San Diego, CA
Morning Report: Council Narrowly Overrides Some – Not All – Mayoral Vetoes
The San Diego City Council narrowly voted Monday to override some but not all of Mayor Todd Gloria’s moves to reverse changes to the city’s budget that the Council approved earlier this month.
After an initial failed attempt to bat back all of the mayor’s proposed line-item vetoes, a six-member majority voted to accept Gloria’s push not to count on $3 million in projected revenue from digital billboards the city doesn’t now have to balance the budget.
They also nixed a plan to hire a new chief operating officer who would take back duties that the mayor has taken on since he fired ex-top city bureaucrat Eric Dargan.
Other Council concessions: The 6-3 majority also voted not to restore Arts, Culture and Community Festivals grant funding that community leaders rallied to bring back and to partially reduce funding for stormwater projects and new Fire-Rescue positions meant to increase the city’s brush fire prevention efforts.
What a Council majority wouldn’t change: The City Council is sticking by revenue assumptions for paid parking at Balboa Park and at the San Diego Zoo, and for credit card transaction fees on parking meters. It’s also sticking with its plan to move staffers now in the Office of Race and Equity into the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst and to hire a new director. The budget the City Council approved also called for the elimination of two high-level city bureaucrats known as deputy chief operating officers who typically oversee multiple city departments and functions, two city communications positions and two management positions in the police and compliance departments.
Councilmembers Jennifer Campbell and Stephen Whitburn rejected these proposed changes while Vivian Moreno, who also rejected the budget the City Council approved on June 10, said she couldn’t support either proposal unless the city dramatically increased funding for stormwater projects.
What the mayor is saying: Gloria wants you to know that if things don’t pan out with budget projections, it’s the City Council’s fault.
“While the Council has now chosen to partially override certain vetoes, I remain concerned that these actions could still weaken our ability to stay on stable financial footing,” Gloria wrote in a statement shortly after the City Council vote. “If their assumptions don’t hold, they’ll be responsible for the fallout: midyear cuts, layoffs, facility closures, brownouts, and broken promises to the communities we all serve.”
What the Council’s saying: Council President Joe LaCava said immediately after the budget vote that he stands ready to schedule votes on budget changes as needed – and ahead of quarterly budget updates if necessary.
Before and during Monday’s vote, some councilmembers criticized the mayor’s line-item vetoes and argued Gloria was failing to respond to the demands of both the City Council and community members who spoke up at budget hearings.
Another Big COO Vote Coming Today
Last month, our Lisa Halverstadt broke the news that the city’s former top bureaucrat, who Mayor Todd Gloria belatedly said he fired for cause, had reached a tentative $146,000 settlement with the city.
Today the City Council is set to vote on that proposed settlement, which is larger than the three months of severance that ex-COO Eric Dargan sought when he was abruptly dismissed in February.
The proposed settlement follows Dargan’s March discrimination lawsuit against the city alleging that Gloria reneged on a pledge to pay him three months’ severance after a dismissal – and an admission by Gloria’s office that he was fired rather than laid off.
In a report to the City Council about the proposed settlement, Assistant City Attorney Travis Phelps rejected the notion that the city was admitting it had mishandled the situation.
“The settlement is a business decision and the result of a compromise and dismissal of the litigation proceedings and is not an admission of liability by any party,” Phelps wrote. “(The) city and its representatives specifically disclaim any liability or responsibility to (the) plaintiff.”
Reminder: Under the city’s strong mayor form of government, a chief operating officer reporting to the mayor has typically overseen day-to-day city operations. After Dargan’s firing, Gloria took on that role in addition to his mayoral duties. The City Council has been skeptical of how this is working, hence an initial budget move to try to force Gloria to hire a replacement for Dargan. Gloria successfully batted back that change during Monday’s second City Council budget vote.
County Supe Votes to Watch Today
County supervisors are set to vote today on a proposed $8.6 billion budget.
The Union-Tribune noted that county officials pitched closing a projected $139 million shortfall by reducing capital spending and eliminating 190 positions, most of which are in the county’s Health and Human Services Agency.
The county board’s two Democrats last week highlighted county staff projections that the Trump administration-backed “Big Beautiful Bill” could cost the county $286 million annually.
On that note: Today, Democratic Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe will propose a plan to have county staff do a deeper dive on potential impacts and propose strategies to address those new costs, including potentially dipping into county reserves or seeking grants.
Refresher: The two Democrats’ proposal to make it easier to dip into the county’s large reserve fund failed earlier this year. The District 1 supervisors’ race will tip the political leanings of the county board, meaning the county is more likely to tap into its reserves if Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre is elected and likely kill it if Chula Vista Mayor John McCann wins the seat.
