San Diego Metropolitan - San Diego Scene

Lankford & Associates has forwarded to Jason Hughes at Irving Hughes a letter of intent to engage Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, LLP in an anchor tenant lease of more than 100,000 square feet of the yet-to-be-named office tower to go up at the southeast corner of Broadway and Kettner Boulevard, directly across Broadway from Milberg Weiss’ existing home at One American Plaza, also being abandoned by Nicholas Applegate. Hughes also represents Peoplefirst.com, the nation’s largest online auto loan broker, in a pending deal to take down more than 100,000 square feet in the Lankford project.

Sure Downtown has 70,000 strand miles of fiber optic cable snaking through its underground. But where? To answer that, and help prospective tenants determine where to build or lease, a mapping of the fiber network has been posted at www.sangis.org. It also can be reached through the Centre City Development Corp.’s www.bandwidthbay.org.

When Sandag was founded in 1972, Ken Sulzer was there. Today, 28 years later, and having spent the last 14 as executive director, he’s not. “San Diego is a tough place to leave once you get here,” observes Sulzer, 62, who retired Dec. 29. Now you can find him on the golf course — “it was hard to get my swing down playing once every three months” — or on the I-5 driving to L.A. to visit his children (two sons) and grandchild. Sulzer, who as then-deputy executive director replaced Richard Huff, is being replaced on an interim basis by Bob Parrott, a 22-year Sandag veteran who held Sulzer’s old job the last two years.

Asked to list the most satisfying regional issues he’s worked on, Sulzer ticks off a number, including beach sand, the new replenishment program is a first on the West Coast; transportation, the TransNet half-cent sales tax saved us from true gridlock; and open space, where conserving giant tracks of land for species was so different than trying to preserve single species. He’s also an urban core booster. “One of my special interests has been the center city, the Downtown area,” he says. “We have always made the point clear that San Diego’s Downtown is the heart of the region. The health of it is important to the body as a whole. I am encouraged by most things happening Downtown. .... I think we need to take care, maybe better care, of how we treat our waterfront. It is a major amenity. It helps add value to Downtown. We need to open it up to access.” He can offer no solution to the airport dilemma — he calls it the “A word” — but does counsel that only one new major airport has opened in the U.S. in 25 years and notes that the uncertainty voiced by politicians reflects the feelings of their constituencies.

Feeling right at home Downtown, Intracorp San Diego has announced plans for its fourth condominium project in the urban core, this one on a 20,000-square-foot parcel on J Street between Third and Fourth avenues. Units in the 57-condo Pacific Terrace will be priced from the mid-$200,000s to the low $500,000 range. Look for an April groundbreaking. Lindsay Quackenbush is project manager. Intracorp’s Downtown sales center is at the corner of Second Avenue and Market Street, across from Ralphs.

Mike McKinnon, Herman Baca, Linc Ward, Rob W. Quigley and Louise Dyer are all freshly interviewed by Fred Lewis in prime time on ITV this month. The full “Heart of San Diego” schedule is on Page 21.

For those with sound business practices, the Internet bandwagon still has lots of room. Take, for example, Steve Weber and David Baird. Two years ago the pair anted up $2,000 to start Z57.com, a Web-design firm. With more than 3,500 clients in all 50 states, the company posted revenue of $2.5 million in 2000 and expects to double that this year. The growth has required office space expansions to accommodate the now 65-employee firm. One sign Z57.com has its act together: Users who click onto its fast loading site then have the option of clicking on a fun “Flash” program, rather than having it shoved down their browser.

F. Javier Diaz has been named by Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Relations as the alternate consul in San Diego, taking the place of Consul General Graciela Torres, who resigned after the change in Mexico’s administration. Diaz will hold the position until a new consul general is named and confirmed by the Mexican Senate, which may take two or three months. The Mexican Consulate in San Diego is the second largest in California. It issues business and other types of visas, protects the rights of Mexican citizens in the region, has commercial attaches, represents the Ministry of Foreign Relations in San Diego and is a member of the San Diego Consular Corps.

