OB Rag

A few days ago, KPBS ran a story entitled “San Diego is building a lot of new homes, but not always in places that need them most” by Jake Gotta, which was picked up by their media partners at Voice of San Diego. Gotta interviewed our good friend Bonnie Kutch, the head of UC Peeps who is also a steering committee member of the San Diego Community Coalition.

However, mainly Gotta quoted Colin Parent extensively, the head of Circulate San Diego, a group that masquerades as pro-envirionment and pro-mass transit advocates but who are mainly paid lobbyists and pro-development shrills. Gotta made Kutch out to be the “bad guy” in his totally uncritical “gotcha” YIMBY piece. Here below, Bonnie responds:

Hi Jake:

In case you’re doing more stories focusing on housing issues, I wanted to make a few points that weren’t covered in your story that aired today.  I wasn’t clear on what the focus of today’s story would be, thinking it was housing in general, so I failed to point out a few things:

• First, the City of San Diego spent $2.1 billion of taxpayer money building the Blue Line Trolley Expansion alone so it could supposedly bring people who work in UTC back and forth.  Yet, the City has failed to advocate for new affordable housing near all 62 trolley stops to serve that purpose.  Building all the housing in UTC or Sorrento Valley alone is a huge waste of the trolley expense and negates its intended purpose.

Come Inside to Order Your San Diego Community Coalition T-shirt

By Carl Yaeckel / Op-Ed San Diego Union-Tribune / July 31, 2025 

Climate change is coming.

This year climate seems to be the forgotten topic (there are a few other things going on!). But ignoring something doesn’t make it go away.

Have you heard that due to climate change impacts (fire, flood, storm) in “10 or 15 years, there are going to be regions of the country where you can’t get a mortgage,” quoting Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s recent testimony to Congress?

Did you know during the last year the United States spent 3% of its GDP on recovery from climate disasters? That’s a trillion dollars. Throw in increased insurance premiums and the figure goes higher. Oh, about insurance, particularly homeowners insurance: it’s required for a mortgage and the price is going up, particularly in areas more prone to fire, flood and storm. Premiums have doubled since 2017.

Got kids (or grandkids)? A recent study published in the journal Nature concludes that “children and young people born in the present decade face exposure to heatwaves, crop failures, floods, droughts, wildfires and tropical cyclones, in a way that their parents and grandparents never did — and that this applies pretty much anywhere in the world.”

Climate change is coming, even if you believe, hope or pretend it isn’t.

Tuesday, the 29th of July, witnessed another vote by the San Diego City Council. This vote — a unanimous one — crystalized the city handing over, as Jennifer Van Grove at the UT, described as “its asbestos-plagued office tower at 101 Ash St.” for a 60-year lease to the development team headed by none other than Kelly Moden, the chair of the City’s Planning Commission. She heads MRK Partners and Create Dev LLC.

Moden gushed, “Today’s council approval gives us the green light to transform a city-owned liability into a legacy. We are honored to have the trust and confidence of the San Diego City Council as we turn our attention to meeting September’s state and federal affordable housing deadlines, which will keep our timeline and financing moving forward.”

As Van Grove reported:

The project presumably raises ethical concerns because of Moden’s involvement.

Michael Aguirre and Maria Severson, partners at Aguirre & Severson LLP who have sued the city over its past dealings with the building, threatened additional litigation. They alleged violations related to public noticing requirements and argued that Moden’s financial participation in the deal is illegal.

On Tuesday, July 29, the San Diego City Council voted overwhelmingly to continue the issue of Mission Bay “surplus land” into September. This was upon former councilmember Donna Frye’s request, as expressed both in her letter to the Council and in her statements in the OB Rag.

The issue was initially on the Consent Calendar of the council’s agenda for the day, which would have only called for a simple vote and no discussion of this important issue by councilmembers. Councilmember Marni von Wilpert pulled the item from the Consent Agenda and made the motion to deny the staff — the Mayor’s — recommendations.

After some discussion, the final vote was 7 for the continuance and one opposed. Councilmember Joe LaCava was the sole vote in opposition.

To their credit, councilmembers Jen Campbell, Stephen Whitburn, Henry Foster, von Wilpert, Kent Lee, Raul Campillo and Sean Elo-Rivera voted for the continuance. Councilmember Vivian Moreno was absent (again).

The reasoning of most of the Councilmembers and of the public speakers was that this was too important an issue for an immediate vote and that the public needed to be more informed and brought up to date on the matter; that a vote on it should be put off a couple of months.

LaCava’s argument for not supporting the continuance was a slap in the face to the public as he derided the idea that the city’s citizens needed to be more informed

Murder trial could last a month for Ocean Beach ‘Superman punch’

A man suspected of killing a man in Ocean Beach with a single “Superman punch” that caused head injuries when his head hit the pavement will have a month-long murder trial, a prosecutor told a judge on July 22.

In the same court appearance, Andrew Phillip Restrepo, 34, received a new attorney, Danesh Tanden, and his attorney, who had defended him so far, Brandon Roesler, was relieved. Restrepo is accused of killing Sean Ellis Glenn, 34, after Glenn brushed past him on May 10, 2023, at a pizza shop in the 5000 block of Newport Avenue. The two men were strangers to each other, and Restrepo confronted Glenn outside the shop for Glenn touching him. Glenn said he didn’t know what he was talking about at 10:51 p.m.

Without warning, Restrepo punched Glenn in the face so hard that he fell backwards onto the street, lapsing into unconsciousness when his head hit the pavement, according to detectives at his April 9 preliminary hearing. Glenn went into a coma at a hospital and died months later from brain injuries. One witness described the one punch by Restrepo as “A Superman punch” because it caused Glenn to hit the pavement. It is unusual for a single punch to cause death. Restrepo left the scene, but took photos from his phone and sent them to five people, according to testimony in the preliminary hearing.

