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October 9, 2001
The Layoff Lounge, a nationwide on and offline
professional networking and career education company, officially launches
in San Diego, its 11th city, on Oct. 16 at The Wyndham San Diego
Hotel in Sorrento Valley.
In addition to meeting with hiring
companies and top recruiters, attendees will hear a keynote address from
Skip Andrews -- business and professional development coach and
author -- who will be speaking on “Do What You Are.”
“San Diego,
like the rest of California, has been negatively impacted by the downturn
in the market,” says Kelly Perdew, The Layoff Lounge CEO. “However,
some of the local industries, especially health care and biosciences, have
weathered the storm much better than others. The tech shakeout hasn't been
as bad in San Diego because of the size of those other industries. Despite
that strength, we have still seen many of San Diego’s pioneering companies
layoff employees to cut costs and strive for profitability or simply go
out of business.”
When asked about the difference between The
Layoff Lounge and a Pink Slip Party, Perdew said, “Sure, you can
have some drinks and socialize, but we're serious about producing results
-- month in, month out. Professional networking is the key.”
In
each Layoff Lounge city, the events have attracted between 150 to 300
people.
Lounge partners are Headhunter.net,
Resume.com, Resumesion.com and Delta Road.
***
Lend Lease Real Estate
Investments, on behalf of its Prime Property Fund, has sold a
50 percent stake in San Diego's Fashion Valley Mall to Simon
Property Group Inc.
Simon also has assumed management
responsibilities for the mall. No changes will be made in mall management
staff.
Concurrent with the closing, which occurred on Oct. 1, the
partnership secured a $200 million, seven year mortgage from Lehman
Brothers that bears interest at a fixed rate of 6.5
percent.
This 1.7-million-square foot open-air, super-regional mall
is anchored by Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth
Avenue, Macy's, Robinsons-May and JC Penney.
One of the nation's most successful retail centers, Fashion Valley
is 99 percent leased and generates small shop sales in excess of $575 per
square foot.
Total sales generated by the mall exceed $650 million
annually.
Lend Lease's Prime Property Fund has held an ownership
stake in Fashion Valley since 1985. In 1997, the mall was renovated and
expanded by 280,000 square feet to its current size.
"This
transaction benefits Prime Property Fund investors in several ways,” says
Gene Conway, president of Lend Lease's Real Estate Advisors group
and co-portfolio manager of Prime Property Fund. “The Fund retains a major
stake in one of the country's premier shopping centers, while
reconfiguring its portfolio. Additionally, our investment will benefit
from the management of Simon Property Group which has already been
demonstrated through our successful partnership with Simon in Miami's
Dadeland Mall."
"Fashion Valley is one of the most productive
centers in California, making this acquisition a perfect fit within
Simon's strategy to own and manage highly productive, market-dominant
malls," says Richard S. Sokolov, president and COO of Simon
Property Group. "The transaction will be immediately accretive to earnings
and expands Simon's presence in the California market."
Lend Lease
Real Estate Investments is one of the largest real estate investment
managers in the world and a leading U.S. real estate advisor to pension
funds.
The company has $36 billion in real estate and commercial
mortgages under management for institutional and private clients in the
U.S.
Simon Property Group Inc., is headquartered in Indianapolis,
Ind.
***
The California Retail Survey announced
the rankings of the top 100 city retail markets in California, based on
1999 retail sales.
Los Angeles City ranked as the largest market,
with retail sales exceeding $20.4 billion, followed by San Diego
City with nearly $10 billion, San Francisco with $8 billion, San Jose
with $7.3 billion and Fresno with $3 billion.
Of the 100 top
markets ranked by sales, 57 recorded sales in excess of $1 billion.
***
Whether or not new power plants are built in
the region, the construction of the proposed $271 million, 31-mile
Valley-Rainbow Interconnect transmission power-line project by San
Diego Gas & Electric in southwest Riverside County remains
critical to the state's future electric reliability, says a report the
company has filed with the California Public Utilities
Commission.
When completed in 2005, the project, which is
currently under regulatory review by the CPUC, would link SDG&E's
system at Rainbow and Southern California Edison's system in Romoland and
transport enough electricity to light more than 700,000 homes.
"Due
to the ever-changing landscape of the state's electric picture, we decided
to test the need for the 500,000-volt Valley-Rainbow Interconnect by
carefully exploring several different scenarios involving the need for the
line," says James P. Avery, senior v.p. of fuel and power
operations for SDG&E. "In each case, the common conclusion was that
this project is required in 2005 and grows in importance every year
thereafter. In our view, SDG&E's CPUC-mandated obligation to serve its
customers with a reliable source of energy must involve the construction
of this project."
The scenarios projected a 46-megawatt shortfall
for electricity in San Diego in 2005 growing to 199 MW in 2006 and
increasing every year thereafter.
A megawatt is enough electricity
to support between 700 and 1,000 homes.
The testimony by company
experts explains that SDG&E is situated in an electrical "cul-de-sac"
served by only two transmission pathways. The failure of one of these
transmission paths would result in just one major connection between the
company's 1.2 million customers in San Diego and southern Orange counties
and the state's power supplies.
The Valley-Rainbow project would
provide a third pathway, making SDG&E customers less vulnerable to
outages or blackouts. This new transmission interconnection also would
minimize the risk of SDG&E blackouts due to storms, earthquakes or
possible acts of sabotage that could temporarily cripple the
system.
