San Diego, CA
Santana High shooter ruling follows evolving approach to juvenile offenders
For many, it was a surprise when a San Diego judge issued a ruling last week that could see the region’s most notorious school shooter freed from prison at age 39.
But a series of laws and court rulings favoring rehabilitation for youth offenders for more than a decade have paved the way for the possible release of Santana High School shooter Charles “Andy” Williams, who killed two classmates and wounded 11 more students and two adults in March 2001.
No longer can anyone under age 16 be charged as an adult in California courts. Parole is now available to youth offenders after serving 25 years of their sentence. And lawmakers have created a path for youths previously sentenced to life without the possibility parole to seek relief.
Then there are those like Williams, who, at 15 years old, was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. Recently, courts have been grappling with the question: When does such a lengthy sentence become a de facto sentence of life without parole?
Last week, San Diego Superior Court Judge Lisa Rodriguez found that such a lengthy sentence is essentially life without parole. She recalled — or essentially, erased — Williams’ sentence and set him to be resentenced in Juvenile Court. There, he will get the benefits of today’s laws governing juvenile offenders, and that likely translates into a release from custody. The District Attorney’s Office is appealing.
On Tuesday, as survivors of the Santana High rampage listened in, the judge explained her decision, saying she was following the guidance set by the San Diego-based 4th District Court of Appeal, Division 1, which she said “has made its position on this issue clear.”
It is the same appellate court — although not necessarily the same panel of judges — that will review the district attorney’s appeal of the Williams decision.
Victims of and witnesses to the rampage expressed disappointment and concern following the ruling, with at least one questioning whether the decision was moral or just. Many pointed to the deaths of students Bryan Zuckor, 14, and Randy Gordon, 17.
In a statement issued last week, District Attorney Summer Stephan said Williams had “carried out a calculated, cold-blooded attack” and that his “cruel actions in this case continue to warrant the 50-years-to-life sentence that was imposed.”
“At some point our laws must balance the rights of defendants, the rights of victims, and the rights of the community to be safe,” Stephan said.
Had the Santana attack happened today, a 15-year-old shooter — even if convicted of multiple murders — would be tried as a juvenile and generally could not be held in custody longer than age 25, with maybe an additional two years in transitional housing.
State Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, whose district includes Santee, said last week he is developing legislation that would exclude those who commit school shootings and similar mass-casualty crimes from resentencing laws offering relief to juvenile offenders.
“School shootings are not impulsive mistakes — they are acts of terror,” DeMaio said in a statement. “California’s laws should draw a bright line: if you commit mass violence in a school, you should never be eligible for resentencing designed for lesser offenses.”
People who work with juvenile offenders note that the courts and lawmakers have come to understand that teens are different from adults and should be given the chance at rehabilitation and release. They point to scientific research on the lack of adolescent brain development and the ability for juvenile offenders to be rehabilitated.
“I think that the question we ought to be answering is, ‘Do we want to throw away people who do something terrible at age 15?’” said law professor Christopher Hawthorne, director of the Juvenile Innocence and Fair Sentencing Clinic at Loyola Marymount University, which takes on post-conviction cases for juvenile defenders.
Hawthorne said lawmakers “woke up” in 2012 and began giving juvenile offenders a path for release.
San Diego defense attorney Danni Iredale, who represents clients in federal and state court, including juveniles, said that while she understands some may believe that juvenile offenders should be given harsher sentences — especially in “outlier” cases such as the Santana shooting — she believes strongly in the research on brain development and rehabilitation.
“There’s always going to be an outlier case that pushes us to the bounds of what we can tolerate, but … juveniles are different, and I think the Supreme Court has recognized that time and time and time again,” she said.
An evolving approach
Juvenile sentencing laws have evolved since Williams was initially sentenced in 2002. While not all of the changes directly impacted Williams, they had a cascading effect that ultimately led to this past week’s ruling.
The first big decision came in 2005 when the U.S. Supreme Court banned the death penalty for juvenile offenders, ruling that it violated the Eighth Amendment restriction against cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court also issued rulings in 2010 and 2012 that limited the ability of states to sentence juveniles to life in prison without parole.
Those laws laid out a more nuanced viewpoint of the distinctions between adults and juveniles who commit the worst crimes and the unconstitutionality of punishing them equally.
