Fear of legal challenges to the draft EIR for the $42 million restoration of the Old Police Headquarters next to Seaport Village led the Port District to cancel a planned vote on the document this month. The much-desired project was detailed last month in a cover story that asked whether it would drown in the love of its admirers, many of whom wanted different features from the final version.
Both the San Diego Police Historical Association — which is angling to quadruple the 2,500 square feet of free museum space now being offered by developer GMS Realty — and the Save Our Heritage Organisation submitted written concerns about the project, including whether changes such as the demolition of 1 1/2 of the three jail cells would destroy its historic value. A revised EIR that more clearly addresses proposed changes to the building, and the mitigation possible, begins circulating this month. Port directors likely will take up the matter again in January or February. The tentative deal between the Port and GMS to restore the 66-year-old building expires March 31.
***
The Friends of Balboa Park bestows its annual Millennium Awards at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 15 at the Balboa Park Club. Honored will be Kay Porter, who has been president of the San Diego Historical Society and committee member for the Timken Museum and Girl Scouts, and Roger Showley of The San Diego Union-Tribune, who covers local history and development. The event includes special presentations on the park’s founding horticultural angel, Kate Sessions, and lunch catered by The Prado. Tickets are $50. For more, call (619) 235-5907.
***
   A new UCSD music building, with a 370-seat concert hall, will open in 2008 on Russell Lane near the Gilman parking structure on campus. The three-story, 46,880-square-foot modernist building, designed by LMN Architects of Seattle, combines cast-in-place concrete with an aluminum and glass curtain wall. Groundbreaking is next year.
|
***
With the grading of Cajon Speedway, the county of San Diego is on track to consider requests for proposals for the 40-plus-acre site early next year. Among those expecting to submit for a five-acre parcel is Cory Hazlewood. He may even propose a restaurant as the Cajon zone will be more than a Gillespie Field adjunct. With an extended 30-year lease at Gillespie, he is finishing 36,000 square feet of box hangars on three acres for Southern California Aircraft Repair. “We’re the last large facility to be building there,” he says. Hazlewood also is considering development of an aviation site in Prescott, Ariz.
***
Sure Charles Abdelnour had a nice and loooong tribute dinner following his retirement as city clerk. Now it’s time for the fun stuff. Chuck, as most call him, will be skewered on Nov. 16 at the second annual San Diegans Roast. The lunch at the Westin Horton Plaza is being hosted by The Monger Co. Tickets are $40. For more information, try Emily Crowley at (619) 544-7000 or emily@mongercompany.com.
***
Cushman & Wakefield Alliance/CREA has opened offices Downtown in temporary quarters at 1111 Sixth Ave. Back on his home turf and staffing the office will be Bradford Perry, formerly with Burnham Real Estate and Southwest Value Partners, as well as Dylan Anderson with Eric Northbrook’s team. The office will be used to pursue commercial real estate opportunities. You can welcome them by calling (858) 597-5960 and getting transferred.
***
One of Downtown’s most popular dry cleaners, the Clean Touch at Market Street and 10th Avenue, is looking for a new home, and expects to find one in 92101. Construction is slated to start on the property next year for Strata, a 159-unit Intracorp condominium project with 9,300 square feet of retail space.
***
 Jet Source Charter in Carlsbad has added a Citation 500 (pictured) and a Citation VII to its fleet of charter aircraft and will be adding a King Air twin-engine turboprop by December. The company’s fleet also includes Gulfstream, Challenger, Falcon and Hawker models of corporate jets. The Citation 500 is suited for shorter flights, the Citation VII for flights throughout North America.
|
***
Doug Manchester, chairman of Manchester Financial Group, will be keynote speaker at a “Real Estate Trends” workshop Nov. 21 sponsored by the Urban Land Institute’s San Diego/Tijuana chapter. It will be held from 7:30 to 11:45 a.m. at the Jenny Craig Pavilion at USD, 5998 Alcala Park. The cost is $155 per person. To register, call (800) 321-5011 or visit sandiego.uli.org.
