Daily Business Report-Jan. 16, 2014
Interim Mayor Todd Gloria. (File Photo).
Gloria Sets Ambitious Agenda for San Diego
State of the City Address
By City News Service
Interim Mayor Todd Gloria applauded San Diego’s recovery from this summer’s leadership crisis and set a remarkably ambitious agenda for the years ahead in Wednesday night’s annual State of the City Address.
Gloria, who assumed the mayor’s job after disgraced former Mayor Bob Filner stepped down Aug. 30, said San Diego faced “an unprecedented crisis of confidence” that he believed would be difficult to resolve.
He said he had to get the “machinery of government” functioning again, restore confidence in the city and its leaders, and rebuild the morale of 10,000 municipal employees.
“Tough challenges, to be sure, but necessary for reaching a place where we could all, once again, be proud to be San Diegans,” Gloria said in the roughly 38-minute speech at the Balboa Theatre.
He thanked the employees for getting the city back on track this fall.
The September opening of the new Central Library near Petco Park is a “roadmap” for what San Diegans can accomplish when they work hard and collaborate, he said.
Click here for the full text of the State of the City Address…
“Ladies and gentleman, we must dream big,” Gloria said. “San Diego will always be America’s Finest City. But we shouldn’t be content with just being fine. We must dare to be great.”
He proposed tackling the city’s backlog of infrastructure projects — which could top $2 billion — with an “aggressive” bond issue on top of a $120 million bond approved by the City Council on Tuesday. The bond should go before voters in 2016, he said.
McCarthy Cook & Co. and Partner
Acquire Canyon Plaza Office Complex
McCarthy Cook & Co. has partnered with AllianceBernstein U.S. Real Estate Partners to purchase Canyon Plaza, a two-building, 213,000-square-foot office complex in the Sorrento Mesa area of San Diego. The purchase price was not disclosed. CareFusion Corp., a health care company, occupies nearly half of the project through a lease.
The business plan will include the redevelopment of common areas and lobbies and the creation of project amenities such as a tenant lounge, café and fitness center. The San Diego office of Gensler Architects will lead the design efforts of the common areas and amenities. Jones Lang LaSalle has been retained to market the project to both full campus and multi-tenant users.
Canyon Plaza was built in 1986 and expanded in 1993. It was previously master-leased to Conexant Systems.
San Diego Economy Examined
Local economists and other experts will discuss San Diego’s economy in the year ahead at the 30th annual San Diego County Economic Roundtable on Friday from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice on the campus of the University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego. There is no admission charge.
Opening Remarks: County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Dianne Jacob; David Pyke, Dean of USD School of Business Administration; Peter Callstrom, President and CEO, San Diego Workforce Partnership; Jeff Light, Editor of U-T San Diego.
Session One: Alan Gin, associate professor of Economics, USD School of Business Administration; Joseph Crowley, senior vice president, De La Rosa & Co.; Marney Cox, chief economist, Sandag.
Session Two: Joe Bertocchini, residential real estate director, USD Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate; Mark Cafferty, president and CEO, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.; Michele Nash-Hoff, president of ElectroFab Sales; Julianne R. Howell, senior health policy adviser, County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency.
New In-Flight Wi-Fi Service Takes Off
Busy business people often begrudge the loss of work time while flying. JetBlue Airways has just launched a technology to help with that, thanks to a Carlsbad-based satellite communications company, the U-T San Diego reports.
Fly-Fi, a new technology powered by ViaSat Inc., was premiered Dec. 12 as an in-flight Wi-Fi service aboard JetBlue. The system will allow more business people to perform tasks via the Internet during all points of their flights without losing connectivity or quality, according to a ViaSat statement.
ViaSat uses a high-capacity Wi-Fi system to deliver high-speed Internet while flying. The centerpiece of the technology, which ViaSat calls the Exede in the Air system, is a high-capacity satellite system, the Ka-band satellite system. That satellite, called ViaSat-1, holds a Guinness World Records title as the world’s highest capacity communications satellite.
Science and records aside, the satellite opens the skies to business passengers needing Internet service because it allows each passenger to get on the web rather than passengers competing for service within the plane’s allowed bandwidth.