As a California appeals court wrote in 2022: “These decisions arose in large part from advances in research on adolescent brain development, and the related, growing recognition that juveniles ‘have diminished culpability and greater prospects for reform’ and are therefore ‘constitutionally different from adults for purposes of sentencing.’”
The Supreme Court rulings prompted legislative changes in some states, including California. Those changes, plus subsequent court rulings, did eventually have a direct impact on Williams.
California Senate Bill 9, which took effect in 2013, allowed juvenile offenders serving life without parole to petition to have their sentences recalled and to be resentenced. Since Williams was not sentenced to life without parole, the law did not initially affect him. But that changed in 2022 in a decision arising from another case involving a juvenile offender from San Diego.
In 2005, when Frank Heard was 15 years old, he and other members of his San Diego street gang wounded two people in a drive-by shooting targeting rival gang members. Six months later, shortly after Heard turned 16, he fatally shot a person on a street corner who he believed was selling drugs in his gang’s territory.
Heard was charged as an adult and convicted of attempted murder and manslaughter charges. A judge sentenced him to what essentially amounted to 103 years to life in prison.
Heard filed an appeal in 2021, citing the 2013 law, arguing that he should be eligible for resentencing “because his sentence was a de facto life without parole sentence.” A San Diego Superior Court judge denied the appeal, ruling the law only applied to juvenile offenders explicitly sentenced to life without parole. Heard appealed that ruling, arguing that his sentence was the “functional equivalent” of life without parole.
In 2022, California’s Fourth Appellate District agreed with the San Diego judge that the 2013 statute only applied to juvenile offenders explicitly sentenced to life without parole. But Heard had also argued that if the law did not apply to him and others with sentences functionally equivalent to life without parole, it would violate his rights to equal protection of the laws under the 14th Amendment and the California Constitution.
“On this, we agree,” the appellate court wrote.
The ruling allowed similarly situated juvenile offenders such as Williams to petition for a resentencing — if, like Heard, they could successfully argue that their lengthy prison terms were the functional equivalent of life without parole.
A flood of petitions for resentencing followed. Williams’ attorney said last week that her client initially declined to petition because he wanted to have a parole hearing first, in order to give his victims a chance to confront him. And even that parole hearing was possible under reforms that now offer parole hearings for youth offenders who have served 25 years of their sentence.
At that parole hearing in September 2024, Williams was found unsuitable for release. One commissioner told Williams it was “unclear if you understand why you committed this horrendous act of violence.”
Williams then filed a petition to have his sentence recalled. But then, in the last year, differing appeals courts in California handed down opinions contrary to the Heard finding.
What exactly constitutes the functional equivalent of life without parole is still up for debate. With now competing decisions in trial and appellate courts, the California Supreme Court agreed last year to take up the question, but that action is still in its infancy. It is not clear if the prosecutors in Stephan’s office will ask the Juvenile Court to pause Williams’ case until the high court rules.
As for case law, Rodriguez, the judge in Williams’ matter, said one case that stood out was a 2018 California Supreme Court ruling that 50 to life was equal to life without parole. That ruling arose from a San Diego case in which two 16-year-olds came across two teen girls in a Rancho Peñasquitos park in 2011, kidnapped and raped them. In that case, the state’s high court said it agreed with the San Diego appellate court finding that the lengthy sentences tended to reflect a judgment that the two defendants were “irretrievably incorrigible” and fell short of a realistic chance for release.
Fewer teens can be tried as adults
The venue for Williams’ resentencing is also the result of state laws that have changed in recent years.
In 2016, California voters approved Proposition 57, a measure that required prosecutors to seek a hearing if they wished to charge 14- and 15-year-old offenders as adults. A few years later, in 2018, state legislators passed a law that banned offenders 15 years old and younger from being charged as adults in any circumstances.
There was another big change geared toward placement of youth offenders in 2021, when the Legislature agreed to do away with the Department of Juvenile Justice, which ran prisons for juvenile offenders. Since mid-2023, housing those youth offenders now falls to the individual counties, which keeps them closer to their families. In San Diego, that meant creating a wing in the East Mesa Juvenile Facility to house that population.
