Daily Business Report-Oct. 7, 2016
The dome at the San Diego Museum of Man
Balboa Park Added to SOHO List
of ‘Most Endangered Historic Sites’
By City News Service
Balboa Park was one of four sites added to a list of the most endangered historic sites in San Diego released Thursday by the Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO).
Balboa Park was added because of a revived plan to remove vehicles from the Plaza de Panama and Plaza de California. SOHO leaders object to the proposed construction of a paid parking garage and new roadways to carry traffic away from the center of the park.
The plan was rejected in court in 2011 after SOHO filed a lawsuit, but the Superior Court ruling was overturned on appeal.
Mayor Kevin Faulconer recently brought the proposal back to life, and the City Council last month provided $1 million in initial funding.
Other additions to SOHO’s most endangered list include the Wonder Bread Building at 171 14th St., in the footprint of a proposed Downtown football stadium and convention center annex; Presidio Park, established by Spanish explorers in 1769 and in need of restoration; and the Hillcrest commercial core, threatened by developers who want to raise the area’s height limit, according to SOHO.
The seven returning sites on the list are the:
- Red Roost and Red Rest bungalows at La Jolla Cove, which date back to 1894 and suffer from severe neglect.
- California Theatre and Caliente Racetrack mural in downtown San Diego on the side of a dilapidated structure on C Street where a developer plans to build a high-rise.
- Teachers Training Annex No. 1 at 4193 Park Blvd., used by the San Diego Unified School District for records storage.
- St. Luke’s Chapel in North Park, which preservationists hope to move to a new location.
- Henry B. Jones House at 4040 Fifth Ave., a 1911 structure on the property of Scripps Mercy Hospital that also needs relocation.
- Spreckels Warehouse on J Street in the East Village.
- Barrett Ranch House, a deteriorating 1891 farmhouse in Jamul.
The release of the SOHO list was timed to coincide with the announcement by the National Trust for Historic Preservation of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
The only California site on the national list was San Francisco’s Embarcadero, which is threatened by earthquakes and sea level rise, according to the trust.
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Federal Tax Credits Program Used to Finance
A Normal Heights School for Disadvantaged
Federal New Markets Tax Credits obtained by Civic San Diego are being used to provide funds for the construction of a Momentum Learning campus in Normal Heights to serve disadvantaged youths in San Diego County.
The San Diego County Office of Education’s Momentum Learning schools provide an accredited educational program for disadvantaged school-age youth who are either wards of the court, or have been referred by social services, probation or one of the 42 school districts in San Diego County.
The Normal Heights campus for the school will be at 3720 El Cajon Blvd.
To date, Civic San Diego has invested $77.5 million across five projects to benefit San Diego’s urban neighborhoods, according to Reese Jarrett, president of Civic San Diego.
“The dissolution of redevelopment meant that the resources many of our underserved areas in San Diego had used to encourage growth and investment were no longer available,” said Jarrett. “At Civic San Diego, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to attract new development capital to these neighborhoods and we are proud of the success we have seen with the New Markets Tax Credits program. We can’t wait to see the impact this project will have in this area of Normal Heights and the difference it will make in the lives of its students.”
In addition to its standard programs, the Normal Heights campus of the school will be the first of its kind to utilize Momentum Learning’s new model, which will also teach students applicable skills like culinary arts, welding, and fabrication that will greatly expand opportunities for them to transition directly into living-wage jobs, according to San Diego County Office of Education officials.
“You don’t have to spend much time on any Momentum Learning campus to see the tangible impact our dedicated teachers and staff have on the lives of our students,” said Stacy Spector, principal of 37 ECB for the San Diego County Office of Education. “This new facility will open more doors to the potential our students have to succeed. At 37ECB our students experience real-world and authentic learning that provides them the opportunity to think critically to address ideas and solve problems that are meaningful to them.”
New Markets Tax Credits program benefits can be used by either a nonprofit or for-profit borrower, can be used for real estate development or the support of ongoing operations, and are recommended for larger capital projects of $8 million or more.
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Community College District Holds Workshop
For Former ITT Technical Institute Students
Former ITT Technical Institute students exploring their educational options following the for-profit college’s collapse can receive free academic and financial counseling during an Oct. 12 workshop at San Diego City College.
Sponsored by the San Diego Community College District, the workshop is set for 6 to 8 p.m. at City College’s Corporate Education Center, 1551 C Street, San Diego.
San Diego City, Mesa and Miramar colleges, along with San Diego Continuing Education, have been opening their doors to the estimated 460 local ITT Technical Institute students who have been adversely affected by the for-profit school’s abrupt closure after it was barred from enrolling new students using government loans.
While SDCCD only accepts credits from regionally accredited institutions, and ITT Technical Institute was not regionally accredited, other options may be available, district officials say.
“The San Diego Community College District is doing everything it can to get former ITT Tech students back on track and on their way toward securing a certificate or a degree,” said Lynn Neault, vice chancellor of student services.
On the agenda for the Oct. 12 workshop are sessions on tuition recovery, financial aid, veterans’ benefits, and academic program alternatives.
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Casa Cornelia Law Center to Honor
Law Firm and Attorney of the Year
The Casa Cornelia Law Center will name Latham & Watkins LLP and Jae Park of Dentons US LLP as its Law Firm and Attorney of the Year in an awards ceremony Oct. 13 at University of San Diego’s Kroc Center for Peace and Justice. The event is from 6 to 8 p.m.
Latham & Watkins’ partner, associates and staff have assisted Casa Cornelia’s clients for over a decade, contributing 1,419 hours of service last year. Park, senior managing associate at Dentons US LLP, has volunteered for Casa Cornelia’s asylum and children’s programs for seven years.
