Daily Business Report-Sept. 19, 2016
Melissa DeVeau christens the Bay State. (Courtesy General Dynamics NASSCO)
General Dynamics NASSCO
Christens 4th ECO Class Tanker
General Dynamics NASSCO on Saturday hosted a christening ceremony for the fourth ECO Class tanker for American Petroleum Tankers under construction at the company’s shipyard in San Diego.
Rep. Juan Vargas spoke at the ceremony, and the ship’s sponsor, Mrs. Melissa DeVeau, christened the ship with the traditional break of a champagne bottle alongside the ship.
The ECO Class tanker, the Bay State, is the fourth of a five-tanker contract between NASSCO and American Petroleum Tankers, which calls for the design and construction of five 50,000-ton, LNG-conversion-ready product carriers with a 330,000 barrel cargo capacity. The 610-foot-long tankers are equipped with a new “ECO” design, which provide a very significant improvement in fuel efficiency. The first three ships of the ECO Class program for American Petroleum Tankers – the Lone Star State, the Magnolia State, and the Garden State – are delivered and in service. The fifth and final ship under the contract is scheduled to be delivered in 2017.
“The christening of a ship is to wish good fortune to those sailing in her and to celebrate the thousands of hardworking men and women who constructed the ship,” said Kevin Graney, vice president and general manager for General Dynamics NASSCO.
The construction and operation of the new ECO Class tankers are aligned with the Jones Act, requiring that ships carrying cargo between U.S. ports be built in U.S. shipyards, further protecting hundreds of thousands of American jobs and almost $100 billion in annual economic impact as a result of the domestic American maritime industry.
The Bay State, along with others in the ECO Class, are the first in the Jones Act fleet to obtain compliance with one of the highest standards of human factors in engineering design.
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San Diego Police Foundation CEO Named to
National Police Foundation Network Board
Sara Wilensky Napoli, president and CEO of the San Diego Police Foundation, has been named to the board of directors and secretary of the National Police Foundations Network Inc.
Formed in 2013, NPFN is a no-profit that serves the professional interests of police foundations in the Unites States and Canada, organizations which exist to fund innovative police programs that otherwise would not be funded in the regular police budget.
“Sara’s broad background prepared her for the task of bringing public and private resources together for the benefit of the community. Her love of the art of messaging and her communications skills make her a valuable and contributing member of the board,” said Pamela Delaney, co-founder of NPFN and board leader.
Napoli has served the San Diego Police Foundation as CEO for nearly six years, before which she held executive positions in the business, nonprofit, media and education sectors including executive director of the International Technical Institute, senior vice president of the San Diego Foundation, president of ASTONE and principal of TellWell.
Napoli joins CEOs and executive directors of the following organizations: Michelle Bagwell, St. Louis Police Foundation; Matthew Blakely, Motorola Solutions Foundation; Pamela Delaney, NYC Police Foundation (Ret.); Joseph Persichini, DC Police Foundation; Chuck Wexler, Police Research Forum; and Dave Wilkinson, Atlanta Police Foundation.
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Vista High School Awarded
$10M to Create ‘Super School’
Times of San Diego
Vista High School was awarded $10 million to create a “Super School” in an effort to increase engagement among students, it was announced this week.XO Institute’s The Super School Project received 700 proposals from schools across the country and only 10 were selected, including the North County school.
“The Super School Project was born out of the conviction and commitment that every child from every background has a right to a quality education that prepares them for a future none of us can easily predict,” said Russlynn Ali, CEO of XQ Institute. “We are proud to partner with each of these 10 amazing teams who represent the power of communities coming together to restore the goals and excellence that the founders of our public schools envisioned.”
Vista High School uses a rigorous, hands-on, collaborative approach that challenges students to take control of their learning. The redesign plan was developed through extensive collaboration between students and teachers and their shared ambition to enable learning relevant to students’ lives.
“We are so thankful and honored by this generous award,” said Principal Anthony Barela. “For the last three years, we have been focused on learning from our students and using their feedback to create new pathways of success. Now, our whole community has come together to push ourselves further and co-create a new model for American high school with our students at the helm.”
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San Diego Home Prices Stable
By City News Service
Real estate price and sales totals were relatively stable in the San Diego region last month, according to figures released last week by a local real estate group.
The median sales price of a single-family home that changed hands in August was $567,000, according to San Diego Association of Realtors data. That’s 1 percent over July and 6 percent above the same month last year.
The median sales price of an attached home — such as a condominium or townhome — was $375,000. That’s 1 percent below July but 8 percent more than August 2015.
More than 2,100 houses changed hands in August, 4 percent fewer than July and 2 percent less than the same month last year.
Over 1,100 condos sold last month, 1 percent less than the month before but 1 percent above August 2015.
The most expensive property sold in August was a 5,100-square-foot, six-bedroom, six-bath residence on the coast of La Jolla, built in 2000, with a price tag of $6.7 million.
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San Diego County Jobless Rate Declines
By City News Service
The unemployment rate in San Diego County was 5 percent last month, down from 5.3 percent the month before, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
The decline followed two months of climbs in the region’s unemployment rate. The August mark was below the 5.2 percent recorded the same month last year.
The EDD said the statewide rate last month was 5.6 percent, while nationally it was 5 percent. Neither figure is seasonally adjusted.
For the month, the area gained 500 jobs in retail but lost 1,500 in restaurants.
Over the past year, the biggest job gains were seen in restaurants, with 4,300 more positions; local government, 4,000 higher; administration, 3,000 more; and hotels, up 1,200, according to the agency.
The only sector to lose jobs over the past year was construction, with a loss of 200.
The EDD reported that 80,100 San Diegans were unemployed in August out of a civilian labor force of almost 1.6 million people.