Williams, 39, would not be sent to such a facility, which doesn’t house people older than age 25. His attorney has said he hopes to move to Northern California.
Tuesday night was a tale of two parties. Two election night parties.
At Liberty Station’s Stone Brewing, a small coterie of Democratic elected officials and functionaries and a larger coterie of news media shuffled around trying to make sense of the lackluster returns trickling in.
Meanwhile, at downtown’s US Grant Hotel, a much more spirited collection of Republican operatives and supporters laughed and drank in a blindingly-lit convention room, backed by a pianist’s rendition of “Billie Jean.”
The takeaway seemed clear: this was a not-so-great night for San Diego’s Democratic in-group. Chula Vista’s Republican mayor had a huge lead over his Democratic opponent. A tax on second homes lagged behind in the vote count. And several Republicans seemed to make it out of crowded primary fields in local races.
Hell, even if it was only a just-OK night for Republicans – that still seemed worth celebrating to them.
Normally we now get long stretches of days, even weeks of fingernail-biting anticipation as the county so slowly tallies the rest of the votes. But there doesn’t appear to be many close races to watch this time around. There are a couple. We start at the top:
It’s Becerra vs. Hilton
As of 11 p.m., with more than 50 percent of votes counted, it appeared that a Republican and Democrat — rather than two Democrats — would make it through to the general election. Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra led the race, with billionaire Tom Steyer on the outside looking in. The New York Times has a nice tracker here.
Empty Homes Tax Goes Down
Measure A presented a simple choice. What do voters in the city of San Diego have more disdain for – people with enough money to own a second home they leave empty, or new taxes? Turns out, it’s additional taxes. For now, at least.
Championed by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, Measure A would have placed a tax on homes left vacant for more than half of the year. It was pitched as a way to both raise badly needed revenue for the city and, potentially, make available badly-needed housing.
As of Tuesday evening, the measure’s prospects looked grim, with about 58 percent of voters casting a ‘No’ vote. It will become the second citywide tax increase rejected by voters in as many years. Despite the poor showing, intern Naomi Granata found the pitch resonated with some voters in North Park.
San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk Jordan Marks was one of a number of local electeds who came out in opposition of the tax. He said the city’s housing problems couldn’t be solved by what he called “bad taxes.”
“This result reflects that Sean Elo-Rivera and the City Council have lost the trust of the public and that voters are reading the fine print,” Marks said.
Elo-Rivera said it wasn’t looking good, but he was hopeful the picture would improve. Ultimately, he thought the money spent opposing the tax — and the distorted message he felt it sent — was too big to overcome.
“There was an enormous amount of money spent, and not just money spent, but money spent to trick voters into thinking that something was going to impact them that wasn’t,” Elo-Rivera said.
No Ammar
Republican County Supervisor Jim Desmond led the way in the 48th Congressional District on Tuesday night.
What we were waiting for is the candidate who would go with him to the runoff. It will attract a ton of national attention and money. It was one of the seats made more competitive by Democrats in the special redistricting vote last year.
San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and Ammar Campa-Najjar, squared off for a chance to wrest the seat out of longtime Republican control. With 53 percent reporting, von Wilpert held a commanding lead over Campa-Najjar. The councilmember will advance to face Desmond in November.
On the ground in the district, reporter Tigist Layne found that the national politics that led to the redistricting fight were also front and center on voters’ minds as they headed into vote.
Bailey vs. Crosby in Coastal Council District
Former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey and Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby will advance to the November election in District 2 of the San Diego City Council.
Bailey, a Republican-turned-Independent, seemed destined to finish in the top two after he attracted significant attention on social media. The race for the second spot was more uncertain. Josh Coyne, like Crosby, attracted significant Democratic support. And Mandy Havlik — a more development-resistant candidate — also had strong grassroots support in Point Loma.
Our new intern Fiona Bork talked to voters in District 2, which covers the city’s southern coastline, who said that affordability was the most important issue. Exactly how that explained their electoral choices differed by a lot. One voter said Coyne’s market-driven approach to building more housing appealed to him. Another liked Havlik’s approach to limiting vacation rentals. A third voted for Bailey because she wanted less development and more public transit. It seems unlikely that Bailey, who is fiscally conservative, would support massively expanding public transit options. Read the full story here.
