OB Rag — Grassroots and Progressive views on local, national and world news

‘Takeover: Small Scale Works’ at SHIFT Gallery on Newport Ave., to Run Nov. 3–17

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 22:54:07 +0200

Local Artists Associated with San Diego Museum of Art Sponsoring Exhibition

A group of local artists associated with the San Diego Museum of Art are sponsoring an exhibit in downtown Ocean Beach starting Tuesday, November 3rd. The exhibition entitled Takeover: Small-Scale Works will consist of fifty-five paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, and mixed-media works by forty artists, none of which are larger than 16 inches in any direction. This is all happening at SHIFT Gallery at 4847 Newport Avenue (across the street from Target) by the San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild. Barbara Sexton, nationally known artist and retired Mesa College art professor, selected the art from 221 entries in a juried competition. Takeover will run November 3 through November 17 at SHIFT Gallery. SHIFT is open seven days a week from noon to six p.m. and by appointment. The public is invited to meet participating artists at a gallery reception on Thursday, November 5, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Are we sacrificing San Diego’s future for the vision of Midway Rising’s billionaire developer?

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 20:34:53 +0200

By Scott Chipman / Times of San Diego / Oct. 30, 2026 San Diego is preparing to make one of the most consequential public-land decisions in its history. The proposed Midway Rising development would commit nearly 50 acres of publicly owned property to a private development arrangement lasting 105 years. Before making that commitment, city leaders should answer fundamental questions about housing demand, public subsidies, infrastructure, and whether this project represents the best long-term use of irreplaceable public land. First, where is the demonstrated demand for thousands of additional housing units? California has experienced population declines in recent years, while San Diego’s population growth has been modest. Meanwhile, thousands of apartments have recently been constructed throughout the region, with additional developments underway. Where is the independent analysis demonstrating that San Diego needs this concentration of new housing at this location? How much demand represents genuine population growth versus residents simply relocating from existing neighborhoods? Relocation doesn’t necessarily create new housing demand. It can leave vacancies elsewhere, potentially undermining existing neighborhoods and property values. Second, what does “affordable housing” actually mean, and who pays for it?

The Story of Devil’s Pot at Sunset Cliffs

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 20:21:10 +0200

By Debbie L. Sklar / Special to the OB Rag Some things can’t help but change even if we don’t like it. Take Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliffs and the coastline around Point Loma, which surely looks different to locals and maybe even tourists who often visit. One of its most interesting natural features, the Devil’s Pot, has been gone for decades, but do you know why? The Devil’s Pot was an unusual rock formation along the Sunset Cliffs more than 100 years ago. It was also what geologists call a “littoral sink,” formed through coastal erosion and the collapse of rock above a sea cave. How the Devil’s Pot got its name is unclear, but the unusual formation was a distinctive feature of the coastline, according to NSS News, October 2008. Here's what it stated about Sunset Cliffs and the Devil's Pot:

San Diego's Sunset Cliffs region is pockmarked with a dense series of caves. On the bluffs above is a strikingly circular collapse pit surrounded by a fence, just a stone’s throw from Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. It drops about 40 feet into a short sea cave with a single seaward entrance. The cave is in thin-bedded marine siltstones and sandstones known as the Point Loma formation, and formed along vertical joints.

Guatemalan Man Dies In ICE Custody at Otay Mesa Detention Center

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 19:52:59 +0200

By Michael Angelo Hernandez Another man loses his life under the custody of the president’s pseudo-paramilitary force, ICE. On Wednesday, October 28, San Diego County confirmed the name of the deceased inmate as Guillermo Pascual Verganza. The 43-year-old Guatemalan man died inside the Otay Mesa Detention Center on Saturday, October 24. In their official press release, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said:

“At approximately 11:31 a.m. Oct. 24, facility staff observed Jimenez in his assigned safety cell and attempted to wake him after he was unresponsive. Facility staff contacted medical personnel, declared a medical emergency, and called 911. Medical personnel began cardiopulmonary resuscitation at approximately 11:38 a.m. Paramedics from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection arrived at approximately 11:52 a.m. and continued lifesaving measures. A paramedic pronounced Jimenez deceased at approximately 12:23 p.m.”

ICE’s press release originally misidentified Verganza as “Roberto Jimenez Gutierrez” and characterized him as a “criminal illegal alien”. Immediately following the announcement of his death, ICE listed the man’s alleged criminal history, including a 2024 conviction for selling liquor to a minor, prior arrests for battery against a spouse, and child abuse among other charges. Charges which his family insists are all made up.

