Daily Business Report — Oct. 15, 2010

Vote for the Most Admired Company

San Diego Metropolitan Magazine is soliciting nominations for the 15 Most Admired Companies in San Diego County. The winning companies will be profiled in the December issue of the magazine. To nominate a company, fill out the form on our Website: sandiegometro.com. The deadline is Oct. 30. For more information, call Rebeca Page at (619) 906-4104 or send an e-mail to her at rebecapage@sandiegometro.com.

UCSD Receives National Climate Leadership Award

UCSD received the first Climate Leadership Award for Institutional Excellence in Climate Leadership during the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment Summit this week in Denver. “The University of California, San Diego, as a major research institution, is an exemplary model in developing climate solutions,” said Anthony Cortese, president of Second Nature, a nonprofit corporation that is the primary supporting organization of the ACUPCC. “Both in its operations and curriculum, UCSD is preparing its graduates to create a low-carbon and sustainable society.”

The Climate Leadership Award recognizes UCSD’s aggressive campaign to meet the goals of its climate action plan, which calls for the campus to be climate neutral by 2025, achieve a 4 percent annual reduction in water use and be a zero-waste campus by 2020. The award also notes the profound influence of the university’s green roots, which date back to 1957, when Scripps Institution of Oceanography Director Roger Revelle warned that greenhouse gases from industrialization could endanger the planet. Later, Scripps chemist Charles Keeling was the first to precisely measure atmospheric carbon dioxide, and his Keeling Curve has since become “the most important geophysical measurement of the 20th century.”

Economic Development Agency Backs Proposition D

The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. board of directors has voted to support Proposition D, the city of San Diego’s five-year, half-cent sales tax, but also voted to work for its repeal in 2012 if the city does not implement the recommendations of the Citizens’ Fiscal Sustainability Task Force. In supporting the temporary sales tax proposal, the board cited the analysis and conclusions of the task force:

• The financial condition of the city of San Diego is dire — requiring $150-$170 million a year ($900 million over five years) — from some combination of spending reductions or new revenues to achieve structural balance.

• Achieving balanced budgets is unlikely to occur from spending reductions alone.

The board said none of the opponents of Proposition D has advanced a plan to address the at least $150 million in annual cuts or reforms that would be required without Proposition D.

Opposition to Proposition D

Taxpayer advocates and government watchdog organizations are opposing Proposition D. One of the major opponents, San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio, claims the measure would give politicians a blank check tax increase with no guarantees on how the money would be spent. “In this regard Proposition D is one of the most misleading propositions to make the ballot,” said DeMaio. “While Proposition D is being sold by city politicians and city labor unions as ‘restoring’ vital city services, not a penny of the increased tax is earmarked for important programs such as police and fire services. To the contrary, with the city’s annual pension payment increasing dramatically each year, you can expect increased tax revenues to be diverted to the city’s financially-troubled pension system rather than to restore city services.”

Water Authority Facilities to Get Solar Electric Power

The San Diego County Water Authority has signed a 20-year agreement with San Diego-based Borrego Solar Systems Inc. to install and operate solar electric power systems at three major Water Authority facilities: In the parking lot and on the roof of the Water Authority’s Kearny Mesa headquarters and its Fred A. Heilbron Operations Center in Escondido; atop several large structures at the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant north of San Marcos. The Water Authority’s said energy cost savings is estimated at nearly $1.7 million over the life of the contract. Borrego Solar estimates that these systems will produce enough renewable energy over the next 20 years to prevent more than 70 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions — the equivalent of planting 180,000 mature trees or conserving nearly 107,000 barrels of oil. The company estimates that the systems will generate enough renewable energy to meet 60 percent of the power needs for the Kearny Mesa and Escondido facilities and more than 20 percent of the power needs for the treatment plant. The systems combined will produce 2.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, enough to power 30,000 homes. The systems are being installed at no cost to the Water Authority under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Borrego Solar.

First Phase of County Building Projects is Completed

Lowe Enterprises has completed construction of the $188.5 million first phase of the County Operations Center and Annex redevelopment in Kearny Mesa. The first phase consists of two, 150,000-square-foot, four-story, steel frame office buildings and a seven-level, 1,800-space parking structure. About1,100 employees from nine county departments — General Services, Library, Aging & Independence Services, Sheriff, Purchasing & Contracting, Public Works, Auditor, Environmental Health and Parks & Recreation — have begun to relocate to the new buildings.

The 38-acre County Operations Center, located on Overland Avenue, is being developed in three phases. In addition to the office buildings and parking structure, the first phase includes the central plant that provides the mechanical systems to run the entire campus, utility infrastructure and offsite improvements to mitigate traffic impacts.

The next phase includes two additional 150,000-square-foot office buildings and a 15,000-square-foot conference center and a cafeteria. Construction of the next phase is slated to begin in January 2011. When completed, the new campus is expected to include 900,000 square feet of modern, efficient office space, built to LEED Gold Certification standards, along with two multi-level parking structures. The project team also includes RJC Architects, Roel Construction, Howard Wright Construction and Arciero Brothers Construction. The county Department of General Services is overseeing the project.

Lockheed Martin Receives SPAWAR Contract

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract from the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in San Diego to provide technology updates and new concepts to detect and track submarines. The contract extension is valued at $24 million. “For more than 10 years we have provided the Navy with innovative automation technology to counter asymmetric threats and conduct anti-submarine warfare,” said Jim Quinn, a Lockheed Martin vice president. “The capabilities we are providing will help detect, track, and localize undersea threats faster and more accurately.”

University Club Grand Opening

The University Club Atop Symphony Towers will host its grand opening event from 6 to 10 o’clock tonight where guests can celebrate its recent renovations while raising funds for “Augie’s Quest,” an initiative of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Employee Partners Care Foundation and the Lamp of Learning Scholarship. The evening theme: “Black Tie + Blue Jeans + The Blues.” Singles are $75 and couples are $100.

SCORE San Diego Small Business Workshops

Fees range from $29 to $109 depending on the program.

• Oct. 16 – QuickBooks Basic – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 18 – Internet Marketing 303: Social Media – 9 a.m. to noon at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Oct. 19 – Financing Your Business – Carlsbad – 9:30 a.m. to noon at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).

• Oct. 20 – Import/Export – 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 22 – Internet Marketing 302: E-mail Strategy – 9 a.m. to noon at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Oct. 22 – Business Basics 101 – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; FREE! Please pre-register).

• Oct. 23 – Effective Marketing – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 25 – Internet Marketing 201: SEO – Carlsbad – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 26 – How to Start and Manage Your Own Business – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 27 – Business Plan 201: How to Write a Business Plan – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $99, $109 at the door).

• Oct. 28 – Financial Statements – Carlsbad – 9:30-11:30 a.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).

• Oct. 29 – Marketing for Non-Profits – 9-11:30 a.m. at San Diego Foundation – Liberty Station (2508 Historic Decatur Rd #200, San Diego 92106; pre-paid registration $39, $49 at the door).

For more information, call (619) 557-7272 or visit score-sandiego.org.

The Daily Business Report is produced by REP Publishing Inc., publisher of San Diego Metropolitan Magazine, the North Park News, Kensington News and the West Coast Craftsman. (619) 906-4104.