Cup of Chisme: Parking Drama

2026 is off to an interesting start.

From vandalized parking meters to traumatized marine animals at local tide pools, local news headlines this week had me down. (Not to mention national news.)

Luckily, our journalists focused their energy on helping readers make sense of it all.

Grab some cafecito, here’s what you need to know to start your week.

Balboa Park(ing) Problems

The city of San Diego’s new parking program in Balboa Park is off to a rough start.

Newly installed parking meters in Balboa Park were vandalized with foam and poop. Residents were confused about how they could get discounted parking rates. And visitors complained about the lack of parking information signage at the park.

City councilmembers raised concerns about how the city rolled out the program and urged Mayor Todd Gloria to suspend parking fees until the city could get it together.

In his own memo, Gloria reminded the councilmembers that suspending the program could have serious consequences for the city’s budget. That’s because, as our City Hall reporter has explained, the city’s budget relies on new revenue from parking fees.

The mayor wrote in a memo that while there is an “adjustment period,” the program is working. His office told us on Wednesday that the city had received and approved 1,285 parking applications through the system’s online portal.

We are going to follow how these issues impact the city’s parking revenue estimates. The city already expects to bring in far less money than originally expected.

Want more? Our social media producer broke down everything you need to know about the Balboa Park(ing) program. Watch it here.

ICYMI

Our reporters recapped everything that we learned in 2025. From school enrollment decline to budget trouble, we have everything you need to know about the region’s biggest stories. Catch up here.

Thank you for reading my newsletter. If you have any ideas or suggestions for what you’d like to read in 2026 send me an email at andrea.sanchez@voiceofsandiego.org.

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