Woman on E-Bike Injured by DUI Driver on West Pt. Loma Blvd in Ocean Beach

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 19:16:18 +0200

By Rhea Caoile / Fox5SanDiego / Oct 24, 2026 A woman riding an e-bike in Ocean Beach was seriously injured Friday evening, October 23, after she was hit by a vehicle driven by a man under the influence of alcohol, the San Diego Police Department said. According to SDPD, a 52-year-old woman was riding an e-bike eastbound in the bike lane near 4700 West Point Loma Blvd. around 7:11 p.m.

San Diego Threatens to Evict Mission Bay Sports Center Due to Millions in Unpaid Rent

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 19:06:52 +0200

By Laura Acevedo / 10News / Oct 29, 2026 The city is on the verge of evicting a decades-old business in Mission Bay, saying it's millions of dollars behind on rent and other fees. The Mission Bay Sports Center has until Monday, November 2, to pay nearly $1 million in overdue rent to the city. On its website, Mission Bay Sports Center advertises itself as a locally owned water sports destination, offering rentals for things like jet skis, powerboats, and paddle boards. But according to the city, this business is $4.2 million behind on rent, interest fees, and things like water charges and audit-related penalties. According to a default notice, the Mission Bay Sports Center now has until Monday to pay nearly $1 million or face eviction proceedings.

‘Ride the Point’ to Support Pancreatic Cancer Research — Saturday, Nov.7

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 18:52:13 +0200

Cyclists will roll through scenic San Diego, starting and ending in Liberty Station on Saturday, Nov. 7, to support pancreatic cancer research in the 13th Annual Jim Krause Memorial Charity Cycling Ride the Point. The memorial ride, sponsored by Point Loma Rotary Club, commemorates the life and legacy of Jim Krause, an avid cyclist and a past president of Point Loma Rotary Club. Krause died in 2012 after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. In his memory, the club hosts the annual charitable fundraiser in his name to support pancreatic cancer research at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health in La Jolla. The ride includes exclusive routes through historic neighborhoods going past some of San Diego’s most scenic areas. The event has hundreds of volunteers along the route, SAG support, and five fully stocked rest stops. Ride the Point has three distances:

The 5-mile Family Fun Ride along San Diego Bay and is perfect for cruisers, beginning riders, challenged athletes, and families.
The 25 Mile and Metric Century are street rides, limited to 600 riders, with exclusive routes and challenging climbs.
Healthy Lifestyle Expo: The public is invited to this free event at Liberty Station Conference Center, 2600 Laning Rd., from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on event day featuring local vendors, music, and refreshments.

Reader Rant: ‘There’s a Safety Hazard Near Barnes Tennis Center’

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:12:51 +0200

By Bill B I am writing to urgently report a persistent safety hazard near the Barnes Tennis Center. Drivers visiting the facility are continuously running the stop sign on the street, often with minors in their vehicles. This has become a major safety issue. I have nearly been hit by vehicles multiple times just attempting to walk to the bus stop, and the situation has led to verbal altercations.

D2: Bailey Supporters Go Low With Effort to Smear Crosby as ‘Flock Candidate’

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 20:50:26 +0200

Editordude: A big backer of Richard Bailey, Richard S Richter, has published attack mailers that call Democrat Nicole Crosby the "Flock Candidate" -- despite her opposition to the cameras. Richter is the top funder of the mailer's ad committee. by Jakob McWhinney / Voice of San Diego / October 28, 2026 Everyone seems to be against Flock these days.

[Please go to original for important links]

Look no further than the heated race in San Diego’s District 2 between Democrat Nicole Crosby and Republican-turned-independent Richard Bailey. Support of Flock cameras has become a standard line of attack in the race — what’s surprising is who is on the receiving end. Supporters of Bailey have sent several mailers slamming Crosby for her support of Flock, dubbing her “San Diego’s Flock camera candidate.” “San Diego has over 500 Flock cameras monitoring you every time you drive. With Nicole Crosby on the City Council, San Diego will get MORE,” one anti-Crosby mailer reads. Beside the text, an oversized Flock camera is positioned to capture the reader. There’s just one problem: Crosby is a vocal opponent of Flock.

