Daily Business Report-March 9, 2015
Washington, D.C. ranks as No. 1 in SmartAsset’s list of the top 10 cities for women in tech.
Best Places for Women in Tech:
Not Here
Where’s the best place in the U.S. where a woman in the technology field can work and thrive?
Not San Diego. Not Silicon Valley. Not anywhere in the West (save one place.)
That’s the conclusion of a study done by SmartAsset, a New York financial technology and data analytics company.
West is not best, according to SmartAsset. “While the Bay Area is typically thought of as the tech capital of the world, it boasts only one of the top 10 cities for women in tech (Fremont, across San Francisco Bay from Palo Alto),” the study said.
Three of the top 10 are on the East Coast, three are in the South and two are in the Midwest. San Francisco, where women account for just 21 percent of the tech workforce, came in 23rd.
Washington, D.C. ranks as No. 1 in SmartAsset’s list of the top 10 cities for women in tech. It states:
“The nation’s capital is the best city for women in tech, and by a fairly large margin. Women in Washington make up over 37 percent of the tech workforce, higher than in any other city we examined. This is probably due in part to the hiring policies of the federal government, most likely the largest tech employer in the city.
“While all employers, whether private or public sector, are required to comply by Equal Employment Opportunity laws, the federal government places a special emphasis on making sure that its workforce reflects the population at large. That means more opportunities for women in tech in D.C. than in other cities, and a better environment overall.”
Click here to see the full study.
Ranked below Washington, D.C. are:
• Kansas City, Mo.
• Fremont, Calif.
• Houston, Texas
• New York City
• Tucson, Ariz.
• New Orleans
• Milwaukee, Wisc.
• Philadelphia
• Plano, Texas
Women Vastly Underrepresented in Technology Field
Overall, women are vastly underrepresented in the technology field. According to data from the U.S. Census, in 2013 women accounted for just 25 percent of the workforce in computer occupations, a category that includes software developers, programmers, network architects and information research scientists.
“Historically, tech has been seen as something of a boys-club, and recently some industry leaders, including such companies as Facebook and Google, have promised to address the lack of diversity in their offices,” SmartAsset said.
Another key finding of the SmartAsset study is the disparity in pay between men and women in the tech field. “In only two of the 54 cities we considered are women in tech paid the same as or more than men: Kansas City, Mo. and Arlington, Texas. On average, we found that women in tech in the U.S. are paid 86 percent percent as much as men.
“The gap is growing. While the number of women in tech grew by 4.7 percent from 2010 to 2013 (from 854,000 to 895,000), the number of men in tech over that same period of time grew by 7.7 percent, to over 2.6 million. Men made up at least 60 percent of the tech workforce in every single city we examined. The city with the highest proportion of women was Washington D.C., where women make up 37 percent of the tech workforce.”
Pioneering Scripps Oceanography
Geochemist to Receive Top Field Honor
Miriam Kastner, professor of geochemistry at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has been selected to receive the V.M. Goldschmidt Award — highest honor in the field of geochemistry — by the Geochemical Society.
Kastner, who joined Scripps in 1972 as only the second female professor in the institution’s history, significantly advanced the understanding of the function of fluids in Earth’s crust and their influence on motions at continental margins. She took advantage of advances in deep-ocean drilling technology to understand tectonic activity and the origin of crustal materials.
“It is largely thanks to her efforts in utilizing the opportunities arising from drilling for capturing such fluids and subjecting them to appropriate analysis that we owe this new understanding,” wrote Scripps oceanographer Wolf Berger in a letter nominating Kastner for the award.
Kastner also pioneered the study of methane hydrates, water-based solids resembling ice in which methane gas is trapped that are sequestered as seafloor deposits under moderate pressure and cold temperatures. Hydrates are of interest to society because of their potential value as an energy resource but also as potential agents of climate change given the large greenhouse warming effect methane has as it is released into the atmosphere.
U.S. Geological Survey researcher James Bischoff described Kastner as “one of the heroes of modern geochemistry.”
The award is named for Victor Moritz Goldschmidt (1888-1947), a chemist considered to be the founder of modern geochemistry and crystal chemistry and was developer of the Goldschmidt Classification of elements.
Kastner will receive the award, consisting of a medal and honorarium, in August at the society’s Goldschmidt 2015 Conference in Prague, Czech Republic.
Grand Opening Set for Level 15 Townhomes
Level 15, a new community of 63 townhomes in the coastal hills of North County between San Marcos and Escondido, will have its grand opening on March 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Built by Zephyr, Level Fifteen caters to the buyer looking for a community of two-story townhomes in close proximity to a variety of activities, including shopping and dining venues, art galleries, entertainment and more.
The homes span 1,650 to 1,950 square feet, with attached two- and three-car garages, three to four bedrooms and 2.5 baths. They feature contemporary architecture with open floor plans, large kitchen islands, private patios and balconies. Prices start from the high $300,000s.
The Level Fifteen grand opening will take place at the sales center located at 1310 Montiel Road, Escondido, which is also open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Zephyr Partners Building Luxury
Units Next to Balboa Park
Zephyr Partners is tearing down the Sixth Avenue Medical Center next to Balboa Park and will build a 63-unit project in a 13-story tower that will be marketed to buyers seeking large, luxurious spaces and willing to pay up to $3 million for a residence.
