Home Prices Climb in San Diego County

The median price paid for a home in San Diego County in April was $329,500 — an increase over March’s median of $320,000 and a 2.4 percent jump from April of last year, according to DataQuick of San Diego. Total home sales also increased — from 3,237 in March to 3,559 in April, compared to 3,277 home sales in April of last year.

Statewide — Across Southern California, the median sale price rose year-over-year in April for the first time in 16 months, reflecting stronger, affordability-driven demand and a slimmer inventory of homes for sale – especially low-cost foreclosures, according to DataQuick. The median price paid for a Southland home last month was $290,000, up 3.6 percent from $280,000 in both March this year as well as April 2011. “The housing market continued its painfully slow crawl back toward normalcy last month,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president. “You can see it in the fading role of foreclosures, the uptick in median prices here and there, and the higher levels of sales in coastal counties.”

New County Courthouse Project Gets State Board Approval

The State Public Works Board has approved preliminary plans for the new San Diego Central Courthouse for the Superior Court of San Diego County. Largest of all the projects funded by Senate Bill 1407, the new facility will be located Downtown on 1.4 acres bounded by West C Street, Union Street, West B Street, and State Street. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2014 with completion in late 2016. The project will provide the central San Diego court district with a full-service consolidated facility for criminal, probate, family court, and small claims cases. It will replace the dilapidated San Diego County Courthouse and two other small court buildings deemed unsafe, overcrowded and inadequate for modern court operations. Small claims cases currently heard at the Kearny Mesa courthouse will also move to the new facility, improving service to residents of the central San Diego area. The 22-story, 704,000-square-foot structure will house 71 courtrooms as well as space for public services, court administration, and secure holding of in-custody defendants. It will include a secure underground connection to the nearby San Diego Central Jail and a public circulation bridge to court and county offices in the adjacent Hall of Justice. “This urgently needed replacement of our existing courthouse will offer litigants, court users, the public, and our judges and employees a safe and modern environment that will greatly improve access to our courts,” said Presiding Judge Robert J. Trentacosta.

Vanguard Space Technologies Receives Multi-Million Dollar Contract

Vanguard Space Technologies Inc. of San Diego has been awarded a multi-million dollar subcontract from Lockheed Martin for fabrication and testing of two spacecraft bus structures for the Air Force’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Satellite. The AEHF Satellite Program is the next generation of global, highly secure, survivable communications systems for warfighters within all services of the Department of Defense. Vanguard is a supplier of high-performance composite structural components and systems for space products. Vanguard specializes in the engineering, fabrication and testing of high-performance composite structures for space. The company’s main product lines include antennas, reflectors, spacecraft bus structures, solar array substrates, dimensionally-stable optical benches, and multi-functional composite structures.

Trigild Appointed Receiver for Puerto Rico Residential Project

San Diego-based Trigild has been appointed receiver and asset manager of Ocean Club at Seven Seas, a 300-unit luxury residential community in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The property is the firm’s first outside the continental United State. The U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico made the appointment. The FDIC, which took over the property for the failed Westernbank Puerto Rico, is the property’s current lender and requested that Trigild be appointed receiver over the property, which was valued at $80 million when constructed in 2007, according to Josh Hall of Trigild.

SDSU’s Hospitality Master’s Program Gets Final Approval

San Diego State University’s new master’s degree program in hospitality tourism and management has been given final approval by the California State University chancellor’s office. The program is aimed at mid-level managers with five to 15 years of experience who want to advance to the next level of leadership as a director, general manager or CEO within a hospitality, recreation or tourism organization or agency. The program will be offered through the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and administered by SDSU’s College of Extended Studies. Students wanting to enter the program must apply before the June 15 deadline. For more information, call (858) 451-6096.

Mayoral Debate Set for May 30

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association will host a mayoral debate May 30 with candidates Carl DeMaio, Bonnie Dumanis, Bob Filner and Nathan Fletcher at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center. The program lasts from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Tickets are $49 apiece.

PERSONNEL MOVES ____________________________________

San Diego — Brooke Tabshouri has joined Fisher & Phillips LLP as an associate in its La Jolla area office. Tabshouri focuses her practice on representing employers and management in a variety of aspects of labor and employment law, including wrongful termination litigation and wage and hour violations. including class action disputes, wrongful termination, and employer training. Tabshouri previously held a position as a research attorney for Judge Richard D. Huffman of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, in San Diego.