Daily Business Report-Sept. 10, 2018
Rendering of the Grossmont High School Events Center. (Courtesy of Sprotte Watson Architects)
Contractors needed for new Event
Center at Grossmont High School
What: The Grossmont Union High School District and Erickson-Hall Construction Company are hosting a Sept. 26 Contractor Outreach Event designed to bring the district’s construction management and project management teams together with local general contractors, subcontractors, and small and/or historically underutilized businesses looking for opportunities on the upcoming construction of the new Event Center at Grossmont High School.
The $19.9 million project is funded through Proposition U, approved by East County voters in November 2008, and Measure BB, approved in November 2016. The project team will discuss the new project, project schedule, pre-qualification process, bonding, insurance, and other forthcoming projects. District staff will be on hand to help contractors register with the district.
Due to extensive construction activities taking place at Grossmont High School, the event, scheduled for 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., will be held at Mount Miguel High School’s new Multi-Cultural Center Building, 8585 Blossom Lane, Spring Valley. Contractors interested in attending the event may contact Rick Osgood, Erickson-Hall construction manager, at rosgood@ericksonhall.com or (760) 445-3075.
There will be approximately 18 bid packages associated with the project, expected to be advertised in mid-October. The project is all new construction that includes modern technology for audio, video and lighting systems. Virtually all construction trades will be required to complete the project. The district is especially interested in engaging local contractors and those with certifications as a small, disadvantaged, woman-owned, minority-owned, or disabled veteran-owned business enterprise.
Designed by Sprotte Watson Architects, the project is scheduled to start construction in January 2019.
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USD ranked 14th nationally,
Best in West for campus food
The University of San Diego has received the No. 14 national ranking for Best Campus Food according to the Princeton Review for 2019. And, as the only California university or college among the top 16, USD is No. 1 among all West Coast institutions.
The 14th spot is an improvement from 18th in last year’s ranking, according to Loreen Johnson, director of Auxiliary Services’ marketing. “To move up to fourteenth is very significant,” she said. It’s USD’s highest-ever ranking in this category by the Princeton Review, which last year named USD as having the nation’s Most Beautiful Campus.
Johnson expressed happiness with the ranking because Princeton Review’s decision is measured directly from the university’s student feedback on surveys they’ve filled out.
The Princeton Review ranking is the latest rewarding news from Auxiliary Services but it isn’t the only reason to celebrate. In May, the department learned that USD Catering, USD’s exclusive caterer, earned a Loyal E. Horton Dining Award Gold Medal in the category of “Catering — Special Event,” from the National Association of College and University Food Services.
The honor was for USD Catering’s work on the Nov. 11, 2017 Founders Gala, an elegant event that is held every other year since 2009 and provides support for student scholarships. The 2017 Gala, held inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion, took place on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, and had a military theme. The event raised its highest Gala total to date — $1.3 million, including $500,000 that will create a USD Student Veteran Endowed Scholarship Fund.
The event featured multiple receptions, a four-course meal — including multiple alternate course based on dietary needs — wine and had many unique and innovative amenities available to the more than 600 registered guests to enjoy and to visually see, including a touching Missing Man table on full display. Many areas within Auxiliary Services contributed to making the event run smoothly and successfully.
“It was nice to receive the Gold Medal and to bring back this recognition for our entire university department,” Johnson said.
Founders Gala has been an award-winning event for USD the last few years. In 2016, USD won both Horton Dining Awards, Grand Prize and Gold, for the 2015 Founders Gala in the Catering Special Event category and a Silver Medal recipient in 2014 for the 2013 event. In all, USD has won 23 NACUFS Horton Dining Awards since 1991.
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Del Mar Gun Shows may end
in 2019 pending policy review
Times of San Diego
The Del Mar Fairgrounds would forbid any new gun shows beyond this year under a proposal to be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting of the fair board — a plan certain to trigger praise and condemnation. Under the proposal, the board would consider no contracts with the Crossroads of the West Gun Shows until the fair board has put into place “a mre thorough policy regarding the conduct of gun shows.”
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The alchemy of healing:
Researchers turn open wounds into skin
Plastic surgery to treat large cutaneous ulcers, including those seen in people with severe burns, bedsores or chronic diseases such as diabetes, may someday be a thing of the past. Scientists at the Salk Institute have developed a technique to directly convert the cells in an open wound into new skin cells. The approach relies on reprogramming the cells to a stem-cell-like state and could be useful for healing skin damage, countering the effects of aging and helping us to better understand skin cancer.
“Our observations constitute an initial proof of principle for in vivo regeneration of an entire three-dimensional tissue like the skin, not just individual cell types as previously shown,” says Salk Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, senior author of the new paper, published in the journal Nature on September 5, 2018. “This knowledge might not only be useful for enhancing skin repair but could also serve to guide in vivo regenerative strategies in other human pathological situations, as well as during aging, in which tissue repair is impaired.”
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Personnel Announcements
Nicole Martinez and Robert Lincoln join Higgs Fletcher & Mack
Higgs Fletcher & Mack announced the addition of Nicole Martinez to the Family Law practice group and Robert W. Lincoln to the Business Litigation practice group. Nicole Martinez has exclusively practiced family law since she was admitted to the California Bar in 2012. Martinez has practiced in San Diego County, as well as Los Angeles County, where she specialized in high-conflict, high-asset divorce cases. She has had success in both routine and complex family law and works to obtain favorable results, whether through mediation or trial. While earning her J.D. at the University of Southern California, Martinez volunteered at the Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law.
Robert Lincoln represents businesses and management in all aspects of litigation in labor and employment disputes. Prior to joining the law firm, he practiced at Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP. Lincoln served five years in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, attaining the rank of captain. As a Judge Advocate, he served as prosecutor for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and subsequently defense counsel, representing soldiers throughout California, Hawaii, and Nevada.
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Corinna Arbiter joins Balestreri Potocki & Holmes
Corinna Arbiter has joined the law firm of Balestreri Potocki & Holmes as an associate. Arbiter’s practice includes construction, personal injury and real property litigation. She has a successful track record of efficiently resolving multi-party construction defect claims for her clients.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Arbiter worked in the title insurance industry.
She received her B.S. from the University of Arizona in 1984 and her J.D. from Loyola Law School in 2010. She is admitted to practice in California, the District of Columbia and New Mexico.
Balestreri Potocki & Holmes is a boutique law firm headquartered in San Diego, California. The firm provides representation to a diverse range of business clients with an emphasis in the legal advocacy and consultation of business owners and companies working in or related to the construction, transportation and hospitality industries.
