Good morning, San Diego ☀️
Here’s what we have for you today:
- Major League Baseball makes it official, approving the $3.9 billion sale of the Padres to José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones.
- Our resident foodie takes on Mr. Charlie’s, known as the vegan McDonalds. He has a surprise fave.
- And shoutout to reader Mary Boehm, who correctly guessed yesterday’s “Step back in time” question. Scroll to the bottom to see if you did too.
Brooke Binkowski
News editor
Top story
Stolen cars drop in San Diego, but Pacific Beach drivers and Jeep owners remain at risk
The numbers don’t lie — car thefts are dropping throughout the city of San Diego.
San Diego recorded 3,390 motor vehicle thefts in 2025. That’s down from 4,172 in 2024. Of the city’s 122 neighborhoods, 81 reported fewer vehicle thefts than in 2024, while eight saw no change.
As our Dorian Hargrove broke down in a new story, the decrease represents a nearly 19% year-over-year drop. The San Diego Police Department says that this is the third year in a row that vehicle thefts have declined overall.
San Ysidro recorded the largest decrease in auto thefts, while Pacific Beach posted the biggest year-over-year increase, with 173 stolen vehicles reported in 2025.
Other neighborhoods with notable increases in thefts included Mission Hills (up 13); Midway District and Mission Bay Park (each up 12); Emerald Hills (up 11); and Talmadge (up 8).
And finally, the neighborhood that takes the cake for the most vehicle thefts remains unchanged: Otay Mesa is still king. In 2025, vehicle owners who parked in Otay Mesa reported 419 vehicles stolen, only five fewer than in 2024 when people reported 424 thefts.
What’s the reason for the drop in thefts? Well, SDPD claims it’s at least in part due to the increased usage of automated license plate readers (e.g. Flock) and other technological tools.
Oh yeah — and there’s also a clear winner in the types of cars that get stolen the most. Jeep Wranglers are the most stolen cars in the city of San Diego, closely followed by Honda Civics.
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What else we’re reading
🐍 We’ve heard recently about mountain lions in Mission Trails Regional Park, but there’s snakes too. San Diego State students are documenting their behavior as part of a two-year collaboration with the San Diego Zoo. (Union-Tribune)
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Step back in time…
This was taken on Fifth Avenue. Did you guess correct? Want to read more, check out this article.
