Daily Business Report-Sept. 1, 2016
Gaslamp Quarter sign. (Gaslamp Quarter Association)
City to Ban Parking on Fifth Avenue
To Ease Weekend Traffic Crush
In order to keep the traffic flowing on Downtown’s crowded Fifth Avenue on hectic Friday and Saturday nights, the city is going to try something drastic.
Starting tomorrow, vehicles will be banned from parking on Fifth between Broadway and Harbor Drive between the hours of 8 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday. All those empty parking spaces will be used as three-minute passenger loading zones. Cars and other vehicles will be allowed to drop off or pick up passengers as long as they don’t spend more than three minutes doing so.
It’s a pilot project approved by the San Diego City Council in June.
The Gaslamp Quarter Association, in coordination with the Downtown Community Parking District and the San Diego Police Department, developed the idea for a nighttime Passenger Loading Zone after several years of implementing a similar traffic management plan during major events and holidays including New Year’s Eve and Halloween.
“The removal of parking along Fifth Avenue during weekend evenings is going to significantly increase pedestrian safety and improve emergency vehicle access in the Gaslamp Quarter,” said Councilman Todd Gloria. “Anyone who has been in the Gaslamp on a Saturday night knows that the current configuration of backed up traffic and patrons being dropped off is untenable, so I applaud the community for working on this creative solution to improve access to San Diego’s premier entertainment district.”
“I think it’s a great idea,” said Dan Estep, manager of Florent Restaurant & Lounge. “Fifth Avenue is really congested, especially on weekends. And having that open space right there might allow more people to swing by in cars and taxis and be more of a benefit to the Gaslamp.”
Signage for the pilot program to notify visitors of the change will be installed throughout the Gaslamp Quarter. An initial “grace period” will be in effect to help educate the public of the new loading zone. Vehicles parked on Fifth Avenue after 8 p.m. will receive a notice of violation with information about the change instead of a citation. Beginning Sept. 30, vehicles in violation of the loading zone will be ticketed and towed. Existing taxi and valet stands along Fifth Avenue will not be affected.
(See the warning notice at the end of this column)
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Passing Honors
Sailors on board the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson render passing honors to the fast-attack submarine USS Pasadena as it transits the San Diego Bay. Carl Vinson is currently underway in preparation for an upcoming deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sean M. Castellano)
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Nobel Laureate Roger Tsien Dies, Age 64
Roger Tsien, co-winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry and professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry at University of California San Diego School of Medicine for 27 years, died Aug. 24 in Eugene, Ore. He was 64.
Tsien’s work literally illuminated science. With Osamu Shimomura, an professor at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. and Martin Chalfie, a professor of biological sciences at Columbia University, Tsien helped scientists peer within living cells and organisms as never before, earning not just the 2008 Nobel Prize but scores of subsequent awards and accolades.
“Every honor was justly deserved, and always received with humility,” said Pradeep Khosla, chancellor of UC San Diego. “Roger was an extraordinary man: kind, generous, gracious, and always the consummate scientist pushing the limits of his work to expand the possibilities of science. He was a rare talent we cannot replace.”
Tsien, Shimomura and Chalfie collaborated to discover and develop green fluorescent protein derived from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, as a new and soon-indispensable research tool.
Shimomura identified the crucial jellyfish protein and revealed that it glowed bright green under ultraviolet light. Chalfie showed how it could be used as a biological marker. Combining his deep skills in chemistry and biology, Tsien found ways to make GFP glow more brightly and consistently; then he created a full palette of fluorescent proteins that scientists could use to track different cellular processes at the same time.
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Chargers Pledge to Establish
Community Land Trust
If they win their bid to build a $1.8 billion “convadium” in Downtown, Chargers officials say they will help keep land values low and fight gentrification in the area by establishing a community land trust, according to a letter obtained by Voice of San Diego. Voice of San Diego
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Realtor Groups Sharing Services
Two San Diego-area Realtor trade groups, the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR) and the North San Diego County Association of Realtors (NSDCAR), have signed a shared services agreement that gives access to services, resources and discounts offered by either association to their members.
Shared services will include Sandicor Multiple Listing Service (MLS) support, discounts on store items and lockbox equipment and services. Also included will be additional educational training classes, advocacy and other resources. The shared services agreement is an expansion of a relationship between the two associations that has been in effect since 2013, when arbitration and mediation services became available through a joint program.
