Daily Business Report-Jan. 25, 2018
Aerial of the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal (Photo: Port of San Diego)
Port of San Diego Begins $24 Million Project
to Modernize Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal
The Port of San Diego has started a $24 million public works project to modernize the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.
Referred to as the Modernization, the project will remove two obsolete warehouses and create much-needed laydown area for larger project cargo. It will also include improvements to utilities, new lighting and pavement. Also as part of the project, new modular office space, utility enclosures and restrooms will be added, as well as on-dock rail improvements.
The Modernization is the first phase of a larger, market-driven project that supports the Port of San Diego’s specialty cargo advantage by providing laydown space and flexibility for each cargo type. The long-term redevelopment plan envisions three distinct cargo nodes within the existing footprint of the terminal and is focused on project and break-bulk cargo, refrigerated containers and dry bulk cargo.
The Port successfully competed for a $10 million TIGER grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help fund the first phase of the Modernization. The Port will match the grant with a $14 million contribution.
Phase I of the modernization project is anticipated to take about 13 months to complete. Dick Miller Inc., of San Marcos, Calif., was awarded the contract for this phase.
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Heather Rosing of San Diego Elected
First President of California Lawyers Association
Klinedinst shareholder and CFO Heather L. Rosing of San Diego has been elected president of the California Lawyers Association (CLA), the nation’s second-largest professional association for attorneys.
In October of 2017, Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 36 into law, effectively separating some of the professional promotion activities of the State Bar of California into CLA, a private nonprofit entity.
San Francisco-based CLA is the new home of the Sections of the State Bar of California, as well as the California Young Lawyers Association (CYLA).
The organization’s mission to promote professional advancement of attorneys practicing in California.
“With the launch of CLA, we are on an exciting path toward advancing the legal profession in California,” said Rosing. “Our goal is to become an indispensable resource for the legal community, and a tireless advocate for our lawyers and our courts.”
Rosing currently serves as the president of the California Bar Foundation, California’s largest scholarship resource for diverse law students. Having served as Vice President of the State Bar of California, she provides a unique perspective in the makeup of the state’s legal community.
“We are incredibly proud of Heather’s selection as the very first President of California Lawyers Association,” said John D. Klinedinst, CEO and founder of Klinedinst. “She is the perfect choice for the CLA to help it find its footing during this complicated bifurcation from The State Bar of California.
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Luna DNA Uses Blockchain to Share
Genomic Data as a ‘Public Benefit’
A San Diego startup says it has adapted the blockchain technology that underpins digital currencies like Bitcoin for use as a distributed database for genomic information. Luna DNA’s efforts mark one of the early attempts to apply blockchain technology in healthcare, as advocates of the much-hyped technology try to make use of it in sectors other than cryptocurrencies.
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Sycuan Casino to Fill More Than 700
New Jobs for Hotel-Resort Expansion
Sycuan Casino announced that is now hiring for a new director of sales position, the first of more than 700 new jobs for the hotel and resort expansion project. The new positions will be in the hotel, food and beverage and casino divisions. Sycuan will begin hiring for departmental leadership positions during the first half of the year and will host a series of job fairs mid to late 2018.
Last March, Sycuan broke ground on a $226 million hotel and resort expansion. The project includes a 12-story, 300-room hotel, restaurants, meeting and conference spaces, pool and gardens and a lazy river. The new hotel and resort is on schedule to open in early 2019.
“We are pleased to bring more than 700 new jobs to the San Diego community,” said John Dinius, general manager at Sycuan Casino. “We are committed to cultivating a thriving and positive work environment and are eager to bring on new talent that will contribute to the organization’s continued success.”
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San Diego County Bar Foundation
Awards $105,000 to 14 Nonprofits
The San Diego County Bar Foundation awarded a total of $105,000 to 14 San Diego nonprofit organizations as part of its 2017 grant cycle. Grant recipients promote public understanding of the law through public service programs, improve the San Diego court system and expand the availability of legal services to county residents.
“We are grateful to all our corporate and individual donors who make it possible for us to provide these grants every year,” said Neal Rockwood, president of SDCBF’s board of directors. “Our grants have benefitted tens of thousands of children, elderly, domestic violence victims, immigrants and veterans in San Diego for almost 40 years.”
