When Councilwoman Toni Atkins leaves office Dec. 8 after eight years on the job (including several arduous months as Acting Mayor between Dick Murphy and Jerry Sanders) she’s off to Guatemala for an eight-week Spanish-language immersion program. “I’ve wanted to do this for the last 10 years,” Atkins says. Her next calendared item after that may be a run in 2010 for the state Assembly seat to be vacated by Lori Saldana. “I’m seriously looking at it,” Atkins says.

_{_______}

It may be a three dog night in a few weeks when San Diego County’s first Three Dog Bakery franchise noses into Del Mar Plaza. The Kansas City-based company says the all-natural dog treats category is a $2 billion industry segment expected to grow by 18 percent this year alone. Franchisee Reich Holding LLC collared the five-year $379,831 leash. Matt Shope of CB Richard Ellis represented the leashee. Rob Ippolito of Cushman & Wakefield represented the leashor.

_{_______}

As Scott Peters winds down his last few months as City Council president, the possibility of a stalemate on his replacement looms with factions of the eight-member body evenly split between Donna Frye and Tony Young. Don’t count out Ben Hueso, or Frye’s efforts to have the new council decide, which would make for an interesting first meeting in December since the president’s job is to set the agenda.

_{_______}

In a sign of improvement, the median price of a resale condo Downtown was $576,000 for the 30-day period ended July 23, up $21,000 from June, and up $17,000 from the same period in July 2007 ($559,000), reports Realtor Lew Breeze of sdcondo.com. The number of condos pending sale during the past 30 days was 53, compared to 42 from the same period last year. The number of condos closing sale during the 30 days prior to July 30 was 48, compared to 36 from the same period last year. There were 387 resale condos for sale Downtown, down from 404 last month, and down from 495 from the same period July 2007.

_{_______}

Borre Winckel, executive officer of the Riverside Building Industry Association, starts next month as CEO of the Building Industry Association of San Diego, succeeding Paul Tryon, who has led the San Diego BIA for 16 1/2 years. Tryon announced his pending departure last year. “Borre is a leader with a tremendous passion for the industry and its work force,” says Sherm Harmer, San Diego BIA president. “His experience in advocacy and politics, and his intimate knowledge of the industry will help guide BIA San Diego in the future.”

_{_______}

One experience Winckel will have to wait for is the annual SAM Awards, the Academy Awards equivalent for the regional home building industry. The fall event has been canceled. Barbara Rossoll, president of the Sales and Marketing Council of San Diego, which annually produces the glitzy gathering, delivered the news in a letter posted at biasandiego.org. “The economy has greatly impacted us all; not one of us has gone unscathed,” wrote Rossoll, who works as v.p. of sales and marketing for New Homes Directory.com. “With careful deliberation and the highest respect and consideration of our members, builders, and associates, the SMC Board has agreed it would be imprudent to produce the program this year. The decision was not an easy one to make.” Rossoll expects a resumption next year.

_{_______}

Tired eyes from staring at a computer monitor all day? Joe Croft and Jennifer Michelsen, founders of Del Mar-based Gunnar Optiks, feel your pain. The company — gunnaroptiks.com — has launched a line of glasses with specially treated lenses to help ease eyestrain and battle dryness. Prices start at $99, with prescription versions available. We are wearing a pair as this is written. They give a yellowish tinge to the screen and resemble indoor sunglasses. The tint is to help your eyes more easily absorb light from the screen and the slightly snug fit is to lessen eye dryness. We spend too many hours in front of the LCD and do seem to notice almost a cooling when putting the glasses on.

_{_______}

Osteria Panevino in the Gaslamp Quarter (722 Fifth Ave.) is celebrating its 16th birthday by offering a free glass of champagne throughout the summer. The restaurant boasts an all Italian speaking staff and a long lineup of house-made pastas, breads and desserts by Chef Giacomo Serafini. More is at osteriapanevino.com.

_{_______}

After opening five upscale restaurants in Tijuana, Moe Sadighian is tackling the San Diego market with his Tabule restaurant at 535 Fourth Ave. in the Gaslamp Quarter in the space last occupied by La Cantina.

