Daily Business Report-Nov. 14, 2018
The Empire State Building lights up in blue and gold —California’s state colors — in tribute to California fire victims. (CALmatters)
Another wildfire makes tragic history
Dan Morain | CALmatters
The Camp Fire in Butte County is now the deadliest wildfire in state history,
as the death toll rose to 42 on Monday with hundreds still unaccounted for. In Southern California, casualties from the Woolsey Fire stood at two, with some 370 homes and other buildings reduced to ashes.
President Donald Trump, at Gov. Jerry Brown’s request, approved a major disaster declaration.
Brown: “We have a real challenge here, threatening our whole way of life. It is a time of sadness, but also one to reflect on where we are and resolve to pull together and do everything we can to help those in need.”
Stocks of California’s two largest utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric and Edison International, slid Monday, amid investor fears of overwhelming fire liability.
Learn more about California’s epic wildfires from CALmatters’ fire here
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Analysis: San Diego developments to put
40,000 people in high fire-hazard areas
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is approving or considering the approval of nine large developments that would add 40,000 new residents in chaparral and grasslands naturally prone to fire, according to a new analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity.
The proposed and recently approved developments, including Newland Sierra and the Otay Ranch Villages, will put 15,000 homes in areas where fires have historically burned and which state agencies like Cal Fire have identified as posing a high fire threat to people.
Based on Census Bureau estimates of 2.87 persons per household in San Diego County, the developments could put more than 40,000 new residents at risk, notes the center analysis and comment letter submitted Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors. Supervisors will meet this morning to discuss land-use planning issues.
“Putting developments in the heart of fire country will increase wildfire risk and place people and homes in danger,” said Tiffany Yap, the center scientist who authored the analysis. “Building thousands of homes in naturally fire-dependent ecosystems is not the way to address San Diego County’s housing problems. It’s unacceptable for county supervisors to let developers knowingly put people in harm’s way.”
The nine proposed developments — including four recently approved by the board — would be built in areas dominated by chaparral, sage scrub and grasslands. These native California habitats rely on wildfires to persist and are prone to high-intensity fire. But when fires occur too frequently, these habitats are replaced by non-native grasses that burn more often and easily, further increasing fire threat.
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Asian Business Association offers free
one-on-one small business consultations
The Asian Business Association of San Diego is now offering free private business consultations and mentoring through its Business Development Resource Center (BDRC). Business education and advice is provided through a partnership with the Small business Development Center network.
“It’s exciting to expand our Business Development Resource Center offerings through this new, personal service,” said Wendy Urushima-Conn, association CEO. “These valuable sessions will be offered in our offices just twice a week so I encourage small business owners to find time in their schedules as soon as possible.”
Keli Anthis, Business Advisrr with the San Diego and Imperial Small Business Development Center, will help participating businesses to develop business plans, capture capital, increase capacity, budgeting, and develop successful strategic marketing plans.
The program is funded in part by the Small Business Administration.
These confidential sessions are provided at the ABA office at 7675 Dagget St., Suite 340, San Diego 92111, and will be held every Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To schedule an appointment, complete the intake form here
Educational efforts funded by the OTS grant will promote safe behaviors by pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. (Credit: San Diego County)
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County gets grant for bicycle/pedestrian
safety education program
Making sure that people who use local roadways to walk or ride their bikes are safe is the focus of a new safety education program the county of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency will be launching. A $75,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) will fund the year-long program that includes a variety of educational activities like bike safety rodeos, classroom presentations and community events aimed at teaching youth and adults about traffic rules, rights and responsibilities as a pedestrian and bicyclist.
Educational efforts funded by the OTS grant will promote safe behaviors by pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers, including avoiding distractions like cell phones, looking for parked cars that may be pulling out or opening a door, and making yourself visible by wearing bright clothing during the day and reflective materials at night. Educational components on bicycle and pedestrian safety will be especially geared toward children and older adults.
