ArtReach moves to Hillcrest

Nonprofit ArtReach moved from Bankers Hill to much larger digs in Hillcrest, promising to turn the 6,000 sq. Foot space into a creative hub. On the corner lot next to night club Rich’s, the University Ave. location boasts a large space for children’s classes and a new room dedicated to teen and adult classes in addition to an artist residency room and offices for staff.

Founded in 2007 amid budget cuts to arts classes, the nonprofit provides visual arts educational resources to youth lacking resources. Now it also has a mural program and artist-led classes out of school hours for both children and adults. The move means ArtReach can expand the size and number of art classes it offers.

Let’s get down to business

Aphrodite Fertility expands in Bankers Hill

Aphrodite Fertility has expanded to a new, larger location in Bankers Hill, with a 2,700 square foot clinic in the Bankers Hill neighborhood. The new space, located at 2970 5th Ave, San Diego CA 92103, brings together San Diego’s top fertility acupuncture specialists focusing on holistic health for IVF, IUI, pregnancy, postpartum, and hormone regulation. The new, larger Bankers Hill space will also offer prenatal and postpartum massage therapy, sound healing, pilates, and yoga, all geared toward women and their hormone changes.

CH Projects opens Middle East inspired Leila in North Park

CH Projects, the hospitality group behind the Lafayette Hotel’s $31 million remodel, opened another enterprise in North Park: Leila.

At the helm of Leila’s kitchen is executive chef Wesley Remington Johnson, whose culinary journey spans renowned establishments such Philadelphia’s historic Marigold Kitchen and James Beard Award-winning Zahav where he trained with Michael Solomonov. Complementing the culinary offerings is a cocktail program curated by Keivon Dashtizadeh, with creative assistance from CH Projects’  Beverage Director Alicia Perry and CH alumnus, Leigh Lacap.

The kitchen includes a custom clay oven featuring a traditional Clayburn oven, Barrell tandoor, Robata grill and an open flame area for skewers. Fabricated in the U.K. by the Clay Oven Company, Leila’s bespoke clay oven took over nine months to be built and shipped to San Diego. This oven faithfully preserves the most ancient techniques of cookery, ensuring authenticity in every dish prepared.

The restaurant with flavors spanning the Middle East opened on Wednesday, July 31 on 30th Street. The restaurant will be open daily from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Record life science leases, record supply

Thus far in 2024, San Diego has seen one million square feet of gross leasing in the life science market. This is on pace to exceed annual pre-Covid average and is 28% higher than the same period in 2023. However, this comes amid record levels of supply, according to JLL. Asking rents are lowering in response to this oversupply. Meanwhile, venture capital is on pace for the second-best year on record with $2.8 billion invested in San Diego life science companies so far.

The government solution

City tears out Kensington’s historic street lights

After residents tried to negotiate with the city to preserve Kensington’s historic streetlights, the city tore out the remaining 23 light fixtures in early July. According to Kensington-Talmadge Planning Group secretary David Roth, residents were willing to buy the century old streetlights or contribute funds to refurbish the lights but were rebuffed by the city. The area’s MAD had also collected funds to maintain the lights over the past decade. However, the city claimed refurbishment would be too expensive and opted to replace them with replicas. According to Roth, the city previously promised to preserve the 23 remaining lights after removing 55 of the historic streetlights. However, in a letter to the planning group, the city reneged on the promise and removed the lights the following week, placing them in a dumpster.

Pershing Bikeway (finally) open

North Park and Downtown now have a protected bikeway connecting the two neighborhoods with Pershing Drive converted into a two-lane street with a separated two-lane bikeway and a sidewalk. A decade in development, ground broke on the project two-and-a-half years ago after the high profile deaths of cyclist Laura Shinn and scooter rider Johnny Sepulveda who were struck by cars in 2021.

With features like a diagonal crossing at B Street and 19th Street, bicyclists can continue through the intersection while all other traffic is stopped. Another unique feature of the project is a 75-foot bridge installed to allow pedestrian and bicyclists to cross over Florida Canyon creek. Additional features include a 65-foot diameter roundabout with a camphor tree at the intersection of Pershing Drive and Redwood Street which improves traffic flow. The project also added five new pedestrian intersections and 70 path lights that improve visibility for all.

