Mayor completes exec management team
Mayor Jerry Sanders announced on Jan. 7 that he filled the outstanding vacancies on his Executive Management Team, including Chief Financial Officer and the Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the Community Services.
Sanders had reorganized the community services functional area to include the environmental services department along with the customer services, library and park and recreation departments.
Mary Lewis was named the new chief financial officer for the City of San Diego. Lewis will oversee all aspects of municipal finance, including the preparation of the City’s financial statements and the annual budget, the issuance and management of debt and the city’s purchasing and contracting responsibilities. Lewis will also assume the role of auditor and controller for the city and will oversee the city controller function.
Lewis will report directly to the city’s Chief Operating Officer Jay Goldstone and will take the lead in continuing the city’s financial reform efforts.
Nader Tirandazi has been appointed as the new director of the financial management department. Tirandazi has over 16 years’ experience in municipal government with a strong background in the areas of budget, operations, information technology and human resources. Tirandazi will report to Lewis.
Elmer Heap was also appointed as the deputy chief operating officer over the newly reorganized community services functional area. Heap will be responsible for the oversight of the city’s customer, library, park and recreation and environmental services. Heap has more then 20 years’ experience in municipal government and has spent the last four years as director of the environmental services department.
Museum of Man celebrates the Irish community
As part of the Museum of Man’s Tower After Hours series, the museum will highlight the Irish community, showcasing the sights, sounds and tastes of Ireland on Thursday, Feb. 28, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Since 2004, the Tower After Hours series transforms the museum’s expansive main floor below a beautiful 100-foot rotunda into a center stage for San Diego’s diverse communities to share with attendees their rich cultural heritage through cuisine and performing arts. Events are held on the last Thursday of each month throughout the year.
More than 300 people are expected to enjoy live traditional music and dance performed by dozens of Irish musicians and dancers who hold regular impromptu sessions at the many Irish pubs and restaurants throughout San Diego. Authentic food and drink will also be served from The Field Authentic Irish Pub, Hooley’s Irish Pub & Grill, Dublin Square Irish Pub & Grill and Thornton’s Irish Pub. Authentic artifacts from Ireland will also be on display from The Irish Shop.
Future Tower After Hours countries of emphasis include Peru, Germany, China and Portugal. The Tower After Hours series is sponsored by San Diego National Bank, the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Program.
Admission for the event is $20 for general admission for adults ages 21 and over only. Students are $15 with valid college ID. Museum of Man members are $10. Tickets can be purchased at the door the day of the event. Admission includes entrance to the museum and its exhibits, traditional food tasting, two drink coupons for traditional drinks and live Irish entertainment. Tickets may be obtained in advance by calling the Museum at (619) 239-2001. A discount admission coupon for Tower After Hours is available at www.museumofman.org by clicking on the Special Events tab.
The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information call the number above or visit the Web site above.
Port authorizes permit for Lane Field development
The Board of Port Commissioners unanimously approved authorization of a coastal development permit for the Lane Field development project. The development of Lane Field, an area directly across from the waterfront on the North Embarcadero, includes the construction of a 275-room hotel with 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, ballrooms and meeting rooms on the north side of Lane Field. On the south side, another hotel with 525 guest rooms and 50,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, ballrooms and meeting space will be built.
The developers intend on making the project Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified. The certification is a national recognition and means that the hotels will be designed to use less energy and water and to produce fewer pollutants. If the developer succeeds in establishing LEED certification, the project will be the second in the state to meet the strict LEED requirements.
The board concluded that the project is consistent with the Port’s certified Master Plan, qualifying it for the coastal development permit. The project will create about 2,000 permanent hotel jobs and 500 temporary construction jobs. In addition, the City of San Diego will benefit from Transit Occupancy Tax revenues, expected to be $5.4 million during the opening year of the project in 2011, increasing to $7.5 million by 2015.
Public amenities related to the project include an extended C Street, resulting in improved access to the site and public view terraces and plazas.
For more information on the Lane Field project visit www.portof sandiego.org and click on the Lane Field link.
Broadway Pier cruise terminal design approved
After several public design charrettes and other community outreach meetings, the Board of Port Commissioners has approved the design for the proposed cruise ship terminal building on Broadway Pier.
The building is being designed by the architectural firm Bermello Ajamil and has been updated to include elements that the public asked for “” more public access and improved design aesthetics. The approximately 45,000-square-foot building features a modern design with a unique “sawtooth” roofline. In the design, the building’s sides have glass panels and areas that could incorporate public art.
Carnival Corporation loaned the Port $12 million to help pay for the cost of the terminal building, which the Port must build to keep pace with the booming cruise business. The estimated cost of the design is about $23.6 million. The Port has asked the City of San Diego and the Centre City Development Corporation to assist with the additional costs.
The Port’s cruise business has increased steadily over the years. An average of 200 cruise vessels arrive at the Port each year, bringing about $2 million in economic impact with each call.For more information on the Broadway Pier cruise terminal project visit www.portofsandiego.org.