Christian Archer, a special assistant to San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger, is like a Chamber of Commerce booster on steroids when he gets to talking about the reasons his community is suited not just for a new football team, but a baseball team too. “San Antonio is starving (for more professional sports),” says Archer, who earns his keep as president of the The Archer Group. “The leadership also is unified.” His rationale? San Antonio now is the nation’s seventh largest city, its television market is the nation’s seventh largest when combined with sprawling Austin, the community demonstrated its political will by building the 68,000-seat Alamo Dome (now 8 years old) with no promise for a team, it has a place for a team to play (the Alamo Dome) while a new stadium is being built, a boosted hotel tax is nearly finished paying for its share of financing a new arena for the NBA’s Spurs and the business community includes six major corporate headquarters, including AT&T.
“We have an NFL task force committee with some of the San Antonio giants on it,” Archer says. “But it is not just San Diego (being explored). There are a number of teams that are trying to find where they want to play next. I think it is inevitable that San Antonio will have a team and within five years.” So will San Antonio make a pitch for the Chargers? “Yes,” says Archer.
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As San Diego looks to refinance the $169 million Ballpark Bonds sold in 2002 at the relatively high 7.66 percent interest rate, look for some at City Hall to encourage transferring the $20 million-a-year debt to a reluctant CCDC.
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Are all public safety positions in the city of San Diego equal? Not this year. While in the past benefit increases for fire, lifeguard and police have been nearly uniform, look for the police union to split off this month in its quest for more dollars in members’ paychecks. And look for Mayor Sanders to agree, leaving the irritated, and potent, firefighters and lifeguards on the sidelines.
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Expect Councilman Scott Peters, as he begins his second one-year term as City Council president, to advance legislation aimed at refining the strong mayor form of government. Among the changes he supports is adding up to three members to the eight-member council and requiring a super-majority to override a mayoral veto. Right now, all it takes is five of the eight votes, the same amount it takes to pass legislation along for the mayor’s signature in the first place.
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Doug Wilson as a San Diego Donald Trump? That’s how California CEO magazine sees him in a big profile on the developer of Symphony Towers, Parkloft, The Mark and a host of other projects in San Diego and elsewhere. “The Doug” is what the magazine dubs the president and CEO of Douglas Wilson Cos. and Wilson Properties LP, which together have offices here and in Denver, San Francisco and Atlanta.
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SD Megablock has applied with CCDC for a permit to build 525 residential units, 113,064 square feet of office space and 11,100 square feet of retail in a 35-story building that would rise 420 feet on the East Village block bounded by 16th, 17th, F and G streets. The project would include the rehabilitation of the historic Snowflake Bakery building for retail and office uses. The project also would have about 35,200 square feet of open space over an earthquake fault.
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Ruben Barrales, 44, starts Jan. 8 as president and CEO of the San Diego Chamber, replacing Jessie Knight, who left in August to work for Sempra. Nikki Clay, the outgoing chamber chair, says the former deputy assistant to President George W. Bush was the standout choice among a large field that includes candidates from San Diego.
“In the interview, he talked about the fact that people often think of San Diego as a cul-de-sac city, politically and geographically,” she says. “But he sees us as a gateway city.” Clay, who had met Barrales prior to the position becoming available, says the city of San Diego’s financial troubles were not a topic during the interviews. Clay credits Knight for the strong interest in the position. “We have a strong reserve in the bank and are financially sound,” she says. “One of things I give Jessie credit for is he really built the committee system at the chamber. He built the deliberative process so that anytime we were making a decision, we heard from both sides.”
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Robert Horsman will be inducted as 2007 chairman when the San Diego Chamber holds its annual dinner meeting Jan. 26 at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center. Horsman is president and CEO of San Diego National Bank. The dinner also will feature a presentation of the chamber’s three top awards, Spirit of San Diego, Courageous Leadership and Regional Unity. For more information, call (619) 544-1343.
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 The Boxing Club has leased 18,290 square feet of space at Carlsbad Corporate Center II, 5850 El Camino Real, Suites 100-108, for $4.6 million for 10 years. The club is to open in the first quarter of 2007. A conditional use permit approved by the Carlsbad Planning Commission allows the athletic club to occupy space in the planned industrial building owned by H.G. Fenton Co. The four-building, 104,000-square-foot Corporate Center II is 70 percent leased and has two remaining multi-tenant office buildings totaling 33,000 square feet for lease. Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial handled the Boxing Club transaction.
