Daily Business Report-July 26, 2013
Denise Montgomery was hired after a five-month national search.
Leader of Mayor Filner’s Arts Commission Resigns
Only one month into her post, Denise Montgomery is resigning as executive director of the city of San Diego’s Commission for Arts and Culture, KPBS reports. In a brief statement sent via email, she writes: “I wrestled with this decision out of commitment to the arts and culture community, however, I cannot in good conscience remain part of the Filner administration.” The arts commission works with the mayor and city council to manage the city’s arts and culture program, which supports more than 100 San Diego nonprofit organizations through the transient occupancy tax and manages the city’s public art collection.
At a May press conference when her appointment was announced, Montgomery said “I’m thrilled I’ll be working for someone who already has demonstrated a strong commitment to arts and culture and understands the valued role of the arts in society and community life.”
Montgomery was hired after a five-month long national search. She replaced Victoria Hamilton, who founded the Arts and Culture Commission in the 1980s. Montgomery led arts programs for the city of Denver before coming to San Diego. She served as director of marketing for the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Most recently, she has served as a consultant to many local arts organizations through her own consulting firm.
Council OKs Ban on Sale of Dogs and Other Animals in Pet Stores
The San Diego City Council has approved the second and final reading of the Companion Animal Protection Ordinance, which bans the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores in the city. Pet stores have 30 days from date of passage to cease the sale of animals in their stores. “The passing of this ordinance is a very important step forward for animals that are sourced from puppy mills and other large-scale, irresponsible, commercial breeding sources,” said Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA. Sponsored by Councilwoman Lorie Zapf of District Six, the ordinance was created in collaboration with input and support from several animal welfare organizations. The goal of the ordinance is not to target responsible breeders, just commercial breeding operations, i.e. puppy mills, who distribute through pet stores and commercial businesses, said Weitzman. (Scoop San Diego report)
Cross-Border Facility Would Benefit Airline Passengers
Proponents of a unique privately built crossing that would link Tijuana’s A.L. Rodríguez International Airport with a U.S. Customs processing facility in Otay Mesa are preparing to break ground later this year and aiming for completion in 2014, the U-T San Diego reports. Advocates of the long-planned binational project say it will be an important economic engine for the San Diego-Tijuana region. It would allow ticketed passengers who pay a toll to avoid lengthy northbound waits at the congested San Ysidro and Otay Mesa border crossings. Read more…
Poway Plaza Shopping Center Undergoes $3.5 Million Makeover
After undergoing a $3.5 million renovation, the Poway Plaza shopping center will open to the public in August. Nadel Architects designed the remake, which included repurposing the old 40,000-square-foot Dixieline Lumber tenant space into two new retail spaces — one that will house a Michaels arts and crafts store and the other housing a Grocery Outlet. The grand opening of Michaels and Grocery Outlet is set for October. Nadel designed the center to appeal to a national tenant base, said Jim Connelly, managing principal of the architectural firm. Bycor General Contractors was the general contractor for the construction project.
AT&T Launches Home Security Service in San Diego
AT&T will launch a professionally monitored home security and home automation service in San Diego today that will provide remote access and management capabilities. Called AT&T Digital Life, the product is being sold in San Diego AT&T stores. With the service, customers can use their existing home broadband provider, and any wireless phone service, to obtain the security and convenience of a home management system with the flexibility to meet their unique needs. “Whether you need to secure your home, check in on your kids or pets, adjust the temperature, or verify that the garage door is closed, AT&T Digital Life makes it possible to do all this and more, remotely, using your smartphone, tablet or PC — regardless of your wireless or wireline broadband provider,” a company release states.
Customers can choose from two base plans: Simple Security, $29.99 a month plus $149.99 for equipment; or Smart Security, $39.99 a month plus $249.99 for equipment.
New Funding for Kaiser Permanente Genome Sequencing
The Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research announced that it has received $8.1 million from the National Institutes of Health to conduct a novel clinical trial using whole genome sequencing to test women and their partners for mutations that could cause rare, but serious, diseases in their children. Kaiser Permanente is pursuing the work in part because whole genome sequencing allows researchers to locate multiple mutations at the same time, providing an advantage over individual genetic tests.
Ivan Flowers Named Executive Chef at Top of the Market
Ivan Flowers has been hired as the new executive chef at Top of the Market, the seafood restaurant atop the Fish Market in Downtown San Diego. Flowers has 25 years of cuisine experience. He most recently owned Fournos restaurant in Sedona, Ariz., was executive chef at L’Auberge de Sedona, executive chef at Different Pointe of View in Phoenix, lead instructor and chef of L’Ecole restaurant at the Le Cordon Blue SCI Culinary Institute in Scottsdale, and served as chef de cuisine at T. Cooks at the Royal Palms. Flowers’ passion for cooking came from his father, who was chef and owner of Rendezvous Restaurant in New York.
Law Library Program to Examine Amateur/Pro Sports Transition
San Diego Law Library’s Legacy Partner will present “Making the Cut: The Transition from Amateur to Professional Athlete,” from 5 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 12 at the Law Library at 1105 Front St. in Downtown San Diego. Admission is $10. A panel will include Charles Hartford, financial adviser at Merrill Lynch; form pro football player Ron Mix, an attorney; Bob Teaff of Thomas & Teaff; and Harrison Till, financial adviser with The Hartford Group of Merrill Lynch.