Construction of the $14 million Pershing Bikeway project was funded by TransNet, the regional half-cent sales tax for transportation, administered by SANDAG.

MTS electric bus fleet reaches one million milestone

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) announced a major milestone in reaching its goal to help San Diego reduce greenhouse gas emissions and advance cleaner air. On the road to having a carbon-neutral fleet by 2040, MTS’s battery-electric buses eclipsed the one-million-mile marker last month. This milestone, 1,021,990 miles, represents 2,130 metric tons of CO2e, or carbon dioxide equivalent, not being emitted into the region’s air. It is also the equivalent of 4.9 million passenger vehicle miles traveled. This means less cars on the road and cleaner air. 

MTS currently has 25 electric buses in service and more on the way to keep residents moving in a cleaner and greener way. MTS anticipates receiving 13 more electric buses in early 2025.

Water rates rise, but not so high

El San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors approved a 14% increase in wholesale water rates for next year, while delaying a $7 million capital project and cutting its budget by another $2 million. This came after Mayor Todd Gloria negotiated with the agency which had initially planned to increase rates by 18 to 24.5%. The increased cost is blamed on rising prices at Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the need to buy water from other suppliers.

City Heights gets new MAD manager

City Council President and District 9 Council Member Sean Elo-Rivera announced City Heights Community Development Corporation (City Heights CDC) would replace the nonprofit City Heights Business Association (CHBA) as the contract holder for the neighborhood’s Maintenance Assessment District (MAD). It is the first update to the MAD contract since it was founded in 2004 by a vote from property owners to clean portions of University Avenue, 37th Street, Central Avenue, 43rd Street and Fairmount Avenue. Some of the enhanced maintenance services, which City Heights CDC will now provide, include landscaping, sidewalk and gutter sweeping, lighting, sidewalk power washing, trash removal, and graffiti abatement.

Calif. bans forced outings at schools

Legislation introduced by Assemblyman Chris Ward, AB 1955, was signed into law barring school districts from instituting policies seeking to forcibly out students. Since 2023, over a dozen school districts have proposed or implemented policies requiring teachers to inform parents if their child identifies as transgender or requests to be identified by a different name or pronouns at school. The Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act faced severe pushback from parental rights and anti-LGBTQ+ rights groups. At San Diego Pride’s Spirit of Stonewall Rally, Senator Toni Atkins praised Ward for persevering through the onslaught to pass the bill.

Since 2020, eight states have enacted laws mandating school staff to forcibly out transgender students, while five others have passed legislation encouraging such actions. California is the first state to explicitly prohibit forced outing policies in schools.

Despite homes not always being safe for transgender youth, schools should be a sanctuary, according to Ward. A 2024 Trevor Project survey found than 40% of transgender and nonbinary youth find their homes to be LGBTQ-affirming. Conversely, more than half of transgender and nonbinary young people reported that their schools are gender-affirming, which correlates with lower suicide attempt rates.

Councilman Whitburn hosts Back-to-School Drive

Through Aug. 25, San Diego City District 3 Councilmember Stephen Whitburn is hosting a Back to School Drive for public schools in his district. The drive aims to ensure that children and teachers in our community have the necessary supplies and resources to kickstart their academic year with confidence and enthusiasm regardless of financial status.

The list of items includes school and classroom supplies. Visit sandiego.gov/staging/back-school-drive to see the list. Supplies can be dropped off at libraries within Council District 3.

Housing crisis continues to crisis

County cracks down on Wall Street buying homes

The County Board of Supervisors approved Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s plan to crack down on Wall Street investors manipulating the local housing market and increasing the cost of living.

In recent years, private equity giants and large corporations are increasingly buying up the nation’s scarce supply of homes, including in the San Diego region — driving up prices for their own profit and making the housing affordability crisis worse.

This practice not only puts homeownership out of reach for many hopeful buyers but also undermines the character, stability and diversity of San Diego neighborhoods.

