San Diego’s bond rating
wins some, loses some
San Diego’s long-awaited return to the public borrowing market appears likely next year amid a positive sign “” the city’s fourth clean audit record in the last 13 months. Meanwhile, the city is forced to borrow $250 million privately toward the repair of several failing facilities, a procedure that will likely take place before June.
The development is important because public municipal bonds are available at lower interest rates. Presently, the city is prohibited from the bond market amid poor credit ratings stemming from a series of investigations on city finances dating to 2003.
Chief among the findings were a pension deficit of more than $1 billion and the role of grant awards in certain regulatory guidelines. Macias, Gini & O’Connell, the city’s auditor, released the letter, which focused on the city’s 2006 audit.
The release of the 2007 and 2008 audits is planned before the end of this year.
New law school campus
site permit approved
The San Diego Planning Commission has unanimously approved a site development permit for a Thomas Jefferson School of Law East Village campus.
The new single-building facility is to be located at 1123 Island Ave., on a trolley line and near Petco Park and the planned site of the new downtown library. Thomas Jefferson Dean Rudy Hasl said plans to relocate the law school to the downtown area have been unfolding for about two years and that the new campus should open in the fall of 2010. The 177,000 square feet will include several outdoor terraces, a legal clinic and a public café and bookstore.
Thomas Jefferson School of Law, currently located in Old Town San Diego, is accredited by the American Bar Association and the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State of California and is also a member of the Association of American Law Schools. In addition to its juris doctor program, the law school offers master of law degrees in three different international legal specialties.
The Old Town facility is for sale.
Antique district slates huge weekend event
Residents who take a walk down Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach this Saturday or Sunday and will witness the OB Antique District’s Spring Cleaning Sales Event. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., five antique shops will be selling antiques until shelves are bare.
“It’s such a great opportunity for people to come, with things on sale that never have been before. The stores will be bursting with additional merchandise,” said Lori Chandler, owner of Vignettes, one of the participating shops.
The stores will feature hundreds of dealers, with many one-of-a-kind items. Sunday will include a special parking lot sale by the Newport Avenue Antique Center. Five shoppers will also win a shopping spree in every store.
For more information, call (619) 222-8686 or visit www.obantiquedistrict.com.
ACS Discovery Shop
sets showcase sale
The American Cancer Society (ACS) Discovery Shop, located at 3609-C Midway Drive will hold its 9th annual Designer Label Showcase Sale on Saturday, April 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, April 6 from noon to 4 p.m.
“Calvin Klein, BCBG, Cache, Tommy Bahama, Escada and more will be represented,” said store manager Stephanie Ripley.
Proceeds from the sale go to cancer research, education and basic services, said Cancer Society officials.
For more information, call (619) 224-4336.