OB Rag

By Kate Callen / July 14, 2025

Tomorrow — July 15 — should have been the day the San Diego City Council ended four years of predatory development by enacting reforms of the destructive Bonus ADU program.

But the vote, rescheduled from July 1 by Council President Joe La Cava, did not appear on tomorrow’s meeting agenda when it was posted last Wednesday. Then the item was added to the agenda on Thursday. Then it was removed on Friday.

La Cava had said he postponed the July 1 vote at the last minute because Councilmember Jen Campbell was absent. But Campbell has been attending meetings remotely while wearing a neck brace.

Perhaps he will explain the new last-minute postponement when the Council meets. Perhaps his explanation will be plausible. Agenda items are moved all the time for all sorts of reasons.

But the Council President is facing a public that has run out of patience and faith. There have been too many bad deals, too many botched estimates, too many bait-and-switches.

The stakes in the battle for Bonus ADU reform are still high. Right now, across the city, people living near modest homes listed for sale have to wonder: Will that property turn into a multi-story apartment building?

The City of San Diego in its infinite wisdom, has just announced it is lifting the “Summer Construction Moratorium” at the beaches and in coastal neighborhoods in order to speed up “street repair”, to “save taxpayer dollars” and to “complete projects faster.”

The “moratorium” has been enacted at the beaches during the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day for decades because of the impact of construction in coastal zones at the height of the tourist season with the general popularity of the beaches. It was mainly a way to relieve congestion for coastal residents, businesses and tourists because of prior years of complaints from the beaches about street repairs and construction projects blocking streets, rights-of-way, traffic and making it more difficult for merchants to keep their doors open.

So, today, July 14th, Mayor Gloria announced:

“For decades, projects were stalled during the summer, delaying improvements for residents. Now we can get streets paved and infrastructure improvements completed faster. The removal of this restriction is one way we’re cutting red tape and finding creative solutions across City departments to improve service to residents.”

Well, there ya go. Todd is really just helping out residents and cutting red tape in order to improve city services.

July 9, 2025
To:
Assembly Local Government Committee Chair, The Honorable Cecelia Aguiar-Curry
San Diego County Assembly State Members
District 74 – The Honorable Laurie Davies
District 75 – The Honorable Carl DeMaio
District 76 – The Honorable Dr. Darshana R. Patel
District 77 – The Honorable Tasha Boerner
District 78 – The Honorable Christopher Ward
District 79 – The Honorable Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins
District 80 – The Honorable David Alvarez
Subject: Opposition to SB 79 – Request to Vote NO

Dear Assembly Members,

The Community Planners Committee (CPC), representing 41 Community Planning groups throughout the City of San Diego, urges you to vote NO on Senate Bill 79 (Weiner) (hereafter, SB 79). As the elected community voices for the city, we urge you to consider what is appropriate for San Diego and your constituents. While Senator Scott Weiner’s Fact Sheet – Updated 7.7.25 states the City of San Diego supports SB 79, neither the mayor nor the city council have explicitly endorsed SB 79.

In fact, San Diego’s Legislative Platform not only emphasizes support of land use regulations that would be eliminated by SB 79, it supports retaining local control over state and federal regulations in general.

In a city where so many big plans have gone so badly for 30 years, San Diego residents shouldn’t just be wary when another bold proposal comes along — they should be terrified.

That’s especially true when it comes to cleaning up after Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s 2016 agreement to enter into a 20-year, $127 million lease-to-own deal for the former Sempra Energy headquarters at 101 Ash Street. Contrary to the enduring narrative that the city had no way of knowing the severity of problems at the 19-story office building, a Sempra consultant publicly testified in 2014 that the decrepit building was in need of at least $34 million in repairs and potentially much more because of extensive asbestos contamination.

Now Mayor Todd Gloria — who backed the Ash Street deal as a council member — has won initial City Council support for a $250 million proposal from the development team of MRK-Create to convert the vacant tower into 247 residential units reserved for “low-income” families.

The July 2 committee vote alarmed activist Paul Krueger, who [in Rag article] questioned the lack of detail in the development agreement, the feasibility of securing $32.2 million in tax credits associated with historic properties for a property that is hardly historic, the $24.5 million fee to be paid to the developers, and the reliability of estimates on how much it would cost for asbestos removal and renovation. Former City Attorney Mike Aguirre also expressed dismay at the lack of thorough vetting of the proposal before it won initial approval.

By Danna Givot

The State Assembly’s Local Government Committee will vote on Senate Bill 79 on Wednesday, July 16. SB 79 will allow 45 to 75 foot tall apartment buildings to be built up to ½ mile from transit (as the crow flies), which can be several miles walking distance from transit across freeways and canyons). You can view a 1 minute video explaining SB 79 here or an 8 minute video here.

State assembly member Chris Ward of San Diego sits on the committee that will vote on SB 79 this Wednesday.  It was Assemblymember Ward who told the Housing and Community Development Committee on July 2nd that the City of San Diego supports SB 79.  But we now know that the supposed support letter from the City of San Diego was drafted and signed by the City’s lobbyist, not an official representative of the City of San Diego

Eligible communities include Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Bankers Hill, Middletown, Golden Hill and South Park

By Lorie Weisberg / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 11, 2025

San Diego International Airport has been awarded $15 million in federal funds that will go a long way toward soundproofing hundreds of nearby homes impacted by the roar of arriving and departing planes.

