Daily Business Report-Feb. 19, 2020
Illustration by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters. Elements via iStock
The new thing for
California politicians?
Sweet charity
Steak dinners with lobbyists, overseas trips, favors for spouses: Nonprofits set up by California legislators and their staffers are testing campaign finance laws even as they underwrite good works by elected officials.
Lawmakers have developed a monetary backchannel during the past decade: nonprofits run by legislators and their staff, CalMatters’ Laurel Rosenhall reports.
Largely funded by corporations and unions with business before the Legislature, the nonprofits are subject to less scrutiny and disclosure than political campaigns.
Donors can give unlimited sums to the nonprofits, and get a tax break for giving to charity. Politicians who oversee them accept donations from a variety of sources, including oil and tobacco companies shunned by some Democrats and the state party.
Rick Hasen, UC Irvine law professor: “This gives a donor some potential extra influence that they couldn’t buy through a campaign contribution.”
Lawmakers’ nonprofits underwrite charitable work like scholarships and cultural celebrations, and let public officials advance causes they care about without tapping taxpayer money. But they’re also greasing the machinery of power—paying for steak dinners with lobbyists, overseas trips for staffers, and favors for spouses.
And they’re on the rise:
Then: In 2010, two predominant nonprofits were affiliated with California lawmakers—one each for the black and Latino caucuses.
Now: At least a dozen nonprofits have ties to lawmakers.
Read Laurel Rosenhall’s report here.
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New Study: Workers commuting to San Diego
from Riverside cause serious environmental damage
According to a new study released by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, workers commuting from Riverside County to San Diego County each day has significant environmental implications. The study found that the more than 53,000 people commuting from Riverside to San Diego travel an extra 1.3 billion miles per year and emit an additional 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide when compared to what their commute would be if they lived in homes along the I-15 corridor in North San Diego County.
“The results of this study reinforce what we already know – that San Diego County needs more housing for our workers,” said Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “If we were to create more housing here in our region, we could greatly reduce commute times and lessen the significant impact that tailpipe emissions have on global warming.”
These commutes have an impact of over 400,000 metric tons of emissions, and represent 26 million hours spent commuting annually, according to the study. Finally, it found that commuters drove 102 miles when commuting from their homes in Riverside to their work in San Diego. Two-thirds of that 102 mile commute is traveling to the San Diego County line from a home in Riverside. This represents a significant quality of life issue and diminishing competitiveness for the San Diego region’s ability to retain its workforce.
The study was conducted by Fehr & Peers, a transportation planning and engineering firm with offices in San Diego. The full study is available online here.
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Baby dragons hatched at Birch Aquarium
Aquarium successfully breeds rare Weedy Seadragon for the first time
For the first time ever, Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography has bred and successfully hatched two rare Weedy Seadragons. This is a first for Birch Aquarium, now one of the few aquariums in the world to hatch this unusual fish. The inch-long babies display the characteristic camouflaging appendages of the elaborate adult Weedy Seadragons in miniature, and have already had their first meals of tiny shrimp.
“We are elated to have breeding success with our Weedy Seadragons. This is a momentous event for our team and our seahorse and seadragon breeding program,” said Jennifer Nero Moffatt, the aquarium’s senior director of animal care, science and conservation. “Seadragons are charismatic, sensitive, and require detailed husbandry. We have spent over 25 years working with these animals and love that we have made the next steps to conserve this delicate species.”
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Class A office and retail building
in Carlsbad offered for sale for $28.5 million
A mixed-use, Class A office and retail building in Carlsbad has been offered for sale for $28.5 million by RPG, formerly known as RAF Pacifica Group. Recognized as North County’s only ground-up mixed-use project. The 53,205-square-foot building is 96 percent occupied by two prominent companies.
The building, called lift, features a sky deck with ocean views, three restaurant suites, a gated dog zone, scattered cabana seating, a movie screening wall, multiple outdoor fire pits, a BBQ area, and large private shaded office patios. The project is located adjacent to Bressi Ranch’s 200,000 square feet of walkable retail amenities and within a 10-minute drive of the Pacific Coast and Interstate-5.
Aric Starck, vice chairman, and Drew Dodds, associate, with Cushman & Wakefield’s Carlsbad office, are leading the sales efforts.
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Father of kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart
to address Women’s Week audience
Ed Smart, the father of Elizabeth Smart, believes he has experienced two miracles in his life. The first, he said, was when his daughter Elizabeth Smart was found alive nine months after she was kidnapped in Utah in 2002.
He had always held out hope that she would return home and feels unbelievably blessed that she did.
