Daily Business Report-Feb. 1, 2017

Rendering of the Mission Beach Plunge to be built by Pacifica Enterprises. (Credit Pacifica Enterprises)

Local Leaders Break Ground on

Historic Plunge Swimming Pool

Local elected officials, community leaders and nearly 100 Mission Beach residents and businesses gathered Monday to celebrate Pacifica Enterprises’ groundbreaking of the historic Plunge swimming pool at Belmont Park.

After acquiring the lease to Belmont Park in 2012, Pacifica Enterprises and the city of San Diego negotiated a new lease in 2015 and entered into a unique public-private partnership. Pacifica has committed to advance $5.2 million to rebuild the facility, which is owned by the city. The company will recoup the $5.2 million through rent credits over the next seven to 10 years.

Pacifica also has agreed to pay for any cost overruns, which have been significant. The total cost to rebuild the Plunge building is approximately $11 million. The facility is scheduled to reopen in early 2019.

“Today is an extraordinary day for the Mission Beach community and the City of San Diego,” stated City of San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “It marks the beginning of a new future for the historic Plunge swimming pool.”

Pacifica Enterprises’ plans for the Plunge include the complete restoration of the historic swimming pool, reconstruction of the building that surrounds it and a new state-of-the-art fitness center operated by the nationally acclaimed Fit Athletic Club. Boasting a predominantly glass façade, Fit Plunge will integrate exterior light with the interior coastal textures, celebrating and reminding visitors of the surrounding, natural Mission Beach environment. The new building will feature a glass retractable roof system, which will promote natural air circulation and prevent some of the issues that plagued the old building, and incorporate some of the Spanish Renaissance architectural features seen throughout the Park.

Pacifica Enterprises and its construction contractor Lusardi began demolition of the old Plunge building in mid-January. Construction of the new building and fitness center, as well as the restoration of the Plunge swimming pool, is expected to begin later this year.

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San Diego Legalizes

Recreational Pot Dispensaries

San Diego legalized recreational pot dispensaries on Tuesday and the city also opened up the possibility it will allow pot farms, manufacturing facilities and testing labs. San Diego is the first local city to approve recreational marijuana sales since state voters approved Proposition 64 in November, and no other cities in the county have indicated they intend to follow suit.

The San Diego City Council unanimously agreed on Tuesday to allow the sale of recreational marijuana at 15 dispensaries approved by the city to sell medical marijuana, pending the state action, and any additional dispensaries the city approves in the future. Read the San Diego Union-Tribune

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County’s Top Public Defender to Retire:

Henry C. Coker will leave post March 30

Henry C. Coker, the county’s top public defender, announced his intention to retire this spring after nearly three decades of service.

Coker, 66, said the time had come for him to switch gears, after a lengthy and fulfilling career. He plans on spending more time with his children and playing tennis, which has been a lifelong passion for him.

Coker has served as the county’s top public defender since 2009. In this role, he has managed a staff of 365 employees working out of a dozen offices across the region. The Public Defender’s Office is one of the largest legal operations in the region, representing more than 90 percent of those criminally charged in San Diego County.

“Being the public defender of San Diego County has been the highest privilege of my life,” Coker said. “Working with the staff here, the law enforcement community, the District Attorney, Chief Probation Officer, Superior Court, and the people we represent — it’s an enormous responsibility, but it’s been extremely satisfying.”

Throughout Coker’s career, he worked tirelessly to make San Diego’s criminal justice system as effective as possible—balancing both the rights of the accused and the safety of the public, said Ron Lane, the county’s deputy chief administrative officer for public safety.

The county expects to identify Coker’s replacement prior to his last day, March 30.

Coker, who is originally from the West African nation of Sierra Leone, immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English Literature from North Carolina A&T State University and master’s in Education Administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He worked as a secondary school teacher in North Carolina before moving west, where he earned a Juris Doctor’s degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

Coker started as a trial lawyer in the Public Defender’s juvenile division in 1989, six months after the office was created.

Over the years, he took on some of the office’s highest profile cases, including the defense of the youngest person to be charged with murder as an adult in California at the time: a 14-year-old named Tony Hicks. Hicks pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a 20-year-old college student. The victim’s father praised Coker for helping Hicks take responsibility for what he had done.

Nearly two decades later, Coker said he’s still regularly asked to speak about the case.

“That was a challenging case,” Coker said. “It involved a lot of emotion when you’re prosecuting a child and looking at giving him the most serious penalty.”

Coker oversaw significant change within the Public Defender’s Office. During his tenure, four divisions were brought under the one roof, which has increased operational efficiency and resulted in significant cost savings for the county.

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Betty Peabody, Friends of Balboa Park

Founder, is ‘Champion of the Community’

Friends of Balboa Park founder Betty Peabody has been awarded the “Champion of the Community Award” by the California Park & Recreation Society for her work on behalf of Balboa Park.

“The California Champion of the Community Award is an honor bestowed upon advocates of parks throughout the state, and there is truly no one more deserving of such a distinction than Betty Peabody for her advocacy of Balboa Park,” said Friends of Balboa Park Executive Director John Bolthouse. “Friends of Balboa Park is so fortunate to have a volunteer leader of Betty’s caliber, and she is most deserving of this prestigious award.”

Peabody was nominated by San Diego Park and Recreation Department.

A volunteer in Balboa Park since 1969, Peabody founded the group that became Friends of Balboa Park in 1998. Since then, the group has spearheaded major capital improvement initiatives throughout the park, including information kiosks, restoration of the historic gate houses and lily pond, Adopt-A-Plot, bench tributes, tree dedications and other programs that facilitate the community’s direct involvement in the enhancement of Balboa Park. Peabody has since served on the board of directors, and remains a volunteer on numerous park committees.

“I have been so pleased to spend my volunteer hours in support of Friends of Balboa Park,” said Peabody. “I love working with such a dedicated city park and recreation staff in raising the level of awareness of the needs of our great asset, Balboa Park, to elected officials and citizens of San Diego.”

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Multi-Cultural Convention Services Network

To Honor Women in Tourism and Hospitality

For the second year in a row, the Multi-Cultural Convention Services Network’s annual women’s history month celebration will culminate with the award honoring Women in Tourism and Hospitality — the W.I.T.H. San Diego Awards.

With its focus on issues relating to women in the workplace at all stages of their careers and the changing landscape of hospitality and tourism, MCCSN is the premier organization recognizing the contributions of women professionals in the San Diego metro area.

The 2017 Honorees are Patti Roscoe, founder of PRA Destination Management Company; Rebecca Aguilera-Gardiner, co-owner of Diego & Sons Printing; Denise Jackson, president and CEO of Balboa Travel Management; Gina Champion-Cain, president and CEO of American National Investments Inc.; Shirley Hirai, manager of equal opportunity for the Port of San Diego; and Sue Botos vice president, community relations for the San Diego Padres.

The awards are scheduled for Thursday, March 16, at the Wyndham San Diego Bayside hotel, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  The award ceremony will be emceed by San Diego NBC7 TV personality Catherine Garcia, and include a panel discussion moderated by Peggy Cooper, senior community relations specialist at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

Advanced tickets for the event are $55 each. Call (619)265-2561 for more information.