San Diego, CA

Few homeless people have been detained under San Diego's camping ban. The number prosecuted is even lower

Published

2 years ago

March 2, 2024

Few homeless people have been detained under San Diego's camping ban. The number prosecuted is even lower

There’s no question San Diego’s camping ban has made an impact.

Its passage last summer corresponded with a drop in homelessness downtown, more people asking for shelter and an increase in riverbed encampments. Other cities have moved to follow San Diego’s lead. Some lawmakers want to take the rules statewide.

But that doesn’t mean many residents are ending up in court for living in a tent.

During the ordinance’s first six-plus months, the city attorney’s office filed charges against just two people on allegations of violating the ban, according to spokesman Andrew Sharp. An additional eight cases were under review as of early February.

Police arrested one person twice and issued 30 tickets during that period, meaning prosecutors at most had agreed to pursue less than one-tenth of available cases.

Even if the eight other cases are eventually taken up, the total would amount to about a third of what officers initially acted on since the ban took effect July 31.

Among the people who ultimately won’t be punished is a 28-year-old man who received the first camping-ban ticket in August.

“It’s not as easy as it seems when you’re trying to prove cases like this, when it’s a brand-new law,” said City Attorney Mara Elliott. “It’s taking a little time for us to roll it out into the community so that everybody’s marching to the same tune.”

The disparity does not reflect a rift with the Police Department, and the two agencies have continued to collaborate on how to improve enforcement, Elliott added.

The Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Experts said several factors might be keeping prosecution numbers low, including limited resources and the higher standard prosecutors must meet when weighing whether there’s enough evidence to win over a jury.

“You do go cautiously when you don’t know what the parameters are,” said Jan Goldsmith, a former San Diego city attorney.

Case law is limited and judges are similarly wading into new territory. “You don’t want to issue a bunch of cases that are all struck down,” Goldsmith said.

Multiple dismissals could provide ammunition to legal challenges seeking to overturn the law, officials said.

Then there’s the vulnerability that comes with homelessness.

“It’s not just a new law,” said Alfonso Esquer, a former investigator with the U.S. Department of Justice who now directs the criminal justice program at Point Loma Nazarene University. “It’s also a very delicate law that requires some sensitivity.”

Paul Pfingst, a former San Diego County district attorney, noted that prosecutors may want to give residents time to adjust.

As word spreads, however, the number of cases taken to court could rise, Pfingst said.

It’s possible San Diego’s convoluted system for tracking when shelter is available — the city and Housing Commission oversee separate networks and there has not been real-time monitoring — has affected what prosecutors think they can win.

The ordinance sometimes applies only if beds are open, and the city attorney’s initial legal analysis of the ban noted that convictions could hinge on shelter employees being able to testify that they had room at the moment someone was detained.

The legal landscape also is in flux. Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether homeless people have a right to sleep on public property when there’s nowhere else to go. San Diego signed on to an appeal asking the justices to reconsider an earlier federal court ruling that said cities generally needed to have shelter available before clearing tent camps.

“We’re all waiting to see what happens there,” Elliott said.

The absence of a camping-ban charge doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no case at all. A 58-year-old man who was arrested last year won’t go to trial for sleeping outside, but he is facing a felony allegation of selling methamphetamine, according to Sharp.

Sharp said there is no internal policy telling prosecutors not to prioritize the ban.

The city attorney’s office’s experience in court with a different ordinance used to target encampments offers further reason for caution.

San Diego’s encroachment law prohibits sidewalks from being blocked by personal property. Prosecutors pursued nearly 75 of those and other related charges in 2022, according to a statement from the office.

Yet 50 of those cases were ultimately dismissed and more than 20 people never showed up for trial, officials said. Two others sought diversion programs and a third is still being evaluated for competence to face a judge.

There’s a similarly lopsided comparison between encroachment tickets and prosecutions. Police have made much more than 100 of those citations and arrests since September, but the city attorney’s office had filed charges in only 26 cases as of early February, according to Sharp. An additional 25 were under review.

Local leaders have defended the camping ban as one of many tools to address homelessness.

“People who assumed the goal of the ordinance was to arrest people may be surprised by the low number of prosecutions,” City Councilman Stephen Whitburn said in an email. “However, its purpose was to have a clear law that encourages people to move out of encampments and into safer and healthier places.”

Hundreds of people have relocated to the city’s new designated camping areas near Balboa Park in recent months, though the region’s shelters do not have enough room for everybody asking for a spot.

In his State of the City address earlier this year, Mayor Todd Gloria praised the low levels of police enforcement as evidence that the law is “working as intended” by “clearing encampments without widespread arrests.”

