Daily Business Report — April 18, 2013
City Attorney Releases List of Employees
Targeted for Layoffs by Mayor Filner
KPBS — The San Diego City Attorney’s Office on Wednesday released a list of what it says are specific employees targeted by Mayor Bob Filner for layoffs. The list was requested under the California Public Records Act. No names of specific employees are included on the document. Instead, job titles and three position numbers are listed. The City Attorney’s Office included a supplemental document that matches the three listed position numbers with three specific employees: Assistant City Attorney Andrew Jones, Deputy Director Tanya Tomlinson and Communications Director Jonathan Heller.
Position numbers of 10 other employees were redacted by the City Attorney’s Office because they are not the city attorney’s personal staff, said an email from Deputy City Attorney Bill Gersten.
Heller said the individual position numbers are unique to each person. “So, if the City Council sustains the cut, the person is laid off and his/her job position is eliminated from the budget,” he wrote in an email.
Filner’s budget proposal suggests cutting $1.4 million from the City Attorney’s office, equivalent to 13 jobs. City Attorney Jan Goldsmith has engaged in numerous public clashes with Filner. Filner’s office did not return requests for comment.
In a prepared statement Monday, Goldsmith said the supplemental document identified specific employees in the City Attorney’s Office who should be laid off. “While we understand the mayor has made public statements to the effect that specific cuts to the City Attorney’s budget would be up to the city attorney, those statements don’t explain why the mayor has taken the unusual step of identifying people by name to be laid off and eliminating their job positions,” Goldsmith’s statement said. “We are certainly willing to work with the City Council on our budget, as we have each year. But, if we need to reduce our budget, we will not allow the mayor to decide who gets laid off. Under the city charter, we are an independent office and we will make those decisions.”
In a prepared statement on Monday, City Council President Todd Gloria said the cut to the City Attorney’s Office was “curious and unlikely to be implemented as proposed given the council’s preference to limit the use of outside counsel.”
Foundation Awards $50,000 in Matching
Grants to Economic Development Councils
The San Diego Foundation’s Malin Burnham Center for Civic Engagement has awarded San Diego’s East County Economic Development Council and the South County Economic Development Council $50,000 each in matching grants. The grant to the East County council will help develop an Aerotropolis roadmap for the area surrounding the Gillespie Field airport in El Cajon. It is a concept that calls for the creation of a concentrated trade and industry hub that leverages airports and their surrounding areas to stimulate economic growth. The grant to the South County council will serve as a source to attract new investment and promote job growth.
SDG& E Energy Showcase Expo: May 8
San Diego Gas & Electric’s eighth annual Energy Showcase Expo, designed to help local businesses learn how to save energy and money, will be staged May 8 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, 1380 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 local, national and international exhibitors will showcase energy-saving technologies and services. Admission is free.
Historical Archive Room Opens
The National City Historic Archive Room has opened at National City’s Brick Row. The room, open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., features old police and cemetery records, Kimball family archives and memorabilia and books about the history of National City, dating back to the 1800s. It is named after the Kimball family, credited with opening the first free school and bringing citrus and olive industries to the West. Admission to the archive room is free to the public. Donations are accepted and will be put toward historic preservation in National City. The Kimball Museum and Hannah Lee’s Victorian Teahouse, both located in Brick Row, are also open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tours are available by appointment by calling (619) 962-4128.
El Cajon Apartments Sold for $2.35 Million
Southwinds Apartments LLC has purchased a 22-unit apartment complex at 909 Sunshine Ave. in El Cajon for $2.35 million. The seller was Southwinds Apartments Inc. The two-building complex totals 17,978 square feet. Colliers International represented the seller.
Human Capital Factor Business Forum
Education and workforce development issues in northern San Diego will be addressed during an April 23 Human Capital Factor Business Forum put together by the San Diego North Chamber of Commerce, the Institute for a Competitive Workforce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It will be held at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, 17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, San Diego. The event lasts from 1 to 8:30 p.m. The keynote address will be by Craig Cheslog, principal adviser to the state superintendent of public instruction. Pre-registration fees valid until April 22 at noon are $30 for members of the organizations and $40 for nonmembers. Admission at the door is $50.
District 4 Primary Candidates Endorse Dwayne Crenshaw
Five out of seven of the candidates who were eliminated in the San Diego City Council District 4 primary have endorsed Dwayne Crenshaw in the district’s runoff on May 21, KPBS reports.Blanca Brown, Bruce Williams, Sandy Spackman, Barry Pollard and Tony Villafranco announced their support at a press conference.The two other primary candidates, lawyer Monica Montgomery and developer Ray Smith, did not make an endorsement. Crenshaw is in a runoff against Myrtle Cole to fill the empty seat on the City Council.
