EVENTS

Opportunity to rappel down Manchester Grand Hyatt

On Sunday, Aug. 6, 60 people will rappel 29 stories down the side of the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego. Community members are invited to sign up for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Spots have officially opened to the public and space is limited.

The Manchester Grand Hyatt is an icon of the San Diego skyline, situated right on the bay. Rappellers will have views of Downtown San Diego as they descend down the building. The event, called Over The Edge, is a fundraiser for Reality Changers, a local nonprofit that prepares youth to become first-generation college graduates and agents of change in their communities.

Anyone who wants to rappel can sign up online. Participants must raise or donate at least $1,000 to secure their rappel spot. Sponsorships are also available. Learn more and sign up: https://give.realitychangers.org/OverTheEdge2023

LGBT+ comedian Fortune Feimster to perform at Balboa Theatre

Comedian, writer and actor Fortune Feimster is bringing her “Live, Laugh, Love Tour” to Balboa Theatre on June 10. Fortune has a unique brand of comedy that delves into love, relationships, sexuality and shared experiences. 

Rooftop Cinema Club to raise funds for Lambda Legal during Pride Month

Rooftop Cinema Club has announced plans to donate $1 to Lambda Legal for every ticket sold to special Pride Month screenings during the month of June at Rooftop Cinema Club Embarcadero, as well as at all of its venues across the country. Lambda Legal is the oldest and largest national legal organization working for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV.

In San Diego, a total of eight Pride Month films are scheduled for Thursdays during the month of June at Rooftop Cinema Club Embarcadero featuring a lineup of LGBTQ+ hits and films loved by the community. They include Top Gun and The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Thursday, June 1; But I’m a Cheerleader and Fight Club on Thursday, June 8; The Birdcage and Everything Everywhere All At Once on Thursday, June 15; Death Becomes Her on June 22, and Mean Girls on June 29. Tickets are available at rooftopcinemaclub.com/embarcadero. Rooftop Cinemas Club is located at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. 

San Diego County Fair announces discounts, promotions

The San Diego County Fair is offering major discounts and deals on admissions, parking, public transportation, rides, and games this summer. 

Online tickets, parking passes, and information are all available at SDFair.com

10th annual Broadway San Diego Awards

Broadway San Diego is thrilled to announce that Tirzah Villareal from Classical Academy High School and Keegan McGowan from San Dieguito High School Academy have been named the winners of the 10th annual Broadway San Diego Awards. The Best Musical award goes to Rancho Buena Vista High School for their outstanding production of Singin’ in the Rain. The celebratory event took place on May 28 at the Historic Balboa Theatre in San Diego. The evening was hosted by Marcella Lee, evening anchor for CBS News 8, and included special guests, former nominees, and winners from previous years. This year, a total of 19 high schools from San Diego participated in the awards and nominated students for the Best Actor or Best Actress categories.

The Broadway San Diego Awards provides students with invaluable experience in the performing arts and promotes theater education in high schools throughout San Diego County. Winners will go on to compete in the Jimmy Awards.

GOVERNMENT & SERVICES

Special primary election slated for Aug. 15 for District 4 supervisor seat

The Board of Supervisors called an Aug. 15 special primary election for the Fourth Supervisorial District. Voters will fill a seat that became vacant when Nathan Fletcher resigned on May 15. Nearly 400,000 voters living in District 4 will receive a ballot in the mail the week of July 16 for the election. The official ballot packet will also include an “I Voted” sticker, voting instructions and other important election information.

So far, City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery-Steppe, veteran leader Janessa Goldbeck and Republican small business owner Amy Reichert are campaigning hard for the open seat.

Local Democratic clubs are hosting a candidate forum on Saturday, June 3 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Attend via Zoom – https://bit.ly/3MZn3bZ
Watch FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/3333704293558821

Engagement efforts for citywide cultural plan

The City of San Diego will kick off June by hosting its first public events that will help shape the development of Creative City, the City’s cultural plan, which aims to align arts and culture with key priority areas including housing, mobility and infrastructure, sustainability and regional prosperity.  

Development of the cultural plan kicks off with a robust community engagement process to hear what San Diegans envision for their creative lives and to set a strategic framework for guiding the arts and cultural sectors.

All San Diegans are invited to attend the first family-friendly Creative City forum at the Soap Factory, located at 2995 Commercial St., on Tuesday, June 20, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. with music, activities, refreshments, art-making experiences, and information from Mayor Gloria on the cultural planning process.

San Diegans can also stop by pop-up events to learn more about the Creative City cultural planning process, share insights on what they want for the future of arts and culture in their neighborhood and surrounding communities, enjoy refreshments and participate in a unique hands-on art-making experience. Pop-up events will be held at four locations on two dates in June:

• Wednesday, June 21, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. 

  • Light Box Theater, 2590 Truxton Road, #205.

  • Ocean Air Recreation Center, 4770 Fairport Way.
     

• Thursday, June 22, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. 

  • City Heights Performance Annex, 3795 Fairmount Ave. 

