SD METRO JUNE 2014

MAY 2014

CYNTHIA MORGAN

ERIN LEWIS

AMANDA CURRIE

Women Who Impact

San Diego

JULIE THOMAS

Cynthia Morgan, Amanda Currie, Erin Lewis and Julie Thomas are among our choices for Women Who Make a Difference in 2014.

Turn to Page 11 to read all of their stories.

GIVE DAD THE GIFT OF DONOVAN’S WORLD CLASS SERVICE OPEN 3PM - 9 PM, SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2013.

May 2014|Issue 5 |Volume 29 Our mission is to always provide quality journalism for our readers by being fair, accurate and ethical and a credible resource for our advertisers.

Chairman | CEO Robert Page BobPage@sandiegometro.com

COV E R STO RY ON THE COVER:

Women Who Impact San Diego

SD METRO is proud to introduce Women Who Impact San Diego 2014, a group of outstanding professionals who have made a name for themselves in their careers and are making significant contributions to our community. See Page 11.

Publisher Rebeca Page RebecaPage@sandiegometro.com Managing Editor Manny Cruz Manny@sandiegometro.com Photography/Illustration Manny Lopez Ryan Rose

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Remembering The Paris Herald

It was inevitable that the New York Times would do away with the International Herald Tribune, successor to the Paris Herald Tribune, of which it became part owner in 1966. After all, the New York Herald Tribune was the Times’ hated competitor for decades, both at home and abroad.

Contributing Writers Manny Lopez Eric Peters Ryan Rose David Rottenberg Sara Wacker Delle Willett Advertising SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR Rebeca Page

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Torrey Pines Bank Models the Iconic Tree

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The Navy’s Big Economic Driver

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Inspired by its namesake, Torrey Pines Bank is a prominent landmark in San Diego, focused on service to the community, helping its clients adjust to changing and challenging environments.

Its ability to adapt makes the bank a viable institution for the long term, says Linda Stouffer, senior vice president, senior commercial lender (pictured).

SPAWAR, the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in San Diego, noted for its World War II-era buildings with the sawtooth roofs, will pump more than $1.77 billion into the San Diego economy in fiscal 2014, says a report authored by Point Loma Nazarene University’s Fermanian Business and Economic Institute.

Unveiling the Mystery of the Great White Shark

“Great White Shark,” a new 3D film at the San Diego Natural History Museum, unravels the mystery of the creature we love to fear — the much maligned, misrepresented and misunderstood great white shark.

Get in the loop with SD Metro’s Daily Business Report. Sign up for daily emails on the latest business at sandiegometro.com P.O. BOX 3679 RANCHO SANTA FE, CA 92067 858.461.4484 FAX: 858.759.5755

SD METRO magazine is published by REP Publishing, Inc. The entire contents of SD METRO is copyrighted, 2013,

by REP Publishing, Inc. Reporduction in whole or in part is prohibited without prior written consent. All rights reserved. All editorial and advertising inquires can be made by calling or writing to the above. Editorial and ad deadline is the 24th of the month preceding the month of publicaion. Mail subscriptions of SD METRO are available for $50 a year for addresses within the United States. A PDF version of this issue is available at sandiegometro.com Additional information, including past articles, online-only content and the Daily Business Report can be found at sandiegometro.com. For reprints or plaques of articles published in SD METRO , please call Rebeca Page at 858-461-4484 All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any Prefernce limitation or discriminatin based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national orgigin, or an intention, to make any preference, limitation or discrimination. “Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living wit hparents or legal custodians; pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18.

This magazine will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which in in violation of this law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this magazine are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUD Toll-Free at 1-800-669-9777. Th Toll-free telephone number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.

Read us online: sandiegometro.com

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PUBLISHER’S COLUMN

Remembering a Good Friend

By Bob Page

Michael O’Riordan, a great free spirit I recently lost a good buddy.

Michael O’Riordan.

One day we were having lunch at Baci and a few days later I’m watching his son Andrew carry Michael’ ashes into Our Lady of the Rosary Church for his memorial service.

Life. Here one moment and gone the next.

Michael was a great free spirit. I don’t think he ever thought about it this way, but Sinatra’s “I Did It My Way” would pretty much describe how he lived and the choices he made.

He could make a fortune selling life insurance and spend it all the next day. This might not be a choice for many, but wealth one day and not much the next wasn’t going to determine how Michael chose to live.

Michael lived a supremely confident life. He passed on college to become a ski instructor in Killington, Vt. He said if he thought he could have made any “good money” at it, he would have stayed forever.

