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The pace of growth has slowed from past seven-year chunks tracked by the state Employment Development Department. Between 1993 and 1999, the county added 203,600 jobs, or 34,400 per year. From 1983 to 1990, it added 290,000 jobs, or 41,300 per year. *** The average salary in San Diego hit $37,775 in 2000, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Chamber says that’s an 8 percent increase from 1999’s $34,722, the largest in dollar terms since 1991. Adjusted for inflation, wages in 2000 were up 2.1 percent, the fourth best showing in the last 11 years, but also the worst of the last four years. *** Among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, San Diego workers ranked No. 31 in terms of average annual wages, reports the Chamber in the Occupations 2002 edition of its Economic Bulletin. The region was right behind the $37,775 average wage in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C., and right ahead of the $37,446 in Ann Arbor, Mich. The top average pay in 2000 — $76,076 — went to workers in San Jose. *** Banker Paul Rodeno is hot to trot with 850,000 to 1 million shares of Security Business Bank of San Diego at $10 each; the offering circular hit the street June 21. Unlike most de novos, Security Business Bank will open, likely in the third quarter, with loans already performing. SBB has signed a definitive agreement, subject to regulators, to purchase some of the assets and deposits of the Manufacturers Bank office at 701 B St. Manufacturers will keep some real estate loans in its portfolio, but otherwise will retreat from the market. SBB also has taken over the lease of 5,154 square feet of Manufacturers’ space and expects to open its first branch in the Golden Triangle within a year of starting business. SBB’ offering circular presents an odd summary of San Diego banking. It’s good for SBB shareholders, but hard on the collective psyche of San Diegans who once worked in a significant financial center. Within five blocks of SBB’ location at Seventh and B, 12 years ago were the headquarters of financial institutions with combined (statewide and interstate) assets of about $40 billion with deposits of nearly as much. When SBB opens, it will be the only bank based in Downtown San Diego substantially owned by San Diegans. (SDNB is owned by Chicagoans.) Nonetheless, countywide deposits increased 31 percent from 1995 through June 2001 to $37.3 billion, says SBB. In that same period, “total deposits in the city of San Diego increased by almost 28 percent to $13.4 billion,” says SBB. “Of that total, $3.7 billion is concentrated in Downtown San Diego, within a one-mile radius of our proposed headquarters location.” In those six years, deposits at commercial banks in the city increased 40 percent while deposits in S&Ls dropped 8 percent. Deposits per branch grew from $48.5 million in ’95 to $67 million in ’01. *** Interviews with Conny Jamison, Tom Fat, Bob Shumake and Patti Page are featured this month on the “Heart of San Diego,” San Diego Metropolitan’s Fred Lewis-hosted television show that airs in prime time on ITV. ***
*** While Marc Knapp is leaving the presidency of the San Diego Education Association on July 31, he is hardly going quietly. In the June edition of the teacher’s union newsletter, The Advocate, Knapp pens a two-page analysis of the just completed school year. In it, Knapp also forecasts both the downfall of the existing 3-2 San Diego City Schools’ board majority and a day of reckoning for those who backed Superintendent Alan Bersin’s administration. “After the fall of every dictatorship those conspirators that do the dirty work for the ‘boss’ always claim they didn’t know what was happening, or that they were just doing what they were told to do,” Knapp writes. “That’s what people always say when they do all that ugly stuff to those under their sphere of influence. There will, however, be a reckoning. When the new school board and administration comes (and they will) those conspirators will have to answer to that new board and administration as well as to parents, the community, educators and other district employees. When that happens, those administrators and others that have succumbed to the pressure to use harassment and other kinds of unprofessional tactics will have to live with their consciences. Perhaps more difficult than facing their own consciences will be facing the colleagues they shafted along the way. Many of those conspirators won’t be able to handle what will come; they will have to leave like so many they (Knapp’s bold) forced to leave.” *** Summer not only is moving season, but this year it likely will bring the largest group of residents to move Downtown in history. July