Parkloft’s SoHo-themed sales studio in the Gaslamp Quarter welcomes those interested in living in the East Village residential loft project under construction a few blocks away. This 2,500-square-foot facility at 762 Fifth Ave. houses the sales offices, display and design area and reflects the theme for the 11-story, poured-in-place concrete and brick structure being built on Island Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues. When finished in mid-2002, the residential building will have 120 one- and two-story condominium lofts ranging from 930 to more than 3,000 square feet.

Set to merge and become San Diego’s fourth largest credit union are Kearny Mesa Financial and Santel Federal. The resulting institution — a new name should be picked soon — will have 60,000 members and more than $500,000 in assets. Marla Shepard of Santel will be president and CEO of the 19-branch, 191-employee institution. Jim Goulet, who led Kearny Mesa, will be president of a subsidiary institution that offers alternative investment products, insurance and trust services.

When Hanger’s Dry Cleaners opens this month in Mission Valley near IKEA, Lowe’s and Costco, it will be promoting an unusual feature: liquid carbon dioxide as a cleaning agent. Environmentally friendly, it’s the same stuff that makes champagne fizz and soda pop. Hangers will even display the cleaning machinery in the front window, sort of like a microbrew. The franchise owner is Gordon Shaw, an industry veteran and former president of the San Diego Dry Cleaners Association. Hangers, a Raleigh, N.C., company, opened its first cleaners using the technology in February 1999 and expects to have more than 70 in operation by this month.

Taking the president’s slot this month with the local chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors is Eric Northbrook, an industry veteran who has spent the last eight years with Colliers International. At Colliers, he has sold or leased more than 5 million square feet of space and 63 acres of land valued in excess of $500 million. Other SIOR officers elected to serve in 2001 include Ron King of Coldwell Banker Commercial, v.p.; Bill Rodewald of Colliers, secretary, and Jay Alexander of Colliers, treasurer.

Christine Trimble, the hard-working pro in Qualcomm’s media department the last 3 1/2 years, has landed another promotion, this time to director of public relations.

Grubb & Ellis has moved its San Diego office to the Sunroad Corporate Center II at 4445 Eastgate Mall, Suite 105.

Main Street Oceanside and the Oceanside Museum of Art have teamed on a public arts banner project. Banners created by area artists will fly above the streets of downtown Oceanside from February through May. After that, they will be sold at auction. Call (760) 754-4512 for more.

Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego has been selected by Washington, D.C.-based AstroVision International Inc. to design and build the remote imaging systems for AstroVision’s AVStar satellite system. Malin is providing cameras for unmanned spacecraft, and developed the imaging instruments for NASA’s Observer and Surveyor missions to Mars. “We are delighted to join with AstroVision in pioneering this new and exciting application for remote imaging technology,” says Michael Malin, president and chief scientist at Malin Space. This is the first time Malin’s company has delivered cameras to a commercial customer. AVStar is a planned five-satellite system that will provide live, true color, 24-hour high definition coverage of the earth. The company anticipates deploying its first geosynchronous satellite in early 2003 for coverage of North America.

San Diego’s seventh Outback Steakhouse opens its doors Jan. 9 at 1640 Camino Del Rio North in Mission Valley. Bob Sullivan is the managing partner.

From the great new sidewalks along India Street to the invigorated elementary school and park, Little Italy is a neighborhood on the rise. When CCDC approved basic concept drawings for CityMark on Kettner — it’s a 124-condo project with 7,500 square feet of commercial space — it made for the 11th residential project, and more than 600 units, approved in the historic area. And Watt Commercial has now applied for permits to build Watt Little Italy, a 389-unit apartment project with 5,000 square feet of retail on the full block between Ash, Beech, Columbia and State streets.

Eschewing the phone-bank membership drives of the past, the Escondido Chamber of Commerce this year has presented its members with a four-step program to identify prospective new members. The fourth step is forwarding the prospect’s info to chamber staff and making it responsible for closing the sale.

