San Diego, CA

More apartments, less segregation, fewer cars: San Diego OKs sweeping changes to growth blueprint

Published

1 year ago

July 23, 2024

More apartments, less segregation, fewer cars: San Diego OKs sweeping changes to growth blueprint

San Diego made ambitious changes Tuesday to the city’s blueprint for future growth that prepare the city for climate change, speed up revisions to neighborhood zoning plans and try to reverse racial segregation.

“This is a major step forward in terms of how we are not just planning for but shaping the future that San Diego needs,” Council President Sean Elo-Rivera said after the council unanimously approved the moves.

Council members praised the changes, called Blueprint SD, for combining an array of city goals into one document to create the first new big-picture vision for San Diego since the anti-sprawl City of Villages plan in 2008.

“We are in an era where it’s not simply enough to say we need more housing or that we need more transit or that we need more infrastructure,” Councilmember Kent Lee said. “They are all interconnected, and if we’re not able to accomplish them together, then we’re not going to be able to build the city we envision.”

The amended general plan aims to fight climate change by steering new housing into transit-friendly areas so more people can get to work without a car.

It also will allow San Diego to complete updates much more quickly to growth blueprints, called community plan updates, for individual neighborhoods — roughly three years per plan, instead of the usual five or six.

And it seeks to reverse decades of racial and ethnic segregation that began with deed restrictions and discriminatory lending practices beginning nearly a century ago that excluded people of color from some neighborhoods, and then were reinforced by single-family zoning policies that remain mostly in place today.

It would do that by encouraging more apartments and multi-family housing in predominantly White areas of the city deemed “high-resource” because they have high-paying jobs, quality schools and neighborhood amenities, such as parks.

A pro-growth group called Yes in My Backyard San Diego singled out the anti-segregation efforts for praise during a two-hour public hearing Tuesday.

“This plan dares to challenge our segregated housing patterns,” said Saad Asad, the advocacy and communications chair for YIMBY San Diego. “Integration and opportunity are more important than maintaining exclusive enclaves.”

But the plan was criticized by many groups that consistently oppose city efforts to boost housing production. Some said it would destroy the city’s single-family neighborhoods, and some critics said San Diego should be less aggressive about encouraging dense housing, since regional planners have reduced future population projections.

Heidi Vonblum, the city’s planning director, said lower population projections don’t mean the city’s housing crisis has been solved.

“Population growth does not equal housing need,” she said. “There is a current undersupply of housing production that has occurred over the past several decades.”

While San Diego officials tout Blueprint SD as something that will help the city meet its climate action plan goals, environmental groups criticized the plan Tuesday.

The local chapter of the Sierra Club said it’s flawed because it targets growth in areas where buses, trolleys and other transit options don’t yet exist, rather than focusing on areas with transit already in place.

The group wants the city to amend a programmatic environmental impact report that analyzed Blueprint SD and pending changes to neighborhood growth blueprints for Hillcrest and University City.

“A glaring deficiency is that much of this transit does not currently exist,” said club leader Charles Rilli. “The PEIR must be revised to describe how, when and where this transit infrastructure will be implemented.”

Councilmember Henry Foster, whose district includes ethnically diverse and low-income neighborhoods in southeastern San Diego, said part of the city’s anti-segregation efforts should include monitoring where poverty is concentrated.

Business groups, including the Building Industry Association and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, support Blueprint SD.

They raised questions Tuesday about a late change to Blueprint SD that requires new buildings to be powered by electricity instead of gas. But Councilmember Joe LaCava noted that requirement is already part of the city’s climate action plan.

LaCava praised Blueprint SD for making the city’s big-picture general plan mirror many policies approved since the general plan was last updated 16 years ago.

In addition to the 2015 climate action plan, those policies include a 2021 parks master plan that tries to boost social equity by funneling developer money from wealthy areas into lower-income areas.

Mayor Todd Gloria, whose planning staff spearheaded Blueprint SD, said after the vote: “Blueprint SD is a bold step forward in creating an equitable and sustainable future for all San Diegans. The plan will help us address our housing needs, support economic growth and make significant progress toward our climate goals. This updated framework ensures that our city grows in a way that benefits everyone, now and in the future.”

Originally Published: July 23, 2024 at 7:33 p.m.

