Daily Business Report: February 24 2026

San Diego Continues to Be a Builder’s City

by Nadia Lathan | Voice of San Diego

Today was the final day for California legislators to introduce new bills for this year. Some of the standouts? Another proposal to — you guessed it — make it easier to build more stuff in San Diego.

Let’s take a closer look at the bills.

Lawmakers Seek to Expand Housing Incentive Law

For at least three years, San Diego has led the state in approving new homes. One reason is a state law that allows developers to build bigger and higher structures if they include affordable housing.

Read more

‘Pump the Brakes on High Gas Prices’: Sen. Strickland Introduces One-Year Gas Tax Holiday to Deliver Immediate Relief

by Senator Tony Strickland

While gas prices across the rest of the nation are declining, prices in California continue to climb, prompting Senator Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) to introduce Senate Bill 1035. The measure is designed to provide immediate financial relief to families, drivers, and small businesses across California by suspending the state gas tax and other fuel-related regulations for one year.

“Californians are being crushed by high gas prices and rising inflation,” said Senator Strickland. “While families are tightening their belts, Sacramento Democrats are turning a blind eye to the rise in gas prices. My measure pumps the brakes on high gas prices and puts money back where it belongs — in the pockets of hardworking Californians.”

SB 1035 would temporarily suspend the state’s gas tax, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), and the LCFS cap-and-invest compliance system for one year. These state-imposed costs have contributed to California’s fuel prices remaining consistently higher than the national average.

Read More

 

Coming to La Jolla Music Society in March: The Bad Plus, Augustin Hadelich & Francesco Piemontesi, Ravi Shankar Ensemble, and piano superstar Lang Lang

by Stephanie Saad | La Jolla Music Society

Please note: The concerts featuring Chucho Valdés and Arturo Sandoval that were scheduled for March 4 and 5, 2026, have been rescheduled to June 9, 2026.

 

The Bad Plus* with Chris Potter* and Craig Taborn*

Thursday, March 12, 2026 • 5:30 PM & 8 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

With The Bad Plus, acclaimed artists Chris Potter and Craig Taborn revisit the formative repertoire of Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet. The project is not simply a tribute to one of jazz’s most influential ensembles, it’s a continuation of the American Quartet’s spirit: a fearless commitment to musical dialogue, emotional depth, and boundary-pushing improvisation. The Bad Plus have announced this will be their farewell tour. 

 

Besos Jazz Trio

Wednesday, March 18, 2026 • 4:30 PM

Free Courtyard Concert

The Besos Jazz Trio has been stirring up audiences with vibrant performances of music and dance since 2017. These worldly performers are a study in balancing traditions. With roots in Mexican ballet folklórico, Claudia Gomez plays percussion and tap dances. Evona Wascinski, from Poland, brings a classical virtuosity to the upright bass. Beston Barnett, a Nashville native, plays manouche guitar and sings in five languages. Together, they improvise, sing, and dance their way through an eclectic mix of swing tunes, sambas, boleros, and musettes.

 

Le Consort*

Friday, March 20, 2026 • 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Le Consort invites you to the baroque era, in which the trio Sonata was the most popular chamber music formation. This whirlwind program will spotlight examples by famous composers such as Bach and Telemann, alongside some unjustly neglected Baroque masters, illustrating the immense expressive range and creativity of this repertoire. With a few strokes of the two violins and cello bows and animation of the harpsichord’s keys, let yourself be teleported from the Venice of Albinoni and Gentili to the Naples of Porpora, with a visit to Telemann and Bach in Germany. The program concludes with a magnificent setting of “Follia”—the era’s most recognizable melody, and one which still resonates today. 

 

Augustin Hadelich, violin & Francesco Piemontesi*, piano

Saturday, March 21, 2026 • 8 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

“One of the most exciting violinists of his generation” (The New York Times) and “one of the finest of young pianists and deserves to be fully recognised as such” (Classical Explorer) at the top of their profession team up for an evening of sublime classical performance. Featuring works by De Grigny, Debussy, Rameau, Poulenc, Kurtág, and Franck.

 

Doodle POP*

Sunday, March 22, 2026 • 3 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

A mischievous duo starts to doodle… and ends up creating a whole imaginative world! What will happen as we follow their vivid drawings into this beautiful watery world? From BRUSH Theatre in South Korea, this touching and playful non-verbal show uses live musicians who perform the accompanying score and sound effects, stunning interactive animation projections and live whiteboard drawings, and an abundance of theatrical imagination.

 

WinterFest Gala

Wednesday, March 25, 2026 • 5 PM

The Conrad

Gala chairs: Liqun Wang and Marco Londei

An exquisite evening recital featuring the international superstar Lang Lang in the intimate Baker-Baum Concert Hall. The evening includes a Champagne reception, live auction and paddle raise, and Lang Lang playing selections by Chopin, followed by an elegant seated dinner and after-party celebration. Proceeds benefit La Jolla Music Society’s Learning and Engagement and artistic programs. 

 

Lang Lang, piano

Thursday, March 26, 2026 • 7:30 PM

Jacobs Music Center

Lang Lang is a leading figure in classical music today—as a pianist, educator, and philanthropist, he has become one of the world’s most influential and committed ambassadors for the arts in the 21st century. Equally happy playing for billions of viewers at the 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony in Beijing, the 2020 Dubai EXPO Opening Ceremony, the 2024 Reopening of Notre Dame in Paris, or just for a few hundred children in public schools, he is a master of communicating through music. His program will include works by Mozart, Beethoven, Albéniz, Granados, and Liszt.

 

Ravi Shankar Ensemble*

Sunday, March 29, 2026 • 7 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

 

Shubhendra Rao, sitar and ensemble leader

Ayush Mohan, sarod

Ravichandra Kulur, flute

Padma Shankar, violin and vocals

Anubrata Chatterjee, tabla

B.C. Manjunath, mridamgam

 

For this ensemble’s debut tour, Ravi Shankar’s wife, Sukanya, and daughter, musician Anoushka Shankar, have curated a thoughtful collection of his repertoire for the six-piece ensemble. The program will focus on the maestro’s notable devotion to both tradition and creativity while building understanding and love of Indian classical music with audiences worldwide. The concert weaves together elegantly designed visuals, featuring rare audio and video materials from the Ravi Shankar archives alongside a dynamic selection of Shankar’s soul-stirring music.

 

*LJMS debut

 

Season artist photos can be accessed here.

Artists, concerts, dates, and venues subject to change.

To see the rest of La Jolla Music Society’s 2025–26 season please click here.

 

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SINGLE TICKETS

Ticket packages, single tickets and more information are available at the La Jolla Music Society box office, by phone at 858.459.3728, and online at TheConrad.org.

Learn More