Supervisor Lawson-Remer’s accepted a friendly amendment from Supervisor Jim Desmond to include examining townhouses, condos in addition to single family homes, add a threshold number of 25 on what is considered a mom-and-pop business, and the sequencing. The policy aims to hold corporate bad actors accountable, protect communities from illegal business practices, and safeguard housing options for first-time homebuyers and working families.

Navy’s Old Town campus redevelopment moves forward

The Navy is currently in the environmental review process as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assess potential environmental impacts of revitalizing the Old Town campus with selected developer Manchester Financial Group/Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate (Manchester/Edgemoor).

NAVWAR currently operates out of 80-year-old World War II era aircraft manufacturing plants. The Navy proposes to replace these obsolete buildings with state-of-the-art facilities to meet NAVWAR’s mission requirements. Revitalizing the property, which is centrally located and ideal for transit-oriented development, could provide much-needed housing to help address San Diego’s housing shortage.

Since their selection earlier this year, the Manchester/Edgemoor team has initiated outreach and engagement with the City of San Diego, County of San Diego, state and local transportation agencies, and others, to better understand their priorities.

City announce $20 million affordable housing funds

As part of Mayor Todd Gloria’s commitment to address the regional housing crisis and provide more homes that all San Diegans can afford, the City of San Diego announced an additional $20 million will be available through the Bridge to Home initiative. This $20 million is part of Round 4 of the successful Bridge to Home program, which aims to get affordable homes built more quickly.

The city issued a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), which allows qualified developers to submit proposals for how they would use the funding to create low- to moderate-income units. Bridge to Home provides gap financing to make affordable housing projects a reality, as these typically require a combination of funding sources – including from local, state and federal programs.

The funding under Round 4 is expected to help finance the construction of more than 400 additional affordable homes. So far, the program has helped fund 17 affordable housing projects in San Diego. Each recommended project is subject to City Council consideration and approval.

U-Haul data: SD’s new neighbors come from Western states

U-Haul Truck data shows for those arriving to San Diego, excluding intra-state moves from other places in California, the top origin state is Arizona followed by Texas. Nevada, Washington, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and Illinois fill out the remaining top 10 of arrivals from out of state. As for the top metro areas inside California using U-Haul trucks to move to San Diego, Los Angeles led the field followed by the Bay Area, Palm Springs, Fresno and Bakersfield.

Busy at Balboa Park

WorldBeat Center gets 25-year lease

In a historic move to secure the future of a cultural institution in San Diego, the San Diego City Council approved a 25-year lease agreement with the WorldBeat Center in Balboa Park. Created as a multi-cultural arts organization, the WorldBeat Center has operated out of a former water tower building along Park Boulevard since 1995.

At the direction of Mayor Todd Gloria, City staff worked collaboratively over the past year with the WorldBeat Center to establish a 25-year nonprofit lease agreement that will allow the Center to continue providing cultural programs and classes, art exhibits, a public garden and more.

The lease agreement is consistent with provisions identified in the Master Plan for Balboa Park. In addition to a 25-year term, the agreement includes the option to extend for an additional 10 years. WorldBeat Center is responsible for improvements and repairs at the facility and will pay the City an annual nonprofit administrative cost recovery fee of approximately $4,400.

Report: Balboa Park needs modern governance, maintenance

The Burnham Center for Community Advancement, released a new report on progress made and actions needed to advance community priorities to protect San Diego’s iconic Balboa Park. Advocates are concerned that without immediate attention to modernizing the governance and public investment of the park, it could enter a ‘quicksand’ phase whereby long overdue deferred maintenance will compound against itself leaving public and private officials with few to no options to maintain current levels of service.

Among the various new recommendations, the report calls for acknowledgement that Balboa Park is “one park”, but also that different parts of the park have different needs. One such unmet need is an entity that effectively manages, fundraise for the common concerns of what is known as the Cultural District and other tenants of the Park. Currently, different organizations, including Forever Balboa Park, the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, and the Committee of 100 all oversee different facets of Park needs. The new effort will improve coordination with all stakeholders and be a conduit to the Mayor’s office and City Council to ensure a long-term accountability plan is developed and implemented.