American Airlines Cutting Flights to San Diego
To win government approval of their merger, American Airlines and US Airways will eliminate year-round, daily nonstop flights from Reagan National Airport in Washingto to San Diego, Detroit and 15 other cities. The changes were announced Wednesday by the combined company — American Airlines Group Inc.
The two airlines had agreed in November to give up the space at Reagan and LaGuardia. The U.S. Justice Department, in exchange, dropped an antitrust lawsuit that could have derailed the merger. The merger created the world’s largest airline operator.
Community College District Names Vice Chancellor
The San Diego Community College District has named Christopher Manis vice chancellor of facilities management. Manis will oversee facilities and construction for California’s second-largest community college district, which enrolls 130,000 students at City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges, and the seven campuses of Continuing Education. He will begin on Feb. 1.
Manis recently served as deputy director of installation and logistics at MCAS Miramar. In addition to overseeing district maintenance and facilities, Manis will be responsible for the college district police and the district’s $1.6 billion bond construction program.
Prior to his current civilian position at MCAS Miramar, Manis previously held the same position as an active duty military officer before he retired from the U.S. Marine Corps.
Albertsons to Close City Heights Store
Bad news for consumers in City Heights. The neighborhoods largest grocery store, Albertsons at University and Fairmount avenues, is closing its doors on Monday. San Diego Councilwoman Marti Emerald says this is a serious blow to consumers who have come to rely on the foods and pharmacy services provided at the City Heights store. . “Albertsons says this store is not meeting the company’s financial goals. But the store and its on-site pharmacy are hugely important to the community,” said Emerald.
“Consumers in lower income neighborhoods like City Heights already have limited options for fresh foods and health services,” added Emerald. “And most City Heights residents don’t have cars to drive to large competitively priced grocery stores in other neighborhoods. This will pull the rug from under consumers who already struggle to get healthy foods and medicine.”
No word, yet, for customers of the Sav-On pharmacy inside the store.
Kimco, the property manager for the Albertsons site, says it is actively marketing this retail space and is in discussions with several potential tenants, including a grocery operator. However, there is no signed replacement lease yet.
Karl Strauss to Offer Scholarships for Local Brewers
Karl Strauss Brewing Co. is celebrating 25 years of crafting the San Diego beer scene by offering two scholarships to UC San Diego Extension’s Brewing certificate program in 2014. “When we started the industry here in San Diego 25 years ago, we had no idea the craft beer culture would expand into what it’s become today,” says company president Matt Rattner. “We are looking forward to helping a new crop of San Diego brewers get their start with this amazing program at UC San Diego Extension.”
Karl Strauss will fund two full scholarships in 2014, with a single annual scholarship beginning in 2015. The scholarships will be funded through the nonprofit Karl Strauss Brewers Education Fund.”
UC San Diego Extension’s Professional Certificate in Brewing is a part-time, evening and weekend program that offers academic and practical training for entry-level brewing professionals and can be completed in 18-24 months. Applications are now being accepted for the spring term which starts in April. To apply, visit www.extension.ucsd.edu/brewing.
Sandag Report Says 13 Percent of Individuals
In the County Live Below the Poverty Level
A new report by Sandag shows that 13 percent of individuals (387,565) and 9 percent of families (64,675) in San Diego County live below the federal poverty level.
• Of the families living in poverty, 28 percent reported receiving public assistance, such as Supplemental Social Security Income and/or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, SNAP (formerly known as food stamps).
• Of the individuals living in poverty, 46 percent were male and 54 percent female.
The report, titled Poverty in the San Diego Region, includes a complete breakdown of poverty levels by jurisdiction, as well as by race/ethnicity. The report was based on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau between 2007 and 2011 as part of the American Community Survey.
Click here for a PDF of the report…
Alpine SBA Day is Jan. 30
The U.S. Small Business Administration and the Alpine Mountain Empire Chamber of Commerce will present SBA Day in Alpine on Jan. 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Alpine Woman’s Club, 2156 Alpine Blvd. The $12 admission includes lunch. Topics will include Planning Your Business, Marketing Tips for Small Business, Financing Your Business, Government Contracting, Exporting, among others. For more information, call Jill Andrews at the SBA (619) 727-4885, or the chamber at (619) 445-2722.
