You hate it. I hate it. We all hate it. It\u2019s \u2014\u2014- hot!<\/p>\n
But are we being pampered Southern Californians brats who can\u2019t handle a real summer?<\/p>\n
No, says science!<\/p>\n
Daniel Swain, the UCLA climate researcher behind the always-fascinating weather blog Weather West<\/a>, has written a thorough (as in: charts, graphs, indecipherable scientific terms) breakdown of why this has been the worst summer ever.<\/p>\n Any way you measure it, this summer stands out: \u201cThe numbers bear out the miserable anecdotal experience folks have reported. Summer 2026 was genuinely the most humid on record in coastal SoCal,\u201d Swain writes.<\/p>\n Swain explains what\u2019s causing it all. Basically, a surge of extremely warm ocean temperatures from south of the equator is combining with tropical moisture from a hurricane off the coast of Mexico to produce Florida-like air in normally arid San Diego.<\/p>\n And those warm ocean temps are preventing the region\u2019s natural overnight cooling system from working.<\/p>\n In other words, the science says it\u2019s okay to complain. Unfortunately, it may not yet be time for the complaining to stop.\u00a0<\/p>\n Swain leave his readers on a terrifying note: \u201cAdditional tropically-tinged weather events quite possible rest of Sept. and Oct. in CA; details TBD.\u201d<\/p>\n More dog days: Wednesday\u2019s Padres game at Petco Park started with the hottest temperature ever for a game at the stadium: 95 degrees. It was Bark at the Park Day, where fans could bring their dog. We\u2019re guessing many thought twice about that. But those pups missed a nice Padres win. The U-T reported<\/a> that 14 San Diego communities reached temperatures hotter than 100 degrees.<\/p>\n Blakespear to Encinitas: Hands Off the Bike Lanes<\/p>\n Encinitas leaders love to fight the state over housing mandates. Now, add another thing to their Sacramento beef list: bike lanes.\u00a0<\/p>\n In June, the Encinitas City Council voted to spend more than $3.5 million to rip out bike lanes along Santa Fe Avenue that the city just one year ago spent $4.1 million to install. (This included other improvements as part of a major street redesign.)<\/p>\n As Streetsblog SD explains<\/a>, current city leaders hate the bike lanes because they say they make the street too narrow and slow emergency vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n So why did they install them in the first place? Because former Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear wanted them, and secured a $3 million state grant to redesign the street.<\/p>\n Now Blakespear, who has moved on to the State Assembly, and current Mayor Bruce Ehlers are engaged in a bureaucratic battle royale over the lanes. Blakespear tried to block Ehlers from ripping them out. Then it seemed he\u2019d outmaneuvered her.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Now Blakespear and her allies have struck again. Language inserted into a budget bill would ban removing the lanes until at least 2030.<\/p>\n The City Council on Wednesday evening was set to consider urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to strip out the bike lane removal prohibition.<\/p>\n Meanwhile in Oceanside: One civic-minded Instagram account poked fun at the army of online bike lane haters. The post showed video of an empty street<\/a> \u2014 and then demanded that since no cars were on the road city leaders should rip them out.\u00a0<\/p>\n North County Report: Poway Mayor\u2019s Race Heating Up<\/p>\n Speaking of battles over development, our Tigist Layne reports divisions over housing are shaping up to be a major factor in Poway\u2019s upcoming mayoral and City Council election.<\/p>\n That\u2019s especially true in the mayor\u2019s race, which pits incumbent Steve Vaus against two challengers.<\/p>\n Vaus vaunts his years of experience (12 as mayor, two on the City Council) and Poway\u2019s low crime and taxes.<\/p>\n His Republican challenger Jenny Maeda, a current city councilmember, say he\u2019s too lenient with developers and keeps greenlighting projects out of step with the city\u2019s character.<\/p>\n Vaus\u2019 other challenger Dellena Olps, a Democrat, is married to a man who tried to get Vaus recalled a few years ago. Some say Olps is too inexperienced, while others say she\u2019s the fresh start the city needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read the North County Report Here.<\/a><\/p>\n In Other News<\/p>\n The civilian board overseeing the San Diego County Sheriff\u2019s Office voted 7-2 not to revisit<\/a> the 2023 case of a homeless man who was beaten, paralyzed and later died after deputies confronted him over an expired registration on his van. Advocates for the man had asked the board to re-investigate the incident. The board did not give a reason for its vote. (Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n Oceanside City Councilmember Rick Robinson returned $1,000 in campaign donations<\/a> from two donors after an election opponent filed a public records request that showed Robinson voted to approve a permit to grow cannabis on the donors\u2019 property months after accepting donations from them. (inewsource)<\/p>\n