San Diego, CA
Homelessness along the San Diego River hits its highest total yet
An estimated 423 homeless people are now living along the San Diego River, putting them at increased risk of drowning as well as creating new challenges for outreach workers, first responders and surrounding wildlife.
The most recent tally from the San Diego River Park Foundation was the nonprofit’s highest count in years. The increase was largely found in the city of San Diego — Santee’s population actually went down — and officials are hopeful that boosted outreach throughout the county will ultimately reduce totals everywhere.
“These funds and these resources, these things are working,” Kendall Burdett, a riverbed outreach worker with People Assisting the Homeless, said Thursday at a downtown press conference. “They work tediously, and sometimes we fall behind, but we catch up and we keep going.”
Multiple homeless people have drowned in recent years. At least three were swept away during January’s historic storm, and while local researchers are exploring the creation of a flood warning system, that project is far from a done deal.
The rising number of encampments comes as several cities have passed camping bans that increased penalties for sleeping outside. Sarah Hutmacher, the foundation’s chief operating officer, said she knew of individuals who’d chosen to live by waterways in an effort to avoid police on the street.
But homelessness overall has also grown countywide every month for more than two straight years. People may move to the riverbed only after long periods spent elsewhere, and officials said this population had, on average, been homeless a decade.
Rivers can simultaneously offer isolation from the outside world and a more stable community. Hand-built structures sometimes include brick floors, wooden walls and bookshelves, and outreach workers can face more hurdles in convincing those residents to move.
As a result, leaders are using a $17 million grant from the state to expand the number of service organizations working in the area. Outreach ramped up months ago in Santee, which has seen its riverbed numbers drop to an estimated 78 people since the spring.
Similar work began more recently in San Diego. That city’s waterway population surged earlier this year to nearly 340, and one plot of land near Sea World, below Interstate 5, appears to have dozens of people living in a makeshift village. Burdett, the outreach worker, said at least 10 of those residents had already been connected with rent subsidy programs and should soon be able to get housing.
Officials reported that 180 people had agreed to leave local riverbeds since January. Of those, more than 150 were now in some form of short-term housing, which can include traditional shelters. Twenty-two made it permanent housing and one was reunited with family.
“On all fronts, we are making progress,” county Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer said Thursday.
The population estimates were based on a census taken Sept. 26 through 29 and include people found living in vehicles. The count does not include Mission Trails.
Gloria relents on December Nights, some community cuts in budget revise, but arts funds still on chopping block
by City News Service | Times of San Diego
Some library and recreation center hours and December Nights support were restored in Mayor Todd Gloria’s revised Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Wednesday, but city funding for the arts could still be gutted.
Gloria was joined by civic leaders Wednesday morning to announce changes to his initial proposed budget, released last month. He added “targeted protections” of certain neighborhood priorities and maintained police and fire service levels while arriving at a balanced budget.
Proposed additions include protecting rec center and library hours in Council Districts 4, 8 and 9, represented by Henry L. Foster III, Vivian Moreno and Sean Elo-Rivera, respectively.
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The Learning Curve: He’s San Diego Unified’s Next Trustee – No Race Needed
By Jakob McWhinney | Voice of San Diego
The primary is still nearly a month away. The general election is even further out. Still, it’s already clear that Hayden Gore will be San Diego Unified’s next trustee. That’s because he’s running unopposed to fill the seat left open by current Trustee Cody Petterson, who opted not to run for re-election.
Though he’s a political newcomer, Gore was the early choice of San Diego Unified’s union. In fact, he was recruited by the former president of the San Diego Education Association to run for the seat.
It’s not hard to see why. He’s an avowed progressive and a longtime educator who led the then-newly formed union at High Tech High to its first contract. Exactly the kind of resume that would have SDEA champing at the bit.
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Join Us Friday, July 17, 2026 for the 11th Annual USD School of Law – RJS LAW Tax Institute
By RJS Law
The Institute is the premier annual tax event in San Diego. The region’s top tax attorneys, enrolled agents (EAs), certified public accountants (CPAs), law and business school professors will discuss topics including government loan relief and abuses, challenges in cross-border transactions, and practical and realistic solutions in trust, estate planning, and tax matters.
DATE AND TIME
Friday, July 17, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, Theatre
5555 Marian Way, San Diego, CA 92110
EVENT STATUS
Open to the Public
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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – For many families, libraries are a safe space for kids after school and a place to study.
After community outcry, the city is scaling down some of its proposed budget cuts, bringing the original $6.3 million in cuts to libraries down to $4.8 million.
Patrick Stewart, CEO of Library Foundation SD, said the change is a step in the right direction.
“We are very pleased. I think this moves the needle in the right direction.”
Mayor Gloria’s revised budget proposal restores funding focused on youth-centered programs, which includes bringing back library hours in Council Districts 4, 8, and 9 — those in underserved communities.
“This is City Heights and San Isidro, Barrio Logan, and Oak Park, and traditionally, those are smaller branches. And the kids and the families in those communities frankly, they use their library very differently than in a lot of other communities, and it’s a lifeline to them,” said Stewart.
The City Heights library is among those included in the mayor’s revised budget to restore funding. While library officials say this is a good first step, there is still concern about long-term financial challenges.
In order to voice concerns about how deep the cuts go, the Library Foundation has created a way for supporters to express that through postcards. Thousands of cards have been mailed directly to Mayor Gloria and councilmembers.
Stewart said the effort is making an impact.
“They’re seeing that this is hundreds and hundreds of people that are taking this very seriously, so it helps them to know immediately what their community feels like when it comes to these proposed cuts,” he added.
The restored funding would also keep Monday hours at Carmel Valley Library and protect the North Clairemont Library branch from closure.
Library officials remain optimistic as the revised budget heads back to the City Council.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
A man suspected of a fatal shooting in Barrio Logan was arrested Tuesday.
Benito Garcia Jr., 31, was arrested in the 3600 block of Grand Avenue in San Marcos at about 1 p.m. Tuesday for allegedly gunning down 64-year-old Raul Torres near the east end of the Coronado Bridge, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Patrol officers responding to an anonymous report of a shooting found the mortally wounded victim on a sidewalk in the 2000 block of National Avenue, near Chicano Park, shortly after 10 p.m. last Tuesday. Torres died at the scene, SDPD Lt. Lou Maggi said.
Police have not disclosed a suspected motive for the slaying.
Garcia was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of first- degree murder. He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
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