Daily Business Report-Aug. 22, 2013
Mayor Bob Filner
Will He Resign?
Tentative Agreement
Reached in Filner Case
The San Diego City Council will meet in closed session Friday afternoon to vote on a tentative settlement with embattled Mayor Bob Filner that could possibly lead to his resignation and the calling of a special election to fill the mayor’s seat. A proposed resolution to the sexual harassment scandal was reached on the third day of mediation late Wednesday, but the actual contents were not disclosed.
The mayor has been in talks with City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, members of the City Council and Gloria Allred, the lawyer representing the mayor’s former communications officer, Irene McCormack Jackson, who is suing the mayor and the city.
Allred has called a press conference at 1 p.m. today in Los Angeles, where she and Filner’s former fiancee, Bronwyn Ingram, will speak. Both women have previously called on Filner to resign. Allred said in a press release that she would address the “latest reports about Mayor Filner and a reported deal with him.”
KPBS confirmed that the council will meet in closed session at 1 p.m. Friday to consider the settlement. The results of the vote will be announced during a public session.
If the mayor resigns, the San Diego city charter specifies there are 90 days to fill the seat with a special election. Those 90 days begin with the date specified in a letter of resignation that is submitted to the city clerk.
If no one candidate gets a majority of votes in the special election another 49 days is provided for a run-off.
In the meantime, City Council President Todd Gloria would fill the mayor’s role immediately, but he would not have the power of the mayoral veto.
Gregg Parise Named President and CFO of Bump Network
Portfolio company Bump Network has named Gregg Parise as its new president and CFO. Parise has 20 years of portfolio management and financial market experience. He has spent the last 12 years as the founder and portfolio manager of various Long/Short equity Hedge Funds, including, LINC Asset Management, Calimar Capital and Dorado Capital Management. Parise was hired away from Hambrecht & Quist as the senior vice president and co-manager of the equity trading department at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Fla.
World Trade Center to Launch Latin America Desk
World Trade Center San Diego will officially launch the new Latin America Desk at an Aug. 28 event at the Luce Lofts, 1037 J St. in Downtown San Diego. Hosting the launch with the World Trade Center will be UC San Diego, Cange International and City Councilman Mark Kersey. The Latin America Desk is being launched to aid the region’s bi-national business region with Latin American needs. For information, visit www.wtcsd.org/events/wtcsd-calendar.
Two Studies Identify Potential New Drug For Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
Vedolizumab, a new intravenous antibody medication, has shown positive results for treating both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, according to researchers at UC San Diego’s School of Medicine. The findings, published in two papers, will appear in today’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. “The two trials showed highly encouraging results for patients suffering from moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis when conventional therapy such as steroids, immune suppressive drugs and anti-tumor necrosis factor biologic drugs failed,” said William Sandborn, principal investigator of the study.
Hillside Gardens Sells for $7.5 Million
Hillside Gardens, a 58-unit apartment property in Oceanside, has been sold for $7,490,000 to Koyl Real Estate Ventures. The seller was MG Properties. Marcus & Millichap marketed the property on behalf of the seller. Built in 1971, the property occupies a 1.77-acre parcel. The property is comprised of a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units totaling 51,146 rentable square feet. The complex has three two- and three-story, wood frame and stucco buildings with concrete slab foundations and pitched roofs. Zorbas, Weston, and Sperling assisted MG Properties in the sale of 555 Greenbrier, a 44-unit apartment complex that is adjacent to the 58 units.
Epic Sciences Names President and CEO
Epic Sciences Inc., a private biotech company that develops cancer diagnostics, announced the appointment of Murali K. Prahalad as president and CEO. Prahalad was formerly vice president of Corporate Strategy at Life Technologies. He was with Life Technologies since 2005, where he held multiple positions of increasing responsibility. His experience ranged from mergers and acquisitions to in-licensing and general management, where he led large businesses that spanned genomics to cell biology.
Pacific Rim Park Completes Seventh Park Build in Taiwan
Artist and architectural designer James Hubbell, 82, has finished his seventh Pacific Rim Park project, created to connect people from across the Pacific. The new Taiwan park was designed and built in four weeks, from July 13 to Aug. 10 and connected over 30 architectural student volunteers from eight different countries.
“This new park, ‘Pacific Birth,’ is another testament to the purpose and mission of Pacific Rim Park – providing an opportunity for Pacific cultures to come together in a shared project and vision to remind us how connected we are,” said Pacific Rim Park Executive Director Kyle Bergman. “The park is a portal for quiet reflection, sitting on the bench, looking out to the ocean and knowing that the Pacific can hold us together or keep us apart – it’s our choice and the park hopes to foster a connection and sense of a Pacific family.”
The bricks in the wall of the park were donated by one of the few remaining brick factories in Kaoshuing. The students had toured the factory during the first week and each student made a clay tile that was fired and incorporated into the walls.
Pacific Rim Park locations include Vladivistok, Russia (1994), San Diego, Calif. (1998), Yantai, China (2001), Baja California (2004) and Puerto Princesa, Philippines (2009), and Jeju Island, Korea (2010).
