Daily Business Report: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Former Fox News host Steve Hilton is running for California governor
By Blake Jones | Politico
Former Fox News host Steve Hilton announced on Monday he will run for California governor, seeking to become the state’s first Republican chief executive since Arnold Schwarzenegger, his campaign confirmed to POLITICO on Monday.
Hilton, who also served as an adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, had long been considering a run and recently released a book criticizing what he sees as the failings of California’s Democratic leadership and offering policy prescriptions. He is the second major GOP candidate to enter the 2026 field, following Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
The Republican invoked former Vice President Kamala Harris — who is considering a run for governor — in his launch video. “It’s time to end the years of Democrat failure,” Hilton says over an image of Harris.
Special interests poured more than half a billion into California lobbying last year
By Jeremia Kimelman | CalMatters
Lobbying groups spent more than half a billion dollars to influence the state government in 2024, the most ever, according to a CalMatters analysis of data recently filed with the secretary of state. Lobbying by Google, oil companies and utilities in the third quarter appeared to drive the sharp spike in spending.
Companies and organizations reported roughly $540 million in lobbying expenses to push their point of view to California officials, including legislators, on hundreds of bills between January and December of last year — and that’s up by more than 10% from $485 million in 2023.
Perhaps that isn’t so surprising in a state with a full-time Legislature and one of the largest economies in the world, said Francesco Trebbi, an economics professor at UC Berkeley who studies political influence and lobbying.
By Art District Liberty Station
Arts District Liberty Station welcomes the community to explore the new Open-Air Gallery, a dynamic tour through Arts District’s collection of murals, sculptures, and captivating public art, available in both English and Spanish. Most of Arts District’s public art is now accessible through the online StoryMap, offering an interactive and engaging way to explore and learn about the installations, including many from the Installations at the Station program, alongside other remarkable artworks throughout Arts District Liberty Station. As part of Arts District’s Art in Public Places (AiPP) programming, this outdoor gallery will offer an engaging and interactive experience for visitors.
“We wanted to offer the community a fresh, innovative way to experience Arts District like never before,” said Lisa Johnson, President and CEO of Arts District Liberty Station. “With the launch of the new Open-Air Gallery and its accompanying bilingual website complete with audio, our public art is now even more accessible for visitors to learn about the creation process and inspiration behind each piece.”
Since 2000, Arts District Liberty Station has been a leading force in San Diego’s arts and culture scene, fostering creativity and providing a welcoming space for artists to explore and showcase their work. In 2017, the organization launched Installations at the Station, a program designed to celebrate and highlight the vibrant, transborder visual arts community by commissioning both local San Diego and Northern Baja artists—most recently including PANCA, Kaori Fukuyama, Scarlett Baily, and Kline Swonger—to create lasting works that reflect the area’s cultural diversity. These installations, along with many other iconic artworks on display throughout Arts District, are now featured in the online Open-Air Gallery.
To take the tour, visitors can scan the QR code located by the signage of each public art piece. From there, they can explore the piece’s creation process, its inspiration, and discover behind-the-scenes imagery and audio from the artists themselves. The website will then guide visitors to the next closest artwork, encouraging everyone to take an outdoor walking tour through the beautiful art on display. Visitors are encouraged to tag @artsdistrictlibertystation on Instagram and use the hashtag #ADLSopenairgallery to share their favorite piece. Now, more than ever before, you can explore the many beautiful installations on display throughout the grounds. The Open-Air Gallery Tour offers the perfect way to engage with the rich public art scene that defines Arts District Liberty Station.
2025 Installations at the Station Projects
In conjunction with the Open-Air Gallery launch, Arts District Liberty Station is proud to announce the selection of two local artists for the 2025 Installations at the Station program. As part of the Art in Public Places programming, Installations at the Station showcases dynamic, evolving visual art that celebrates the culture and diversity of the San Diego-Baja region through commissioned sculptures, murals, and other public art pieces.
After a thorough selection process, two local artists have been chosen to create site-specific art installations throughout the year. Mischka Ippolita has been selected for the mural track, and Beliz Iristay has been chosen for the multimedia/sculpture track.
Find more information on the 2025 Installations at the Station recipients below:
Mischka Ippolita
Mischka Ippólita is a multidisciplinary artist and textile designer based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Ippolita’s art combines microbiology with visual expression through Microbioart. Influenced by her grandmother and biologist Ernst Haeckel, she continues to push boundaries in both the art and science worlds.
For her Installations at the Station mural, Ippolita will integrate elements of the sea, the local community, and the unique architecture of Liberty Station in a mural titled Vitral Sunset: A Marine Perspective Across The Border. Drawing from marine and terrestrial landscapes, architectural features, and microscopic life, the mural explores the border region’s complex identity, with a stained-glass aesthetic inspired by the North Chapel’s historical windows as noted by NTC Foundation’s historical records. The mural’s design, featuring vibrant shades of blue and warm sunset tones, offers an abstract yet open-ended interpretation for viewers, inviting them to reflect on the interconnectedness of the land, sea, and people of this region. Ippolita’s mural will bring a modern, vibrant interpretation of the area’s rich history and its forward-looking artistic narrative, becoming a visual invitation for the community to engage with the evolving cultural landscape of Arts District Liberty Station. The mural will be located behind Barracks 19, home to Wildflour, Apricot Yarn, and a variety of artist studios.
Beliz Iristay
Beliz Iristay is a Turkish American multimedia artist known for blending cultural influences from her Turkish heritage and her experiences living in California and Mexico. After moving to the U.S. from Turkey, she established her ceramic studio, TURKMEX, in Ensenada, Mexico, where she continues to develop her artistic practice. Today, Iristay’s work spans various mediums, including ceramics, glass, resin, and video art, and often explores themes of identity, heritage, and cultural exchange.
Iristay’s site-specific sculpture, titled Fuente Fantasma, reimagines the traditional Tijuana border craft, the alcancia (a whimsical plaster bank figure), by incorporating it into a six-tiered fountain structure. The alcancias, which are often brightly colored, will be embedded into the fountain, symbolizing the layering of cultural influences between Tijuana and San Diego. The fountain, an architectural symbol of San Diego’s Spanish heritage, will serve as a fitting backdrop for this celebration of the region’s complex history and its layered social relationships. The installation will engage with the local community and visitors, inviting them to reflect on the cultural connections and historical significance of the border area. Through Fuente Fantasma, Iristay aims to embrace the past while celebrating the present, offering a visual commentary on the ever-evolving socio-cultural dynamics of the region. Iristay’s installation will be located along the North Promenade by Barracks 16 and 17, which house La Galleria and Carruth Wine Cellars.
For more information on the Open-Air Gallery or Installations at the Station, please visit www.artsdistrictlibertystation.org.
