Daily Business Report-May 22, 2014

History Center  to Co-Produce Balboa Park Documentary

The San Diego History Center has announced that it will co-produce a high-quality, 30-minute documentary film on the history of Balboa Park. Funding will be provided by the San Diego Tourism Authority, through a grant from Tourism Marketing District, the San Diego History Center and private donors. Production of the film begins immediately and will be completed by early November.

Content for the film will be sourced from the History Center’s archival material and used by the San Diego Tourism Authority to increase awareness of the park.

“We are so happy that Balboa Park’s history will captured in this way,” said Peter Comiskey, executive director of Balboa Park Cultural Partnership. “It will be a wonderful resource for the whole park.”

Copies will be distributed to all Balboa Park institutions and to all San Diego third grade teachers. The film will premiere in early 2015, as part of the History Center’s planned 2015 Centennial programming. The creative team is Electric Ivy Creative Group.

Joe Terzi, President and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority said, “This film will be the foundation piece for the ultimate branding of our Balboa Park as a major local tourist destination.  With our concentration of 19 different cultural attractions―plus the world famous San Diego Zoo―Balboa Park is a unique destination.”

California’s Economy Gets Good Marks in Green Report

San Diego gets good marks in the latest assessment of the state’s green economy. The nonpartisan group Next 10 is out with its annual Green Innovation Index, KPBS reports.

The report finds California’s clean technology sector is growing at a faster rate than the rest of the economy. The state’s green friendly policies get a lot of credit for creating an environment that encourages innovation.

Next 10 founder Noel Perry said the state’s core clean economy provides cutting-edge products and services that move away from reliance on fossil fuels.

The study found that the clean economy sector grew by 20 percent over the past decade, to nearly 200,000 jobs. The rest of the economy only grew 2 percent over the same time.

The report singled out San Diego for several positive developments, including many zero-emission vehicles. “There’s a very high concentration of green emission vehicles in the San Diego region with over 3,600 registrations in 2012,” Perry said. “And this is actually up by more than 52 percent from 2011.”

Perry said the state’s carbon emissions are going down and California is now the fourth least carbon-dependent economy in the nation.

Report: Drought Won’t Harm California Economy

California’s drought may have a lot of negative consequences, but a new report out today says the state’s economy won’t be one of them.

The report from Moody’s Investors Service finds, short term, California’s economy won’t suffer as a result of the drought. It finds the state’s reliance on income taxes and sales taxes will largely provide a buffer. H.D. Palmer with the governor’s Department of Finance, agrees the state’s economy has weathered the drought so far.

“That said if you are in one of the agricultural counties in the state, either in the Central Valley or on the coast where agriculture is a large part of your economy, the drought is not an abstract concept. It is real and it is now,” he says.

The report finds local economies with a reliance on agriculture will see more negative financial effects in the short term but says those will be limited. It says federal and state aid, as well as grants and insurance programs will help offset any financial losses brought on by the drought.

A previous report from UC Davis finds more than 14,000 jobs could be lost as a result of the drought.

— Capitol Public Radio

New Sonic Drive-In Coming to North Park

Sonic, the fast food joint that takes you back to the days of carhops and drive-up service, will be moving into North Park, according to its website. It will be located at 2829 El Cajon Blvd., where a Burger King was once located.

Sonic’s site said another outlet is coming locally to National City, at 3007 Highland Ave.

No dates are listed for the projected openings.

Currently, Sonics are located in San Diego County in Kearny Mesa, Santee, San Marcos and at Camp Pendleton.

The North Park outlet was reported Wednesday by foodie site Eater San Diego.

— Reported by Times of San Diego

USD Hosts NROTC Commissioning Ceremony

Twenty-seven members of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (will participate in a commissioning ceremony on from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  in University of San Diego’s Jenny Craig Pavilion. In the ceremony, NROTC students are officially inducted into the Naval services as second lieutenants (Marines) and Ensigns (Navy). Vice Admiral Tom Copeman, commander Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, will address the new officers.

The San Diego Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Unit was established at tUSD and San Diego State University in 1982. Since then, cross-town enrollment agreements with Point Loma Nazarene University, Cal State University San Marcos and UC San Diego were also established.

Procopio Welcomes Intern for its

Native American Practice Group

Christopher Scott, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a student at the University of Oklahoma Law School, has joined the Procopio law firm as a summer intern in its Native American Practice Group. Christopher served as a legal intern at the Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma and was a legal assistant at the Wall Law Office. His  interest in the field of Native American Law comes from his experiences within his tribal government, and his upbringing. He was raised in Tahlequah, Okla., which is the capital of the Cherokee Nation.

