Daily News Report: Wednesday, July 13, 2022
$1.28 million grant bolsters SDSU’s CIBER
program to enhance business competitiveness
San Diego State University has received a $1.28 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to continue the work of its Center for International Business Education & Research (CIBER) program. Combined with matching funds from SDSU, this support will equal roughly $638,000 annually for the next four years.
Designated a national center of excellence, SDSU is one of only 16 universities in the U.S. and two in California to earn this award.
SDSU will use the funding to further the CIBER program’s mission to enhance U.S. business competitiveness by graduating students with a global perspective.
Activities supported by the grant include funding for faculty research and opportunities for students to study abroad; outreach and training programs for the business community; programs for language and business faculty from institutions across the U.S.; and interdisciplinary education in the U.S.
“With this funding, SDSU will continue to set a standard for educational excellence in international business among our nation’s universities and graduates,” said U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations, and Global Corporate Social Impact.
The CIBER program, launched at SDSU in 1989, operates within the Wendy Gillespie Center for Advancing Global Business in the Fowler College of Business.
Top image: A symbolic image of global connections and a rising sun. (Adobe Stock Images)
Frontwave Arena coming to Oceanside in 2023
Oceanside Arena Management and Frontwave Credit Union announced the naming rights Tuesday for the new state-of-the-art community entertainment and sports arena coming to Oceanside in 2023.
The 170,000-square-foot arena will be named Frontwave Arena and is being built in the El Corazón sports complex area near Oceanside Blvd and Rancho del Oro Drive.
“We’re dreaming big with the creation of a state-of-the-art entertainment complex in Oceanside, and we’ve got a naming rights partner that dreams big as well,” said Oside Arena Management President Sean Bowers. “We couldn’t be happier to partner with Frontwave Credit Union, an organization we have worked with closely in recent seasons with the San Diego Sockers. Together, we look to change the face of entertainment in San Diego’s North County.”
Local Planned Parenthood chapter receives
‘landmark’ $10 million gift
By Chris Jennewein | Times of San Diego
Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest announced Monday it has received a “landmark donation” of $10 million from philanthropists Joan and Irwin Jacobs to support reproductive health care throughout the region. The gift will help the San Diego affiliate of the national family planning organization build and expand health centers throughout San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties.
“We can’t overstate the positive impact this gift will have on communities throughout our service region,” said Darrah DiGiorgio Johnson, president and CEO. “Joan and Irwin Jacobs are visionaries and longtime champions of access to essential health care, and we are so grateful for their support.”
Last weekend the nonprofit dedicated the Planned Parenthood Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center, currently the largest in its network, serving 17,000 patients annually. The clinic in Kearny Mesa provides contraception, STI testing and treatment, cancer screening and treatment, gender-affirming hormone treatment, pregnancy tests, and abortion care.
Preservation Equity Fund Advisors acquires
Lexington Green Section 8 low-income housing project
Preservation Equity Fund Advisors, an organization committed to acquiring and preserving existing affordable housing in high-cost markets through real estate private equity investments, announced it has acquired the Lexington Green apartments in El Cajon. The 98 percent occupied property is a stabilized, project-based Section 8 housing community comprising 18 two-story buildings for families with household incomes at 50 percent and 60 percent of the area median household income.
Originally built in 1970 and significantly rehabbed in 2007 with low-income housing tax credits and bond financing, the project-based Section 8 community includes a unit mix of 16 one-bedrooms, 88 two-bedrooms, and 40 three-bedrooms. The project’s common amenities include laundry facilities, a playground, basketball court, WiFi, barbeque grills and picnic area. Unit amenities include central A/C and heating, ceiling fans, carpeting, window coverings, large closets, balcony/patios, and refrigerators.
PEF Advisors plans to undertake capital improvements to address deferred maintenance including asphalt slurry, balcony repairs, new roofs, tree removal and exterior paint.
How much student housing does $1.4 billion buy?
By Mikhail Zinshteyn |CalMatters
What a difference $1 billion makes.
An estimated 3,800 more college students will soon have affordable campus housing after state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom agreed to pump a portion of California’s $300 billion budget into a student program to ease a residential crisis gripping the state’s public universities and community colleges.
All told, $1.4 billion is heading to 26 public campuses this year to build or expand dorms, a tripling of the original plan to send $470 million to just nine campuses. Once the structures are complete — some of which are scheduled to open in two years — about 7,300 students will have access to beds at ultra-low rents.
Yet the extra beds represent a pittance of the true need for students battling unstable housing, given that hundreds of thousands of college learners in California experience homelessness, couch surf, change addresses often or struggle to pay rent — all major impediments to thriving in school. Meanwhile, California’s public universities annually report thousands of students on waiting lists for campus housing.
Still, even more affordable units may be on the way. The budget deal between Newsom and lawmakers calls for spending another $750 million on housing development grants next year, but the money would have to appear in next year’s budget. Also in the budget deal is a promise to fund $1.8 billion in interest-free loans that the state would issue to campuses to build student and employee housing, an idea that’s been long in the making. The plan is for lawmakers to approve $900 million next year and again the year after that for the loan program to take off.