But San Diego beckoned and the call of the West was too strong to pass up. First up, a bartending stint at La Valencia’s Whaling Bar in La Jolla.

Somebody told him he’d make a great insurance salesman. How fortuitous. He mastered it quickly. After a few years apprenticing at Prudential, he opened his own firm, Michael O’Riordan & Associates, in Solana Beach.

Michael was now on a roll. As the annuities rolled in, life couldn’t have been better. A house here, one there, an investment on Hawaii’s Big Island, a few cars, a motorcycle or two and the good life was under way.

He achieved it all through skill, determination and perseverance.

There was no free ride. He had earned every penny.

His greatest love was reserved for Andrew and Andrew’s sister, Katelyn. While Andrew’s classmates at Princeton headed off to Wall Street, Andrew headed off to see the world with Michael’s blessing.

As Andrew bused his way around Latin America or taught English in Taipei, Michael would call and say, “you gotta” read Andrew’s email, which he had just sent over. There was never any doubt about Michael’s pride in Andrew. It’s safe to say that Andrew had picked up some of his dad’s free spirit.

Katelyn was his princess. Pretty and smart. And, like Andrew, a very gifted writer. I’ve never known a brother and sister whose commands of the English language is nearly without peer.

Today, Andrew is married and teaching English at Maui Prep.

Katelyn is a young account executive at Gable PR in San Diego. I’m sure Michael is looking down from his current perch with a huge

smile, as proud as any father could be.

Oh yes, there were a few other loves his life. His mother to be sure, as classy as any lady I’ve known.

And, as a son of Fall River, Mass,, the Boston Red Sox! Michael’s office was adorned with a photograph of Fenway Park. There were other bits of New England sports memorabilla in his office but that Fenway Park picture was front and center.

He is also survived by his brothers, Brian and Sean, his sister, Karen, his wife, Carmen, and Holly O’Riordan, Andrew and Katelyn’s mother. He was preceded in death by his father, Dr. Eoghan O’Riordan.

Michael lived a purposeful life which all ended too soon at 59.

Rest in peace, old friend.

Bob Page Chairman & CEO SD METRO

Michael O’Riordan

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SAN DIEGO SCENE

SAN DIEGO SCENE Rendering of Westfield’s Plaza Camino Real shopping center after makeover.

Plaza Camino Real Shopping Center’s $300 Million Makeover To Follow Southern California Lifestyle Westfield’s Plaza Camino Real shopping center is literally taking its roof off and working on a $300 million renovation to convert the 45-year-old indoor center into a modern outdoor complex “in harmony with the Southern California lifestyle.”

Westfield officials said the makeover will create 1,200 high-wage union construction jobs and more than 1,000 jobs in the new commercial space.

Last fall, Westfield began a remodel of the eastern portion of the shopping center that includes the addition of a 24 Hour Fitness Super Sport, a state-of-the-art luxury Regal Cinema and several new sit-down dining opportunities. That remodel, which was approved by the Carlsbad City Council in July 2013, is scheduled to open later this year.

Plans for the second, more dramatic phase of the transformation

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will be submitted to the city of Carlsbad within the next few weeks.

That work will begin next year, pending approvals by the Carlsbad City Council. If approved, this sweeping renovation will completely transform the current indoor facility into an open air lifestyle center and regional shopping destination, the officials said. By removing the shopping center’s roof and creating upscale, lushly landscaped and comfortably intimate common areas, the center will become home to an upgraded mix of retail shops consisting of national brands and local boutiques, sit down and casual dining, and entertainment options for the entire family.

The Carlsbad Planning Commission is expected to consider Westfield’s proposal in fall 2014. The City Council will then make a final decision on the project. If approved, construction is expected to begin next year.

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SAN DIEGO SCENE

San Diego’s High-Tech Diversity Key Factor in Region’s Economic Rebound San Diego is tied with Boston and San Francisco as the regional economies with the most technology sector diversity -- a key factor in the region’s economic rebound. That’s according to research carried out by the National University System Institute for Policy Research.

In a comparison of the 11 U.S. metro areas with the most physical, engineering and biological research jobs, San Diego showed the highest relative concentration for this specific technology sector.

Among seven additional technology industries, San Diego tied Boston and San Francisco for most categories with concentrations above national averages.

Technology sectors continue to lead the rebound in San Diego employment, seeing significant increases in employment and wage growth, the institute said. This has been evident in both direct impacts on job growth and indirect effects from spending by technology workers.