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The number of visitors to San Diego will increase 1.8 percent to 28.4 million this year while the money they spend will increase 6 percent to $6.5 billion, reports ConVis. Hotel occupancy will remain a steady and healthy 73 percent while average daily rates will increase 5 percent to $136.60, impressive since the region added 2,300 rooms in 2006 to increase the inventory 2 percent to 55,301.
Among the bright spots is the cruise industry, which the Port District says has the potential to reach more than 1.4 million cruise passengers a year by 2017. More than 190 ships docked in San Diego during 2006, bringing 640,000 passengers to the region, the third-highest number in the state behind Los Angeles and Long Beach. Carnival Cruise Lines recently announced plans to home port a cruise ship and begin a year-round cruise schedule in San Diego in the spring.
Sounding a cautionary note is David Peckinpaugh, ConVis’ new president and CEO. “We cannot lose track of the fact that many other destinations are competing for our business and stepping up their efforts,” he says. “Major cutbacks in marketing funds at the local level continue to impact our ability to competitively market San Diego.” Maybe Santa has hidden a present Peckinpaugh will find in spring: a lawsuit-proof tourism improvement district where self-taxing of hotels brings $22 million-plus for a myriad of visitor-serving purposes.
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Working two shifts, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 1 to 9 p.m., a crew at Rick Engineering Co. is converting mountains of paper into digital files using LibertyNet, a Web-based document management system. The honors go to Claudia Garcia, Murwarid Ahrari and Anthony Yakel, working under Brian Laird, Rick’s project manager for civil technologies. Using document and wide-format scanners, they’re converting about 1,600 pages per day, with the completed work so far approximating 600,000 pieces of paper, including 36,000 engineering plans and correspondence, 5,000 legal documents, 2,500 business development docs and 18,500 reference maps, reports and other reference docs.
The conversion volume is finite, but “we have no date when we will ever finish,” says Laird. Snail-mail, faxes and email get put into the system, too, allowing access by employees in all seven Rick Engineering offices in the Southwest. So far, the crew has cleaned out the old file room, making room for Rick’s landscape architecture division.
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Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. is funding a $250,000 initiative with San Diego Dialogue at UCSD to stimulate health and life science research and enterprise between California and Mexico. The program is part of Chancellor Marye Anne Fox’s effort to build closer ties between the university and partners in Mexico. “The funding from Merck will be used to build the critical knowledge, relationships and resources that are needed to create viable global partnerships,” says Mary Walshok, co-founder of San Diego Dialogue (sandiegodialogue.org) and associate vice chancellor of public programs. “Many international encounters tend to be one-time introductions. This initiative will go beyond networking to help participants acquire specific partnering skills and sensitivities such as identifying realistic criteria for risk and return in global markets, and understanding the business culture and policy environment of one another’s countries.” The Dialogue will work with Global Connect (globalconnect.org), another UCSD organization. They will focus on forging links between San Diego and the Mexican regions of Monterrey, Guanajuato, Guadalajara and Cuernavaca.
The binational project is being launched this month. Planned activities include executive seminars, roundtables and regional asset mapping. At the end of a 15-month period, a group of promising Mexican companies will be introduced to the life science leadership of California in a forum to be held in La Jolla. For more information, visit sandiegodialogue.org.
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The San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will swear in its 2007 board at an Illuminada Gala Feb. 24 at the U.S. Grant Hotel. The event, previously known as the installation dinner, begins with a 5 :30 p.m. reception. Dinner is at 7 p.m. Cost is $250. A table of 10 is $2,500. The new board: Gustavo A. Bidart II, Heriberto “Eddie” Batiz, Monica Bernal, Thomas Saiz, Linda Caballero-Sotelo, David Bejarano, Joseph Casas, Luis Valdivia, Jerome Tolliver, Mike Najera, Pilar Montoya, Minnie Rzeslawski, Ted Martinez Jr., Tenille M. Otero, Wendell French and Roi Ewell.
The chamber is seeking nominations for its 2007 business awards, which will be presented during the Illuminada Gala. The deadline to submit entries is Jan. 5. Download a nomination form at sdchcc.com/iluminada/index.htm and fax it to Denice Garcia at (619) 696-3282 or e-mail it to her at dgarcia@sdchcc.com. Awards will be Community Leader of the Year, Chamber Member of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year (in three categories), Community Investment Leader of the Year, Corporate Visionary and Supplier Diversity/Procurement Partner of the Year.
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The Malashock Dance School has joined San Diego Dance Theater and San Diego Ballet in Dance Place San Diego on the NTC Promenade at Liberty Station. The terpsichorean John Malashock’s modern dance company has been performing in San Diego for 19 years. For more, call (619) 260-1622 or visit malashockdance.org.