_{_______}

Nominations are being accepted until Sept. 5 for the 46th annual Alonzo Awards presented by the Downtown San Diego Partnership. The awards banquet will be held on Nov. 19 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. A Founders Award will be presented for visionary leadership in Downtown. The Vic Kops Humanitarian Award will be given in recognition of humanitarian efforts that have significantly improved the area. Multiple recipients will be given Alonzo Awards for their efforts to enhance Downtown during the past year. For more information, call the Partnership, at (619) 234-0201.

_{_______}

Orfila Vineyards & Winery celebrates its grape harvest with its biggest event of the year — the 2008 Grape Stomp on Aug. 30. Guests at the San Pasqual Valley winery harvest Old World style by stomping their bare feet in barrels of juicy grapes. Tickets are $75 per person or $56.25 for members of the Orfila Wine Lovers Club. Call (760) 738-6500, Ext. 22, for reservations or visit www.orfila.com.

_{_______}

Greg Joumas, division v.p. of advertising and marketing communications for Jack in the Box Inc., is the 2008-2009 president of the San Diego Advertising Club. Serving on the executive committee with him are Marlee Ehrenfeld of MJE Marketing as v.p.; Richard Doutre Jones of XETV/Channel 6 as v.p.; Jonathan Liebo of Qualcomm as secretary; Melissa Lopez of Castle Advertising as treasurer; and Andreas Roell of Geary Interactive as past president and current chair.

_{_______}

Bosa Development has moved its Bayside sales center into the Bayside tower, a 36-story residential project on Pacific Highway with scores of unblemished views, especially from the $4.2 million penthouse.

_{_______}

Nice Guys has named Pamplemousse Grille owner Jeffrey Strauss as its “Nice Guy of the Year.” The 29-year-old nonprofit is honoring Strauss for using his time and money to improve the lives of San Diegans. Among the organizations he has helped support are Casa de Amparo, UCSD Cancer Center, Juvenile Diabetes, Humane Society, Voices for Children, Helen Woodward Animal Center, San Pasqual Academy, Jewish Family Services, Meals on Wheels, South Bay YMCA, North Coast Repertory Theatre and Nice Guys. Strauss receives the honor when Nice Guys holds its annual fundraising dinner in the fall.

_{_______}

With a new name and a new look, the former Osetra Fish House has reopened as Osetra Water Grill. Design improvements include an overhaul of the interior’s color scheme and furniture, a long fireplace and a buildout of more private rooms on the second floor. The new E5 lounge on the ground level includes a fun and modestly priced tapas menu. The $35, four-course dinner available 5-7 weekdays is worthy of pondering online at osetrafishhouse.com.

_{_______}

Veteran restaurateur Mike Morton of Brigantine fame is turning over the CEO reins to Michael Morton Jr., his son. Morton Senior remains chair of the firm that soon will have 14 restaurants throughout the county. After securing a master’s from USC in 2003, the younger Morton went to work as an analyst for Jack in the Box. He joined the family business, where he had worked since age 16, in 2005. The Brigantine Family of Restaurants operates seven Brigs, three Miguel’s Cocinas, a Miguelito’s restaurant, Azul La Jolla and Zócalo in Old Town. A second Zócalo opens next month in 4S Ranch.

_{_______}

Peter Tereschuck, the San Diego Trolley g.m. who in 28 years with the transit operator saw it grow from a single 15.9-mile line to a 54-mile network, retires this month. He is just the second general manager since the public transit business was founded in 1980.

_{_______}

The Shelter Island Marina and Island Palms Hotel unfurl the annual YachtFest San Diego, presented by San Diego Marine Exchange Sept. 11-14. More than a boat show, YachtFest allows seasoned salts and even landlubbers to tour these floating 100-foot palaces (that help keep local industry afloat with each port visit or extended dry docking for repairs or to add even more luxurious appointments. For tickets and more, visit yachtfest.com.

_{_______}

Colliers International reports the median parking rate in San Diego is $26 a day and $180 a month. The highest monthly rate was $585 for midtown Manhattan. San Francisco residents pay $350 a month, tops in the state. Rising gas costs, so far, are not impacting rates, Colliers says.

