Daily Business Report-July 17, 2013
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Recall Effort Gearing Up
A budding movement to recall Mayor Bob Filner planned its next step Tuesday as more former supporters called on him to resign in the wake of accusations that he sexually harassed several women, U-T San Diego reports. A recall rally is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday outside City Hall to sign up volunteers for the cause. With Filner steadfast in his refusal to resign, City Hall settled into what could be a long and drawn out civic ordeal.
There were no new revelations about the mayor, but the political arm of the local National Organization for Women and the League of Conservation Voters joined the growing chorus calling for him to step down. Democratic civic booster George Mitrovich had raised concerns about Filner’s “rude and crude” treatment of others well before the latest lurid allegations. He hasn’t yet called on his longtime friend to resign but said that moment could be coming. For the full story…
Political Analyst: Recall Effort Would Fail
An effort to recall San Diego Mayor Bob Filner would likely fail, according to a political analyst. “At this point, there’s no major financial meltdown, there’s bad tempers at City Hall but personality alone isn’t a measure of a high crime, misdemeanor or impeachable offense,” Carl Luna told 10News. He admitted Filner has a polarizing personality which could be why some people are unhappy with him. Bumper stickers have been popping up around town that read, “Recall Filner before it’s too late.” It is not known who is responsible for the message or whether it is a serious attempt to unseat the mayor. Luna said it is possible to get a recall referendum on the ballot, but it would be a stretch: “I don’t think Bob Filner has alienated nearly enough people to drive that. I think it would actually solidify his support and rally the troops behind him in an increasingly Democratic town.”
Filner did not seem too concerned about recall rumors.
“It’s obviously on somebody’s mind,” the mayor told 10News reporter Allison Ash, calling it a “pretty dramatic step to take if you disagree with someone.”
Filner’s New Hire Won’t Cut it With Council President
Mayor Bob Filner is digging in his heels — he’s said he won’t resign in the wake of continued accusations of sexual harassment, but he said the hiring of Walt Ekard will allow him to fight for his innocence. There are a growing number of others who don’t take that same view, like City Council President Todd Gloria, who said it was too little, too late.
“We do not have a staffing problem at the city. We have a mayor problem,” Gloria said. “And so these hires, as good as they are, are not sufficient to solve the leadership crisis that we have at the city.”
UC San Diego political scientist Steven Erie said the hire is actually a constructive outcome from a bad situation. “He would have needed to do something anyway. His office was not well-managed, lots of people, not only the business community but his core supporters his progressive supporters, has difficulty getting through gate keepers in the Mayor’s Office,” Erie said. “It was a real problem.”
Erie said right now, the Mayor’s Office is basically in receivership, but he said not to make too much out of the fact that Filner has brought in a conservative republican like Ekard to run his office. “Certinaly this is an attempt to build a rapport with the business community. I wouldn’t call it a Republican coup,” he said. “If you know anything about Bob Filner, right, I mean he’s not going to tremendously surrender power.”
Padres Name Mike Dee President and CEO
The San Diego Padres today named Mike Dee president and chief executive officer to replace Tom Garfinkel, who resigned earlier this month. Dee most recently served as the CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Sun Life Stadium since May 3, 2009. He returns to San Diego after spending eight seasons with the Padres from 1995-2002, joining the club as director of corporate development before several promotions that lead to his appointment as senior vice president of business affairs in 2001.
RoboSub Competition to be Held July 22-28 in San Diego
Robotic boats designed and built by students from several schools and universities, including San Diego City College, will be competing July 22-28 in the 16th annual International RoboSub Competition to be held at the
U.S. Navy’s research pool (TRANSDEC) on Point Loma. The goal of the competition is to advance the development of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) by challenging a new generation of engineers to perform realistic missions in an underwater environment.
Boats will be judged on design and performance. The performance competition includes tests for propulsion and speed, navigation and channel following. One event includes the boat shooting a target with a water gun and attempting an amphibious landing. The event is hosted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and the U.S. Office of Naval Research. The event is meant to keep young engineers excited about careers in science, technology, engineering and math and the sponsors say it has been successful in recruiting students into the high-tech field of maritime robotics. Some 36 national and international collegiate teams, as well as a few high school teams will compete.
Joan and Irwin Jacobs Donate $1 Million
Toward Cancer Therapy Center at UC San Diego
Philanthropists Joan and Irwin Jacobs have contributed $ 1 million to help UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center change how cancer is treated. The funds will support the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy, a newly established center headed by Razelle Kurzrock, M.D. The Moores Cancer Center is one of just 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States, and the only one in the San Diego region. “Thanks to the generosity of Joan and Irwin Jacobs, UC San Diego will strengthen our leading role in the future of cancer research,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “We are grateful for the Jacobses’ longstanding commitment to improving the lives of San Diegans, and for their confidence in UC San Diego’s ability to positively impact this critical area of health care.”
Credit Union Holds Free Paper Shredding Event
San Diego County Credit Union invites the public to its Super Shred Event featuring free document shredding services from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Qualcomm Stadium northwest parking lot at 9449 Friars Road. SDCCU is hoping to shred the Guinness World Record for most shred paper collected in 24 hours. The current world record of 111,920 pounds of paper is held by Comerica Bank, Iron Mountain and KDFW FOX 4 in Dallas. The public is invited to bring their old documents containing personal and confidential information to be shred on the spot at no charge.
Federal Contracts
• Cubic Defense Applications Inc., San Diego, won a $518,702 federal contract from the Defense Logistics Agency, Richmond, Va., for audio switching groups.
• Royal Communications International, Oceanside, won a $104,740 federal contract from the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Acquisitions, Rosslyn, Va., for high frequency vocoders.
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American Indians for Higher Education
The American Indian Recruitment Program was established at SDSU to promote success in academics in the American Indian community
By Hallie Jacobs
SDSU NewsCenter
In 1993, Dwight Lomayesva (’99), a Hopi Tribe member and San Diego State University student, noticed a shortage of American Indians in higher education.
In an effort to increase American Indian enrollment, he partnered with the SDSU Department of American Indian Studies to promote higher education and success in the American Indian community — American Indian Recruitment was born.
Twenty years later, the program that caters to young members of San Diego American Indian tribes is still going strong.
Since the program’s inception, more than 1,500 American Indian students have received assistance, including supplemental educational instruction through tutoring, mentoring and various activities designed to help them achieve success.
“Our community is unique because within a tribal community, everyone is like family,” Lomayesva said. “Everyone looks out for each other. This is my way of making a difference.”
More about the program
“The overarching goal of American Indian Recruitment is to ‘plant the seed,’” said Lomayesva. Many students aren’t aware of the benefits of higher education, and the program exposes participants to the opportunities on college campuses.
It is designed for middle and high school students interested in pursuing higher education. Participants benefit from weekly, two-hour, on-campus mentoring session, team building exercises that heighten cultural awareness, as well as discussions and tutoring.
Mentors are current American Indian college students at SDSU, the University of San Diego and the University of California, San Diego. They give campus tours and teach participants about application requirements, strategies to fulfill academic standards, school policies and student support programs.
When the students visit college campuses, mentors make them aware of resources such as the Educational Opportunity Program, grants and scholarships.
Mapping history
San Diego has a vibrant American Indian community, with 18 active tribes and 16 reservations. One of the program’s initiatives is to map out regions of San Diego that are important to the different tribes.
“Every tribe has regions that are specific to their traditions, and in addition to these regions, there are oral histories,” Lomayesva said. “When we lose these locations, some of our history dies.”