Bicycle and pedestrian deaths account for 29 percent of all roadway deaths in California.
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USD Ranks No. 1 in Study
Abroad participation in the nation
USD News Release
The Institute of International Education (IIE) Open Doors has ranked the University of San Diego’s Study Abroad Program first in the nation among top doctoral-granting institutions. This is the 11th straight year USD Study Abroad has been recognized by IIE among the nation’s top study abroad programs. Other top programs recognized in this year’s report include No. 2 University of Notre Dame, No. 3 Wake Forest University, No. 4 University of Denver, and No. 5 Pepperdine University.
The report, which covers the 2016-17 academic year, noted that more than 76.5 percent of USD’s undergraduate students participated in some form of study abroad experience before graduating. USD offers more than 75 different programs touching every corner of the globe.
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SDSU is No. 5 in nation for
number of students studying abroad
SDSU News Release
San Diego State University ranks No. 5 among all U.S. institutions of higher education for the number of students who studied abroad in 2016-17 and also ranks first in the state of California, according to Open Doors 2018. The current rank is SDSU’s highest ever and is three places above last year’s rank of No. 8. SDSU is one of only three California universities to make the top 40 list of the Institute of International Education (IIE). The University of California, Los Angeles, ranks No. 15 and the University of California, Berkeley, ranks No. 28 in this year’s report. IIE publishes the annual Open Doors report jointly with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
More than 3,000 SDSU students studied abroad in 2016-17, the latest academic year for which the IIE collected data and calculated rankings. This number exceeds 10 percent of SDSU’s undergraduate enrollment.
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Westcore Properties acquires land
from Caltrans for development
Westcore Properties has acquired 6.64 acres of land from Caltrans located along Sorrento Valley Road at Industrial Court in San Diego that is zoned for light industrial, office or commercial uses. The price was not disclosed.
Westcore said it is working to entitle the land for development of build-to-suit corporate facilities and/or speculative, light industrial buildings ranging in size from 30,000 to 45,000 square feet.
The land is part of a central San Diego submarket that includes Sorrento Valley, Sorrento Mesa, Torrey Pines, UTC and Miramar/Mira Mesa.
Cushman & Wakefield represented Westcore in the transaction, while Caltrans represented itself.
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Personnel Announcements
Alternative Strategies announces new hires, promotions
Alternative Strategies, a San Diego-based marketing firm, announce several new hires, internal promotions and office expansion at its North Park neighborhood office.
Molly Delmore was hired into the social media department as a social media manager, after completing a previous internship with the agency. She graduated from University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in retailing and consumer sciences.
Faisal Imami joined the agency’s PR department as media relations manager. With a degree in Communication Studies from San Diego State University, Imami brings his passion for storytelling to the agency’s public relations team.
Paige Nordeen and Casey Sorrell, both starting with the agency in mid-2016, have been promoted within the PR department to senior media relations managers. Since starting with Alt Strat, they have garnered a myriad of success for their clients, earning placements in national, regional and local publications.
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Kimpton Solamar Hotel promotes Edward Podolske
Kimpton Solamar Hotel announced the promotion of Edward Podolske to director of finance. In his new role, Podolske will be responsible for overseeing all accounting and financial operations, and reviewing forecasts and budgets prepared by the hotel and restaurant management teams to ensure the success of the 235-room boutique Downtown San Diego hotel.
Podolske joined Kimpton Solamar Hotel in March 2016 as assistant director of finance, and during his time in this role he successfully migrated the property from an Oracle-based financial system and implemented cost saving procedures for individual on-property departments.
Prior to joining Kimpton, Podolske held various roles at other San Diego hotel properties including the Omni Hotels & Resorts, where he served in a paymaster role for more than two years. During his time at the Omni, he processed payroll for over 300 employees, calculated commissions, and cross-trained new associates, among other responsibilities.
Podolske holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from San Diego State University.
