Daily Business Report — Oct. 15, 2009

Women in Leadership awards to be presented Oct. 30

The San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce will present its seventh annual Women in Leadership luncheon Oct. 30 honoring women from around the region in six categories. Keynote speaker will be Patti Roscoe, founder of PRA Destination Management Co. and co-founder of the SDSU School of Hotel & Tourism Management. The luncheon is at 11:30 a.m. at the Doubletree Hotel San Diego in Mission Valley.

This year’s award winners are:

• Business: Barbara Eldridge — Mind Masters San Diego

• Nonprofit: Dr. Delores Jacobs — San Diego Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Center, and Shelly McTighe-Rippengale, San Diego County YMCA
• Education: Jenee Littrell — Project PEACE at Grossmont Union High School District

• Government: Jillian Hanson-Cox — El Cajon City Council member

• Health Care: Carol LeBeau — Health care activist

• Art/Culture/Media: Dr. Joyce Gattas, SDSU Professional Studies and Fine Arts

Dress for Success has been chosen as this year’s beneficiary. Its mission is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Donations of workplace appropriate accessories will be accepted on their behalf.

Major sponsors for the event include Sharp Grossmont Hospital, DSD Business Systems, SDG&E, Sycuan Resort & Casino, and Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. Additional sponsors include Barona Resort & Casino, AT&T and Enhancery Jewelers.

Tickets are priced at $50 per person, or a table of 10 for $500.  Reservations are required: Visit www.eastcountychamber.org. For more information, call

(619) 440-6161.

SDSU professor named to national education post

John Clapp, professor of social work at SDSU, has been named director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention.

 He will serve a minimum four-year term overseeing a group of fellows, expert researchers and practitioners with a focus on environmental prevention research. “What’s exciting about this position is that it gives me the opportunity to take the good work being done on alcohol and drug abuse prevention and put it into action in real world settings,”

 said Clapp. The center will focus on successful prevention strategies that can help universities reduce dangerous alcohol and other drug problems. It also will examine the use of illegal and prescription drugs by college students as well as alcohol-related sexual violence.  

“Alcohol- and drug-related problems still remain the most important health problems on college campuses and lead to a number of negative economic and social outcomes,” said Clapp, who is also director of SDSU’s Center for Alcohol and Drug Studies.

Symposium on ‘Growing Green Careers’ set for Friday

Cuyamaca College will host a free symposium on Friday — “Growing Green Careers” — aimed at helping high school and community college educators learn about the link between emerging green industries and education and to share ideas on preparing students for jobs. The event will be held from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the new communication arts theater at the college in Rancho San Diego. It is presented by the Economic and Workforce Development Program of California Community Colleges. The event will highlight programs such as renewable energy, automotive/transportation, environmental management, green construction, landscaping, energy efficiency, and water /wastewater technology. “What better place than Cuyamaca College – one of the greenest campuses you’ll find anywhere – to hold this timely event,” said Chancellor Cindy L. Miles. “And I mean ‘green’ in every sense: from the college’s visual landscape to its renowned programs preparing students for green jobs. These are the up-and-coming careers forecast for growth as people become increasingly aware of the critical need to protect limited environmental resources.”

To register for the symposium, visit www.sdicoe.net/events.asp. For further information, call at (619) 660-4425.

New credit union branch completed in Mission Valley

A new San Diego County Credit Union branch has been completed and is now open in the Fenton Marketplace in Mission Valley. The address is 2245 Fenton Parkway, Suite 107. KMA Architecture & Engineering designed the 3,933-square-foot tenant improvement project. The branch features seven teller stations, a safe deposit vault, three private offices, a computer server room with uninterrupted power supply units, an employee break room and storage room. KMA provided electrical and mechanical engineering, architecture and plumbing services for the building. The firm’s project team consisted of Kilian Atkins, Jim Belmont, Walt Chambers, Jay Guerrero, Billy Jennings, Tim Rubesh, Pedro Van Den Eeden, Laura Van Horn, Ilia Vorochihin and Alison Warren. Starrett Construction Inc. was the general contractor.

Bank-owned apartment projects purchased by Carv Properties

Two bank-owned apartment complexes in El Cajon have been purchased by Carv Properties LLC for $2.19 million. The seven-unit apartment complex at 469 North First St. sold for $624,500 ($89,214/unit) and 17 units in the 25-unit El Palacio complex at 549 Graves Ave, sold for $1,566,250 ($92,132/unit). The North First Street apartment complex features seven 930- square foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom units. The units sold at El Palacio are comprised of 16 two-bedroom, two-bathroom units and one three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit. Eric Comer, Jim Neil and Merrick Matricardi of CB Richard Ellis represented both Carv Properties LLC and the seller, Preferred Bank. The broker said both complexes are renovated with substantial work completed towards condo conversion; however, there is additional work needed to finish construction. The new owner will continue to operate the complexes as apartments.

