OB Rag

By Ron Donoho / San Diego Sun / January 16, 2026

Was San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria hoping to turn the page on public outrage over new parking fees by ignoring the topic during his 2026 State of the City address?

If so, the tactic backfired.

Those fees – in place at Balboa Park and also covering 17 blocks in downtown San Diego – are what many people still wanted to talk about after the mayor’s glaring omission in his annual speech. It was delivered on January 15, and the setting for the second year in a row was the 250-seat City Council Chambers at City Hall.

TV newscasts, online reports and other headlines focused on parking fees. Leaving the topic out of his address didn’t tamp down the ire. It stoked flames of discontent.

After the city faced more than a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar deficit in its last annual budget, one of the hot button fixes by the mayor was implementation of new charges on people who drive cars.

Rookie move by a veteran politician.

by Ernie McCray

We, Maria, my heart,
and Lillia, her bosom buddy,
and I,
just returned from Cuernavaca
where we visited
Josefina Sosa Catalan,
a longtime friend.

What a time we had
from the time we got there
until the very end.

On the plane ride home
I relived,
in my thoughts,
how radiant and graceful Josefina is,

Stop the development of the Turquoise Tower/Vela project in Pacific Beach

The Issue

The proposed Turquoise Tower/Vela project has raised significant concerns among the residents of Pacific Beach. Bird Rock, La Jolla and surrounding beach communities. Plans for this 23-story structure, at 970 Turquoise Street, pose multiple threats to the community’s well-being and local character.

Before any approvals are issued, the public deserves transparency and a fair opportunity to review the facts. We’re are asking the City of San Diego to publish the baseline calculations and assumptions being used to justify the project’s size and intensity and state in writing the approval path being used (ministerial vs. discretionary) and the basis for that decision. The city must not issue approvals until this information is public and the community has had a reasonable opportunity to review it.

Traffic congestion is a serious issue that this massive project will only make worse. The area is already challenged by heavy traffic and the addition of such a large development on a narrow two-lane road will bring more vehicles, leading to longer commutes, increased pollution, and a heightened risk of accidents.

By Miriam Raftery / East County Magazine / Jan. 16, 2026

CalAware Founder and open government champion Joseph Terrence “Terry” Francke died December 24 with his wife, Carolyn “Muffy” Francke at his side.

As cofounder and long-time general counsel of Californians Aware (CalAware), Francke fought for the rights of the public and press to access information, court actions and public meetings of government bodies.His legal advice led to numerous reforms across California, including interventions that led to improved public access at boards and agencies in San Diego and East County.

He also served as general counsel to the First Amendment Coalition and as legal counsel for the  California Newspaper Publishers Association, as well as a newspaper editor, school district information officer, and public affairs officer for the U.S. Marines.

JW August, a past CalAware president,  former investigative producer for NBC 7and senior producer for the investigative team at ABC 10 News, [and current writer for the Rag] praises Francke as a “warrior for the First Amendment,” as well as a friend and mentor who helped “smaller publications and bigger ones that may have run into a legal wall…Any reporter, any editor, any citizen could call him and get experienced help.”

City Code prohibits construction on 3rd Monday in January; See What Is Closed and Open today, Jan. 19

By Susan Narucki

First off, I want to thank you all for the great work that the OB Rag does for our community.  I am a faithful reader and I appreciate the reporting that Paul Krueger, Kate Callen, and many others do to keep us informed and hold our elected officials accountable.

I write to you on January 19, 2026, a federal holiday in which we celebrate the life and accomplishments of Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  We live on Normal Street, directly across from the Normal Street Promenade project.

Since 7:00 a.m., I have been listening to the sound of construction on the city of San Diego’s Normal Street Promenade, across the street from my home. The sound of heavy equipment and jackhammers is ongoing.

According to the San Diego municipal code, construction is prohibited on the 3rd Monday of January.  I spoke to the representatives from Griffith Construction, and they said that they were “allowed” to work on this day because the city gave them permission.

OB Rag Staff Report

When the Rag began our 2026 San Diego City Council election coverage, we promised to “scrutinize the candidates in the June primary: who they are, what they’ve done, what they say, and most importantly, where their money comes from.”

Our first post reviewed Campaign Disclosure Reports (Series 400) for three District 2 candidates and listed their top contributors. This post focuses on three candidates in the District 8 primary.

Intro by Rag Staff:

In a speech to House Republicans earlier this month, January, Donald Trump cast the coming midterm elections in existential terms, declaring Democrats would impeach him if they won a majority in Congress. He then supposedly joked about canceling the midterms, but muttered he’d be accused of being a dictator if he did.

But as Patrick Marley and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez report in a sweeping and important piece in the January 12th issue of the Washington Post they assure us that “Trump can’t cancel elections and he lacks the authority to carry out some of his most far-reaching plans because local and state officials oversee elections, rather than the federal government.”

That’s a relief, isn’t it?

But they hammer away: “Trump has already ignored those constraints and signaled he will continue to do so, which means courts will probably have to determine what rules are in place for the midterm elections.” With the way courts operate, that’s downright scary.

To make their case, the reporters checked out documents and interviewed more than three dozen election officials and experts over the past year “at how Trump and the administration are trying to reshape how the midterm elections will be conducted.” Check the following out, it’s extremely important that we citizens grok what they’re doing — but remember these reporters work for Jeff Bezos, a Trump billionaire supporter who owns the Post, so they’ve also minced their words (which means things are even worse).

