Daily Business Report — July 28, 2010
Council Approves Wastewater Treatment Project
The San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to approve a $6.6 million contract with Camp Dresser McKee to test the use of treated wastewater to augment local reservoirs. The Advanced Water Purification Facility that will be designed won’t discharge water into the reservoirs but will be used to determine if treated water could be safely used to enhance local drinking water supplies. If the demonstration project is successful, a full-scale project could ultimately provide up to 16 million gallons per day of advanced treated water from the North City facility to augment the San Vicente Reservoir. The city is studying whether additional reclamation facilities could be built throughout the region to reclaim even more wastewater. The aim of the project is to help reduce San Diego’s reliance on imported drinking water and improving the environment by reducing sewage discharges into the ocean. “Orange County has been safely reclaiming 70 MGD of wastewater to augment its water supplies through groundwater injection for several years,” said Coastkeeper’s Executive Director Bruce Reznik. “The AWP will bring San Diego one step closer to following their lead and realizing our goal of water independence.” Because San Diego would be the first city in California to use highly treated wastewater to augment reservoirs rather than groundwater, the city is required by the California Department of Public Health to undertake the demonstration project. San Diego imports over 80 percent of its water from sources that are steadily declining, including the Colorado River and San Joaquin Delta.
Pakistan Ambassador to Attend Muslim Center Opening
Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, will attend the Aug. 8 opening of the new Muslim Community Center of Greater San Diego, according to center officials. The event will take place at 14698 Via Fiesta in the Santaluz community of San Diego. A reception will begin at 1:30 p.m. The ribbon will be cut at 2:30 p.m. “We are stressing the word ‘open’ for this event because the Muslim Community Center is open to all Muslims and non-Muslims,” said Anita Tallman, center spokeswoman. “The focus of our center is on being American Muslims as most of our members are either born and raised in the United States or have spent the majority of their lives in this country.”
Tallman said MCC members have been meeting in rented facilities for nearly a decade. “We are a growing community and needed a place to call our own,” she said. “We were draining our finances by renting. By God’s grace, we raised $5.5 million from community donations and loans. This was enough to cover the purchase of the land and construction of the new center. We feel very blessed that we were able to relocate in such a breath-taking area.”
The 8,000-square-foot building was designed by Scott Grunst and was built by Ed Hughes Construction. Grunst’s design features the Spanish Andalusian style that is prominent in the Santaluz community. The Islamic culture had a strong presence in colonial Spain and influenced architectural design such as tile roofs and stone arches.
The new facility includes a multipurpose room to be used for prayer and social gatherings, rooms for religious education, an office and break room. Among the confirmed dignitaries are Saudi Arabia General Counsel Abdullah Al-Harthi, U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, Del Mar Mayor Crystal Crawford, and city of San Diego Councilmember Sherri Lightner. For more information, contact Tallman at (760) 481-8316. The organization’s Website is gsdmcc.org.
Former Ag Dept. Official to Address Journalists
Shirley Sherrod is to appear before thousands of journalists on Thursday at the National Association of Black Journalists annual Convention at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Sherrod has made headlines over the past two weeks for her forced resignation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture after conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted video excerpts of Sherrod’s address at a March NAACP event on his Website. The NAACP initially condemned her remarks and U.S. government officials called on her to resign. Upon review of the unedited video in context, the NAACP, White House officials, and Tom Vilsack, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, apologized soon after and Sherrod was offered a new position. Sherrod has not yet decided if she will accept the job offer. Sherrod will have a conversation with a panel of journalists during a newsmaker plenary, “Context and Consequences: A Conversation with Shirley Sherrod.” The discussion will focus on the reporting and coverage of this incident and the role that race plays in the media culture. NABJ also extended Breitbart an invitation to this session. He initially accepted, but later declined.
Electra Bicycle Names IT Director
Electra Bicycle Co. in Vista has hired Travis Vance for the new position of director of information technology. Vance has more than 15 years of experience in the field. The company also named Justin Manth as director of sales after working for more than 10 years as national sales manager. Rudi Monigold will become national sales manager from his former position as regional sales manager. John Auble was named international account manager, serving as the U.S. sales liason to the company’s international network. Robin Vallaire was promoted to creative director from her former position as associate creative director.
Quiznos Leases Bernardo Center Drive Space
Restaurant Realty, doing business as Quiznos, leased 1,472 square feet of retail space at 16479 Bernardo Center Drive in San Diego 92128. The five-year lease is valued at $187,954. Joel Wilson of CB Richard Ellis represented the lessor, Del Sol Development Corp. Restaurant Realty represented itself.
San Diego Music Awards Set for Sept. 12
The 20th annual San Diego Music Awards, a fundraiser for the San Diego Music Foundation, will be staged Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at Humphreys by the Bay. Nomination categories include Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best New Artist and awards for performance and album in each music category. Live performances from some of San Diego’s emerging and established artists including The Night Marchers, The Nervous Wreckords, New Mexico, Miss Erika Davies, Transfer and Maren Parusel. San Diego natives Iron Butterfly will be honored with the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award. Online voting for nominees in each of the genre categories is open to the public and will be conducted Aug. 1-20, via the official event Website at sandiegomusicawards.com. Tickets may also be purchased online. Proceeds from San Diego Music Awards will be donated to the San Diego Music Foundation’s Taylor Guitars for Schools, which has provided more than 1,500 guitars to 65 elementary schools in San Diego County, which include guitar in their music curriculum. Contributing sponsors for this year’s event include Kona Brewing Co., San Diego CityBeat, Taylor Guitars, ASCAP, SESAC, BMI, Sound Diego, Time Warner Cable and Night & Day.
Dress Up for the Suffrage Parade and Ball
To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, the Women’s History Museum and Educational Center will host the third annual Suffrage Parade and Ball on Aug. 26 and Aug. 28, respectively. The parade will be at 5 p.m. in Balboa Park and the ball will be at the Lafayette Hotel at 6 p.m. The parade will start at the Kate Sessions statue on the west side of the Laurel Street bridge. It will march to the Organ Pavilion where a free band concert will be held. The ball features a dinner and dance under the theme “The Fabulous Forties.” Tickets range from $40 to $60 and can be ordered at womensmuseumsd.org or phone (619) 233-7963.
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