Daily Business Report: Friday, Aug. 12, 2022
Adventures in Dining
Collaborative outdoor venue,
The Gärten, to open in Bay Park in September
San Diego’s growing demand for outdoor venues and adventurous drinking and dining options will soon be met with the opening of The Gärten, an expansive multi-vendor collaboration from four locally-grown food and beverage brands. It is slated to open at 5322 Banks Street in Bay Park in September.
The Gärten itself will serve as a shared space between the four individual businesses located alongside of it; those four food and beverage partners include:
• Deft Brewing: Founded in 2017 and most recently awarded Co-Champion Brewery in the 2021 San Diego International Beer Competition, Deft Brewing sets itself apart from other San Diego craft breweries through its focus on traditional beer styles from Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
• Lost Cause Meadery: A modern mead-making operation recognized as one the most awarded meaderies in the world in recent years, Lost Cause first launched in 2017 in Miramar’s Miralani Makers’ District and has since grown to offer a wide array of meads and ciders out of its current headquarters in Bay Park.
• Pizza Cassette: Newly launched Pizza Cassette focuses on incorporating Southern California flavors and ingredients into its wood-fired pizzas, and is led by two talented pizzaiolos whose résumés include locally renowned Buona Forchetta and Biga, pizzerias across Brooklyn, and competing for Team USA in the World Pizza Championships.
•Oddish Wine: From the founders of Lost Cause Meadery, Oddish Wine will offer sparkling wines that combine traditional winemaking practices with nontraditional fruit including co-ferments such as Pineapple + Chardonnay and Guava + Sauvignon Blanc when it launches in late 2022.
Top Photos: Artwork and renderings of The Gärten restaurant to come
Newsom nominates a Latina to be California
Supreme Court chief justice — a first
By Nigel Duara | CalMatters
In a state that doesn’t have many Latinas either sitting on the judicial bench or arguing cases before it, Patricia Guerrero would make history as chief justice on California’s highest court.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday nominated Guerrero, 50, to be chief justice of the California Supreme Court. Already the high court’s first Latina after her March swearing-in, Guerrero would also be the court’s first Latina chief justice.
A former lawyer in private practice, Guerrero, a resident of Coronado, was also a federal prosecutor before she became a judge in San Diego County Superior Court and, in 2017, became an appellate judge in California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal. She grew up in the Imperial Valley, and her parents were immigrants from Mexico, and graduated from Stanford Law School.
Newsom called her “a widely respected jurist with a formidable intellect and command of the law.” A colleague at her Fourth District confirmation hearing in 2017 recalled how she finished a brief on her way to give birth to her son, and coordinated filing the brief hours later.
Juan Esparza Loera, editor of the Fresno Spanish-language newspaper Vida en el Valle, said he was surprised by Guerrero’s nomination to chief justice so soon after she was sworn in. But he’s happy he gets to write about another “first-in-history.”
“I’ve been here 32 years, and it’s surprising to me that even in the year 2022, I’m still writing about firsts for Latinos,” Loera said. “I’ll be happy when I start writing about seconds and thirds.”
The numbers in 2022 remain grim for Latinos overall in California’s judiciary. More than 62% of all trial court judges are white, as are more than 70 percent of appellate court judges.
Latinos, by contrast, make up just 12 percent of trial court judges and 7 percent of judges in the appellate court, though they make up 39 percent of the state.
Supervised drug injection sites could soon pop up in California
By Ana Ibarra | CalMatters
For years, the idea of establishing supervised drug injection sites has been a long-standing goal for some progressive California leaders looking to address the burgeoning overdose crisis. Efforts to launch such programs have come close, but never to the finish line.
Now, as the latest legislation seeking to sanction these sites heads to the governor’s desk, proponents are gearing up to make these injection sites a reality — and they hope a success — in the Golden State.
Senate Bill 57 would authorize these overdose prevention pilot programs in Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, which would operate through Jan. 1, 2028.
While former Gov. Jerry Brown rejected similar legislation in 2018, supporters are hopeful Gov. Gavin Newsom will sign this one after he said he was open to the idea during his campaign for governor.
“We have been engaging with the governor’s office for the past four years on this measure. We haven’t heard that he’s not going to sign it, so we’re hopeful that he’ll stick to his word from 2018,” said Jeannette Zanipatin, California state director of the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group that works to decriminalize drugs and a co-sponsor of the bill.
Alex Stack, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said they don’t comment on pending legislation.
