Newsletter: 🪨 What to do if you feel an earthquake
Plus, a San Diego activist is still recovering from a mid-August ICE raid at their home.
Sekon everyone!
Today is the Great California ShakeOut, the annual preparedness drill during which people across the state practice what to do during an earthquake at 10:15 a.m.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has a simulator set up in Balboa Park until noon today for people to experience what a 7.0 magnitude earthquake feels like.
In case you missed the statewide drill or the simulator, here’s what to do when you feel an earthquake:
Drop to your hands and knees as soon as you feel shaking to protect yourself from being knocked down.
Cover your head and neck with one arm and try to find a safe place to duck under, like a sturdy desk or table.
Hold on to your shelter or your head and neck until the earthquake stops.
Wheelchair and walker users should lock their wheels if possible and get as low as possible, covering their head and neck with a pillow or book if one is available. Cane users who can’t drop to the ground should sit on a chair or bed and make sure to keep their cane nearby.
— Lauren J. Mapp
ICE targets San Diego activist
On an early morning in mid-August, ICE raided the home of a San Diego activist. They left the person's belongings strewn all over the home and ransacked their car. The activist hasn't been able to find legal help since the incident.
— Kate Morrissey
Protesting ICE in City Heights
More than 50 people gathered at University and Fairmount avenues on Wednesday to call for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to leave their community alone. They said ICE officers have made arrests near schools in the past few weeks.
— Kate Morrissey
A symbolic paddle out at the start of San Diego Climate Week brought the Tijuana River sewage crisis to the Coronado shoreline before the conversation moved to the Water Summit. Advocates, experts and community members came together to discuss the work being done across the border to address the decades-long pollution crisis — and what still needs to happen.
— Yanelli Zavina Robles
ICE custody deaths reached 37 in fiscal year 2026, the agency’s deadliest fiscal year on record. Federal immigration officers carried out enforcement operations across California in what appears to be a new increase. Meanwhile, Renée Good’s partner and brother filed lawsuits against the federal government, the ICE officer who killed her and current and former Trump administration officials. Here's what happened last week in immigration news.
— Emma Chen
This week, San Diegans can get creative at a Día de los Muertos workshop in San Ysidro, experience Japanese taiko drumming at The Block Club and enjoy a Hip Hop musical exploring love and generational patterns at the San Diego Made Factory.
— Yanelli Zavina Robles
Other news
San Diego City Councilmembers and candidates are pushing to update safe sleeping sites in the city after a 67-year-old man was found dead in his tent at the Balboa Park O Lot last week, Voice of San Diego and inewsource reported. According to Voice of San Diego, 21 people have died in safe sleeping lots for unhoused San Diegans over the three years since the program launched.
The San Diego Wave women’s soccer team wants to build itself a new stadium at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. A representative for the team said they’re treated as “a fourth-class citizen” at Snapdragon Stadium, which San Diego Wave shares with the San Diego State University football team and the San Diego Football Club men’s soccer team.
A group of local organizers, activists and politicians held a press conference on Tuesday against Proposition 39, the San Diego Organizing Project posted on Instagram. If passed, Californians would need to show government-issued identification in order to vote and include the last four digits of their ID while casting mail-in ballots, according to CalMatters. Groups opposing the measure, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the League of Women Voters — say its passage would create unnecessary obstacles for voters without improving election security.
A loophole that still allows landlords to get short-term rental licenses despite illegally evicting residents remains in place, even after San Diego City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell promised to close it, inewsource reported. Campbell is leaving office after this year’s election when she reaches the term limit.
Student assistants in the California State University system — including those at SDSU — are still waiting for their first contract more than two years after voting to unionize, The Daily Aztec reported. Last year, CSU campuses employed more than 20,000 student assistants, who fulfill nonacademic roles including positions in libraries, athletic departments and communications offices.
San Diego is updating its Balboa Park Master Plan for the first time in nearly 40 years, and the city is asking for community input, Times of San Diego reported. The initial survey is currently available online.
Upcoming Events
For more details and the full list of upcoming events, sign up for our new Weekend Energy newsletter that comes out on Wednesdays.
Oct. 16
Understanding & Combating Anti-Muslim Hate: The Council on American-Islamic Relations San Diego is hosting its second annual conference exploring Islamophobia and efforts to combat anti-Muslim hate.
⏰ 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
🌎 San Diego City College, exact location provided upon registration
🎟️ Register online
Pom-Poms, Papel Picado & Día De Los Muertos: Casa Familiar is hosting a free, hands-on art workshop at The Front Gallery in San Ysidro as part of its Día de los Muertos preparations.
⏰ 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
🌎 The Front Gallery, 147 W. San Ysidro Blvd., San Ysidro, CA 92173
🎟️ RSVP by emailing elizabethb@casafamiliar.org
Out at the Museum: San Diego Pride and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego are bringing the LGBTQ+ community together for Out at the Museum, an evening celebrating art, identity and self-expression.
⏰ 6 - 10 p.m.
🌎 Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla, CA, 92037
🎟️ Tickets available online
Oct. 17
Webster Green Alley Party: Groundwork San Diego is bringing neighbors together for the Webster Green Alley Party, a community cleanup focused on transforming a neighborhood alley into a greener gathering space.
⏰ 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
🌎 Marilou Road Alley, Marilou Road and Brookline St., San Diego, CA 92105
🎟️ Free; RSVP required. Volunteers are encouraged to bring work gloves and a water bottle.
Sweet o Ween: Feeding Daygo is bringing a little Halloween spirit to downtown San Diego with Sweet o' Ween, a community distribution event supporting neighbors in need.
⏰ 9 - 9:30 a.m.
🌎 Triangle Lot, Near the 12th and Imperial Trolley Station, San Diego, CA 92101
🎟️ Free. Amazon wishlist available online
Autumn Jubilee: Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures is hosting a fall day on the farm with activities including a hayride, cider pressing, candle dipping, farm animal visits and an interactive reptile show.
🗓️ Every Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 25
⏰ 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
🌎 Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures, 4425 Hwy 78, Santa Ysabel, CA 92070
🎟️ Tickets for select dates are available for purchase online
Metal & Myth: San Diego Public Library and One Book, One San Diego are celebrating the 20th chapter with Metal & Myth, an afternoon combining heavy metal music and Indigenous storytelling.
⏰ 2 - 3:30 p.m.
🌎 San Diego Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101
🎟️ Register online
Oct. 18
Braids Against Raids: Trenzas Amigas and Mujeres Brew House are coming together for Braids Against Raids, a community fundraiser celebrating cultural roots, empowerment and solidarity.
⏰ 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
🌎 Mujeres Brewhouse, 1983 Julian Ave., San Diego, CA 92113
Picklin Party: The University Heights Community Association and University Heights Garden Club are inviting neighbors together for a hands-on pickling workshop.
⏰ 3 - 5 p.m.
🌎 University Heights, exact address provided after registration
🎟️ Tickets available online
Compositions: An Evening of Katie Jenkins: Dance company Pointeworks is celebrating women in choreography and music with an evening of ballet featuring an international cast of dancers and live musicians.
⏰ 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.
🌎 Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., San Diego, CA 92101
🎟️ Reserve tickets online starting at $28. Buy one, get one free with code TMN241; 25% off each ticket for groups of four