brings the largest block of openings yet, with the expected completion of The Heritage’s northwest block, Essex Lofts, Porto Siena, Discovery at Cortez Hill and Phase I of Parkloft. These five will add more than 558 units to the Centre City skyline and bring the total number of Downtown units completed in 2002 to nearly 1,000. Launching another wave of new Downtown units this month, Western Pacific Housing begins construction on its 32,812 square feet of land purchased this spring for $4.85 million from East Village Development San Diego LLC. The parcel, located at 12th Avenue and Market Street, is the future site of the 117-unit Park Avenue West housing development. The Urban Living Guide in its entirety can be accessed at www.sandiegometro.com/2002/jul/urban.html. *** Flexcar, a service that makes autos available to members, is pondering a San Diego location. Flexcar provides the car and pays for the insurance, maintenance, gas and parking. After a one-time $25 fee, members only pay for the hours they need the car. Flexcar offers a network of vehicles parked in leased parking spaces in areas where members live and work. The company is talking with local transit officials about a partnership. Charges range from $3.50 an hour and 90 cents a mile to five hours and 50 miles for $35. For more, click on flexcar.com. *** The winners of Japan’s highest private honor for lifetime achievement, the Kyoto Prizes, will be back in San Diego next year from March 5-7 when the Inamori Foundation and USD jointly host the second Kyoto Laureate Symposium. The laureates will discuss their works and the pursuit of peace at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. Dr. Leroy Edward Hood, a biologist, inventor and entrepreneur living in Seattle, will receive the 2002 Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology for outstanding contributions to biotechnology and medical technologies. Hood, who sits on the Scientific Advisory Board at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, is the sole American citizen honored this year and the 25th American laureate in the 18 years of the Kyoto Prizes. *** Two parcels totaling 50,000 square feet in Little Italy have been sold for $6 million to Sandcor Harborside LLC, whose parent company is Intracorp San Diego LLC. The sellers of both parcels, 20,000 square feet at 1970 Columbia St. and 30,000 square feet at 2015 India and Grape streets, were David W. Jackson, trustee of the David W. Jackson Revocable Trust; Kirk Erwin Jackson and Mark Milton Jackson. The sites are to be developed with a 184-unit apartment community known as Harbor Landing. ***
*** Colliers International has opened a new Downtown office in the Merrill Lynch Building at 701 B St. Real estate veterans Tim Cowden and Linda Greenberg have joined Colliers as senior v.p.s to establish the Centre City operation. Cowden focuses on office building leasing and sales, and specializes in land assemblage for redevelopment. Greenberg specializes in industrial sales and leasing, focusing on South San Diego County. Also joining the office are former Grubb & Ellis office specialist John Shelton and industrial specialist Rich Montgomery. *** Roel Construction Co. this month will finish tenant improvements for the Padres Preview Center at 715 J St. The 5,000-square-foot project will be home to the marketing center that incorporates 3-D technology to digitally recreate the new ballpark and its features. *** The State Board of Equalization has set the unitary value of privately owned public utilities companies in California at $65.3 billion, an increase of $2.8 billion from last year. SDG&E was valued at $13.2 billion. *** Arden Realty Inc., San Diego’s second largest office landlord, has assigned more than 2 million square feet of local commercial office space to brokerage teams at Colliers International and CB Richard Ellis. The assignment includes 21 buildings in the San Diego and Carlsbad areas with each brokerage firm handling more than 1 million square feet. The announcement signals a departure in leasing strategy for the Southern California office REIT. “Up to this point, we have worked with many local brokers, all of whom have done an excellent job,” says Tim Moore, Arden’s v.p. of the San Diego Region. “But we’re in an extremely challenging economy right now, and we need the targeted commitment of a couple of top firms that will focus on our buildings and deliver proactive leasing strategies to our portfolio.” *** Borders opens its new Gaslamp Quarter book and music store at Sixth Avenue and G Street with a long weekend — July 11-14 — of fun and prizes. Kid’s day is July 13. *** With an eye on expansion, Invitrogen Corp. has spent $5.3 million to buy an 8.65-acre parcel located at Faraday