After a burst of energy caused by the County of San Diego and supervisors Ron Roberts and Dianne Jacob getting involved, the effort to retain the Chargers is back on pace. “Right now, things are going very slow,” says Roberts. A hoped-for follow-up meeting with the team has been delayed. “We are being told sometime late in July will be our next meeting,” Roberts says. “We are waiting for them as they had some work to do in looking at the various sites out there, so we could see if there is a preferred site or sites, what has to be done, what our our role needs to be, if any, and if anything can get done.” A tentative meeting with the city — likely Mayor Sanders and Council President Peters — is expected in early August. Roberts says public reaction to the county’s involvement has been supportive, with words of caution. “There are people who are still angry, and rightly so, over the ticket guarantee, people that want to see the Chargers stay but want it done so it is fair,” Roberts says. “No one calls saying, ‘Let’s just build it and give it to them.’”
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When the eagerly awaited reopening of the U.S. Grant occurs in early October, baseball playoff season will be here, possibly including the Padres. The Grant’s owners, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, has been a top-tier Padres sponsor since 1995. Whether Padres games can be viewed on the hotel’s televisions is in doubt. The video contract, inherited by management company Starwood Hotels, is not with Cox Communications. With its Channel 4, Cox has exclusive local rights to Padres games. At press time, Starwood was reviewing its options.
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The Irvine Co. is declining to comment on speculation that it is negotiating with Bosa Development to purchase property at Broad-way and Pacific Highway for an office building. It is a glorious location, one on which Catellus Development almost pulled the trigger five years ago with this skyline-changing design, more of which is here: sandiegometro.com/2001/jan.
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Alejandra Mier y Teran and her crew at the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce scored major points with a bigger, peppier June 29 Mexport Trade Show, including more exhibitors with higher purchasing authority. Exhibitors filled 241 booths. Lauree Sahba, vice president of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp., says her group and the Tijuana EDC are working on a video to promote the border region. “We are really one metropolitan statistical area,” says San Diego Councilman Ben Hueso.”
“Tijuana is very important to San Diego,” says Alberto Arce, president of the Asociacion de la Industria Maquiladora. He says some 180,000 people are employed in maquiladoras in Tijuana, resulting in three to five times as much indirect employment. The growth rate has returned to pre-9/11 levels, says Arce. Electronics account for the largest share of direct maquila employment, some 40 to 45 percent. “The University of Tijuana has been working on a program for three years, incorporating their learning into the maquiladora industry,” he says.
Sergio Tagliapietra, secretary of economic development for the State of Baja California, says Mexport benefits all of Baja, not just Tijuana, noting that Baja’s attraction “is no longer based on (merely) low labor costs. We are going after competitive integration of manufacturing, research and development” and other operational aspects. Steven Zisser, president of the Otay Mesa Chamber, says trade “crossing this border” totals $8 billion annually. “We compete every day with the world.”
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   Sandra Wagenaar, president of the San Diego chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers, frames Tracy F. Taylor, chair of the ninth annual ASID Clearance Sale, as he sits amid typical sale merchandise. Scheduled for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 19 at The Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Mission Valley, the sale will feature one-of-a-kind items from professional designers, designer showrooms and clients’ homes. Admission is $3 at the door. For information, call (858) 646-9896.
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Dan Yates, president of Regents Bank, barely even squirmed in his seat as R.M. Tracy acknowledged his responsibility and liability for client confidentiality. Tracy, a former FBI agent, co-founder of the Privacy Trust Group and author of “Reduce Your Risk of Credit Fraud & Identity Theft,” was speaking to Yates’ Executives Association of San Diego. “One in five people is already a victim of identity theft,” she says. “Two years ago that was one in eight.” Among employers’ burdens, “Owners can be liable for losses to an employee caused by business information theft.” She says victims of ID theft may “spend 175 to 600 hours in the recovery process... One in 700 identity thieves is caught.” Greg Garner, head of the San Diego Credit Assn., is president of the Execs.
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 Peggy Johnson
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Featuring Qualcomm’s Peggy Johnson as the honorary chair and artist and motivational speaker Erik Wahl as the speaker, the 27th annual Tribute To Women & Industry luncheon drew 700 guests and earned the YWCA a profit of $75,000 for its Becky’s House and other programs. Wahl’s unique presentation resulted in the creation of two paintings, which were raffled during the June 16 luncheon for TWIN honorees. The winners were Qualcomm’s Rhonda Wagner and SAIC’s Cora Carmody. “It wasn’t fixed,” joked Johnson about Wagner’s win.
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As the summer tourism season hits high gear, Mohsen Khaleghi, g.m. of the Hyatt Islandia, assumes the president’s role at the San Diego County Hotel-Motel Association, which represents 24,000 hotel rooms and 150 affiliated members.
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Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream is hosting on July 14 a free scavenger hunt for Downtown businesses called the Rocky Road Lunch Break Challenge. The noontime event starts at Broadway Circle in front of Horton Plaza. The prize is a fully stocked ice cream freezer at the winner’s business for the rest of the year. Participation is limited to 20 teams of five people. For more information, call (760) 943-2333.
