Daily Business Report: Monday, July 12, 2021
Cisterra Development puts up website to refute city’s lawsuit
to void Ash Street and Civic Center Plaza building deals
Cisterra Development, the real estate company mentioned as a major player in what has become Downtown’s 101 Ash Street and Civic Center Plaza deals controversy, has created a website that purports to provide the truth about those deals.
In an email announcing the website, Cisterra spokesman Eric Rose charged that the city “massively botched an unnecessary remodel at 101 Ash that caused by their own estimates more than $100 million of damage to that building, which they do not own.”
Rose also claims that the lease-to-own transactions on the buildings were “sound financial transactions for the city that would have helped solve its dire real estate challenges.”
He goes on to claim the city is trying to walk away and distract from the problems it created, and is attempting to redirect the story to focus on payments to (real estate broker) Jason Hughes. (Cisterra paid Hughes $5 million for his role in the Civic Center Plaza transaction and $4.4 million for his role in the 101 Ash St. transaction.)
PHOTOs of 101 Ash St., left, and Civic Center Plaza, right.
Click here to read the website launched by Cisterra
City is betting on this law to get it out of 101 Ash, Civic Center deals
By Lisa Halverstadt | Voice of San Diego
San Diego is betting a state anti-corruption law can be an escape hatch from two city leases that a real estate guru it had considered a volunteer received more than $9 million to help execute.
City Attorney Mara Elliott and a team of lawyers allege former adviser Jason Hughes violated Government Code Section 1090, which bars government officials from having financial interests in contracts they broker in their official capacities. In past cases, the law has also applied to contractors and consultants like Hughes, particularly when they provide advice to government officials.
The law is based on the premise that government officials should act in the best interest of taxpayers rather than their own.
Governor appoints local public defender
to San Diego Superior Court bench
By Times of San Diego
Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday appointed a local public defender to serve as a San Diego Superior Court judge. Euketa L. Oliver, 46, of Chula Vista, has been a deputy public defender in San Diego County for more than 15 years.
Oliver, a Whittier Law School graduate, will fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Kenneth M. Kirkman.
Oliver was the lone San Diego County judicial appointment among 19 new Superior Court judges announced Friday by the governor’s office, at an annual salary of $214,601.
La Mesan appointed to State 911 Advisory Board
Juan Carlos Castillo, 53, of La Mesa, has been appointed to the State 911 Advisory Board, by Gov. Gavin Newsome. Castillo has been director of the Heartland Communications Facility Authority since 2017, where he was Information Systems manager from 2009 to 2017. Castillo served as a staff sergeant for the U.S. Air Force from 1992 to 1997. Castillo is a member of the Western Fire Chiefs Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Castillo is a Republican.
Topping out ceremony for Cuyamaca College
Student Services Building set for Tuesday
A ceremonial topping out is set for Tuesday, July 13, at 9 a.m. for a three-story Student Services Building under construction at Cuyamaca College, a milestone representing nearly a decade’s effort to centralize student support at the campus.
The topping out marks that construction has reached its highest point. The public event will include an opportunity for members of the college community to sign a construction beam before it is lifted by a crane, along with an American flag and an evergreen tree, atop the frame of the 36,000-square-foot center. The tree is a construction practice that symbolizes good luck for the future occupants, continued growth, and a safe jobsite.
The estimated $34.2 million construction project will include new sustainable landscaping and the reconstruction of pathways to meet ADA accessibility standards.
Construction, which is expected to continue through summer 2022, is funded by Proposition V, a $398 million bond approved by East County voters in 2012.
La Jolla Country Day graduate and Native
American to attend U.S. Naval Academy
Straddling two cultures, La Jolla Country Day Class of 2021 graduate and Barona Tribal Member Jenna Rain Hernandez is proudly continuing her family’s military tradition.
She will be attending the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Inspired to pursue a military career by her parents, both West Point graduates, Hernandez is now the second Barona Tribal Member in her family to attend one of the country’s premier military academies.
Hernandez ultimately chose the Naval Academy because “I want to be a jet or marine pilot, and the Naval Academy is the place to go for that. The goal is to fly FA-18s, the Flying Hornets.”
“La Jolla Country Day is a college-prep school and I’m grateful for what they taught me about critical thinking and English in their curriculum and that will benefit me in many ways,” said Hernandez adding, “It will prepare me for another two years of flight school after the Naval Academy.”
