SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – There are signs that things are changing in and around Balboa Park. Paid parking signs were being installed by City of San Diego Transportation Department crews on 6^th Avenue for metered on-street parking in Balboa Park on Wednesday.

Come January 5, 2026, free parking here is gone, and paid parking is coming next year.

“I come down every Monday and Wednesday for pickleball here in the gym,” Tony Puyot, who lives in Ramona, said. “It’s going to be a big burden to pay that much for parking for something that, you know, we’ve always had for free.”

On Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to implement the paid parking starting in January.

Outside of the $2.50 an hour for on-street meter parking, the price to park in the lots in Balboa is broken up into 3 levels. 

For lots considered “Level 3,” like the one at Lower Inspiration Point just off Park Boulevard, they cost $5 a day with three hours free. “Level 2,” lots, like the Upper Inspiration Point lot, is will 5 bucks a day but no free time. “Level 1” lots like the Organ Pavilion lot is going to be $8 bucks a day.

However, that pricing is for San Diego residents. If you live outside the city, it’s twice as much to park. 

ABC 10News spoke to a family from Ensenada who visits Balboa Park a couple of times a year when they’re in town. They said the new parking prices would be a reason not to come to Balboa Park, considering that free and affordable parking was a major bonus.

“That I will not pay it. I mean, I will prefer to visit some other place or go to other places. I would not like to pay $16 for a parking spot here, really,” Ernesto Garcia, who lives in Ensenada, said.

The City is offering parking passes with all of the new changes. $150 a year for San Diego residents and $300 for non-residents. 

But the parking pass will be per vehicle, not per household. It’ll be a virtual copy, not a physical one.

“When registering online, City of San Diego residents can use one of the following to verify their residency: driver’s license, vehicle registration, or utility bill,” Leslie Wolf Branscombe, Senior Public Information Officer for the City of San Diego, told ABC 10News in an email. “Residents will need to provide their license plate when creating their account, because their daily visit and passes will be tied to their license plate.”

Puyot said having the pass tied to a specific vehicle could be a major expense if he needs to get a pass for every vehicle he tends to drive to get to Balboa Park.

“I actually also ride a motorcycle, and I have two vehicles that I mainly rotate,” Puyot said. “Obviously, the motorcycle is easier for me for gas and savings as a retiree. But then, if I can only use one vehicle, then that knocks that out in foul weather.”

Some wonder if there still can be some changes made before they have to start paying to park.

“I would hope that they would do something for seniors. I would hope that they would make the single vehicle rule maybe a little more flexible or changeable,” Puyot said.

POINT LOMA, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — A woman from Point Loma pleaded guilty in federal court last Thursday, admitting she embezzled more than $8.5 million from her employer and spent a portion of the stolen funds on luxuries and high-end fashion.

According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Ping “Jenny” Gao, 55, embezzled the funds from her employer by draining four bank accounts belonging to his U.S. companies.

In her plea agreement, Goa admitted to funneling company funds into fraudulent accounts she created. She reportedly used the stolen funds on lavish shopping sprees at high-end fashion retailers and also purchased a $160,000 Porsche and a $2.9 million home overlooking San Diego Bay.

When the employer discovered the stolen funds, he attempted to sue Gao in San Diego Superior Court, during which she falsely claimed that the person suing her was an imposter and that the real owner of the company in China authorized her actions.

To support her false defense, Gao reportedly paid more than $100,000 to people in China to help fabricate evidence, and she also committed perjury at her deposition by claiming the funds in the companies’ bank accounts belonged to her, according to the report.

While the Superior Court issued orders barring Gao from further spending, transferring,
or dissipating the funds during the pendency of the civil case, she reportedly disregarded the orders and wired $1.6 million to a bank account in Hong Kong.

In 2023, the civil case went to trial with Gao testifying in her own defense. In her defense, she falsely claimed a manager from one of the companies was helping her move the funds to the U.S. by using “underground banks” to avoid Chinese overseas transfer laws.

The court ruled against Gao and turned the preliminary injunction into a permanent one.

However, Gao violated the court order and continued to spend the funds, which reportedly included selling the Porsche to CarMax for $75,000 and exchanging a $70,000 cashier’s check for cash.

To date, more than $3.9 million of the embezzled funds have been either squandered or remain unaccounted.

Gao’s summary of charges includes Wire Fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, and Concealment Money Laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years and fines of $500,000 or more.

The U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego sector has a new chief patrol agent, a 25-year veteran who got his start in Imperial Beach, the agency announced Monday.

Justin De La Torre, a San Diego native, replaced acting Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey Stalnaker in the top job. Stalnaker will remain on as deputy chief patrol agent.

“The men and women of San Diego sector have profoundly shaped my leadership by exemplifying our motto of ‘honor first’ in every aspect of their service,” De La Torre said in a statement. “Their dedication to the common good of the American people, both here in San Diego and across the nation, has strengthened my commitment to our mission.”

After beginning his career at the Imperial Beach station, he then went on to serve in various assignments in San Diego, including in the all-terrain vehicle unit, the alien smuggler identification and deterrence program, the public affairs office, the air mobile unit and the tactical unit, officials said.

De La Torre has also worked at Border Patrol headquarters in Washington, D.C., and was previously the chief agent in the Yuma sector, officials said.

As the top executive in the region, De La Torre will command around 2,000 Border Patrol agents along the 60 linear miles of border with Mexico, as well as the entire coast of California.