In all, 18 airports in California were awarded grants from the Federal Aviation Administration. The funding comes through the Airport Improvement Program, which earmarks funds for airport infrastructure projects, like runways, taxiways, noise mitigation, airport signage and airport lighting.

The grant comes at a time when there’s continuing uncertainty surrounding a wide variety of federal grant programs that are being reevaluated by the current administration.

by Jake Peterson / The Reader / July 10, 2025

Slightly Stoopid’s ties with Sublime reach all the way back to the Ocean Beach band’s beginning: they were discovered by Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell and signed to Skunk Records in 1995. Shortly after, they released their first album, Slightly $toopid. Since then, the band has consistently evolved over the past thirty years while still remaining loyal to its reggae rock roots.

“As you get older,” says founding member Miles Doughty, “your sound progresses. We mix so many different styles between the reggae, hip-hop, punk rock, blues, and acoustic. I think as you get older and more experienced in music, your style and influence changes, and you incorporate that into what you’re doing. Now we have the sound that we have today. It’s been incredible — just the fact that you could be in the same band for 30 years, still doing it on a high-level, and having fun with friends making music.”

A suspect in the fatal stabbing of a man near Interstate 5 on the Fourth of July was arrested Thursday.

Authorities took Ruben Perez, 46, into custody in the 3300 block of Midway Drive shortly after 10 a.m. on suspicion of killing Jason Poindexter, also 46, according to San Diego police.

Patrol officers responding to a report of an assault found Poindexter wounded just outside a homeless encampment behind a Walmart store at Commercial and 21st streets in Logan Heights at about 1:30 a.m. Friday, Lt. Lou Maggi said.

Paramedics took the victim to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

by CBS8 Staff / July 10, 2025

Attorneys for 15 property owners who are suing to overturn San Diego’s new trash fees have laid out their argument.

In a newly amended complaint, former city attorney Mike Aguirre and law partner Mia Severson say the city purposely inflated the cost to provide trash collections to generate cash to balance a massive budget deficit.

“The city is in dire financial shape, which we appreciate, and that puts all the pressure in the world on city officials to come up with some way to plug the hole, and that’s what this is,” Aguirre told CBS 8.

Plaintiffs argue that the city used “inflated and hidden” cost projections, including a $5 million consultant study and an operational analysis that added more than $41 million to the budget, to justify the fee.

“We’re not asking for money, we’re not asking for anything draconian,” said Aguirre.  “We are just asking for what the public is entitled to.”

The lawsuit contends that the city’s projected costs for fiscal year 2026 nearly double actual recent costs, resulting in a surplus that plaintiffs say will be diverted to cover unrelated budget shortfalls, such as pension debt and deferred maintenance.

The Pacific Beach group, Neighbors For A Better California, is sponsoring a short march and rally to stop the 23-story, 200-unit monster tower being planned for 970 Turquoise Street in PB.

It’s on Saturday, July 19th at 5:30 pm. Organizers are asking people to meet at the Dunn-Edwards parking lot at 5180 Mission Blvd and walking the .2 miles to the proposed site.

by Jack Lee /  San Francisco Tribune – MSN /July 9, 2025

Storm and surf forecasts in California will become less accurate this year when federal funding for a network of ocean buoys disappears in September.

Federal support for the Coastal Data Information Program, operated by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, was drastically cut by nearly 70%. The drop in funding, set to take effect Sept. 1, will force some ocean buoys offline, scientists say, making weather forecasts less reliable, compromise public safety and hamper ship operations.

“If you lined up a hundred meteorologists and asked them, ‘Are buoy observations important to the forecast process and important to the mission of saving lives?’ every one of them will say, ‘Yes, absolutely,’” said Troy Nicolini, the meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service Eureka office.

The Coastal Data Information Program network comprises about 90 buoys, not just along the West Coast, but also off the Gulf and East coasts and in the Pacific Islands. The buoys measure ocean waves, providing data used by scientists, meteorologists, boat captains, surfers and more.

July 4, 2025

We, the undersigned, former members of New York’s Gay Liberation Front, condemn the Trump administration and its supporters in all levels of government for their vicious attacks on our community and on other marginalized communities.

The Gay Liberation Front was the first and most radical LGBTQ+ organization formed directly after the Stonewall Uprising in June, 1969. Our guiding message, equal inclusion of all people into society and the body politic, is even more urgent today.

One of the administration’s first targets was the transgender community. It is attempting to eject them from the military. Trans people seeking to renew their passports are now faced with the indignity of having their pre-transition gender stamped on the documents. Ten states now deny them appropriate medical care. The administration is encouraging a climate of hatred that has led to increased violence against trans people.

The Trump administration has cut funds for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, both in the United States and abroad. This will result in a worldwide increase in disease and death— an increase that will not stop at our borders.