***
Leading San Diego hoteliers will gather Nov. 10 for a luncheon at the Catamaran Resort where they will hear a presentation on tourism improvement districts from John Lambeth of Sacramento-based Downtown Resources. A number of hotel operators want to impose a 2 percent tax on guests and use that money to promote tourism, essentially replacing what the city has subtracted from Convis in reducing its funding to $8.8 million. Not all hoteliers are happy — the $121 million the city collects from bed taxes should be sufficient, they say — and some at City Hall question the concept’s legality.
***
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer comes to San Diego Nov. 11 to speak about corporate scandals in an appearance at a Corporate Directors Forum program and breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla. Since taking office in 1999, Spitzer has investigated conflicts of interest by investment banks, illegal trading practices by mutual funds and bid rigging in the insurance industry. Forum members are free, nonmembers are $40. To RSVP, call (858) 455-7930 or send an e-mail to cdf@directorsforum.com.
***
In the 2006 baseball season, the Padres again will play eight weekday day games at Petco Park, all starting at 12:35 p.m. The dates are April 26, May 11, May 31, June 15, June 29, July 19, Aug. 3 and Aug. 17.
***
 Bill and Gayle Stone have stocked a fresh array of lighting fixtures and design accessories from Napoli to Tuscany in their boutique, Simply Italian, at 1646 India St. in Little Italy. Another restocking may come again — the couple travels to Italy three or four times a year.
|
***
Robert Macier, president of Solar Turbines Inc. in San Diego, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, retires Jan. 1 after 25 years with the company. Macier will be replaced by Stephen A. Gosselin, a Caterpillar v.p. with responsibility for the North American commercial division. Caterpillar is headquartered in Peoria, Ill. CEO Jim Owens says Macier, through his extensive knowledge of the gas turbine business, helped guide Solar during a time of significant growth while keeping a watchful eye on costs. Gosselin, 47, began his career with Caterpillar in 1979 in parts and service sales.
***
Twenty restaurants will participate in the Taste of the Triangle Nov. 15, sponsored by the University City Foundation for Public Schools. Starting at 7 p.m., restaurants will provide samples of their food, with silent auction and entertainment. Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. Proceeds will go to provide extra resources at the five University City schools. For information, call (858) 677-0989 or visit UC-EDUCATE.org.
***
The Gaslamp Quarter Association presents its 11th annual Lamplighter Awards from 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Omni Hotel. Besides the “Best of” awards in 38 categories, the organization will present the Chairman’s Award, the Armond Award, the Trailblazer Award, the Merit Award for Business, the Merit Award for Media and the Merit Award for Public Agency. The 2005 Taste of Gaslamp Awards will be presented to two restaurants that took part in the June event. Tables and tickets can be purchased to the event at the GQA office by calling (619) 233-5227. David Linton, whose oil painting, “Fifth & Market” tops this month’s San Diego Scene column, is donating the artwork to the association for auction. This year’s title sponsor of the awards is US Food Service Joseph Webb Division.
***
 Kettner Nights, Little Italy’s monthly art and design crawl, now brushes farther south to the new Gallery 680 at Beech Street. The gallery is in the Dutra Brown building, with 18-foot ceilings and the air of a neo-industrial palazzo. The next Kettner Boulevard crawl is 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 11.
|
***
The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival takes the season between harvest and Thanksgiving to uncork an event featuring 500 wines, microbrews and premium spirits. The Nov. 10 -12 festival includes a premium pastiche of tastings, vintner panels, cooking and cuisine classes. Venues include the Westgate Hotel, San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina and Macy’s School of Cooking. Prices vary by event. The festival hotline is (619) 342-7337 or visit worldofwineevents.com.
***
Lyric Opera San Diego presents its second production, “Countess Maritza,” this month in the newly renovated North Park Theatre. The full-fly proscenium theater retains its 1928 grandeur and acoustics with updated lighting, effects and even a Starbucks. Performances, always in English, are at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11, 17 and 19 and 2 p.m. Nov. 13 and 20. Tickets are $26-$40. Children are half price. For more, call (619) 239-8836 or visit lyricoperasandiego.com.