Here are the key methods:

Pushing states to redraw House districts

What has Trump done? Trump pressed GOP leaders in several states to take the unusual step of redrawing their congressional maps for partisan gain in the middle of the decade. Ordinarily, states draw new maps once every 10 years, after the census is completed.
Where is it happening? Republicans made nine districts more favorable for themselves across Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina and Texas and are considering redrawing districts in Florida.

What does this mean? If successful, Republicans could gain enough seats to protect their thin House majority, even if Democrats have a good year and pick up other seats. Republicans lead the chamber 218-213, and a handful of races could determine control after 2026.

By Jillian Butler

On Monday, January 12th, the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club (OBWC) held their annual awards ceremony spearheaded by their Philanthropy and Social Justice Committee (PSJ). During this ceremony, PSJ chairwoman Paula Boyd bestowed multiple charities with checks of money that the club fundraised during the 2025 year. This year’s beneficiaries were:

• Just in Time for Foster Youth,
• Peninsula Community Senior Center,
• Community Connections Program,
• San Diego Humane Society, and
• a high school scholarship program.

Ms. Boyd praised the organizations, saying, “The organizations that we honor tonight are the ones who stop and help. Their dedicated staff and volunteers bring compassion and expertise to their work. They provide housing, counseling, and medical care for people in need, as well as their animal companions.”

Over 80 people were in attendance at the ceremony, enjoying wine, charcuterie, and honoring the work of the OBWC over the past year. This ceremony also served as the first general meeting of the year.

By Wild Oscar / Escondido Grapevine / January 12, 2026

“One Battle After Another,” the new Warner Bros. picture written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, opened recently— and it doesn’t merely visit San Diego. It moves in, rearranges the furniture, and leaves its footprints all over the place.

Last year the production spent roughly six weeks roaming the region with cameras and cables, collecting scenery the way tourists collect fridge magnets. Border areas. Otay Mesa. Borrego Springs. Downtown. If you squint during the trailers, you can practically hear the local traffic reports.

“Definitely when you see this on the big screen, you’re going to see a lot of San Diego in it,” said Guy Langman, the city’s film program manager, sounding like a man who’s already spotted familiar palm trees in the rushes.

The county, never one to waste a good ledger entry, says the shoot pumped nearly $7 million into the local economy—hotels, catering, wages for extras and crew, and assorted cinematic odds and ends that don’t usually show up on a tourist brochure.

The filmmakers, meanwhile, were not motivated solely by sunshine and civic pride. California’s tax credits played their part.

By Pam Kragen / San Diego Union-Tribune / Jan. 14 -15, 2026

Stan Levin, a Korean War veteran who spent the later years of his life as a passionate anti-war activist and helping San Diego’s homeless population, passed away Jan. 8 at a local hospital. He was 96.

The longtime San Diegan worked as an acrobat, in airplane manufacturing, as a schoolteacher and in the real estate industry. But he became best known for his volunteer work with San Diego Veterans for Peace, a vocation that began around his 80th birthday in 2010. He participated in demonstrations, protested at the Miramar air shows, spoke at public events and wrote many essays and letters to the editor that were published in this and other local newspapers and on news sites.

Levin’s daughter Annie Revel said her father loved talking to people on virtually any topic, but over the past 20 years he increasingly became an outspoken anti-war activist.

“He was opinionated and very engaged in life,” Revel said. “He always had a twinkle in his eye and he had a great sense of fun. He was very curious and inquisitive and always learning.”

By Kate Callen

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s 2026 “State of the City” address began hitting turbulence on January 14, the day before he delivered it.

His long-time ally Voice of San Diego (VOSD) shocked the city that morning with a takedown of the mayor’s leadership. Will Huntsberry’s “Disappointment Follows Gloria Into Sixth Year” described an executive in free fall with few achievements and fewer friends.

Later that day, word filtered out that the City Council would hold a special meeting at 1:00 p.m., two hours before Gloria’s speech, to allow public comment on a talk that hadn’t yet been given.

The hastily arranged meeting was sparsely attended. Most speakers railed against Immigration and Customs Enforcement abuses, entirely off topic, but Council President Joe La Cava allowed it.

The few speakers who stayed on topic echoed themes in the VOSD article: The mayor has lost the people’s trust. He has squandered money on expensive hires. He prefers cutting ribbons to carrying out tough decisions.

When Gloria stepped to the podium, he was under intense pressure to give a pivotal speech. Would he squarely face the challenges that plague his city? Or would he spin his record, carp about obstacles, and weave a rosy picture of the future?

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / Jan. 16, 2026

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said Thursday he will aggressively pursue a new sports arena project despite legal challenges and will revive plans to transform the downtown Civic Center, starting with new college classrooms.

Delivering his sixth annual State of the City address, the mayor also announced that San Diego had permitted 7,500 new homes in 2025 — the third year in a row that permits have been nearly twice the city’s long-term average.

The mayor also said he would try to increase national focus on the housing crisis this year as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the first time San Diego has led that group.

Gloria’s annual speech, delivered at City Hall on Thursday afternoon, touched on familiar themes but offered less ambitious proposals than he had made in addresses earlier in his mayoralty.

And as in last year’s speech, he continued to urge other government agencies to help San Diego solve its problems.

He called on Caltrans to expand efforts to clear homeless encampments under freeways. He called on the state to better fund a crackdown on retail theft. And he again called on the county to address the mental illness and addiction problems that he said contribute to the city’s homelessness crisis.