One more county vote: Supervisors Montgomery Steppe and Republican Joel Anderson are each more quietly proposing to spend up to $20,000 each from their office budgets to attend a six-day September Global Policy Leadership Academy field study on mixed-income housing in Vienna, Austria.
In a joint board letter, the two supervisors write that their participation in the LeSar Development Consultants trip will support county efforts to “increase affordable housing supply, reduce homelessness, and pursue sustainable development.”
“By authorizing this travel, the board will support Supervisor Anderson and Supervisor Montgomery Steppe in gaining valuable insights and learning best practices that can inform San Diego County’s efforts to increase affordable housing supply, reduce homelessness, and pursue sustainable development,” the letter reads.
What the supes are saying: Anderson declined to comment on the item, which will for now appear on the county’s consent agenda which is generally approved with little discussion. A spokesperson for Montgomery Steppe shared a statement that reiterated points in the board letter.
“Supervisor Anderson and Supervisor Montgomery Steppe were both invited to participate in this field study as panelists, sharing insights from San Diego’s housing efforts while learning from Vienna’s internationally recognized housing model,” spokesperson Ariel Gibbs wrote.
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In Other News
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt and Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
San Diego, CA
WEBTOON Brings Top Creators for San Diego Comic-Con Panels
Global entertainment company Webtoon is returning to the hallowed halls of San Diego Comic-Con with a larger-than-life slate of panels featuring top talent and fresh announcements.
They will be shining the spotlight on some of today’s most engaging webcomic creators, including Derek V. Song (Fantasy High) and Punko (Cinderella Boy).
Let’s take a look at their schedule:
Thursday, July 23 – 10am – Room 29AB
Creature Craft: Visionaries of Horror Comics Share Their Secrets
This panel features Punko, creator of Stagtown and Cinderella Boy on WEBTOON; Cullen Bunn, creator of Ripcord and Deluge for Ignition Press; and Cat Staggs, co-creator of Death Mask, and artist on Tales for a HalloweeNight for Storm King Comics. Rotem Rusak, Editor-in-Chief at Nerdist, will moderate.
Friday, July 24 – 10am – Room 32AB
Love in Every Universe: The Great Romance Trope Debate
Join ROSEOAK, creator of Not So Silent on WEBTOON, Alessandra Ferreri, Head of Content at Wattpad, E.M. Wilson, author of Situationship, and Becca Erin Title, founder of Meet Cute Romance Bookshop. The panel is moderated by Crystal Bell, the Culture Editor at Mashable.
Friday, July 24 – 1pm – Room 32AB
Adapting Fantasy High for WEBTOON with Derek V. Song
Featuring Derek V. Song, writer of Fantasy High. Fans will get a behind-the-scenes look at adapting the beloved Dimension 20 series for WEBTOON and learn more about bringing the world of Fantasy High to a new visual format.
Saturday, July 25 – 11:30am – Room 24ABC
What’s Next from WEBTOON Entertainment
Featuring Ryan Lee, Head of Content at WEBTOON; Sydney Bright, Head of Global Animation at WEBTOON Productions; Erik Kozura, Producer at WEBTOON; ROSEOAK, creator of Not So Silent; Derek V. Song, writer of Fantasy High; Punko, creator of Stagtown and Cinderella Boy; and Ucheomaaa, creator of Vibe Check! on WEBTOON. Journalist, comic critic, and 2026 Eisner judge, Tiffany Babb, will moderate. his panel will deliver a slew of announcements, exclusive first looks, and Creator appearances from its platform and entertainment businesses. Additionally, the panel will give fans a window into what’s next from WEBTOON’s most exciting stories and projects, with news from WEBTOON Originals, WEBTOON Productions, WEBTOON Unscrolled, and more.
San Diego, CA
Terrifying moment huge sea lions chase tourists off popular California beach
Beachgoers in one Southern California town had to run for their lives after two massive sea lions came out of the ocean and onto the beach in San Diego.
In a video posted July 7 on Instagram, Dion Ruzicka captured the terrifying moment the two giant sea creatures hit the shore and began chasing people at the beach on a sunny California day.
One sea lion suddenly charged at stunned beachgoers, barreling across the sand as terrified visitors shrieked and sprinted away while the barking beast gave chase.
Moments later, a second sea lion joined the chaos, sending panicked crowds scrambling for higher ground — and even into the surf — to escape the pair’s path.
The more people ran, the more determined the hefty marine mammals seemed, waddling after the fleeing beachgoers in a bizarre game of chase.
“Oh my God,” one person could be heard saying, in the midst of the chaotic scramble.
