OB Rag

By Paul Krueger

I can remember when Sean Elo-Rivera, my city council representative, didn’t turn his back on me when I greeted him, when he didn’t talk over me and joke with his colleagues while I testified at council meetings, and when he didn’t leave the council chambers during my public comments.

Shortly after taking office in 2021, Elo-Rivera met with a group of Talmadge/ Kensington residents concerned about the emergence of multi-story apartment buildings in residential areas (branded as “Bonus ADUs”).

To his credit, Elo-Rivera was honest and unapologetic about his intentions. He told us he had no interest in helping us secure even modest reforms to the controversial ADU program. He saw no reason to include minimal requirements for landscaping, off-street parking, setbacks from adjoining homes, and basic design standards.

He did pledge to help make sure the developers complied with building codes and other requirements. But, as we warned him, they didn’t — and he did nothing to stop them.

In the five years since that initial meeting, Elo-Rivera has abandoned any pretense of representation for constituents who disagree with his views, criticize his policy choices, or complain about his behavior.

He’s made it clear that those of us who, in his words, “live north of El Cajon Boulevard” do not deserve his respect or even the basic constituent services of his non-partisan council office.

Elo-Rivera shows a special disdain for those of us who are — in his words — old, white, and “implicitly racist” homeowners. (No matter that Elo-Rivera himself now owns property north of his chosen El Cajon Boulevard battleline.)

By Debbie L. Sklar / Special to the OB Rag

Shelter Island looks like a quiet stretch of marinas, sailboats, and waterfront hotels today, but its history is anything but ordinary. What appeared to be a natural peninsula was actually a shifting sandbar in San Diego Bay, gradually transformed over decades of harbor dredging, engineering projects,s and the city’s expanding maritime economy.

Even its name tells only part of the story.

1. It Isn’t Really an Island

Despite the name, Shelter Island has never been a true island. It began as a low sandbar near Point Loma that was visible mainly at low tide.

Beginning in the 1930s, harbor improvement projects deposited dredged material onto the shoal, gradually creating the landform visitors see today. Over time, what had once been open water became one of San Diego’s most recognizable waterfront destinations.

Rag judges have – finally – determined a winner of the July 4th 250th anniversary Rag writing contest.

It is William Dorsett of San Diego. The Rag will be sending William a check for $100.

There were 7 entries  in the contest and we published them all anonymously. Dorsett wrote number 7, entitled, “What the 250th Anniversary Means Today… Living Under Trump: ‘I love America But It Can Do Better — the Torch Has Been Passed to Us.'”  Dorsett wrote his winning essay on the morning of July 4th.

Here is his essay:

Today marks the 250th anniversary of American Independence Day. It feels very different from the celebrations I remember growing up.

When I was a child, July 4th was a spectacle. My family gathered every year. My grandfather fired up the grill while my grandmother made potato salad and all the fixings. After lunch there was homemade ice cream or fresh peach cobbler. But the real excitement came after dark. Growing up in Texas, fireworks were everywhere, and lighting them was what I lived for each summer.

As we grow older, however, our understanding of history changes. I learned that the celebration of American independence has never meant the same thing to everyone. For many Native Americans, it marked the beginning of the destruction of their way of life. For African Americans, freedom would not come for another 89 years, followed by generations of unequal treatment. Women would wait nearly a century and a half before gaining the right to vote.

By Rag Staff

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

Please note: New rules on public participation go into effect at this meeting. The Coalition is planning an initiative to help community leaders navigate the changes. For now, remember that non-agenda public comments have a 2-minute limit, but all other public comments have a 1-minute limit.

Monday, July 6: City Council, 2:00 p.m.

Agenda:

Item 201: Appeal of the Environmental Determination for Coast Walk Project No. PRJ-1074172, Lots @ & 17

Why it matters: Building a two-story 5,478-square-foot house on the iconic Coast Walk ocean bluff will carve out yet another piece of the La Jolla coastline for the exclusive use of the privileged. Is there no end to predatory oceanfront development?

