Daily Business Report-March 31, 2016
San Diego Port Commissioner Ann Moore in conversation with former Port Commissioner Stephen Cushman at a Port function. (Courtesy San Diego Port District)
San Diego Port Commissioner Ann Moore
To Receive National Planning Advocate Award
San Diego Port Commissioner Ann Moore, a Chula Vistan who has long championed for a more pro-active approach to planning for the Port District’s 6,000 acres of land and water, has been selected to receive the 2016 Planning Advocate Award from the American Planning Association.
The award — officially the National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Advocate — is presented to just one individual nationwide each year. It recognizes citizens or public officials whose work has advanced the cause of planning — the endeavor of creating and enriching communities.
“Ann has been instrumental in driving consensus among multiple divergent interests and ensuring a sound vision for the Port’s future,” said Port Commissioner Bob Nelson, who nominated Moore for the award. “She is a true champion of planning and has helped colleagues, local businesses, and the community share her fervent commitment and enthusiasm.”
Appointed to the one-year chairmanship of the Board of Port Commissioners in 2013, Moore immediately began campaigning for a better, less reactive approach to planning for the Port’s land and water acreage that spans five cities.
The award citation states that many previous planning efforts were largely developer driven, posing a challenge in balancing multiple priorities for the greater good. In launching the Integrated Planning initiative, Moore focused on ensuring a meaningful civic engagement process.
In August 2014, the Board of Port Commissioners unanimously adopted the Vision Statement and Guiding Principles that Moore helped shepherd. The Port’s new vision and principles — which empower planners to better balance commerce, economic impact, and public space development — will allow for the next phase of the Integrated Planning process to update the Port Master Plan.
“Ann Moore not only initiated Integrated Planning at the Port of San Diego, but she has worked tirelessly to ensure that this project continues its forward momentum,” said current Port Commission Chairman Marshall Merrifield. “Commissioner Moore has provided a great legacy to the Port through this historic planning effort, with an unprecedented level of community engagement.”
“Ann’s work in initiating, leading, and carrying forward this project is a legacy that will help guide the Port of San Diego for the next 50 years,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “San Diego is the better for her bold and dedicated leadership.”
“I am humbled and honored to be selected by the American Planning Association to receive the National Planning Excellence Award,” said Moore. “Public input has been critical during this planning process and we’ve reached out to diverse sets of stakeholders to listen to their priorities for our region. Ensuring a meaningful civic engagement process and letting the public know how important their input is contributes to better planning, which in turn will increase financial return on investment.”
The 2016 APA National Planning Award recipients will be honored at a special luncheon on April 4 during the APA National Planning Conference in Phoenix, Ariz. The award winners will also be featured in the April 2016 issue of Planning magazine.
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Hospital Corpsman at Naval Medical Center
San Diego Named Navy Shore Sailor of the Year
Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jessica Wentlent of Naval Medical Center San Diego has been named the 2015 Navy Shore Sailor of the Year.
Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michelle Howard announced the award winner during a ceremony at held the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
Wentlent received a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal at the ceremony and will be meritoriously advanced to chief petty officer later this year.
She was joined at the ceremony by other finalists: Legalman 1st Class Stephani Pavoni, Cryptologic Technician 1st Class Stephen Comstock, Navy Diver 1st Class Kristoffer Ilagan, and Naval Aircrewman 1st Class Brian McGarrigle.
Wentlent said she is proud to serve alongside selfless servant leaders. “They ask themselves, what am I doing to serve my people, what am I doing to complete the mission and what can I do to make my team better,” she said. “And that is exactly what’s standing in front of me today, and I am really honored to serve with all of you.”
Adm. Elmo Zumwalt initiated the Sailor of the Year program in 1972 to recognize the outstanding Atlantic and Pacific Fleet sailors. The following year, the Shore Sailor of the Year program was introduced.
Grand Reopening Set for April 4
For San Diego Square Apartments
Housing and city officials on April 4 will celebrate the grand reopening of the San Diego Square Apartments, which underwent their first major renovation since they were built in 1979.
The renovation included the addition of floor-to-celing windows, removing ivy from exterior walls, installing energy-efficient appliances and providing a computer lab for residents.
The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at the apartments, located at 1055 Ninth Ave.
