Daily Business Report — Aug. 7, 2014
Craft Beer Industry Reaching
Critical Mass in North County
The craft beer industry has reached a critical mass in North San Diego County, which has nearly 40 breweries and brewpubs employing 850 people and generating $185 million in sales, according to a report released Wednesday.
Highway 78 has been nicknamed the “hops highway,” and the City of Vista has emerged as a major brewing center with 10 breweries and three more opening thanks to an aggressive public-private partnership, according to the report.
The report by the National University System Institute for Policy Research was commissioned by the San Diego North Economic Development Council and presented at a symposium in Vista.
“Vista per capita in the nation is No. 1 in breweries. We recognize the importance these establishments bring, not only to Vista but to all of North County,” said Vista Mayor Judy Ritter in welcoming a crowd of more than 250 to the event at the Vista Civic Center.
Erik Bruvold, president of the policy institute, said craft brew is still a small part of the overall beer market, but growing at double-digit rates. He said San Diego County leads the state in breweries and brewpubs, with a total of 90.
“A significant degree of craft brewing activity in San Diego is centered in North County. With greater collaboration between brewers and elected officials, more industry development and opportunities can be created,” the report concludes, noting that regulations covering breweries vary among the different
municipalities and should be coordinated.
Bruvold said breweries are both industrial and commercial in character, with a combination of production and tasting, and local zoning and municipal regulations need to allow for this.
He noted that growth of the craft beer industry is encouraging local suppliers of such products as hops, yeast, tanks and support services.
“Craft brew is a big part of our North County brand and a draw for visitors and tourists,” said Carl Morgan, CEO of the North County council.
— Times of San Diego
Supervisors Vote to Create Program to Open Up
Unincorporated Areas to Wineries, Microbreweries
County Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to direct staff to start
working on a program to promote agriculture that could one day open up nearly one-third of the unincorporated county to wineries.
The proposed Agriculture Promotion Program would also streamline county planning and land use regulations to expand and promote other agricultural pursuits. Those include microbreweries, “agritourism,” cheese-making, beekeeping and onsite retail horticultural sales.
The county’s 2012 Crop Report stated that the total value of agriculture in the county in 2012 was $1.75 billion. However, county officials said Wednesday that agriculture in San Diego County faces numerous challenges including the high price of land and water.
The proposed promotion program could give agriculture, an important segment of the regional economy, a boost.
Officials from Planning and Development Services said the program includes the proposal to open up nearly 650,000 acres of land — about 27 percent of all unincorporated land — to wineries. That land, which is now zoned for “general rural” use, currently allows landowners to grow wine grapes but does not allow wineries.
Interest in wineries and grape-growing has exploded in the past few years. The 2012 Crop Report said the number of acres devoted to growing wine grapes in San Diego County jumped by 478 percent from 2011 to 2012.
Planning and Development Services officials said it could take up to 30 months to create the comprehensive program and bring it back to the board for consideration.
San Diego: A Heart Attack and Stroke-Free Zone Project
The Be There San Diego initiative has been awarded a $5.8 million health care innovation grant for a coalition project to help reduce heart attacks and strokes in San Diego County. The program, San Diego: A Heart Attack and Stroke Free Zone, is a regional collaboration of UC San Diego Health System, Arch Health Partners, Scripps Health, Sharp HealthCare, Kaiser Permanente, Palomar Medical Center, Naval Medical Center, Veterans Administration, the San Diego County Medical Society Foundation, the county of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, community clinics and others. The goal is to enroll high blood pressure and high cholesterol patients into the program and lower their levels by evidence-based practices, as well as promote prevention measures through educational opportunities.
Connect Partner With Co-Merge Workplace
San Diego’s Connect organization, and Co-Merge Workplace, a co-working space in Downtown San Diego, have partnered to provide business acceleration and incubation services for startup and early-stage companies.
Called “Connect Co-Merge,” the partnership will benefit Connect members by providing complimentary incubation space to Springboard Capital Competition winners at Co-Merge, and Connect will refer its members and Springboard companies to the Downtown facility.
To drive Connect program content, Co-Merge will provide space to Connect staff associated with programs such as FrameWorks Workshops, Springboard Panels, Meet-ups, and Springboard Alumni reunions. Connect Co-Merge facilities and resources will also be available to Connect members at a discounted rate.
