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San Diego slashing bureaucracy, laying off highest-paid city worker to help close $258 million deficit

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San Diego slashing bureaucracy, laying off highest-paid city worker to help close 8 million deficit


San Diego is shrinking some city bureaucracy and laying off the city’s highest-paid worker to help close a $258 million deficit, but Mayor Todd Gloria still hasn’t made emergency cuts to services that some have called for.

Gloria announced Tuesday that seven city departments are being merged into other departments, saving the city $5.3 million by eliminating some high-level department head and deputy director positions.

The departments that will no longer be independent include Race and Equity, Cultural Affairs, Child and Youth Success and Sustainability and Mobility, which focuses on climate change and bicycle lanes.

Gloria announced he is also eliminating the chief operating officer position and laying off the man who has held that job since fall 2022, Eric Dargan, the city’s highest-paid worker. His annual salary was $383,000 and his benefits cost another $70,000 a year.

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But other than Dargan’s job, 29 of the other 30 positions eliminated by Gloria are vacant. That means eliminating them provides no savings in the ongoing fiscal year, with the savings only coming in the upcoming fiscal year when those positions had been projected to be filled.

Gloria appears to be delaying any proposals for service cuts, which many expect to include shorter hours at libraries and recreation centers, until he unveils his proposed budget for the new fiscal year in April.

That runs counter to lobbying from the City Council and city labor leaders, who have urged the mayor to make emergency cuts as soon as possible to potentially soften the deep cuts expected in the new fiscal year.

Gloria defended his approach Wednesday, contending his management team is thoroughly studying the city’s entire operation before proposing cuts.

“This is just the start,” Gloria said. “There’s a lot more work to be done.”

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Gloria said when the mother lode of cuts finally gets proposed, he suspects the reaction will be “fairly emotional.”

The city’s largest labor union, the Municipal Employees Association, praised the mayor’s announcement.

“Mayor Gloria deserves credit for shaking things up to meet the moment of the city’s significant budget and operational challenges,” said Mike Zucchet, the union’s general manager. “We look forward to continuing to work with the mayor and his team to ensure city services are aligned with available resources and priorities.”

Gloria conceded that the $5.3 million in savings won’t make much of a dent in the $258 million deficit projected for the new fiscal year.

But he noted that a plan to begin charging single-family homes for trash pickup in July is projected to shrink that by $71 million.

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And the city could get another $30 million from an expected court ruling on a ballot measure that would provide the city money for homeless services and roads.

In addition, the city recently doubled parking meter rates and plans to sharply increase a wide range of city fees starting as early as April. Those moves are projected to generate more than $40 million a year.

If all those moves come together as planned, that would leave a deficit of roughly $100 million.

Gloria said he’d like to shield from cuts four priorities: homeless services, infrastructure, public safety and housing initiatives.

Gloria defended 25% pay raises that most city employees received in 2023, which many critics blame for the large deficits San Diego is facing.

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“I think that’s appropriate,” Gloria said of the raises, which kick in incrementally over three years. “We’re not hemorrhaging talent like we have previously. We are paying wages and providing benefits to attract high-quality talent to come here and serve the people of this city.”

The mayor also defended the decision to fold the Race and Equity Department, which the city created in 2020 after outcry following the murder of George Floyd, into the city’s Personnel Department.

“The incredible work accomplished by the Department of Race and Equity since its inception has laid a strong foundation that I’m extremely proud of,” the mayor said.

He said the other mergers don’t mean the city is giving up on the missions of those departments, just that the work is being reorganized.

“None of this is a signal of retreat from these issues or these priorities,” he said.

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Child and Youth Success is merging into the Library Department, Cultural Affairs is merging into Economic Development and Sustainability and Mobility will be chopped up and merged into three other departments.

Additional mergers include the mayor’s office taking over Government Affairs, Boards and Commissions and the office of the chief operating officer. In addition to Dargan, a program manager in that department was laid off.

Gloria declined to praise or even evaluate Dargan’s performance. He said only that “Eric Dargan is a good man — I’ve enjoyed serving with him.”

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San Diego, CA

Game 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels

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Game 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels


San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Angel Stadium – Anaheim, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com

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Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com


— SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.

Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.

RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.

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San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.

Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.

Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.

Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.

Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.

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Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.

Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.

Ferree finished with five saves.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

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How San Diego Has Quietly Emerged as One of America’s Great Dining Destinations

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How San Diego Has Quietly Emerged as One of America’s Great Dining Destinations


When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”

It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says. 

The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.

Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.

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Gage Forster

Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.

Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.

Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.

Eric Wolfinger

“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments. 

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Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.

The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.

The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.

Kimberly Motos

About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”

Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.

Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.

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Gage Forster

Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.

“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”

Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.





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