Read more…
Affirmed Housing promotes directors in Californa
Mellody Lock and Rob Wilkins elevated
Mellody Lock has been promoted to director of development for Affirmed Housing’s Southern California development pipeline, and Rob Wilkins was promoted to Northern California vice president.
Mellody Lock now manages Affirmed Housing’s Southern California development pipeline, which currently consists of 12 developments in San Diego and Los Angeles Counties. She also oversees the development staff, soon expanding to seven team members. Since joining the company in June 2016 as a project manager focused on acquisitions, underwriting, entitlements and financing of new developments, she has closed eight deals in excess of $300 million in total financing.
Rob Wilkins is tasked with continuing to grow the company’s Northern California presence through the strategic acquisition and development of affordable housing properties in partnership with local communities. He will soon expand the company’s Bay Area team to three members, while receiving operational assistance from Affirmed’s headquarters in San Diego.
New Village Arts welcomes new staffers
Amanda Jordan and Sakshi Tiwari
New Village Arts (NVA), the professional theater in Carlsbad, announced the addition of two new staff members, Amanda Jordan as marketing manager and Sakshi Tiwari as manager of connectivity. They take over from AJ Knox, who recently left NVA to join the Raindrop Marketing agency.
In addition, Joan Cumming is stepping down from her role as president of NVA’s board of directors to act as the interim managing director while the company undertakes a national search for a successor for Alex Goodman, who has taken a position with the Children’s Discovery Museum in Escondido.
Amanda Jordan brings to the New Village Arts team a plethora of diverse experience in marketing, fundraising, and education program management from the nonprofit and arts industries.
Sakshi Tiwari comes to NVA with more than six years of expertise in world events and intellectual property. She is passionate about bringing brands to life and working on creative solutions and concept strategies, event management, and live shows.
All eligible voters to receive mail
ballot for gubernatorial recall election
The Registrar of Voters is alerting all active registered voters in San Diego County that they will receive a ballot in the mail for the Sept. 14 California Gubernatorial Recall Election.
Ballots will be mailed the week of Aug. 16, giving voters nearly a month to mark their ballot and return it before Election Day. Voters can return their ballot in the mail, no postage necessary, or at one of many mail ballot drop-off locations around the county.
Will there be in-person voting locations?
Yes. In-person voting locations will be open across the county for four days, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11 through Monday, Sept. 13.
Voters can also take advantage of early voting starting Aug. 16 at the Registrar’s office. Hours will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
On Election Day, the hours will change to 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at both the in-person voting locations and the Registrar’s office.
San Diego’s Funki Adventures secures
relief funding amid COVID-19 lockdowns
Through the Export Specialty Small Business Development Center at World Trade Center San Diego, the San Diego Regional EDC helped Funki Adventures find and apply for COVID-19 relief programs that would enable to business to stay afload and pivot to focus on a domestic customer base.
Following a no-cost economic incentive consulting session and personal application assistance with EDC, Funki Adventures applied to receive the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant and a federal Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
In early 2021, the company’s state relief grant funded ongoing marketing and enhanced cleaning equipment to keep Funki open and operating safely.
Founded in 2019, San Diego-based Funki Adventures was established to provide luxury overland camping experiences, all in one package. The company provides overlanding trips through an inventory of specialty vehicles for camping and off-roading trips, as well as customized trip plans.
Startup Discover Echo acquired
for $110 million by Swedish unicorn
In a $110 million deal, Swedish startup Celink has acquired San Diego-based Discover Echo, which makes futuristic microscopes that combine the functionality of upright and inverted microscopes into one piece. Maintaining its 50-person team and office in Miramar, Discover Echo will join Celink’s bioprinting and instruments efforts.
UC San Diego, Scripps Research use AI
to understand COVID-19 symptoms
A UC San Diego-led team joined by researchers at Scripps Research and the La Jolla Institute for Immunology is harnessing artificiaul intelligence to understand why COVID-19 symtoms can vary dramatically from one person to the next. The research could prove useful in the continued fight against the coronavirus and any future pandemic.
With updated European approval, NuVasive eyes
late summer launch for new spine surgery platform
Years after scoring the first regulatory approvals for its Pulse technology, NuVasive is finally preparing to roll out the spine surgery support platform.
That rollout will begin in Europe, now that the San Diego-based company has received a CE mark for the updates it has made to its Pulse platform in recent years. The launch is slated for “later this summer,” Massimo Calafiore, NuVasive’s executive vice president of global business units, said.
With that green light under its belt, NuVasive also confirmed that it has begun clinical evaluations in several European countries ahead of the platform’s commercial launch on the continent.
