Daily Business Report — April 2, 2013
40 Under 40 Awards
A Salute to 40 Outstanding San Diegans
We’re seeking nominations for our annual 40 Under 40 Awards, which will be presented in September. We’re looking for men and women who you believe represent some of the best and brightest citizens of our community. Email your nominations to: rebecapage@sandiegometro.com. Please give a full description of your nominee’s standing in the community, their accomplishments and awards. Provide your name, phone number and email address.
Construction Begins on Pipeline
For Carlsbad Desalination Plant
The San Diego County Water Authority broke ground last week on a huge pipeline in San Marcos that will carry water from a desalination plant under construction in Carlsbad, KPBS reports. The 10-mile-long pipe is part of a $1 billion project to add desalted ocean water to the region’s drinking water system. The ceremony marked the official beginning of the construction of the pipeline to bring desalinated water from the coast, though the actual pipe has not yet arrived to be installed. The pipe will be big: 4.5 feet in diameter, and it will run through a six-foot casing, so burying it through the middle of urbanized North County won’t go unnoticed. But Tom Wornham, chair of the San Diego County Water Authority, said all the disruption will be worth it, and so will the $159 million cost for the pipeline alone. The plant, said to be the biggest desalination plant in the western hemisphere, could provide up to seven percent of the region’s drinking water supply. It will cost $537 million and the bonds used to pay for its construction will be paid off through future water rates. Interest on the bonds, the pipeline and modifications to the water authority system bring the cost up to more than $1 billion.
Californians’ Median Income Rises
The statewide median income for all 2011 individual tax returns was $34,684, an increase of 2.2 percent over 2010’s median income amount. For joint returns, the statewide median income was $68,122, an increase of 3.6 percent over 2010, according to the Franchise Tax Board. The median income in San Diego County was $36,352 for individual tax returns. For joint returns, the median was $70,705. Californian taxpayers filed 15.8 million 2011 state income tax returns, reporting $1.1 trillion of adjusted gross income. This is an increase of 5.7 percent from tax year 2010 figures. Over the past 40 years, the Bay Area counties of Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Contra Costa have consistently reported the highest median incomes. Marin County still has the highest median income for joint returns, reporting $120,170, an increase of 5.4 percent over 2010.
Power Managers Hope for a Mild Summer
Power Grid managers expect there to be enough electricity this summer, if the summer is mild and trouble free, KPBS reports. California is preparing for a second summer without the nuclear reactors at San Onofre. Southern California Edison is working to generate electricity at the troubled facility, but the plant’s future remains clouded. The region stayed plugged in last summer in large part because of a major new transmission line feeding San Diego’s appetite for electricity. “The Sunrise Powerlink is transmission so we’re able to bring more power into the region, about 800 megawatts,” said San Diego Gas and Electric’s Jennifer Ramp. “But, we also need that base-load generation in this region to keep the grid stable to keep the voltage frequencies where they need to be and so that’s why we would need extra generation, local generation to keep the grid stable.”
Retail Expert Joins Jones Lang LaSalle Retail
David Bradley has joined Jones Lang LaSalle Retail as a retail expert. He will partner with West Coast Retail Market Lead Craig Killman and Vice President Bryan Cunningham to extend the firm’s retail brokerage capabilities. Bradley has completed more than 75 transactions in the region valued at more than $50 million. Bradley earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa. He received the distinction of CoStar Power Broker in 2011, and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers .
Broad Coalition Seeking Designation
as Center for Unmanned Systems
San Diego Regional EDC and a number of partners from industry organizations and private companies are working to attain status as a center of excellence (COE) for unmanned systems. San Diego is already well known for developing and manufacturing unmanned autonomous systems (UAS). The industry supports more than 7,000 jobs and accounts for more than 12 percent of all Department of Defense contracting activities in San Diego County, according to an industry report prepared by the San Diego North Chamber of Commerce. The report also concluded that the industry has the potential to double its economic impact over the next seven years. Recently, Northrop Grumman announced that the company would designate its Rancho Bernardo facility as their center of excellence for UAS development. The move is expected to bring an additional 300 jobs to the San Diego region.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued the request for information. They intend to designate six Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) test sites across the Continental United States in order to integrate UAS into national airspace.
The geographic area of the proposed site encompasses a vast area of land extending from Edwards Air Force Base and the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake south to the Mexican border and east to the Arizona border. The regional coalition includes San Diego Military Advisory Council, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems, Imperial Valley EDC, County of Imperial, Holtville Airport in Imperial County, and defense contractors including General Atomics, Cubic, Epsilon Systems and Northrop Grumman. This group joined forces with the California Unmanned Air Systems Portal, based in Indian Wells in Riverside County, which enabled the proposal to include such a large area. The proposed test range region is geographically diverse, including airspace over mountain ranges, high and low desert, and the ocean.
About 40 applications have been submitted seeking to become one of the six test sites.
Mercado Del Barrio Completed
By PCL Construction Services
PCL Construction Services Inc. has completed Mercado Del Barrio for Shea Properties. The project is a mixed-use residential and retail project located in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego and is spread over two city blocks. It includes 13,862 square feet of retail space and a 209-stall, three-story parking structure. The project also includes a grocery store, which was built and operated by Northgate Gonzales Markets and 92 affordable apartment units that were built and managed by Chelsea Investment Corp.
“The completion of this project is reason for celebration as the Barrio Logan community has waited 20-plus years for the development of this parcel,” said Glenn Evans, Project Manager for PCL Construction Services.
PCL’s project team included Glenn Evans, project manager; Duane Siefers, superintendent; Patrick Goforth, project engineer; and Michelle Iskandar, field engineer. The architect was Safdie Rabines Architects.
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The Daily Business Report is produced by SD METRO.
Contact: Manny Cruz (619) 287-1865. manny@sandiegometro.com.