_{_______}

Marquis Jet has opened an office at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad. Call Brendan Nolan, v.p. of sales for the region, to schedule your flight. The price for a 25-hour flying card runs from $126,900 to $349,900, depending on your taste in aircraft.

_{_______}

A few mansions’ worth of high-end model home furniture along with furnishings and remodeling supplies, donated by local home builders, will be sold at discount prices in a special one-day-only sale from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. Aug. 23 at 3554 Ruffin Road in Kearny Mesa. Proceeds benefit BIA Cares, the charitable foundation of the Building Industry Association of San Diego County. For more, e-mail Lindsay Herkert at lherkert@brookfieldhomes.com.

_{_______}

Qualcomm’s Gina Lombardi has been recognized by Fierce Wireless as one of the Top 10 women executives in wireless. Here’s what the fiesty online publication says: “Lombardi first joined Qualcomm in 1990 and has steadily moved up the ranks at the San Diego-based tech firm. As the head of Qualcomm’s MediaFLO USA subsidiary, Lombardi was instrumental in getting both Verizon Wireless and AT&T to sign on as partners and offer this revolutionary mobile broadcast TV service to their customers. She also helped get a slew of content partners to agree to pump their content over this new medium. Although the verdict is still out on whether consumers really want this service — or more importantly — will pay for it, Lombardi and her team have worked tirelessly to make MediaFLO a reality.”

_{_______}

For silly fun, next time you visit the Shores restaurant, ask the new manager — Lisa Redwine — for a vino recommendation. Redwine has 10 years of industry experience, most recently at Molly’s at the San Diego Marriott Hotel And Marina.

_{_______}

Closing out a busy summer, the San Diego Convention Center hosts this month six conventions attracting 36,100 out-of-town visitors who, as a group, are expected to contribute $132.8 million to the San Diego regional economy as a result of direct delegate spending. The six are ESRI / Environmental Systems Research Institute (Aug. 4-8); SPIE (Aug. 12-14); ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership (Aug. 16-19); Grace McNamara Inc./Interiors Expo West Coast 2008 (Aug. 20-21); Buffini & Co. Mastermind Summit (Aug. 24-26); and NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference (Aug. 24-26).

_{_______}

CommNexus’ eighth annual GadgetFest is accepting applications through Oct. 10. Kicking off with a mini-trade show, the highlight is a competition among up to 12 pre-screened companies. Last year’s winner was the Motorola MC17 personal shopping scanner. The winner in 2006, Grand Central, was bought by Google right after the event. Andrea Parker at aparker@commnexus.org has details.

_{_______}

The third annual Stay Classy Tailgate party is being hailed by its organizer, Stay Classy, as the largest solar-powered concert in San Diego’s history. Stay Classy, a philanthropic social networking company, says more than $5,000 was raised for environmental causes. The July event, held in 90-plus degree heat on the streets outside Petco Park, attracted more than 3,000 visitors and 50 San Diego businesses. Bands played on two solar-powered stages made by Sustainable Waves. By using those stages, rather than ones powered by diesel generators or the grid, the party avoided emitting about 2,000 pounds of CO2, “effectively neutralizing its impact on global warming,” says Scot Chisholm, Stay Classy CEO. “The Tailgate was a perfect demonstration of power in numbers – bringing together thousands of people from all corners of our community, to help raise awareness and funds for important social causes and change,” says Chisholm, “From protecting our precious coastline to empowering people to vote, our company represents a conduit for a unified voice of conscience.”

_{_______}

The interior light inside a Lust4Luxe handbag.

Jeff Catalano shows off a few luxury handbags.

Women who have trouble finding items in their handbags ought to check out Fashion Week Oct. 3-4 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina. That’s where Jeff Catalano and David Savarese, owners of Lust4Luxe, will display some of their luxury handbags that are equipped with an internal lighting system.

No more fumbling around looking for lipstick, eye-liner or whatever else may be carried in the purse. The handbags are made of Italian leathers, suede, metallic animal skins and patent lambskins and range in price from $360 to $600. Each bag is handwoven.

Locally, the handbags can be found at European Moda in Del Mar and Gracie in Downtown. The two partners live in Del Mar and La Jolla. They launched their handbag collection 10 month ago.