Daily Business Report: November 11, 2026
New center for veterans in Liberty Station uses creative activities to promote well-being
By Dave Schwab | Times of San Diego
A nonprofit furnishing free therapeutic arts and crafts to military veterans and active-duty service members held the grand opening of its new Creative Engagement Center at Liberty Station on Veterans Day.
The new center marks a return to the community where Heal Vets was founded 55 years ago, continuing its mission of providing eligible veterans and their families with opportunities to participate in creative activities designed to promote connection, purpose, and well-being. Those activities include free therapeutic craft kits to active-duty military personnel and veterans to help heal the invisible wounds of war.
The therapy kits often become an integral part of the patient’s treatment plan for those recovering from traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression or other wounds of war. Heal Vets has distributed more than 31 million kits from hundreds of craft categories.
by Voice of San Diego
More than eight years ago, the city of San Diego, then led by former Mayor Kevin Faulconer, stopped signing new long-term leases with the businesses that rented land around the Sports Arena. At the same time, it began updating the zoning plan for the neighborhood.
As we wrote then, it looked like the city was finally, truly planning a massive redevelopment for the nearly 50 acres of land it owns in Midway.
Then, we watched one failure after another, as the city pursued what Faulconer and then his successor, Mayor Todd Gloria, envisioned. The courts threw out two ballot measures. Nevertheless, the city persisted and selected a development partner, negotiating an agreement over four years. With another lawsuit looming, the city’s leaders took the extraordinary effort of getting state lawmakers and the governor to give them special protection from lawsuits.
200 students and counting: Mission Trails inspires the next generation of environmental stewards
by Kinsee Morlan – Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation| Times of San Diego
What do gall wasps, mountain lions and college career decisions have in common? For a group of San Diego County high school students, they’re all part of the learning experience at Mission Trails Regional Park.
Through the nonprofit Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation’s free Eco Ambassadors program, teenagers get an up-close look at the natural world while meeting scientists, park rangers and conservation professionals, making new friends and exploring possibilities for their futures.
This fall, the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation’s free Eco Ambassadors program celebrates a milestone: 200 high school students have completed the program since it launched in 2023.