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Interactive Inc., a 90-employee Downtown marketing firm with smart Internet instincts, is using podcasts — both video and audio — as part of a Web site it launched for home builder Taylor Woodrow. The site is at realestatepodcasts-taylorwoodrow.com.
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Ivor Royston, co-founder of Hybritech, San Diego’s first biotechnology company, on Nov. 8 becomes the third inductee into the Connect Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. A luncheon in his honor takes place that day at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines. Royston follows Qualcomm’s Irwin Mark Jacobs and Walter J. Zable of Cubic Corp. in the hall of fame. “As a physician, researcher, entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Ivor Royston has played an important role in developing San Diego into a world renowned cluster for the biotechnology industry,” says David Hale, chair of Micromet Inc. and former Hybritech CEO. Hybritech, founded in 1978, eventually was purchased by Eli Lilly for $480 million. It launched innovations such as an antibody for the hepatitis B virus and the first of its kind PSA test for the early diagnosis of prostate cancer.
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After a dozen years of public interest practice, most recently with the Spokane County Public Defender’s office, David Blair-Loy has joined the local ACLU as legal director. He replaces Jordan Budd, an institution in the San Diego legal community, who accepted a professorship at the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, N.H. It hasn’t taken Blair-Loy long to get busy. He is leading the ACLU’s representation of Malia Fontana, a 15-year-old honor student in Fallbrook who, on March 31, was ordered by school officials to remove a small American flag she was wearing on her back pocket; and he joined with the other two California ACLU affiliates to file lawsuits against Verizon and AT&T to prohibit them from providing private customer information to the NSA without warrants or customer consent. “David has the knowledge and expertise to defend our freedoms during one of the most challenging times in our nation’s history,” says Kevin Keenan, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties and Blair-Loy’s new boss.
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Pamela Lawton Wilson, a partner with the law firm of Wertz McDade Wallace Moot & Brower, is the first San Diego attorney named president of the California Political Attorneys Association. Once a fine newspaper reporter, Wilson has practiced political law since 1996 and chairs Wertz McDade Wallace’s political law group. She has extensive expertise in campaign finance, ethics and lobbying matters, and defended several elected officials and political committees in ethics and campaign finance matters. “Our entire firm is very proud of Pam and her contributions,” says Richard Forsyth, managing partner. “Pam is a tremendous lawyer, a leader in the field of political law and a tireless community volunteer.”
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 This view from San Diego Bay is proof that construction is very much under way on the 1,190-room Hilton San Diego Convention Center Hotel, the region’s most significant new inn since the second Manchester Hyatt tower arose. Work on driving more than 1,700 piles ended last month. Kip Howard, the owner’s representative and president of Allegis Development, says vertical columns for the 30-story, $230 million project should start appearing this month. Opening is late 2008. Inset is an illustration of the finished product.
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Two USD Law School graduates were among 50 of the nation’s top law students and new lawyers in the 2006 Equal Justice Works fellowships class. Kriste Draper and Summer Stech now will spend two years providing legal help to underserved communities. Draper will be affiliated with the Children’s Advocacy Institute of USD. Her sponsor was Sony Electronics. Stech, who was sponsored by Latham & Watkins, will work with Legal Aid Society of San Diego.
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Ron Bamberger says Hooters, whose slogan is “Delightfully Tacky Yet Unrefined,” doesn’t fit Rancho Bernardo’s clean, tasteful, upscale image. “They are not welcome in the community,” says Bamberger, one of the leaders of a protest group trying to keep the restaurant from leasing a vacant building at 16911 West Bernardo Drive. Bamberger also is a partner with Bill Ladman in Boardwalk Development, which has developed plans to build a 16,000-square-foot, three-story Class A office building adjacent to the vacant building. Bamberger fears a Hooters restaurant will scare off potential tenants of the planned office building. Opponents say one way to get the franchise to abandon its plans is to convince the state to deny it a beer and wine license. More than 500 protest letters have been written.
The vacant building was previously occupied by Grandview Restaurant and by Denny’s before that. Bamberger says both failed and claimed Hooters will do the same. “They are truly a poor fit for Rancho Bernardo,” he says. “If we are successful, we would be saving them from a disaster.” Bamberger says he has spoken with Fred Glick, CEO of the Hooters franchise, who told him the press coverage of the opposition would probably help business, generating a lot of interest in the restaurant. Glick told Bamberger the franchise would reap about $4 million in revenue a year. “I think he’s mistaken,” says Bamberger.
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As businesses and individuals are discovering, disposing of old computer equipment is a challenge. But Goodwill Industries of San Diego County and computer manufacturer Dell have teamed to form Reconnect San Diego, a free drop-off pilot program for recycling computer parts while providing an opportunity to support a nonprofit. The goal to divert at least 2 million pounds of used computers and related equipment from landfills over one year and to provide consumer education on the importance of proper computer disposal, while creating jobs for those with disabilities and other employment barriers. San Diego residents can call toll-free —(866) 487-3873 — or visit sdgoodwill.org, to locate the most convenient drop-off location.
