Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
San Diego, CA
Opinion: Providing connection and care by the San Diego River
It’s 4 a.m. on a recent Sunday at the San Diego River, and volunteers from various organizations are gathering to conduct an annual census of people experiencing homelessness. The count is part of the San Diego River Park Foundation’s ongoing efforts to better understand the needs and challenges along the river. They work closely with my colleagues on the outreach team at PATH, and that morning, Assemblymember Chris Ward and college student volunteers joined the effort.
At first glance, it might not be obvious why an environmental organization is on the front lines of the homelessness crisis. But the reality is that when people use the river as a home and build encampments for survival, the environmental impact and the unsafe conditions that can result cannot be ignored.
The riverbed has long been a refuge for people experiencing homelessness. Many who relocate there have been displaced from other neighborhoods and seek stability after being shuffled around. Data collection events like this census have demonstrated the need for a specialized team dedicated to outreach along the river. Thanks to state funding from the Encampment Resolution Fund that is administered through the city of San Diego, PATH teams have been deployed to provide person-centered, trauma-informed care to those in need.
Having the Assembly member there was especially meaningful and personal. During his time on the San Diego City Council, he supported a PATH pilot program that reshaped how outreach is conducted. I was working as a community representative in his office at the time and was proud to be a part of that effort. Previously, outreach teams rotated through different areas each day, often meeting new people without the opportunity to build deep relationships. In 2018, Ward’s office provided some of the seed funding for the Mid-City Homeless Outreach program, a neighborhood-based case management model spearheaded by PATH. Instead of constantly moving, outreach workers were assigned to a specific community, allowing them to get to know people, build trust and address unique needs. The program’s success led to multi-year, citywide outreach contracts with PATH, which have since expanded across San Diego County.
On the morning of the count, volunteers encountered a small group of deaf individuals that had already built rapport with the River Park Foundation team. The group included a couple who were ready to enroll in services. Kat Moore, a member of PATH’s team, approached them and used her phone to communicate, following up on previous conversations they had with her colleague, Kendall Burdett, about providing support. Before leaving, she supplied them with a San Diego River Park Foundation-provided care kit that included socks, water, granola bars, trash bags and hygiene supplies. Most importantly, she left them with a pathway to stability and hope.
The following Monday, Kat enrolled them in case management and secured them a spot at the city of San Diego’s Safe Sleeping site. She arranged for an interpreter to be present at their intake. That is what outreach is all about — meeting people where they are, building trust and offering solutions tailored to their needs. Kat is part of a dedicated team that provides this level of tailored support to people experiencing homelessness in all the communities that PATH serves. Her level of compassion and commitment is what we look for when building our diverse outreach teams.
From June 2024 to July 2025, PATH’s city of San Diego outreach teams enrolled 1,283 unhoused people in services. The ultimate goal is to secure housing, but there are many important steps to navigate along the way. With support from our teams, 968 of those individuals achieved temporary exits, meaning they moved into a shelter, substance use treatment program, long-term care facility, or reconnected with friends or family. More than 300 people were connected to permanent housing, ending their homelessness.
While results and data are crucial to measuring impact and the efficacy of these programs, there is one thing they cannot capture: human connection. For people with few resources or social connections, a consistent relationship with a case manager, someone who checks in, helps you work toward your goals and genuinely cares, can be a lifeline. Along the San Diego River and across San Diego County, outreach offers more than services. It offers connection, care and a path to home.
Renner is the communications director for PATH, a statewide homeless services provider, and a board member of San Diego Pride. He lives in University Heights.
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San Diego, CA
Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”
It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says.
The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.
Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.
Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.
Eric Wolfinger
“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments.
Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.
The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.
Kimberly Motos
About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”
Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.
Gage Forster
Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.
“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”
Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.
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