Daily Business Report — June 7, 2011

General Atomics Executive Cited For Gray Eagle Work

Don Cattell, director of Army programs for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., has been honored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for his role in the development and deployment ahead of schedule of the Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft. The award is presented to candidates who have made significant contributions to the leadership and management of aerospace companies, organizations, or projects. The company also was cited by the institute. “Don Cattell’s contributions to the UAS community have greatly advanced the capabilities of the U.S. Army war fighter and significantly bolstered our company’s position as a predominant leader in the global UAS marketplace,” said Frank Pace, president of the Aircraft Systems Group of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. Cattell has been directly responsible for the success of the Gray Eagle UAS – the U.S. Army’s newest and most advanced UAS – and also manages the company’s line of Army’s Sky Warrior UAS, a derivative of the Predator.

The citation said that, under Cattell’s leadership, an early version of the Gray Eagle aircraft was deployed to Iraq in April 2008, 16 months ahead of the original contract schedule, and reflected “tremendous reliability.”

Small Business Owners Griping Session

Small business owners with gripes about excessive enforcement of federal rules are invited to air them during a U.S. Small Business Administration Regulatory Fairness forum June 10 from 10 a.m. to noon at the San Diego Public Health Center, 3851 Rosecrans St. Hearing their complaints will be Esther Vassar, SBA’s national ombudsman. Small business owners, representatives of trade associations, community and business leaders are invited to comment about compliance actions, enforcement of regulations by federal agencies, and learn more about how those actions impact small businesses. In many instances, the national ombudsman’s action has resulted in the reduction or waiver of penalties in cases of unfair or excessive regulatory enforcement, according to the SBA. Reservations should be made to Juliane Talley in the SBA’s San Diego district office at (619) 727-4870.

Nautilus Environmental Launches New Headquarters

Nautilus Environmental has moved into its newly completed headquarters at 4340 Vandever Ave. in San Diego. The building was purchased in November 2010 with the buyer represented by Glenn Arnold of Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial and seller by Ron Bement of CB Richard Ellis.  Pacific Building Group led the on-schedule construction team for the complete retrofit of the two-story, 16,855-square-foot space with a combination of 22-foot open ceiling toxicology laboratory, office, conference, single-pass air clean micro-biology laboratory, and field support facilities. The work environment includes dog friendly space and a community kitchen garden. Augustine Design Group provided design and project management services. The project team included Project Manager Mike Slaven, Project Superintendent Pete Hamilton, Lead Designer Jillon Augustine and Nautilus Lead Angi Hotz.

Local Architect Honored for Industry Volunteerism

For his industry-related volunteerism over the past 20 years, Wayne Holtan, a principal of domusstudio architecture, has received the Octavius Morgan Distinguished Service Award from the California Architects Board (CAB). The award is named after the first president of the board and is given to individuals who have significantly contributed to the board’s mission. According to CAB, Holtan has contributed more than 1,000 hours towards the California Supplement Examination (CSE) — an examination that ensures that candidates are able to demonstrate minimum standards of competency and necessary architectural knowledge and skills. Holtan served as a CSE commissioner for more than 20 years and as a master commissioner since 1991. He served on multiple CSE-related workshops including the CSE commissioner reviews, job analysis, test plan and standard setting. Holtan has been with domussstudio architecture since 1993. He graduated with degrees in both architecture and environmental design from the University of Minnesota.

Century Club Hires New Tournament Director

The Century Club of San Diego, host of the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open, has hired Peter Ripa as its new tournament director. He will direct the 2012 open. Ripa will succeed Tom Wilson following Wilson’s planned retirement at the end of the 2012 tournament. Ripa comes to the Century Club from the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Ft. Worth, Texas, where he was the tournament director for the past five years. During his tenure at the Colonial, the tournament experienced unprecedented growth. Prior to the Crowne Plaza Invitational, Ripa was the chief operating officer and assistant executive director of the American Junior Golf Association. Ripa, a 25-year veteran of the golf industry, earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of South Florida and master’s degree in marketing from Kennesaw State University in Georgia. He has served on the board of directors of the PGA TOUR Tournament Advisory Council and was chairman of the TAC Mobile Device Task Force.

Wilson has held the tournament director’s post for the last 20 years. Under Wilson, charity dollars went from $270,900 in 1993 to over $1 million each year for the past seven years. The tournament has led the PGA TOUR tournaments television ratings 15 of the past 20 years. The tournament’s purse has increased from $1 million in 1993 with the winner receiving $180,000, to $6 million in 2012 of which the champion will receive $1,080,000.

Alvarado Hospital and Paradise Valley Hospital Appointments Announced

Luis Leon has been appointed regional CEO for Alvarado Hospital Medical Center in San Diego and Paradise Valley Hospital in National City. Leon has been with Prime Healthcare Services for 16 years. Over the last four years, he has been the CEO of Paradise Valley Hospital. Peter Adamo has been appointed the new administrator for Alvarado Hospital. He most recently was the executive director of Kindred’s Healthcare’s five-hospital district in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Neerav Jadeja has been appointed administrator for Paradise Valley Hospital in National City. Jadeja most recently was the chief operating officer of Inland Valley and Rancho Springs hospitals in Riverside County.

