In the old days, visitors to the Gaslamp were warned all may not be as it appeared. Now, the operators of the newly opened Museum of Illusions (MOI) are keeping that tradition alive.
The 9,000-square-foot museum, which has more than 60 locations around the world — San Diego is the first in California — opened earlier this month. Staffers said attendance has been good — visitors were spotted inside one morning this week after the doors opened at 10 a.m. on 5th Avenue in the location where the old Urban Outfitters used to be.
“We have interactive, freestanding installations,” said general manager Phillip Belmont. “They play with your visual perspective and explore cognitive science. And we have a number of exhibits that take great videos, great photos, and there’s a lot to learn.”
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The docents at the Museum of Illusions — and there are a lot of them, BTW; about eight people working at any given time — are especially helpful, and necessary, guiding guests on how to interact with the exhibits or filling in as photographers.
“We have our illusion experts that really are there to serve our guests, help them take photos, help them take videos and explain the science behind our illusions,” Belmont said.
Brain ticklers, optical illusions, 3D holograms and just plain weird stuff will have you and the kids losing count of how many times you say, “Whoa!”
While not every one of the 60 exhibits may have that wow factor, many do, prompting a retracing of steps to replicate the pretzel your mind gets twisted into. Many are interactive, prompting those previously mentioned photo shoots, such as the Ames Room, where an angled floor and mirrors trick perspective into changing the apparent sizes of people and objects; the Walk-In Kaleidoscope; and, our favorite, the Vortex Tunnel, where visitors walk a catwalk through a spinning image that had an NBC 7 photographer unconsciously, unnecesssarily bending his neck to capture a shot.
“I think what makes us most exciting is that you get a chance to really become a part of our illusions, to really be immersed,” Belmont said.
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As is the case with many of the other worldwide MOI locations, some of the exhibits in San Diego “pay tribute to the city that we’re in,” as Belmont put it, including a mirrored view of the Colorado House in Old Town that has visitors walking up the side of the building or hanging off of it, and a “surf-themed reverse room” where a “surfer” can pose on a static wave. Altogether, Belmont said, it took about six months to take over the space and open up.
This being the Gaslamp, there ARE night hours: Till 9 during the week and 10 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Potential guests should have no illusions about the cost of a ticket, though: Adults have to pay $35, and kids are $30.
Nebraska’s defensive line overhaul under new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich is already appearing to create potential landing spots for veteran defenders across the country.
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Less than a week after news broke that Aurich would be Nebraska’s next defensive coordinator, San Diego State junior and former three-star edge August Salvati announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal when it opens in January.
While it instantly creates a potential connection between the soon-to-be senior and his former coach, Salvati becomes a name to watch for a Nebraska program that is believed to be taking an aggressive approach to shoring up both lines of scrimmage over the offseason.
For the veteran defender, the move comes after his most productive collegiate season to date. With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know about the Clearwater, FL native
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In 2025, Salvati totaled six tackles, 3.5 sacks, and one interception during the regular season while helping Aurich boast the nation’s No. 7 total defense for the year. His snap count was modest, but the production still stands, as Salvati’s sack total would instantly become a team-high on Nebraska’s squad during the same timeframe.
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To put in the context the stark contrast between the Husker’s and Aztec’s ability to affect the passer, Salvati’s 3.5 sacks raked fifth highest on his team this fall. Three other San Diego State defenders totaled more than 6.5 sacks alone.
With that in mind, Salvati’s role under Aurich in the Golden State was situational, and he appears to be looking to parlay his success this year into a more impactful one in 2026. For a Nebraska program that needs all the help they can get, the veteran defender likely becomes attractive to Matt Rhule’s staff.
Salvati’s career mirrors that of many players in the modern era of college football. Out of high school, the 6-foot-3, 245-pound defender took his talents to Kilgore College in Texas. There, his first season of collegiate ball became a resounding success. Salvati totaled 29 tackles, 7.0 sacks, and a fumble recovery on his way to earning SWJCFC honors.
He then transferred to Florida Atlantic in 2024. In his lone season in Boca Raton, Salvati appeared in one game without recording any stats. After the season, that is where his timeline connects him to Aurich. Entering the transfer portal around this time last year, the, at the time, junior moved across the country to join Aurich’s Aztec squad, and the rest is history.
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Rob Aurich has coached at Bemidji State, Idaho, South Dakota, and SDSU. | San Diego State Athletics
Under Aurich, San Diego State took a tremendous jump. In a season that saw the Aztecs go 9-3, Aurich oversaw a defense that allowed just 266.7 yards per game while holding opponents to 12.6 points on average.
His group slashed its yardage allowed by more than 154 yards per game en route to shutting out three different opponents on the year. The Aztecs also excelled in the area that Nebraska’s defense struggled in this fall. The Huskers totaled 19 sacks in 12 regular-season games, compared to the Aztecs’ 32. San Diego State also recorded the best red zone defense in all of college football, whereas Nebraska was slotted second-to-last.
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On paper, the hire appears to be one in which Rhule struck gold. Every stop that Aurich has been, his teams have improved, and players have developed into all-conference level athletes. That’s yet another area the Huskers have struggled at in recent years. But from Aurich’s addition and impending announcements regarding Nebraska’s defensive line coaching position, the Huskers seem to be attempting to turn the page in that regard.
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Whether Salvati does indeed end up in Lincoln next fall, or is just another name potentially linked to the Huskers’ program, Nebraska’s defense seems to be in good hands moving forward. Aurich has repeatedly proved himself to be resourceful and now has the resources needed to make an even bigger jump. Believe it or not, the Huskers are significantly more aligned in the NIL and revenue-sharing era of college football than any of their new defensive coordinator’s previous stops.