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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Luis Campusano

Published

7 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Padres roster review: Luis Campusano – San Diego Union-Tribune

LUIS CAMPUSANO

Position(s): Catcher
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2026 opening day age: 27
Height / Weight: 5-foot-10 / 232 pounds
How acquired: Second round of the draft in 2017 (Cross Creek HS, Ga.)
Contract status: Will make $900,000 after agreeing to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration; Will not be a free agent until 2029.
fWAR in 2025: Minus-0.4
Key 2025 stats: .000 AVG, .222 OBP, .000 SLG, 0 HRs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts, 0 steals (10 games, 27 plate appearances)

STAT TO NOTE

1 — The number of plate appearances for Campusano while in the majors between June 1 and June 13 and the one at-bat resulted in a weak, pinch-hit groundout against a position player (Kike Hernandez) on the mound in mop-up duty. Campusano was recalled to the majors four times in 2025 but did not get a real opportunity get settled after he went 0-for-6 with four walks and a strikeout in three straight starts as a DH in early May. Of course, hitting .227/.281/.361 with eight homers over 299 plate appearances after getting the first real chance to start in 2024 likely informed how the Padres viewed his opportunity in 2025.

Down — Called up a final time on the last day of the regular season, Campusano balked at the idea that the season did not go the way he wanted. “I had a great season,” he said as he and his teammates packed for the NL Wild Card Series in Chicago. And he did … for Triple-A El Paso. He hit more home runs than ever (25), drove in more runs (95) and finished with a career-high 1.036 OPS, tops among all qualifying Triple-A hitters. The disappointment inferred in the question posed to Campusano was that he was not able to impact the big-league team in any way in 2025, which began with the team choosing to bring in a 40-year-old Yuli Gurriel a chance on the opening day roster over a homegrown product. Once billed as the catcher of the future, Campusno did not catch a single game in the majors, nor did he get any hits, although the opportunity to play was sporadic after getting three straight starts as a DH in early May (see stat to note). The Padres even lost back-up catcher Elias Díaz to an oblique injury over the final weekend of the regular season, but Campusano — who played out the string for a Triple-A El Paso team that did not make the playoffs rather than participate in the majors as a September call-up — was added to the postseason roster more as a right-handed bat than a third catcher (Martín Maldonado was also re-added to the team for the playoffs as the defensive back-up to Freddy Fermin). Campusano, of course, was not asked to help the team in either capacity before the Padres were eliminated in three games.

2026 OUTLOOK

Campusano is finally out of minor league options this year, so the Padres will either have to carry him on the roster, trade him or expose him to waivers. He has fans in the organization, but two big-league staffs headed by Bob Melvin and Mike Shildt seemingly lost faith in his ability to catch a game and all the responsibilities that come with that. It remains to be seen what impact the arrival of robo umps will have on how new manager Craig Stammen views Campusano’s ability behind the plate, but he’s been a potent minor league hitter who has yet to truly get on track in the majors beyond the second half of 2023 (.875 OPS, 6 HRs). Campusano has dabbled at first base in recent years in the minors (12 starts total), so perhaps he settles into a role as a second catcher/right-handed DH/first base option to start 2026.

Luis Campusano #15 of the San Diego Padres and Nick Pivetta #27 walk to the dugout during a practice before the Wildcard series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sept. 29, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

ROSTER RANKINGS

22. C Luis Campusano
23. LHP Yuki Matsui
24. INF Sung-Mun Song
25. RHP Matt Waldron
26. OF Bryce Johnson
27. RHP Ron Marinaccio
28. RHP Bryan Hoeing
29. LHP Kyle Hart
30. RHP Jhony Brito
31. INF Will Wagner
32. OF Tirso Ornelas
33. RHP Garrett Hawkins
34. RHP Miguel Mendez
35. RHP Daison Acosta
36. RHP Ty Adcock
37. RHP Alek Jacob
38. INF Mason McCoy

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San Diego, CA

2 San Diego Eateries Named Among ‘Most Beautiful New Restaurants’ In America

Published

19 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

2 San Diego Eateries Named Among ‘Most Beautiful New Restaurants’ In America

SAN DIEGO, CA — Two San Diego County eateries were named among the most beautiful restaurants that opened last year in the country.

Carlsbad-based Lilo was ranked No. 4 and La Jolla-based Lucien was ranked No. 9 on Robb Report’s list of the most beautiful new restaurants in the U.S. for 2025.

Lilo, which opened in April, features a multi-course tasting menu served around a 24-seat chef’s counter.