Click to view the full report.

SD Zoo collaborates to save platypus

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, alongside University of NSW, is collaborating with Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Australia to better understand the breeding behavior of the platypus. Since 1943, only 23 puggles have been produced in zoos, and many of the physiological, behavioral, and environmental factors that lead to reproductive success or failure remain unknown.

As the platypus’ habitat shrinks and the animals face new stressors from climate change, scientists fear for the future of the unique egg-laying mammall. To learn about platypus mating, scientists will observe platypuses in the wild and in zoos to refine the conservation strategy to save the species.

In February 2024, Taronga opened Platypus Rescue HQ, thanks to funding from the NSW Government, philanthropic donors and WIRES. This facility is the world’s largest dedicated conservation centre for platypus, with the capacity to house up to 65 platypuses at once in times of extreme weather events, and encompasses areas for refuge, research and recovery. Currently, four platypus live in the HQ and make up its first breeding population.

MOPA to welcome Prix Pictet Award winning photos

The San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) is pleased to welcome Prix Pictet “Human,” the latest exhibition from the world’s leading award for photography and sustainability, to the Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA@SDMA) galleries, the only US stop on the international tour of Prix Pictet “Human.” The exhibition will be on view from Sept. 27 through Dec. 15 at MOPA@SDMA in Balboa Park.

The Prix Pictet Award was founded in 2008 by the Pictet Group with the goal of harnessing the power of photography to draw attention to the critical issue of global sustainability. There have been 10 cycles of the Prix Pictet award, each with its own theme highlighting a particular facet of sustainability. The exhibit showcases 12 photographers shortlisted for the award.

Comic-Con Museum announces year of exhibits

At Comic-Con, the Balboa Park-based Comic-Con Museum announced its two headline exhibits through 2025: The world premier of The Myth of Superheroes and the U.S. premiere of Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder: Where Science Meets Fiction. Opening in Sept., The Myth of Superheroes features video projections and graphics made with AI resources exploring the myths and legends of the past to the present day. In March 2025, “Doctor Who” fans can learn about scientific topics while viewing a wealth of iconic props and sets and a unique collection of behind-the-scenes resource materials from the world’s longest-running science fiction show.

New exhibit at SDMA explores Islamic art, science

The San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) invites visitors to explore sources of wonder in the forthcoming exhibition, Wonders of Creation: Art, Science, and Innovation in the Islamic World. The exhibition explores intersections of science and craft in Islamic material culture and contemporary art through the framework of a 13th-century text by Zakariyya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini describing the wonders of the universe. Wonders of Creation is on view from Sept. 7, 2024, through Jan. 5, 2025.

This trailblazing exhibition, organized by Ladan Akbarnia, Ph.D., Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art at The San Diego Museum of Art, showcases over 200 extraordinary works of art and objects from the eighth century to today. Using wonder as the vehicle to introduce and explore Islamic culture, Wonders of Creation illuminates the global impact of science and artistic production from the Islamic world while introducing new audiences to its diverse geographies and multifaceted visual cultures. With treasures including lavishly illuminated and illustrated manuscripts, fine textiles, luster-painted glass and ceramic wares, astrolabes and star maps, talismans, inscribed precious stones, and architectural marvels, visitors will gain a deeper appreciation of ingenuity and craftsmanship spanning 13 centuries across the Islamic world.

New exhibit on indigo at Mingei

It’s the color of ocean tides, a starry dusk sky, and a pair of vintage Levi’s. Indigo blue is all around, but harnessing this hue is a complex feat of chemistry and botanical transformation. The exhibition Blue Gold: The Art and Science of Indigo, opening at Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park on September 14, 2024 combines art, craft, science, and history to explore this color’s past and present. The show is among more than 60 exhibitions and programs presented as part of Getty’s 2024 PST ART initiative returning in September with its latest edition, PST ART: Art & Science Collide. This landmark regional event explores the intersections of art and science.

Time to celebrate!

