Daily Business Report-July 16, 2013
Walt Ekard was chief administrative officer for the county of San Diego for 13 years before he left in December.
Filner Picks Respected Bureaucrat to Run the City
Hip deep in controversy, Mayor Bob Filner has tapped one of the region’s most respected bureaucrats to run San Diego’s day-to-day operations.
Walt Ekard, who resigned as San Diego County’s chief administrative officer after 13 years on Dec. 1, has been appointed the city’s interim chief operating officer. Filner had previously hired Ekard on a three-month consulting contract to guide him on good-government practices.
Ekard’s appointment was one of several staffing changes made by the embattled Filner since he’s been accused of sexual harassment by numerous unidentified women.
The turmoil has led many to question whether Filner can properly run the city.
“Some who have called for my resignation have justified it with the claim that the operations of the city will somehow be compromised by the current controversy,” Filner said in a statement. “Today’s announcements make clear the operations of city government will not be negatively impacted.”
June Home Sales Ebb as Median Home Price Continues Upward
California home sales pulled back in June as home prices continued to climb, with most regions posting healthy double-digit, year-over-year gains and the statewide median price maintaining above the $400,000 mark for the third straight month, the California Association of Realtors reported. “Despite a small increase in inventory, the supply of housing remains tight in most parts of the state and continues to fuel home price increases,” said C.A.R. President Don Faught. “The surge in home prices in the past year has given homeowners with previous underwater properties an opportunity to become trade-up buyers. However, many are finding this difficult because they either lack sufficient cash for a down payment or they are concerned that if they sell, they will have no place to go, given limited inventory. Others may be waiting on the sidelines for values to gain even more before selling, which further contributes to tight inventory.”
UC San Diego School of Medicine to Study Risk Factors for Parkinson’s Disease
UC San Diego School of Medicine will be one of 23 official clinical sites of the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative’s (PPMI) new arm to study at-risk populations for Parkinson’s disease . The $55 million landmark observational clinical study was launched in 2010 to define one or more biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease and now seeks to better understand potential risk factors of the disease. The School of Medicine has been a part of PPMI for three years and is currently enrolling for the new, pre-motor arm of the study.
San Diego One of the World’s Most ‘Inventive’ Cities
In a recent Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development ranking, San Diego comes in as the World’s second most inventive city, and first in the United States, based on the number of patent applications filed per 10,000 residents. The city with the highest number of patents filed per capita is Eindhoven, Netherlands, followed by San Diego and San Francisco. San Diego truly is innovation central.
New Director Named for Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate
Dawn R. Eisenberg has been named the new director of the Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate in the College of Business Administration at San Diego State. Eisenberg comes to SDSU from the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington, D.C., where she served as program director/professor at the school’s real estate graduate program. She began her new post on Monday. Eisenberg takes over the position from Michael Lea, who will stay on at SDSU’s College of Business Administration as a visiting professor of real estate. Eisenberg earned her bachelor’s degree in real estate and a juris doctorate degree at Arizona State University. She also earned an LL.M. degree in taxation from the University of San Diego’s School of Law.
UC San Diego Health System Ranked Among Best in Nation
UC San Diego Health System is ranked among the nation’s best in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013-14 “America’s Best Hospitals” issue. The magazine placed UC San Diego Health System No. 1 in the San Diego metropolitan area with national rankings in 10 specialties — placing it among the country’s most prestigious institutions. U.S. News & World Report evaluates hospitals in 16 adult specialties. In most specialties, it ranks the nation’s top 50 hospitals and recognizes other high-performing hospitals that provide care at nearly the level of their nationally ranked peers.
Former Allen Matkins Partners Form New Law Firm
Five former Allen Matkins law partners have launched a new San Diego law firm specializing in the commercial real estate industry. Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard and Swanson LLP — also known as CGS3 — focuses on all aspects of commercial real estate transactions including purchase and sale, financing, construction and development, management and leasing. The office is located at 12750 High Bluff Drive, Suite 320, in the Del Mar Heights area. The founders are Thomas Crosby, Ray Gliner, Dana Schiffman, Sean Southard and Craig Swanson. “By moving away from a large firm platform, we can be more flexible and entrepreneurial in our approach to legal services,” said founding partner Dana Schiffman. “We value our association with Allen Matkins but believe that our leaner structure will better position us to help clients realize their business goals.”
Director of Operations Named for Luna Grill
Daniel Lowe has joined Luna Grill as director of operations, a newly created position. Lowe’s most recent experience is at Chipotle Mexican Grill, where he held various management positions. He was area manager in Washington D.C., and was later promoted to become the operations director for multiple territories including New England, Upstate New York and Minnesota/Wisconsin. Luna Grill is owned by Premier Food Concepts LLC, which is headquartered in San Diego.
Federal Contract
Systems Engineering Support Co. Inc. in San Diego was awarded a federal contract valued at up to $15,189,906 by the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, for the production, assembly, testing and packaging of communication transponder family of systems communication assemblies composed of printed circuit boards, electronic components and external enclosures.