***
Veterans Day, Nov. 11, is observed in Balboa Park with the 1 p.m. public dedication of the Veterans Memorial Garden adjacent to the existing Veterans Museum at 2125 Park Blvd. The museum will host an open house from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The one-acre garden features red and white roses, blue agapanthus, Flanders poppies and a pool reflecting a one-sixth scale bronze statue of a B-24 Liberator nosed toward the old Convair plant that built the plane during World War II. The garden is funded by a $1.4 million state park bond.
***
|
***
The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties presents perspectives on San Diego investment and development on Nov. 15, sponsored by Equity Office Properties, Equastone, Fenton Investment, McMillin Commercial and Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial. The 4 p.m. event with 6 p.m. reception is at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla. Advance tickets are $75 for association members and $100 for nonmembers. For more, call (858) 509-4110 or visit naiopsd.org.
***
The Southwestern College Higher Education Center at National City hosts a free bilingual Small Business Information Day with exhibits and seminars from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Nov. 18. For more information, call (619) 482-6391 or visit sbditc.org.
***
 Buyers will begin moving by year-end to The Lofts at 777 Sixth Ave. The four-story, two-building condominium project by Loma Corp. and Del Mar Pacific Group includes 103 platform-style lofts, studios, and one- and two-bedrooms priced from the mid-$300,000s to high $700,000s. LG’s Prime Steakhouse occupies the ground floor, with parking below. Call (619) 544-0017 or visit 777lofts.com.
|
***
The third episode in “Stories de la Frontera,” a half hour program hosted and produced by journalist Laura Castañeda, formerly of Channel 4 and KGTV, will be broadcast at 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 15 on KPBS-TV in San Diego. The episode is about a pregnant Mexican teenager who risks her life and the life of her unborn baby to give birth in the United States. “The border is more than drugs and immigration” says Castañeda. “This is a fascinating region we live in divided by a line in the sand. We want our audiences to share a slice of life on both sides of the border.”
***
A caption in the October San Diego Scene column failed to mention that Ann Brizolis of Prudential had the listing for a 5.8-acre oceanfront estate in La Jolla, along with Bonnie Adams of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. The estate sold for $23.5 million. San Diego Metropolitan regrets the error.
***
 Black Mountain Ranch LLC is building a signature bridge through Del Sur, its new 1,800-acre, master-planned community off Highway 56 in North County. The two-lane, cobblestone-clad arch bridge will have custom handrails and colored concrete sidewalks over natural open space at Paseo del Sur. The community opens in the spring, and the bridge in the summer.
|
***
Navy Lt. Thomas Mullen Adams, 27, of La Mesa is the first person listed in a N.Y. Times online accounting of the more than 2,000 soldiers who have died from injuries sustained in the war in Iraq. The link, rather long, is here — http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/national/IRAQDEATHS_GRAPHIC.html?th&emc=th — Adams was assigned as an exchange officer with the British Royal Navy’s 849 Squadron. He died on March 22, 2003, when two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided over the Persian Gulf.
***
The expanded and remodeled School of Healing Arts in Pacific Beach hosts a grand re-opening festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 19. Founded in 1990, the school at 1001 Garnet Ave. serves students desiring to become practitioners of holistic health and massage therapy. It also provides professional therapeutic bodywork to the public in its wellness center. “The remodel fulfills our plans to take the school to the next level,” says Seymour Koblin, school director. “We’ve accomplished a complete space change, remodeling the entire school under the principles of feng shui.” The $250,000 project expanded the school from 6,000 square feet and 10 treatment rooms to 9,500 square feet and 22 rooms. Its staff has grown from 60 to 120 massage therapists.