SDG&E's testimony also examines scenarios involving the
proposed construction of additional power generation projects in San Diego
and Baja California, Mexico. The California Energy Commission says there
are more than 37,000 MW of new generation proposed in California and
northern Mexico, with about 7,500 MW proposed for the San Diego and
northern Mexico regions.
"It is important to point out that there
are no guarantees that these proposed power plants will ever be
constructed," Avery says.
Once completed, the Valley-Rainbow
Interconnect could connect the state's sources of power with a pathway
that can accommodate as much as 1,000 MW.
***
Rancho Santa Fe Technology Inc.
has been awarded a contract to provide installation of a high-speed
structured cabling system for the new Yuma Municipal Government
Center, a three-story, 150,000-square-foot government and multitenant
facility in Yuma, Ariz., reports Trestand Conrique, president of
San Diego-based Rancho Santa Fe Technology.
Conrique says Rancho
Santa Fe Technology, which was initially retained by the city of Yuma to
provide the design and consulting for the structured cabling system, will
begin the installation during the first quarter of 2002, with completion
set for June 2002.
The "design-build" project will include the
installation of about 76 miles of category 5 and category 6 cabling for
voice and data, respectively, and a gigaspeed backbone consisting of more
than two miles of fiber-optic cabling.
In addition, high-speed
data cabling and gigaspeed copper cabling will connect 480 desktop
locations, six intermediate closets and a data center.
As part of
the contract, Ranch Santa Fe Technology also will provide peer review for
the facility's control and security system, data center, HVAC system, fire
suppression systems, raised flooring and equipment layout.
Additionally, the company will develop a request for proposal, and
participate in the selection process, for a state-of-the-art, voice over
IP PBX system that will provide an exchange for all city government
departments and remote city department locations throughout
Yuma.
***
Peregrine Semiconductor, San
Diego-based developer and supplier of high-performance communications ICs
to the wireless networking and optical markets, today announced the
introduction of its new line of fixed prescalers models PE3501, PE3502 and
PE3503, dividing by 2, 4 or 8 respectively.
The new line operates
up to 4GHz.
For the first time, the
wireless industry can realize 4GHz operation by preceding a regular phase
locked loopchip with one of these new prescalers. This product line has
been specifically developed to enable PLL based frequency generation up to
4GHz, when used in conjunction with standard PLL chips in Peregrine's
family of products.
"The Wireless Local
Area Networks market is growing fast in the 3500 MHz band and requires low
power economical components to generate local oscillators for conversion
to these bands," says Giora Goldberg, Peregrine's PLL product line
manager. "In addition, specialized radio designs are constantly pushing to
higher frequencies, making 4GHz capabilities crucial."
***
The opening of the air campaign against
terrorist bases in Afghanistan has not increased the price of gasoline in
Southern California, reports the Automobile Club of Southern
California.
Since Saturday, prices have fallen throughout the
region.
The price of regular unleaded self-serve in San
Diego is $1.685 per gallon, half a cent lower than the price on
Saturday.
The Los Angeles/Long Beach reporting area is $1.546 per
gallon, nine-tenths of a cent lower.
The price for Central Coast
motorists is one cent lower. Bakersfield saw the steepest fall, with the
price of gasoline dropping 2.5 cents since the
weekend.
"Internationally and domestically,
oil producers and gasoline refiners have anticipated the opening of
hostilities since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 and most made
preparations to keep product in the pipeline," says Jeffrey Spring,
Auto Club spokesman. "Market conditions have not changed, meaning there is
ample supply of gasoline. When you couple that with a softening demand, it
tends to push prices lower."
***
Alliant International University,
San Diego's newest institution of higher learning, unveiled a new 36 foot
street monument at Pomerado Road and Avenue of the Nations in Scripps
Ranch to herald the official opening of the university.
Randy
"Duke" Cunningham declared Oct. 4 "Alliant International University
Appreciation Day" to commemorate the occasion.
Jim Ritchey
presented the resolution to Alliant International University President
Judith Albino on behalf of the congressman.
Alliant
International University was created over the past year by the merger of
San Diego-based U.S. International University and the California
School of Professional Psychology, headquartered in San Francisco.
***
American Map Corp., an
Illinois-based company that rolled out an extensive line of atlases for
California in the last year, is introducing an extensive line of laminated
"Slickers" for California’s cities, counties and freeways, including
San Diego.
Slickers are two-sided, fully-laminated maps that
fold up to fit easily into pocket, purse, or briefcase.
Unfolded,
they show detailed maps of specific cities and regions. They are large
enough to give users the big picture of a specific place and its major
roadways, and also provide helpful inserts. Users can write on them and
then wipe off the marks.
Prices are $5.95 and $7.95, depending on
the size of the territory covered.
***
An estimated 20,000 San Diegans joined together
in Balboa Park on Sunday for the 12th annual AIDS Walk San Diego
raising $603,870 to support local HIV and AIDS service providers.
To date, the organization has raised a total more than $5 million
for local organizations benefiting people infected and affected by the
disease.
"We are genuinely overwhelmed by the support San Diegans
have given to this year's AIDS Walk," says Bryan Garrity, chair of
AIDS Walk San Diego board. "While last month's tragic events are always in
our thoughts, it is truly humbling to see the community gather together
and support our cause. We wish to express a heartfelt thanks to the San
Diego community for their compassion and dedication."
***
The Townsend Agency has welcomed
Neil McQueen back in the position of executive v.p. of brand
marketing and creative director.
McQueen returns to the agency
most recently from Shafer Advertising in Irvine where he worked as
executive creative director for major technology clients such as
Toshiba, Nokia, Fujitsu and Oracle.
***
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