The units at “The Park,” as it is called, will range from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet and will include 400-square-foot balconies, gym and pool, community room and garage.
“The buyer profile we’re targeting is exclusive and I think they’re willing to pay for that exclusivity and willing to pay for that level of services we provide,” Zephyr Partners co-founder Brad Termini told the U-T.
The project is scheduled for completion in early 2017.
StepStone Real Estate Services
Acquired by Kidder Mathews
Bay Area commercial real estate firm Kidder Mathews has moved aggressively into San Diego, acquiring StepStone Real Estate Services, an asset and property management firm, and recruiting eight veteran brokers from local companies.
StepStone has a portfolio of 600,000 square feet of retail, office, and mixed-use properties, and has been providing asset, advisory, and property management services in the San Diego market for 20 years.
Before opening its San Diego office, Kidder Mathews was managing 800,000 square feet of biotech space in La Jolla. The acquisition of StepStone fits with the firm’s plan to expand their property management service line, and StepStone’s particular strength in retail properties compliments Kidder’s retail growth strategy.
The StepStone group joining Kidder Mathews consists of founder and well-known San Diego commercial real estate professional Jack Naliboff, and Kathy Giraldo Carlson, Mark Vallecorsa, and four additional StepStone employees. “The group’s expertise will be helpful as we expand further into Orange County and Los Angeles,” said Mark Read, Kidder’s San Diego managing partner.
Jack Naliboff is an industry veteran with over 30 years in commercial real estate. He will be a partner at Kidder Mathews. Prior to founding StepStone, he was a senior vice president with John Burnham & Company.
Kathy Giraldo Carlson has been named vice president at Kidder Mathews. She has more than 20 years of property and operations management expertise. She previously was with Lincoln Property Company.
Mark Vallecorsa, will be a senior property manager and financial analyst for the firm.
Some of the key projects included in StepStone’s 600,000-square foot portfolio are: The Shops at La Jolla Village, a 165,000-square-foot mixed-use project; Coronado Plaza, a 50,000-square-foot mixed-use property;
Bridgeworks, an 18,569-square-foot retail property; and 1Mission, a 24,000 square foot urban mixed-use property.
Salk Nobel Laureate Receives
France’s Highest Honor
Dr. Roger Guillemin, a Salk Institute professor and Nobel laureate who pioneered the study of brain chemistry, received France’s highest honor on Friday at a ceremony in La Jolla.
The Commander rank in the Legion of Honor was presented to Guillemin by Jean-Pierre Changeux of the College de France and Pasteur Institute in Paris
Changeux praised Guillemin, who was born in France, for fostering “scientific collaboration and friendship between the United states and France.”
After receiving the award, Guillemin first offered thanks in French, then thanked his family and recognized colleagues at Salk whom he had worked with over 45 years. “Let’s close this unique event in the French tradition with a glass of champagne,” he said to applause.
Guillemin, 91, joined the Salk Institute in 1970 and received the 1977 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work with hypothalamic hormones. His work brought to light an entire new class of substances shown to be important for the regulation of growth, development, reproduction and responses to stress.
Colleagues at the Salk described the scientist as a “national treasure” for both countries. He was among the 19 people to be promoted to the rank of Commander of the Legion of Honor on Jan. 1.
— Times of San Diego
SDX Presents 2015 American Advertising Awards
SDX presented 130 San Diego American Advertising Awards for excellence in 16 advertising, digital and graphic design categories, culled from more than 289 entries, to 33 different companies.
The presentations were made at the 2015 American Advertising Awards Gala, held on Friday at the Westin San Diego Emerald Plaza in Downtown San Diego.
Best of Show awards were presented to Piston in the Professional Category and Nichol DeRosier from the San Diego Portfolio Studio in the Student Category. Piston was honored for the Animation in the TV spot for its client, Yakult USA, and DeRosier was honored for her integrated campaign titled “Restaurant Week.” The judges also elected to award a Special Judges Award to Greenhaus for “Art Brewer Photobook — Todos Santos.”
The American Advertising Awards program is hosted by the American Advertising Federation, a national advertising trade organization comprising a membership of more than 200 local advertising clubs, including SDX. The trophy is affectionately called an ADDY by the industry.
For a complete list of the winners, click here.
SDEA to Present Separate Roundtable Events on
Paid Sick Leave Law and Workers’ Compensation
The San Diego Employers Association is sponsoring two roundtable events this month — “Employer’s Guide to California’s New Paid Sick Leave Law” on March 13, and “Struggling With Workers’ Comp Administration? You’re Not Alone” on March 20.
Each of the events run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the SDEA Training Facility, 4180 Ruffin Road, Suite 295, in San Diego. And each costs $35 for members and $45 for nonmembers. To register, visit www.sdeahr.org, email info@sdeahr.org or call (858) 505-0024.
The Employer’s Guide will educate employers about their obligations under the new law and help them update their sick leave policies.
