Today’s newsletter is presented by AddressSD.
Good morning, San Diego ☀️
Here’s what we have for you today:
- Where California’s gubernatorial candidates stand on climate and taking big oil money.
- Gas prices have dropped — somewhat — over the past 10 days
- How the deal to eliminate paid parking at Balboa park, and cut San Diego’s recently implemented trash fee was drawn up.
Dorian Hargrove
News editor
Top story
SDPD’s use of pepper spray has surged in the Gaslamp Quarter in recent years
It seems like most weekends, I come across a social media video of San Diego Police Officers dousing drunken revelers in the Gaslamp Quarter in the face with pepper spray.
Some time back, I wanted to see just how often SDPD’s Gaslamp Bike Team deployed pepper spray. I requested use-of-force records from the San Diego Police since 2017 and was surprised at what I saw.
San Diego Police deployed pepper spray 361 times in 2025- some of which were multiple times during the same incident. That was twice as many deployments as SDPD fired off in 2024, and three times the number in 2023.
Nowhere else do police officers discharge pepper spray as frequently as they do in the Gaslamp, not even close. The next highest neighborhood was downtown’s Core Columbia neighborhood, but they only used it 18 times.
So, just why is the Gaslamp San Diego’s home for pepper spray? I asked SDPD that question. The answer comes as no surprise. There are young and often very drunk people hanging out in the Gaslamp. In fact, SDPD says that the crowd has become more intoxicated and violent in recent years. There’s more, the police say there are more assaults on officers than in any other neighborhood in San Diego.
Read more on the data I found and what the police had to say about it.
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Stories you should know about
🎖️ Issa seeks Congressional medal for San Diego immigrant who became Marine hero: USMC Sgt. Rafael Peralta was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, and in 2017 the guided-missile destroyer USS Rafale Peralta was commissioned at North Island. But Peralta has not received the nation’s highest award for heroism in battle.
📄 Homelessness is down in California and across the country, says new federal report: The data, showing the first decrease in homelessness in years, provided fuel for activists challenging the Trump administration’s narrative that current homelessness policies are failing and need to be overhauled.
👟San Diego’s Sara Bagnell wins Women’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon: Organizers estimated that the number of racers this year grew by 10% compared to 2025, with nearly 50% of participants from the U.S. hailing from San Diego County.
💉 Opinion: GLP-1 drugs aren’t just cosmetic; Medi-Cal must cover them
What else we’re reading
🍎 New CalFresh work requirements take effect today. Feeding San Diego says that over 90,000 people across the county could be affected by the change. (CBS 8)
🏠 Hundreds of vacation rental owners in unincorporated areas are not paying the taxes they owe, and county officials estimate it’s costing them around $10 million each year in unrealized revenue. (Union-Tribune)
Times of San Diego thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.
On this day…
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