Midsummer home sales slow significantly
Sales of previously owned homes in San Diego County pulled back in a big way in July, according to housing statistics compiled through the San Diego Multiple Listing Service by the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors. Resale single-family home purchases were down 22 percent in July compared to June, and condominiums and townhomes (attached properties) fell by 17 percent from the prior month. Compared to the same month last year, home sales plummeted by about 43 percent.
Prices also saw a dip, continuing a trend for the past few months. The July median price of single-family homes in the county was $969,000, down a percentage point from June. Attached properties saw a less than 1 percent decrease, standing at $630,000. However, for the year-to-date, the median price of all resale homes in San Diego County is running 16 percent higher than in 2021.
“We saw the market cool down in the month of July, with higher mortgage rates causing a slight drop in home prices,” said SDAR President Chris Anderson. “However, we are still facing a major housing supply and affordability crisis in San Diego mostly due to slow and costly production. That is why we are urging our elected leaders to do more to boost housing production by reducing the barriers and regulations which stifle much needed growth.”
California housing affordability slides to
lowest level in nearly 15 years in 2nd quarter
Housing affordability in California fell below 20 percent and slid to the lowest level in nearly 15 years as home prices soared to record highs in April and May and interest rates jumped to levels not seen in more than 13 years, The California Association of Realtors said.
The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California in second-quarter 2022 slid to 16 percent from 24 percent in the first quarter of 2022 and was down from 23 percent in the second quarter of 2021, according to C.A.R.’s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI). California hit a peak high affordability index of 56 percent in the first quarter of 2012.
A minimum annual income of $199,200 was needed to qualify for the purchase of a $883,370statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in the second quarter of 2022. The monthly payment, including taxes and insurance on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, would be $4,980, assuming a 20 percent down payment and an effective composite interest rate of 5.39 percent.
Commercial real estate firm CGS3 adds an
attorney and senior paralegal to San Diego office
Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP (CGS3), a Southern California-based commercial real estate law firm, announced the addition of Chanel Di Blasi as associate attorney and Nicole Gallup as senior paralegal. In addition to primarily handling real estate transaction matters, Di Blasi will also join the firm’s newly formed landlord/tenant practice group. Both will work from its San Diego office.
Prior to joining CGS3, Di Blasi was an associate attorney at Kimball, Tirey & St. John in San Diego, working in its landlord-tenant department and assisting property owners and managers with their business needs in that firm’s business real estate group. Throughout her career, she has concentrated her practice on representing landlords’ property rights and successfully navigating the regulations that govern their properties.
Previously with Torrey Pines Bank, Gallup has more than 10 years’ experience in the legal and commercial loan sectors with expertise covering a range of real estate matters – from transactional work to complex commercial loans. She has worked for both law firms and as an in-house paralegal representing a commercial real estate investment company.
Cubic Corporation’s Christian Henry
named to Transportation Power 100 list
Christian Henry, senior vice president and general manager of Cubic Corporation’s North America Eastern Region, has been named to the 2022 Transportation Power 100 list by City & State New York. City & State’s Transportation Power 100 identifies influential figures such as Henry, who play a key role in updating and expanding New York’s transportation infrastructure.
his nomination highlights Henry’s pivotal role as the program director for One Metro New York (OMNY), a system enabling seamless travel to residents of New York by connecting all five New York boroughs and providing convenient contactless payment and mobile wallet solutions.
Henry is a technology solutions professional with over 20 years of experience managing infrastructure implementations across a multitude of projects. He joined Cubic in 2018, spearheading the transition from a legacy system to the new, integrated OMNY solution for one of the world’s most robust public transit systems.
County opens first safe parking site
for homeless in East County
A new overnight option has opened for people experiencing homelessness in East County.
The safe parking lot is designed to help persons experiencing homelessness who have cars but no place to safely park them at night.
Second District County Supervisor Joel Anderson, who represents the East County, was joined at the opening by the County’s Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities and others.
This is the first Safe Parking program opened by the county. It includes hygiene facilities, 24/7 security, two hot meals for overnight guests and access to local YMCA facilities.
The 17-space site is located on North Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon in an unincorporated area of San Diego County. Parking spaces are assigned by referral only through the county’s Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities outreach teams. The lot opens nightly at 5:30 p.m. Guests must exit each morning by 7:00 am.
S.D. College of Continuing Education
sponsoring Exploration Days Saturday
San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE) will host Exploration Days, a public open house for prospective students and families from 10 a.m.-2.p.m. Saturday, August 13. Event is free, all-ages, and include live entertainment and food. Open house will take place at the Educational Cultural Complex (4343 Ocean View Boulevard San Diego 92113), SDCCE’s hub for free welding, automotive, and culinary arts career training.
