San Diego, CA

In Hillcrest, San Diego seeks to balance new housing with protections for LGBTQ+ nightlife

Published

2 years ago

April 10, 2024

In Hillcrest, San Diego seeks to balance new housing with protections for LGBTQ+ nightlife

When Brian Jennings purchased Number One Fifth Avenue in 2019, he did so to preserve the historic Hillcrest gay bar for future generations. Shortly thereafter, he was confronted with a major decision.

A development firm had purchased a neighboring property — an eyesore that had been vacant since 1985 — and was planning to build apartments. The firm approached Jennings and his business partner asking if they were interested in selling.

Despite the opportunity to earn a quick profit on their investment, Jennings said they weren’t interested. He supports more housing coming to Hillcrest, but not at the expense of its history and culture.

“There has been a pattern where these neighborhoods that are being built up by the LGBTQ community become much higher quality than how they started,” Jennings said. “When the gentrification happens, a lot of these institutional bars are not in a position to be able to withstand the influx of new residences.”

While another loss of one of San Diego’s gay bars was averted, the threat of displacement remains. That’s why city planning officials and Hillcrest activists are working to establish an LGBTQ+ cultural district that they hope can balance the need for more housing with protections for the neighborhood’s nightlife.

The cultural district is one element of the Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment, a long-term growth plan that is expected to go before the City Council this summer. The latest draft of the plan was released last month. Public comment on the plan is open until April 29.

The cultural district calls for public art honoring the LGBTQ+ community’s history in Hillcrest. Landlords of new developments would be required to disclose to their tenants that they’re opting into a historically LGBTQ+ neighborhood that can get noisy on nights and weekends. And legacy businesses would get first dibs on new commercial spaces if their property gets redeveloped.

The push for the cultural district began in 2022, after the City Planning Department had proposed an LGBTQ+ historic district. Businesses and nonprofits argued a historic district would stifle new development in Hillcrest while failing to protect the things that really matter.

“The historic designation is much more about brick-and-mortar buildings, and the cultural district is much more about people and a culture that has been created here over the years,” said Susan Jester, a longtime lesbian activist and fixture of Hillcrest who has been advising city planners.

The Hillcrest plan still includes a historic district, but city officials agreed to ease some of the restrictions on new development in the neighborhood’s core.

Jester said Hillcrest’s bars and nightclubs are more than just places to go drinking. They have been refuges for LGBTQ+ people, who, even today, can face violence for living their lives in public.

“I couldn’t go down to the Gaslamp Quarter or anywhere else in town to dance with my partner in 1980, but I could come here,” Jester said. “Same thing with mourning a lost friend or organizing our community … It’s sacred ground to us. And we want to keep it, not just for us and for the history, but going forward so that young gay people, LGBT people, come here and continue to feel that this is a safe and protected spot for them.”

The most controversial changes the city is proposing for Hillcrest are new allowances for high-rise buildings — though such developments would have to include new public gathering spaces, such as mini parks and plazas. Parts of the neighborhood would continue to be restricted to single-family homes and duplexes.

Still, the proposed zoning changes are too extreme in the eyes of some residents in and around Hillcrest. Residents in neighboring Mission Hills have threatened to sue the city over the plan, though previous lawsuits to block denser housing in the area have mostly failed.

City planning officials say Hillcrest’s walkability and proximity to public transit and major employers like Scripps Mercy Hospital and UC San Diego Medical Center make it a prime location for high-density housing.

Jon Anderson, a renter in Hillcrest who has been advocating around the Hillcrest growth plans, said more housing, paired with the planned improvements to bike, pedestrian and public transit infrastructure, will make it easier for new residents to live without a car — like he does.

“If you build these high rises and you have the transportation network as it’s being proposed in the plan, people will move here and they won’t bring a car, or they might only bring one car,” Anderson said. “That’s going to be what allows the neighborhood to retain the charm that it has now, I think, while still bringing more people into the neighborhood to be able to afford to live here.”

Anderson said most of the new apartments in Hillcrest are out of his price range, but that they can still ease the demand for the neighborhood’s older homes that are more affordable. He lives in a one-bedroom apartment built in the 1940s.

“When I went to renew (my lease), there were enough other vacant units in my building that they tried to raise my rent, and I was able to ask them not to, and they didn’t,” Anderson said.

The new apartments next to Number One Fifth Avenue range in price from $2,450 per month for a studio to $4,889 per month for a large two-bedroom apartment. The developer is offering up to six weeks of free rent — the type of incentive that is increasingly common as the housing market floods with new supply.

Sixteen balconies in the new complex open up directly onto the bar’s back patio, which frequently hosts late night karaoke, dance parties and drag shows.

In an effort to get ahead of potential conflicts with neighbors, Jennings said he is spending several hundred thousand dollars to enclose the patio and contain its noise.

“It’s one of the largest investments that this bar has ever seen in history,” Jennings said. “We’re taking a big risk, but we believe that we can make it work.”