City Council District 4: The race for southeastern San Diego’s council district featured three candidates: incumbent Henry Foster, Martha Abraham and Johnny Lee Dang.
Abraham was highly critical of Foster in her campaign and that seemed to resonate well with voters. At the latest count, she led Foster by several hundred votes.
Foster has many supporters in the district, but the city’s handling of catastrophic flooding in January 2024 — among other issues — has led to massive distrust of City Hall.
Council District 6: Incumbent Kent Lee had one prominent opponent, Mark Powell, who is a former member of the County Board of Education. They will both make the runoff but Lee got 55 percent of the vote in early counting.
City Council District 8: San Ysidro School Board Member Antonio Martinez and current District 8 chief of staff, Gerardo Ramirez, lead in this race — which was crowded with Democrats. Venus Molina, who serves as the chief of staff to Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, trailed closely behind in third place. This is one of the races close enough to change as the registrar continues counting votes. Molina’s count improved slightly as the night went on.
Our South County reporter, Jim Hinch, spoke with voters outside the Otay Mesa/Nestor Branch Library. One voter told Hinch she voted for Molina because she liked that she is local and a single mother. Read the full story here.
Election Watch Party Bonus: Ramirez’ supporters and family gathered at the Landing Strip, a bar and restaurant at Brown Field Municipal Airport, to watch results roll in. They broke out into applause when results showed him coming in second.
“For some of the folks it might seem like ‘hey man’ you’re second place, but we’re in there. This is a huge, wonderful sign,” said Ramirez.
DeMaio’s Gonna Gloat
Two local elections were something of a proxy battle between two warring factions of the Republican Party. Assemblymember Carl DeMaio’s team won, again. Every time local Republican leaders unite to oppose him or the people he supports, DeMaio wins. This time it was about two races: the one to replace County Supervisor Jim Desmond and the one to replace State Sen. Brian Jones.
In the county supervisor race: San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones left no doubt she would make it to the runoff. The only remaining question is who will face her — Vista Mayor John Franklin or Kyle Krahel, the former chair of the Democratic Party. After the first votes were counted, Krahel held a slight advantage with 20 percent of the vote compared to Franklin’s 19 percent. DeMaio went all in for Jones and she led the field with more than 41 percent of the vote.
In the state Senate race: As expected, former San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott made the runoff for the state Senate District 40 seat. She got nearly 45 percent of the votes counted so far. The real question was who would go with her. That Republican battle between Kristie Bruce-Lane and San Marcos City Councilmember Ed Musgrove seems to have also gone DeMaio’s way with Bruce-Lane holding a 4.7-percentage-point advantage over Musgrove.
That’s not enough of a gap to call the race but it’s significant.
Teachers Union Pushed Barrera to Runoff in Statewide Race
The race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction became something of a flex test for the state’s largest teachers union. Could the California Teachers Association almost singlehandedly lift a relatively unknown San Diego board member over a bevvy of better financed, higher profile candidates? Yup. Easily.
Fueled by nearly $5 million in spending from the state’s largest teachers union, longtime San Diego Unified Trustee and labor-darling Richard Barrera sailed to a convincing second place finish in the race for state supe. In his nearly two decades as the power behind the throne of the second largest district in the state, Barrera has engineered a progressive labor friendly transformation that the union hopes can be taken statewide.
He will now face off against Republican Chino Valley Trustee Sonja Shaw in November.
Brews and News + Your Chance to Win Padres Tickets
Meet our team and get an election debrief at our Brews & News Live Podcast at Soda Bar on Thursday, June 11. We will be joined by San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera. Get your tickets here and you’ll be automatically entered to win two tickets to a Padres game. Winners will be announced at the event.
Obligatory note: No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win the Brews and News Live Podcast Giveaway. A ticket purchase or donation will not increase chances of winning. All applicable federal, state, local and municipal laws, rules, and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law.
In Other News
- Opinion: A retired lifeguard finds irony in SDG&E’s stance on residents putting solar panels on their balconies. The company once argued against rooftop solar because it was unfair to renters, but now, he writes, “a low-cost system allows most of those same people access to solar, but SDG&E seeks to deny them as well.” (ICYMI: Our MacKenzie Elmer wrote that plugging in such a device could put her at risk of getting her power cut.)