The restaurant, co-owned by Chef Eric Bost and John Resnick, earned a Michelin star just months after opening its doors. The eatery was also the only one in San Diego to land on The New York Times list of the 50 best restaurants in America.

Lucien, which opened in July, also offers a chef’s tasting menu, with more than a dozen courses. The 30-seat restaurant, is owned and helmed by Northern California native Chef Elijah Arizmendi, along with partners Brian Hung and Melissa Lang.

“I’m very grateful for the recognition from Robb Report,” Arizmendi told Patch. “Lucien is deeply personal to me, and the space was designed as an extension of my philosophy — one centered on intention, hospitality and the joy of sharing something meaningful to others.”

The list spotlights 21 restaurants in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and other cities across the country. View the full report here.

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San Diego, CA

Proposed fuel pipeline draws interest from investors. Can it give San Diego drivers a break?

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Proposed fuel pipeline draws interest from investors. Can it give San Diego drivers a break?

Plenty of financial and regulatory hurdles still need to be cleared, but a fuels pipeline project that may lead to lower gas prices in San Diego and Southern California has received a healthy amount of interest from other companies.

Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan have proposed building what they’ve dubbed the Western Gateway Pipeline that would use a combination of existing infrastructure plus new construction to establish a corridor for refined products that would stretch 1,300 miles from St. Louis to California.

If completed, one leg of the pipeline would be the first to deliver motor fuels into California, a state often described as a fuel island that is disconnected from refining hubs in the U.S.

The two companies recently announced the project “has received significant interest” from shippers and investors from what’s called an “open season” that wrapped up on Dec. 19 — so much so that a second round will be held this month for remaining capacity.

“That’s a strong indicator that people would be willing to commit to put volume on that pipeline to bring it west long enough for them to be able to pay off their investment and provide a return for their investors,” said David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates, a transportation energy consulting company in Irvine. “They won’t build this thing on spec. They’ll need commitments from shippers to do this.”

The plans for the Western Gateway Pipeline include constructing a new line from the Texas Panhandle town of Borger to Phoenix. Meanwhile, the flow on an existing pipeline that currently runs from the San Bernardino County community of Colton to Arizona would be reversed, allowing more fuel to remain in California.

The entire pipeline system would link refinery supply from the Midwest to Phoenix and California, while also providing a connection into Las Vegas.

The proposed route for the Western Gateway Pipeline, a project announced by Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan designed to bring refined products like gasoline to states such as Arizona and keep more supplies within California. (Phillips 66)

A spokesperson for Kinder Morgan told the Union-Tribune in October that there are no plans for the project to construct any new pipelines in California and the proposal “should put downward pressure” on prices at the pump.

“With no new builds in California and using pipelines currently in place, it’s an all-around win-win — good for the state and consumers,” Kinder Morgan’s director of corporate communications, Melissa D. Ruiz, said in an email.

The second round of “open season” will include offerings of new destinations west of Colton that would allow Western Gateway shippers access to markets in Los Angeles.

Even with sufficient investor support, the project would still have to go through an extensive regulatory and permitting process that would undoubtedly receive pushback from environmental groups.

Should the pipeline get built, Hackett said it’s hard to predict what it would mean at the pump for Southern California drivers. But he said the project could ensure more fuel inventory remains inside California, thus reducing reliance on foreign imports, especially given potential political tensions in the South China Sea.

“I’d much rather have our gas come from Texas or Missouri than from Asia, at least from a geopolitical strategic standpoint,” Hackett said.

This past summer, Reuters reported that California’s fuel imports hit their highest levels in four years.

About 70% of the imports — roughly 187,000 barrels per day — came from South Korea and other Asian countries that have long been top trading partners for California and other states along the West Coast, according to Kpler, an international firm that tracks global shipping and trade.

Fuel supplies and gasoline prices have received greater focus in the wake of a pair of refinery closures in California.

Phillips 66 planned to shutter operations at its twin refinery in the Los Angeles area by the close of 2025, and Valero is scheduled to close down its 145,000-barrel-per-day facility in the Northern California city of Benicia in April. The Valero and Phillips 66 facilities combine to account for about 18% of the state’s crude oil capacity.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline is higher in California than in any other state in the continental U.S., according to AAA.

On Tuesday, the average price in the Golden State was $4.254 while the national average came to $2.815. Hawaii had the highest average in the country, at $4.423 per gallon.

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