Closed since November, L’Auberge Del Mar reopens this month following a $25 million overhaul — in plenty of time for racing season.
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San Diego authors John Assaraf and Murray Smith are scoring some success with their newly released “The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Life.” Billed as a 21st century approach to business growth and success, the book was ranked on Amazon as No. 1 in the motivational category, No. 4 in business management and No. 5 in personal transformation. It was selling for $17.13.
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“Dad, this is for you,” said Nancy Kuntz, a second-generation president of the Executives Association of San Diego, remembering the late Jim Still, who ran Neilsen Construction Co. during some heady years. “His term as president ended in 1968 and my term ends in 2008.” Kuntz is co-owner of Nelson Photo Supplies.
The cross-generational charm of the Executives Association wasn’t lost on incoming President Joanie Moore-Coudding either. “When I was 13 years old, my dad (Bill Moore) used to bring me to Execs lunches. That was, like, 10 years ago.” Not.
The good-ol’-boy reputation of the Execs couldn’t have been more lovably passé than during the passing of the gavel from Ms. Kuntz to Ms. Moore-Coudding, who runs A2Z Logos, the successor to Bill Moore Promotional Productions. Brent Altomare, head of Groovy Like A Movie, screened a special tribute featuring past President Karen Forbes and Kuntz as “Thelma and Louise,” good-ol’-girl inspiration for Moore-Coudding. Kris Nicholls gave the George Stevens Award to Debby Bradley and yielded the presidency of the Associates, a sibling Execs organization, to Vanessa McGrath of Moran Canvas Products.
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   As co-owner and operator of AlphaMale in Downtown’s Spreckels Building, stylist Kimberly Hurtado is pioneering the upscale, men’s-only salon concept where $40 haircuts include a scalp massage and cocktail, all delivered by attractive women. Hurtado and her fiance and partner, Marco Panattoni, started discussing business ideas 18 months ago. Last May they hit upon the salon. ‘We wanted to do something that had not been done,’ Hurtado says. ‘One of the main ideas we had was having beautiful women do the work because obviously sex sells. We thought, what could we do that was professional and not low life. We decided we could have beautiful women cutting men’s only hair.’ AlphaMale (alphamalebarberia.com) gets fresh competition this month when SACO (sacohair.com), a hairdressing company with salons and schools in London’s Covent Garden and Montreal’s Notre Dame West, opens at 540 Sixth Ave. in the Gaslamp Quarter.
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Now in its 85th year, the Executives Association is about due for a blast of revitalization, says Moore-Coudding, “so members become more educated about each other’s businesses and how best to drive business to each other.” Membership is reserved for San Diego’s best in each field. Check out execs-sd.org if you’re looking for good services and products.
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San Diego Rotary Club 33 President Geri Warnke passes the gavel to Stan Hartman on July 3.
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 Envision Solar International, a company founded by December 2006 cover boy Bob Noble, has expanded its product line to offer smaller scale solar power devices. Priced at about $17,500, the 10-by-12 foot LifePod is being marketed for use in a pool house, cabana, storage facility, playhouse, music studio, private home office, emergency shelter, etc.
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“As a child in Jakarta, I recall the first time I heard Beethoven’s 5th,” said San Diego Symphony Music Director Jahja Ling. “It was broadcast on the BBC from Winston Churchill’s funeral. It was radio!” That’s what introduced the future maestro to classical music.
Kingsley McLaren alluded to a more modern classical music listener: “You can’t very well fit 90 musicians in your car.” Ah, but you can tune into 104.9 or 90.7 FM (or log onto xlnc1.org). The eighth anniversary reception for XLNC1 was music to Alex Diaz’ ears. Welcoming Mexican Consul General Remedios Gomez Arnau and Cultural Attaché Pedro Ochoa, Diaz served as host of the event at Symphony Hall organized by station Executive Director Lisette Atala-Doocy. Diaz is v.p. of the Baja/San Diego station founded by parents Victor and Martha Diaz. Among those enjoying the symphony’s performance of Dvorak’s New World Symphony were Ward Gill, Mauricio Monroy and Kay Porter.
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A record crowd, mostly women and Dave Allsbrook, turned out for the Friends of Downtown’s 2008 scholarship breakfast chaired by Edry Naddour Goot. Some 55 scholarships were awarded to students at San Diego City College, led by Clevelander Ryan Ballard, 22, who took 3-1/2 years to get through the “two-year”school while working fulltime and establishing a chapter of Amnesty International. “Because of your help, I was recently accepted to UC Berkeley,” he told the Friends. Donna Blomquist is president of Friends of Downtown, founded by Felicia Bell and Eve Hager.
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Parents of girls ages 4 to 16 will have a new party hosting option when It’s All About The Girl opens July 1 at Liberty Station. Founded by four women educators — Mary Wilson, Rebecca Mashburn, Kelly Brehm, and Suzie Wydra — the venue will offer all-inclusive party packages for groups of up to 24 girls who want to celebrate birthdays, Sweet 16 parties, team victories, graduations, holidays or other occasions. Packages start at $350 for groups of 12. Details are at itsallaboutthegirl.com.
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Soaring gas and gold prices have San Diegans surveying their jewelry boxes to cash out on rarely used finery, says Leo Hamel Fine Jewelers, which is expanding its buy office in Old Town and opening another location in Rancho Bernardo to handle increased activity.