The Workers’ Comp event presents practical, up-to-date information on the workers’ compensation process.
Sentek Global Receives $1.6 M Navy Contract
San Diego-based Sentek Global, an information assurance and technology firm for government and commercial organizations, has been awarded a five-year, $1.6 million contract to provide cyber security services to the U.S. Navy Tactical Training Group Pacific command.
“We’ve been at the forefront of this field from our inception and are honored to be providing our expertise to this important military command,” said Sentek Global Chief Operating Officer Jason Galetti. “We have broad experience in both government and commercial environments and bring a relentless innovator mentality to all our initiatives. This one will be no exception.”
U.S. Navy Tactical Training Group Pacific’s mission is to provide advanced tactical training to military service members in order to improve their proficiency in war fighting and joint operations and also to meet the unified commander’s requirements.
Personnel Announcements
Bibianne Fell Joins Gomez Trial Attorneys
Trial attorney Bibianne “Bibi” Fell has joined Gomez Trial Attorneys in San Diego. Fell is a first-chair lawyer who has tried complex cases to verdict before judges and juries and argued before the California Court of Appeals and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In her new position at GTA, Fell will apply her experience in a multiple areas of civil litigation in joining the senior trial attorneys group.
After graduating magna cum laude from the University of San Diego, School of Law in 2004, where she was a member of the Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif, Fell went on to attend the American Board of Trial Advocates Trial College in 2010, and returned in 2012 as a trial college graduate to assist with the program. Prior to joining Gomez Trial Attorneys, Fell worked at Baker & McKenzie, LLP and was a shareholder at a boutique business, class action, and personal injury litigation firm.
South Park Residents Stage Sunday Rally
To Oppose Planned Opening of Target Store
A group of about 100 South Park residents and the leader of an organization made up of small independent grocery stores delivered a message to Target on Sunday that said, simply — we don’t want you in our neighborhood.
Will the giant retailer listen?
Care About South Park, an organization of residents and some business owners that was formed to oppose the placement of a TargetExpress store in the now-vacant Gala store at Grape and Fern streets, staged an afternoon rally with the help of the Neighborhood Market Association.
Residents stood on the sidewalk in from of The Big Kitchen holding hand-made signs saying such things as, “Keep South Park Unique,” “One Chain = More Chains!” Other signs had the Target logo crossed out with big, black Xs.
The rally also was held to announce the formation of a South Park Town Council, which would be a nonprofit organization serving the needs of the community.
“We believe our new council will serve as a model for community education and engagement on land use issues, and we are working with affinity groups across San Diego to build a regional alliance,” said Sabrina DiMinico, spokeswoman for Care About South Park.
Youthful members of Care About South Park set up a lemonade stand in front of the restaurant to raise money for the filing for the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status for the town council.
“A TargetExpress in South Park would compromise the charm of our neighborhood and threaten the locally owned businesses that put South Park on the map,” said DiMinico. “It would also pave the way for other large corporate chains to move in. We believe that a locally-owned independent grocery store would better serve our neighborhood’s needs, and we know that Barons Marketplace was and still is very interested in leasing the space. While we recognize that the Gala property is privately owned, as residents of this community, we have a right to express what we want for our neighborhood. Ultimately, it will be the residents who determine whether the business at that site fails or thrives.”
“We want to send a clear message that South Park is not for sale, that San Diego is not for sale,” said Mark Arabo, president and CEO of the Neighborhood Market Association. “We want everyone in city government and the community to to know that the community’s voice needs to be heard.
“Everyone is worried that when an out-of-state corporation comes in a unique and beautiful community like South Park, the character of the community is threatened, the local mom and pop grocery stores are threatened and nobody wins.”
Arabo said the primary aim of the opposition is to convince Target to abandon its plans for South Park. “We are appealing to the conscience and good faith of Target,” he said. “We hope that Target does not force itself on a community that doesn’t want them.”
Arabo also said that opponents have asked the owner of the building to arrange a meeting between opponents and Target officials. “We’re hoping to bridge this divide, but there’s only so much each side can go to.
Target previously announced a July 2015 opening for its small-format store but has since changed that to October. The Minneapolis-based retailer said in a statement that the store will offer a “wider assortment” of basic hardware supplies, “as we have heard from local residents that this is an unmet need.”
Target spokeswoman Kristen Emmons said the company will commission a local artist to create artwork inside the store, to fit in with the aesthetics of the South Park community. The store will offer organic produce sourced from California when possible.
“As we’ve mentioned before, we will not feature a Starbucks in this TargetExpress store because we know the local coffee cart is a popular neighborhood fixture and a gathering place for residents,” Emmons said.
The South Park location is in early planning stages, and the retailer plans no architectural or structural changes to the exterior of the existing building. Interior plans include removing existing window blinds to “play up the building’s natural light.”
“Regardless of whatever PR campaign Target does, the local community does not want them here,” said Arabo.
DiMinico said the South Park Town Council would “Put City Hall on notice that, the long-running practice of granting special favors to special interests must end, that corporations and commercial developers must obey the same land use laws that homeowners and small businesses must follow, and loopholes in existing and proposed land use laws that favor big business must be closed.”