When asked if the mayor is satisfied with the current number of prosecutions, spokeswoman Rachel Laing said Gloria has “no authority over the city attorney” but has “given clear direction to the Police Department to enforce this and all other laws on the books.”

At the same time, homelessness in the region continues to grow.

January was the 22nd consecutive month in which the number of people losing a place to stay for the first time (1,385) exceeded how many homeless people found housing (966), according to the Regional Task Force on Homelessness. ◆

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San Diego, CA

Sir Mohamed Mansour brought a global movement to San Diego, and nearly won MLS Cup in Year 1

Published

20 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Sir Mohamed Mansour brought a global movement to San Diego, and nearly won MLS Cup in Year 1

As Sir Mohamed Mansour was finalizing a deal with the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation to invest in San Diego FC in 2022, he reflected on their combined history. The Sycuan said they’d lived in the San Diego region for 12,000 years. Mansour looked to his own Egyptian culture’s 7,000-year existence.

“If we have 19,000 years of history we can’t lose,” said the 78-year-old.

When San Diego FC finally lost in the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs, it was in the Western Conference finals, capping the best debut season in the league’s history. Mansour spoke about the experience Thursday morning during the Business of Soccer conference at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

“The first game, to me, meant everything. That night was a sleepless night because I’m very passionate about soccer,” he said.

Mansour would have settled for a respectable loss; they were playing defending MLS Cup champs L.A. Galaxy. But San Diego FC scored twice unanswered, winning the opener. And another sleepless night ensued.

Mansour discussed early life health issues, including being hit by a car when he was 10 years old, which left him bed-ridden for three years. He read American comic books and studied. His family’s wealth was confiscated by the Egyptian government during a 1965 revolution, and he later beat cancer as a 20-year-old while studying in the U.S.

Now the billionaire chairman of Mansour Group, an Egyptian conglomerate owned by his family, Mansour is also chairman of the Right To Dream Academy, which has made San Diego its fifth outpost. San Diego FC’s $150M Sharp HealthCare Performance Center includes residences and a school for Right To Dream participants in the club’s academy system. Mansour mentioned his plans to construct 100 pitches for underprivileged kids in San Diego.

“We are more than a football academy. We’re a global movement, built upon the belief that everyone has the right to dream,” said Mansour. “We’ve been rewriting the rules of talent development for over 20 years, guided by our core belief that excellence can be found anywhere.”

While creating hundreds of opportunities for children in underdeveloped countries, Right to Dream has generated tens of millions of euros in transfer fees for clubs within the network.

Mansour, who graduated from N.C. State in 1968 with an engineering degree and then earned a Masters’ from Auburn, differs from many MLS owners because he is a native soccer fan, he had extensive soccer business experience, and even an idea of how he’d like his team to play (possession-based).

Asked which he’d prefer — for Egypt to win the World Cup or San Diego FC to win MLS Cup — Mansour answered the United States (to win the World Cup) and San Diego FC to win MLS Cup.

“I tell you why. I’m a businessman too,” he said, grinning. “And if the US does well in this World Cup, soccer is going to grow.”

Rapid fire with Sir Mohamed Mansour

Comic book hero: Superman

Kryptonite: Worrying

Favorite athlete: Michael Jordan

Favorite soccer player: Mohamed Salah

Childhood hero: His father

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San Diego, CA

3 San Diego State players who won’t be on the roster in the 2026–27 season

Published

1 day ago

March 25, 2026

Press Room

3 San Diego State players who won’t be on the roster in the 2026–27 season

The San Diego State Aztecs are bracing for some possible serious turnover this offseason and it’s not all going to be via the transfer portal.

Leading scorer Reese Dixon-Waters is out of eligibility, as are Jeremiah Oden and Sean Newman Jr. Newman can petition for another season based on his junior college years, but it’s anyone’s guess if he’d get it.

Obviously, San Diego State’s roster movement is far from complete and the transfer portal doesn’t even open until April 7, the day after the national championship game.

The Aztecs’ once-promising season ended when they were left out of the NCAA Tournament following their loss to Utah State in the Mountain West Tournament championship game.

There are some players we know will not be on the squad next season, which will be the Aztecs’ first in the new-look Pac-12:

Guard Reese Dixon-Waters

San Diego State Aztecs guard Reese Dixon-Waters (39). | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

After missing all of the 2024-25 season with a broken foot, Dixon-Waters returned for his final season of eligibility and led the Aztecs in scoring at 13.1 points per game. He was a second-team All-Mountain West pick. He scored his 1,000th career point at UNLV on Jan. 24 and finished his career with 1,220 points.