While that doesn’t mean the Huskers now have an unlimited budget, it does mean Aurich will not be limited while making additions over the coming months. He’s shown he can turn role players into NFL Draft picks, and now he’ll be asked to do the same at Nebraska.
For now, Aurich gets himself adjusted to Lincoln, but before you know it, he’ll be adding his first wave of reinforcements to his squad. The transfer portal opening date is just under three weeks away; expect more news to be had as soon as it hits.
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Two labor unions and a child care advocacy group on Friday filed a proposed countywide sales-tax hike they’ve dubbed the Protect San Diego County’s Health & Safety Act with the county Registrar of Voters in hopes of making the November 2026 ballot.
The proposed half-cent sales tax measure – which would raise a projected $360 million annually – aims to fund health care, child care, solutions to the Tijuana River sewage crisis and public safety.
The Service Employees International Union Local 221, child care advocacy group Children First San Diego and Cal Fire Local 2881 expect to start collecting signatures next month.
“We’re taking urgent action on the biggest health and safety threats San Diego County is facing – Tijuana River toxic sewage, strained 911 response, working families losing healthcare, childcare, and even the basic food they need to survive,” SEIU 221 President Crystal Irving wrote in a statement. “Our coalition is determined to give voters the power to choose a safer, healthier future and starting soon we’ll be out in every community gathering signatures and working with neighbors to protect San Diego County families.”
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Proposed ballot language submitted to the Registrar of Voters Friday describes a slew of causes that proponents aim to support with a half-cent sales-tax increase. Up to 60 percent of funding – the equivalent of $261 million annually – could back child care and health services for children, health care for uninsured or underinsured people, food aid including staffing for CalFresh eligibility workers in the county, in-home health services and affordable health care.
Nearly 23 percent – or roughly $81 million annually – would go toward combating the Tijuana sewage crisis, with at least 20 percent of this share of funds directed toward infrastructure projects to “stop sewage flows from Tijuana into the United States or through the Tijuana River Valley.” The measure says the funding could also address related health issues and protect local waters from pollution.
Nearly 18 percent – or almost $63 million annually – could back public safety services, wildfire prevention and crisis response.
Proponents also capped administrative costs at 1.5 percent, or about $5 million annually.
The proposed measure also calls for an 11-member citizens oversight committee to conduct annual audits and bars spending on politicians’ salaries, lobbyist contracts or government office renovations.
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The citizen-backed effort is separate from the subcommittee work that county Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe are queuing up to hash out ways the county might bring in. The county faces an estimated $300 million annual budget hit tied to federal cuts. The county is set to hire and pay consultants up to $500,000 as part of that effort to conduct polling and research on potential measures to raise taxes and other possible ways to increase revenues that may require changes to other policies.
In a Friday statement, Lawson-Remer lauded the proposed citizen measure.
“This San Diego County Health & Safety citizens initiative offers a key tool that voters could choose to support in order to defend our community and our values: to keep our water clean, to keep our hospitals open, and to make sure firefighters and first responders have the resources they need when the next wildfire hits,” Lawson-Remer wrote. “When Washington walks away, our community refuses to look the other way.”
The decision to proceed with a citizens’ measure doesn’t rule out a potential future measure pushed by county supervisors. Yet Lawson-Remer’s quick endorsement shows she’s eager to see a citizens’ group push a measure forward that only requires a simple majority for a ballot victory.
The coalition behind it will face an uphill battle to persuade skeptical voters already facing an avalanche of rising costs – and to get on the ballot in the first place.
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Courtney Baltiyskyy of Children First San Diego said the coalition expects to hit the streets in January to try to collect at least 140,000 signatures. They’ll need to deliver at least 102,923 valid signatures to get on next November’s ballot.
The county coalition also expects to have some competition next November.
The coalition that includes Laborers Local Union 89, Carpenters Union Local 619, and Rebuild SoCal are rallying behind a one-cent sales tax hike for city of San Diego for infrastructure repairs, wildfire prevention, pipe repairs for clean water and more.
Both coalitions have recently circulated polls testing voters’ appetite for separate city and county measures and shared some intel.
Their intel-sharing follows the November 2024 demise of Measures E and G, separate city and countywide sales-tax proposals. San Diego politicos are skeptical voters would support two sales-tax hikes.
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The results of an initial poll of city voters conducted around Labor Day on the city measure suggested both city and county measures suggested a challenging climate for proposed tax increases.
Results obtained by Voice of San Diego show 57 percent of the 776 voters polled said they thought the county was on the wrong track and 60 percent said the same of the city.
Baltiyskyy said Friday the countywide coalition believes it has a path to victory – and that support for it will grow as voters and local organizations learn more.
Four suspects were behind bars Friday for allegedly beating a man to death two months ago during a fight at Linda Vista Park.
Arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder in connection with the violent death of 59-year-old Ruben Rimorin were Juan Garcia Alavez, 21, Juan Manuel Lopez, 26, Brian Reyes, 20, and Franklin Joseph Tuell, 21, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Rimorin was found gravely injured about 3:45 a.m. Oct. 18 on a sidewalk in the 6800 block of Osler Street, just west of the park, SDPD Lt. Chris Tivanian said. Paramedics tried in vain to revive the victim before pronouncing him dead at the scene.
It remains unclear what sparked the deadly fight.
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The suspects were being held at San Diego Central Jail without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday afternoon.
