Daily Business Report — Nov. 8, 2011
Most Admired Companies
We’re now gathering nominations for the Most Admired Companies in San Diego County and you can participate. Send us your nominations via email and answer these questions: Name, phone number and email address of the person submitting the nomination. The name of the company being nominated, along with its address and the name, phone number and email of the person heading the company. Give your reasons why the company should be honored. Email your nominations to rebecapage@sandiegometro.com. The results will be published in the December issue of SD METRO.
Director Hired to Rent Out North Park Theatre
Lyric Opera San Diego (Lyric at the Birch) was to announce today the hiring of a new executive director to oversee renting out and managing the North Park Theatre, according to Voice of San Diego. The new executive director, Joe Altbaum has been working as a consultant for the theater for a few months. A former performer and administrative worker at both Lyric and across town at Starlight Musical Theatre, Altbaum said he wants to “change the face of what the Birch North Park Theatre was,” Voice of San Diego reported.
Lyric at the Birch, managing owner of the theater, has cancelled the remainder of its season after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of an inability to meet mortgage payments and diminished ticket sales and donations.
South Bay Power Plant Demolition Plan Moves Ahead
Dynegy South Bay has filed a coastal development permit application with the California Coastal Commission for the demolition of the above-ground structures at the South Bay Power Plant in Chula Vista. The permit is the first step in removing the 50-year-old power plant from the waterfront. On Oct. 25, the Port of San Diego and Dynegy South Bay signed an agreement that calls for a two-step process of dismantling the power plant. It includes removal of the above-ground structures followed by a removal of subsurface structures and in-water structures. Once a coastal development permit has been issued, Dynegy South Bay may file a demolition permit with the city of Chula Vista for the above-ground structures.
Community College District to Elect Trustees by District
Beginning in the 2012 elections, voters in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District will elect governing board members by district rather districtwide. Public hearings will be held Nov. 15 and Dec. 13 on the new areas being proposed for election of the five board members. Trustees have been elected at-large by voters in the more than 1,100-square-mile East County district that stretches from the East County cities of El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Santee to the Imperial County line. The district will be divided into five trustee areas and voters in those areas will elect a trustee to represent them. The top two vote-getters in the primary will face each other in the November 2012 general election.
The college district is one of many government agencies around California that are revising their elections process to comply with the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. District elections provide greater assurance that minority populations are equitably represented at the voting booth.
The public is invited to comment on the proposals at a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Cuyamaca College student center, 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, El Cajon. A second public hearing will be held Dec. 13 at Griffin Gate at Grossmont College, 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon.
The college district hired consultants from National Demographics Corp. to draw up the maps creating five trustee areas with approximately equal populations. Almost 465,000 people live in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, with about 90 percent of them residing west of Alpine. According to the 2010 census, the district is 60 percent white, 25 percent Hispanic, 7 percent African-American, 5 percent Asian and 3 percent other.
In drawing the boundary lines, the consultants considered factors including already-established communities such as the East County cities, natural boundaries such as canyons or highways, and creating trustee areas with compact, contiguous territory as much as possible.
More information about redistricting, including the proposed district maps and census data, is available at www.gcccd.edu.
All People’s Breakfast Set for Jan. 16 in Downtown
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist José Antonio Vargas will give the keynote address at the 24th annual All People’s Breakfast — “All People Speak” — Jan. 16 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront in Downtown San Diego. The two-hour program begins at 7:30 a.m. The event is being presented by Equality Alliance of San Diego County. Admission is $40 per person, $400 per table. The legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be honored. Vargas is the author of an essay, “My Life As An Undocumented Immigrant,” that was published by the New York Times Magazine in June 2011. Vargas was born in the Philippines in 1981 and emigrated to the United States at the age of 12. He’s been a journalist for more than a decade, writing for several news organizations such as The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post and The New Yorker and Rolling Stone magazines. Most recently, he was a senior contributing editor at the Huffington Post.
Small Business Workshops
SCORE San Diego continues its series of small business workshops. For more information, call (619) 557-7272 or visit score-sandiego.org.
· Nov. 9 – Good Governance for Nonprofits – 9 to 11:30 a.m. at The San Diego Foundation in Point Loma (2508 Historic Decatur Rd., #200, San Diego 92106; pre-paid registration $39, $49 at the door).
· Nov. 9 – Business Basics 101 – 9 a.m. to noon at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Avenue, San Diego 92123; no charge – please pre-register).
· Nov. 12 – Internet Marketing 101: Use the Internet to Successfully Market Your Business – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Avenue, San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).
· Nov. 12 – Introduction to Starting Your Own Business – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Avenue, San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).
The Daily Business Report is produced by REP Publishing Inc., publisher of SD METRO, the North Park News and the West Coast Craftsman. Contact: Manny Cruz (619) 287-1865.
