San Diego, CA
San Diego woman in Ukraine as Russia launches missile attack
(KGTV) – Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was attacked by Russia Friday morning, prompting emergency power outages.
The extent of the damage isn’t clear, but Ukraine’s Energy-Minister urged people to remain in shelters.
Russia has launched 12 attacks on Ukraine’s power system so far this year, according to Ukraine’s energy operator, and Friday’s was intended to make Ukrainians suffer through the winter season.
One San Diego woman was in Ukraine Friday, delivering humanitarian aid to Ukrainians to help them survive the winter season.
Winnie Huong was in Lviv at a post office at the time the sirens started to sound.
“I was packaging and sending, and then a second intense siren took place,” Huong said.
Huong is the treasurer for the non-profit Shield of Freedom, and she was at the post office trying to send out supplies when the sirens went off.
Huong said the post office told her to quickly take shelter in a hotel parking garage nearby, and she waited there for an hour until it was safe again to come out.
“We didn’t know with so many missiles where it’s gonna hit, where it’s gonna land, and whether life is gonna change from that moment on,” Huong said.
ABC 10News’ Zoom conversation with Huong froze twice because of the rolling blackouts that Ukraine was experiencing following Russia’s attack on the country’s energy sector.
“It was snowing yesterday and today,” Huong said. “So it’s very cold all over Ukraine, and to deliberately target this infrastructure is really inhumane.”
As Huong dealt with the immediate impacts Friday, Ukrainian families back in San Diego frantically checked on loved ones back home.
Krystina Shchelkunova, the executive director for the Slavic Refugee and Immigrant Service organization, helps around 10-thousand Ukrainian refugees in San Diego and said her mother-in-law called her right after the attack.
“My mother-in-law and father-in-law are still in Ukraine, and they live close by where the attack was,” Shchelkunova said.
Shchelkunova said she wishes she could bring her in-laws to the States but said her mother-in-law chooses not to leave.
“I say you are a woman; you’re not fighting,” Shchelkunova said. “She said I can do something, I can feed soldiers, I can provide some help to the soldiers.”
Shchelkunova said she continues to focus on Ukrainians eager to leave their war-torn country, like her good friend Ella Popeneko, who came to San Diego with her family two years ago.
Popeneko said at one point, she and her husband and two kids had to live out of their car in an underground parking lot for a week. That’s when they decided to leave Ukraine.
“In Kharkiv, they can’t go to school, they cannot go for a walk, they cannot go to the playground because all the time sirens in my city so often,” Popeneko said.
Popeneko said she doesn’t regret leaving Ukraine because it was the right thing to do for her children, and six months ago, she helped Shchelkunova bring one more of their closest friends from Ukraine to San Diego to escape the conflict with Russia.
The House of Ukraine will be hosting a ‘Stand For Ukraine’ event on Sunday, December 15th, at 2 p.m. at Balboa Park.
For more information, click here.
If you’ve been putting off a proper reset, consider this your nudge. Rancho La Puerta – the iconic fitness resort and spa nestled in the hills of Tecate, Baja California – has once again claimed the top spot on Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards list, earning the No. 1 ranking for International Wellness Retreat in 2026.
Eight Times at the Top
The Ranch doesn’t just show up on this list – it dominates it. Previous wins in 2013, 2014, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 have earned it a hall of fame distinction in Travel + Leisure’s history.
Rankings are based on reader ratings across rooms and facilities, location, service, food, and value, so this is real-world validation straight from the people who’ve been there.
A Week at the Ranch
Set across 4,000 private acres of gardens, mountains, and meadows, The Ranch runs on a weekly stay format designed to help you slow down, move, and reconnect. The fitness program is broad – yoga, Pilates, strength training, water aerobics, Tai Chi, and guided hikes across more than 40 miles of trails.
Three onsite health centers handle the spa side, offering a full range of treatments and therapies throughout the week. The food earns its own mention: nourishing, pescatarian-style cuisine built around fresh produce from the Tres Estrellas Organic Farm right on the property.
Rooted Since 1940
The Ranch was founded by spa pioneers Deborah Szekely and her late husband Edmond Szekely – two of the people most credited with shaping the modern wellness resort as we know it.
That foundation is still very much alive here: a focus on nature, community, movement, and nourishment that has kept people returning for decades.
See you there!
Rancho La Puerta has been drawing people in and keeping them coming back for over 80 years. Your first visit – or your fifteenth – awaits.
🎟️ Book your stay here
ℹ️ Find more details here
See you there, San Diego!
Sempra, the San Diego-based Fortune 500 energy giant, announced changes in the executive suite that the company says reflect greater focus on its holdings in the utilities sector.
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Karen Sedgwick will become the chief executive officer and president of Southern California Gas, one of Sempra’s subsidiaries.
She will be replaced by Justin Bird, who is currently the CEO of Sempra Infrastructure, the company’s subsidiary in Houston that builds, operates and invests in projects such as liquefied natural gas, or LNG, facilities.
The appointments come in the wake of a $10 billion agreement announced last fall between the Sempra parent company and KKR, one of world’s biggest investment firms. Affiliates of KKR will buy a 45% equity interest in Sempra Infrastructures Partners.
The deal, which is expected to wrap up within the next two months, underscores Sempra’s intention to concentrate the company’s investment strategy on its utility assets in Texas and California.
“This is an exciting time for our company as we continue to advance the growth of our utility businesses,” Sempra’s Chairman and CEO Jeff Martin said in a statement. “These appointments further our mission alignment and strengthen our ability to deliver long-term value for our stakeholders. Our board has great confidence in both Karen and Justin and the leadership they will bring to their new roles.”
Sempra is the parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric, as well as Dallas-based Oncor, a utility that operates the largest transmission and distribution system in Texas. Sempra affiliate SoCalGas, with headquarters in Los Angeles, is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the U.S.
Sedgwick, who has worked at various Sempra companies for more than 30 years, already serves on the SoCalGas board of directors. She replaces Maryam Brown, who left SoCalGas and was named president and chief operating officer of Indiana Michigan Power on April 27.
Bird, with more than 20 years at Sempra, will also lead the company’s investor relations, treasury, financial planning, audit, insurance and tax functions. He will continue serving on the boards of Sempra Infrastructure and Oncor.
Bird and Sedgwick will assume their new roles on or around the closing of the KKR transaction. Last month, Bob Patel was named as incoming CEO of Sempra Infrastructure.
Sempra officials believe the KKR deal will generate “substantial cash proceeds” and support “disciplined capital allocation” by simplifying the company’s business and investment strategy.
The transaction is expected to result in about 95% of Sempra’s earnings to come from U.S. regulated utilities in 2027. The company has set a goal to have 60% of its rate base located in Texas by the end of this decade.
The KKR agreement will result in a reduction in Sempra’s stake in its various LNG investments.
Sempra’s ownership share of the first phase of the Energía Costa Azul facility in Ensenada, Mexico, will be reduced from 58.4% to 20.9%.
On the U.S. Gulf Coast, Sempra’s share of Cameron LNG in Louisiana will be reduced from 35.1% to 12.6%. In addition, its share of the first phase of the Port Arthur LNG project in Texas will drop from 19.6% to 7%, and its ownership of the second phase of Port Arthur will fall from 35.1% to 12.5%.
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.
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