Downtown’s sole Fortune 500 headquarters company, Sempra Energy, is kicking the tires of suburban office space. “Our lease is up in summer 2005 and we are exploring our options,” says Doug Kline, Sempra spokesman. The company must give notice by January whether it will exercise the first of its four five-year options to stay in its home since 1975. Meanwhile, civic leaders are pressing Sempra CEO Stephen Baum, who will make the call, to stay Downtown. Options include the same building — Sempra’s 58 cents a square foot rent goes to market rate under the renewal options but is still likely to be much lower than the $3 new space commands — or perhaps Rob Lankford’s Broadway 655 or Cisterra’s DiamondView Tower outside Petco Park’s right field. Sempra needs about 225,000 square feet for 800 employees. With a 2003 profit of $649 million on revenue of $7.9 billion, the company does not lack for options.

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Sempra’s real estate broker is Craig Irving, principal with Irving Hughes. In 1997 he negotiated Downtown’s biggest deal in more than a decade when Golden Eagle Insurance and its 1,100 employees moved to what is now Golden Eagle Plaza. The former chairman of the Downtown Partnership, Irving seems best equipped to pitch Downtown’s options, but he isn’t talking.

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Those who are talking include Sandy Shapery, Sempra’s landlord. He is skeptical the company can make such a big move in a short time, but at the least expects Sempra to lease 75,000 square feet outside Downtown for its energy trading division. New digs in Kearny Mesa top the rumor list for either transaction. If Sempra departs, Shapery foresees converting his building to condos or a luxury hotel with condos on top.

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CCDC President Peter Hall calls Sempra a good corporate citizen for Downtown. “They are a flagship for our city,” he says. “I think they just fit (Downtown) like a glove.” Barbara Warden, president of the Downtown Partnership, says she has been working with CCDC and the Economic Development Corp. to convince Sempra to stay in the urban core. “We call them our only Fortune 500 company,” Warden says. “We are very anxious to retain them as neighbors.”

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When the first offices open next year in Rob Lankford’s Broadway 655 high-rise, if you like the interior look, credit Howard-Sneed Architecture and Design. If you don’t, blame it. The firm has landed interior architectural planning and design services for anchor tenants Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach and Best Best & Krieger. The two law firms will occupy 155,000 square feet, nearly half the building. Being the first designer in a commercial tower isn’t new for Howard-Sneed. The firm did the anchor tenant at One America Plaza, which again was Milberg Weiss. Same for Symphony Towers when Seltzer, Caplan, McMahon and Vitek moved in. To complete the circle, firm principals Janice Howard and Anne Sneed are remodeling Milberg’s old One America space for Latham & Watkins.

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Snap-Saver is introducing Snap-Saver The No-Brainer Container, the food storage container system that saves time, space and eliminates the No. 1 frustration expressed by people who use containers - finding the right lid for the bowl. With its patented design, Snap-Saver lids snap to the bottom of matching bowls when not in use. In addition, Snap-Saver lids snap into lids and same-sized bowls nest in each other. More info on the San Diego company’s microwave-, dishwasher-and freezer-safe bowls is at www.snap-saver.com.

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For now, Bazaar del Mundo remains a Diane Powers run and managed venue. While the state has awarded the Old Town State Park concession contract to Delaware North Cos., Powers has challenged the process. A hearing before an administrative law judge is set for May 17. A federal lawsuit that challenged Delaware’s possible use of the Casa de Bandini and Pico names was dismissed without prejudice, meaning Powers may refile depending on the outcome of the state hearing.

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The next San Diego stop for the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s proposed system is from 3 to 8 p.m. April 20 in the Sandag board room, 401 B St., Ste. 800. Comment on the system’s environmental impact will be heard. Public workshops on the proposed train have been held since routes were devised in 1996. You never know how this will turn out. Rep. Bob Filner has gotten $1 million earmarked in a federal transportation bill to study a high-speed magnetic-levitation train from San Diego to a potential new airport site in Imperial Valley. In the meantime, developer and entrepreneur Sandy Shapery wants $2 million in federal dollars to study an elevated MagLev line up I-5 that would take travelers from San Diego to Los Angeles. Shapery says the 300-mph project would cost $15 billion to build, about $126 million a mile, less than the trolley to SDSU. He’s created a nonprofit to study the effort and says the line, which would carry the equivalent of an eight-lane freeway, will be critically needed by 2020. “I am doing this because I have always wanted to take on the biggest local problem and solve it,” says the developer of Emerald Plaza, the W hotel and many other local projects. “San Diego has always been good to me. I am not in this for profit.”