For more information, contact Ruprecht von Buttlar at rvonbuttlar@connect.org or Michael Kenny at mkenny@co-merge.com.
Oceanside Property Sold for $25 Million for Luxury Apartments
OCEANSIDE — A 28-acre parcel of land at the northwest corner of College Avenue and Old Grove Road in Oceanside has been sold for $25 million to Presidio Cornerstone Master LLC for the consturction of a 338-unit luxury apartment development. The seller was RDO Village Investment LLC.
The development, to be called Terraza, will have one-bedroom, one-bath units, two-bedroom, two-bath units and three-bedroom, two-bath units.
Rady Children’s Hospital to Establish New Institute
Rady Children’s Hospital is establishing the Rady Pediatric Genomic and Systems Medicine Institute at Rady’s Children thanks to a generous $120 million donation from Ernest Rady and his family. This is the largest grant the Rady’s Children hospital Foundation has ever received. The Rady’s Children’s board of trustees has also pledged an additional $40 million to support the establishment of the new institute. “This institute will assemble a team of world-class scientists, researchers and clinicians who will focus their talents on preventing, diagnosing, treating and curing childhood disease through genomics and systems medicine research,” said David F. Hale, chairman of the board.
Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors
Announced Board Election Results
The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors announced results of its election for 2015 officers and board members. Anthony Andaya, Dominion West Properties, was elected 2015 president-elect. He will serve as president during the 2016 calendar year, succeeding Carey Guthrie, Windermere Real Estate SoCal La Mesa Village, who will serve as president during the 2015 calendar year. Also in 2015, Sam Calvano, Sam Calvano Home Loans, will serve as secretary/treasurer and Bob Olivieri, Coldwell Banker West in Chula Vista, will serve as past president.
Recently elected 2015 board members from the East County include: Sharon Schultz, Century 21 Award; Ron Boland, Parkway Real Estate; Tom Peyton, Windermere Real Estate SoCal La Mesa Village; and, Bryan Yarbor, Realty National. Recently elected 2015 board members from the South County include: Sarah Heck, Coldwell Banker West, SDH Processing; and, Minerva Garcia, Coldwell Banker West.
Elected to serve in 2015 as the PSAR board affiliate director was Michelle Adcock of First American Home Buyers Protections Corp.
Le Parfait Paris Pastry Shop Opens Downtown
Le Parfait Paris, a French Authentic Patisserie, is set to open today in the Gaslamp Quarter of Downtown San Diego — at 555 G St. The pastry shop is the concept of a team of French San Diego State University and University of San Diego graduates.
“The young and dynamic Parisian crew aims to deliver the highest quality products and have brought in Jean-François Fays, Master Chef Christophe Calderon’s mentee,” according to a press release announcing the opening. “Jeff is the hand behind the craft and his favorite dessert, the “Saint Honore,” will be a staple of the shop. Jeff loves to start his creations on paper while letting his imagination carry him to heights he never thought possible.”
Le Parfait Paris pastry shop location will allow customers to purchase freshly made products, and sit down to enjoy numerous beverages of their choice. Le Parfait will be open late to serve San Diego nightlife, offering a filling yet healthy alternative to partygoers.
The store will be open Monday through Wednesday from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday through Friday 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. and Sunday 8a.m. to 9 p.m.
The prices will range from less than $1 for chouquettes to $60+ for top-of-the-line pies and cakes that accommodate larger groups.
Le Parfait will also offer lunch and dinner combos ranging from $8 to $12.
You can check the website: www.leparfaitparis.com. Telephone: (619) 245-4457.
Qualcomm Hosts QCamp for Girls
As part of a global program called Women Enhancing Technology,
or WeTech, 30 girls in San Diego have been selected to participate in a camp focused on strengthening their interest in STEM, potentially changing technology and the face of engineering.
Qcamp for Girls in STEM (Qcamp) is a Qualcomm-hosted, two-week program that aims to increase the number of girls and women in engineering and science by inspiring them when they are young. In their middle school years, approximately 74 percent of girls express an interest in engineering, science and math. However, by the time these young women get to college, just 0.3 percent choose computer science as a major.
Through Qcamp, Qualcomm aims to impact that statistic by exposing the rising sixth grade campers to STEM-related projects including building robots, developing apps and building electronic circuits. They’ll learn right alongside Qualcomm engineers, who will share their own experiences and give them a better understanding of what types of careers these skills can offer.