The second miracle, he said, is less obvious — though still powerful — and something he never thought would happen. He sometimes worries that he doesn’t deserve it after the first one.
But it came earlier this year when, at 64, Smart decided it was time to come out as gay and was warmly accepted by his neighbors, friends and family.
Ed will share with us the power of forgiveness and using your voice to stand up for yourself.
San Diego Women’s Week events are March 16 -20. Everyone is invited, and tickets can be purchased at www.sdwomensweek.com.
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Top official in the U.S. State Department
to deliver address at San Diego State
Ellen E. McCarthy, a top official in the U.S. State Department as head of the civilian bureau that provides intelligence to the nation’s diplomats, is scheduled to visit San Diego State University Feb. 24 for the President’s Lecture Series in conjunction with the Charles W. Hostler Institute on World Affairs.
McCarthy, assistant secretary for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, will speak on “Intelligence at the Point of Diplomacy: Ensuring All Sides are Heard.” The lecture is set for 2-3:30 p.m. in the Fowler Family Ballroom at the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center.
McCarthy has been a mainstay in the intelligence community for more than 20 years, serving in such roles as chief operating officer of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, director of the Human Capital Management Office and acting director of Security in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.
Reservations can be made online. Click here.
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Fortune Magazine names Scripps Health
among top employers in the nation
Scripps Health has been named among the top employers in the nation by Fortune magazine. Fortune’s 23rd annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For ranked Scripps at No. 43. Scripps is the only San Diego-based company and the only California-based health system to make the list.
The list will be published in the March print edition of Fortune. This year’s selection marks the 12th time that Scripps has been included on the list.
According to a survey by Great Place to Work, Fortune’s partner, 94 percent of Scripps employees say they are proud to tell others where they work. Scripps also provides an environment where employees want to stay, with 24 percent of its workforce having worked for the organization for at least 10 years. An additional 11 percent have been with Scripps for at least 20 years.
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JLL Report: Top Trends in
San Diego Law Firm Office Space
New Class A office development is experiencing a systematic shift in design to attract tenants in San Diego’s burgeoning tech and life science sectors. As a result, a significant portion of new Class A office options are not feasible for law firms, as new construction envisions larger floor plates and broader bay depths to achieve progressive/open floor plans. Law firms may find themselves relegated to second generation Class A office properties, which were originally designed with law firms and other professional service firms in mind – having traditional rectangular layouts, smaller floor plates, and narrow bay depths.
Law Firms can expect higher rents and lower concessions across the board within the top three submarkets. UTC is facing almost negligible supply and record rents, with a robust pipeline for new development, though mainly focused on tech and life sciences occupiers. Downtown’s supply is also low, and prices continue to rise as Landlords reinvest heavily into common area improvements and amenities. The pipeline of new or renovated Class A projects is marching forward, with multiple deliveries slated for the next three years.
Notwithstanding, Downtown is typically the most precarious law firm market and time will tell how the additional square footage will impact absorption in the coming years.
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Grand opening Saturday
for Riker Ranch in Lakeside
Pebble Creek Companies, Casbri Development and Presidio Residential Capital will hold a grand opening at Riker Ranch, a new community offering 20 single-family homes in Lakeside on Saturday, Feb. 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The neighborhood is located at 9265 Old Farmhouse Road.
Riker Ranch offers new single-level or two-story detached homes ranging from 2,700 to 3,059 square feet. Many of the homes offer covered verandas and tandem three-car garages. The Riker Ranch homes have no Mello-Roos tax and start in the mid $700,000s. Most of the Riker Ranch home sites provide space for boat or RV parking that includes a 50-amp 240V outlet and clean out.
Riker Ranch is a joint venture project with Presidio Residential Capital, a San Diego-based real estate investment company.
For more information, call 619-445-6556.
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McCullough Landscape Architecture
promotes Nabyl Miller to studio design leader
McCullough Landscape Architecture has promoted Nabyl “Naby” Miller to studio design leader. She will be working alongside the studio’s design principal, influencing creative and passionate design solutions on every project resulting in empathetic, diverse, and community-driven environments.
Previously at McCullough, Miller was senior associate landscape designer, providing management for commercial landscape developments in a variety of market sectors.
To date, much of Miller’s work has focused on creative integration of landscapes and social design, mixed-use development, civic centers, residential development, office campuses, office retrofits, and commercial centers throughout the U.S., China, Indonesia, and Mexico.
The cultural clash at the U.S./Mexican border, where Miller was born and raised, greatly developed her unique perspective which directly translates into her eclectic aesthetic and holistic approach to design and planning, said McCullough.
A Cal Poly Pomona graduate, Miller’s academic work has been recognized with national awards and has been featured in design publications.