Item 400: Ordinance Adopting Updated SDPS Military Equipment Use Procedure and Renewing Approval for Use, Funding, and Acquisition of Military Equipment

Why it matters: The ICE killings of two citizens in Minneapolis taught us the hazards of militarized law enforcement in urban areas.

By Anonymous #7

Today marks the 250th anniversary of American Independence Day. It feels very different from the celebrations I remember growing up.

When I was a child, July 4th was a spectacle. My family gathered every year. My grandfather fired up the grill while my grandmother made potato salad and all the fixings. After lunch there was homemade ice cream or fresh peach cobbler. But the real excitement came after dark. Growing up in Texas, fireworks were everywhere, and lighting them was what I lived for each summer.

As we grow older, however, our understanding of history changes. I learned that the celebration of American independence has never meant the same thing to everyone. For many Native Americans, it marked the beginning of the destruction of their way of life. For African Americans, freedom would not come for another 89 years, followed by generations of unequal treatment. Women would wait nearly a century and a half before gaining the right to vote.

America, in its infancy, was not as great as history often portrays it. It was a extraordinary idea, one that produced many achievements, but had a long journey ahead before it could truly live up to its founding ideals.

That journey included a Civil War, two world wars, and countless struggles for civil rights and equality. America became a nation admired around the world, because it had shown an ability to grow, correct itself, and strive toward something better.

America has always had skeletons in its closet, so perhaps it should not surprise us that, on the nation’s 250th anniversary, we find ourselves moving backward in some ways. We elected a convicted felon as president. That fact alone says less about one man than it does about us.

Dear Friends:

We hope your summer is off to a good start. Here is a news round-up about the Coalition’s recent activities and future priorities:

This Week at City Hall: We appreciate the feedback on our weekly bulletin that highlights significant Council agenda items. Thanks to your involvement, City officials are feeling pressure to serve constituents and not just special interests. Let’s keep that up by speaking out at Council meetings – in-person, virtually, and in writing – to remind them that they work for us.

Jack McGrory Coalition Forum: If you missed it, check out Jack McGrory’s no-holds-barred analysis of City Hall in the OB Rag (Part I and Part II). The willingness of some civic leaders to deliver straight talk at our town hall events is encouraging. Our speakers’ series resumes in the fall.

strong>By Anonymous #6

Words cannot cover what it’s  been like since Donald Trump got elected President again.Worry, anxiety, doubt, despair and bad dreams are  my companions these days. I have been flying a small flag upside-down at my front door until Trump’s war on Iran ends.

There is always the mitigating gob-smacking Crime du Jour: President Trump’s unprecedented annual earnings report of $2.2 billion for his family and their private businesses — like crypto (which is “regulated by the government” Trump heads, Trump Bibles, Trump shirts-and-shoes merch — all while he holds public office. Critics are calling this a potential conflict of interest.

But what preoccupies  me is Trump’s arrogant ignorant  misalliance with Israel’s criminal prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is jonesing to destroy Iran.  Trump has joined Bibi’s war with no notice, no consultation, no consent sought from the U.S.Congress. Trump tore up Obama’s 10-year nuclear weapons production detente with Iran and instead, Trump/Hegseth/Rubio/Vance/Lutnick/Kushner have twice interrupted diplomatic negoatiations with Iran, first to “obliterate” (kill off) Iran’s leadership hierarchy and then to bomb Iran’s infrastructure and tighten economic sanctions against its people.

By Anonymous #5

The arrival of the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026 brings an unexpected juxtaposition: a milestone meant to celebrate two and a half centuries of constitutional democracy is instead marked by the reality of Donald Trump’s continued dominance over the American political landscape.

For many, this semiquincentennial was envisioned as a moment of triumph for modern pluralism. Instead, it serves as a stark reflection on how the political map was redrawn. While Trump’s rise is often analyzed through the lens of conservative populism, an honest accounting of how the country arrived at this point requires looking at the other side of the aisle. The political reality of 2026 is, in large part, a direct consequence of progressive politics in 2016 and 2024, which repeatedly alienated moderate voters, fractured the anti-Trump coalition, and inadvertently drove a significant portion of the electorate straight into Trump’s arms.

