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Saturday, November 14, 2026 Search Subscribe

Civic Life

City hall, the budget, housing and neighborhoods: San Diego, examined up close.

NATIONAL CITY

Union Tower opens in National City, with 94 homes and 24 of them for veterans

A new affordable housing community opened on Tuesday in National City, the County of San Diego reported that afternoon. Union Tower brings 94 apartment homes to F Avenue for low income families and veterans, in a project the city and its nonprofit developer have been building since the summer of 2024.

San Diego Chronicle · Nov. 11
SANTEE

In Santee, the state's utility judges came to hear what an 8.6 percent increase sounds like

The California Public Utilities Commission held its in person public participation hearings on San Diego Gas and Electric's general rate case in Santee on Tuesday, at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. The utility is asking for $280 million more in 2028, a request priced at about $22.48 a month for a typical combined residential bill.

San Diego Chronicle · Nov. 11
SAN DIEGO

The county begins its hand count, a random 1 percent of ballots checked against the machines

The Registrar of Voters began the routine 1 percent manual tally for the November 3 general election on Tuesday, hand counting randomly selected batches of mail and vote center ballots and comparing them with the voting system totals. Results stay unofficial until certification on December 3.

San Diego Chronicle · Nov. 11
PALA

Tribal and law enforcement partners hold the first MMIP Collaborative convening at Pala

District Attorney Summer Stephan joined tribal leaders and law enforcement partners at Pala Resort on Monday for the first convening of the San Diego County Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Collaborative since its founding agreement was signed in May. The Pala Band of Mission Indians hosted and planned the gathering, and a second convening is set for March 2027.

San Diego Chronicle · Nov. 10
CITY HALL

Midway Rising is approved, unanimously, and the Sports Arena site has its future

The City Council unanimously approved the Midway Rising redevelopment on Monday, the city announced that evening, closing the special meeting devoted to the project. The approval advances a plan for up to 4,254 homes, at least 2,000 of them affordable, a new entertainment center of about 16,000 seats, retail, parks and public space on the city owned Sports Arena site.

San Diego Chronicle · Nov. 10
CITY HALL

Midway Rising goes to the full council today, in three votes

The City Council holds a special meeting on Monday devoted entirely to Midway Rising, the proposed redevelopment of the city owned Sports Arena site in the Midway district. Three items, starting at 1 p.m., would set up the financing district, approve the project and its land use package, and approve the disposition and development agreement with Midway Rising LLC.

San Diego Chronicle · Nov. 9
SAN DIEGO

Council confirms Bezak as chief operating officer, unanimously

The City Council unanimously confirmed Bethany Bezak as San Diego's Chief Operating Officer on Monday, four days after Mayor Todd Gloria announced her appointment. Bezak, who holds degrees in civil engineering and architecture and has run the Transportation Department and the Stormwater Department, now takes over day to day City operations from the Mayor, who had held the job himself since February 2025.

San Diego Chronicle · Oct. 20
SAN DIEGO

'San Diego is not collateral damage': Gloria fires back at Trump's 'take out San Diego' rally remark

Speaking at a Nebraska rally Monday, President Trump suggested Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles or San Diego as 'a small price to pay' in the Iran war. Mayor Todd Gloria, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass answered back within hours.

San Diego Chronicle · Oct. 6
SAN DIEGO

ACLU sues San Diego over license-plate cameras, calling the system mass surveillance

The Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, represented by the ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties, filed suit Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court against the city and the police department, asking a court to shut down the Flock camera program and delete its data.

San Diego Chronicle · Oct. 1
CITY HALL

The $6.4 billion balanced budget

The council adopted a $6.4 billion fiscal 2027 budget that closes a $118 million structural deficit with targeted cuts to staffing, library hours, and arts grants. The balancing act is not over.

San Diego Chronicle · Sept. 26
SAN DIEGO

The count came down. The crisis did not.

The 2026 point-in-time count showed fewer people homeless in San Diego County. The numbers deserve a careful read.

San Diego Chronicle · Sept. 24