The Department of Justice Wants California to Stop Processing 20,000 Ballots: A Federal Judge Said ‘No’ to This Unprecedented Coercion

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 20:25:06 +0200

By Jude Joffe-Block / NPR / October 28, 2026 A federal judge has denied an unprecedented, emergency request by the Department of Justice to segregate thousands of California ballots in the midterm elections. The Justice Department wants California election officials to stop processing ballots pertaining to 20,000 individuals that federal officials say are "likely" noncitizens. State and local officials in California have countered that the DOJ's list of "likely" noncitizens is unreliable, with a preliminary analysis by Los Angeles County showing that many on the list do not have active voter registrations. The officials also claim that setting aside ballots just days before Election Day, when voting and processing mailed ballots are already underway, would be unlawful and infeasible and would disenfranchise eligible voters. In his 26-page ruling issued Wednesday evening, U.S. District Judge David Carter, a Clinton appointee, denied the Justice Department's request for a temporary restraining order to stop processing the ballots in question.

"Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch," he wrote.

Carter also expressed concern about taking action that could disenfranchise eligible voters and create chaos.

San Diego County Rejects DOJ’s Demand of ‘Thinly Veiled Voter Purge’

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 20:05:30 +0200

by Jake Kincaid / inewsource / October 28, 2026 The San Diego County Registrar of Voters told the U.S. Justice Department that it won’t comply with a demand — accompanied by a legal threat — to turn over private voter information like Social Security numbers and to not count ballots from 1,709 San Diego voters until their citizenship can be verified. In a defiant letter Tuesday, the county said it is “legally prohibited” from doing so. And it offered a legal threat of its own: “The County reserves its rights to pursue all legal remedies against DOJ for its unlawful intimidation of election officials and California voters.” The letter from County Counsel Damon Brown to California Southern District U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said,

“The DOJ’s request is a thinly veiled voter purge and request for confidential voter information without a proper purpose.” [Our emphasis]

The San Diego County Registrar of Voters Office received Gordon’s demand letter Friday with a 48-hour deadline and a warning that “the legal consequences for either facilitating or ignoring federal crimes are significant.” Every county in California received a similar letter. The Imperial County Registrar of Voters also told the DOJ it would not comply with a request to withhold the ballots and provide confidential information of 161 Imperial County voters. Both San Diego and Imperial county’s deadlines lapsed Sunday. The responses, obtained by inewsource, went out Tuesday evening. The county said the federal government’s request was an “invitation to violate both state and federal law based on nothing more than unsubstantiated suspicions regarding a person’s citizenship.” The county also said the requested actions “would be a breach of voters’ trust of the highest order.”

Fight at OB’s Seawall Wednesday Night Turned Deadly — Police Searching for Suspect

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 19:14:30 +0200

A fight at OB's famous seawall turned deadly deadly Wednesday night, authorities said. Polce responded around 8:30 pm to a report of an injured person near Abbott Street and Newport Avenue, and found a critically injured man believed to be in his 50s. He was taken to a hospital where he later died from his injuries. Neither he nor the suspected assailant have been publicly identified. SDPD Lt. Christopher Leahy, with the Homicide Unit, said witnesses told officers that the victim and another individual were involved in a verbal argument that escalated into a physical altercation. The fight is believed to have occurred at the low-slung seawall at the foot of Newport Avenue. It's not clear yet whether some kind of weapon was used, or even who was the instigator.

SPJ Announces Kelly Davis Journalism Prize For Courage And Compassion

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 20:34:45 +0200

Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego / October 28, 2026 Kelly Davis was an award-winning investigative journalist whose work exposed injustice, challenged powerful institutions and gave voice to people too often overlooked. After Kelly passed away July 1 after a years-long cancer battle, the San Diego Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and others who love her partnered with the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation to create the Kelly Davis Prize for Courage and Compassion in Journalism to fuel important work like hers. The goal is to recognize outstanding journalism that advances public understanding of social justice issues and to foster future reporting projects that reflect Kelly’s values and reporting legacy.

Golden Pacific Powerlink: New Routes, Continued Concerns

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 20:15:14 +0200

From Save Our Heritage Organisation In June of this year, we first alerted you to this issue and asked for your help. SDG&E has released new information about its proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink transmission project, including three alternative routes, and has announced a series of community open houses. This is an important opportunity to learn more, ask questions, and make your concerns known. The Golden Pacific Powerlink is a proposed 150-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission corridor. extending from the Imperial Valley to Orange County. With an estimated cost of $1.62 billion, it would be SDG&E’s largest capital project and the longest 500-kilovolt transmission line in its service territory. It is important to understand that these lines would simply transmit SDG&E's power to Orange County and the Los Angeles area. They would provide no electricity to anywhere in San Diego County, yet SDG&E customers would shoulder part of the financial burden.