- San Diego County officials warned South Bay residents to limit their exposure to the outdoors after a broken pipe spilled millions of gallons of sewage into the Tijuana River. (Union-Tribune)
- NBC 7 reports that a judge ruled that the city of San Diego illegally collected parking ticket late fees for three years.
- About that cross-border tunnel: The U.S. Attorney’s office says a recently discovered, massive tunnel stretching from Tijuana to Otay Mesa leads to a fake store in the southern San Diego neighborhood. Four people have been charged in connection with drug trafficking linked to the tunnel.
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney, Mariana Martínez Barba and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Will Huntsberry, Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.
Related Posts
There’s a creative inertia that resides in San Diego, producing a near-constant stream of cool events. Fortunately, this weekend is no different. Those with an artistic inkling can search for inspiration at MCASD’s EXPO Design Market or admire the mixture of live performance and neighborhood charm during the North Park Music Fest. Foodies can dine (with wine) at Stake Chophouse & Bar during its ZD Wines Dinner or explore Barrio Logan’s standout eats at the Sabor Del Barrio. Plus, Pride Month is already in full swing in SD with the return of DISCO RIOT’s Queer Mvmnt Fest and the two-day Out & Abt Music Festival.
Food & Drink | Concerts & Festivals | Theater & Art Exhibits | More Fun Things to Do
Food & Drink Events in San Diego This Weekend
ZD Wines Dinner at Stake Chophouse & Bar
June 4
Stake Chophouse & Bar is collaborating with Napa Valley’s ZD Wines—a family-run winemaking institution that’s been around since 1969—on an intimate four-course dinner this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Throughout the meal, each dish will be paired with a curated pour from ZD Wines, with patrons set to receive a chardonnay, pinot noir, and pair of cabernet sauvignons. Dinner guests will also be treated to insight on the night’s wine pairings from ZD Wines’ senior winemaker Chris Pisani. Reservations are $210 pre-paid through OpenTable.
1309 Orange Avenue, Coronado
Sabor Del Barrio
June 7
Take advantage of all the dynamic attractions that the Barrio Logan Cultural District has to offer—and eat very well while you’re at it—during the third annual Sabor Del Barrio. This Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. attendees can devour their way through 35 neighborhood staples and traverse the tasting stops on foot, by bike, via a free trolley shuttle, or a combination of the three. Tickets are $40 online ($55 day of) and come with complimentary admission to Quint Gallery, the Athenaeum Art Center, and the Chicano Park Museum & Cultural Center, plus a free tour of Tao of Clay.
Barrio Logan
Concerts & Festivals in San Diego This Weekend
Sam Hinton Folk Heritage Festival at Old Poway Park
June 6
Survey the depth of oral storytelling during the free annual Sam Hinton Folk Heritage Festival this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Old Poway Park. Named for harmonica virtuoso, marine biologist, and longtime San Diegan Sam Hinton, this event highlights folk artists who specialize in time-honored traditions. Throughout the day, attendees can see performances by musicians with roots in Americana, Cajun, and Appalachian rhythms on the main stage, dance in the Templars Hall, and hear historical tales from the Storytellers of San Diego in the Porter House.
14134 Midland Road, Poway
North Park Music Fest
June 6
Psychedelic rockers Frankie and the Witch Fingers will headline an eclectic lineup at the North Park Music Fest. This Saturday, enjoy sets from noon to 1:45 a.m. from over thirty performers—including DJs, bands, and local acts—across a dozen North Park venues. Ticket options include general admission ($25 online, $35 day of) and VIP passes ($65) which come with lounge access at Granada House, line-skipping privileges and more; festival proceeds will go towards the North Park Business & Neighborhood Foundation. Plus, performances at Pure Pawsh, Visual Art + Supply, Overland, and Playground Art + Coffee will be open to the public.
