Daily Business Report-March 20, 2018
Officials examine the electric vehicle-to-microgrid-utility grid test screen at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. (Photo courtesy of the National Renewable Energy Lab)
Military Tests Electric Vehicle-to-Microgrid
Use at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
By Andrew Burger | Microgrid Knowledge Contributor
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego is the site of a new electric vehicle-to-microgrid-utility grid test and demonstration project.
Six 15-passenger electric vans will be equipped with bidirectional, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charge/discharge capability and integrated into the air station’s site-wide microgrid during the project’s first phase. The pilot system subsequently will be interconnected to San Diego Gas & Electric’s grid during the two year-long project.
Miramar’s microgrid will be able to draw energy from, as well as recharge, the electric vans’ lithium-ion batteries when the vehicles are parked and plugged into charging stations. Should the local utility grid fail, the vans will rely solely on the base’s microgrid, operating in back-up, island mode, to continue functioning.
Led by Berkeley Lab and funded by the California Energy Commission, the demonstration project is the latest is a series of green, distributed energy resources and microgrid tests and deployments carried out at Miramar.
Operations and demonstration of the electric van-to-microgrid will last at least one year, explained Doug Black, the Berkeley Labs Grid Integration Group engineer leading the project on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory and the California Energy Commission.
“MCAS Miramar provides a unique test bed for developing and demonstrating controls for integrating bi-directional electric vehicles with a variety of other distributed energy resources, including flow batteries, PV, and building loads, to meet microgrid energy assurance and resilience objectives as well providing as broader grid support services,” Black told Microgrid Knowledge.
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Barack Obama to Deliver Keynote
Address at Conference in San Diego
Former President Barack Obama will deliver a keynote address during the May 6-9 ATD International Conference and Exposition at the San Diego Convention Center.
Elizabeth Gulledge, leadership trainer, speaker and executive coach at Bell Leadership Institute, will present at the conference sponsored by the Association for Talent Development (ATD).
Gulledge will address the audience on the topic of “Hiring Smart: Build a Selection System to Acquire Top Talent.” Participants will be guided through an overview of the three critical steps required for implementing The Bell Leadership Selection System, a proven, powerful framework for selecting top talent and launching careers within an organization.
Gulledge draws on international experience as an analyst, speaker and published author to help organizations create innovative solutions. Her ability to engage and connect on a deep level guides people to develop the self-awareness, commitment and vision necessary to deliver lasting results.
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San Diego County Youths Who Pre-Registered
to Vote Shun Political Party Labels
A majority of the 16- and 17-year-olds in San Diego County who pre-registered to vote since a special program was launched in 2016 have registered as having “No Party Preference” — far more than those registering Democratic or Republican. California youth who pre-register have their voter registration automatically activated when they turn 18.
According to a tally by Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a total of 5,163 youths in San Diego County pre-registered — 2,158 stating “No Party Preference,” 1,877 aligning themselves as “Democratic” and 678 as “Republican.”
Statewide figures showed the same trend: of the 88,700 youths pre-registered to vote: 38,721 or 43.65 percent registered “No Party Preference”; 33,165 or 37.39 percent as “Democratic”; and 9,187 or 10.36 percent as “Republican.”
“I’ve visited dozens of high schools across California, and students throughout our state have told me they can’t wait to cast their first ballot. The numbers back them up,” said Padilla. “I expect pre-registration numbers to increase even more once California Motor Voter goes live and eligible 16- and 17-year-olds are automatically pre-registered to vote when they apply for a state driver license or ID. That law takes effect in April.
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PriceSmart Acquires Package Delivery
Service and Online Retailer Aeropost Inc.
San Diego-based PriceSmart Inc., operator of membership warehouse clubs in Central America, the Caribbean and Colombia, has acquired Aeropost Inc., an end-to-end cross-border package delivery service and online retailer headquartered in Miami, Fla.
Aeropost is one of the largest and most visible cross border logistics and e-commerce providers in Latin America and the Caribbean, currently offering services to 38 countries and territories, including 11 where PriceSmart currently operates. Aeropost offers convenient local pickup points, and an innovative local payments platform that allows buyers to purchase U.S.-sourced merchandised online.
PriceSmart will operate Aeropost from its headquarters in Miami as a wholly owned subsidiary.
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Cubic Executive Authors New
White Paper on Public Transit
Cubic Transportation Systems President Matt Cole has authored a new white paper presenting the need for public transit being at the forefront of conversations about Mobility as a Service (MaaS).
Current discussions around MaaS, dominated by commercial mobility service providers, propagates a vision of future mobility that does not adequately address the many issues faced by cities today, such as congestion, density, safety, security, social inclusion and a need for integrated regulation, coordination and policy. For MaaS to be effective in addressing those challenges, public transit agencies must start playing a central role in shaping the direction of MaaS solutions, driving the implementation effort and acting as coordinators of future MaaS endeavors.
The white paper, titled, “MaaS: Putting Transit Front and Center of the Conversation,” will be launched at the American Public Transportation Association Legislative Conference taking place this week in Washington, D.C. The white paper will be presented to the Mobility Management Committee by Cole.