Luce Forward’s tenant improvements completed Downtown

Johnson & Jennings General Contracting has completed tenant improvement construction for the law offices of Luce Forward in One America Plaza at 600 W. Broadway in Downtown San Diego. Scope of work for the 100,000-square-foot occupied space renovation included cosmetic upgrades, new lighting, paint and carpet. Johnson & Jennings was retained for the project by Luce Forward, with Pat Balaoing providing construction oversight for the law firm. H. Hendy & Associates served as the project designer. For Johnson & Jennings, Ken Worthen was the project manager and Mike Harrison was the project superintendent. Subcontractors included Resource Floors, Zephyr Painting, B&B Acoustics and Dynalectic.

Scripps Health chief cites underfunding of trauma care in U.S.

Trauma care in the United States is so fragmented, overwhelmed and underfunded that the survival and recovery of those who suffer major trauma often depends on where they happen to be when they are injured. That was the conclusion voiced during a speech delivered Tuesday by Scripps Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brent Eastman at the 2009 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in Chicago.

High death rates in rural areas, a growing shortage of trauma surgeons and a disconnect between existing trauma systems and regional disaster preparedness plans add to a bleak picture of the state of trauma care in the U.S., said Eastman.

“Coordinated, regionalized and accountable trauma systems are proven to get the right patients to the right hospital at the right time,” said Eastman. “For victims of major trauma, access to timely, optimal care during the first ‘golden’ hour has been proven to save lives, restore function and prevent disability.”

Eastman is one of the co-founders of San Diego County’s trauma system, which has reduced the percentage of preventable deaths in San Diego from 22 percent when it was deployed in 1984 to approximately 2 percent today.  Scripps Health operates two of the county’s five adult trauma centers and treats more trauma patients than any other provider in the region.

ACE Scholars Services director to be honored

Jim Mickelson, director of ACE Scholars Services at California State University San Marcos, will be honored in Houston by Children At Risk, a nonprofit organization that drives change for children through research, education, and influencing public policy, for his role as one of the organization’s founding board members. Mickelson also was the founding CEO of the nonprofit, a position he maintained until 1999. The award ceremony will take place on Oct. 20 at the InterContinental Houston Discovery Center in Houston. As director of ACE Scholars Services, Mickelson focuses his efforts on helping local foster youth get into college and succeed. Even though 70 percent of foster youth desire a college experience, data shows that nationally only half of them even get a high school degree. Of those who do, only 3 percent end up on a university campus and only half of that population succeeds in earning a four-year degree.

Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego awarded $30,000 grant

Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego Inc. has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the S. Mark Taper Foundation to provide home-delivered meals to homebound, low-income San Diego seniors. Debbie Case, president and CEO of the nonprofit, said the grant comes at a crucial time when more seniors are turning to the organization for assistance. “The economy and cost of living has created a bleak situation for many of our seniors,” said Case. “Forty percent of San Diego seniors do not have enough income to meet their basic needs. We are facing a senior hunger crisis that is becoming a silent epidemic.”

Old World craft beers to be offered in La Jolla

La Jolla Historical Society is offering its La Jolla Antique Brewery Fest, a fundraising event showcasing a special selection of Old World craft beers from Europe’s centuries-old breweries, on Nov. 21 from 6-9 p.m. in Wisteria Cottage, 780 Prospect St. in La Jolla. Not only will guests sample beers from Belgium, England, Scotland, Germany and the Czech Republic, they’ll also discover beer’s role in history from Germany’s 1516 “Reinheitsgebot” to early taxation on beer to the breweries of the Belgium Trappist Monastery inside the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rêmy. Guests will learn how the cultural and social history of beer from the classic brewing regions contributes to each brew’s unique flavor. Each guest will receive a souvenir classic pilsner glass courtesy of Merchant du Vin, the importers of these specialty beers and sponsor of the event.

All proceeds will benefit the La Jolla Historical Society. The event and venue entry is restricted to guests age 21 and older, with Photo I.D. required.  Tickets are $75 each for members, and $90 for nonmembers. Reservations are limited. Call (858) 459-5335 for more information or visit www.lajollahistory.org.

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