San Diego taxpayers are subsidizing the short-term rental industry’s trash collection under the People’s Ordinance. The 2017 letter from the city attorney to Councilmember Zapf is crystal clear: transient occupancy (rentals under 30 days) generates “nonresidential refuse.”

The city is prohibited from providing free weekly collection to these units. Yet, thousands of whole-home STRs continue to receive curbside service at taxpayer expense. Measure B (2022) modernized funding but left the core definition intact — transient rentals remain ineligible for city residential service. 

Requiring owners to arrange and pay for private hauling would shift the full cost off the general fund. With roughly 7,954 active licenses, and residential collection costing about $520 per unit annually, the city could save approximately $4.1 million a year. That money could repair streets, fund public safety or lower taxes for actual residents. Enforce the ordinance as written.

— Gary Wonacott, San Diego

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — As the Muslim community prepares to celebrate Eid al-Adha next month, a San Diego teenager is working to bring comfort and joy to children impacted by the recent tragedy at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

Seventeen-year-old Sarah Abdin spent the past week fundraising, shopping and assembling nearly 100 Eid goodie bags for students at the mosque’s elementary school.

While many teenagers are focused on final exams, Abdin said she spent some nights working until 2 a.m. to make sure every bag was ready in time for the school’s upcoming graduation celebration.

The project was inspired by the recent shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, where children were present during the incident. Abdin, who attended the mosque as a child, said hearing about what students experienced motivated her to take action.

Each bag contains a variety of treats, activities and gifts intended to help children celebrate Eid, one of the most important holidays in Islam.

Abdin said community members quickly rallied behind the effort, helping raise funds and support the project. After days of shopping and preparation, she and her sister spent several hours assembling the bags ahead of delivery.

The goodie bags are expected to be distributed during the elementary school’s graduation festivities in early June.

Abdin said she hopes the gesture serves as a reminder that the children are surrounded by a community that cares about them and stands beside them during difficult times.

The fundraising effort received widespread support, helping cover the cost of the goodie bags and allowing organizers to expand their reach to more students.

How interesting that Donald Trump is deporting Brown people who pay taxes and contribute to our economy (though they will never reap any benefits from those taxes) and instead is using our tax money to import and set up South Africans (none of whom are anything but White) who have never contributed to our economy. Could skin color perhaps have something to do with this policy?

— Nita Herpolsheimer, San Diego