When a majority rules without offering a rationale, we can’t know if they are following the law.

By Erwin Chemerinksy / Contributing writer Los Angeles Times / July 23, 2025

“Because I said so” never is persuasive or satisfying. And it certainly should not be regarded as acceptable when it is the Supreme Court resolving important issues — up to and including matters of life and death — without the slightest explanation. Yet, that has been the pattern in recent weeks, as in a series of significant cases the court has handed down rulings without opinions or explanation.

For example, on June 23, in Department of Homeland Security vs. D.V.D., the court majority lifted a district court order that prevented individuals from Venezuela and Cuba who were in the U.S. from being deported to South Sudan. The district court had issued a preliminary injunction against so-called third country deportation, finding that the individuals were not given due process: They were not provided sufficient notice or a meaningful opportunity to challenge their deportation based on their fears for their safety. The judge was understandably concerned the individuals could be subjected to torture or death upon arrival. Federal law is specific on where people can be deported to, and there is a strong argument that the Trump administration would violate the law in sending these individuals to a country where they had no prior contacts.

Editordude: The Rag broke this story days ago July 9th to be exact —  and ever since we’ve tried to find a mainstream reporter to take the story up; none of the reporters we contacted took it up or even responded. Now, finally, today, July 29, Jeff McDonald at the UT has written about this — but of course does not give the Rag any credit, which is par for the course. Mainstream reporters hardly ever accredit us. But at least McDonald quotes Donna Frye, who wrote several articles about this “surplus land” issue in Mission Bay here at the Rag. 

By Jeff McDonald / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 29, 2025

Mayor Todd Gloria is asking the City Council to declare three parcels in city-owned Mission Bay Park surplus land — the first step toward redeveloping over 28 acres of commercial property in the popular open space.

The idea, according to the city’s Economic Development Department, is to remake a conference center, two marinas and a restaurant into new community assets — in particular a hotel, as called for in the city’s long-term master plan.

“The city leases portions of Mission Bay Park to various entities,” Director Christina Bibler wrote in a report to the council. “The city intends to issue requests for proposals to offer three of these properties for separate long-term ground leases, with the goal of facilitating redevelopment.”

The affected parcels include the 23-acre Marina Village banquet and conference center on Quivira Way, the 4.5-acre Dana Landing Marina on Ingraham Street and just under an acre nearby that hosts the Sportsmen’s Seafood restaurant and various water-related businesses.

In her report to the council, Bibler notes that the Surplus Lands Act is generally used as a tool to develop affordable housing.

But the Mayor’s Office said the city is not seeking to build homes on the properties. Instead, the city wants a new hotel at the site of the banquet center.

By Donna Frye

Plan B, in case the City Council Does NOT Support a Continuance of Item 105 on the July 29, City Council Docket  Declaring Three Properties in Mission Bay Park “Surplus Land”

In 1962, Mission Bay Park was officially dedicated as public land in perpetuity. It is one of our most incredible coastal treasures and includes a variety of public uses.

The Surplus Land Act is a state law whose primary purpose is to facilitate residential development with more affordable housing on public land.

It’s not surprising that we got upset when we read last month in the OB Rag that Mission Bay Park was being described as “surplus land”.

On a moment’s notice, our elected officials can and do change the meaning of words and turn our dedicated public parks into surplus land. They eliminate our voter-approved land use measures that have been in place for over 50 years, such as the 30-foot height limit, and upend our community land use plans.

Government Executive: Trump administration reminds federal employees they can proselytize in the office

By JW August

FROM THE TRENCHES

It is now permissible for supervisors “in federal offices to  post invitations to employees to join his church” on an agency bulletin board. ”

Also allowed is recruitment of others to a religion, all outlined in a five page memorandum released July 28th by Director Scott Kupor of Trump’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Eric Katz, “Senior Correspondent”  for the “Government Executive” website reports that OPM is telling federal employees “they can proselytize in the office” adding that supervisors “can solicit employees to attend their church.”  OPM describes it as a new guidance.

From There San Diego

Although we love the galleries of the San Diego Museum of Art and other museums of San Diego, San Diego’s art scene runs way deeper than polished galleries. Beyond the tourist trail, there’s a thriving underground network of creative spaces where local artists are pushing boundaries, experimenting with new mediums, and building genuine community.

These aren’t your typical white-walled galleries—they’re converted warehouses, artist collectives, and DIY spaces where creativity flows as freely as the craft beer.

Whether you’re an art lover looking for something fresh or a creative soul seeking your tribe, these underground spots offer an authentic glimpse into San Diego’s real artistic heartbeat.

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / July 23, 2025

He’s been called a godsend for distributing food from San Diego Food Bank weekly to the homeless, poor and needy in Ocean Beach and Midway District.

He is Glyn Franks and, for more than a quarter-century, he has operated Second Chances-Bread of Life, Inc.

“We are a tiny little faith-based nonprofit,” said Franks. “We distribute food at The Orchard Senior Living Apartments on Channel Way in Midway District on Fridays at noon, and to the homeless in OB on Saturday mornings.

“I am not ordained and am only an unpaid volunteer coordinator and servant,” noted Franks, a transplant from Yuma, Ariz. A devout Christian, he draws inspiration for serving the poor from biblical passages suggesting people, through faith, are offered forgiveness and new beginnings.

Franks has made it his mission to practice what he preaches. He accomplishes that by regularly distributing free food to those who need it. He stressed that his self-chosen mission is not about him. Rather, he emphasized the impact and importance of the volunteers who help him.