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Jimsair Charter and Management will host a Business Aviation Preview from 3:30 to 7 p.m. April 23 to show off Raytheon’s new business jet, the Premier I, and top-of-the-line turboprop, the Kingair 350. For security, Amber is taking reservations at (619) 297-7707 for the wine-and-cheese affair. “Not airline peanuts,” says Dick Cloward.

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Romeria Louise Kelly was surprised when her three children made a substantial gift to Senior Community Centers and Market Square Manor, an affordable Downtown seniors’ residence. At a reception at the same time, the manor’s terrace was dedicated in Mrs. Kelly’s name. The $375,000 donation was made by Michael and Richard Kelly, owners of First Commercial Corp. and The Bitter End, and their sister, Louise Kelly. At the dedication, two future events were announced: a heroes’ luncheon May 14 and a golf tournament, “Swinging for Seniors,” in the fall.

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Computer chip maker AMD has started a Web site that identifies wireless hotspots where it has a hand in offering free connections to people with WiFi cards in their laptops or other devices. San Diego locations include Cappy’s Coffee House, 4978 Cass St. in Pacific Beach, Coffee House On Broadway, 2991 Broadway, Golden Hill; Gelato Vero Caffe, 3753 India St., Little Italy; The Blue Mug, 122 S. Kalmia St., Escondido; and Churchill’s Pub and Grille, 887 W. San Marcos Blvd., San Marcos. Also, the city of San Diego has five libraries offering free wireless Internet: Carmel Mountain Ranch, La Jolla-Riford, Mission Valley, Pacific Beach-Taylor and Point Loma-Hervey.

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Peggy Hack is back. The local executive of the German American Chamber of Commerce California Inc., who returned to Germany in late 2001 to fire up a European job portal called Praktika.de, has returned to San Diego and opened offices for MarketentryUS.com and the German American Chamber at 555 W. Beech St., Suite 450, in Downtown San Diego. She’s teamed up again with Barbara Domont.

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Southwest Community Bank, expanding into the Inland Empire, is set to open on May 3 a new branch at 599 North E St. in San Bernardino. It will be the bank’s eighth full-service office. The space is being vacated by Jackson Federal, which means Southwest will start operations in temporary quarters on the second floor.

“The San Bernardino market represents an excellent opportunity for a community bank as a result of recent merger activity in the city,” says Frank J. Mercardante, president and CEO of Southwest Community Bancorp, which owns Southwest Community, and CEO of the bank. “Having worked for the former Business Bank of California in the mid 1990s, I am familiar with the market and local community leaders. Together with the excellent team of experienced local bankers we have been fortunate to assemble, I look forward to being a part of the San Bernardino area business community once again.”

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The House of Blues is reprising its five-year-old plan to jump into Downtown with a club and restaurant in the former Woolworth Building just south of Fifth Avenue and C Street. Following a fresh injection of $30 million from J.P. Morgan Partners, $30 million from Ares Management and a $75 million line of credit with Morgan and Banc of America Securities, House of Blues’ original proposal for a restaurant and nightclub with a hotel, residential and retail component has a new refrain and will open simply as eatery and hotspot by next winter. Construction has a head start from work on the planned site renovation three years ago.

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America’s Foundation for Chess and NTC Foundation have set the dates for the 2004 U.S. Chess Championships. The national title tournament will take place from Nov. 24 through Dec. 5 at the Hilton Torrey Pines. This will be the fourth year that AF4C has hosted the annual tournament and its first year doing so with a co-sponsor. Expected to maintain its $250,000 prize fund, the championships will be held over 12 days and are expected to attract attention from around the world. Chessmaster returns as a 2004 corporate sponsor. Details are at www.af4c.org.

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Paola Hernandez, chief of staff to National City Mayor Nick Inzunza, was sworn in as chair of the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at its annual dinner. She succeeds Elizabeth Bustos. The 2004 board includes Lidia Martinez, vice chair; Thomas Saiz, treasurer; Louis Murillo, secretary; Ceci Cazares, correspondence secretary; and Robert Solis, parliamentarian. Directors are Hector Baca, Heriberto Batiz, Gustavo Bidart, John Castillo, Lilia Mojica, Art Moreno, Salvador Ramirez, David Salazar, Luis Valdivia and Rebeca Perez-Serrano. Elias Sheinberg, owner of the 30-shoe-store chain Grupo Empresarial Zapatero in Mexico, and former majority owner of Circle Foods and Porkyland in San Diego, won the chamber’s Spirit of Hispanic Business Award. He’s active in the chamber’s and SBA’s SCORE program.