Dorothy A. Stanley, a v.p. with the La Jolla office of Merrill Lynch, will have two oil paintings on display from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7 at the Soho International Competitive Exhibit taking place at the Agora Gallery in New York City. The two pieces of art are “Don’t Look at Me I,” and “Peddler.” The former is of a homeless person squatting on the sidewalk covering her face, while the latter is a highly colorful rendering of a street sales person selling her wares in Cabo San Lucas.

Genetics and molecular biology pioneer Sydney Brenner has joined The Salk Institute as a distinguished research professor. He brings to the Institute more than 50 years of scientific leadership and expertise that has resulted in several fundamental discoveries in his field. “Sydney Brenner is a recognized world scientific leader,” says Richard A. Murphy, president and CEO at Salk. “We are truly fortunate that a scientist of his stature will be joining us here at Salk.” In the early 1960s, Brenner established the existence of messenger RNA, or mRNA, which can be translated into proteins, and demonstrated that the nucleotide sequence of mRNA determines the order of amino acids in proteins. For these discoveries, in 1971 he received his first Lasker Award, sometimes referred to as “America’s Nobels,” in basic medical research. Last year, Brenner received a second award from the Lasker Foundation, for special achievement in medical sciences, which honors outstanding lifetime achievements.

While the San Pasqual Band of Indians will start offering gaming this spring in an interim casino, the final version — a 300,000 square-foot Mediterranean village-style luxury resort-casino overlooking Lake Wohlford — should open in late 2002. The project, with 200 hotel rooms, five restaurants, a day spa and an 18-hole golf course, is expected to create 1,600 jobs and bolster the local economy by more than $100 million.

Along with gaming, the resort will include 200 rooms and villas, an 18-hole championship golf course, five restaurants, a day spa, and equestrian facilities. The $180 million project is being funded by the San Pasqual Band, Sealaska Corp. and First Nation Gaming. Based in Juneau, Alaska, Sealaska Corp. is one of 13 Regional Native corporations formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. It is the largest private landowner in the southeastern region of Alaska and has more than 16,500 Alaska Native shareholders. Bankrolling Indian gaming is a new area for the company. First Nation, based in Lafayette, La., is a Native American-owned company developing and managing Native American casinos.

Douglas E. Barnhart Inc. has completed erecting 1,032 tons of structural steel for a new residential and dining complex at SDSU. Bannister Steel of National City did the heavy lifting. The $32 million, 250,000 square foot project wraps up July 15.

As an early holiday present, XO Communications provided new computer equipment and services — PCs, laptops and high-speed Internet access — to the Housing Commission’s Juniper Street public housing project in City Heights. “We’re investing in the community and our own future workforce at the same time,” notes Clark Caines, XO v.p. and g.m. “We want kids saying, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a fiber optics technician.’”

The management of Scripps Mercy Hospital is feeling good these days following the hospital’s ranking as one of only two in California to make HCIA-Sachs Institute’s eighth annual 100 Top Hospitals Benchmarks For Success study. The institute looks at national statistics to identify superior performance by hospital management teams as represented by quality of care, efficiency of operations and sustainability of overall performance.

Carlsbad-based Capital Partners USA Inc. has acquired First Receivable Funding Georgia, a national factoring company based in Atlanta. The purchase — the price was not disclosed — takes place at a time when Capital Partners is expanding its Southern California presence with its recent move from San Clemente to Carlsbad. “The demand for working capital by small and medium-sized businesses that do not qualify for adequate bank funding is on the rise,” says Bruce Bentel, president and co-founder of Capital Partners. “This unique opportunity to build upon our combined success at providing flexible sources of working capital couldn’t have come at a better time.” Frank Rabinovitch, previously president of First Receivable Funding, has moved to Carlsbad and will head up new business development for Capital Partners.

Scott Barnett’s newest boss at the San Diego Taxpayers Association is Mary Ball of Cox Communications. Ball was elected SDTA president, replacing Thomas Turner, a Procopio, Cory lawman.