The California Innocence Project at the California Western School of Law will receive Casa Cornelia’s Humanitarian Award for its work to free the incarcerated innocent, train law students, and change laws and policies to improve California’s justice system.
Inn of Court Pro Bono Publico Awards will go to William Blonigan (Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP); Carol Carvajal (Carvajal Law PC); Adrienne Directo (Cooley LLP); Bobbi-Jo Dobush, Samuel Duimovich and James Erselius (Latham & Watkins LLP); William Keith (Duckor Spradling Metzger & Wynne); Thomas Laube (Sandler, Lasry, Laube, Byer, & Valdez); Steven Moseley (Paul Hastings LLP); Peter Stockburger (Dentons US LLP); Susan Rapp (Solo Practitioner); Marlena Schultz (Cooley LLP); and Monica Sherman (Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP).
Karen Anchondo, Nada Bakir, Suzanne Dombkowski, Savannah Dowling, Luis Gonzalez, Vanessa Hernandez, Ashley LaFargue, Rebecca Mabee, Patricia Ojeda and Kate Swanson will receive Special Recognition Awards.
The Society of the Holy Child Jesus is the event’s presenting sponsor; Latham & Watkins LLP is the guardian sponsor.
Last year, more than 400 volunteers helped Casa Cornelia provide free legal services to 1,991 unaccompanied children at risk, asylum seekers fleeing persecution and torture, and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.
The public is invited to attend the event, which includes a reception. For details, visit www.casacornelia.org.
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Cubic Launches Surface
Transport Management System
Cubic Transportation Systems, a business unit of Cubic Corporation, announced the launch of its new Surface Transport Management solution at the ITS World Congress to be held in Melbourne, Australia, from Oct. 10-14. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft Corp., using the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, the Surface Transport Management solution sits at the core of the smart city where its multi-modal integration capabilities allow transport management centers to control and direct travel networks throughout the city, and deliver safer, more secure and more reliable journeys for travelers.
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Didi Discar Named National
Women Business Owner of the Year
Didi Discar, principal of Carling Communications Inc., has been named the national Woman Business Owner of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). It is the organization’s highest national honor.
Discar was honored for her “creative initiatives to overcome obstacles, create jobs, grow a successful business, and inspire community involvement.”
The Woman Business Owner of the Year award is open to any woman entrepreneur in the United States who owns at least 25 percent of her business and actively runs the day-to-day operations. Successful candidates must organize, operate, and assume the risk for a business venture, including its franchisees.
Discar was NAWBO San Diego’s nominee and winner of the local chapter’s 2016 Woman Business Owner of the Year (presented at BRAVO! in May).
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Salk Institute Names Martin Hetzer
as Chief Science Officer
The Board of Trustees for the Salk Institute has approved the appointment of Martin Hetzer, a professor in the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, to the position of vice president and chief science officer.
Under the direction of the Institute president, and in conjunction with the Research Advisory Committee, Hetzer will provide leadership in developing and implementing Salk’s overall scientific strategy, as well as overseeing research operations in support of this strategy.
“Martin is a proven outstanding scientist with the vision and skills necessary to create and maintain partnerships within the Institute as well as with academic institutions, industry partners and donor groups,” said Salk President Elizabeth Blackburn. “As we shift focus from development to implementation of Salk’s strategic plan, Martin will be involved in much of the work to ensure the success of the Institute’s scientific vision in the future.”
Hetzer is known for showing one of the ways channels between the nucleus and the rest of the cell, which are called nuclear pores, manage to stay relatively stable for a cell’s long life. His lab also studies the phenomenon of long-lived proteins, which last—amazingly—for a lifetime, as well as develops ways to visualize and track small fragments of a cell nucleus known as micronuclei. He will continue to serve as principal investigator for his lab.
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Restaurateur George Pernicano: 1917 – 2016
By City News Service
Chargers minority owner George Pernicano, a longtime San Diego restaurateur, died Thursday at the age of 98, the team announced.
Pernicano helped bring the Chargers to San Diego from Los Angeles in 1961 and was one of five people who bought a small percentage of the then- American Football League franchise.
“George was more than a Chargers icon — he was a San Diego institution,” said Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos. “Everyone in NFL circles loved George and he loved being around the team and the players. He was always upbeat and fiercely proud of this team and his handle-bar mustache was famous as his calling card around the NFL. Our hearts go out to his family and everyone that had the good fortune to know George. He will be missed.”
Pernicano, inducted 20 years ago into the team’s Hall of Fame, and his wife, Isabelle, opened Pernicano’s restaurant in 1946 in Hillcrest and later started Casa di Baffi.
The restaurants closed in the 1980s and the buildings have been vacant ever since. Their fate rests in part on a community plan update that’s winding its way through the city approval process.
Isabelle died in 2012 after 72 years of marriage that produced two sons, six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
George Pernicano was born in Punxsutawney, Pa., into an Italian family of 11 boys and one girl. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.
He died at his El Cajon home with his family by his side, and services are pending, according to the Chargers.
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The Eye of Matthew
ATLANTIC OCEAN (Oct. 7, 2016) A GOES-13 satellite image of Hurricane Matthew along the Florida coastline. At 500 AM EDT (0900 UTC), the eye of Matthew was located near latitude 28.2 North, longitude 80.0 West. It is moving toward the north-northwest near 13 mph (20 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue today. A turn toward the north is expected tonight or Saturday.
On the forecast track, the center of Matthew will be moving near or over the east coast of the Florida peninsula through tonight, and near or over the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are near 120 mph (195 km/h) with higher gusts. Matthew is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Although weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, Matthew is expected to be a category 3 hurricane as it moves near the coast of Florida today. (U.S. Navy photo)