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Lundstrom & Associates expects to finish renovation work and move into its new headquarters this month. The company is renovating the 24,536-square-foot ConAm building, which is on San Diego Avenue and visible to northbound travelers on I-5. The company needs the space. “When we founded Lundstrom & Associates in 1999, we were a four-person office with a handful of projects,” says Jeff Lundstrom, company president. “Today, we have over 40 employees on our team and we provide a vast and growing array of services and capabilities to commercial, residential and government clients not only in San Diego, but in Temecula as well.”

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The Unified Port of San Diego has marked the 500th cruise ship visit since 2000. Local cruise ship calls are up 60 percent over a year ago. Nearly 400,000 cruise ship passengers are expected to disembark at the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal Downtown this year. Each homeported ship that begins and ends a cruise in San Diego has a $2 million local economic impact.

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Specially focused free tours of Liberty Station begin a six-week run in May to coincide with the San Diego Historical Society’s Showcase 2004. During the tours, the Showcase House, the former Naval Training Center Commandant’s Quarters, will be open to the public. The 5,500-square-foot home was built in 1923 and features four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a maid’s quarters. It was designed by famed San Diego architects Lincoln Rogers and Frank W. Stevenson, who designed many other historically important San Diego buildings such as the Army-Navy YMCA and the Mission Beach Ballroom and Bath House. Visit www.sandiegohistory.org or call the (619) 533-7355 for information.

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SDSU has a new logo. Hepner Hall is the centerpiece with the words San Diego State on top, and University below in capital serif type. The primary colors remain red and black, and gold will be added in some cases as an accent color. SDSU’s previous logo was introduced in 1977. School President Stephen Weber described Hepner Hall as a fitting icon for the new logo because it honors SDSU’s heritage, and yet has a timeless connection to the university’s mission. “This historic building has served as the front door of the campus since it opened in 1931, a gateway to knowledge, achievement and human development,” he says. Greenhaus, a San Diego ad agency, created the design.

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The Armed Services YMCA building at 500 W. Broadway, Downtown, has been deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service. The building was designated local Historical Landmark No. 455 by San Diego in 2001. It was built in 1924 and was considered one of the finest concrete structures of its kind. It has provided housing and amenities for servicemen since it opened. The next stage in obtaining national designation is renovation and rehabilitation of the building by owners and developers Barone Galasso & Associates, to be completed by late summer.

Community Health Group CEO Norma Diaz is Business Woman of the Year for 2004, chosen by the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce.

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The American Association of University Women hosts the eighth annual Through the Garden Gates tour from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 1. Four residential gardens will be featured in Rancho Santa Fe, Leucadia and Olivenhain. Guests can walk through a Southwestern-styled garden that was recently featured in Sunset Magazine and San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles. The tour funds college scholarships for women. The cost for the self-guided tour is $20 in advance or $25 on May 1. Tour tickets are available by mail or at the Bookworks/Pannikin Bookstore at Flower Hill Mall in Del Mar, (858) 755-3735. To register or for information, call Leslie Monteath at (760) 942-1850.

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Business Resource Group of San Diego has partnered with Allsteel, a contract furniture designer and manufacturer in Chicago, to provide workplace furniture to San Diego businesses, universities and government agencies.

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Vintage ships and wine stack the decks for the first San Diego County Winemakers Festival and Grape Stomp from 1 to 5 p.m. May 16 at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The event includes local wine-tasting, food, music and even sloshing in a vat of crushed grapes. Tickets are $40 per person and benefit programs of the museum and Torrey Pines Rotary Club, the sponsor. For info and tickets, visit www.TorreyPinesRotary.org/wine or call (619) 275-3250.

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The SBC Foundation is taking applications through Aug. 13 for $5 million in Excelerator technology grants from $2,500 to $25,000 to nonprofit organizations. Last year’s grant recipients were: San Diego Regional Economic Development Foundation, $18,800; San Diego Workforce Partnership, $15,000; East County Economic Development Council/ Connectory.com, $5,000; ElderHelp of San Diego, $5,000; Pangea Foundation, $5,000; Copley Family YMCA $5,000; and San Diego Community College Auxiliary Organization/ Employee Training Institute, $5,000. For more, visit www.sbc.com/foundation or call (800) 591-9663.