San Diego’s technology oriented businesses employed an average of 142,100 workers during 2013. Payrolls totaled an estimated

$15.6 billion during the year, generating $41.4 billion in sales, and directly adding $21.5 billion to the San Diego economy. Technology industries directly contributed 12 percent of San Diego’s gross domestic product (GDP), and, in total, accounted for 22.9 percent of all economic activity.

Multipliers measuring indirect and induced effects indicate a total 353,400 jobs in San Diego are traced or dependent upon local technology industries. This accounted for 27 percent or more than a quarter of all payroll jobs in the county, the institute said.

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SAN DIEGO SCENE

Salk Institute Researcher Studying Origin And Progression of Cancer

San Diego Police Foundation ‘Friends of the Badge Luncheon 2014’

Geoff Wahl, a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has been involved in various aspects of cancer research for his entire 40-year career.

At Salk, he and his team are studying the genetic basis of the origin and progression of cancer and developing new strategies to tailormake drugs based on the genetic signature of a patient’s tumor.

Recently, they discovered striking similarities between genetic signatures found in certain types of human breast cancer and those Geoff Wahl of stem cells in breast tissue in mouse embryos. These findings suggest that cancer cells subvert key genetic programs that guide immature cells to build organs during normal growth. Their work may provide new ways to predict and personalize the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

San Diego Police Foundation invites citizens and the business community to experience the latest in police technology and ways to support the foundation’s mission to help the San Diego Police Department at the 14th annual Friends of the Badge Luncheon 2014 fundraiser on June 11 at the Valley View Casino Center (formally the San Diego Sports Arena).

The event supports cost-effective opportunities that increase the efficiency of the SDPD. Community support of the foundation helps provide funding for muchneeded equipment, training and outreach programs in support of a safer San Diego.

The event starts with a police showcase and “Cop Talk” presentations at 11 m. Followed by, lunch and a program from noon to 1:30 pm. Tickets for the luncheon event are $100 per person, with tables for $1,000. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information on the Foundation or to register for the event, please call (858) 453-5060 or visit, www.sdpolicefoundation.org

International Boat Show Comes to San Diego The 2014 Progressive Insurance San Diego International Boat Show cruises into Harbor Island June 19-22 for four days of fun on the water.

The 2014 show provides attendees an all-access pass to discover the boating lifestyle and a chance to shop the newest boats and marine accessories. The show has expanded this year by 20 percent, boasting more than 125 exhibitors and more than 100 boats including more than 10 of the crowd favorite Super Yachts (80 feet and up). The show has also stepped up its sports fishing area.

Boaters of all ages and experience levels will be able to discover boating with a variety of activities including Stand-Up Paddleboarding and the new Kid’s Sailing Experience. Boaters can also sharpen up their skills with boating and sailing lessons on the water or through free seminars at Fred’s Shed Interactive Learning Center, with topics ranging from navigation to engine maintenance. Food, beverages and live entertainment are also available.

Tickets are $12 for adults 16 and older. Active military personnel, fire and police are free with proper ID and children under 15 are free. For more details and times go to www.sandiegointernationalboatshow.com.

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SAN DIEGO SCENE

Carlsbad’s PrAna Brand Sold to Columbia Sportswear; Price: $190 Million in Cash Transaction Portland-based Columbia Sportswear Co. announced it will acquire Carlsbad’s prAna clothing brand for $190 million in a cash transaction. PrAna will remain headquartered in Carlsbad, and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear, with CEO Scott Kerslake continuing to serve as chief executive officer reporting directly to Columbia president and CEO Tim Boyle.

“We are thrilled at the prospect of joining Columbia’s portfolio of distinct outdoors brands,” said Kerslake. “PrAna is a brand founded on designing stylish, functional, active apparel made in an environmentally sustainable way. With Columbia’s financial strength, operational expertise, and global market platform, we now will be able to reach a much broader audience of socially conscious consumers worldwide.”

PrAna, which is a Sanskrit word for breath, life and vitality of the spirit, was founded in 1992 by Kerslake and his wife to make clothing for yoga, rock-climbing and fitness. It is expected to surpass $100 million in sales in 2014.

“We are very excited to welcome prAna to Columbia’s brand portfolio,” said Boyle. “PrAna is a rapidly growing lifestyle apparel brand positioned at the intersection of today’s healthy, active lifestyles and socially conscious consumerism. A growing number of women and men are embracing prAna’s versatile products that are designed and manufactured with sustainability as a core value.”

The brand is being acquired from majority owner Steelpoint Capital Partners and all other minority members. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter.