Avenue and College Boulevard next to the Carlsbad biotech corporate headquarters. The seller was Equity Office Properties Trust, the largest REIT and publicly held owner of office properties in the nation. Rick Reeder and Mark Emerick of BRE Commercial/NAI’s Carlsbad office represented the buyer and seller. *** Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort in Valley Center is set to host an Aug. 8 Las Vegas-style celebration to officially open a $125 million resort that will replace the temporary casino in operation since January 2001. The new 310,000-square-foot property includes a 200-room luxury resort — a first on local casino grounds — to go with a 45,000-square-foot gaming area and six restaurants. With more than 1,500 slot machines, 30 table games, and service of alcoholic beverages, the casino is expected to create about 1,100 jobs and generate nearly $31 million in annual payroll, including benefits. The 60-year-old Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., which runs 25 casinos nationwide, will manage the property, owned by the Rincon San Luiseño Band of Mission Indians. *** The San Diego World Trade Center is partnering with the San Diego-Jeonju Sister City Society in leading an Aug. 17-24 mission to Korea that will focus on exports, imports, investment, strategic alliances and partnerships. Set for visits are Seoul, Inchon, Jeonju, Taegu and Pusan. The cost to participate starts at $2,950. For more information, click on www.sdwtc.org/service/outbound/KoreaTradeMission/Overview.htm or contact Hugh Constant, WTC v.p., at (619) 615-0868, Ext. 103 or hconstant@sdwtc.org. ***
*** The La Jolla Institute for Molecular Medicine lets its researchers out of the lab July 13-14 for the second annual Concours d’ Elegance at the San Diego Polo Club. The fund-raising event features more than 100 vintage race cars, antique airplanes, a benefit auction to go with dinner on Saturday and a polo tournament Sunday. For more information, call (858) 587-8788, Ext. 141 or click on www.ljimm.org. *** A charity golf tournament held in San Marcos and sponsored by Enterprise Rent-A-Car raised nearly $7,300 for the San Diego/Hawaii chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It was the largest amount raised in the tournament’s seven-year history, says Brent Russell, v.p. of Enterprise’s northern San Diego County region. *** An opportunity to get an insider’s perspective on how Science Applications International Corp. became, and remains, one of the world’s leading technology R&D businesses is on the table for The Beyster Institute’s July breakfast workshop. The event will be from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. July 17 at the La Jolla Marriott. Cost is $40. Call (858) 826-1690 to register. *** Euclid Health Center, the vision of 10 black physicians who 29 years ago established California’s first medical center owned and operated by black physicians, is newly opened in the Southeast Medical Center. This second-generation expansion of the medical center at 286 and 292 Euclid Ave. is a 35,000-square-foot building. It houses primary and specialty care services as well as kidney dialysis services for the medically underserved area in San Diego. *** Roberts Irrigation Products, a San Diego-based provider of farming water and nutrient delivery, was awarded the President’s “E” Award for Excellence in Exporting by U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans. The Roberts company was founded in 1968 and now provides services for 90 dealers in 39 countries. *** The San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce formally has announced opposition to Ward Connerly’s Racial Privacy Initiative, which is expected to be on the March 2003 state ballot. The initiative calls for an end to classification by race, ethnicity, color or national origin in public education, contracting or employment. *** Ground has been broken for a new 3,100-square-foot National City Chamber of Commerce/ Visitor’s Information Center at 901 National City Blvd. Planning for the building began in 1999 when Fred Harder was chamber president. Steve South has chaired the building committee since 2000. The building was designed by Martinez+Cutri Architects and is being built by Aerial Construction Co. of Bonita, with David Adams as contractor. Funding has been raised by the building committee. Large donors will be recognized on a special wall or in floor tiles. *** The Gaslamp Quarter’s E Street Alley has completed its $1 million renovation with a new look, sound and light system, and dance floor. Owner Mike Viscuso has updated the 8-year-old club with new flooring, furniture and granite bar tops, and an expansion from one dance floor to two. Clubgoers can choose from house and