SDCBF’s Grant Review Committee of leading local attorneys and businesspeople selected 14 organizations, out of 27 requests, to receive grants based on eligibility and need.The foundation’s funds come from the local legal and business communities and from fundraising events throughout the year, including SDCBF’s signature “Evening in La Jolla” benefit.
The grant awards were given to:
American Bar Association – $7,500 to support the Immigration Justice Project Pro Bono Program and assist with training pro bono attorneys to ensure high quality representation. www.americanbar.org
California Rural Legal Assistance – $5,000 for direct legal services to those who work in the agricultural industry via the Migrant Farmworker Program. www.crla.org
California Veterans Legal Task Force – $5,000 to support free legal assistance to poor, mentally challenged veterans. CVLTF helps clients remove legal obstacles to benefits, housing and employment. www.cvltf.org
Cal-Western Community Law Project – $5,000 to provide one-on-one free legal consultations and regular community legal education to mainly low-income individuals. www.cwclp.org
Casa Cornelia Law Center – $15,000 in operating funds to provide sustained and responsive legal services to the indigent immigrant community. www.casacornelia.org
Center for Community Solutions – $7,500 to help provide trauma-informed, culturally sensitive services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking throughout San Diego County. Also provides bilingual legal advocacy, pro se legal assistance and direct representation. www.ccssd.org
Community Resource Center – $5,000 to support general operations, The Legal Advocacy program and assist in increasing the accessibility and use of the legal system for domestic violence survivors, reducing their barriers to long-term safety and stability. www.crcncc.org
Elder Law & Advocacy – $15,000 to provide pro bono legal services to low-income seniors of San Diego County. www.seniorlaw-sd.org
Jewish Family Service of San Diego – $5,000 to assist with general operations and provide a full-time intake specialist who will conduct initial assessments, identify immigration service needs, and coordinate internal and external referrals. www.jfssd.org
Legal Aid Society of San Diego – $7,500 to help continue the operation of the San Diego County Conservatorship Assistance Program. www.lassd.org
San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program – $17,500 to support the weekly Family Law Clinic and provide free legal assistance to low-income individuals in their family law matters who otherwise would be unrepresented. www.sdvlp.org
Voices for Children – $10,000 for a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) volunteer to monitor cases of 25 children and ensure that intervention and advocacy begins early in foster care. www.speakupnow.org
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SDSU’s Sage Project Looking for Community Partner
Deadline to apply: Feb. 15
San Diego State University’s Sage Project is looking to partner with a local community for the 2018-19 academic year. As part of the collaboration, students assist with projects that directly address the partner community’s goals and in turn, better the quality of life for area residents.
During the 2016-17 academic year, the Sage Project partnered with the city of Lemon Grove. Students from 32 courses across 12 different disciplines designed and installed an art mural on the city’s community center, assisted in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping of thousands of data points and designed gateway signage, among other projects.
The partnership is available to communities in San Diego, Orange, Riverside and Imperial Counties.
“The community partner benefits form a truly interdisciplinary effort towards developing solutions for the community that are based on best practice, are cost effective, and enhance the quality of life for residents,” said Jessica Barlow, director of SDSU’s Sage Project. They have a broader audience for sharing their ideas, designs and solutions, and they see the stakes are higher because a community is counting on them to help make positive change.”
The applications period ends on Feb. 15. For more information on becoming a Sage Project partner and details about submitting a partnership proposal, visit the Sage Project website.
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Life Sciences Industry to Drive
U.S. Office Market Growth in 2018
World Property Journal
According to a new report by CBRE, multiple factors are propelling the U.S. life-science industry in 2018, and by extension the real estate that supports it, to strong growth, thereby positioning research-and-development centers like Boston and California’s Bay Area for outsized gains. While many U.S. industries are navigating fundamental disruption, the life-sciences industry – which includes pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical-device manufacturing – is on a long-term expansion track. CBRE’s report examines the generators of the industry’s sustained growth, including the aging U.S. population, increases in public and private funding, hefty job gains and robust construction of lab and R&D space.