Named by Stephen Weber as SDSU’s first Presidential Fellow in Residence is Denise Ducheny. Her term runs through June 30, 2002. Weber, the university’s president, has charged the former state Assemblywoman with working with local leaders and the community to identify solutions to regional issues.

FunEducation, a growing software company based in San Diego, has formed a partnership with Carney Educational Services to produce computer-based preparation materials that meet California standards for K-12 students. Called “How to Prepare for the State Standards” the multimedia program is for both parents and school administrators. Click on www.funeducation.com for more.

The $13.5 million, five-year contract to manage the parking operations at the Del Mar Fairgrounds has gone to Five Star Parking. With Paul Chacon at the wheel as g.m., Five Star has herded Fairgrounds drivers for the last three years.

The La Jolla Art Association, which was founded in 1918 by Ellen Scripps, presents its annual awards art show Jan. 14-28 at the La Jolla Art Association Gallery, 7917 Girard Ave. One of the nation’s oldest art associations in continuous operation, the group’s exhibits are viewed by more than 25,000 people annually.

San Diego’s anti-clutter queen, Harriet Schechter, is out this month with a new book: “Let Go Of Clutter.” The original paperback sells for $16.95 and is published by McGraw Hill. Click on www.letgoclutter.com for more.

Professional Builder magazine has named The Olson Co. America’s “Builder of the Year 2000” for its work with cities in providing “for sale” housing solutions meeting state requirements. It’s the oldest and most prestigious award in the U.S. housing industry. In San Diego, Olson’s projects include the 109-unit City Walk and 72-unit Village Walk, both Downtown and both scheduled to be completed this year.

Solutions or Illusions for a Small Planet will be the theme for the fourth annual Regional WorldLink Youth Town Meeting on Jan. 11. The event will bring together 600 middle and high school students from San Diego and Tijuana who will provide ideas on how the new presidents of their countries should approach cross-border and global cooperation in areas like immigration, trade and environmental protection. Local, regional and world leaders are expected to attend. The sessions will take place at the new Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at USD. For more information, contact Dee Aker, director of WorldLink at (619) 260-2358 or e-mail daker@acusd.edu.

Manuel Pasero, a well known Tijuana attorney, was re-elected as the San Diego/Tijuana v.p. of the Pacific Chapter of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber. Jose Aroeste will serve as secretary with Renee Lorena Teran serving as the alternate secretary. Aroeste is a v.p. with First National Bank, and Renee is a principal with Polaris Consultants. Doug Perkins, president of Pacific Gateway Group, is a chamber board member and also provides the organization office space.

For the 14th year the International Association of Blacks in Dance celebration comes to town Jan. 18-21 when the Foster King Dance Collection presents “2001 Dance Odyssey, A Journey Through Poetry in Motion.” For four days, from an opening night reception to a Sunday Gospel brunch, both at the Town & Country, participants will be enriched through panel discussions, master classes, receptions, dance auditions and networking. A highlight will be the performance Jan. 21 at the East County Performing Center of world famous Black dance companies Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer Jeffrey Gerodias Philadanco, Dallas Black Dance Theatre; Lula Washington Dance Theatre; and Alonzo Kings LINES, Evidence. For more information, call (619) 266-2001.

San Diego, with 14 already established Business Network Int’l chapters, can expect to see five more launched early this year. BNI chapters are made up of business professionals, each representing only one profession, who meet for the sole purpose of giving and receiving referrals in a structured, word-of-mouth networking setting. Chapters meet weekly in various locations. Call (800) 825-8286 for information.

Sanwa Bank California has landed Ray Garnica as v.p./wealth management consultant for the bank’s San Diego region. He’ll service individuals with assets of $1 million or more. Garnica has more than 10 years of finance experience. Most recently he was v.p. of business development for Ionus.com, an Internet start-up based in San Diego. Prior to that he was v.p., senior relationship manager at Northern Trust Bank in San Diego.

Oscar Valencia, principal of Access International LLC, has opened an office in Chula Visa. Access International consults with U.S. companies on doing business in Mexico.

