OB Rag

SUNDAY, SEP. 7, 2025, 11:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.
28th STREET PLAYGROUND, SAN DIEGO, CA
Preserve Greater Golden Hill to Host “March & Roll” in South Park
Family-Friendly Event Aims to Spark Conversation About Housing Policies

On Sunday, September 7 at 11:30 a.m. at the 28th Street Playground in South Park, neighbors from the South Park and Golden Hill communities will gather for a “March & Roll”—an inclusive, lively, family-friendly walk-ride-and-roll event designed to bring neighbors together, raise awareness, and start conversations about how current state and local housing legislation is affecting the safety, affordability, livability, and future of San Diego’s neighborhoods.

The event will begin in South Park, where participants can meet, mingle, and decorate their walking shoes, strollers, scooters, bicycles, and wagons. At noon, the group will follow a set route through the neighborhood, showcasing community spirit and solidarity while enjoying South Park’s tree-lined streets and historic charm.

By Samantha Mason

This is my third of a series of exploring new or interesting businesses in Ocean Beach and this time it’s all about my impressions of Voltaire Street. I spent my Tuesday morning traversing this avenue, meeting new people and seeing cool things. You know the drill!

Dog Lodge (4844 Voltaire St)

I kicked off my adventure at Dog Lodge, a dog daycare and puppy heaven. Open since January, Dog Lodge offers a variety of services for furry friends, like grooming and overnight boarding. I got the chance to speak to the owner and founder, Donovan, who opened the lodge after getting a dog of his own. He’s been in the animal care industry for seven years, and is truthfully living my dream life as a fellow dog lover.

He said there’s nothing better than spending time with the dogs, and that being in OB is the cherry on top. “It’s such a small community, and it feels like it gets smaller by the day,” he expresses, “I love seeing all of the familiar faces.”

San Diego Veterans For Peace, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7420, and supporters and friends will be hosting a rally and press conference in front of the LaJolla VA Hospital, 3350 LaJolla Village Drive, SD, CA 92161 from 3 to 4 PM on Friday, Sept 5th.

UPDATED: Victim Was Well-Known, Unhoused and a Beloved member of the Voltaire Street Community.>UPDATED: There is a crucial update to this story. The woman who was initially thought to be a pedestrian is now being reported as a passenger in one of the cars involved in the crash.

Here is original story:
During the early hours of Saturday morning, drivers coming out of OB and Point Loma were confronted with the closure of the lane on their side of the bridge over San Diego River. Police had shut down a lot of the roadway. Turns out there had been a two-car accident around midnight – a hit and run actually – around the 100 block of Sea World Drive.

Police conducted their initial investigation and determined that one of the drivers, who was driving a 2013 Honda, had rear-ended another vehicle, pushing it forward and then had taken off. That Honda was later found, but the driver has not been located. And the roadway was cleared two hours later, at around 2 a.m. This according 7SanDiego.

By Chuck Dunning

I’ve been to the meetings and read the articles declaring three parcels in Mission Bay Park as surplus. In the end, it sounds like there’s a real risk of this decision not ending well. The inescapable fact is that the sole intent of the state’s Surplus Land Act is to create land for affordable housing.

I don’t believe Mayor Gloria, Council President LaCava or the rest of the city council or staff ever envisioned Turquoise Tower or Chalcifica as an outcome of the Bonus ADU program. Yet, here they are. Shit happens. The Law of Unintended Consequences.

There is a way to redevelop the Marina Village site and avoid the entire surplus land process. I also attended many meetings and hearings when the De Anza Natural plan was being developed. Frequently there were dedicated and vocal groups decrying the potential loss of affordable camping on Mission Bay. At this point, 30 acres of camping facilities will be converted to wetlands. Coincidentally, the Marina Village site is 23 acres.

Why not convert that acreage to affordable camping? How many campsites for tents, yurts or small trailers could be accommodated with room for a playground and sports courts? There is already a deli and mini-mart adjacent to the property. Inexpensive cafes and fine dining are an easy walk.

SOHO Newsletter /  September 4, 2025

It’s true that historic preservation has, at times, and in different eras, played a role in gentrification. In certain neighborhoods, restoring older homes and buildings made these areas more desirable, which attracted investment, drove up property values, and contributed to the displacement of long-standing residents. That history needs to be acknowledged.

But it’s just one part of the story, and it’s not at all the story today. Today, the preservation movement stands as one of the few consistent barriers against displacement.

