Daily Business Report-May 23, 2018
U.S. Postal Service’s Sally Ride Forever stamp
Sally Ride Stamp Launches Today
Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space, a pioneering astronaut, brilliant physicist and dedicated educator who inspired the nation, will be commemorated on a Forever stamp today.
The Sally Ride Forever stamp 5 p.m. dedication ceremony — free and open to the public — will take place at the Price Center, UC San Diego.
Ride served as a professor of physics at the university, which also is the home to Sally Ride Science@UCSanDiego, a nonprofit organization she co-founded to inspire young people in science, engineering, technology and math (STEM) and to promote STEM literacy.
Followers of the U.S. Postal Service’s Facebook page can view the ceremony live at Facebook.com/USPS. The stamps may be pre-ordered now by clicking here, for delivery shortly after today’s issuance.
“Sally Ride’s history-making journey has made it easier for young girls to dream of one day being an astronaut, an engineer, a physicist or a mathematician. Today, girls don’t just dream. Because of trailblazers like Sally Ride, they have been empowered to do,” said U.S. Postal Service Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President Kristin Seaver.
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Alliant Educational Foundation
Lists 71-Acre Scripps Ranch
Property for Sale for $50 Million
One of the largest educational campuses on the West Coast, the 71-acre Scripps Ranch home of Alliant International University, has been put up for sale for $50 million.
The campus, located at 10455 Pomerado Road, was listed by Alliant Educational Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides funding and resources to support student scholarships and faculty research grants. Alliant International University, a partner of Alliant Educational Foundation, is the current tenant of the property.
The property is the largest educational campus for sale on the West Coast, according to brokers with Kidder Mathews who have the listing for the property. “This is the largest educational campus to be marketed for sale on the West Coast in recent years,” said Eric Knowles, who heads up Kidder Mathews’ educational and religious practice, and is based in the company’s San Diego office.
As for the future of Alliant International University, Knowles said: “It is our understanding the university continues to thrive with strong enrollment and will remain at this location for the next couple of years. We understand they are actively seeking another site, but we don’t know any of the details.”
“We have generated interest for the sale from large universities from Asia and Europe, local charter schools, private investors and other institutional users,” said Kidder Mathews’ Robert Fletcher, who partners with Knowles in their specialized practice.
“Given the size and prominent location, the property is, of course, receiving strong interest from residential developers,” Knowles said.
The property has approximately 232,759 square feet of building improvements on approximately 45 net acres. The zoning is RS-1-8, Residential, and requires 40,000-square-foot lots.
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Model Homes Completed
at Bahia Vista II in Chula Vista
San Diego-based Pathfinder Partners LLC and homebuilder Lanshire Housing Partners LLC have completed construction on the model homes at Bahia Vista II, a new townhome community in southwest Chula Vista. A public grand opening event is set for Saturday, June 2, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A joint venture of Pathfinder and Lanshire, the community of 16 three- and four-bedroom townhomes is located at 806-812 Ada St. in Chula Vista. Completion on the project is slated for August 2018. Designed with first-time buyers, active duty and retired military and move-up buyers in mind, the homes start in the $400,000s. The community is adjacent to the 21-home Bahia Vista I community, which Pathfinder and Lanshire completed and sold out in 2016.
The homes range from 1,650 square feet to 1,800 square feet and feature open space interiors, high ceilings, quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances. All units have three full bathrooms with some of the four-bedroom homes featuring dual master suites. Select homes provide private patios with ocean, bay or mountain views. The project features a gated entrance, a paved trail and a park with a tot lot and seating areas.
Pathfinder acquired the partially entitled, 30,500-square-foot Bahia Vista II parcel in 2015.
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Port Wants Public Input on Illegal
Vessel Charter Operations in Bay
The Port of San Diego’s Harbor Police Department invites the public to attend a June 4 outreach session to provide input on the issue of illegal vessel charters operating in San Diego Bay, in order to assist the Port’s efforts to improve regulation of these businesses.
Currently, there are both legal and illegal vessel charters operating in San Diego Bay. The goal of better regulation is to protect consumers, safeguard public safety, and create a more even playing field for businesses. Vessel charters include whale-watching boats, party boats and sportfishing boats, to name a few examples.
The outreach session will take place at 10 a.m. in the Port Administration Building, 3165 Pacific Highway, San Diego.
“We are interested in hearing from members of the public, including waterfront visitors and the business community, on issues they have encountered with illegal vessel charters and other water sports businesses in San Diego Bay,” said Harbor Police Chief Mark Stainbrook. “Everyone is welcome to attend this outreach session to provide input on how the Port of San Diego may update and amend the code to better address vessel charter operations and ensure an even playing field.”