Marston + Marston Inc., a San Diego public, media and governmental relations agency, has formed a formal affiliation agreement with Manning Selvage & Lee, formalizing a working relationship that began in 1999 and which will open worldwide markets for the local firm. MS&L has more than 850 employees in a network of 100 offices and affiliates and had 1999 fee income of $95 million.

Attorney Thomas W. Turner Jr. was elected managing partner at the firm of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch for the term beginning this month. He will be chief executive and chairman of the management committee. Turner, who joined the firm seven years ago, replaces Steven Untiedt.

Among the dignitaries at the Dec. 8 grand opening of World Duty Free’s newest mega store in San Ysidro were Rep. Bob Filner and California Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. Sandra Gonzalez, president of World Duty, threw an impressive reception to mark the occasion.

Ernesto Ruffo Appel seems to always be first. He was the first to defeat a PRI candidate for the governorship of Baja California, and now he will be the first Cabinet member of a newly formed secretariat, and thus will also be the first Mexican border czar for economic development. He also apparently is the first foreign member of a presidential cabinet to be on the board of the San Diego Regional Chamber.

The Tuscan-style clubhouse at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, a private golf course community, opened with a lavish reception exclusively for members. Timothy Walker, g.m. of the 33,000-square-foot stone clubhouse, presided. Club membership is limited to 350. The building overlooks a par-77 golf course around which ultimately will be situated The Bridges’ 250 homes. Home sites will be in the mid-$700,000s.

The right setting for an elegant vehicle is captured in this showroom remodeled by Roel Construction for Hoehn Porsche, 6800 Avenida Encinas, Carlsbad. The 15,000-square-foot project, former home to Hoehn Honda, involved new paint, cabinetry, carpet, flooring and an improved display area, in Roel’s third job in 12 months for The Hoehn Group.

The American Cancer Society is gathering its efforts once again to deliver bunches of cheer for its 18th annual Daffodil Days Campaign. Orders for the bright yellow flowers will be taken Jan. 8 through Feb. 28. Funds from the sales support critical cancer research and will be used for local education and patient services.

Participants may send daffodils to cancer patients undergoing treatment with a $15 Gift of Hope donation or arrange for bouquets to be delivered. For $10 send a bouquet of 10 flowers or for $15 send 10 arranged in a cobalt blue glass vase. A Vision Bouquet, 20 flowers in a vase for $30, and the Spring Arrangement, 30 daffodils in a blue vase for $55, and an arrangement of daffodils and other spring flowers in a blue vase for $110 make a nice gift or office arrangement. Orders of $150 or more will be delivered. Deliveries are scheduled for the week of March 19. Call (619) 291-5245 to place an order. Call (619) 682-7422 to get involved with delivery or volunteer to take orders.

The $1 million, 58,000 square foot new home for wireless telco Air Fiber is now complete at 16510 Via Esprillo Road in Rancho Bernardo. Smith Consulting Architects did the interior.

Moving from Los Angeles to a 42,000-square-foot headquarters in Carlsbad next month is Sensa by Willat. The company is the creator of a pen that wins design awards and feels nice to the touch. Boyd Willat heads the 85-employee operation. Tedd Caligiuri is COO, Jeff Garcia executive v.p. of sales and marketing and Mark Kulik is CFO.

The Valle West Tennis Club on Pomerado Road in Poway has been sold for $10.4 million to Bob Beecroft of REC Properties. The seller was the Meidel Family Trust. The 129-unit apartment community was built in 1977. Kevin Mulhern and Dick Schneider of CB Richard Ellis represented both parties in the transaction.

Excavation work is underway east of Encinitas on the $200 million Olivenhain Dam. It’s the region’s first dam in 40 years. When completed in 2002, the 308-foot tall structure — the tallest of its kind in North America — will hold 24,000 acre feet of water. Planning took 12 years.

The big winner in last summer’s horse racing season run by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club was the landlord — the state of California. The 43-day session run by Joe Harper brought the state $10 million. Of that amount, $7.17 million was rent and $2.8 million from food and beverage sales. In 31 seasons, the Thoroughbred Club has paid the state $103.9 million in fees.