OB Rag

If Trump is taking tactical advice from Putin about how to hold an election, that doesn’t bode well for the future of American democracy.

This is an adapted excerpt from the Aug. 18 episode of “The Rachel Maddow Show.”

By Rachel Maddow / MSNBC / Aug. 19, 2025

On Monday, dozens of people turned up in Austin, Texas, to cheer on Democrats as they returned to the state amid a huge national fight over redistricting.
Texas has been at the center of an extraordinary demand by Donald Trump that Republican-controlled states, like Texas, draw new congressional maps and effectively guarantee GOP control of Congress for years to come.

It’s not just Texas. Vice President JD Vance flew to Indiana earlier this month to put pressure on the Republican governor there to alter that state’s maps for the Republicans. Politico reported that the White House has been in talks with Republicans in Missouri, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida to change their congressional maps as well.

That’s one way Trump’s trying to rig the midterms – by demanding changes to congressional district maps to make it structurally impossible for Democrats to control Congress again.

By Andrew Oxford and Greg Giroux / Bloomberg Yahoo / August 15, 2025 

Top Democrats released a draft congressional map Friday that may lead to Republicans losing five US House seats as Gov. Gavin Newsom pushes to offset possible GOP gains from redistricting in Texas.

The California map released Friday by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would imperil the 2026 re-election bids of Republicans including Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Kevin Kiley, David Valadao, Ken Calvert, Young Kim and Darrell Issa. It would also bolster some swing-district Democrats who won close 2024 elections.

“We will not stand by as Republicans attempt to rig the election in their favor and choose their voters,” Julie Merz, executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

Newsom (D) said he will ask California voters to approve new congressional districts in a special election on Nov. 4 if Republican lawmakers in Texas or any other state go ahead with redrawing congressional maps at President Donald Trump’s urging. The governor was joined by other federal and state Democratic officials Thursday at an event to build support for the plan.

By Mike Lewis / The Coast News Group / August 13, 2025

If you’ve spoken up at a city council meeting lately, you may have noticed something strange.

If you raise questions about fire safety, infrastructure or water supply, you’re not met with dialogue, you’re met with a label: “NIMBY.”

Not a neighbor. Not a taxpayer. Not a citizen. Just a “NIMBY.”

This label is more than lazy rhetoric. It’s a calculated attempt to discredit residents who dare to question the wisdom of Sacramento’s high-density housing mandates. And it’s part of a larger strategy to make it politically toxic to care about your neighborhood.

The YIMBY movement, short for “Yes In My Back Yard”, and now also known as WIMBY (Wall Street In My Backyard)  likes to claim the moral high ground. They speak of equity and affordability while pushing policies that, in practice, produce thousands of market-rate rental units, often in cities already grappling with overburdened infrastructure.

The following is a reposted letter to the Editor at the U-T by one of our writers, Paul Krueger.

Re: “$10-an-hour-parking comes to Petco Park next month” (Aug. 5): San Diego’s “surge pricing” at downtown parking meters for Padres’ games and special events will benefit city hall financially. But working people will shoulder the costs.

Sports fans and music lovers have a choice: pay $10 an hour for meter parking, use a public lot, or take a bus, trolley, or ride-share. But thousands of low-paid hospitality workers and night shift employees don’t have those options.

By Mary Cairns / President, Ocean Beach Friends of the Library and Co-Chair, Expansion Committee

Good news on the activities for the Ocean Beach Library expansion project!

As of last week, the project is continuing to move along with minimal delays. The city has the necessary funds, and is now going through the process to get to the final selected firm for the work.

In March the Request for Qualifications went out and were due in May. The City selected the top three firms to move forward with Request for Proposals (contract language will be finalized in September) and interview process to determine the final design-build firm. A January 2026 contract award is anticipated.

The Port of San Diego is hosting a public meeting on Kellogg Beach Sand Replenishment.

To help maintain and protect Kellogg Beach from natural erosion, the Port of San Diego is planning to replenish the sand at the beach beginning on or shortly after September 8. The work is anticipated to take 2-3 weeks to complete, and beach access will be limited during construction hours.

The public is invited to attend a meeting at the Southwestern Yacht Club on August 26 at 4 p.m. to learn more about the upcoming sand replenishment project, preview the sand that will be used, and ask any questions about the project.

