Daily Business Report-May 5, 2014

A full day of activities will be held on Saturday with the opening of the county’s new Waterfront Park.

County to Open New Civic Treasure Saturday

12-Acre Park Graces the Waterfront

A new civic treasure for San Diego will open to the public on Saturday. Land once used for parking around the County Administration Center has been transformed into a 12-acre park that overlooks the Star of India and San Diego Bay.

A sparkling 830-foot-long fountain features jets that will shoot water 14 feet up into the air and down into a shallow splash area for children. The park also includes a promenade, two expansive greens, theme gardens, plazas and terraces, a picnic area, shade trees, a large play area and public restrooms.

A daylong slate of festivities will begin with a grand opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the County Administration Center at 1600 Pacific Highway. The dignitaries will include the Board of Supervisors, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Mary Roosevelt, the daughter-in-law of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who dedicated the County Administration Center building in 1938.

After the formal grand opening, the fountain will be turned on and visitors will be able to enjoy live music, dance performances and a classic car show. Kids can romp around on inflatable play structures, check out an obstacle course and super slide, have their faces painted and more. Visitors can also shop at a Farmers Market, dine at a Food Truck Pavilion, and sip in a sectioned-off garden featuring craft beer and wine from local brewers and vintners. Entertainment will continue throughout the day until 6 p.m.

Visitors are encouraged to take the San Diego Trolley to the event. Parking will be free at Qualcomm Stadium for anyone boarding the trolley there.

From the U-T San Diego:

The $49.4 million cost of the park is being financed with revenue from a $30 million bond, $13.4 million from the county’s general fund, $5 million from a tax-sharing agreement with the city and just under $1 million in revenue from the 254-space underground public parking garage beneath the park on the south side.

But for the stubborn efforts of one politician, County Supervisor Ron Roberts, this park would likely have never been built.

Proposals abounded in the late 1990s for the county to sell or lease the parking lots for development of hotels or other commercial projects. Roberts wanted the lots for the park. The first time he brought the idea to the full board, in 1999, it was defeated 4-1. He brought it back a second time, but it was defeated again, 3-2. The third time proved the charm, winning unanimous board approval in 2002. It still could have died plenty of times since then, but Roberts persisted.

Daily Business Report to be Out of Service

The Daily Business Report will be out of service tomorrow through May 12, returning on Tuesday, May 13.

UC San Diego Launches New Center

On Healthy Aging and Senior Care 

Dilip V. Jeste, professor of psychiatry and neurosciences, has been appointed the first associate dean for Healthy Aging and Senior Care at UC San Diego and will direct the newly established Center on Healthy Aging and Senior Care.

The appointment recognizes the broad and growing interest, research and need to improve and promote the long-term health and well-being of older Americans, who comprise an ever-larger percentage of the U.S. population. In 2009, roughly one in eight Americans was 65 years and older. In 2030, that ratio is projected to be one in five.

Jeste has long been a leading scientist and advocate for greater understanding of how Americans age — and how to help them do so well and healthfully. His primary areas of research focus have been the neuropsychiatric and neurobiological characteristics of schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease and the development and psycho-bio-social treatment of late-life psychoses. In recent years, he has devoted much of his time to  characterizing the nature and neurobiology of a successful and healthy mental state, particularly among older adults.

County’s Investment Pool Climbs to Record $8.8 Billion

San Diego County’s investment pool has reached an all-time high of $8.8 billion, making it the second largest county investment pool in California, according to Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister. The investment pools is a local government money fund that invests the assets of the county and other public agencies located within the county.

Currently, more than 100 different local public agencies invest in the pool, including all 42 public school districts in the county, five community college districts, San Diego Regional Airport Authority, Sandag, MTS and other public agencies such as cities, fire, water and cemetery districts.

A team of full-time investment professionals in the Treasurer’s office manage the county’s investment pool. A10-member oversight committee comprised of county, school and special district officials and five public members, reviews the county’s investment policy statement annually. Ben Dillingham, a public member, was elected to serve as chair, succeeding Vernon Evans.

Downtown San Diego Getting a New High-Rise

Another high-rise is going up in Downtown San Diego. Celadon, a 17-story building that will feature 250 affordable rental apartments for individuals and small families, is under construction at Ninth Avenue and Broadway, with completion set for February 2015. A “topping out” ceremony was held last week.

The developer is BRIDGE Housing. Studio E Architects is the design architecture firm, MVE Institutional Inc. is the architect of record, and the general contractor is Turner Construction Co./Highland Partnership.

Eighty-eight of the apartments are targeted to be supportive housing, including 25 units for youth aging out of foster care and adults under the MHSA program; 63 apartments will serve frail seniors under the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

The apartments will be affordable to residents with annual incomes of up to $38,700 for a two-person household. Monthly rents will range from approximately $408 to $879, depending on factors such as income, household and apartment size.

Residents will have access to two community rooms, a community kitchen, laundry facilities and outdoor space, including a resident garden. The property will also feature a supportive services office and a seminar room with a kitchen. Celadon is expected to be LEED Silver certified and will have an eco-roof with drought-tolerant planting, a photovoltaic system to cover a portion of the house electric loads, and highly efficient mechanical systems.

Financing for Celadon is being provided by US Bank, US Bank CDC, City of San Diego, California Department of Housing and Community Development, California Housing Finance Agency/County of San Diego BHS, and the San Diego Housing Commission.

