It has been two years since San Diego’s camping ban went into effect.
We wanted to know how it’s going.
A lot of attention on parks: Our Lisa Halverstadt crunched the data and discovered that city parks, especially Balboa Park, have seen the most enforcement. Her analysis shows that two-thirds of the 260 camping ban citations and arrests happened in city park and 40 percent were in Balboa Park.
Refresher: The city of San Diego’s camping law bans camping when shelter is available and at all times, regardless of shelter availability, near sensitive areas such as schools and transit hubs. Since the city approved the ban, other cities across the city have followed suit.
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Halverstadt found that while Balboa Park stakeholders say they still face challenges with the homeless population at the park, they have seen an improvement. Meanwhile, service providers continue to raise concerns about the law simply pushing people to hard-to-reach and dangerous spaces to avoid law enforcement.
You can read the full story here.
What do you want to know about the camping ban? Send me a note at andrea.lopez@voiceofsandiego.org.
Scoop: Hospital Borrowing Blues
Palomar Health in Escondido on Oct. 25, 2022. / Photo by Ariana Drehsler
This week, our Tigist Layne got her hands on a big scoop.
She was the first to report that Sharp HealthCare threatened to sue Palomar Health, a public health care system, for allegedly breaching an exclusivity arrangement the two systems established in 2024.
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Let me back up: As we’ve reported, Palomar Health is struggling financially. (Sidenote: Palomar Health fought our reporting for a while, but now openly admit they have “declining financial circumstances.”)
Last year, Palomar Health got a $25 million from Sharp HealthCare. They also entered into an agreement to collaborate.
Here’s how they described it at the time in a press release: “Sharp will expand its network into North County, including primary care and medical specialties as appropriate for the communities. Palomar’s patients will also have access to Sharp’s specialized and higher-acuity services not currently available at Palomar Health, including transplants, advanced oncology procedures and more.”
Borrowing beef: As the Union-Tribune reported earlier this month, UC San Diego also loaned Palomar Health $20 million. That rubbed Sharp HealthCare the wrong way.
Layne reports that Sharp officials sent a letter to Palomar’s CEO concerning the loan agreement and exclusivity arrangement Sharp and Palomar entered into last year. Now, Sharp HealthCare wants their money back, plus interest.
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Palomar Health officials denied Sharp’s allegations. They sent us a copy of their response.
We’ll keep watching: What does this all mean for Palomar Health? Will the health care systems work it out? How could this impact patients? If you have questions or tips, reach out to Tigist.layne@voiceofsandiego.org.
Read the full story here.
Women Leading the Conversation
(Left to right) CEO of the San Diego Symphony Martha Gilmer, CAO of the county of San Diego Ebony Shelton, U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña, managing editor of Voice of San Diego. / Photo by Vito Di Stefano for Voice of San Diego
Thank you to all our members and guests who joined us last week for a conversation with some of San Diego’s most influential women leaders. So many of you are Cup of Chisme readers and I love it!
Our speakers included U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs, San Diego Symphony CEO Martha Gilmer and Ebony Shelton, chief administrative officer at the county of San Diego. We had a fascinating discussion about their challenges as leaders and goals for the institutions they lead.
Here’s our event photo gallery. Hope to see you at our next event!
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More Chisme to Start Your Week
Lisa Halverstadt revealed this week that the city of San Diego is on the hook for monthly payments of $77,000 for a shuttered homeless shelter.
For this month’s Progress Report, Jakob McWhinney profiles the Santee School District. It is one of 100 school district across the nation performing better than before the pandemic. Read the story here.
Two families were displaced from their Carmel Valley townhome after it went up in flames earlier this afternoon.
This happened just before 3 p.m. on Moratalla Terrace. Fire investigators said the fire started inside a garage unit because of faulty electrical equipment and robotics projects. One neighbor said she’s thankful for the quick response.
“The people that own the house were in the driveway calling 911, and within, I think within five minutes of me smelling the smoke the fire trucks were here,” said Nikki Briggs. I’m just thankful that everyone was okay, and that it didn’t keep spreading. Like if it would have been a wildfire, that would have been terrible.”
Firefighters say most of the damage was contained in the garage. A total of nine people were displaced by the fire. Five people lived inside the unit that burned. Thankfully all of them made it out safely without any injuries.
Shares of Gossamer Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOSS) have received a consensus ‘Hold’ rating from the 10 research firms currently covering the company, according to a report from MarketBeat. The average 12-month price target among analysts is $5.43.
Why it matters
Gossamer Bio is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing therapies for immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases, as well as oncology. The ‘Hold’ rating and mixed analyst views could impact investor sentiment and the company’s ability to raise capital for further drug development.
The details
The analyst ratings for Gossamer Bio include two ‘Sell’ recommendations, four ‘Hold’ ratings, and four ‘Buy’ recommendations. Some firms have lowered their price targets on the stock, with HC Wainwright decreasing its target from $10 to $5.
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Gossamer Bio released its latest quarterly earnings report on March 17, 2026.
The players
Gossamer Bio, Inc.
A clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, California that is focused on developing oral, once-daily therapies for immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases, as well as oncology.
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The takeaway
The mixed analyst views on Gossamer Bio highlight the challenges facing the company as it seeks to advance its pipeline of drug candidates through clinical trials and regulatory approvals. The ‘Hold’ rating could make it more difficult for the company to raise capital and fund its operations.
Oceanside Harbor Beach. (File photo courtesy of @CityofOceanside via X)
A man apparent drowned in the waters near the Oceanside Pier Saturday morning, despite efforts by lifeguards and paramedics to revive him.
The Oceanside Fire Department’s Lifeguard Division and the Oceanside Police Department responded to a report of a missing man at about 4:30 a.m.. Officials said the man was last seen swimming in the ocean about a half-hour earlier.
Lifeguards and police immediately initiated a coordinated search effort using pier vantage points, surveillance cameras and watercraft, but the search was suspended at approximately 5:30 a.m. after no one was found, fire officials said.
“At approximately 10:50 a.m., lifeguards discovered an unresponsive adult male, matching the earlier description, in the water near Lifeguard Tower 12, at Oceanside Harbor Beach,” Division Chief Blake Dorse said in a statement. “The individual was removed from the water, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was immediately initiated.”
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Fire and rescue personnel continued efforts to resuscitate the man on the way to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He is believed to be the one who was reported missing near the pier.
Authorities did not release the man’s name.
“The Oceanside Lifeguard Division reminds the public to exercise caution when entering the ocean, especially during early morning hours or when lifeguards are not actively monitoring the water,” Dorse said. “Always swim near an open lifeguard tower and avoid entering the water alone.”
