Daily Business Report-Feb. 28, 2016
UC San Diego archaeologist Geoffrey Braswell holds a replica of the Maya jade pendant. (Photo by Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego Publications)
A Pendant Fit For a King
UC San Diego Archeologist Leads Dig
Uncovering Precious Jade Far From Maya World
By Inga Kiderra | UC San Diego News Center
To say that UC San Diego archaeologist Geoffrey Braswell was surprised to discover a precious jewel in Nim Li Punit in southern Belize is something of an understatement.
“It was like finding the Hope Diamond in Peoria instead of New York,” said Braswell, who led the dig that uncovered a large piece of carved jade once belonging to an ancient Maya king. “We would expect something like it in one of the big cities of the Maya world. Instead, here it was, far from the center,” he said.
The jewel — a jade pendant worn on a king’s chest during key religious ceremonies — was first unearthed in 2015. It is now housed at the Central Bank of Belize, along with other national treasures. Braswell recently published a paper in the Cambridge University journal Ancient Mesoamerica detailing the jewel’s significance. A second paper, in the Journal of Field Archaeology, describes the excavations.
The pendant is remarkable for being the second largest Maya jade found in Belize to date, said Braswell, a professor in the Department of Anthropology at UC San Diego. The pendant measures 7.4 inches wide, 4.1 inches high and just 0.3 inches thick. Sawing it into this thin, flat form with string, fat and jade dust would have been a technical feat. But what makes the pendant even more remarkable, Braswell said, is that it’s the only one known to be inscribed with a historical text. Carved into the pendant’s back are 30 hieroglyphs about its first owner.
“It literally speaks to us,” Braswell said. “The story it tells is a short but important one.” He believes it may even change what we know about the Maya.
Also important: The pendant was “not torn out of history by looters,” said Braswell. “To find it on a legal expedition, in context, gives us information about the site and the jewel that we couldn’t have otherwise had or maybe even imagined.”
Nim Li Punit is a small site in the Toledo District of Belize. It sits on a ridge in the Maya Mountains, near the contemporary village of Indian Creek. Eight different types of parrot fly overhead. It rains nine months of the year.
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San Diego to Deploy World’s
Largest Smart City loT Platform
The city of San Diego announced a $30 million investment to deploy the world’s largest smart city IoT sensor platform. Transforming its street lighting into a connected digital infrastructure, San Diego will collect real-time sensor data across the city that can be used to develop applications that benefit the community.
From directing drivers to open parking spaces to helping first responders during an emergency, the open data platform offers limitless opportunities to increase safety, optimize municipal systems and create real-time environmental awareness. It is being done in partnership with Current and powered by GE.
“Fostering innovation and improving infrastructure are important to enhancing the lives of all San Diegans,” San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said. “This new technology will give the city and developers the opportunity to make our neighborhoods safer and smarter.”
Current, which specializes in creating intelligent environments for commercial buildings and industrial facilities, has been working to extend similar digital capabilities across cities via their lighting infrastructure. The company’s CityIQ sensor nodes will be installed on 3,200 of San Diego’s street light poles as the city upgrades 14,000 light fixtures to Current’s Evolve* LED luminaires. All sensors will be powered by the AT&T LTE network. AT&T is the wireless data carrier for the project.
“Repurposing San Diego’s lighting infrastructure in a way that allows the community to put their hands on the heartbeat and nervous system of the city is our way of building a smart city app store,” said David Graham, San Diego Chief Deputy Officer. Graham said the initial 3,200 intelligent nodes across the city are just the first step, with potential to expand to another 3,000 sensor points later this year.
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Median Home Price in San Diego
Jumps by 7 Percent in January
The median price of a home in San Diego County jumped by 7 percent in January, compared with the same month a year earlier, while the number of homes sold rose by 4.6 percent, a real estate information service announced Monday.