SDCCE provides free workforce training for adult learners at seven campuses across the county in priority sectors such as welding, automotive, child development, information technology, culinary arts, business, healthcare, digital media, clothing and textiles.
Pre-registration for Exploration Days is encouraged but not required. Advance sign ups receive an additional opportunity drawing ticket. Pre-register at sdcce.edu/exploration-days
Out of the Ocean bags made from 100 percent
Ocean Plastic now available at Costco
KeepCool, the environmental pioneer leading the charge to eliminate single-use bags, announced the launch of Out of the Ocean, reusable bags made from 100 percent Ocean Plastic within all San Diego Costco locations and online at outoftheocean.com.
Each Out of the Ocean bag removes the equivalent of 3 plastic bottles from our oceans and waterways, furthering the company’s mission to reduce, reuse, and recycle to create a virtuous and economically viable cycle by giving new life to Ocean Plastic while creating awareness and impact toward protecting our oceans.
The extra-large capacity reusable bags are produced exclusively for Costco and are now available in 3-packs at Costco locations in the San Diego region. They are spacious for Costco trips with convenient details to include internal pockets for sauce jars or olive oil bottles and have dual straps for hand- or over-the-shoulder carry. These bags feature the work of the multi-award-winning international photographer, Grant Thomas who dedicates his life to capturing Mother Nature’s finest moments.
Mitsubishi Powers’ Emerald storage solutions
to help SDG&E power public services
San Diego Gas & Electric Company ordered Mitsubishi Power’s Emerald storage solutions for four utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects totaling 39 megawatts (MW) / 180 megawatt hours (MWh). The Elliot, Clairemont, Paradise, and Boulevard microgrid BESS projects will connect to existing infrastructure in the San Diego region to provide reliable capacity and strengthen grid resiliency amid high energy demands on hot summer days and peak evening hours.
The Emerald storage solutions include the Emerald Integrated Plant Controller, which is an Energy Management System (EMS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system with real-time BESS operation and a monitoring/supervisory control platform. These control features will help ensure that critical public service facilities including fire, medical, emergency management, and police are powered during peak demand and unexpected outages.
Share of homebuyers looking to relocate jumps to record
The share of homebuyers looking to relocate jumped in July as high mortgage rates and home prices motivated Americans to move to more affordable areas, according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage. A record 33.7 percent of Redfin.com users nationwide looked to move from one metro to another in July, up from 32.6 percent in the second quarter and about 26 percent before the pandemic.
Migration within the U.S. intensified with the pandemic, as remote work gave many Americans the freedom to move from one metro area to another, often prioritizing factors like affordability and sunny weather.
Even as the overall housing market has cooled this spring and summer due to 5%-plus mortgage rates and economic woes, the share of relocating buyers out of all buyers is at an all-time high. That’s because high home prices and mortgage rates, combined with permanent remote work, are motivating buyers to move from expensive parts of the country to more affordable areas.
California officially launches nation’s largest
college savings program for students, newborns
All California families of low-income public school students – 3.4 million across the state – can now access college savings accounts created in their children’s names, with seed investments of between $500 and $1,500. The CalKIDS program, launched Wednesday, invests $1.9 billion into accounts for low-income school-age children in grades 1-12 and for newborn children born on or after July 1, 2022.
“California is telling our students that we believe they’re college material – not only do we believe it, we’ll invest in them directly,” said Governor Newsom. “With up to $1,500, we’re transforming lives, generating college-going mindsets, and creating generational wealth for millions of Californians.”
“I am proud and excited to finally see CalKIDS in action,” said Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian. “My goal with this program was to bridge the gap between wealth inequality and the high cost of education. CalKIDS will expand access to college through savings by providing each child born in the state of California a seed deposit in a ScholarShare 529 college savings account.
Cal State San Marcos president named San Diego CEO of the Year
Cal State San Marcos President Ellen Neufeldt has been named a San Diego CEO of the Year by the San Diego Business Journal.
Neufeldt was selected as one of 20 winners of the annual award by the SDBJ out of 118 finalists. She received the award June 30 during a ceremony in downtown San Diego.
In its 17th year, the CEO of the Year Awards recognize contributions to company growth, leadership and community involvement by top executives in the San Diego area.
“I am grateful and humbled to receive this award,” Neufeldt said. “It is an honor to serve as CSUSM’s president, and I give so much credit to all our faculty and staff who are so dedicated to the lifelong success of our students. CSUSM proudly partners across San Diego to ensure we continue to be this region’s elevator of social mobility and an engine of inclusive growth – a beacon of where the future of higher education is going.”