Dixon-Waters played his first three seasons at USC before transferring to SDSU, where he started 23 of 37 games in 2023-24. He was a preseason All-Mountain West pick the next season before breaking a foot. He was so highly regarded that, despite missing all of last season, he was named to the preseason All-MW team in October.

One of his notable accomplishments was attempting more free throws (43) without a miss to start the 2023-24 season than any player in the country.

Forward Jeremiah Oden

San Diego State Aztecs forward Jeremiah Oden (25). | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Oden started 15 games and played in 30 of 33 games in his final season of eligibility after transferring from Charlotte, where he redshirted in 2024-25. He averaged 4.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 13.8 minutes.

Oden scored his 1,000th career point on Feb. 3 against Wyoming, where he played his first three college seasons. He finished his career with 1,024 points and 495 rebounds.

Oden didn’t play at all in a blowout home win against Utah State on Feb. 25, when Dutcher shortened his rotation from 11 to nine players. He had started the previous nine games.

Oden also played one season at DePaul.

Guard Sean Newman Jr.

San Diego State Aztecs guard Sean Newman Jr. (4). | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The transfer from Louisiana Tech played in all 33 games and made four starts, including Senior Night in the regular-season finale against UNLV and all three games in the MW tournament, when freshman Elzie Harrington was out with an injury.

Newman averaged 3.3 points, 2.4 assists and 15.4 minutes.

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San Diego, CA

The Streamline: Concerns raised over future of Tecolote Canyon Golf Course

Published

2 days ago

March 25, 2026

Press Room

The Streamline: Concerns raised over future of Tecolote Canyon Golf Course

Here is what you need to know in the March 25, 2026, Streamline newsletter:

This morning, we’re tracking San Diego Unified School District’s decision to rename Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the wake of serious allegations against the civil rights icon.

We’re also following the City of San Diego’s search for a new operator to reopen Tecolote Canyon Golf Course — and the neighbors pushing to safeguard and restore the surrounding natural space.

Plus, consumer reporter Marie Coronel shows why brand loyalty might be costing you more on your cell phone bill.

THE STREAMLINE

WATCH — ABC 10News brings you The Streamline for Wednesday, March 25 — everything you need to know in under 10 minutes:

The Streamline: Wednesday, March 25

TOP STORY

The San Diego Unified School District board voted Tuesday night to begin renaming Cesar Chavez Elementary School following allegations of sexual abuse against the labor leader.

The process will start with school leaders meeting with parents, teachers, students, and community members to select a new name.

While renaming a school typically takes several months, district officials said the timeline could be expedited in this case.

San Diego Unified usually limits itself to one school name change per year — in February, Clairemont High School’s mascot was changed from the Chieftains to the Captains.

However, board members said they would make an exception for this situation.

San Diego Unified initiates renaming process for Cesar Chavez Elementary over abuse allegations

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MICROCLIMATE FORECASTS

Coasts

Inland

Mountains

Deserts

BREAKING OVERNIGHT

(AP) — Iran received a 15-point proposal from the U.S. to reach a ceasefire in the war, two Pakistani officials said Wednesday.

The Pakistani officials described the proposal broadly as touching on sanctions relief, civilian nuclear cooperation, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency, missile limits and access for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The Trump administration reportedly offered the plan to Iran as the U.S. appears to seek an end to the war even while more troops head to the Middle East.

The plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from the government of Pakistan, which has offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran, a person briefed on the plan’s contours but who was not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The U.S. military is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, according to three people with knowledge of the move who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

Any talks between the U.S. and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington’s shifting objectives, particularly over Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve, and it is not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority or would be willing to negotiate.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s office said he has been discussing the war this week with several counterparts, but Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, denied Trump’s claim of direct talks and an Iranian military spokesperson declared that the fighting would go on.

Alluding to progress in talks, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Iran shared an oil- and gas-related “present,” a day after telling reporters that the Middle Eastern nation is eager for a deal to end the war.

Story by The Associated Press

CONSUMER

While loyalty is usually a good thing, it’s possible it could be costing you money when it comes to your cell phone bill.

WATCH — Consumer reporter Marie Coronel goes over the simple checks you can do right now to make sure you’re not overpaying:

Comparing cell phone plans to save money on your bill

WE FOLLOW THROUGH

The City of San Diego is seeking proposals from companies to lease and reopen the Tecolote Canyon Golf Course. While golfers welcome the move, some nearby residents argue it could harm the environment.

WATCH — Reporter Dani Miskell spoke to some neighbors about their expectations for whoever comes in to run the golf course:

Concerns grow over future of Tecolote Canyon Golf Course

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