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Target Plans to Open New Store
In Oceanside’s Mission Marketplace
Target announced Monday that it plans to open a new 89,000-square-foot store in Oceanside at the Mission Marketplace shopping center located at 471 College Boulevard along the north side of Highway 76.
Projected to open in November 2017, the Oceanside East Target store will be the company’s 22nd store in the San Diego market and one of 30 stores Target plans to open this year.
Target has prioritized new store growth in dense suburban areas. It said it will focus on serving more guests with quick-trip shopping experience with a customized assortment mix. The product assortment for the single-level Oceanside East Target store will include:
- Baby, kids, women and men’s apparel and accessories.
- Kids’ and baby care products, as well as toys and sporting good.
- A grocery section with fresh produce, grab-and-go items, along with dry, packaged goods.
- Home décor and furniture.
- Health, personal care and beauty products.
- A curated selection of electronics, entertainment and sporting goods.
- Services include CVS Pharmacy, Starbucks Target Mobile and Order Pickup.
Target said the Order Pickup service – the ability to buy online and pickup in store – will provide guests with the convenience of having their orders ready within one hour for pickup and the security of having online orders shipped to, and held at the store.
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Snooze Plans Summer Opening
Snooze, an A.M.Eatery breakfast and brunch spot, will open at La Jolla Village Drive and Interstate 5 in late summer inside the Shops at La Jolla Village. This is the restaurant’s fourth California location, but first for the La Jolla area.
“We’ve loved our San Diego community and are looking to expand our presence in the San Diego market,” said Snooze, an A.M. Eatery’s CEO, David Birzon. “We view La Jolla and the Shops at La Jolla Village in particular, as a premiere destination for both shopping and dining.”
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Little Italy Office Building Sold for $4 Million
Kristie Nova, owner of Bespoke Partners Investments LLC and founding partner of Bespoke Partners, has acquired a Little Italy office building for $4 million. The seller was undisclosed.
The 10,500-square-foot, two-story building is located at 909 West Laurel St. and includes 30 private parking spaces. It was sold vacant. The property was initially on the market for lease.
Bespoke Partners, a local retained executive search firm, plans to move into the building and has hired BASILE Studios to design a contemporary creative office space. Bespoke plans to relocate into the new space within nine months.
Voit Commercial represented the buyer. CBRE and Colliers International represented the seller.
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San Diego Small Business Owners
More Confident on National Economy
San Diego small business owners are significantly more confident about the national economy this year, according to results from the Union Bank annual Small Business Economic Survey. The 18th annual survey also found that hiring is on the rise, with San Diego small business owners increasingly planning to hire in 2017 compared to their West Coast peers.
Union Bank conducted the survey from Dec. 12, 2016 – Jan. 3, 2017, compiling results from nearly 700 small business owners in California, Oregon and Washington State, including 100 in San Diego.
Overall, in San Diego, almost 57 percent of respondents said the United States is headed in the right direction, a significant increase from 2016 when only 31 percent of San Diegans agreed. In contrast, 62 percent of total West Coast survey participants said the United States, as an entity, is headed in the wrong direction. This reflects a five percentage point increase from 2016. San Diegans were generally more positive about the direction of the nation.
Feelings that the national economy and local economy are headed in the right direction also increased significantly for San Diego owners from 2016. More than 58 percent believe the national economy is on the rise (up 25 points from 2016). As for the local economy, San Diego’s entrepreneurs are also positive, with almost 56 percent stating it is heading in the right direction. Additionally, an overwhelming majority of local business owners indicated that their own business is headed in the right direction (92 percent, up five percentage points from 2016).
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San Diego International Airport Earns
LEED Gold Status for Rental Car Center
San Diego International Airport has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for its consolidated Rental Car Center from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED certification is considered the industry standard in defining and measuring “green,” sustainable construction.
The $316 million Rental Car Center opened in January 2016. The 2-million-square-foot facility houses most of the rental car companies serving the airport, including national brands, as well as local, independent and small business rental car companies, in one central location off Pacific Highway.