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 The latest bright idea from Poway-based UK International (Underwater Kinetics) is the Unilite Zoom, a dual-lens bezel flashlight with a 360-degree rotating lamp head. Its two-watt LED lamp, run on AA batteries, can be adjusted between narrow beam and broad illumination simulating daylight, at half the size and weight of C battery lights. With its accompanying clip, the Unilite Zoom attaches to pocket, strap or belt and is water, corrosion and impact-resistant. Retail price is $65. Visit uwkinetics.com.
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The chief economist for Bank of America’s investment strategies group, Allison Reaser, will speak on “Framing the Economic Outlook: The Forces Driving the Numbers,” when she addresses the UCSD Economics Roundtable on July 25. The 7:30 a.m. event is being held in the Leichtag Conference Room of the School of Medicine, a different location than normal. The $50 fee to attend includes parking and a continental breakfast. To register visit econ.ucsd.edu/roundtable or contact Edie Munk at (858) 822-0510 or emunk@ucsd.edu.
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The new Wadie P. Deddeh State Office Building in Old Town is revving up as Caltrans’ new regional headquarters, but no time frame exists for its opening to the public, says Caltrans spokesman Edward Cartagena. While Caltrans continues moving into the $71 million, 300,000-square-foot campus designed solely for its 1,000 employees, the existing building across Taylor Street faces uncertainty. “It’s still up in the air whether it will be sold to a private entity or to another state agency,” Cartagena says. The nearly 12-acre new complex, including an 815-space parking structure, was designed by Carrier Johnson of San Diego. The local office of Clark Construction is the general contractor, and Tishman Construction of Los Angeles is construction manager.
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For a crisp $10 bill, San Diegans can get an expert’s outlook on the value of their homes and hear a few jokes to make them feel better. That all takes place from 10 a.m. to noon on July 8 when Village Toastmasters presents a program that features both Gary London, a local real estate economist and columnist for this magazine (see page 28) and Michael Elizondo, a comedian. The event takes place at the La Jolla Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. London’s talk is titled: “San Diego’s Future, From Your House to Your Job — What’s the Outlook?” More info is at villagetoastmasters.com.
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An outstanding yachtsman and pillar of Point Loma, Peter Peckham was still president of Investcal Realty Corp. at the time of his death June 26 from complications following a traffic accident. He was 79. Peckham was one of 16 partners led by Tom Werner who bought the Padres from Joan Kroc in 1990 and sold to John Moores in 1994. He owned and managed numerous commercial and industrial properties, but family and outdoor recreation were his priorities. “Peter and Nancy Peckham have been great friends of Children’s for decades, largely through the Children’s Auxiliary,” says Blair Salder, CEO of Children’s Hospital. “Peter himself was a man of unlimited energy, extraordinary humor, and always had a twinkle in his eye. We will all miss him.” Mr. Peckham is survived by wife Nancy, sons Michael and Bruce, sisters Jane Bishop and Anne Seed.
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Barbara Bry and Neil Senturia, married couple and successful tech entrepreneurs, debut this month on radio station AM 1700 a program called “I’m There for You Baby: the Entrepreneur’s Guide to the Galaxy.” On Saturdays, from 1-2 p.m., the pair will talk with those who have hit it big or are still in the trenches. Previews are at imthereforyoubaby.com.
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Pacific Ridge School’s board is acquiring a 7.3-acre lot in the Bressi Ranch in Carlsbad to start construction in spring on a high school. Board chair Duff Sanderson says the private school will begin accepting applications this fall for students entering seventh and ninth grades in September 2007. The school has raised more than $7.5 million toward its goal of $12 million for the school. Pacific Ridge will be headed by Eileen Mullady, former head of Horace Mann, an independent school in New York City.
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Sue Varga has succeeded Nancy Higgins as director of Balboa Park Marketing, a program of the House of Hospitality. Varga says her goal is to “lead the park in successful, collective marketing efforts” and to “increase the visibility of Balboa Park as being a place where there is something for everyone, old or young.” She previously served as the Internet marketing and arts liaison at ConVis. Higgins resigned and moved to Las Vegas.
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In the late 1980s, before the Navy first agreed to a public/private redevelopment of its Broadway Complex, the central waterfront was the focus of the Broadway Complex Coordinating Group co-chaired by the late Ernie Hahn and then-Council-man Ron Roberts. At the time, Roberts released a plan that called for a 5-acre park and public plaza at the foot of Broadway, using part of the Navy’s land. The most controversial element was replacing the Broadway Pier and tourism vessels with an amphitheater that would face open water where a floating barge would stage spectacles like the symphony. When nothing was going on, the barge would be removed and a giant water spout, perhaps the world’s largest, would serve as sculpture. “My original dream was to really make a statement at the foot of Broadway,” says the now-county supervisor.
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