Cindy Gompper-Graves has scored a great opener for the Sept. 12 18th annual South County Economic Development Summit at the Convention Center: a debate on a pending ballot measure to redevelop, and deck, much of the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal. Opponents are easy to find, and the CEO has Lorena Gonzalez and Ray Carpenter lined up for that role. In favor she has Frank Gallagher, the initiative sponsor. Savvy Dennis Morgigno of Cox Channel 4 will moderate. Go to sandiegosouth.com for details on the day’s events.

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Island fever is running through the Gaslamp Quarter following the lengthy opening of Mangu Restaurant. ‘We took our time,’ says the restaurant’s Mark Richmond. ‘Mangu needed to feel exotic and luxurious, yet casual and true to the eclectic Caribbean culture.’ Executive Chef Elijah Duncan delivers the flavors of the Caribbean with hints of Miami and San Diego. The high-end Mangu (mangusd.com) is open for lunch and dinner at 524 Island Ave.

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The median price of a resale condo Downtown was $574,000 for the 30-day period ended Aug. 20, down $2,000 from July, but up $4,000 from the $570,00 posted in August 2007, reports Realtor Lew Breeze of sdcondo.com. The number of condos pending sale during the past 30 days was 61, compared to 34 from the same period last year. The average price per square foot of units pending sale was $438, compared to $566 from the same period last year. The number of condos closing sale during the 30 days prior to Aug. 20 was 55, compared to 36 from the same period last year. The average price per square foot of units sold was $427, compared to $552 from the same period last year. There were 362 resale condos for sale Downtown, down from 387 in July and 529 in same period a year ago.

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Cheryl ‘Dennie’ Smith, founder and president of Smith Consulting Architects, San Diego’s largest woman-owned architectural design firm - it has 33 employees - sees steady growth in the future as her company celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. ‘It makes a world of difference when you have a strong team behind you,’ says Smith.

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Casting a wide marketing net, Bosa Development reports its Electra has sold 40 homes to out-of-state buyers including 10 sales to buyers from Canada and Mexico. Zonies snagged 10. “With buyers from Hawaii to New York and from Texas to North Dakota, Electra is now home to folks from every corner of the U.S., plus Mexico and Canada,” says Nat Bosa, the developer’s founder and CEO. “I’ve always believed Downtown San Diego was a world-class destination and the immense demand from out-of-state and international buyers is only confirmation.” Pricing for a two-bedroom unit at Electra (electrasandiego.com) starts at $549,000 while the penthouse starts at $2.4 million.

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The Coronado Speed Festival, a production of the Fleet Week Foundation and hosted by Naval Base Coronado, will take place Sept. 27-28 at Naval Air Station North Island and feature vintage race cars as well as top cars of today, including NASCAR. Admission is $25 or $35 for both days. Visit fleetweeksandiego.org for more.

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BAE Systems Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of giant international defense contractor BAE Systems PLC, has signed a 10-year, $31 million lease for 80,000 square feet in Building 902 at Liberty Station’s office district — the district’s first LEED-certified building. BAE Systems will occupy the majority of the 105,000-square-foot building when it opens in August 2009. Building 902 was designed by KMA Architecture & Engineering.

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High Tech High International and students comprising the Holy Cows and Einstein Daughters robotics teams hosted educators, military brass and defense industrialists at Liberty Station, a mixer to encourage more science, technology engineering and math (STEM) students and teachers. The Ranger Group's Terry McKearney called it "a wonderful event." And it yielded this call to action, quick: Shawn Loescher at San Diego Unified is looking for an engineer to fill an 80 percent teaching position at Madison High School's Academy of Engineering. >From left are Henry Johnson of CSC, Mary Gmitruk of SPAWAR Systems Center and president of the local Women in Defense chapter, and Tony Nufer of CSC and the local NDIA executive v.p.

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Putting pen to recycled paper, marketing pro Bev Oster has written “Know Beans About Green,” a book that walks readers through the steps of going green in business and the rewards the effort can bring. Oster, president of Oster and Associates, tells her tale using a fictional ad agency called Focus Marketing. “I am inspired by the actions we can all now easily take to make a difference in a positive way,” Oster says. The 128 page book is available for $17.95 on amazon.com.

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The San Diego International Orchid Fair blooms Oct. 3-5 at Quail Botanical Gardens, 230 Garden Drive, in Encinitas. Visitors will be able to view and purchase thousands of species and hybrids. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and military and $5 for children 3-12. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

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Some 350 guests from 16 countries are expected at the Dec. 15-18 20th International Conference on Magnetically Levitated Systems and Linear Drives at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Hosts are General Atomics and the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering. The conference will cover all aspects of magnetically levitated, propelled and guided transportation systems. “This conference is an excellent opportunity to become well-informed in the field of maglev and linear motor technologies, and to meet technology and government leaders,” says Sam Gurol, GA’s director of maglev systems. The Jacobs School of Engineering is working with General Atomics on developing control design tools for maglev systems.

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Artist’s concept of a passenger maglev vehicle.

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PayScale.com says UCSD graduates rank third nationally in their salary earnings among the nation’s public university graduates. The rankings, reported in Forbes.com, covered graduates with 10 to 20 years of workplace experience. UCSD alumni earned a median of $51,000 with zero to five years of experience, and $101,000 with 10 to 20 years of experience. UC Berkeley and the University of Virginia were first and second. UCSD tied for third with UCLA and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

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Coronado and Downtown as viewed from the International Space Station. San Diego residents also can easily see the station. Because it has almost an acre of solar panels and an interior volume equal to a five-bedroom house, the station is visible from Earth as it flies overhead. Check here - spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html - for the next fly-over times.

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Preparing to relive the 1980s every Thursday night, Downtown’s RA Sushi will host a launch party Sept. 18 to celebrate that beloved bygone era of $1.25 a gallon gas, Sony Walkman and a single music video television station that actually mostly played music videos. Prizes from $25 to $100 will be awarded for best ’80’s costume.

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Father Joe Carroll presides at the topping out of Father Joe’s Villages, a $45.9 million housing and retail complex at 16th and Market streets Downtown. The 12-story building, scheduled for completion in January and occupancy in mid-February, will have 136 apartments, first-floor retail space and two levels of subterranean parking. Roel Construction is building the project, designed by Joseph Wong Design Associates.

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San Diego-based energy integration group Imperial Valley Biopower is working with Edison International on a 20-year contract to sell electricity generated from a 20-megawatt biomass power plant in the Imperial Valley. The plant would convert cow manure from farms and feedlots into steam energy to produce about 140 gigawatt-hours a year. Woodchips and other organic materials could be used as backup fuels for the plant, Edison says in documents filed with the state PUC.