Daily Business Report — March 4, 2013
American Airlines to Offer Nonstop
Service Between San Diego and Miami
American Airlines will launch new service between San Diego International Airport and Miami International Airport this summer — the first time in 20 years that the service has been offered. The daily nonstop flight will be the only service between the two cities. American Airlines served the route briefly from 1992 to1993. Beginning June 12, American will offer daily service between Miami and San Diego International Airport. The flight will be operated with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 150 seats. With the addition of this route, American and American Eagle will now serve San Diego with a combined total of 25 daily flights.
Mission Hills Residential-Retail
Project Sells for $8.6 Million
1Mission Hills, a mixed-use residential and retail building at 4033 Goldfinch St. in Mission Hills, has been sold for $8.6 million to Paragon Acquisitions LLC. Pase de Mission Hills LLC was the seller, represented by Cassidy Turley and Perry Commercial Real Estate. The brokers said the center brings together the meticulous restoration of a turn-of-the-century commercial block and a new five-story residential mid-rise. The property is a recipient of numerous awards. In 2010, 1Mission was awarded the Gold Nugget Award, the oldest building design competition of its kind.
General Dynamics NASSCO Christens USNS Montford Point
NASSCO christened the U.S. Navy’s newest ship, the USNS Montford Point, the first of three Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) vessels being designed and built by the San Diego shipbuilder. The ship is named in honor of Camp Montford Point, the Jacksonville, N.C., site where the first African-American Marines were trained. More than 1,000 people attended the Saturday morning christening ceremony. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus was the principal speaker. MLP ships will serve as a floating base for amphibious operations, and operate as a transfer point between large ships and small landing craft. Following its at-sea testing phase, USNS Montford Point will be delivered to the Navy in the second quarter of 2013.
Ocotillo Wind Project Prevails in Federal District Court
Pattern Energy Group announced that the Federal District Court for the Southern District of California ruled in favor of the Ocotillo Wind project and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in two separate suits before the Court. The Court granted Pattern’s and the BLM’s summary judgment motions in a case brought by the Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation and in a separate case brought by several other parties, including the Desert Protective Council. The Ocotillo Wind project, a 265 megawatt wind power project in Imperial Valley, has 94 turbines that are operational. The remaining 18 turbines will be installed in the spring. Once fully operational, the Ocotillo Wind project will provide enough clean and renewable energy to power nearly 125,000 homes in Southern California each year. Ocotillo Wind is the first renewable energy project to transmit power over the Sunrise Powerlink transmission line, which connects San Diego with the Imperial Valley.
City Revenues Higher than Projected
City News Service — Revenues coming into the city of San Diego are running above projections through the first six months of the fiscal year, and that should result in officials having an extra $3.6 million to spend, according to a report presented to a City Council committee last week. The “Fiscal Year 2013 Mid-Year Budget Monitoring Report,” given to the City Council’s Budget Committee, found that San Diego is on pace to spend $7.7 million more than expected through June 30 but will earn $13.2 million more than had been anticipated. The major contributors of the extra municipal income are property taxes — $14.6 million more than expected thanks, in part, to the dissolution of redevelopment agencies — and $1.9 million extra dollars from hotel room taxes. Once certain accounting adjustments are made, about $3.6 million should be available for spending this fiscal year, according to the report.
Sullivan Solar Power to Install
Large Solar Project at UC San Diego
Sullivan Solar Power said it will install nearly 784,000 watts of new solar power at UC San Diego, saving the university about $2 million over 20 years. The new 763,858-watt solar project will be across seven different sites on the campus: the Biomedical Sciences Library; the Biomedical Science Building; the Bioengineering Building; the Central Utility Plant; the Leichtag Biomedical Research Building; Mayer Hall; and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. In addition to the solar installations, the project will include five more electric vehicle charging stations. The solar panels, inverters and racking materials specified for the newly-awarded project are all manufactured in the United States. The company will be installing 1,986 SunPower 435 watt modules manufactured in Richmond, Calif. Advanced Energy Inverters, manufactured in Bend, Ore., will be used for the project.
