OB Rag

Opponents to dense housing developments in Los Angeles turned their attention to transit after Gov. Newsom signed SB79 — a law encouraging high-rise construction near bus and rail lines.

by Ben Christopher / Cal-Matters / October 22, 2025

For years Burbank residents, business owners and elected officials have been squabbling over a plan to run a speedy new bus line through the middle of town.

The North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit project is slated to carve a bus-only corridor linking the eastern edge of the San Fernando Valley to the western extent of the San Gabriel Valley while connecting two of LA County’s most well-trafficked rail lines. To do so, LA Metro plans to take away a lane of traffic and a ton of parking spaces along most of the 18-mile route, which includes much of a four-lane stretch that runs through downtown Burbank.

Ever since the agency floated the project in 2017, a vocal coalition of ticked-off Burbankers, Glendalians and denizens of the northeast LA neighborhood of Eagle Rock has been protesting, petitioning and (unsuccessfully) suing to block, delay or revamp the plan.

Now, with the sweep of his pen, Gov. Gavin Newsom has turned this long-simmering battle over a bus into a full-fledged war over housing, local control and the future of the single-family neighborhoods.

The following was published as a Letter to the Editor in the San Diego Union-Tribune on October 22, 2025 

By Paul Krueger

Re “Gloria: Building height fight is not over” (Oct. 21):

Mayor Todd Gloria says he’ll now persuade City Council members to petition the state Supreme Court and attempt to overturn a well-reasoned, strongly worded, unanimous appellate court ruling that reinstated a 30-foot height limit on new development in the Midway District.

Our mayor claims that accepting the appellate court ruling would be a “failure,” and that “failure is simply not an option.”

Many San Diegans would respectfully disagree.

by Ernie McCray

We as a country
should keep alive
the brief firing of Jimmy Kimmel,
remembering it for what it was:
a vicious attack
on his Freedom of Speech,
the most precious right
of citizens of a free society,
taken from him
on the whim
of a president
who lives in fear
of any negative words that are spoken about him
or spoken about anyone or anything
that represents him.

Republicans in Texas and other states are making a power grab to keep Trump in unchecked control for two more years. Californians must mobilize to pass Proposition 50, which would level the field by approving temporary new districts in our state. Passing this ballot measure in the November 4 special election is urgent for our democracy — and we need all hands on deck!

Learn more and sign up to help at sddems.link/prop50.

San Diego County Democratic Party HQ
3934 Murphy Canyon Rd
Ste B103
San Diego, CA 92123

Saturday, October 25, 10–11AM

Oct 26 — Monthly Meeting, Shut ALPRs Down
Monthly Meeting Sunday, October 26, 4:00-5:30PM, Pt Loma Assembly
Point Loma & OB Dems

Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are being used to track all of us, and the data is being illegally shared with Federal departments. It has been used to track immigrants and asylum seekers, as well as women seeking abortions.

Nancy Relaford of the TRUST San Diego coalition will give a presentation and answer your questions about ALPRs — and what we can do to help our elected officials  —Shut ALPRs Down.

The San Diego Police Department (that uses a system made by FLOCK) says it stopped sharing surveillance data with federal authorities and other out-of-state agencies but only after state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office told the department it was likely violating state law. — KPBS.org

From Times of San Diego  Staff and Wire Reports / Oct. 22, 2025

As part of the South Mission Beach Green Infrastructure project, the city is removing 46 trees around parking lots along Mission Boulevard in Mission Beach.

To date, 25 of the trees have been removed in the area near Belmont Park.

These tree removals will allow the contractor to begin installing water quality basins, which are intended to remove pollutants from the stormwater runoff of the adjacent parking lots before it flows into the San Diego Bay.

Only trees within the footprint of the new water quality basins are impacted, which includes eight trees that are being relocated to other spots around Mission Beach, according to Tyler Becker, a San Diego senior public information officer.

By Paul Krueger

The San Diego City Council’s Rules Committee voted Wednesday, Oct. 22, to advance discussions on a proposed ballot measure that would impose a new tax on short-term vacation rentals (STR) and unoccupied second homes.

The committee voted 3–1 to continue studying the proposal — which would charge STR owners $5,000 per bedroom annually — and to consider placing it before voters on the June or November 2026 ballot.

Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, who introduced the measure, won support from Council President Joe LaCava and Councilmember Kent Lee. Councilmember Raul Campillo cast the sole vote against advancing the proposal, arguing that it would hurt local property owners and the city’s tourism economy. Councilmember Vivian Moreno was absent.

Elo-Rivera said the tax would help make housing more affordable, protect renters from displacement, and preserve neighborhood character.

“This is not about punishment — it’s about priorities,” he said. “Ninety-nine percent of San Diegans will not pay this tax. If you live in your home, rent out rooms, or have a long-term tenant, you won’t be affected.”

He told vacation rental owners that they were “being used as pawns in a game played by Airbnb,” arguing that corporate interests were profiting at the expense of local housing availability.

Under the proposal, whole-home vacation rentals and unoccupied second homes would be subject to the tax. Elo-Rivera estimated that more than 10,000 properties, mostly in beach communities and downtown, could be affected.

By Blake Nelson / The San Diego Union-Tribune / October 21, 2025 

Hundreds of affordable housing units opened this month throughout the city of San Diego, a crucial addition in a region where the number of people losing a place to stay continues to outpace how many homeless residents are able to leave the streets.

The 560 apartments are spread across multiple buildings in downtown San Diego, the Clairemont Mesa neighborhood and the Midway District. Some are set aside for homeless people, veterans or young adults.

“When we support affordable housing in our communities, we are creating a safe and stable living environment for all residents,” Kimberly Giardina, a leader at the county’s Health and Human Services Agency, said in a statement.

Midway District

Pacific Village in the Midway District is for veterans, young adults and those who’ve experienced homelessness. The building is a converted hotel and holds 62 studio apartments. Fifteen are for homeless veterans.

Multiple levels of government similarly chipped in to support the renovations, and millions of dollars from the county will cover behavioral health services, which can treat both mental illnesses and substance use disorders.

[Editordude: this new Pacific Village used to be the Ramada Inn, pictured above. See more on Pacific Village here.]

The fall-out (pun indented) from the weekend’s live fire by Marine howitzers over I-5 into Camp Pendleton during Vance’s visit is still falling.

Yesterday’s (Tuesday, Oct. 21) main headline at the LA Times spoke out: “How military’s live fire over I-5 went awry”.

Here’s a few points the article made:

• At first when Federal officials first announced the live fire last week they insisted it would be done with “all safety precautions in place” and said no public highways would be closed.
• Then California officials expressed fears about the live rounds being fired over I- 5.
• On Friday, Oct. 17 – the day before the No Kings Day — the Marines did a test run, and fired live rounds over I-5 while motorists drove on the freeway.
• Early Saturday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the closure that day of a 17-mile stretch of the interstate — from just south of San Clemente to just north of Oceanside — during the event.
• During the live fire, a CHP cruiser parked on an onramp of Interstate 5 was hit by falling shrapnel after an artillery round exploded midair. Obviously, way before it was supposed to. A CHP officer heard what sounded like falling pebbles hit his bike and the ground.
• This incident forced “an early end to the artillery demonstration. Upon learning of the midair explosion, the Marines canceled the remaining 55 rounds they’d planned to fire.

By Scott Lewis / Voice of San Diego / Oct. 20, 2025

Wednesday [morning, today, Oct. 22], the Rules Committee for the San Diego City Council will consider Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera’s push for a tax on empty second homes and vacation rentals. He and his supporters have polled the issue and asked whether voters supported an up-to $5,000 per bedroom annual tax on vacation rentals.

The business community and AirBnB seem to see it as an existential threat.

First, the argument for: As announced at Politifest, Elo-Rivera wants the city to start seeing tourism differently: not as a precious industry that needs to be coddled and nurtured but instead like oil in Norway: An incredibly valuable resource that the city should extract more social benefits from.

“The city needs resources to provide residents the things they want and need,” he said. “That conversation should begin with those with most means who do not live here.”

By Kat Schuster / Patch San Diego / Tue, Oct 21, 2025 

Californians who rely on food assistance are being urged to prepare for possible delays, as the ongoing federal shutdown could halt benefits starting Nov. 1 if it isn’t resolved by Thursday, Oct 23.

On Monday, the California Department of Social Services directed counties statewide to brace for disruptions, noting that benefits — which are fully federally funded — cannot be distributed until the shutdown ends. CalFresh, the state’s food benefits program, currently serves about 5.5 million residents.

Some state-funded food assistance programs could also be affected, the agency said.