to underwrite the work of a crack legal team. Community members provided essential historical data on the property that enabled us to initiate environmental actions to protect neighbors and Cabrillo Elementary students from exposure to carcinogens in the soil. The broad support of the community has been essential.

This pause is an opportunity. Community members have consistently offered to purchase the property from Contreras to prevent the project from going forward.  We continue to support those who are trying to make this happen.