New Leases

• Sugar and Spice has leased 1,000 square feet of retail space at 2820 University Ave. in North Park from University Utah LLC. The property, leased for $113,536, will be used for skin care spa. The lessee and lessor were represented by JP Sutro and David Strauss of Cushman & Wakefield.

• Eduardo and Guadalupe Alvarado have leased 2,500 square feet of R&D space at 2573 Market St. from Tiger Central Development. The property, leased for 61 months at $148,424, will be used for U-Haul rental trucks. The lessee was represented by Mark Lewkowitz & Tim Mills of Cushman & Wakefield. The lessor was also represented by Lewkowitz and Mills.

• Biotix Inc. has leased 45,655 square feet of R&D space at 9880 Mesa Rim Road from FR/CAL Mesa Rim. The property has leased for 91 months at $3.3 million. The lessee was represented by Shaun Burnett of Hughes Marino. The lessor was represented by Mickey Morera and James Duncan of Cushman & Wakefield.

• Dooran America Inc. has purchased a 12,500 square feet building at 499 Raven St. from Raven Street Properties. The property was sold for $1.45 million.  The buyer was represented by Hyo Choi of Team Spirit Realty.  The seller was represented by Mickey Morera and Jeff Brown of Cushman & Wakefield.

Grim News For the Grim Avenue Post Office

Nearly three years after the Postal Regulatory Commission placed the tiny North Park Post Office on a potential closure list, the second shoe has finally dropped. The U.S. Postal Service has announced that the office at 3791 Grim Avenue will be closed on July 2 and its functions will be consolidated with the Hillcrest Post Office at 3911 Cleveland Ave. the next day. The Postal Service advised North Park postal customers that they can do their postal business in Hillcrest or at several “nearby” post offices, including ones in City Heights, Normal Heights, Mission Valley and in Downtown San Diego.

“We’re in big financial trouble,” said Eve Jackson, spokeswoman for the Postal Service in San Diego, Palm Springs and San Bernardino. “We’re losing $7 billion this year and we lost $8.5 billion last year. Our mail volume is declining and people’s habits are changing.”

The announcement came as a surprise to some North Park residents. Nikki Berdy, president of the North Park Community Association, said she assumed the Grim Avenue office would remain open because nothing had been heard from the Postal Service since the potential closure list was announced in August 2009.

Liz Studebaker, executive director of North Park Main Street, expressed dismay at the decision. “The post office closure will leave a gaping hole in service for the North Park community, both commercial and residential,” said Studebaker. “This is comparable to losing a library or fire station. Our community will be at a disadvantage as a result.”

North Park Main Street’s board of directors joined a chorus of pleas from local politicians, residents and others to keep the Grim Avenue office open, including this entreaty by District 3 Councilman Todd Gloria to Congresswoman Susan Davis in 2009: “North Park has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years that has seen renewed investment in the neighborhood and a booming arts and culture district. While small businesses and first-time home buyers are investing in this community, it would send a terrible message for the Postal Service to walk away from North Park.”

The U.S. Postal Services leases the Grim Avenue building and parking lot from the Banthien Family Trust of Northern California. The Banthien family has owned the building since 1984. That lease expires in 2014, according to Barbara Bantien, co-trustee of the family trust. She said the Postal Service has hired a broker from Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial to try to find someone to sublease the post office building for the balance of that lease.

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Small Business Workshops

SCORE San Diego continues its series of low-cost workshops. Fees range from $29 to $109, depending on the program. To register online, visit score-sandiego.org. For more information, call (619) 557-7272.

• June 8 – Business Plan 101: How to Develop Your Best Competitive Advantage – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $79, $89 at the door)

• June 9 – Internet Marketing 201 – Build Your Business through Search Engine Optimization – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door)

• June 9 – Financial Statements – What They Mean, How to Use Them – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door)

• June 10 – Hiring and Managing Employees – 9 a.m. to noon at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door)

• June 11 – Introduction to Starting Your Own Business – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door)

• June 14 – Business Basics 101 – 9 a.m. to noon at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; No charge – please pre-register)

• June 14 – Managing Grants and Contracts – 9 to 11:30 a.m. at The San Diego Foundation in Point Loma (2508 Historic Decatur Road, #200, San Diego 92106; pre-paid registration $39, $49 at the door)

• June 15 – Internet Marketing 303 – Social Media for Small Businesses – 9 a.m. to noon at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door)

• June 17 – Import/Export – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door)

• June 18 – QuickBooks Basic – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door)

• June 18 – Effective Marketing – Identify and Target Your Customers – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door)

• June 21 – Financing Your Business – 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)

• June 22 – Business Plan 201: How to Write a Winning Business Plan – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $99, $109 at the door)

• June 28 – Introduction to Starting Your Own Business – 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)

• June 29 – Tax Considerations for Small Business – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door)

• June 30 – Business Basics 101 – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; no charge – please pre-register)

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The Daily Business Report is produced by REP Publishing Inc., publisher of SD METRO, the North Park News, Kensington News and the West Coast Craftsman. Contact: Manny Cruz (619) 287-1865.