***
Nine construction projects in the county and their builders were hailed as “best of the best” by the San Diego chapter of the Associated General Contractors at its 2005 Build San Diego Awards. Winning companies and their projects: Jaynes Corp. for the new National City Library; Roel Construction for Park Laurel on the Prado condo project; FCI Constructors for the North Torrey Pines Bridge replacement; Clark Construction Group California for the SDSU tunnel and underground station for the trolley; C.E. Wylie Construction Co. for the Earl Thomas Reservoir replacement; FCI Contractors for the La Jolla cover wall replacement and bluff improvements; Douglas E. Barnhart Inc. for the remodel of Copley Symphony Hall administrative offices; Soltek Pacific for the Tecate border renovation and expansion; Clark Construction, Barnhart and Roel for Petco Park.
***
 Overlooking the Pacific, the Hotel del Coronado’s 10,000-square-foot Windsor Lawn will be transformed into an ice rink Nov. 23 through Jan. 2. The Victorian Building will be decorated with 50,000 white lights as a backdrop for the “Skating by the Sea” venue.
|
***
San Diego psychologist and life coach Barbara Cox is out with an innovative CD of guided imagery and relaxation techniques tailored for parents of children ages infant to 10 years. “Guided Imagery and Relaxation Techniques for Parents” uses the power of the listener’s imagination to change self-limiting beliefs and help him or her become a more effective and relaxed parent. “In talking to other parents, it seems as though we all put undue pressure on ourselves to be the perfect parent,” says Cox. “The idea for this CD program came out of a desire to address and alleviate some of that undue pressure.” Click on drbarbaracox.com for more.
***
Dennis James wants more students to learn how to play the piano, so he’s giving a few away. Public and private elementary schools within a 30-mile radius of James’ Piano Warehouse in San Marcos are eligible to receive a free piano through the “Keys to Success Piano Giveaway.” To enter, school instructors or administrators must submit a letter explaining how a piano would benefit their school and advance music appreciation. Letters should be no longer than 250 words. The giveaway ends in December but James says it might be extended. Piano Warehouse is at 307 E. Carmel St. in San Marcos. For more information, call (760) 744-9320.
***
A buyer interest list is forming at Eureka Springs, a 161-acre master planned community under construction in Escondido. Developers Lennar and Centex Homes will offer 340 new homes within four neighborhoods. Sales are expected to begin in early 2006. Prospective home buyers may register online at eurekaspringsliving.com.
***
 The California Coastal Commission unanimously approved plans for Liberty Station Resort Village, a hotel complex consisting of a 200-room Courtyard by Marriott and 150-room Hilton Homewood Suites as well as the former Bayside Conference Center. Pending city permits, the project is slated to begin construction on the former Naval Training Center land in early 2006 with completion in late 2007. The resort is a venture between Huntington Hotel Group and The Corky McMillin Cos.
|
***
A Downtown chapter of the Leads Club is forming. An informational meeting will be held Nov. 9 at 7:30 a.m. at Hennessey’s, 708 Fourth Ave. Business owners, sales associates, independent professionals and entrepreneurs are encouraged to bring business cards and promotional materials for distribution. Leads is a referral-based marketing organization. Register for the meeting with Jeanette Weeks at (800) 783-3761.
***
|
Peter Katz, one of the founders of New Urbanism, which The New York Times calls “the most important phenomenon to emerge in American architecture in the post-Cold War era,” will provide insights into the movement during a Nov. 18 workshop hosted by the San Diego section of the American Planning Association. It will be held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on the Bay, 1355 Harbor Drive, Downtown. The program will provide a study of the tools necessary to take New Urbanism from theory to practice within practical planning realities. Katz once helped developers market suburban sprawl projects, but became a fierce critic. He is founding executive director of the Congress for the New Urbanism and author of a seminal book on the subject — “The New Urbanism: Toward an Architecture of Community.” The workshop is $60 for APA members, $75 for nonmembers and $15 for students. Make reservations online at sdapa.org.
No comments on record for this story.
This is a public form for the free exchange of comments. Foul language, threats and anything overtly mean or nasty will be removed.