By Neighbors for a Better California Board

Sacramento, CA – Senate Bill 79, a contentious piece of legislation aimed at increasing housing density near transit stops across California, has ignited fierce debate among lawmakers, local governments, and community advocates. While the bill seeks to address the state’s housing crisis by mandating up-zoning within a quarter to half-mile of transit hubs, critics argue it undermines local governance, threatens affordable housing, and risks displacing vulnerable communities.

Introduced to boost housing supply near transit corridors, SB 79 categorizes areas into tiers, allowing building heights of 45 to 75 feet, and a 20-foot bonus when immediately adjacent to a transit stop. Moreover, additional density bonuses already in state law can be stacked and allow the developer to double these heights and density. Neighbors For A Better California (NFABC) analysis of the bill’s amendments reveal significant concerns about its clarity, affordability mandates, and impact on lower-income neighborhoods.

One major criticism is the bill’s vague language regarding bus routes, which critics describe as “convoluted” and prone to loopholes. This lack of precision could allow developers to exploit ambiguities, undermining the bill’s intent.

By Paul Krueger

Standing in the shadow of the vacant 101 Ash St. building, attorney Michael Aguirre on Monday, August 18, denounced the San Diego City Council and Mayor Todd Gloria for their “mismanagement” of city finances and their “illegal” effort to backfill the city’s budget deficit by inflating the new fee for trash pick up at single-family homes and small apartment and condo complexes.

Pointing to the vacant Ash Street building, which cost taxpayers more than $150 million to purchase and maintain, Aguirre said “that’s where the money is going, to fill that hole for places like Ash Street” and other city property debacles.

Aguirre and his law partner, Maria Severson, represent a cross section of homeowners challenging the new $46 monthly trash fee.

The lawyers argue that the city cannot legally charge more than the actual cost of service, which they claim the city has inflated to erase its budget deficit and cover the costs of mismanagement, including the pension fund deficit and the lack of storm drain maintenance that led to last year‘s devastating  winter floods.

The Ocean Beach Planning Board Project Review Committee will meet on Tuesday, August 19 at 6pm at the Ocean Beach Rec Center.  There are two projects on the agenda.

4870 Voltaire St

Construction of a new detached 3-story building with commercial space on the 1st floor, office space on 2nd, and dwelling unit on the 3rd.

By Francine Maxwell

San Diego’s push to add density through ADU incentives has landed hardest in Encanto — and the consequences are becoming concrete. A private developer-driven proposal to place 24 ADUs on the basketball court site in front of the Boys & Girls Club on Imperial Avenue (branded online as “Lisbon Vista Village”) is the latest example. That proposal arrives in a neighborhood already reporting serious infrastructure and parking stress, and without a public plan to add basic retail like a grocery store to serve new residents.

Facts on the table:

• Multiple news reports and community meetings show that Encanto has become a focal point for large bonus-ADU projects — scores of units proposed on a small number of parcels across the neighborhood.
• The City has been actively reconsidering the ADU Bonus Program and “Footnote 7” (the code provision that changed lot-size rules for southeastern neighborhoods), with council action and planning reports in 2025.
• Local residents have raised consistent concerns about traffic, parking capacity, stormwater/ infrastructure impacts, and loss of open recreational space — including the potential loss of the basketball court used by youth at the Boys & Girls Club.

WANTED: Writers and reporters to work on assignments. Assignments to be assigned by editor. Some journalism experience preferred. Payments range from $35 to $50 per article of 500 to 1,000 words. Camera needed. Contact Editordude at obragblog@gmail.com

WANTED: Restaurant reviewer. Want to try your hand or tastebuds on reviewing restaurants and eateries in Ocean Beach and Point Loma? Some experience preferred. Earn $50 per article. Your choice of target but be open to suggestions by staff. Contact Editordude at obragblog@gmail.com; enter “restaurant reviewer” in subject line.

WANTED: Guerilla artists and banner hangers.

The Rag staff is proud to announce that our recent annual fundraiser has broken all of our records — and produced the largest one-time donation in our history.

Overall, the fundraiser that we began 2 weeks ago has exceeded our goal of $3,000 — over 3 times. At this moment, we have received $9,350 in contributions — we are closing the campaign but there may be some checks to our PO Box still to arrive.