As a 24-hour, 365-day-a-year operation, the lighting was designed to be energy efficient by reducing lighting levels in some areas during off-peak times. The facility’s energy efficient design also earned a $150,000 incentive from San Diego Gas & Electric by achieving an annual energy savings of over 2 million kilowatt hours — equivalent to powering more than 300 homes for a full year.
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Unisource Solutions San Diego becomes Cultura
Workplace design veteran Anne Benge has rebranded San Diego furniture management and facilities design company Unisource Solutions San Diego as Cultura.
Benge and her staff chose the name Cultura to invoke the Italian tradition of balancing functionality, design and relationships and of interconnecting creativity and prosperity. The change, she said, better reflects the expanding role the firm plays in visioning, creating and managing work spaces for its clients.
“Our transition reflects our evolving role as consultants for ongoing growth and branding in the workplace, and with upgraded operating systems, we can seamlessly respond to the increasing pace at which companies work and change,” said Benge. “Furthermore, we wanted our company name to reflect the importance we place not only on design, but also on the family unit and the extended-family bonds we form with our clients, friends and co-workers.”
Cultura will remain at its current location at 5010 Shoreham Place in San Diego, with its staff and 28-year relationship with furniture dealer Haworth continuing. But it will soon debut a new, on-site showroom. Unisource Solutions continues to operate in other markets under separate ownership.
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Tests and Sea Trials for Liberty
NASSCO shipbuilders took the Liberty tanker to sea last week for the first time for tests and trials.
Once delivered, the Jones Act ship will join the ranks as one of the most environmentally friendly product tankers in the world. It was designed with increased fuel efficiency and optimized performance in mind.
The Liberty is the third and final ship to be constructed as part of the ECO Class tanker program for SEACOR.
In September and November of 2013, General Dynamics NASSCO entered into contracts with SEACOR Ocean Transport Inc. for the design and construction of three 50,000-ton LNG-conversion-ready product carriers with a 330,000 barrel cargo capacity.
The 610-foot-long tankers aredesigned by DSEC, a subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering of Busan, South Korea.
All of the ECO-class tankers are being constructed at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. Construction of the first tanker began in the fourth quarter of 2014, with deliveries starting in 2016 and continuing through 2017.
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Personnel Announcements
Sara Jensen Promoted at Innovative Employee Solutions
Innovative Employee Solutions, a San Diego-based provider of outsourced payroll and human resources administration services, has promoted Sara Jensen to vice president of business development. In this role, Jensen is responsible for developing the strategic vision and plan to achieve sales goals to further IES’s business objectives, as well as managing a high-performing sales team.
Jensen joined IES in 2011 as a national account manager where she was responsible for maintaining the relationship with the company’s largest client. Shortly thereafter, she was transitioned to a business development representative, then to a national business development manager.
Under Jensen’s leadership, IES was named one of San Diego’s Fastest Growing Private Companies by the San Diego Business Journal in 2014 and 2015.
A Washington State native, Jensen received her bachelor of arts degree in communications from Western Washington University.
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John Holloway and Mark Carpenter
Promoted to Principal at KTUA
John Holloway and Mark Carpenter have been promoted to prinipals of KTUA, a San Diego-based planning and landscape architecture firm. In addition to participating in the day-to-day management, Holloway is leading the active transportation team and Carpenter is leading the federal planning team.
Carpenter, 44, joined KTUA in 1996 and is responsible for the scope, development, cost estimation, client management, and quality control of all federal planning projects. Carpenter leverages his 20+ years of federal, resource management and GIS analysis experience to ensure each project has a solid analytical foundation.
Holloway, 58, joined KTUA in 1990. Combining his interest in outdoor activities with his professional planning and design background, he provides expertise in pedestrian, bicycle and trail planning and design based on his hands-on knowledge of the critical components of successful circulation systems.