It didn’t matter whether the visitor was young or old, the sea lion just kept chasing them. Finally, both animals dived back into the ocean and swam away at a quick pace.
It is not the first time such an encounter has happened in the popular La Jolla spot. A year ago, a video showed a pair of sea lions chasing beachgoers around before finally leaving.
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San Diego has warned the public about the potential dangers of going near wildlife living in the area.
“With the increase in the sea lion population, Point La Jolla has become a popular tourist destination for the public to view these wild animals close up,” a message on the city’s website read.
As a result, interactions between sea lions and the public have increased.
“Members of the public have been observed trying to touch, take selfies, and get as close to sea lions as possible which is a dangerous situation for both the public and the animals,” it added.
Officials suggest people watch the animals from the boardwalk and keep their distance from the sea lions.
While it is unclear what lead to Tuesday’s chase, the summer months are pupping season for these ocean animals. Mothers and fathers become protective of their young ones, and will display aggressive behavior, if they sense a threat, per officials.
“These interactions are not only dangerous for both humans and wildlife, it may be a violation of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act which helps to safeguard these animals,” the city said.
The California Post has reached out to the La Jolla Parks and Beaches group for further comment.
San Diego, CA
Opinion: More apartments eased rents. Townhomes could aid buyers.
San Diego’s most beloved neighborhoods, like North Park, Golden Hill and Sherman Heights, were built by people who needed a place to live and found one. But the bungalows, fourplexes and cottages that gave working San Diegans a foothold in those neighborhoods can hardly be built anywhere else in the city.
Rules written decades ago banned them. For 70 years, San Diego has been paying for that mistake in the form of a city its own workforce can no longer afford to live in.
Neighborhood Homes for All of Us is the city’s plan to fix that: family-sized townhomes, rowhouses and small duplexes built in the neighborhoods where San Diegans most want to live.
While San Diego rents are softening as new apartments are built, the cost of buying a home is not moving, and it won’t, because the rental and ownership markets run on entirely separate tracks. Renters benefit when more rentals are built, forcing landlords to compete for them.
However, a family trying to buy a home benefits only if more homes are available for sale. San Diego home prices now exceed nine times the median household income, among the worst ratios in the nation, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Building rental housing is important, but it does not change the math for a buyer.
The homes that would change it — family-sized, on the ownership track, in the neighborhoods where people most want to raise children — have been illegal to build for decades. San Diego produced roughly 7,000 condos and townhomes a year in 2005. By 2022, that number had collapsed below 500. Part of that drop is because of litigation rules that drove up insurance costs for builders, caps on pre-sales that finance these projects and high fees. Another major reason is that we simply do not allow starter homes on smaller lots. So, instead, builders default to rentals because that’s what current rules allow them to build profitably.
London Moeder Advisors, a San Diego real estate economics firm, finds that eliminating the city’s large-lot-size mandates could produce new townhomes at 42% less cost than surrounding single-family homes without taxpayer subsidies. While this price point is still high for many, it’s more attainable for young families starting out. And importantly, the price could drop further if the state advances reforms to address litigation rules and pre-sale caps that drive up costs.
The city’s program is also focused on adding homes in San Diego’s neighborhoods with the best-performing schools and most accessible jobs. These are also the neighborhoods with the most restrictive regulations on smaller starter homes. A teacher whose classroom is in La Jolla cannot afford to live there. A firefighter stationed in Mission Hills commutes from Santee. The homes that would let them stay are currently illegal to build in much of these areas. Neighborhood Homes changes that.
While critics may say San Diego already has the tools for adding homes to neighborhoods, why add another program? Because each of those tools was for a different purpose. None were designed to add more for-sale housing.
ADUs, the backyard homes now common across the city, typically top out at 750 square feet (because of fee cliffs) and entail intricacies when selling to own. Other tools, like Senate Bill 9, have been layered with requirements that make it far too complicated and expensive for many homeowners to split their lots to add homes. Laws like Senate Bill 79 are important for adding more housing near transit. But none of these tools focuses on family-sized, ownership-track townhomes in an established neighborhood.
The Neighborhood Homes initiative asks a simple question: Where do the families who can’t afford a million-dollar home but don’t want an apartment go? We can continue to say certain neighborhoods are off-limits to the teachers, trades workers and young families who want to live there, or San Diego can set its own terms for how they grow, with local standards in a form the city controls.
San Diego’s most beloved streets were not preserved into existence. They were built — a duplex here, a rowhouse there — by people who needed a place to live in the city they loved and found one. That is what Neighborhood Homes makes possible again.
Asad is a former board member of the YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County. He resides in Mid-City.
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