Daily Business Report — Sept. 26, 2011
Men Who Impact San Diego 
SD METRO identified 20 “Women Who Rock” in our June publication. Now it’s the men’s turn. Send us your nomination for a man — no age requirement — who you believe has made San Diego a better place to live or to do business, or who has made significant contributions to his industry or community. Nominees can be in the private or public sector, own or work for a for-profit firm or a nonprofit. Of course you can nominate more than one person, but each one must be submitted individually. You’ll find a nomination form on our Website (sandiegometro.com). Deadline is Oct. 3. You’ll see the results in mid-October.
Trial Lawyer Michael Thornes to Receive Spirt of Life Award
Trial lawyer Michael Thorsnes of Coronado, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 13 years ago, will be presented the 2011 Spirit of Life Award by the Parkinson’s Association of San Diego at the Oct. 9 Spirit of Life Gala at Paradise Point Resort. A nationally known trial lawyer, Thorsnes has focused his intellect and energies to develop a widespread list of accomplishments from poetry and education to photography. Each year the award is given to an individual or individuals who have exemplified, through the activities of their daily life, a strong sense of perseverance, a refusal to give in as well as a demonstrated commitment to improving the lives of those around them. “Michael, a poet with a strong bent toward military themes that convey the images of great battles, also describes the life that he has lived since his diagnosis with Parkinson’s,” said Ron Hendrix, executive director of the association. “Rising to the challenge of his personal battle with PD, Michael has led a one-man charge against the disease by launching himself into photography, exercise, and of course his beloved poetry. We are delighted to honor him for his heroic fight, it has been an inspiration to us all.” The gala will be from 5 to 8 p.m. and will raise funds for the association. Tickets are $150 each. For reservations or more information visit parkinsonsspiritoflife.org or call (858) 273-6763.
Affordable Housing Forum Set for Wednesday
The San Diego County Taxpayers Association will host a Wednesday forum on affordable housing in San Diego — an overview of affordable housing policies and the impact and effectiveness of taxpayer subsidies. The program will be held at the Holiday Inn San Diego, 1355 North Harbor Drive. Registration is at 7 a.m. and the program and breakfast will be from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Panelists will include Matt Adams, vice president of the Building Industry Association San Diego; Rick Gentry, president of the San Diego Housing Commission; Jeff Graham, vice president of redevelopment for the Centre City Development Corp.; James Schmid, founder and CEO of Chelsea Investment Corp.; and Susan Riggs Tinsky, executive director of the San Diego Housing Federation. The cost is $35 for members of the Taxpayers Association and $45 for nonmembers. Reservations can be made online at sdcta.org/Events/Event.asp or by calling Amy Harris at (619) 234-6423.
General Dynamics to Acquire Metro Machine Corp.
General Dynamics has agreed to acquire Metro Machine Corp., an East Coast surface ship repair company that will become part of the shipbuilding and repair operations of NASSCO in San Diego. NASSCO is a prime contractor for multi-ship, multi-option contracts for combat and support ships for the Navy. Metro Machine Corp. is a privately held company that employs 400 workers. It has been conducting U.S. Navy ship repair and conversions since 1972. “This move will enhance General Dynamics’ ability to deliver cost-effective maintenance and repair services to the U.S. Navy, helping the Navy to maximize the life of in-service ships and better serve the ship-repair needs of the entire U.S. fleet,” said Fred Harris, president of NASSCO.
Goodrich Aerostructures Parent to be Sold
Hartford, Conn.-based United Technologies Corp. has made an agreement to acquire Goodrich Corp., the parent company of Goodrich Aerostructures in Chula Vista. Goodrich Aerostructures has about 4,000 employees. The sale reportedly is for $18.4 billion. United Technologies Corp. said that, after the acquisition is completed, its annual worldwide sales would be $66 billion. Goodrich Corp. is based in Charlotte, N.C.
City of Escondido Purchases Buildings for $6.58 Million
The city of Escondido has purchased a warehouse and a restaurant building on North Quince St. for a combined $6.58 million. The 41,000-square-foot warehouse at 455 Quince St. was built in 1974 and includes 3.5 acres of land. It is currently occupied by Wickline Bedding Enterprise. The seller was M&N Investors. The restaurant building at 525 North Quince St. has 7,800 square feet on one acre of land and was built in 1970. The property was vacant at the time of the sale. The seller was KDR Properties LLC. Terry Jackson of Cushman & Wakefield represented the city in the two transactions. M&N Investors was represented by counsel and KDR Properties was represented by Tim Clepper of San Diego Commercial Realty Services Inc.
SDSU Research Foundation Receives $499,992 SBA Grant
The U.S. Small Business Administration has awarded a $499,992 grant to the San Diego State University Research Foundation in a pilot program designed to help small businesses work together to compete for federal contracts and to grow their businesses. The Small Business Teaming Pilot Program, made possible by the Small Business Jobs Act, awards grants to organizations for training, counseling, and mentoring to help small businesses enter into teaming relationships and compete for larger federal contracts. Teaming may take the form of joint venture and mentor-protege relationships. SDSU Research Foundation was one of 11 grantees selected from hundreds of applications submitted. Grantees were awarded between $200,000 and $500,000 in funding, for a total of $5 million in fiscal year 2011. The organizations in the pilot program will help small businesses find other firms interested in teaming, form teaming arrangements and find and bid on larger contracts. Grantees will leverage their existing resources and collaborate with SBA district offices, resource partners, and other federal, state, local and tribal government small business development programs. “Government contracts are a crucial source of revenue for small businesses,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “The teaming pilot program will help small businesses grow and create jobs by giving them the tools they need to work together on larger contracts.”
J. Craig Venter Institute to Build New Research Facility
The J. Craig Venter Institute has broken ground on its new state-of-the-art, 45,000-square-foot wet laboratory and computational laboratory building on the UCSD campus. The building, to be completed in 2013, will support 125 scientists and staff. Researchers will be engaged in several areas of genomic research including human genomic sequencing and analysis, synthetic genomics and environmental genomics. The building was designed by ZGF Architects. “The building is a unique design that will meld the environmental philosophies of our genomics research with the sustainability goals that I believe must be part of all of our lives,” said J. Craig Venter, founder and president of the company. The institute currently has two facilities — a temporary facility near the UCSD campus with 60 researchers and the East Coast headquarters in Rockville, Md., with 240 scientists and staff.
David Webb Elected to Board of La Jolla Institute
David R. Webb, former vice president of research at Celgene-San Diego and an adjunct professor at the Scripps Research Institute, has been elected to the board of directors of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology. Webb retired from Celgene in June after leading its signal research division in San Diego for eight years, during which time six drugs were placed into clinical development. Four are still in clinical trials. Prior to joining Celgene in 2003, Webb held a series of senior management positions in several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He developed and led drug discovery programs focused on inflammation, asthma, cancer and diabetes that resulted in three marketed drugs.
Small Business Workshops 
SCORE San Diego continues its series of small business workshops
For more information, call (619) 557-7272 or visit score-sandiego.org.
• Sept. 27 Marketing and Contracting with State and Local Governments 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Avenue, San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).
• Sept. 29 Tax Considerations for Small Business 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).
• Sept. 30 Business Basics 101 9 a.m. to noon at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Avenue, San Diego 92123; no charge please pre-register).
The Daily Business Report is produced by REP Publishing Inc., publisher of SD METRO, the North Park News and the West Coast Craftsman. Contact: Manny Cruz (619) 287-1865.