-- Times of San Diego

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SAN DIEGO SCENE

Higgs Fletcher & Mack Awards Diversity Scholarship Samantha McPherson, a second-year law student has received the annual California Western School of Law Diversity Scholarship from the Higgs Fletcher & Mack law firm in San Diego. The $3,500 scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates ethical and/or civic leadership, as well as a commitment to providing services to underrepresented groups in the community.

McPherson is president of the California Western Black Law Student Association and serves on the Development and Advisory Board for Reach One Teach One (ROTO), a nonprofit that promotes unity, reduces violence and improves the quality of life for youth in southeast San Diego.

“The scholarship we provide helps alleviate some of the financial burden our recipients face,” said Susan Hack, chair of Higgs’ Diversity Committee. “The scholarship is made possible by contributions from the firm itself and several attorneys here at Higgs.”

The scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates ethical and/or civic leadership, as well as a commitment to providing services to underrepresented groups in the community.

“We are thrilled to support a Cal Western student for the second year in a row,” said Rahil Swigart, member of the Higgs Fletcher & Mack Diversity Committee and California Western School of Law alum. “Samantha demonstrated incredible work ethic and perse-

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Scholarship recipient Samantha McPherson, a second-year law student at California Western University (right), with Rahil Swigart, member of the Higgs Fletcher & Mack Diversity Committee.

verance. She represents the next generation of diverse attorneys in San Diego and we are all excited to see her thrive.”

Higgs Fletcher & Mack has provided scholarships to students at the University of San Diego School of Law since 2010 and students from California Western School of Law since 2013. The firm plans to continue the annual scholarship for both institutions in the years to come.

The following Higgs Fletcher & Mack attorneys contributed to the California Western scholarship this year: Steven J. Cologne, Brian M. Cook, Thomas W. Ferrell, Loren G. Freestone, Susan M. Hack, James G. Harrigan, Rachel R. James, Michael Jones, William M. Low, Kathryn A. Martin, Susan A. Mercure, John L. Morrell, Stephen T. Pelletier, Rahil K. Swigart, Timothy D. Waters.

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Women Who Impact San Diego SD METRO is proud to introduce Women Who Impact San Diego 2014, a group of outstanding professionals who have made a name for themselves in their careers and are making significant contributions to our community.

Amanda Currie is senior vice president of Adconion Direct, the global leader of cross channel digital advertising solutions across display, video, email, mobile and social. She is responsible for leading management, strategic partnerships and business development for the company, which has 600 employees worldwide and has generated more than $1 billion in media spend across Adconiion’s unified platform. As a 13-year veteran of the advertising and technology industries, and throughout her tenure at Adconion, Currie has proven herself a dynamic business leader consistently yielding positive results. Prior to Adconion, she was vice president and co-founder of Frontline Direct, a leading performance marketing firm, which was acquired

by Adconion Media Group in 2008. She graduated cum laude from Pepperdine University with a degree in international business. Currie was named a Stevie Awards for Women silver medalist for Female Executive of the Year. She strongly believes in “Conscious Capitalism” and business being able to make the world a better place through purpose and values. Each quarter, he company volunteers together at a local organization and each team member is given an additional paid day each quarter to dedicate to community service of their choosing.

Cynthia Morgan is one of those amazing people who manages to excel as a partner at Higgs Fletcher & Mack, one of San Diego’s largest and oldest law firms, while having a positive impact on the San Diego community at the same time. She was appointed for a three-year term by former Mayor Jerry Sanders to serve as a director of Civic San Diego (formerly Centre City Development Corp.) in 2011, and has served as treasurer and now chairman of the board. She is on the executive committee of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association and on the board of the Equinox Center. She co-chairs the mentoring committee for Lawyers Club and launched a program called “influence” which pairs 50 young attorneys with 20 mentor attorneys in small group settings. Separate from her community involvement, Morgan’s legal expertise has allowed her to represent a diverse clientele that includes San Diego developers, community groups, public agencies and nonprofits. She advises clients on environmental impact reports and statements under the California Environmental Quality Act. She chairs Higgs’ Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism practice. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and the University of Notre Dame School of Law.

Nora E. Vargas is vice president of community and government relations for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest who has broad experience in nonprofit management, government, politics and public policy. In her role at Planned Parenthood, she is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the overall vision and plan for the agency and government relations department through community collaboration, outreach, education and advocacy. She has served as executive director of the Latino Issues Forum, a statewide nonprofit public policy and advocacy institute dedicated to advancing new and innovative public policy solutions for a better, more equitable and prosperous society. She was the founding director of the City of Los Angeles Office of Immigrant Rights.