Procopio started the program in 2011 and has had six interns since its inception. Jaclyn Simi, an intern from 2012 and a citizen of the Seminole Nation, became a full-time associate with the firm, and Stephanie Conduff, an intern from 2013 and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, still works with Procopio on a part-time basis as she finishes law school at the University of Oklahoma.

Salk’s Glenn Center Receives $3 Million Donation

The Salk Institute has received a $3 million donation in support of the research of the Glenn Center for Aging Research. The donation is from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, which originally established the Glenn Center at the Salk Institute in January 2009 with a $5 million donation. The most recent donation will allow the institute to continue conducting research to understand the biology of normal human aging and age-related diseases.

Baker Electric Solar Moves to New HQ

ESCONDIDO — Baker Electric Solar has moved to new headquarters in Escondido near the corner of Enterprise and Andreasen. Since its launch in 2007, the company had shared space with its sister electrical contracting company, Baker Electric Inc. in its Escondido corporate headquarters on Pacific Oaks Place.

With the move, Baker Electric Solar increased its physical footprint from approximately 10,000 to 26,000 square feet. Management projects employment levels to increase by 50 percent.

The company said that homes that went solar with Baker doubled from 2012 to 2013.

USS Midway Museum Gets $1.5 Million Donation

The James M. Cox Foundation announced a $1.5 million donation to the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum in San Diego. The museum, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, will use its largest single grant in its history to expand educational programs. About 50,000 students annually take part in the museum’s programs in the classroom or online, according to Cox.

The donation was provided by the James M. Cox Foundation, which is named for the founder of Cox Enterprises, the parent company of Cox Communications.

Cox Enterprises Chairman Jim Kennedy said his mother, Barbara, christened the aircraft carrier in 1945. “The Midway and Cox became forever linked when my mother christened the ship almost 70 years ago,”  Kennedy said. “The Midway served with America’s greatest generation and is now educating future generations. Before founding our company, my grandfather was a teacher, so I know he’d be proud that this grant will help the Midway grow its educational programs.”

Cox Communications provides broadband service for the ship and is airing a half-hour program on the museum on its local station, Channel 4 San Diego.

— City News Service report

Sweetwater Authority Receives

$1.5 Million Federal Grant

The Sweetwater Authority’s Water Reclamation Project will receive a $1.5 million federal grant to expand a desalination plant, according to Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego), leading to greater capacity and expanded access to local water for San Diego County.

“This grant will help reduce our region’s reliance on imported water and improve our local water security, an effort that will only become more important as we combat the harmful drought that our state is facing,” Peters said of the funding for the Reynolds desalination facility. “I’m also proud that this expanded capacity will benefit users across multiple water jurisdictions, including those in the 52nd District.”

Peters also announced passage of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, the first since 2007. It provides funding for water and port facilities nationwide, including the Unified Port of San Diego.

World’s Larged Education Conference Coming to S.D.

More than 9,000 education, immigration and foreign policy experts from 100 countries will come together in San Diego May 27-30 to share insights, data and new trends that will impact higher education around the world at NAFSA’s 66th annual conference and expo. It will convene at the San Diego Convention Center.

Speakers will include Anna Deavere Smith, actress, playwright and social commentator; Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta, United Nationsl special representative; Kakenya Ntaiya, educator, activist and founder of Kakenya Center for Excellence; and Albie Sachs, freedom fighter against apartheid and former judge in South Africa.

Colliers International Adds Three Vice Presidents

Amy McNamara, Marc Posthumus and John Hoffmann have joined Colliers International  as vice presidents in the Carlsbad office.

McNamara specializes in the leasing and sales of high-rise, mid-rise, and garden office and medical properties. She has more than 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry and has completed more than $213 million dollars worth of sales transactions alone.

Posthumus has more than 15 years experience specializing in office, industrial, and R&D properties. During his career, he has completed more than 400 transactions and leased or sold more than $300 million worth of commercial property.

Hoffmann specializes in office, medical, and R&D sales and leasing in North San Diego County including the Interstate 5 and State Route 78 corridor markets. He has more than 25 years of commercial real estate experience and has negotiated more than 1,000 leases and sold more than 30 properties totaling more than 1.4 million square feet.