Daily Business Report-Nov. 25, 2015
According to SANDAG’s chief economist, San Diegans will devour 428,000 turkeys on Thanksgiving.
Assessing Thanksgiving’s Economic
Impact on San Diego County
As a nod to Thanksgiving, SANDAG’s chief economist recently analyzed national and regional statistics to give residents some perspective on the holiday and its economic impact on San Diego County.
“From time to time, it’s important to step back to get a clear view on how events and holidays affect our region,” said Chief Economist Ray Major. “I think many people will be surprised to see how holiday-related spending and tourism affect our local economy.”
Here are some interesting facts regarding Thanksgiving and holiday-related tourism.
Thanksgiving dinner in San Diego County:
• 88 — percentage of households celebrating Thanksgiving.
• 428,000 — number of turkeys consumed in San Diego region.
• $15 million — total spent on Thanksgiving dinner.
• $5.18 — average amount spent on home-cooked Thanksgiving meal per resident.
• 13 billion — number of calories consumed by San Diegans at Thanksgiving dinner.
• 241 — number of times we would need to run to the moon and back to burn off those calories
San Diego gets a tourism boost around the holidays:
• 91 — percentage of visitors who come by car.
• 366,000 additional cars traveling to San Diego an average of 245 miles for the holidays.
• 90 million — total number of miles logged by car visitors while traveling to San Diego for the holidays (that’s 3,600 times around the world).
Black Friday Spending by San Diegans:
• $553,000,000 — amount San Diegans will spend in retail and online purchases on Black Friday.
• $163 — average amount each resident of the county will spend on Black Friday.
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HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY, EVERYONE!
Architect/Developer Jonathan Segal Honored
By the American Institute of of Architects
Architect and developer Jonathan Segal has been named recipient of the 2015 American Institute of Architects Housing Award and Builder Design Awards for his groundbreaking 27-unit The North Parker mixed-use, live/work and affordable housing development in North Park.
Segal, co-chair of the Master of Real Estate Development Program at Woodbury University’s School of Architecture in Barrio Logan, was honored for designing and developing The North Parker at the corner of 30th and Upas streets. Once a post office, the development includes two restaurants, a beer-tasting bar and an architectural office in addition to the 27 units.
“The national AIA awards jury hit it on the nose when they referred to The North Parker as ‘clean, light and fun,’” Segal said. “From the outdoor gathering places and street-level commercial spaces to the open, airy residences accessible by sweeping stairways, the whole structure has an open feel and lots of room for people to move around. It was a fun project from start to finish.”
Rather than rely on others to develop and finance the projects he designs, Segal relies on a vertically integrated business model, essentially managing the entire process (and the cost of the project) from start to finish. Today, the firm has been responsible for the design and development of more than 300 medium- to high-density urban residential, mixed-use and live/work units totaling more than 300,000 square feet of construction.
“Woodbury’s School of Architecture is extremely fortunate to have access to the talents and business acumen of Jonathan Segal,” said Catherine Herbst, chair of architecture at the San Diego campus. “His unique approach to designing, developing and managing projects inspires his students to think beyond architecture. There’s no limit to the kinds of things an architect can do.”
Over the last two decades, Segal has received more than two dozen local, state and national AIA awards for residential and urban design.
San Diego Home Prices Rise;
Among the fastest in large real estate markets
City News Service
Home prices in San Diego rose 0.6 percent between August and September, and are up 6.6 percent since September 2014, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices released Tuesday.
The monthly rise was one of the fastest among 20 large real estate markets included in the indices, while the annual climb ranked seventh.
The indices were created by taking the cost of housing in each market in January 2000, assigning them a value of 100, and tracking the subsequent rise and fall.
San Diego’s mark in September was 216.62, reflecting more than a doubling of home prices in nearly 16 years. The rate of increase is the nation’s second fastest behind Los Angeles.
Nationally, the 20-city index stood at 182.91 in September, up 0.2 percent for the month and 5.5 percent for the year. A separate 10-city index was at 197.84, also 0.2 percent higher than August and 5 percent more than September 2014.
“Home prices and housing continue to show strength with home prices rising at more than double the rate of inflation,” said David Blitzer, managing director and vhairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The general economy appeared to slow slightly earlier in the fall, but is now showing renewed strength.”
He said the an increase in the federal funds rate by the Federal Reserve would probably have only a minor impact on mortgage rates faced by consumers.
Searching for Early Signs of Autism
The National Institutes of Health has awarded Inna Fishman, a San Diego State University psychologist, a major grant to look for the early “brain signature” of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children around two years of age.