North Park
Out & Abt Music Festival
June 6 & 7
The calendar has just flipped to Pride Month, and Out & Abt is celebrating in style. The two-day Out & Abt Music Festival begins Saturday from 3-10 p.m. at The Soap Factory with drag shows, circus acts, a manic pixie dream market, two stages of live music, and last but not least, a mechanical bull. The festivities will continue with an after party from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Gossip Grill and conclude with an afternoon pool party at Hard Rock Hotel San Diego on Sunday from 1-7 p.m. Ticket options include weekend general admission passes ($70), and entry to the music festival ($30), after party ($17) and pool party ($27).
Citywide
Theater & Art Exhibits in San Diego This Weekend
The Monsters at La Jolla Playhouse
June 2-28
Fresh off its Drama Desk Award-winning run in the Big Apple this past winter, The Monsters will have its first West Coast production beginning Tuesday in the Mandall Weiss Forum at La Jolla Playhouse. Written by and co-starring Ngozi Anyanwu, The Monsters finds its reconciliatory narrative in a young woman yearning to repair her relationship with her estranged older brother in the brutal and unforgiving world of mixed martial arts. The Monsters will have preview performances this Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 & 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 & 7 p.m., with tickets ranging from $30-$74.
2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla
Queer Mvmnt Fest
June 3-7
DISCO RIOT has orchestrated five days of queer-focused events centered on the essence and vitality of movement for its annual Queer Mvmnt Fest. The festival begins Wednesday from 5-8 p.m. with short film screenings at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and will include six free movement workshops, with instruction ranging from breathwork to ballet and beyond. Plus, on back-to-back nights at the Malashok Black Box Theater, the participating 2SLGBTQIA+ artists will perform in a variety show (Friday at 7 p.m.) and a featured artist showcase (Saturday at 7:30 p.m.). Admission ranges from free to $40 for individual events at Queer Mvmnt Fest.
Citywide
Golden State Ballet: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Balboa Theatre
June 5-7
The final production in Golden State Ballet’s 2025/26 season will be a world premiere version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, crafted by the company’s artistic director Raúl Salamanca. Inspired by William Shakespeare’s celebratory fantasy play and George Balanchine’s subsequent ballet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream will guide viewers into a fanciful world. This production will also feature the return of Houston Thomas’ neoclassical ballet The Four Seasons to the Golden State Ballet program. Tickets range from $45-$126, with performances this Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 & 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at Balboa Theatre.
868 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp
Let’s Chat at Lamplighters Community Theatre
June 5-14
The ever-expanding presence of artificial intelligence looms large over America’s educational institutions, most notably at the college level. In Let’s Chat, a world-premiere play written and directed by Lisa Balderston, a complex student-teacher quarrel is sprung from the natural tug-of-war between AI usage and ethical standards. Theatergoers can catch Let’s Chat at Lamplighters Community Theatre on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2 p.m. this week and next. Tickets are $30 for adults and $28 for students, seniors, and active military.
5915 Severin Drive, La Mesa
Hairspray at New Village Arts
June 5 – July 19
It’s 1962 in Baltimore, and the dancefloor of The Corny Collins Show, the city’s preeminent teen variety show, is the unlikely setting for a battle over racial integration. Based on John Waters’ most accessible film, Hairspray has since become a beloved stage musical featuring teen idols, endearing characters, and a beat that can’t be stopped. New Village Arts’ production of Hairspray will begin with previews ($40) this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., and two additional previews next week, before the production opens on June 13 ($80).
2787 State Street, Carlsbad
New Exhibitions at California Center for the Arts Museum
June 6 – August 16
Ancestry, history, and the immersively original connection to them both is at the forefront of two new exhibitions opening Saturday at the California Center for the Arts Museum. In Field Notes on Memory, a product of the museum’s In Studio Artist Residency program, artists Farshid Bazmandegan, Tony M. Bingham, and Helena Westra blend sentimental and tangible materials with culturally-grounded stories. In José Hugo Sánchez’s Amoxtlis, which will have a free opening reception this Saturday from 4-6 p.m., Sánchez tackles border relations through printmaking informed by Mesoamerican innovation and medium-spanning influences.