The Cat’s Cradle of the D4 Council Race

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:50:37 +0200

By Kate Callen The strangest 2026 City Council race is taking place in San Diego’s most underserved district, and it is scrambling political alliances in portentous ways. Nothing about the District 4 face-off between incumbent Henry Foster III and challenger Martha Abraham could have been predicted. Before 2024, Foster was chief of staff to then-D4 Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe, and Abraham was a full-time neonatal nurse. Neither had ever run for elected office. On March 5, 2024, Foster won a special election to replace his boss after she became a county supervisor. One year later, the Council repealed the infamous Footnote 7 that targeted two D4 communities for overdensity. Abraham, a community activist who helped draw attention to Footnote 7, was preparing to oppose Foster in the D4 primary. At that point in election cycles, the incumbent would build a campaign war chest and call in favors from powerbrokers. The challenger would pound the pavements with stalwart volunteers and raise modest money. The outcome would be pre-ordained. That has not happened in District 4. Abraham now has clear momentum and appears to be ahead of Foster. Why has the race become such an outlier?

Personality Matters In Politics: Right Brain Politics II

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 23:50:59 +0200

How Insults, Lawsuits, and Attack Ads Seduce Some Voters By Bill Eddy / Bill Eddy’s Substack / October 22, 2026 This column builds on my prior column, Right Brain Politics. What a week! Yesterday, President Trump spent two hours at a rally in Michigan repeatedly insulting the Democratic Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Trump gleefully used his middle name, saying “I call him Mohamed because that is his name—his middle name.” He also calls him a “jihadist” with no basis except that he is trying to tie these words to the fact that he is Muslim. Former President Barack Hussein Obama also spoke in Michigan, pointing out that the same approach (calling him by his middle name) failed to defeat him in two elections.

Neighbors for a Better San Diego CA Legislation Update

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 18:33:19 +0200

Neighbors for a Better San Diego (NFABSD) continues its leadership of community empowerment with this “Update on 2026 State Legislation.”

The California Legislature introduces thousands of bills every year, and 2026 was no exception.

Working with a statewide coalition of policy analysts, NFABSD tracked more than 100 bills relating to land use and housing development, which were boiled down to the ones that we predict will have the greatest impact on the lives of Californians.

Click here to review the list of bills and see how your state legislators voted.

2026 Council Elections: Show Us the Money

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:33:19 +0200

OB Staff Report With a week to go before the November 3 elections, the Rag is taking one last look at how much money candidates have raised in the Council District 2, 4, 6, and 8 races. The data are taken from Follow the Money.org (FTM), a self-described “coalition of non-partisan organizations working together to create transparency for campaign contributions and expenditures with local San Diego candidates.” To help the public fully understand campaign finance, FTM, where one of the key groups is the League of Women Voters, reports what has been spent in support of a candidate (“why you should vote for X”) and what has been spent in opposition to the candidate (“why you should not vote for X”). Money spent in support is generally considered “campaign contributions” that are given directly to the candidate or party. They are subject to contribution limits, and they must be publicly disclosed. Money spent in opposition typically comes through “independent expenditures” by outside groups or individuals for public communications (ads or mailers) for or against a candidate. There are no spending limits, but funders must file disclosure reports and identify themselves in the materials, almost always in small print. Here are the races:

From the 1940’s Blues to Hallowed Grounds

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 22:34:49 +0200

by Ernie McCray

Chicago.

A wonderful city, in my view,

as far as towns go.

My earliest recollection

of visiting the windy city

is one of me, as a little lad,

in the 40’s,

back when racism

was ever so systemi

Why Are Pro-Housing Groups Split on Prop 45?

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:29:43 +0200

By Ben Christopher / CalMatters / October 26, 2026

For nearly a decade, California’s Yes In My Backyard activists and other pro-development advocates have wanted to overhaul California’s signature environmental law to clear the way for more housing construction.

Now Proposition 45 is on the ballot. Supporters say it would, among other things, overhaul that law, known as the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, to clear the way for—you guessed it—more housing construction.

So why are YIMBYs divided?