Officials with PSAR and NSDCAR said both associations will continue to operate independently. NSDCAR has 4,800 members and operates service centers in Vista, Carmel Valley, Carlsbad, Escondido and Fallbrook. PSAR has more than 2,500 members and operates service centers in Chula Vista and El Cajon.
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USD Athletic Director Promoted
By City News Service
The University of San Diego announced Wednesday that athletic director Ky Snyder has been promoted to a campus-wide executive position, and a national search will begin for someone to head the Toreros’ sports operations.
Snyder, the athletic director at Alcala Park for a dozen years, will now oversee athletics, facilities, public safety, parking and campus scheduling, beginning Oct. 1. He added the facilities component to his job last year.
“I am excited to serve the University of San Diego in a new and expanded role,” Snyder said.
“Although I will miss the day-to-day interaction with our student-athletes, coaches and staff, I am energized by the vision of President (James) Harris and the opportunity to assist our students, faculty, staff and the USD leadership in fulfilling that vision,” he said. “Just like in Torero Athletics, USD has high goals as an institution. I look forward to my new role to assist us in achieving them.”
His tenure as athletic director has seen several highs and lows, as the football program launched the head coaching career of Jim Harbaugh, now at Michigan; the baseball team became a national power and a new ballpark was built; and the men’s basketball team scored a shocking upset of powerful UConn in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
The basketball team later became embroiled in a point-shaving scandal that landed several people behind bars, including star point guard Brandon Johnson. The NCAA found no wrongdoing on the part of school employees or other student-athletes, however.
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Personnel Announcements
Tina Friedman Joins San Diego Opera
Tina Levy Friedman has been appointed chief development officer for the San Diego Opera, the organization’s principal fundraiser.
Friedman previously served as the director of development and women’s philanthropy for the Jewish Federation of Palm Springs and Desert Area where she was responsible for the organization’s annual fundraising campaign.
Earlier, Friedman was the assistant executive director of planning and administration for the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester where she supervised administrative staff and provided budgetary oversight. She has also been professionally affiliated with the Moores Cancer Center at UCSD and the Jewish Federation of San Diego County.
Friedman has been a volunteer docent at the Cabrillo National Monument tide pools for over 15 years.
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Sara O’Connell Joins McNamara Benjamin LLP
Attorney Sara J. O’Connell has joined McNamara Benjamin LLP, becoming the third former federal prosecutor to join the law firm. She focuses on intellectual property law and white collar criminal defense, and was most recently at Covington & Burling LLP in San Diego.
O’Connell is particularly focused on the Defend Trade Secret Act, a new federal statute that allows trade secret owners to directly apply for a federal court order to seize property and prevent dispersal of their stolen trade secrets.
O’Connell came to San Diego as a litigation associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP and later became an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Girl Scouts’ ‘Urban Glampout’
Fundraiser Set for Sept. 9
The popular vacation trend of “glamping” — glamorous camping — has inspired the theme of Girl Scouts San Diego’s 19th annual Urban Campout fundraiser.
Six hundred guests will attend “Urban Glampout” on Friday evening, Sept. 9, at Girl Scouts’ Balboa Campus (1231 Upas St.). Lavish tents, sparkling chandeliers and glowing lanterns will set the mood for an evening of dining and dancing under the stars. Proceeds will help keep Girl Scouting available and affordable for all.
Partygoers will earn badges while playing camp games, crafting and trying archery. They’ll bid on tempting auction merchandise at a “camp store,” enjoy live music by The Heroes, and dine on gourmet camp fare. The evening will end with s’mores around the campfire.
Sue and John Major are Urban Glampout event co-chairs, and Girl Scouts San Diego board member Liza Crisafi serves as committee chair.
Major Executive Search is the 2016 platinum sponsor, while the silver sponsors are Qualcomm and Wells Fargo. Nadine and Carlo Daleo, Barbara Dickey, Mission Federal Credit Union, Patti Roscoe and Jim Tiffany are bronze level sponsors.
Live auction items include stays at Mes Amis (an 11-bedroom luxury Caribbean villa on St. Martin) and the four-bedroom guest house of a lakeside home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, a trip to the Kentucky Derby, and a set of 10 roundtrip tickets on Southwest Airlines.
The opportunity drawing features a seven-day cruise on Holland America Line and a diamond necklace from Leo Hamel Fine Jewelry.
For details on sponsoring, volunteering for, or attending Urban Glampout, visit www.sdgirlscouts.org/uc or call (619) 610-0807.
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Fifth Avenue Warning