  • Mission Trails Visitor Center, 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail. 

Additional cultural planning events will take place in July.

County’s Little Free Libraries win Outstanding Achievement Award

San Diego County Library was among this year’s winners of the Little Free Library nonprofit organization Todd H. Bol Awards for Outstanding Achievement. The award announcement came during the celebration of Little Free Library Week, which ran from May 14-20. Little libraries are mailbox-like structures put up in communities to create neighborhood book exchanges where people can freely borrow or leave books for others to read. They can be found all around San Diego County.

Navy veteran appointed to San Diego Housing Commission board; Melinda Vásquez reappointed

The San Diego City Council confirmed Mayor Todd Gloria’s appointment of Antoine “Tony” Jackson, a U.S. Navy veteran who works in business development, to the San Diego Housing Commission Board of Commissioners, and reappointed attorney Melinda K. Vásquez to her second term. 

Jackson works as a business development and inside sales manager for a company that provides realistic training exercises for military, law enforcement and first responders. His professional experience also includes service as vice president of sales and business development of a medical software company and business development manager for a technical solutions company.

Vásquez has been an attorney since 2015. She practices in real estate, labor and family law.

 Her volunteer experience includes serving on the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls for San Diego County and as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for children in the foster care system with nonprofit organization Voices for Children.

County approves plan to offer Alternatives to Incarceration

People accused of low-level, non-violent crimes will be redirected away from jails under a plan approved by the county Board of Supervisors. The Alternatives to Incarceration plan addresses those with mental health issues, substance use disorder, and homelessness by working to meet the needs of at-risk individuals with services instead of sending them to jail.

County supervisors approve Workplace Justice Fund

Local victims of wage theft can turn to a County Workplace Justice Fund for help while trying to regain their lost wages. The Board of Supervisors approved the introduction of an ordinance Tuesday which would put $100,000 into the new fund. The board will meet on Tuesday, June 13, to consider and adopt the ordinance which will then formally establish the Workplace Justice Fund.

Payments of $3,000 or $4,000 would help wage theft victims get by while waiting for their claims to make their way through the legal system or waiting for employers to pay the wage theft judgments against them.

Locally, nearly 1,000 workers in the past six years have suffered from unpaid wages or wage theft judgments that were not paid out. Lost wages amount to nearly $13 million dollars.

Fifth Ave. to stay slow street part of the day

Mayor Todd Gloria, Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, and Downtown business leaders have unveiled a new Slow Street on Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter of Downtown. City of San Diego Transportation Department crews completed construction of the infrastructure necessary to place bollards at intersections along Fifth Avenue to block vehicle traffic and create small pedestrian-centered plazas. The bollards will replace temporary gates that were previously being used.

Under the plans, each block of Fifth Avenue, from Broadway on the north to K Street on the south, will be closed daily to vehicle traffic, creating safe and walkable promenades. The closures would take place between 12 p.m. and 2 a.m. and not impact cross-street traffic on east and west streets connecting to Fifth Avenue.  

Outside permitted hours, the street will be open to vehicle traffic to allow for services, trash and recycling collection, and deliveries.  The steel bollards will be removed daily by the Gaslamp Quarter Association and stored nearby when the street is open to vehicles.  

Gaslamp Quarter archway retrofit complete

The iconic Gaslamp Quarter Archway, a symbol of the vibrant Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego, is currently undergoing an extensive retrofit to preserve its historical significance and enhance its visual appeal. Originally conceived in 1986 and dedicated to the public in 1991, the archway has warmly welcomed visitors to the Gaslamp Quarter for over three decades.

 Designed in 1988 by the esteemed architects Harmon Nelson and David Ford of David Robinson Design, Inc., the Gaslamp Quarter Archway stands as an architectural masterpiece. It was meticulously built and installed in 1990 by Roy Flahive, President, and Cheryl Flahive, Vice President of Pacific Sign Construction Inc. Weighing an impressive 6 tons, this archway has become an internationally recognized symbol of the Gaslamp Quarter, representing its rich history and unique character.

The current refurbishment work was expertly carried out again by Patrick Flahive at REPROHAUS SIGNS, industry leader in sign fabrication and restoration. Notably, Patrick Flahive is the son of the original builder, Roy Flahive. With the valuable consultation from Roy Flahive himself, the archway’s historical integrity is being carefully preserved during this refurbishment project.

Patrick Flahive, Vice President at REPROHAUS, expressed the need for this retrofit, stating, “It has been 12 years since the last time we focused on the archway, and it started to show significant wear. Neon tends to fail after a period of time, so moving to LED lighting will make outages a thing of the past.” The archway will receive a fresh paint job, and all lighting elements will be fully functional, ensuring a captivating and vibrant display.

Beyond its visual enhancements, the Gaslamp Quarter Archway retrofit embraces a green initiative by transitioning from neon to LED lighting. This transition offers greater energy efficiency and stability. By converting from 15,000 volts transformers to 12 volts power supplies, power consumption is significantly reduced, and the risk of short circuits due to environmental factors is eliminated. As a result, the archway will shine brighter, providing an even more welcoming entrance to the Gaslamp Quarter.