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CaseyGerry’s Gayle Blatt Appointed
to Committee in Apple Inc. Litigation
Gayle M. Blatt — a partner at San Diego-based law firm CaseyGerry and head of its complex litigation practice group — has been appointed by U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila of the Northern District of California to the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee for In re: Apple Inc. Device Performance Litigation.
The class action litigation stems from a January 2017 update Apple released for iOS, the operating system for iPhones. At the time the update was released, Apple said it “includes bug fixes and improves the security” of iPhones. However, testing revealed that the update also degraded the performance of older iPhones. While Apple ultimately acknowledged the January update intentionally slowed the performance of older phones, purportedly to preserve battery life, many consumers had already purchased replacement batteries or new phones. Blatt, along with the other appointed plaintiffs’ attorneys, will work to protect the interests of affected consumers and to obtain a just and speedy resolution of the case, according to CaseyGerry.
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San Diego Employers Association
Launches Redesigned Website
San Diego Employers Association (SDEA) has launched a newly redesigned website, SDEAHR.org. The website features the latest news and information related to current employment laws and regulations in California, designed forlocal business owners and HR professionals in San Diego.
“SDEA’s new website provides an enhanced experience in which it is easier than ever to learn about the latest labor and employment laws, order Labor Law posters, sign up for classes, and have all the most current information related to HR, right at your fingertips,” said Chris Bryant, president and CEO of SDEA. “Our new website serves as a reference and a toolbox to help people better serve their companies and their employees.”
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Gubernatorial Appointment
Hanan Harb-Patterson, 55, of San Diego, has been appointed to the State 9-1-1 Advisory Board. Harb-Patterson has been communications coordinator at the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department since 2000, where she has served in several positions since 1987, including dispatcher, dispatch supervisor and dispatch manager. She is a member of the National Emergency Number Association.
The position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Harb-Patterson is a Republican.
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I.E. Pacific Receives $22.4 Million
Contract for Flight Line Fire Station
I.E. Pacific Inc. of Escondido has been awarded a $22,414,000 contract for a new flight line fire station at Edwards Air Force Base. Bids were solicited via the Internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Edwards Air Force Base with an estimated completion date of May 22, 2020. Fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $22,414,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles, is the contracting activity.
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Agreement Allows Local Graduates
to Earn Degrees in Czech Republic
An agreement signed between the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District and a Prague university will allow graduates who have earned a degree from one of the two East County colleges to continue their education in the Czech Republic. The district’s agreement with Anglo American University (AAU) will provide an opportunity for students to earn a bachelor’s degree in a program that is less expensive than a California State University and can be completed more quickly. In addition, students could experience a part of the world they might not otherwise have known, said Alan Krautsengl, president emeritus of AAU.
“Students would have an international experience, setting them apart from the competition,” he told the district’s Governing Board when the agreement was approved May 15. “Spending time in a completely different environment gives them an edge.”
AAU, a not-for-profit university founded in 1990, is the first independent European institution to be accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, one of six regional accrediting agencies in the United States. The university, located in a restored palace in the historic center of Prague, enrolls almost 1,000 students from more than 70 countries. The university offers 14 undergraduate and graduate programs, and all courses are taught in English. Most classes are small, with a ratio of eight students per instructor.
Classes at AAU cost $250 per credit unit, compared to $396 per unit at San Diego State University.
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Cubic and TransLink Launch
Open Payments Feature
Cubic Transportation Systems and Vancouver’s transportation authority, TransLink, introduced the “Tap to Pay’ feature on Vancouver’s public transit system, allowing passengers to pay for travel using their contactless credit cards and mobile wallets.
The new system works in the same way as Vancouver’s Compass Card – the contactless smart card payment system that was designed by Cubic and launched in 2015. It allows passengers to tap their contactless Visa or Mastercard credit cards, or a device with an Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay wallet on card readers at fare gates and on buses to enter and exit the transit system.
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Catherine McCullough Appointed
to National Marketing Board
The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) has appointed Catherine McCullough, president/CEO of McCullough Landscape Architecture Inc., to its national board as at-large director. Her term is from Sept. 1, 2018, to Aug. 31, 2020.
A former president of the San Diego chapter of SMPS, McCullough said, “I am proud to represent not only the West Coast and San Diego in this national board position for SMPS, but our profession as well. I believe I am the only person from a landscape architecture firm on the board.”
McCullough is also a Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM), a designation from SMPS for those with achievement in strategic market planning, research, plan implementation, business development, and promotion.
McCullough came eligible for the position once she had previously served as a chapter officer, most recently the San Diego chapter president in 2014.
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