340 North Escondido Boulevard, Escondido
More Fun Things to Do in San Diego This Weekend
Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair at Digital Gym Cinema
June 5-11
Digital Gym Cinema and American Cinematheque invite filmgoers to resonate with all matters of havoc and helplessness during Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair. While this week-long gauntlet of afflicting cinema will examine the atrocities of the world in which we live, it is also intended to demonstrate the resounding hope that remains. The Bleak Week programming at Digital Gym Cinema will navigate stories of grief, pain, gore, and beyond, with selections by international directors like Lars von Trier, Béla Tarr and Andrzej Wajda. Tickets are $14 for all series screenings, with multiple showings of each film happening throughout the week.
1100 Market Street, East Village
Giro di San Diego GranFondo
June 6
Cyclists will test their strength as well as their appetites (for both a challenge and the large meal that follows it) during this Saturday’s Giro di San Diego GranFondo. All riders depart from Frances Ryan Park in Escondido at 7:15 a.m. and end in the same location, with mountainous course distances of 20, 32, 56 and 95 miles, as well as the brand-new King & Queen of the Mountain climbing challenge. But no GranFondo is complete without a proper reward, and all cyclists who cross the finish line can enjoy a post-ride massage, receive a finisher’s medal, and dive fork-first into an Italian feast. Registration ranges from $97-$278 for the GranFondo races.
390 Hidden Trails Road, Escondido
EXPO Design Market
June 6 & 7
Tap into cutting-edge worlds of local creativity during the third annual EXPO Design Market at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. This Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., network with fellow arts lovers and check out vinyl DJ sets, maker-led talks, local vendors, a zine workshop, and more. Additionally, festivities will continue each day from 8 p.m. to close during the free 21+ Expo After Dark activation at Kiku Room. Market entry is free for all ages and RSVPs are encouraged, but not mandatory, for both Saturday and Sunday; gallery admission is 50% throughout the weekend when purchased at the front desk.
700 Prospect Street, La Jolla
PARTNER CONTENT
Inside SeaWorld San Diego’s Mission of Education and Cons…
Why San Diego’s 45+ Community is Choosing Refractive Lens…
Countdown to ’26: International Soccer Weekend at Snapdragon Stadium
June 6 & 7
In less than two weeks, 48 nations will vie for soccer’s most desired prize during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But before the tournament kicks off across North America, Snapdragon Stadium will host a pair of friendly matches showcasing four of the tournament’s featured teams. During International Soccer Weekend, local fans can catch matchups between Switzerland and Australia (Saturday at noon) and Colombia vs. Jordan (Sunday at 4 p.m.) as they prepare to play on the sport’s biggest stage. Tickets start at $55 for Saturday’s match and $74 for Sunday’s match.
2101 Stadium Way, Mission Valley
San Diego, CA
Where to watch San Diego Padres vs Philadelphia Phillies: TV channel, start time, streaming for Jun. 02
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
The 2026 MLB season has surpassed the quarter mark, and after each team’s first 40 games, there’s plenty of reasons to tune in all summer long.
Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami has already proven doubters wrong by launching 17 home runs, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes consistently looks like the best version of himself on the mound and Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski is throwing harder than any starter in the majors.
The MLB action continues on Tuesday as the San Diego Padres visit the Philadelphia Phillies.
Here’s everything you need to know to tune in for the first pitch.
See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is San Diego Padres vs Philadelphia Phillies?
First pitch between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, Jun. 02.
How to watch San Diego Padres vs Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at 6:33 a.m.
Watch MLB all season long with Fubo
MLB regional blackout restrictions apply
MLB scores, results
MLB scores for Jun. 02 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:
See scores, results for all of today’s games.
-
Lifestyle7 minutes agoWe’re having a main character summer. Are you? : It’s Been a Minute
-
Technology15 minutes agoMicrosoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman says there are three labs that matter — and he wants Microsoft to be the fourth.
-
World22 minutes agoUS ally Kuwait condemns ‘brutal and ongoing Iranian attacks’ after airport was hit
-
Politics25 minutes agoSpencer Pratt surges to runoff in LA mayor’s race after angry voters send message to Karen Bass
-
Health30 minutes agoOne extra serving of processed meat a day linked to higher cancer risk
-
Sports37 minutes agoAJ Brown trade outcome: Dianna Russini paid a heavy price while Mike Vrabel emerged unscathed
-
Technology40 minutes agoCould your Samsung phone replace your passport?
-
Business45 minutes agoRent-hike ban to protect fire victims ends despite gouging concerns
