Axios San Diego

August 20, 2025
It's Wednesday already, and the heat wave is nearly here.
Today's weather: Coast — Mostly cloudy, gradually becoming sunny with a high around 75; Inland — Mostly cloudy, gradually becoming sunny with a high around 87.
🎧 Sounds like: "Ain't Nothin New," by Half Hour Late.
Situational awareness: Will Rodriguez-Kennedy won the contentious race to become the San Diego County Democratic Party's new chair, in a vote of party officials late Tuesday.
Today's newsletter is 1,002 words — a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: 📺 OB's new sitcom
Ocean Beach is about to have its own sitcom.
The big picture: Daniel M. Dyer, a writer and videographer, has nearly wrapped the pilot episode of "End of the 8," a show about a group of band members and their social circle in OB.
- The fictional band includes members of real-life OB bands Half Hour Late and Band of Gringos, and the show stars local musicians Kat Hall and Crispy J.
Between the lines: The genesis of the show was a three-minute skit created after Dyer and his friends noticed they kept saying "that would be a funny skit idea" about life in OB.
- They decided to build the premise into a full pilot, with a dry tone that Dyer compared to "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," turned toward targets like OB's weekly post-farmers market drum circle.
- Teasers for the show that hit social media this month give a taste of the vibe.
What they're saying: "The cool thing about a sitcom is the plot can be loose as long as the vibe and characters are funny and endearing," he told Axios.
- The first episode includes scenes at neighborhood favorites like OB Beans, Raglan Public House, Humble Heart and Hodads, and Dyer said the concept came together the more they focused on making OB its own character in the show.
State of play: All the pilot needs is a few shots of an audience at a show yelling, with as many recognizable locals in the crowd as possible.
- Dyer and the cast are holding a free show at Winstons on Sept. 11 to get that scene, with the band in the show playing a full gig once the shot is in the can.
The intrigue: The first episode is mostly focused on dudes in the band, with girls they're friends with in supporting parts.
- Dyer said he's planning to flip that in the second episode, shifting focus to the group of girls as the main characters and pushing the guys to the background.
What's next: Once the episode is wrapped, Dyer plans to schedule screenings at locations around the neighborhood.
- Then he's looking to shop the pilot, along with his ideas for an eight-episode season, to production studios in LA.
2. 🤳 North Park's navigator
Walkabout — a locally-grown, community-focused app — is launching a new guide to enjoying North Park beyond the weekly farmers market.
Why it matters: The digital "North Park Navigator" is designed to expand the farmer's market experience with events to help locals explore the neighborhood, make friends and visit local businesses.
Driving the news: Starting this Thursday, a new map will show meetups that are walkable to the market within a mile.
- Happy Medium is hosting a happy hour this week, and it will rotate among other bars and breweries.
- A free book swap is happening at Encontro, with other restaurants, coffee shops and spaces hosting them in the future.
- Users can skip the line and get on stage for open mic night at CinKuni's weekly comedy shows.
- There's also a treasure hunt type challenge with businesses offering workout classes, exclusive food items, free mimosas and more.

Between the lines: Local businesses aren't seeing a big boost in traffic even when the market is packed, and North Park is full of transplants looking for connection, Jessica Young, president of Walkabout, told Axios.
- They're hoping this new tool will encourage residents to "come out and stay out after the market," she said.
Zoom out: Walkabout is concentrated in the neighborhoods around Balboa Park, but curates events, meet-ups and deals from more than 10,000 users and 200 businesses all over the city, including in Pacific Beach and La Jolla.
3. The Lineup: 🚘 Parking charge backlash
4. 🙅 GOP redistricting lawsuit
California Republicans asked the state Supreme Court to pause Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) redistricting legislation to give the public time to review the proposal.
Why it matters: The Monday lawsuit escalates the nationwide partisan redistricting battle, kicked off by President Trump pushing for redistricting in Texas.
- "Republicans are filing a deeply unserious (and truly laughable) lawsuit to stop Americans from voting? We're neither surprised, nor worried," Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for the governor's office, said in a statement.
Driving the news: The lawsuit argues that the legislation's timeline undermines the state constitution's 30-day rule for public review.
- "Instead of a months-long transparent and participatory process overseen by an independent citizens redistricting commission for such a sensitive matter, the public would be presented with an up or down vote on maps unilaterally prepared in secret by the Legislature," the lawsuit said.
- The legislators are represented by Dhillon Law Group, a conservative law firm.
State of play: Democratic lawmakers planned to pass a package of bills in the "Election Rigging Response Act" on Thursday, ahead of a Nov. 4 special election.
- The lawsuit argues that the legislature can't act on the bills until Sept. 18.
Zoom out: The National Republican Congressional Committee said on Friday it was prepared to fight the redistricting attempt.
- Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, a San Diego Republican representing east county, said Monday he's pursuing a "poison pill" citizens initiative to stop Newsom's plan.
🎶 Andy is ready for this "End of the 8" soundtrack.
🧢 Kate is eyeing the new Huega House and SD Wave merch collab.
This newsletter was edited by Geoff Ziezulewicz.
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