techno on the Main Dance Floor, and upbeat hits from the ’80s and ’90s in the club’s Nue Room. Executive Chef Bill Gnam has overhauled the menu at Chino, the club’s Asian-themed sushi bar restaurant, to include new items like the “Shrimp and Lobster Martini,” “Japanese Pear Chips,” and “White Miso Glazed Alaskan Halibut.” For information on corporate/private events, call (619) 231-9200. *** The best seats in the house at the San Diego County Fair have been provided for the second year by Charmin Ultra bath tissue. Charminizing touches in special bathrooms on the main drag near the entrance have included aromatherapy, constant cleaning, plants, shelves, music, Charmin tissue and personal greetings by the Charmin Bear, who poses for photos and gives “pawtagraphs.” Anticipated tissue use for the run of the fair: more than 10,000 rolls. ***
*** Howard Sneed Architecture and Design was selected by AMN Healthcare to design its new 172,000-square-foot corporate headquarters on High Bluff Drive in Del Mar. Nathan Dean and Elizabeth Stewart of Howard Sneed will assist Brian Koshley in the design and production phases. Laurie Park of AMN will be project coordinator. Kirt Gilliland of The Irving Hughes Group will be construction manager. The project is being developed by Kilroy Realty with Jim Edwards as project manager for the developer. *** The former KGB/FM AirWatch building at 7150 Engineer Road was sold for $1.45 million. Built in 1980 by Koll Construction, the 9,750-square-foot concrete office contained radio broadcast studios, recording booths, a television studio and an 80-foot antenna. Jeff Rice of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller, Clear Channel Communications Inc. The purchaser, Wical Properties LLC (AE/Santech Inc.), was represented by Mike Abernathy of Voit Commercial. *** Health care design specialist Jain Malkin has published the third edition of her book, “Medical And Dental Space Planning,” the principal industry reference on the topic which has been in print for 20 years. Published by John Wiley & Sons, New York, the tome has 580 photos, illustrations and space plans. *** The Champions at Del Mar, an annual event held by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, is scheduled for July 27. The sixth annual fund-raiser features Randy Travis. Event tickets are $250. Call (858) 792-4345 or visit www.delmarracing.com for information. *** To make way for a bigger and better museum, the Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños will close its Downtown operation at summer’s end and temporarily function as a museum without walls until December 2004. “Fiesta Mexicana” on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 will provide a last chance to explore the most fun warehouse Downtown and kick off a new fund-raising campaign. “Launching a capital campaign to raise enough money to see this project to completion is critical to starting construction on time and providing the momentum needed to ensure the museum redevelopment succeeds,” says Kay Wagner, the museum’s executive director. “The museum’s goal is to raise $20 million over the next 24 months to fund the construction of the new building and create an endowment that will secure the survival of the organization for generations to come. This is a prime opportunity for San Diego businesses, family foundations and individuals to invest in the future of a community landmark that already serves over 200,000 children annually.” *** Cocktails and games, Monte Carlo style, will raise funds in the BIA’s annual event to benefit its communication programs. It is set from 6 to 11 p.m. Aug. 23 at Shelter Pointe Hotel & Marina (formerly the Kona Kai). Tickets are $250 with an optional spouse pass for $100. Send checks, payable to BIA, to 6336 Greenwich Dr., San Diego 92122 or register online at www.biasandiego.org. *** “The Cosmos and the Brain: Exploring our Final Frontiers” is the title of the next library roundtable series to be presented from 5:30-7:30 p.m. July 11 by the Neurosciences Institute. Daniel S. Goldin, senior fellow at the Council on Competitiveness, leads the discussion. Goldin was the longest-serving administrator at NASA. Organizers expect a full house. Call (858) 626-2018 or e-mail jonte@nsi.edu for reservations.
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Job growth will average 30,200 annually in the San Diego region between 1999 and 2006, reports the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Total employment in that period will grow 18.3 percent, from 1.15 million to 1.36 million. Most of the new jobs — 87.5 percent — will be in service industries, with business services the largest single category at 41,300.
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