Daily Business Report-Jan. 31, 2019
The Thomas Fire races toward Southern California cities of Ojai and Santa Paula, December 2017. (Photo: istockphoto/JPhilipson)
Climate change may suppress Santa Ana winds
Results suggest California’s fire season shifting towards winter
Santa Ana winds, seasonal gusts of dry desert air that can bring havoc to Southern California, might become less common especially in fall and spring as the conditions that drive them change, according to a pair of researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California. Together with expected changes in precipitation patterns, this suggests a later wildfire season in the future and a possibility for longer-burning wildfires, the researchers said.
Climate scientists Janin Guzman-Morales and Alexander Gershunov report in the journal Geophysical Research Letters that Santa Ana winds are becoming less frequent as high pressure systems over the Great Basin weaken over the 21st Century. The decline will be most pronounced in early and late Santa Ana wind season, which typically runs from October to April.
“These changes in Santa Ana winds add important detail to the expectation of drier and warmer conditions in the future, which is crucial to have a better understanding of changes in our regional climate,” said Guzman-Morales, lead author of the study.
Santa Ana winds – occasional dry and gusty reversals of the more typical moisture-laden winds from the west – figure prominently in the lore of Southern California. They are so long familiar to the region that they have served as a literary device employed by writers such as Raymond Chandler and Joan Didion. One explanation of the origin of the term “Santa Ana” is that it is a derivation of the word satanás that was coined by Spanish missionaries who saw them as a malevolent force when they first encountered them some 300 years ago. There is more consensus among historians that the name comes from the Santa Ana coastal mountain range in Southern California’s Orange County, where notable wind events and fires have taken place.
For the most part, Santa Ana winds bring welcome warmth and intense sunshine to Southern California in winter, as well as striking sunsets and starry nights. In fiction and real life, however, the winds are sometimes cast in a role as a bringer of unease and occasional catastrophe. Santa Anas are often a force that can make driving through Southern California mountain passes hazardous. They fell trees that come crashing onto homes and roadways and create blinding and allergy-triggering gusts of dust and pollen. A succession of Santa Ana wind events fanned what became the largest fire in Southern California history, the Thomas Fire, in December 2017. The fire burned 440 square miles in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties before being contained in January 2018.
Santa Ana winds are driven by a sharp pressure difference, or gradient, between the Great Basin and the Pacific Ocean off the California coast. These pressure gradients are driven by weather activity that sets in during the fall and peaks in winter. Santa Anas are rooted in cold air masses over the Great Basin that warm as they descend to sea level. Since cold air is dense and heavy, the winds accelerate under the force of gravity towards sea level.
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Water Authority saves nearly
$18 million with bond refunding
The San Diego County Water Authority on Tuesday secured nearly $18 million in savings on future debt payments for the region’s water ratepayers by refinancing bonds used to build a major pipeline connected to the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant.
Savings achieved this week topped earlier projections of $13.6 million through June 2046 on a net present-value basis due to strong demand for the $185 million issuance. Forty-five investors made orders for the bonds that totaled nearly $2 billion. The Water Authority benefitted from having one of the only deals of its kind on the market this week – after waiting for more than a year for market conditions to improve – and ongoing investor interest in the Carlsbad project.
“Not only does the desalination project continue to provide the San Diego region with reliable, high-quality water supplies, but our strong public-private partnership with Poseidon Water is paying off for ratepayers,” said Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer. “High demand for our bonds indicates widespread confidence in the desal project partners and the project’s financial foundation.”
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Audit report shows planning
groups lack transparency
A performance audit of San Diego’s community planning groups discovered that many of the planning groups lack transparency, have inconsistent records retention and may not comply with the Brown Act. Councilman Scott Sherman is chairman of the Audit Committee.
Other findings of the audit include:
•• Renters are not adequately represented on CPG boards.
•• CPGs lack transparency because they are not consistently submitting or retaining documents.
•• Some CPG member continue to serve on boards after term limits have expired.
The Audit Committee voted unanimously to forward the report to the full City Council with recommendations to update Council Policy 600-24 to help ensure transparency, compliance, diverse community representation and performance.
To review the full audit, click here.
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San Diego State gets top ratings
from The Princeton Review
San Diego State University has been named one of the country’s top colleges combining academic excellence with affordable tuition, according to The Princeton Review. SDSU is profiled in the 2019 edition of The Best Value Colleges: 200 Schools with Exceptional ROI for Your Tuition Investment.
SDSU’s two-page highlight in the book points out the university’s rising graduation and continuation rates, impressive study abroad opportunities, diverse student body and military-friendly setup. The profile also notes SDSU’s favorable in-state tuition cost and the amount of financial aid offered.
The list is based on surveys from 2017-2018 from more than 650 colleges that constitute a widespread representation by region, size, selectivity and character. The Princeton Review’s book does not rank colleges 1 to 200 but instead highlights the schools in alphabetical order. The detailed methodology can be accessed online.
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Realtors group to host breakfast
event on new laws and industry outlook
The Greater San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR) will host a breakfast gathering in Mission Valley on Feb. 6 from 7:30 a.m. to noon to educate the real estate community on new legislation affecting the industry. “New Laws & Industry Outlook 2019” features the region’s top policymakers, along with representatives from the National Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors, who will present critical updates for more than 400 attendees.
From the San Diego housing crisis, to regional planning and infrastructure, to the future of Proposition 13, Realtors will not want to miss this opportunity to stay up to date on the new laws, regulations, and legislative proposals coming down the pipeline in 2019.