“Today, the definition of MaaS remains ambiguous. The early adopters of MaaS were almost exclusively private mobility providers and so the industry has come to consider MaaS a private sector initiative,” said Cole. “With public transit at its heart, MaaS can bring many benefits to cities, communities and transit agencies. We hope this white paper will help our customers, partners, and the transit industry at large, revisit their assumptions about MaaS and encourage an open discussion about public transit as the backbone of MaaS.”
Download a complimentary copy of the white paper at www.cubic.com/maas.
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Grand Opening April 7 for
Oceanside Luxury Condominiums
San Marcos-based Richard and Richard Construction Inc. will hold the grand opening for Pacific Sands, a four-unit luxury condominium development in Oceanside, on April 7. The project is at 724 North Pacific St.
The event will be held from 11a.m. to 3 p.m. and include private tours of the residences.
Richard and Richard Construction, which specializes in commercial and residential projects, acquired the 6,795-square-foot Pacific Sands parcel in 2016 with project completion slated for this spring. Residences were designed for coastal property buyers who will use them as either primary residences or second homes.
The community has one structure with four condominiums, three of which are single-level flats and one is a two-story townhome, ranging from 2,195 to 2,234 square feet. Prices start from the mid-$1 million’s.
The project developer is Pleiades Pacific LLC and the construction team includes Richard and Richard Construction as lead general contractor and architect, with principal partner, Richard Woolsey, handling project management duties.
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Personnel Announcements
Bank of Southern California Adds 2 Vice Presidents
Bank of Southern California N.A., a community business bank headquartered in San Diego, has added two business development officers to support the company’s expansion into Southern California.
Philip Mulder has joined the bank as vice president, business development officer and will be responsible for providing SBA and commercial lending to small- and medium- sized businesses in the Inland Empire and Riverside County. Throughout his career he has demonstrated a strong commitment and proven success in partnering with businesses to help them achieve their financial goals. He previously served as vice president, business development for a Southern California regional bank, and prior held a similar position with the CDC, Small Business Finance, Riverside for over 20 years.
Billy Szeto joined the bank as vice president, business development officer and will focus on providing small- to medium-sized businesses with financing through SBA and commercial real estate loan programs. With more than 15 years of commercial lending experience, he has a track record of helping small businesses facilitate the acquisition, development, and refinance of commercial real estate properties throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. Prior to joining the bank, he held a similar role at Union Bank.
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Márcia Loeffelholz Rejoins Hecht Solberg Robinson Goldberg & Bagley
Márcia H. Y. Loeffelholz has rejoined Hecht Solberg Robinson Goldberg & Bagley LLP as a senior associate. Loeffelholz concentrates in real estate and business transaction matters, with a focus on acquisitions and dispositions, finance transactions, commercial leasing, entity formation and corporate governance and the purchase and sale of business entities and assets.
For the past seven years, Loeffelholz has focused on practicing real estate and business law, including with H.G Fenton Company. She has extensive experience representing developers, landlords, tenants, corporations and entrepreneurs with real estate and general business needs.
Earlier, she was associated with HechtSolberg as a paralegal and an associate for six years.
Loeffelholz graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Brazil’s Fundacão Armando Alvares Penteado and earned her J.D. from the University of São Paulo, School of Law. She obtained her Master of Laws degree (LLM) from University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
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Sudberry Properties Names COO and Chief Financial Officer
Sudberry Properties has appointed William Mayer chief operating officer and chief legal officer and John Bogucki as chief financial officer for the firm.
Mayer will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the real estate development firm, whose projects include the urban village of Civita. Mayer will also be responsible for providing support for acquisitions and development, and managing all legal issues, including the selection and oversight of outside counsel.
Previously, for more than 14 years, Mayer was the vice president and general counsel for D.R. Horton’s West Region, consisting of 10 divisions in seven states with and more than 2,000 full-time employees. Mayer was one of the first attorneys at D.R. Horton, which became the largest homebuilding firm homebuilder in the country. He helped D.R. Horton manage its historic market expansion from 2002 to 2008, weather the historic downturn from 2008 to 2012, and rebuild following the recession. Earlier, he was a partner at Duke Gerstel Shearer, LLP, a San Diego law firm specializing in real estate, construction and business law, and principal at The Law Offices of William Mayer.
Bogucki is responsible for the day-to-day operation and oversight of the finance, accounting, and administration departments. He also manages all financial aspects of numerous real estate holdings and acquisitions for the firm. Previously, Bogucki held executive positions with several West Coast real estate developers, including California Traditions of San Diego and Silverstar Communities of Reno. Earlier, he was a real estate consulting manager for Ernst & Young Kenneth Leventhal Real Estate Group in San Diego.
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Cirque du Soleil’s First Ice
Production Comes to San Diego
Cirque du Soleil’s 42nd overall production and first-ever experience on ice, “Crystal,” takes over San Diego’s Valley View Casino Center for a limited engagement this week, March 21-25. A new kind of performance as Cirque du Soleil meets the ice, get ready to experience world-class entertainers as they take an icy stage by storm. Professional ice skaters and acrobats take their new frozen playground to the next level with speed and fluidity as they challenge the laws of gravity with a flurry of unexpected acrobatics.