What we’re seeing now is a new wave of gentrification, one far more aggressive and less tethered to community values. It’s driven not by the careful restoration of old homes, but by the widespread demolition of existing neighborhoods with their naturally occurring affordable housing and their replacement with massive, market-rate developments. Executed under the banner of “housing solutions,” this new housing is often unaffordable to the very people the builders claim to serve.

by Ernie McCray

There’s a dear friend of mine,
Jacquenese A. Barnes Price,
Jacque for short,
who will soon be an inductee
in the Hall of Fame
at Tucson High,
an honor she comes by honestly
because she was prepared naturally
for such esteem
by a mother
who stands as an iconic
Black social and political activist
in Tucson’s history,
a woman we kids used to call
“Miss Freddie,”

Chef Jun
3309 Rosecrans St Ste B
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 782-9484

By LK Bruce

If you’re like me, there’s little more motivating to get out and try a new restaurant than a coupon in the mail. So when the coupon for Chef Jun made its way through the mailbox, I thought we’d get out there toot-sweet. Well that was in March.

Last night, the day arrived and of course, I forgot the coupon – no doubt long expired anyway. Undaunted, we parked easily in front of Chef Jun in Loma Square near Midway and Rosecrans. It’s just between Sprouts and Jamba.

An involuntary “oooh” escaped our lips as we entered the serene space filled with faux trees bursting with cherry blossoms. It wasn’t crowded at around 6pm but it became more so as the hour wore on, fortunately nothing chaotic. In fact, very Zen. And with slow jazz playing in the background, the world outside melted away.

We were told that weekday nights are pretty mellow but weekend evenings are packed. Lunches are fairly busy, we were told, especially because of the lunch specials which typically include poke bowls with soup.

With the San Diego City Council voting Sept. 9 on proposed improvements to Sunset Cliffs, the boulevard and the area, to save it from sea-level rise and ongoing erosion, you can bet that Peninsula residents are divided over the proposals coming out of the Coastal Resilience Master Plan. [Here’s the City’s Coastal Resiliency Masterplan]

One of the more controversial proposals is the one that wants to re-configure Sunset Cliffs Boulevard from a two-lane, north-south major collector road to a single southbound lane. One recent Rag reader rant felt it was premature to make Sunset Cliffs Blvd into one-way. There’s been other issues and questions. (See the many and diverse comments to Rag posts on the Cliffs.)

When the Plan was first rolled out, one Rag writer felt the ‘OB Presentation akin to Keystone Cops’ and another questioned, “Where is the Masterplan Board Hiding?”

Two of the more important community planning groups in the Peninsula are divided. The Ocean Beach Community Planning Group voted in favor of the plan, said Andrea Schlageter, who chairs that board. Schlageter said, in her own opinion, the plans for the one-way street add much needed room for recreation where there is no dedicated lane for pedestrians. “It’ll take the pressure off the cliff,” Schlageter said. “Whether we make it a one-way street now or let it erode into the ocean, it’ll be a one-way street eventually.”

The Peninsula Community Planning Board, on the other hand,

There’s a 36 foot giant agave plant towering over everything else along Point Loma Avenue in Ocean Beach these days. Right now it towers over other plants, trees, nearby homes, palm trees and power lines. But as agave observers know, it’s all temporary and in just months, the large stock will look much different.

It’s all happening in Bridget Seegers’ front yard. It was a six-foot agave plant when Bridget moved in around four years ago. Her neighbors say it had been about the same size for 30 or 40 years. That changed in April when the plant suddenly began sprouting, as CBS8 reported.

One-Way Sunset Cliffs Blvd, Removal of Parking and Creating Protected Walk-Way on Deck for Approval

The San Diego City Council will vote on Tuesday, Sept. 9 on a plan proposing to save Sunset Cliffs and the coastline from sea-level rise and ongoing erosion. The Council will be voting on its budget item.

The plan is the Coastal Resilience Master Plan which proposes turning a section of Sunset Cliffs Blvd into a single southbound lane and removing parking along Sunset Cliffs.

Besides re-configuring Sunset Cliffs Boulevard from a two-lane, north-south major collector road to a single southbound lane, it proposes creating a protected walkway for pedestrians and cyclists. The Rag has run numerous articles of late on the Master Plan including questions and issues about the functioning of its board and consequences of the plan itself. (For starters, go here.)

So, here’s another take. This one by Times of San Diego involves questions and answers between Peter Kelly, public information officer in the city’s Communications Department, and Times writer, Dave Schwab. (We’ve edited for brevity and focus.)

Times: What is the city’s Coastal Resilience Master Plan, and what does it propose doing?

by Neal Putnam / Times of San Diego – Peninsula Beacon / Aug. 29, 2025

A Jan. 20, 2026, trial date has been set for a woman who was ordered to stand trial on charges she stabbed two men in Ocean Beach following an angry incident.

Jana Nicole Halaska, 29, was ordered to stand trial for the attempted murder of Gabriel Millan and assault with a deadly weapon on Christopher Abrahamsen. Both men testified against her on Aug. 25.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh conducted the preliminary hearing on Aug. 25. Halaska pleaded not guilty at the end of the hearing, and she waived her right to have a speedy trial.

A GoFundMe request was set up for both men shortly after the April 12 incident, which took place at 1:06 a.m. at Bacon Street and Newport Avenue. Both men were strangers to Halaska, but Milan had a brief argument with one woman and kicked her, according to a court document.