Judge rejects San Diego lawsuit against Association for the City of La Jolla
LA JOLLA, Calif. — In an Oct. 24 hearing, Superior Court Judge Judy Bae granted the Association for the City of La Jolla’s Aug. 25 motion to reject a lawsuit by the city of San Diego that aimed to stop the ACLJ’s secession efforts. Bae’s ruling allows the process for La Jolla’s potential cityhood to continue.
According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission — the agency that reviews the ACLJ’s cityhood application and is responsible for validating the signatures required for secession — expects the city to appeal the ruling.
In late April, LAFCO informed the ACLJ that it had received enough signatures to move the secession initiative forward after the organization fell short in December 2024. On April 29, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria objected to two of LAFCO’s reviews of the signatures, arguing the San Diego County registrar of voters’ office should have authority over validating the signatures.
This led to the city’s lawsuit disputing LAFCO’s validation of signatures, filed on July 19. The lawsuit further argued that the ACLJ’s efforts would impose significant financial cost on the city of San Diego due to the extra staffing required to process the organization’s application.
Deputy City Attorney Ben Syz, who represented the city during the Oct. 24 hearing, argued that allowing LAFCO to verify the signatures “would make the registrar of voters meaningless.”
Bae ruled in favor of ACLJ, stating that the city’s lawsuit violated California laws that protect civil actors from strategic lawsuits against public participation.
The next step in La Jolla’s secession process is a financial analysis that will determine whether the separation of La Jolla would be economically feasible.
Triton Alert reports fire at Supercomputer Center
LA JOLLA, Calif. — On Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 11:06 p.m., Triton Alert notified the UC San Diego community of a fire at the Supercomputer Facility located by RIMAC.
The alert mentioned the presence of the San Diego Fire Department and the UC San Diego Police Department at the scene. Due to the fire, Hopkins Drive was closed off in both directions between North Point Drive and Voigt Drive. The alert advised people to avoid that area. At 12:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, a follow-up alert announced that the fire had been extinguished and Hopkins Drive was open again.
The UCSD Guardian reached out to University Communications to inquire about the fire. University Communications confirmed that the fire was caused by a battery backup system located in the basement of the Supercomputer Center. The fire was contained inside the battery cabinet at the location.
“The UC San Diego Police Department and UC San Diego Environment Health & Safety worked with San Diego Fire & Rescue and the County Hazardous Materials Response Team to assess the damage,” University Communications stated. “County HAZMAT and UC San Diego HAZMAT teams worked until 4:00 a.m. to stabilize the damaged batteries. Investigators are examining the battery system [on Oct. 29] and vendors are onsite to remove the damaged batteries.”
The building was certified safe for occupancy a day after the fire. As of Sunday, Nov. 2, all systems are operational. No injuries or casualties were reported.
California State Parks closes Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve for construction
LA JOLLA, Calif. — State park officials announced on Monday, Oct. 27, that Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve will limit visitor access from November 2025 through February 2026 for the first phase of a multi-phase construction project.
The project will upgrade utilities and accessibility by improving the park’s comfort station and adding parking spaces, paved paths, and new amenities.
Torrey Pines State Beach, the south and north beach parking lots, and the Torrey Pines Extension trails will remain open, but access to most trails in the main reserve, the main park road, and upper parking lots will be restricted.
The second phase of construction is expected to begin in August or September 2026.
Judge blocks Trump administration from requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration
WASHINGTON — On Friday, Oct. 31, federal judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to require proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms. Kollar-Kotelly’s ruling overturns President Donald Trump’s March 25 executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” claiming it violated the Constitution’s separation of powers.
Trump’s order sought to enforce stricter federal election rules by instructing the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission to require “documentary proof” of U.S. citizenship from individuals registering to vote in federal elections.
In her ruling, Kollar-Kotelly wrote an 81-page opinion expressing how the Constitution does not support Trump’s authority over the voting process.
“Congress has never assigned any responsibility for the content of the federal form to the president or to any other individual in the executive branch with the power to act unilaterally,” the opinion read. “The power to alter the federal form is — and always has been — delegated solely to a bipartisan, independent commission.”
The Democratic National Committee, 19 Democratic state attorneys general, and a coalition of voting rights groups filed the lawsuit against the Trump administration on April 1. Their lawsuit argued that Trump unlawfully bypassed Congress with his March 25 executive order and imposed barriers to the voter registration process for eligible voters.
Government shutdown passes 1-month mark
WASHINGTON — The federal government entered its fifth week of closure on Sunday, Nov. 2, when the Senate failed for a 13th time to pass a new spending bill that would reopen the government. The government remains in a 32-day-and-counting stalemate over the future of healthcare funding.
SNAP benefits expired across the nation on Saturday, Nov. 1, impacting 5.5 million Californians. Two federal judges have since ruled against the Trump administration, ordering the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay for these benefits from a contingency fund.
“There is no doubt that the $6 billion in contingency funds are appropriated funds that are without a doubt necessary to carry out the program’s operation,” one of the judges, U.S. District Judge John McConnell, said in his oral ruling. “The shutdown of the government through funding doesn’t do away with SNAP. It just does away with the funding of it.”
The expiration of SNAP benefits comes amid a widespread lapse in pay for many federal employees. Roughly 670,000 employees are currently on furlough, and another 730,000 are working without pay. PBS reports that those currently working without pay are also ineligible for unemployment benefits, as they are entitled to back pay when the government reopens.
The extended shutdown has also affected other federally funded programs. NBC reports that lapses of funding to Head Start, a program that provides free meals and learning programs for preschoolers, will leave 59,000 children without access to these resources. Many services within multiple National Parks remain compromised, as visitor centers, restrooms, and campgrounds are also closed due to a lack of funding. The Federal Housing Administration has experienced severe delays in processing and is closing new loans for home buyers as a result of the shutdown, according to its website.
This current government shutdown is the second longest in history, behind only the 35-day shutdown that occurred during Trump’s first term from December 2018 to January 2019. If the government does not reopen before this upcoming Wednesday, Nov. 5, this current shutdown will be the longest in history. The Senate will reconvene today, Monday, Nov. 3, to vote on a spending bill for the 14th time.