The San Diego Housing Commission, working with its nonprofit affiliate, Housing Development Partners, rehabilitated San Diego Square to preserve 154 affordable housing units for seniors age 62 and older, with incomes of 60 percent or less than the San Diego Area Median Income.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides federal rental assistance to residents in all 154 affordable housing units at San Diego Square, which is located on land owned by the city of San Diego.
County Officials Seek Public Help
In Drafting Climate Action Plan
The county’s Department of Planning & Development Services wants the public’s help to create a County Climate Action Plan that would cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Planning & Development Services officials said the department plans to complete a proposed Climate Action Plan by the fall of 2017 for the Board of Supervisors to consider.
The first public workshop will be held in the fall to get feedback from county residents on the development of draft measures the county could take to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The tentative schedule for the Climate Action Plan process includes working with the public and stakeholders, drafting a plan and an environmental impact report, holding public hearings and delivering a proposed plan to the Board of Supervisors for possible approval.
People who would like to get information on the Climate Action Plan, the process, or to receive notifications about the plan should contact project manager Bulmaro Canseco at Bulmaro.Canseco@sdcounty.ca.gov.
Oceanside Recognized at
White House Water Summit
The city of Oceanside’s “Pathogen Removal Study” was recognized at the White House Water Summit held on March 22 to commemorate World Water Day. The comprehensive study of pathogens (harmful substances) is being conducted by Oceanside, Trussell Technologies and RMC Water, two California-based environmental engineering companies that are consulting with the city. The research is expected to have a wide reaching impact on efforts to continually improve drinking water supplies throughout California and potentially the nation.
Two Navy Destroyers to be
Homeported in San Diego
The Navy announced the future guided-missile destroyers USS John Finn and USS Rafael Peralta are scheduled to be homeported at Naval Base San Diego following their respective commissionings.
Rafael Peralta is expected to arrive in San Diego in fall of 2016 and John Finn will follow in early 2017.
Rafael Peralta is being built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine and John Finn is being built by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Miss. Both ships are Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
Stationing destroyers in a West Coast port supports the rebalance to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, placing the most advanced capabilities and greater capacity in that theater. By 2020, approximately 60 percent of Navy ships and aircraft will be based in the region.
First Offices Going Up in South
Bay’s Giant Millenia Development
Times of San Diego
Construction will begin soon on the first offices in the sprawling 210-acre Millenia development in Chula Vista near the Mexican Border.
Chesnut Properties, which has developed R&D facilities and office buildings throughout San Diego, announced Wednesday it has purchased seven acres in Millenia’s designated office area, with an option to purchase the balance of the 28-acre office site.
Grading has begun for two four-story office buildings, totaling 318,000 square feet, a parking structure for 1,200 vehicles and a 7,000-square-foot fitness center and cafe complex. The first phase will also include a 40,000-square-foot Chula Vista library branch.
“Millenia is strategically located at the center of the Cali Baja Bi-National Mega-Region,” said Lee Chesnut, principal of the property company. “Ongoing improvements, such as the Tijuana International Airport Cross Border Terminal, transformation of Brown Field airport, completion of SR-905, and enlargement of both the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry, position Millenia for rapid expansion among global market players.”
“Throughout my career, I’ve tried to position myself in areas where something great could happen,” he said. “It happened in UTC. It happened in Sorrento Mesa. I believe that Millenia will become the next great business cluster in the region.”
Millenia is envisioned as a future city center for South San Diego, with up to 3,000 multi-family residences, 2 million square feet of office space, 1.5 million square feet of retail space, six themed urban parks and a variety of tree-lined promenades, casual gathering places, and plazas. Population at build out will be approximately 7,500.
The multi-billion-dollar development by Meridian Development for Stratford Land is estimated to take 20 years to complete.
World Premiere of ‘Rain’ Opens Friday
The world premiere of “Rain” opens Friday at The Old Globe Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.
Somerset Maugham’s classic story was adapted as a movie three times, his iconic character Sadie Thompson played successively by Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford, and Rita Hayworth.
Now a brand-new musical comes to the Globe from Tony Award nominees Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson.
The year is 1924, the setting a boarding hotel on the island of Western Samoa, where a missionary, a doctor, and their wives are scandalized by Sadie’s arrival, particularly when they learn what she does for a living. But the missionary has secrets of his own, and when he tries to shut down Sadie’s business and save her soul, more heats up than the South Pacific sun.
Artistic Director Barry Edelstein makes his musical theater debut with this gorgeous and powerful new work that reveals the explosive nature of repressed desire.
For more, call (619) 234-5623.