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Alexander Khalessi Named Chair
of Neurosurgery Department at UC San Diego Health
After a national search, Alexander Khalessi, M.D., has been named chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at UC San Diego Health and chief of the Division of Neurosurgery in the Department of Surgery at University of California San Diego School of Medicine.
An accomplished neurosurgeon, Khalessi is an active clinical leader in complex neurovascular and oncologic care. He has earned international recognition for deploying unique surgical and catheter-based procedures for cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVM), carotid disease, intracranial hemorrhage, ischemic stroke, and brain tumors.
Khalessi serves as a Scholar-in-Residence for the American Board of Neurological Surgery and he helped lead the expansion of the Center for Future Surgery to include a microsurgical lab and hybrid OR/angiography suite.
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SDSU to Form Special Task Force
to Explore Future of Aztec Mascot and Moniker
San Diego State University President Sally Roush is seeking nominations from faculty, student, staff and alumni groups to assemble a special task force to explore the future of the Aztec mascot and moniker.
In November, the University Senate passed a non-binding resolution recommending the university retire the SDSU mascot and related symbols. It asked Roush to form a task force to review and make recommendations about the appropriateness of the continued usage of the Aztec moniker.
“All viewpoints regarding SDSU’s identity have a right to be respectfully heard and carefully considered,” said Roush. “This task force will provide an opportunity for dialogue to continue among stakeholders in the SDSU community and will provide information on how to represent university traditions, build communal spirit and honor specific facets of our campus culture.”
The 17-member task force will be comprised of students, faculty, staff, alumni and members at large. Additional members will be appointed by the president
Nominations must be received by Friday, Jan. 26, and the task force will be announced by Friday, Feb. 2.
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Personnel Announcements
Varinia Guzman Joins Higgs Fletcher & Mack
as Associate in Immigration and Nationality Law
Higgs Fletcher & Mack announced the addition of Varinia Guzman as an associate in its Immigration & Nationality Law practice group.
Varinia’s experience in business immigration includes working with Fortune 500 and multinational corporations, start-ups, mid-size companies and immigrant entrepreneurs. Her expertise spans a range of employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions, as well as PERM labor certification, adjustment of status, consular processing and naturalization applications. She can also advise U.S. employers on corporate compliance, I-9 audits and employer sanctions.
Before joining Higgs Fletcher & Mack, Varinia worked in Canada specializing in U.S. immigration law for businesses and multi-national companies. She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and served as a liaison to the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver on behalf of AILA’s Canada chapter.
At Cornell University, Varinia was the recipient of an annual scholarship from Mobil Corporation in New York City where she interned with the Corporate Human Resources Department. After graduation, she worked in-house for Accenture in the New York Metro area and for SAP Labs U.S. in Silicon Valley. During law school, she served as a judicial extern to the U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office of Immigration Review, Immigration Court in San Diego.
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Carrie M. Timko Promoted to Shareholder
at Epsten Grinnell & Howell APC
Jon H. Epsten, Susan Hawks McClintic and the shareholders of Epsten Grinnell & Howell APC announced the promotion of Carrie M. Timko to shareholder.
Timko joined the firm as a senior attorney in February 2007, practicing in both the litigation and transactional departments. After many years of representing clients in litigation, Carrie has transitioned into solely transactional work, although she still handles petitions to obtain court approval of governing document restatements and amendments. She has been exposed to various aspects of community association representation, including drafting governing documents, representing clients in enforcement actions, drafting and negotiating contracts, and handling government claims.
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Mardeen Mattix Appointed CFO
of San Diego Convention Center Corp.
The San Diego Convention Center Corporation has appointed Mardeen Mattix as senior vice president and chief financial officer. She succeeds outgoing Senior Vice President & CFO Mark Emch, who announced his retirement following a 24-year career.
Mattix, who was previously the Corporation’s Controller, was selected for the role following a nationwide search. She graduated from Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and moved to San Diego in 1998. Shortly thereafter, she started her career at the Convention Center as a division assistant in Event Management, had a brief stop in Sales and Marketing as an analyst and then worked her way up in the organization through Accounting and Finance.
Mattix has led the Convention Center through many successful audits, has served leading roles in system technology integrations and has been instrumental in improving business processes throughout the Corporation.
