Daily Business Report — Dec. 3, 2010

Aztecs to Face Midshipmen in Poinsettia Bowl

The San Diego State Aztecs have accepted an invitation to play the U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen in the sixth annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23 in Qualcomm Stadium — the team’s first postseason bowl appearance since 1998 and the ninth in school history. San Diego State finished the regular season 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the Mountain West Conference to tie for third place, matching its highest finish in league history. “We are excited to be playing a bowl game here in San Diego in front of our great students, fans and community,” Head Coach Brady Hoke said.

“This is a great day for college football in San Diego,” said Eric Graves, Poinsettia Bowl president. “To have the hometown Aztecs in our homegrown bowl game is something very special.  And for the Navy Midshipmen to be the opponent is icing on the cake.”

The Poinsettia Bowl kickoff will be at 5 p.m. on Dec. 23. Tickets can be purchased by calling TicketMaster at (800) 745-3000, or by visiting poinsettiabowl.com.

Council Overrides Mayor’s Veto of Superstore Ordinance

The San Diego City Council on Thursday voted to overturn Mayor Jerry Sanders’ veto of an ordinance requiring superstores such as Walmart to fund economic impact studies before they can open new stores. Sanders’ veto was overridden by a 5-3 vote, with Councilmembers Todd Gloria, Marti Emerald, Tony Young, Donna Frye and Ben Hueso in the majority and Councilmembers Carl DeMaio, Kevin Faulconer and Sherri Lightner voting to uphold the veto.

In October, Gloria was criticized in a full-page newspaper advertisement by Walmart, questioning why he would support an ordinance that “would essentially ban larger retail stores that sell groceries.” Gloria said, in reply: “This is not a ban, nor is it intended to be one. The ordinance would neither allow nor prohibit superstores. It would simply require applicants to provide additional information about a proposed superstore’s potential impacts to neighborhoods, local business districts, and small and neighborhood businesses.

“The ordinance would neither allow nor prohibit superstores,” said Emerald. “It would simply require applicants to provide additional information about a proposed superstore’s potential impacts to neighborhoods, local business districts, and small and neighborhood businesses.”

According to Emerald, an economic impact analysis would look closely at how a project could affect traffic, small businesses in the area, business improvement districts or redevelopment project areas, or change the character of the neighborhood, and if the project would create blight. Most of this data is already collected by businesses looking to build in an area, she said.

Legal Aid Society Purchased Office Building

The Legal Aid Society of San Diego has purchased the 23,500-square-foot multi-tenant office building at 1764 San Diego Ave. in  San Diego for $3.8 million and will occupy 15,000 square feet of the space. The balance is leased to three tenants — Advanced Spine and Back Center, Sabine Purps, DDS and FedEx. The seller, Citibank, was represented by Robert Griffith and Steven Ward of Grubb and Ellis. The Legal Aid Society of San Diego was represented by Marc Frederick and Bud Marsh of Colliers International.

Port Preparing Draft EIR on Convention Center Expansion

The Port of San Diego has given notice that it is preparing a draft environmental impact report on the proposed expansion of the San Diego Convention Center, including a proposed hotel as part of the project and a port master plan amendment. The Notice of Preparation, as it is called, is to give the public an opportunity to comment on environmental impacts of the project. Comments on the expansion and hotel project will be accepted until 5 p.m. on January 10. Comments should be mailed to the San Diego Unified Port District, Land Use Planning Department, 3165 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101. They may also be e-mailed to Inishihi@portofsandiego.org. A “scoping” meeting on the proposals will be held on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. in Room 33 of the San Diego Convention Center.

The expansion would add 225,000 square feet of exhibit halls, 101,500 square feet of meeting rooms, 80,000 square feet of ballroom space, 16,000 square feet of kitchen area and 45,000 square feet of visitor-serving retail. A 35-foot wide pedestrian promenade would be added at ground level, as well as five acres of accessible public space that will be linked to the waterfront promenade. Other amenities include a pedestrian bridge over Harbor Drive and landside improvements to an existing water transportation center, including a ticket booth, offices, public restrooms, bus drop-off and parking. The proposed hotel, that may include up to 500 rooms, would also include up to 50,000 square feet of banquet/conference rooms, ballrooms, restaurants and retail shops.

Chart Industries to Acquire SeQual Technologies

San Diego-based SeQual Technologies Inc., which makes oxygen equipment, will be acquired by CAIRE Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ohio-based Chart Industries. CAIRE is a respiratory care products provider for the home health care market. “Chart’s years of industry experience, financial stability and global presence will allow SeQual to focus on providing solutions for the oxygen segment of health care,” said Ron Richard, CEO and president of SeQual Technologies. Steve Shaw, president of Chart BioMedical, said his firm expects to integrate the majority of SeQual’s operations in 2011. SeQual Technologies was founded in 1991 and said it has more than 40,000portable eclipse oxygen systems deployed around the world. Financial terms of the impending sale were not disclosed.