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San Diego, CA

UNLV faces San Diego State after Hamilton’s 24-point performance

Published

9 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

UNLV faces San Diego State after Hamilton’s 24-point performance

UNLV Rebels (16-14, 11-8 MWC) at San Diego State Aztecs (19-10, 13-6 MWC)

San Diego; Friday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: UNLV faces San Diego State after Kimani Hamilton scored 24 points in UNLV’s 92-65 victory over the Utah State Aggies.

The Aztecs have gone 13-2 in home games. San Diego State is eighth in the MWC with 9.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Miles Heide averaging 2.0.

The Rebels have gone 11-8 against MWC opponents. UNLV ranks eighth in the MWC shooting 34.4% from 3-point range.

San Diego State averages 79.1 points per game, 0.6 more points than the 78.5 UNLV gives up. UNLV averages 7.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.9 fewer made shots on average than the 9.1 per game San Diego State allows.

The teams play for the second time in conference play this season. San Diego State won the last meeting 82-71 on Jan. 24. Miles Byrd scored 23 points points to help lead the Aztecs to the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Reese Dixon-Waters is shooting 35.9% from beyond the arc with 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Aztecs, while averaging 13 points. Byrd is averaging 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds over the past 10 games.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn is shooting 50.9% and averaging 20.6 points for the Rebels. Hamilton is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Aztecs: 5-5, averaging 74.9 points, 28.9 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.0 points per game.

Rebels: 6-4, averaging 84.1 points, 32.3 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 6.4 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.8 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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San Diego, CA

Military bases in San Diego County increase security following Iran attacks

Published

21 hours ago

March 4, 2026

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Military bases in San Diego County increase security following Iran attacks

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Military bases in San Diego County and nationwide have increased security measures due to last weekend’s U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, prompting traffic delays near base entrances, enhanced ID checks and access restrictions.

The Naval Air Station North Island on Coronado ports three aircraft carriers, including the San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln, which led some of the first-wave attacks on Saturday.

Naval Base Coronado warned motorists of possible traffic delays at all base entry points due to the increased security measures.

Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.

The U.S. operation, dubbed “Epic Fury,” and Israeli operation, “Raging Lion,” began striking targets at 1:15 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday.

As of Tuesday, at least six U.S. service members had been killed in action.

The strikes also killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who had been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, making him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East.

Iran’s offensive forces claimed to have struck USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles, but according to an X post from U.S central Command, “The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.”

Those with concerns regarding the heightened security can contact San Diego County’s Office of Emergency Services at 858-565-3490 or oes@sdcounty.ca.gov.

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San Diego, CA

SD Unified moves forward with layoffs of classified employees

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

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SD Unified moves forward with layoffs of classified employees

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Less than 3 weeks after the San Diego Unified School District finalized a new contract with teachers, the school board voted unanimously on Tuesday to move forward with layoff notices for other district employees.

The layoffs affect classified employees — workers who are employed by the district but are not teachers and are not certified. That includes bus drivers, custodians, special education and teacher aides, and cafeteria workers.

The district says it is eliminating 221 positions — 133 that are currently filled and 88 that are vacant — to save $19 million and help address a projected $47 million deficit for the next fiscal year.

Preliminary layoff notices will go out on March 15, with final notices by May 15.

The district estimates about 200 classified employees will receive preliminary notices, but of them, about 70 are expected to lose their jobs based on union-negotiated bumping rules.

Bumping allows employees with more seniority to move into another position in the same classification, thereby “bumping” a less senior employee out of that role.

Lupe Murray, an early childhood special education parafacilitator with the district, said the news came as a shock after the teacher strike was called off.

“When the strike was called off, I’m like, ‘Yes!’ So then when I got the email from the Superintendent, I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ So, I think everyone was shocked,” Murray said.

The district says it sends out annual layoff notices, as all districts in the state do.

Before Tuesday’s board meeting, classified employees rallied outside, made up of CSEA (California School Employees Association) Chapters OTBS 788, Paraeducators 759, and OSS 724. They were joined by parents, students, and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Miguel Arellano, a paraeducator independence facilitator with San Diego Unified and a representative of San Diego Paraeducators Cahpter 759.

“What do we want? No layoffs! When do we want it? Now!” the crowd chanted.

Arellano said he felt compelled to act when he learned about the potential layoffs.

“The first thing that went through my mind was that I need to speak up. I need to protect these people,” Arellano said.

Inside the meeting, the board heard emotional, at times tearful testimony from classified employees before voting unanimously to move forward with the layoff schedule.

Superintendent Fabi Bagula said the district has tried to protect classrooms from the cuts.

“We have tried our best to only, I mean, to not touch the school. Or the classroom. But now it’s at the point where it’s getting a little bit harder,” Bagula said. “What I’m still hoping, or what I’m still working toward, because we’re still in negotiations, is that we’re able to actually come to a win-win, where there’s positions and availability and maybe even promotions for folks that are impacted.”

Arellano warned the layoffs could have a direct impact on students.

“We are already spread thin, so, with more of a case load, it’s going to be impossible to be able to service all the students that we need to have,” Arellano said.

Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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.

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