Chris Clemens and Sarah Bilyeu join KCD PR as vice presidents
KCD PR, an award-winning integrated communications agency for the financial services, fintech and technology industries, announced the addition of two new established communicators to its leadership team. Chris Clemens and Sarah Bilyeu have joined KCD PR, bringing with them a wealth of public relations expertise in the financial services, fintech and tech industries.
In the vice president roles, Clemens and Bilyeu are an integral part of the leadership team and responsible for creating and implementing communications campaigns to cultivate and enhance meaningful relationships with key audiences to advance brand identity and drive consumer adoption of client products and services.
Clemens joins KCD PR with over 20 years of experience in the financial services and technology industries. He came to KCD PR after more than a decade at a financial services-focused strategic communications and public relations agency that he helped build from a two-person startup to an established national firm.
Bilyeu joins the agency with nearly 20 years of experience in developing effective communications campaigns to raise brand awareness, drive sales and garner positive engagement among key audiences. Most recently, Bilyeu served nearly nine years as senior vice president of business development and community relations at San Diego County Credit Union.
San Diego business leader accepted into Forbes Business Council
David Malcolm, president of Cal West Apartments, a provider of rental housing in San Diego,and South Riverside counties, has been accepted into the Forbes Business Council, the foremost growth and networking organization for successful business owners and leaders worldwide.
Malcolm was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience.
Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.
“We are honored to welcome David Malcolm into the community,” said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Business Council. “Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.”
‘Business Beyond Borders’ program set for
July 19 by San Diego Realtors organization
The Greater San Diego Association of Realtors is promoting growing opportunities in international real estate by hosting “Business Beyond Borders” – an informative program to guide agents through the unique aspects of real estate purchases by foreign nationals.
Taking place at the Admiral Baker Golf Club on Tuesday, July 19, the event will include presentations from an expert panel on issues such as foreign loans, currency exchange, immigration/visas, tax and legal implications, and cross-cultural business etiquette.
Attendees will also enjoy the opportunity to network with like-minded real estate professionals.
Location: Admiral Baker Golf Club, 2400 Admiral Baker Road, No. 3604, San Diego 92124.
Cost: $40 for SDAR members, $50 for nonmembers.
BofA awards $825,000 philanthropic
investment into San Diego nonprofits
Bank of America announced more than $825,000 in grants to 29 San Diego nonprofits to help drive economic opportunity for individuals and families. These grants are the initial round of dollars directed to local nonprofits this year, with more to come throughout the year. Last year alone, Bank of America awarded $1.8 million in grants to local nonprofits and employees volunteered 8,600 hours to local causes in San Diego to help build thriving communities.
This first round of grants from the bank focus on workforce development and education to help individuals chart a path to employment and better economic futures, as well as basic needs fundamental to building life-long stability. Specifically, these local grants include support for job reskilling, food insecurity, affordable housing/shelter, youth education and employment, healthcare and domestic violence.
Costco to open store at former Sears building
Costco is set to open a store at the former Sears building at Westfield North County. The former Sears store is located on Parcel 1, leased by parent company Transformco until the council approved Costco Wholesale Corporation’s lease takeover during a special meeting on June 27.
The city anticipates $1.5 million in sales tax revenue from Costco during the first year of stable operation, 314 additional jobs and even more potential investment into the Westfield property.
“I think it will be very helpful for the mall,” said Councilmember Consuelo Martinez. “I still shop at the mall, and even though there are some empty spaces there, there’s still a lot to visit, and I think Costco will help bring more people and more business to the mall.”
Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos opens
new clubhouse in Richmar
What formerly sat as an empty retail space in the Richmar neighborhood of San Marcos just a year ago has transformed into a buzzing clubhouse offering daily recreation, education and support programs for dozens of local youth.
The new 6,000 square-foot clubhouse on Autumn Drive, known as the Walter J. & Betty C. Zable Foundation Boys & Girls Club, is a branch of the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos located less than half a mile from the main site on Positive Place which they have outgrown in recent years.
On June 28, club leaders, city officials and community members gathered to officially celebrate the opening of the brand-new space equipped with a games room, community connections center, learning and technology centers, arts room and demonstration kitchen.
For learn more about the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos, please visit their website.
San Diego Unified proposes offering $10,000
incentive to some new employees
School districts were hit hard by the pandemic and now many are left short-staffed, unable to recruit and retain workers in certain positions that have become harder to fill.
San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) relied on substitute teachers to staff some vacant positions, but now- the district and the union representing employees, the San Diego Education Association, have come up with a tentative agreement they hope will attract new employees and keep those they have.
The agreement would need to be voted on before it’s official, that’s expected to happen in the coming weeks, according to SDUSD.
Under the proposal, the district would offer a $10,000 hiring incentive for new special education teachers and school nursing positions.