Gaza Crisis Explored
The San Diego World Affairs Council will host a public discussion on the Gaza crisis on Sunday featuring Cameron S. Brown, Neubauer Research Fellow with the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University; and Professor Jonathan Graubart, director of the International Security and Conflict Resolution program and chair of the Fred J. Hansen Institute for Peace Studies at San Diego State University.
The program will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at AMN Healthcare, 12400 High Bluff Drive, San Diego. It’s free for World Affairs Council members and $10 for the general public.
County Looks at Building More Solar into Codes
County supervisors directed county planners to start drafting potential building code improvements that would make it easier for new homes to add rooftop solar electricity panels and charging stations for electric cars.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the board voted to pursue four possible building code improvements that would require home builders to:
• Build new homes with 200-amp electric panels — large enough to allow future electrical additions.
• Build electrical conduit into homes that would allow homeowners to put in wiring for rooftop solar electricity-generating panels.
• Install electrical conduit that would allow homeowners to add wiring for electric car charging stations.
• Reserve space on south-facing rooftops that would allow homeowners to install solar photovoltaic panels.
Once the department creates the potential building code amendments, they will be brought back to the board for final consideration.
Higgs Fletcher & Mack Hires
Immigration Law Attorney
Regina Knoll, an attorney with nearly a decade of immigration law experience, has been hired by Higgs Fletcher & Mack as its newest immigration attorney partner. Knoll was most recently the founder and principa of the Law and Effect Group.
Originally from Austria and a native German speaker, Knoll is one of the preeminent immigration attorneys for German companies with subsidiaries in Southern California and beyond. Prior to founding the Law and Effect Group, Knoll was the in-house counsel for DiscounTechnology, a San Diego-based IT firm where she worked on a variety of transactional matters in such areas as intellectual property law, contract law, immigration law and employment law. She received her Juris Doctor with a concentration in international law from the California Western School of Law in 2005.
Brian Holmes Joins Gerson Law Firm
Brian P. Holmes has joined the Gerson Law Firm APC as a member of its creditor rights group. Holmes will represent individual and institutional clients in civil, commercial, real property and bankruptcy litigation, with a focus on judgment creditor rights and remedies. Prior to joining Gerson, Holmes worked for Grant & Zeko APC as a litigation associate. Holmes is a graduate of the UC San Diego and California Western School of Law. He is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association and the Irish American Bar Association.
Stephen Dok Joins Lee & Associates
Stephen Dok, a 24-year medical real estate expert, has been hired by Lee & Associates in its San Diego office. Dok will head Lee & Associates’ San Diego Healthcare Practice Group, which provides expert advisement to health care systems and hospitals and help in all aspects of real estate transactions. Dok, a graduate of San Diego State University, has transacted more than 50 health care-related property transactions in San Diego and has negotiated over 1,200 lease transactions with doctors, groups, hospitals and clinics. In all, he has negotiated more than 2.5 million square feet of office space with a value of $150 million. Prior to joining Lee, Dok spend two years with Voit Real Estate Services, where he was vice president of the Healthcare Practice Group.
11 County Restaurants Make
National List of Most Scenic
San Diego has only one percent of the U.S. population, but 11 percent of the country’s restaurants with the most scenic views, according to a report by Open Table.
The online reservation company polled its users and compiled a list of the 100 restaurants with the most scenic views across the United States. Eleven in San Diego County made the grade.
Bali Hai Restaurant
Bertrand at Mister A’s
Chart House (Cardiff)
Cusp Dining & Drinks (La Jolla)
The Fish Market
Island Prime
Jake’s Del Mar
The Marine Room (La Jolla)
Tom Ham’s Lighthouse
The Veranda Restaurant (Fallbrook)
World Famous.
Open Table said diners answering the poll most often chose scenic views of the water, with oceanfront restaurants proving most popular, followed closely by lakeside and riverfront eateries. Cityscape establishments and those in natural settings were next on the list. American cuisine was most prevalent, followed by seafood.
California Leads Nation in Solar Installation
A new report shows California is leading the nation among homes and businesses running on solar power, KPBS reports. The report ranks California first in the nation in installed solar capacity, and fourth for installed solar capacity per capita. Last year, solar capacity in California grew 48 percent. The report by Environment California Research & Policy Center, the research arm of an environmental advocacy organization, says reducing the cost of installation and solar equipment is important for homeowners.