 

Report Shows Arts and Culture Have Major Impact

The San Diego Opera could close its doors, and the Ken Cinema barely escaped a similar fate.  On the heels of these very public problems in the arts community comes an assessment of what arts and cultural institutions contributed to San Diego in fiscal 2013.

A report released last week said nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in the San Diego region generate much needed jobs and revenue.

Here are some of the findings:

• Organizations funded by the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture received $6,042,338 from the Transient Occupancy Tax.

• 6,516, total jobs are supported by arts and culture organizations.

• $108.8 million in total salaries was paid to employees and contractors.

• $3.1 million in federal, state, county and tribal government funds were received to match the city of San Diego’s funds.

1.6 million tourists visit arts and culture attractions and businesses

Alan Ziter, co-chair of the San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition, told KPBS that the economic impact from the arts is crucial. “There are 9,600 arts-related and creative industry businesses here in San Diego County that employ 36,000 people, so that means they account for about 5 percent of the total number of businesses here in San Diego County.”

Despite current turmoil with the San Diego Opera and the Ken Cinema, Ziter says community support for arts institutions remains strong.

The report is called the 2013 Economic and Community Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations in San Diego.

For more information, and to view the full report, visit www.vibrantcityvibrantculture.com or call (619) 236-6800 for copies.

— KPBS

 

County Holds Successful Lawnmower Exchange Program

The 15th annual Mowing Down Pollution lawnmower exchange, which took place for the second consecutive year at Qualcomm Stadium, ended on Saturday with 586 zero-emission mowers presented to San Diego County residents who traded in $99.99 and their old gasoline powered machines.

The mowers were drained and taken for recycling by Pacific Trans Environmental Services.

Since its founding by county Supervisor Ron Roberts, the exchange has put 7,630 rechargeable electric mowers into San Diegans’ hands. That results in the removal of more than 65,000 pounds of annual air pollutant emissions that otherwise would have been released by operating the old mowers or their gasoline replacements.

“It’s a great deal and wonderful way to involve San Diegans in helping clean our air,” said Roberts, who walked the line of participants with a sample mower, joking with couples it would make a perfect Mother’s Day gift.

The highly-rated Black & Decker CM1936 mowers with 19-inch blades and a 36 volt power system retail for about $400.

NewSchool of Architecture and Design Shares Honors

Sustainability and renewable energy projects developed by students at the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego, California Polytechnic University in Pomona and UC Riverside won top recognition at Metropolitan Water District’s second annual ECO Innovators Showcase competition.

There was a tie for top individual honors between students from NewSchool of Architecture and Design and Cal Poly Pomona. Nick Wilson from Newschool of Architecture and Design displayed examples of single-family sustainable “Eco Houses” for desert climates such as Phoenix, Ariz. Cal Poly’s Samantha Schieldge’s project dealt with creating a health care center that included recycled water systems, natural ventilation, drought tolerant landscaping and solar power.

Cubic Corp. Announces Succession Plan

Bradley H. Feldmann will become president and chief executive officer of Cubic Corp. in July, succeeding current CEO Bill Boyle, the company announced.Feldmann also joins the board of directors. Feldmann previously held the position of president and chief operating officer of Cubic Corp. since January 2013 and also served as the president of the companies comprising Cubic Defense Systems business. Prior to re-joining the company in 2008, he held senior leadership positions at OMNIPLEX World Services Corp. and ManTech International. Feldmann previously worked at Cubic Defense Applications from 1989 to 1999.

After July 1, Boyle will assume the role as an adviser to the CEO. He will remain on Cubic’s board of directors until the next annual shareholders meeting.

Maxwell Technologies Names New President/CEO

San Diego-based Maxwell Technologies Inc. has appointed Franz Fink president and chief executive officer and will appoint him to the company’s board at its next meeting. Fink was an independent business consultant assisting companies in the industrial and automotive markets with business optimization and growth initiatives. From 2006 to 2012, he was president and chief executive officer of Gennum Corp., a supplier of high-speed analog and mixed-signal semiconductors for the optical communications, networking, and video broadcast markets. From 2003 to 2006, he was senior vice president and general manager of the Wireless and Mobile Systems Group of Austin, Texas-based Freescale Semiconductor Inc.

Balboa Park Online Collaborative

Names Executive Director

Nik Honeysett, head of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, has been named chief executive officer of the Balboa Park Online Collaborative, the nonprofit organization that provides support and technology services for the park’s institutions. He will assume the post on June 2. Honesett  replaces Vivian Kung Haga, who served as the executive director since May 2012 and is relocating to Japan. Major initiatives completed in her tenure include the implementation of substantial Wi-Fi access in Balboa Park and the launch of BalboaParkCommons.org,  a digital hub offering access to images, journals and video from the collections of eight Balboa Park museums collections.

Honeysett comes to BPOC with an extensive background in management, interactive, multimedia and information technology focused specifically on the cultural sector. During his time at the Getty Museum, Honeysett oversaw the museum’s operational and administrative services across the Getty’s two sites in Brentwood and Malibu. Prior to this role, Honeysett also led the Getty’s Web Group where he was responsible for all aspects of their main website, intranets and web development initiatives.

Honeysett currently serves on the board of the American Alliance of Museums, having previously chaired the organization’s Media and Technology Standing Professional Committee. In addition, he is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University, teaching a course on museum technology management as part of their Museum Studies Masters program.

“I look forward to partnering with Balboa Park’s cultural institutions to illuminate how technology can enrich their programs and content,” said Honeysett. “Balboa Park is a cultural gem for the region and the nation at large and the proximity of its institutions allows for unique technology opportunities not possible elsewhere.”