Port partners with KIGT Inc. to complete installation of EV charging stations

The Port of San Diego has partnered with KIGT Inc., a minority-owned, manufacturer and services provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, to install 10 public EV charging stations in the San Diego Convention Center parking garage. The recent addition of the EV charging stations brings the total amount of stations along the San Diego Bay waterfront to 62, of which 36 are public and 26 are Port staff parking stalls. The charging stations include a data sharing platform that will allow Port staff to monitor equipment usage. 

Airport expects busiest summer since 2019

San Diego International Airport (SAN) is expecting to see more passengers this summer than at any time since the beginning of the pandemic. With new Terminal 1 construction in full swing, SAN encourages passengers and those picking up/dropping to plan ahead.

Passengers can expect congestion in front of the existing Terminal 1 and on the roadways approaching the airport. Also, with construction underway on our new Terminal 1 parking structure (scheduled to open in late-2024), on-airport parking is extremely limited. Parking is currently available at our Terminal 2 Parking Plaza.

 Beginning in June, expect additional construction impacts on the roadways along and approaching the airport.

BUSINESS

Affordable housing project at Kettner Crossing breaks ground

R.D. Olson Construction announced that construction is underway on Kettner Crossing. The 64-unit senior housing complex is expected to reach completion by early 2025 and will serve low-income seniors who earn 30-60% of Area Median Income (AMI).  

Located at 1590 Kettner Boulevard in the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego, the 73,400-square-foot project will be an eight-story urban infill project on a previously undeveloped lot. The ground-up construction plans call for three levels of Type III-A wood framing over five levels of Type I concrete, which will include one subterranean level providing seven parking stalls. The property is a transit-oriented development, with close access to bus routes and the iconic San Diego Trolley. Residents will have the option of floor plan, with six studio-sized, 55 1-bedroom, or three 2-bedroom apartments being offered.

The ground floor of the new construction will offer approximately 2,200 square feet of commercial office space for lease, while the rooftop will give residents views of North San Diego Bay. The pet-friendly building will also have an open-air turf space on the roof. Other amenities include a communal room and library. 

37-story mixed-use development reaches topping out phase in Downtown San Diego

Holland Partner Group, North America Sekisui House and Lowe have reached the topping out phase in the development of West, a $400 million, 37-story mixed-use project located at 1011 Union Street in Downtown San Diego. As the first multi-mixed-use tower in the city, the project will feature 280,000 square feet of office space, 19,000 square feet of retail space and 431 luxury apartments. 

The first floor offers indoor/outdoor dining along Broadway for tenants to enjoy; a modern lounge, meeting room and a variety of gathering areas; specialty ground floor restaurants and retail shops; direct access to building parking; and, tenant community engagement programs by on-site property manager Hospitality at Work.

Leading the office leasing efforts are JLL’s Tony Russell and Richard Gonor.

Palihotel San Diego opens on Sixth Avenue

Avi Brosh’s Palisociety has opened the Palihotel San Diego at the site of the former St. James Hotel on Sixth Avenue in downtown San Diego. The Sixth Avenue property originally opened as the St. James Hotel and is easily recognized for its iconic rooftop sign featuring the Hotel St. James moniker. It has been transformed into a Palisociety signature, featuring a new restaurant, Saint James French Diner, private event space and a guest-exclusive roof deck featuring city and harbor wide views. Its historical provenance as the city’s tallest building at its inception comes to life across 11 stories with 122 guest rooms, many with city skyline and harbor views.

Eleven stories above the city sidewalks, Palihotel San Diego’s rooftop deck features skyline views from every angle coupled with al fresco lounge seating and a daily social hour for hotel guests. 

Sempra ranked No. 1 employer for diversity among U.S. utilities

Sempra has been named the top-ranked utility company in the U.S. for diversity, beating out its peers to earn the No. 1 spot on DiversityInc’s Top Utilities list for 2023. Recognized as an industry leader for its commitment to cultivating an inclusive and high-performance culture and for its dedication to advancing programs that support historically underrepresented communities, Sempra also earned spots on DiversityInc’s Top Regional Employers and Top Companies for Philanthropy lists.

Holiday Bowl seeks title sponsor

San Diego County Credit Union (SDCCU) is opting out as title sponsor of the 2023 Holiday Bowl after a six-year run, leaving an opening for a new title sponsor to come forward. Sports San Diego put out the official announcement earlier this week.

Before assuming entitlement of the Holiday Bowl in 2017, SDCCU was the title sponsor of the Poinsettia Bowl from 2005 through 2016 and has supported the nonprofit bowl association each year since 1994. 

San Diego’s Holiday Bowl first kicked off in 1978.  The game is widely known for its high-scoring contests, down-to-the-wire finishes, big crowds and large television audiences. Of the 43 bowl games last year, the Holiday Bowl was the 10th most watched game.  Of the 37 non-College Football Playoff bowl games, it was the fourth most watched.