The blueprint for this self-sabotage was drawn in 2016. In an election decided by razor-thin margins in the Rust Belt, the progressive left’s refusal to compromise proved fatal. Driven by an all-or-nothing ideological purity, a critical mass of progressive voters chose to defect from the Democratic ticket. In states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, the votes cast for Green Party candidate Jill Stein exceeded Trump’s margin of victory over Hillary Clinton. By treating the mainstream center-left as an enemy equal to the populist right, progressives fractured the coalition needed to stop Trump. They treated the 2016 election as a risk-free opportunity to send a message, operating under the assumption that American democratic institutions were durable enough to withstand a temporary protest vote. That miscalculation laid the groundwork for the transformation of the federal judiciary and the reshaping of American governance.

By Anonymous #4

Trump wants to use the 250th anniversary to validate his presidency and portray this era as a “golden age” he restored. His opponents focus on Trump’s many crimes and on his vile coarseness. Administration messaging through Freedom 250 stresses a heroic, mythic narrative of the Founding Fathers and America’s destiny. It encourages citizens to embrace patriotism and national pride. It’s impossible to take in this drivel and not list some aspects of our history that are nothing to be proud of:

• Native American Genocide
• Slavery
• Jackson: The Indian Removal Act
• McKinley: Imperialism
• Women can’t vote until 1920
• The National Security Act of 1947
• McCarthyism
• Vietnam and COINTELPRO
• Political Assassinations
• The Global War on Terror, including Palestine and Iran

Most of us are more comfortable with a traditional approach to July 4, which considers both American achievements and failures, and invites at least the pretense of national self-examination.

The key fact is that the American Revolution is a priceless example of radical political change for the better. The founders overthrew royal tyranny by force. There is a reason virtually every revolution since ours has quoted from the Declaration of Independence. We still love the ideal of liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the constitution. These principles are as seductive – and as subversive – as they were 250 years ago. We see them as fundamental to the American character.

By Kate Callen

In the news profession, journalists are supposed to be fired for breaching ethical standards. They are not supposed to be fired for upholding them.

Terence Shepherd is suing his former employer, KPBS, for doing just that. In a lawsuit filed in May in Superior Court, Shepherd, who was KPBS News Director from August 2021 until September 2025, alleges he was terminated for wanting to comply with rules set down by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The incident in question was KPBS Reporter Alexander Nguyen’s TV news report of a September 17 event at Encinitas City Hall protesting the tactics of U.S. Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement (ICE).

The lawsuit states, “Shepherd became aware that [Nguyen] had apparently staged a protest scene about which KPBS was reporting. One of the protesters that [he] staged behind the live shot [carried] a placard that prominently displayed ‘FUCK ICE.’”

Believing that a display of the word “FUCK” would violate FCC rules governing broadcast content, Shepherd alerted KPBS Chief Content Officer Nancy Worlie. He wanted to audit Nguyen’s past work. Worlie “vehemently disagreed” and said that Shepherd was “grossly overreacting.” Soon after, he was fired.

This is the latest entry to the Rag writing contest.

By Anonymous #3

As our country prepares to celebrate 250 years of independence, I have been thinking about what America means to me. Our country isn’t perfect, but I still believe it is the greatest nation in the world because we have freedom and the opportunity to make our lives better.

I moved to Ocean Beach, California, in 1996, and I fell in love with it. There is something special about living in a community where people know each other, help one another, and appreciate the simple things in life. Living there has reminded me that America is not just a place on a map. It is made up of neighborhoods, families, and everyday people who care about their communities.

I am a caregiver for a veteran, and that has taught me a lot about sacrifice, service, and appreciating our freedoms. I have had the privilege of hearing stories from someone who served this country and seeing firsthand the pride and love that many veterans have for America. It has given me an even greater respect for the men and women who have defended our nation.

Sixty years ago today — the Ocean Beach Pier first opened on July 2nd, 1966.

And OB photographer, Steve Rowell, was there to snap this famous photo of opening day.