Today’s newsletter is presented by Kaiser Permanente.
Good morning, San Diego ☀️
Here’s what we have for you today:
- Anyone remember Winters, the bar on El Cajon Boulevard where Pearl Jam played its first show in 1990? Get the local music tutorial from Chris Cantore.
- Happy birthday, U.S. Navy, which turns 251 today.
- And shoutout to readers Maureen R., Randi C., Keith F., Jeff M. and Mat W., who all correctly guessed yesterday’s “Step back in time” question. Scroll to the bottom to see if you were correct too.
Andrew Keatts
General manager and editor
Top story
Xavier Becerra: A campaign focused on the cost of living and Donald Trump
Xavier Becerra has not been a loud or energetic force on the campaign trail.
But when the Democratic candidate to be California’s next governor made public or media appearances, he has focused on the threat he says President Donald Trump poses to the state, while tying his Republican opponent Steve Hilton to the unpopular leader.
And that was true in his interview with our Alejandro Maciel — published last week in Spanish as part of our daily Tiempos de San Diego news update — and available now in English, too.
Maciel writes that Trump’s name made it into nearly every answer from the former secretary of health and human services. He brought up how war in Iran increased the cost of gas, how tariffs increased the cost of goods, and criticized him for repeatedly warning of a potential strike by Iran on California cities.
Here are a handful of other notable responses:
• Becerra acnowledged his limited role combatting Trump’s immigration measures. “The California government doesn’t have much authority when it comes to immigration matters,” he said.
• He opposes any change to the state’s gas tax, which funds the state’s infrastructure needs. “When that bridge needs repairs, how do I fix it if I don’t have the resources?” he said.
• The state needs to increase the supply of housing to combat housing costs, Becerra said. “Housing has to come first. We need to build more housing because when there’s more of it, it costs less to buy or rent.”
Maciel is working on an interview with Hilton now. And if you don’t already, be sure to join Tiempos de San Diego, his daily, Spanish-language update via a public WhatsApp group.
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Stories you should know about
📚 The University of California got rid of the SAT in its admissions process, but it could be on its way back: Student retention has not declined since UC dropped the SAT and ACT in 2020, as a task force feared at the time, but thousands of professors say their students are simply not ready for college.
💨 Climate scientists and local environmentalists gathered last week and called on regional leaders to further regulate diesel trucks in communities near the San Diego Port: Barrio Logan’s rate of asthma-related hospital visits is higher than 92.9 percent of census tracts throughout the state, a 2021 Air Pollution Control District report found.
🎹 Five Questions with Jefferson Jay: The founder of the San Diego Music Hall of Fame recalls two members of the first group of inductees, in 2018. Lou Curtiss and John Ciccolella “helped build the city’s music community, so that kind of set the tone for the type of people I wanted to induct.” The ceremony for the new class is Friday, so Jay sat down for our latest “Five Questions” feature.
What else we’re reading
🔊 An electronic dance music festival at Snapdragon Stadium this weekend managed to generate noise complaints from as far away as La Mesa, North Park, Clairemont and Point Loma. (Fox 5 San Diego)
🍔 Gov. Gavin Newsom has been a vocal opponent of Prop. 40, a one-time tax on billionaires that would apply to anyone living in the state on Jan. 1, 2026. On Friday, he also endorsed Prop. 42, which would invalidate Prop. 40 and prohibit any future retroactive taxes like it. (CalMatters)
Times of San Diego thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.
Step back in time…
This was taken in Ocean Beach. Did you guess correct? Want to read more, check out this article.