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Credit union executives got out of the office to practice team-building exercises in the streets and parks of San Diego through the Credit Union National Association’s Center for Professional Learning & Development. John Erickson, president of All 4 One Adventures & Team Building, provided the structure. A debriefing at the end of the leadership exercises emphasized “lessons learned, how these events related to their workplace and how they can implement teamwork sessions at their offices,” says Erickson. Details are available at all4oneadventures.com.

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The Cinco de Mayo con Orgullo (with Pride) Coalition, which promotes a May 5 holiday free of tobacco or alcohol, holds a parade and festival Downtown on May 2. The parade steps off at 10 a.m. at West Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway. The free festival runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway. For more, call (858) 974-3603, Ext. 212.

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United Development Group has bought a three-building, 19-unit apartment complex built in 1985 at 1165 Decker St. in El Cajon from George Price for $1.9 million. David Harrison and Jim Taylor of Sperry Van Ness represented the buyer, which intends to convert the property to condominiums. Price represented himself.

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One of the busiest portals to the blue water of San Diego Bay is going green. Mary Lou LoPreste, owner and managing partner of Sun Harbor Marina, has launched a $5.5 million project to demolish and rebuild the three buildings of the marina, Pizza Nova and her marine business tenants off America’s Cup Harbor. “The big thing is to build green,” LoPreste says. Buildings will take advantage of natural light with oversize windows and the design is meant to blend with the bayside environment. Materials include lots of concrete and lumber from sustainably managed forests. Project partners are Caitlin Kelley, architect; Sustainable Earth Enterprises, design consultant; Peterbuilt Construction, building contractor; Bellingham Marine, docks contractor; Skip Fralick and Colin Jessop, environmental consultants; and Kim Emerson, public art. Completion is expected in December.

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CaseAce has released its GearGrip Notebook Travel Harness. The Escondido company bills it as an inexpensive solution to installing LCD screens in vehicles for entertainment. The harness will hold most notebook computers, allowing passengers to view a movie on DVD, video CD, play video games by installing controllers or do homework and projects with an external keyboard and mouse. More information on the $34.99 harness is at geargrip.com.

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Jim Scott retires as v.p. of marketing and business affairs at Nassco this month. The next cruise he embarks on will be aboard a new BMW motorcycle for a one-month cross-country tour. One of the last contracts he negotiated — but not for Nassco — was with Sprung Instant Structures Inc. of Utah on behalf of Coronado Playhouse, whose theater was demolished after 50 years last fall for the Coronado City Hall and Community Center project under way off Glorietta Bay. On the other side of the island, the playhouse’s 3,600-square-foot temporary pavilion goes up this month on property granted by maritime business magnate Art Engel just southwest of the Ferry Landing and across the bay from Petco Park. Opening in May in the new playhouse will be Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.” The pavilion should remain the playhouse’s venue until the City Hall project is finished in 2005.

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The League of Women Voters of San Diego on April 29 will honor Rev. George Walker Smith with its second annual Gloria Penner Civic Service Award. Smith is known as the political “Conscience of the Community” and founder of the venerable Catfish Club, which brings more than 200 San Diegans together for lunch every Friday to hear speakers on political issues of the day. His relationship with the league goes back to 1963 when LWVSD joined him in supporting district elections for the San Diego school board and racial integration of the schools.

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While last month’s merger of Bank of America and FleetBoston made business headlines, Legacy Bank’s Doug Sawyer sees it merely as the continuation of a trend that began in the 1970s and accelerated in the early 1990s following federal legalization of full interstate banking across the United States. “Banking in the U.S. seems to be progressing toward a system that will likely include five to 10 national banks, perhaps 20 to 50 major regional banks and approximately 5,000 community and boutique banks,” predicts Sawyer, president and CEO of Legacy. “The banks that will have the most difficulty prospering are those that are too large to compete on service with the community banks and at the same time are too small to compete on the basis of cost with the national and major regional banks.” Sawyer says the cycle “allows banks and bankers to recreate themselves and serve their local communities, providing needed credit, service and community involvement in our local communities across the country.”

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A pedestrian bridge to span Harbor Drive and the railways at Park Boulevard by Petco Park is on the Centre City Development Corp. drawing board. CCDC is requesting qualifications from design and construction firms through April 23 for the $10 million job. Work could start by November and take a year, says Roberto Saucedo, CCDC project manager.

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Speedy cyberspace connections are standard in the 50 suites at Petco Park. Along with providing digital telephone and Internet services to about 200 Padres employees who work at Petco Park, Cox Communications has wired the boxes for lightning Web access. For now, you need to bring your own computer. But maybe not for long. Cox V.P. Dan Novak is pondering a way to get a working computer into each suite.