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The newly formed San Diego Superyacht Association is out to spread the word that its industry is a boon to San Diego’s economy with plenty of room to grow. “The time has come for all of us to work together to attract even more large yachts to San Diego,” says Paul Daubner, a San Diego-based yacht management specialist and the group’s elected president. “We can provide the vast array of products and services these boats require, which in turn stimulates the local marine economy. By joining forces, we can enhance San Diego’s position as one of the world’s leading yacht destinations.” Superyachts generally exceed 120 feet in length and are valued above $10 million.
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 Cute and talented surf dogs will hang 20 on June 28 when the third annual Loews Surf Dog Competition hits Imperial Beach, raising funds for Loews Coronado Bay Resort’s Good Neighbor Partner, the Modest Needs Foundation. The day starts at 9:30 a.m. with training for new surfers. Awards are presented at 1:45. Details are at LoewsSurfDog.com.
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The median price of a resale condo Downtown was $561,500 for the 30-day period ended May 20, up $1,300 from the previous 30 days, and up $14,000 from the same period in May 2007 ($547,500), reports Realtor Lew Breeze of sdcondo.com. The number of condos pending sale during the past 30 days was 55, compared to 51 from the same period last year. The average price per square foot of units pending sale was $445, compared to $561 from the same period last year. The number of condos closing sale during the 30 days prior to May 20 was 46, compared to 45 from the same period last year. The average price per square foot of units sold was $488, compared to $571 from the same period last year.
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The San Diego Venture Group is presenting its sixth annual Venture Summit at the Hard Rock Hotel. The keynote breakfast speaker is noted futurist Mark Anderson, CEO of Strategic News Service, a subscription-based Internet newsletter that includes subscribers Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Mark Hurd. Details on the 8-11:30 a.m., June 12 event, which is expected to attract more than 100 investors, are at sdvg.org.
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Irwin Jacobs has added another chair’s position to his resume, this time for a two-year term as the ninth chair of the National Academy of Engineering, a group formed to support the nation’s technological welfare. Qualcomm’s chair and retired CEO, Jacobs was elected to the NAE in 1982. As chair, he succeeds Intel’s chair, Craig Barrett.
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Sara Wilensky Napoli has left The San Diego Foundation and starts this month as president of the local office of Astone, a full-service ad and PR agency. Astone is the agency that created the “Endow Your Passion” campaign for the foundation’s Endow San Diego initiative. Taking Napoli’s slot as v.p. of marketing and communications at the foundation is Anna-Marie Rooney, who has worked there a year.
 Molly Cartmill & Frank Urtasun
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Trading jobs at Sempra are two of the company’s most visible executives, Molly Cartmill and Frank Urtasun. Cartmill, director of corporate community partnerships, has become director of local government affairs. Urtasun now is director of corporate community partnerships, overseeing all charitable giving for Sempra and its utilities. He also becomes executive director of the Sempra Energy Foundation.
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Knights of Columbus San Diego Council No. 1349, the first council established in San Diego, celebrates its centennial June 28 with a re-creation of the organization’s 1908 arrival by train. An article in the June 28, 1908 edition of The San Diego Union recounts how a group of more than 300 Knights from throughout Southern California arrived by train that morning at the Santa Fe Depot, later marching in procession to Our Lady of Angels in Sherman Heights for mass and a celebration. To commemorate the occasion, men from the San Diego council will board an Amtrak train at the Old Town Transit Center and disembark at Santa Fe Depot at 12:25 p.m. The celebration will continue at the parish at 656 24th St. with a 1:30 p.m. reception, a 2:30 p.m. Latin Mass and a catered dinner at 5 p.m. at the Columbus Club at 4425 Home Ave.
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 BAE Systems’ Talisman, an unmanned underwater vehicle, can locate, identify and neutralize mines in one single mission without the need for human intervention. It will be included in the June 10-12 conference of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International at the San Diego Convention Center, where spectators can see the world’s largest collection of robots, drones and other unmanned systems hardware. Admission to the exhibit hall is $55 Tuesday and Thursday and $70 on Wednesday or $150 for all three days. For more, call (703) 845-9679.
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Gov. Schwarzenegger serves June 20-21 as the honorary chair for the preview and opening of New Americans Museum. “Who else would you invite to honor the opening of a museum that celebrates today’s immigration experience?” says Deborah Szekely, founder of the museum at NTC Promenade in Liberty Station. “Our mission is to be a catalyst to celebrate America’s past and promise. It was only 25 years ago that the governor came to America and his achievements speak for themselves.” Details are at newamericansmuseum.org.
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 CEO Paul Standard’s SmartDraw continues to attract awards: last month his Smart Draw 2008 was named Most Innovative General Business Software during SoftwareCEO’s annual Software Innovation Awards. Small business owners thinking about redesigning the office (or maybe even the home) should check out the free download at smartdraw.com. The single-week limit on the trial software may not be overly generous, but it is plenty long to get you hooked. A single user license is $297, but discounts of $100 off that price, and more for licenses, are available.
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Capitalizing a tad on the public’s increased focus of drug usage by teens and college students, Kearny Mesa-based Confirm Biosciences is promoting its new HairConfirm Prescription product. The at-home package allows parents to take a hair sample from their child and find out within 24-48 hours whether or not the kid is drug-free. Available at many pharmacies, the kits sell for about $65 or $80, with the difference being how long it takes to get the results on the Web — two days for the more expensive kit, five-to-seven for the other.
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