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 David DiRienzo
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David DiRienzo, the president of developer Urban West (urban-west.com), who grew up in Chula Vista, has released for sale three out of the 10 small for-sale office buildings his Santa Ana-based company is building in Eastlake. Called the EastLake Village Limited Edition, the first building will open in April, fronting the new freeway, SR 125. DiReinzo describes the units as “customizable jewel boxes” designed to meet the growing needs of the region’s entrepreneurs. “Small businesses provide approximately 75 percent of the net new jobs added to the economy and 99 percent of all employers,” says DiRienzo. “Add to that the scarcity of Class A high-quality small offices in Chula Vista and the decision to invest just makes sense.”
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The city of San Diego’s long overdue general plan update will be discussed by Councilman Jim Madaffer and city officials at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 9 in an Urban Land Institute San Diego/Tijuana program at the top-floor University Club, 750 B St. Downtown. $45 for members at the door and $55 for guests. Reserve by Jan. 4 at (800) 321-5011 and save $10.
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The Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine presents a three-day conference, open to the public and medical professionals, on the safety and efficacy of natural herbal and dietary supplements — a $20 billion U.S. industry — from Jan. 19 to 21 at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines. Experts in nutritional medicine will discuss whether vitamins and herbs are nature’s magic bullet for health; the role of food as medicine for the management of pain, depression and even disease; and the risks and benefits of supplements both in conventional medicine and when consumed outside the guidance of health practitioners. Fees range from $45-$625 depending on session and attendance level. To register or for more on the Natural Supplements Conference, call (858) 587-4404 or visit scrippsintegrativemedicine.org.
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The University of Phoenix has ventured into Downtown, opening a learning center on the ninth floor of Columbia Square, and this month launches an MBA program from the site. Near the courthouse, the center will have a heavy criminal justice focus. “The demand for adult education has grown tremendously in San Diego,” says Bruce Williams, marketing v.p. of the western region for the university. “The criminal justice program is one of our largest degree programs and we wanted to reach the changing needs of our students and faculty working Downtown.”
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Solara Phase II Partners has won CCDC design review approval for its mixed-use project along the north side of Beech Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. The 23-story project will feature 185 condominiums, street-level retail space and a credit union. Extra density was earned by providing a 6,000-square-foot public plaza, three-bedroom units and Eco-roofs.
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In a win-one, lose-one, 7-Eleven has landed a permit to sell beer and wine at a convenience store at 1010 Second Ave. Downtown, but turned down for a similar permit for its East Village store at 427 Ninth Ave.
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If your motor vehicle does not let you proudly fly a flag from the antenna like a consular car speeding through traffic, inventor David Helliwell of Vista has an idea that may stick. His adhesive-mounted flag holder secures to a window, tailgate, hood or trunk. Or a mailbox, door frame or pontoon. The technology could even accommodate the blue and gold lightning bolt banner of a favorite sports team. Helliwell’s invention is represented by Advent Product Development.
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Amid the neuroscience rooting from Torrey Pines, one of science fiction’s prime writing symposia is transplanting to the Eleanor Roosevelt College of UCSD for its 40th annual edition. The Clarion SF and Fantasy Writers Workshop will run from June 25 to Aug. 3. In the fall, UCSD also begins offering an MFA in creative writing.
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 Gina Champion-Cain
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With Roberta Burnham at home recovering from knee surgery, husband Malin Burnham began his Founder’s Award acceptance speech by expressing fondness for nice legs. At the podium, he called over co-emcee Gina Champion-Cain, told the audience how attractive she is, bent over and stroked her bare left leg. Champion-Cain just laughed. (Of course, Burnham is right; check out this January 2002 cover girl.)
Other awards and winners were Humanitarian, Sister RayMonda DuVall; President’s, Jim Dawe; Chairman’s, Tom Anglewicz; and Alonzos to Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, Hotel Occidental and Pam Hamilton.
While not quite a Joe Namath moment, Burnham’s action did briefly stun nearly 500 people in attendance. He smoothly transitioned into the tale of how a trip by civic leaders to Boston resulted in the model presented to then-Mayor Wilson to create CCDC and how naysayers have impeded Downtown’s progress, turning Ernie Hahn’s Horton Plaza proposal into a “six or seven year” bureaucratic ordeal. The same fate, he said, was suffered by the Convention Center and Petco Park developments. “All because there are all these negative people who don’t want anything to happen,” Burnham said. He urged those attending the Downtown San Diego Partnership’s annual awards banquet to fight for civic progress. “You make a difference by standing up and being counted,” he said. “Use your sincerity and use your voices.” But keep your hands to yourself.
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