To understand the causes of this lifelong disorder and eventually come up with effective treatments, researchers must identify the developmental markers of autism during early brain development.
The latest findings by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control suggest that about 2 percent of children in the United States, or about one in 50 children, can be diagnosed with ASD. Despite this high prevalence and a wealth of research on ASD, little is known about the biological underpinnings of this disorder.
“A diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder at age 2 was uncommon just several years ago, but today clinicians are confident and can reliably diagnose autism at that age,” Fishman said. “Because this is the age when symptoms of ASD first emerge, brain images acquired at this age should allow us to capture development, organization and function of neural networks early in autism.”
Fishman and her research team plan to scan these children three times between ages 2 and 5 years, a developmental window during which autism symptoms first appear and reach their peak. By doing so, they hope to identify how and when brain trajectories diverge between kids with ASD and their typically developing peers. The researchers will achieve this by performing brain scans in young children while they are asleep, during natural sleep.
‘The Legacy of Jonas Salk’
On Display at Geisel Library
Fall 2015 marks the close of world-renowned scientist Jonas Salk’s centenary year. To mark the occasion, the UC San Diego Library is presenting “The Legacy of Jonas Salk,” an exhibition of materials from the Jonas Salk Papers, which will be on display in Geisel Library through Jan. 10, 2016.
The papers — which comprise more than 600 linear feet (or nearly 1,000 boxes) — were donated to the Library’s Mandeville Special Collections in 2013 by Salk’s sons, Peter, Darrell, and Jonathan, all of whom — like their father — trained as physicians and are involved in medical and scientific activities.
According to Lynda Claassen, director of the Library’s Special Collections & Archives Program, the papers document Jonas Salk’s professional and scientific activities from the mid-1940s to his death in 1995. Especially well documented are activities related to the development of the Salk polio vaccine in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s and the founding of the Salk Institute.
The papers cover general correspondence, files relating to polio, his writings and philosophy, photographs, artifacts — including two dictating machines — personal writings, and various research materials.
“The archive represents the enormous scope of our father’s creativity and productivity,” said Jonathan Salk. “This collection of his papers and the insight to be gained into how he approached and solved problems might be his greatest legacy. He would be pleased to find that his life’s work was continuing to do good for the world.”
San Diego Workforce Partnership
Announces New Governance Structure
The San Diego Workforce Partnership has updated its governance structure in response to the passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which calls for smaller, more strategic local Workforce Development Boards.
A governance committee recommended the creation of a new board structure. The new WDB replaces the former Workforce Investment Board. It will provide direction on optimal ways to provide job training opportunities for job seekers that meet the needs of regional employers.
“Streamlining our governance allows for more strategic alignment and responsiveness that will help us be most effective in our efforts to close the skills gap in our region,” said Peter Callstrom, CEO of the San Diego Workforce Partnership.
The board was approved by the Consortium Policy Board on Nov. 20. The first meeting will be held Feb. 18. All meetings are open to the public. Agendas and minutes are available at http://workforce.org/governance.
For a list of the members of the new WDB, click here.
Thomas Jefferson School of Law Names
Social Justice Award After Former Student
City News Service
The Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego announced Tuesday the creation of an award, in memory of one of its graduate, that will recognize student efforts in social justice.
The award — made possible by an endowment from Samuel Kossack’s family and friends — will recognize a currently enrolled Thomas Jefferson School of Law student who, through his or her own actions, promotes social justice on an individual basis or by transforming systems that perpetuate injustice.
Recipients must demonstrate contributions to social justice through participation in activities such as volunteer work, relevant scholarship, advocacy of social justice, the law school’s pro bono program, clinical courses, self-help clinics, or other work that directly serves the needs of marginalized or disadvantaged populations.
One cash award will be given annually.
School officials said Kossack — who died this year after battling depression — was a beacon for social justice. One law professor described him as a man “with sharp intelligence as he worked tirelessly to educate others about possible solutions. Kossack cared passionately about social justice and had a talent for bringing people together to explore some of the most contentious legal issues facing society.”
Carlsbad Building Sold for $3.85 Million
The 28,585-square-foot 2714 Loker Avenue West building in Carlsbad has been sold for $3.85 million to Carlsbad-based Blue Hat LLC. The seller was ECP Midwest LLC.
Blue Hat will occupy a portion of the building, with the rest being made available for lease. It was represented by Cushman & Wakefield in the sale.
Bill Would Require Thanksgiving Double Pay
Unfazed that the Assembly rejected an earlier version, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, is reviving a bill that would give double pay on Thanksgiving but applying it only to workers at retail businesses with more than 500 employees. Pie in the sky? The Sacramento Bee