Daily Business Report-June 21, 2017
The County Administration Center
County Supervisors Approve $25 Million
to Ease Affordable Housing Shortage
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved three initiatives designed to increase the number of affordable housing units and decrease the homeless population in the region.
Proposed by Chairwoman Dianne Jacob and Supervisor Ron Roberts, the initiatives will establish a $25 million affordable housing investment pool and transfer $500,000 from Roberts’ Neighborhood Reinvestment account to the county Health and Human Services Agency to underwrite affordable pre-development and planning activities. The third component is identifying 11 county-owned properties for residential development and construction of affordable housing.
The board instructed county staff to develop guidelines and criteria on how to spend the $25 million, which will come from unallocated county reserve funds.
“The cost of living in San Diego continues to rise and as that happens we see folks across the entire county struggling just to keep a roof over their head,” said Jacob, before the unanimous vote in support. “The creation of this $25 million trust fund…is a big step forward in our effort to tackle this housing crisis.”
The 2017 Point-In-Time Count of homeless individuals and families in the region showed an increase of 5 percent from last year to 9,116. Of those, 5,621 were unsheltered. The same count indicated there are 1,598 homeless people age 55 and older in San Diego County, a 20 percent increase compared to 2016.
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Ware Malcomb’s Architecture and Design
Work Completed for Downtown Law Firm
International design firm Ware Malcomb provided interior architecture and design services for the just completed law offices of Noonan Lance Boyer & Banach.
The new 5,000-square-foot office occupies the top floor in a historic building at 701 Island Ave. in Downtown’s East Village. The design highlights the historic nature of the building by creating an industrial loft feel. The existing brick walls, wood floors and wood ceilings were restored and left exposed, while hanging pendant lights, exposed ductwork and skylights complete the look.
“Noonan Lance’s previous workspace was a typical, traditional law office with large private offices and conference rooms with little opportunity for employee interaction,” said Tiffany English, principal of Ware Malcomb’s San Diego offices. “Our project team delivered the creative and unique environment desired by Noonan Lance, while still maintaining its efficiency and identity as a law office.”
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Port of San Diego’s Renée Yarmy
Named One of Top 50 Energy Managers
Renée Yarmy, manager of the energy and sustainability program for the Port of San Diego, has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Energy Managers in 2017 by Energy Manager Today, a publication focused on commercial and industrial energy management issues.
Yarmy, along with other honorees, was recognized at the Energy Manager Summit at the Environmental Leader 2017 Conference on June 5-7.
“Renée’s exemplary work plays an integral role in fulfilling the Port’s mission of safekeeping the diverse ecosystems of San Diego Bay and the surrounding tidelands, and ensures that we remain champions in the energy in
dustry,” said Port Assistant Vice President Jason Giffen.
The top energy managers are selected from across the nation by Energy Manager editors, advisers and industry insiders via a competitive process. The Top 50 are chosen based on their energy management results and the positive impact they have on not only their company, but on the industry as a whole.
As program manager, Yarmy develops strategic energy planning initiatives and projects that ensure that the goals of the Port’s Green Port Program and Climate Action Plan are being achieved.
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Summer Stephan Appointed
Interim District Attorney
The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to appoint current Chief Deputy District Attorney Summer Stephan as interim District Attorney. She will replace District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis when she retires July 7. The job is an elected post, but since Dumanis is retiring 18 months before her term
ends, the board was required to appoint an interim.
The board interviewed and reviewed the qualifications of three applicants: Stephan and former deputy district attorneys Adam Gordon and Gregory Walden. The board then voted to narrow down finalists. Supervisors could pick multiple candidates, and any candidate with three votes would proceed to a second hearing. Stephan garnered five votes, Walden got two votes and Gordon received one vote.
Since Stephan was the only finalist, the Board then voted 4-1, with Vice Chair Kristin Gaspar opposed, to appoint her immediately rather than hold a scheduled meeting on June 27 to review finalists and make its selection final.
Stephan has served as a deputy district attorney in the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office for 27 years holding positions such as assistant chief, chief of the North County Branch, and chief of the Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking Division. She was appointed chief deputy district attorney in 2012.
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Leading Architect to Deliver Commencement
Address at NewSchool of Architecture & Design
Architect and educator Larry Scarpa will be the keynote speaker at the June 24 commencement ceremony at the NewSchool of Architecture & Design. This year’s commencement will celebrate 130 graduates from the undergraduate and graduate architecture, construction management and design programs. The ceremony will be held at Symphony Hall in San Diego.
Scarpa has garnered international acclaim for his unique and unexpected use of conventional materials in design and he is considered a pioneer and leader in sustainable design and environmental sensitivity.
Scarpa is a principal at the firm BROOKS + SCARPA, ranked the 7th overall top architecture firm in the U.S. by Architect Magazine. He has received more than 100 major design awards, including the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Award in Architecture, more than 20 National American Institute of Architects Awards and six national AIA Committee on the Environment “Top Ten Green Building” awards. He is also a co-founder of Livable Places Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to building mixed-use housing on under-utilized and problematic areas, helping to develop more sustainable and livable communities. Most recently he co-founded the Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute to help develop sustainable and livable communities.
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County Supervisors Accept $44,500 Donation
to Fund Emergency Response Equipment
County Supervisors have approved the acceptance of a $44,500 donation from the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation for the purchase of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
“The San Diego Regional Fire Foundation is pleased to partner with the San Diego County Fire Authority and CAL Fire to place 25 Automatic External Defibrillators in our county’s rural communities to help insure that an AED is close to any resident or visitor in our back county who suffers a heart attack,” said Joan Jones, executive director of the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation. “These communities lack public buildings and other facilities where AEDs are frequently located, so it is critical that all fire stations are equipped with state of the art AEDs for quick and effective medical care.”
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SDSU’s College of Education
Awarded Record Number of Grants
San Diego State University’s College of Education is a leader among U.S. universities when it comes to external grants. With $21 million in external funding in 2016, SDSU is among the top 30 universities in the country for these coveted awards. U.S. News and World Report ranked SDSU No. 26 among universities nationwide in external grant dollars last year. The ranking includes both public and private universities.