Mingei architect wins national award

Local architect Jennifer Luce, FAIA of Luce et studio architects was recognized with a prestigious Honor Award for Interior Architecture for Mingei International Museum at the annual American Institute of Architects (AIA) awards ceremony in Washington D.C. The honor, celebrating the most innovative and spectacular interior spaces in the country, was given for the architect’s work transforming the Museum in Balboa Park. This is only the fifth time the award has been presented to a San Diegan since the awards were founded in 1949.

McCullough Landscape Architecture celebrated 25 years

Award-winning urban design and landscape architecture firm McCullough Landscape Architecture recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a vibrant panel discussion led by David McCullough, principal landscape architect at McCullough. The milestone event was held at the newly opened Futuro Space in the Design Center San Diego, also the firm’s headquarters based in Bankers Hill. The event brought local design leaders together for a discussion on designing a “perfectly imperfect” San Diego community supported by biophilic design principles.

Featuring notable design visionaries including Frank Wolden of RDC, Michael Stepner from the NewSchool of Architecture & Design, Brooksie Hughes of BAH Productions, and Lawrence Herzog from University of California San Diego, the event marked a quarter-century of innovative design and growth.

City Heights’ temple receives grant

As part of the organization’s efforts to address community needs and invest in future generations, City Heights Community Development Corporation (City Heights CDC) entered into a partnership and provided a $10,000 grant to Wat Champourukha Vanaram, a local Khmer Buddhist temple. Funds will be used for building upkeep–and, importantly, to fund meditation and mental health classes at the center. Wat Champourukha Vanaram, a pillar of City Heights’ vibrant Cambodian community, offers free meditation classes for children, adults, and seniors. The free meditation classes at Wat Champourukha Vanaram will aim to assist City Heights residents, often from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and help them learn mindfulness skills to improve their relationships and personal responses to stressors, as well as live happier and healthier lives.

SDF awards $4.9m in scholarships

San Diego Foundation (SDF) announced it awarded a record-breaking $4.9 million in 1,555 college scholarships to expand higher education access for 1,272 local students. Scholarship recipients, the majority of whom are the first in their families to attend college and come from low-middle-income families, were recognized during the SDF annual scholarships celebration on Sunday, July 21.

The Community Scholarship Program is made possible through the generous donor support of 154 unique charitable funds at San Diego Foundation and is the largest in the region outside of the university system. Since 1997, the program has awarded more than $53 million to more than 14,000 college students from San Diego.

County’s Child and Family Well-Being Department celebrates one year

The County’s Child and Family Well-Being Department (CFWB) is celebrating its first anniversary in what will be a multiyear transition focused on providing prevention and support services through one dynamic department. In its first year, the CFWB reduced the number of children in foster care by nearly 12%. For children who did need the protection of foster care, 44% were placed with relatives—marking a 10% increase over the previous year.

Mayor Todd Gloria names three to San Diego Historical Resources Board

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has appointed three persons to the city’s Historical Resources Board.

One of them, Kristi Byers, a resident of South Park,  has a 22-year career based in San Diego and has served as project designer, project architect, project manager, and LEED coordinator on projects focused on the civic, higher education, K-12, office, mixed-use, and residential arenas. She has managed the LEED Certification process for several buildings across the U.S. and has lectured on the subject of green design to various municipalities, colleges, professional organizations, and corporations. Byers is an adjunct professor at Woodbury University and a member of the Urban Land Institute.

DA Stephan elected president of Nat’l District Attorneys Association

El National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) has elected San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan as its president for the 2024-2025 term. Stephan was sworn in at NDAA’s annual Summer Summit in Boise, Idaho on Monday July 15, where she chose a platform of elevating victim voices through enhanced prosecution, protection and prevention strategies. Her ascension comes amid NDAA’s historic 75el year.

James Decker named GMETRO of Old Town Trolley Tours

Historic Tours of America announced the hiring of James Decker as general manager for Historic Tours of America’s San Diego operations. In San Diego, Historic Tours of America operates Old Town Trolley Tours, Ghosts & Gravestones, San Diego SEAL Tours, San Diego City Lights, the Whaley House and Old Town Market. Decker has worked in hospitality his whole career with iconic brands such as Hersheypark, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, and Hilton Hotels.