Landscape Architects Society Sets
First Program in 2013 Lecture Series
The American Society of Landscape Architects, San Diego will present the first lecture of this year’s lecture series on March 28 — “Education of a Designer —Finding Your Own Way,” with guest speaker Ray Senes. It will be held starting at 6 p.m. at NTC Command Center, Room 1, at Liberty Station in Point Loma. Senes is a veteran landscape architect, practicing for 20 years. He has successfully developed concepts for projects that range from popular lifestyle centers, streetscape retail, community town centers, and boutique hospitality. Senes is part of ima Design Group. Admission is $10 at the door.
BIOCOM Announces Promotion
Rick Fultz has been promoted to the position of vice president of business development at BIOCOM. Fultz also is managing director of the BIOCOM Purchasing Group, which he has headed for the last three years. Prior to managing the Purchasing Group, Fultz has led for profit and nonprofit sales and development efforts and has served as an executive director for a local nonprofit.
Port to Host Eco-Friendly Hull Paint Expo
The Port of San Diego will host its 3rd annual Eco-Friendly Hull Paint Expo on March 16, 2013, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Shelter Island Boat Yard, 2330 Shelter Island Drive in San Diego. Boaters can learn about eco-friendly hull paints and grant funding available to help make the switch. Paint manufacturers, Port of San Diego staff members and representatives of San Diego Bay boatyards will be at the expo to answer questions and provide hull paint demonstrations.Financial incentives are available through a state grant. Shelter Island Yacht Basin boaters may qualify to save between 60 to 75 percent on hull painting costs in addition to cost offsets to remove copper hull paint. To learn more, visit sandiegobaycopperreduction.org, or contact Environmental and Land Use Management at (619) 686-6254.
Orthopedic Surgeon Named Chief
of Sports Medicine at UC San Diego
Nationally recognized orthopedic surgeon Christopher Wahl has joined the UC San Diego Health System as the new chief of sports medicine. Wahl is recognized for his specialty in treating complex, high-energy traumatic sports injuries. He previously was associate professor and team physician for the University of Washington in Seattle, where he was the orthopedic surgeon for the Huskies’ athletic teams, including football, men’s basketball, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and tennis.
Cubic Corp. Awarded Potential $298 Million
Contract for the Littoral Combat Ship Program
Cubic Corp.” Orlando-based Simulation Systems Division announced that it has received three prime contracts from Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division to develop courseware in support of the Littoral Combat Ship program. If fully funded, the three contracts have the potential value of up to $298.5 million over the five years of the contract. San Diego-based Cubic said the contract will result in the creation of jobs for veterans, engineers and new graduates of science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs. The Littoral Combat Ship courseware development programs will be executed in Orlando, Fla. Cubic’s Simulation Systems will partner with Cubic Mission Support Services, and a team of industry leading subcontractors including Austal USA, Alion Science and Technology, Sonalysts Inc., Aptima Inc., Cybernet Systems Corp., RealTime Immersive Inc. and a host of small and economically disadvantaged businesses to deliver the interactive courseware products.
San Diego Navy Ships
Affected By Sequestration Cuts
Sequestration cuts will affect the scheduled deployments of several San Diego-based ships, according to an announcement made by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus this past weekend, KPBS reports. Mabus cancelled eight ship deployments, including the USS Thatch, which deployed from her homeport of San Diego in January. She will be called home early. Other San Diego-based ships affected by the cancellations include the destroyer USS Preble, which was scheduled to deploy April 8, and the USS Rentz, which was scheduled to deploy April 19. Mabus announced that four Navy air wings will be grounded, including Carrier Air Wing 17, which is attached to the San Diego-based USS Carl Vinson.
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The Daily Business Report is produced by SD METRO.
Contact: Manny Cruz (619) 287-1865. manny@sandiegometro.com.