Featured speakers will include:
•• Gov Hutchinson, Asst. General Counsel, California Association of Realtors
•• State Sen. Brian Jones, 38th District
•• County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar
•• Matt Adams, vice president, Building Industry Association of San Diego
•• Dan Sandri, acting commissioner, California Department of Real Estate
•• El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells
•• San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones
The event will be at Doubletree by Hilton, 7450 Hazard Center Drive, San Diego
Cost: $29 for SDAR Members / $39 for others
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April Gingras named president
of BIA’s Sales and Marketing Council
The Building Industry Association (BIA) of San Diego has named Pardee Homes’ April Gingras president of its Sales and Marketing Council. Gingras, former vice president of the council, will take on an expanded role in marketing, sales and membership oversight for the council’s affairs in the San Diego region.
As vice president, Gingras helped implement creative ideas, played an essential role in leading many successful Leadership Summit events and helped significantly grow the organization’s membership.
Gingras currently holds the position as sales manager at Pardee Homes. In this role, she leads the sales team’s strategies and incentive programs to maximize home sales and deliver superior customer service to the San Diego region. Prior to joining Pardee Homes, Gingras served as a multimedia account manager for the Tribune Publishing Company. There, she helped to address the marketing needs of local real estate agents and new home builders by preparing updated analyses of current market conditions and developing strategies to deliver effective consumer messaging. A long-time member of the BIA of San Diego, Gingras has served on the Board since 2012 and has carried out roles on the Sales and Marketing Council as vice president, as well as treasurer and secretary.
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Data Breach Report reveals alarming trends
The number of U.S. data breaches tracked in 2018 decreased from last year’s all-time high of 1,632 breaches by 31 percent (or 1,244 breaches), but the reported number of consumer records exposed containing sensitive personally identifiable information jumped 126 percent from the 197,612,748 records exposed in 2017 to 446,515,334 records this past year. That’s according to the 2018 End-of Year Data Breach Report issued by the Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego and CyberScout.
“The increased exposure of sensitive consumer data is serious,” said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. “Never has there been more information out there putting consumers in harm’s way.”
Another critical finding was the number of non-sensitive records compromised, not included in the above totals, an additional 1.68 billion exposed records. While email-related credentials are not considered sensitive personally identifiable information, a majority of consumers use the same username/email and password combinations across multiple platforms creating serious vulnerability.
“When it comes to cyber hygiene, email continues to be the Achilles Heel for the average consumer,” said CyberScout founder and chair Adam Levin.
To download the 2018 End-of-Year Data Breach Report, visit: idtheftcenter.org/2018-end-of-year-data-breach-report/
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Personnel Announcements
Stos Partners selects Jay Boyle
to spearhead new investment initiative
Stos Partners, a privately held commercial real estate investment and management firm, has chosen veteran commercial real estate expert Jay Boyle to spearhead its new investment initiative focused on the interests of institutional investors. The new venture will augment the company’s existing private capital investment platform, through which the firm has transacted on more than $280 million in commercial properties in the past 12 months.
Boyle honed his transactional skills as a broker for over a decade, followed by five years as a principal. As vice president of acquisitions for Locale Advisors, he oversaw all acquisition, financing, disposition, and joint-venture activities and directed the procurement of nearly $315 million in Class A and creative office assets. Prior to Locale Advisors, Boyle served as vice president of equity sales for Eastdil Secured, where he facilitated nearly $2 billion in office and industrial sale transactions totaling more than 5.6 million square feet. Earlier in his career, he was recognized as a leading young broker in Cushman and Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group. He remains an active member of NAIOP and has served on the organization’s board of directors.
“Jay brings extensive top-of-the-market institutional experience to our firm,” says CJ Stos, principal of Stos Partners. “He possesses deep transactional knowledge and strong institutional ties that will enable us to develop stronger capital relationships in the industry, which will be pivotal in our firm’s continued expansion.”
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Rosaline Verhoog named group sales manager at Kimpton Solamar Hotel;
Crystal Wagner promoted to executive meeting manager
Kimpton Solamar Hotel announced the appointment of Rosaline Verhoog as group sales manager and promotion of Crystal Wagner to executive meeting manager of the 235-room Downtown San Diego boutique hotel.
As group sales manager, Rosaline Verhoog will lead group sales efforts east of the Rocky Mountains with a focus on government, social, military, education, religious, fraternal, law, non-profit foundations and associations, entertainment, and corporate, increasing exposure and revenue and supporting marketing campaigns for the boutique San Diego hotel.
A tenured hospitality industry professional, Verhoog comes to Kimtpon Solamar Hotel from Estancia La Jolla Hotel and Spa, where she held a role as executive meeting sales manager. At Estancia, she found her passion for group sales, organizing team outing and consistently exceeding hotel revenue goals. She also held various roles at other San Diego hotels including W San Diego, Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina, and US Grant.
Verhoog earned her bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism management from San Diego State University.
As executive meeting manager, Crystal Wagner will be focused on both booking small groups across all market segments and working with the planners to detail the group and meeting specifications to execute flawless programs. In addition, Crystal will manage the social media marketing efforts for the hotel.
Wagner joined Kimpton Solamar Hotel in 2016, as guest services agent, where she elevated the guest experience by providing friendly and knowledgeable guidance about the local area, attractions, restaurants events, hotel property and amenities. Prior to her time at Kimpton, Wagner held various roles in retail and sales management for over 15 years.
Wagner holds a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising and Product Development from Kent State University.