Sports Arena Becomes Valley View Casino Center

The former San Diego Sports Arena has officially been rebranded as the Valley View Casino Center. The naming rights were given in October in an agreement between Valley View Casino & Hotel in Valley Center and AEG Global Partnerships. The facility is managed by AEG Facilities. “The new signage throughout the building signifies the start of a long and rewarding relationship with Valley View Casino & Hotel as our partner,” said Ernie Hahn II, senior vice president and general manager of the 15,000-seat multi-purpose venue.

Pathfinder Partners in Pact for Residential Acquisitions

Pathfinder Partners LLC, which specializes in distressed real estate assets and defaulted loans, has entered a joint venture with Raintree Residential LLC, a real estate investment firm, to acquire single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums through short sales. The new joint venture —Pathfinder Raintree Residential LLC —  has initially committed more than $5 million of capital to purchase and renovate 50 single-family homes in Escondido, Chula Vista and other areas of San Diego County that have been hit hard by foreclosures. Pathfinder Raintree will lease the properties, and is upgrading them to add value and ultimately stabilize the communities. Mitch Siegler, senior managing director of Pathfinder Partners, said the equity capital was provided by various Pathfinder Partners Opportunity Funds and the principals of Raintree. Since Pathfinder’s  inception in 2006, it has acquired more than $250 million in defaulted commercial real estate loans and REO properties and currently owns and operates more than 1,500 units in California, Florida, Texas, Colorado, Oregon and Oklahoma.

Search Optics Names Chief Technology Officer

Jim Parkinson, who spent more than 25 years with Sun Microsystems, has been appointed chief technology officer of Search Optics Inc., a digital marketing company serving the auto industry. The appointment is effective Jan. 1. Parkinson held numerous director and vice president roles at Sun Microsystems, ultimately ending in the role of senior vice president of cloud engineering. Parkinson holds a degree in mechanical engineering and engineering mechanics and is in the process of completing a bachelor’s degree in business and information systems and a master’s degree in software design and engineering management.

Tapestry Resorts Appoints Business Development Director

Debbie Jaloma has joined Tapestry Resorts, a San Diego-based hospitality management company, as director of business development. Jaloma also serves as a consultant and director of business development at Preston Arza LLP, a law firm specializing in the hospitality industry. Jaloma’s other positions have included director of business development at ResortCom International and Interval International. She previously managed and directed Interval International’s Vacation Ownership Investment Conference, an annual timeshare industry event. Jaloma is a graduate of USC.

Sempra Generation Finishs Solar Power Plant Construction

Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, has completed construction on the largest photovoltaic solar power plant in the U.S. The 48-megawatt Copper Mountain Solar facility, located in Boulder City, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas, is now generating enough emission-free electricity to power about 14,000 average homes. Construction on Copper Mountain Solar began last January at the 380-acre desert site. About 350 construction workers at peak installed nearly 775,000 thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity. First Solar of Tempe, Ariz., supplied the solar panels and served as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

SCORE San Diego Small Business Workshops

SCORE San Diego continues its series of low-cost workshops in December. Workshop fees range from $29 to $109, depending on the program. To register, visit score-sandiego.org.

• Dec. 4 – 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).

• Dec. 6 – Tax Considerations for Small Business – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).

• Dec. 6 – Business Plan 101: How to Develop Your Best Competitive Advantage – Carlsbad – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $79, $89 at the door).

• Dec. 7 – 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).

• Dec. 8 – Internet Marketing 301: Pay-Per-Click – 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).

• Dec. 9 – Hiring and Managing Employees – 9 a.m. to noon at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Dec. 10 – Internet Marketing 202: E-mail Strategy – 9 a.m. to noon Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Dec. 11 – 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).

• Dec. 13 – Buying and Selling a Business – 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 $69, $79 at the door).

• Dec. 14 – How to Start and Manage Your Own Business – Carlsbad – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Dec. 14 – 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).

• Dec. 15 – 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).

• Dec. 16 – 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).

• Dec. 17 – 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).

• Dec. 18 – Financial Statements – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).

• Dec. 20 – Business Plan 201: How to Write a Business Plan – Carlsbad – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $99, $109 at the door).

For more information regarding SCORE San Diego’s workshop series and locations, call (619) 557-7272.

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.