An accomplished political consultant, Vargas has directed successful campaigns at the federal, state and local levels, including work with Sacramento-based Kaufman Campaign Consultants. She holds degrees from the University of San Franciso and San Diego State University.

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COVER STORY Julie Thomas is president and CEO of ValueSelling Associates and is a noted speaker, author and consultant. In a career spanning more than 24 years, she credits her mastery of the ValueSelling Framework for her own meteoric rise through the ranks of sales, sales management and corporate leadership positions. She began her career at Gartner Group. In 1999, she became vice president of Gartner’s Sales Training for the Americas, which included successfully managing the training of new hires in the ValueSelling process. Thomas has extensive experience applying, coaching and reinforcing the ValueSelling application by sales executives and managers. Thomas has personally consulted and trained in a wide variety of industries and corporations, including Marquis Jet Partners, Exclusive Resorts, the Ken Blanchard Companies, NetJets, Rosetta Stone and Input. She is a sought-after speaker at industry events. She has been a guest lecturer at Babson University and the University of Michigan. Thomas is on the advisory board of the eWomenNetwork Foundation Advisory Council and involved heavily in her local public schools as well as the San Diego Children’s Hospital Auxiliary.

Arlene Lieberman is a principal at Barney & Barney, one of the nation’s largest and longest standing insurance brokerages.

She joined the firm in 1997 and through hard work and dedication was asked to join the ownership group in only five years. Her success in a typically male-dominated industry is nothing short of extraordinary. As a practice group leader, she is responsible for the management of 20 Barney & Barney associates. She is also responsible for the development and design of employee benefit packages for large national and international employer groups. She works tirelessly to establish strategic short- and long-term objectives to help her clients control benefit costs and has even implemented numerous consumer-driven models supported by Health and Productivity Wellness Programs to support her strategy. She is committed to giving back to the community and strives to incorporate volunteerism and charitable acts into her professional and personal life. She is actively involved with Walden Family Services, a private, San Diego-based nonprofit that provides quality care to abused and neglected children.

Erin Lewis is the producer and executive director of the San Diego Musical Theater. The Musical Theater was founded by Erin and Gary Lewis on Sept. 25, 2006, as a professional, nonprofit, musical theater organization that produces Broadway musicals. Erin grew up in San Diego where her family enjoyed attending local productions. When her daughter began performing at local theaters more than 20 years ago, Lewis soon discovered that she wanted to become more involved in the San Diego theatrical community and volunteered her services, time and resources. While owning and operating a successful business for more than 34 years, she decided the time was right to add an exciting new adventure and San Diego Musical Theater was born.

San Diego Musical Theater is proud of its Boys and Girls Club outreach program and the men and women of the local military bases are invited to attend a special performance of each production.

Angela Landsberg, a native San Diegan, grew up in the neighborhood of North Park. She is currently the executive director of North Park Main Street, a Business Improvement District dedicated to revitalization and business development.

Landsberg began working in communities in San Diego in 1995 serving as a legislative representative for Councilwoman Christine Kehoe. Working at City Hall, she was a liaison between the San Diego City School District and 3rd District Council. Her experiences in public education inspired her to begin a new career as an educator for San Diego Unified School District. While working in schools with high populations of English language learners she became a vocal advocate for program support in San Diego’s public schools. Involvement in her community drew Angela to be a part of the revitalization occurring in North Park’s commercial district, becoming executive director of North Park Main Street.

Anne Benge is president of Unisoure Solutions San Diego. Unisource is one of California’s leading providers of workplace design, furniture management and facilities services. Her successful career is based upon contributing to the accomplishments of other companies and individuals. Unisource began five years ago at the height of the recession when the company for which Anne worked suddenly closed. Within two weeks, she found a new opportunity for herself and her entire staff of 13 by opening the local office of Unisource. Under her leadership, Unisource has built significant market share and garnered dozens of prized clients, including Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Sanford Rose, Sony Electronics, Dart Therapeutics, Nuvasive, ViaSat, Qualcomm, SAIC, Johnson & Johnson and the U.S. Navy. She has mentored 15 women in the past six years through Women Unlimited.

Karen E. Deschaine is a senior associate in the business practices group at Cooley LLP, an international law firm known for its experience and passion for life sciences and technology companies. A graduate of West Point (with a degree in economics) her professional life began as an officer in the U.S. Army. She spent more than seven years on active duty, serving in places such as Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Seoul, South Korea and Fort Jackson, S.C. During her time in the Army, she commanded two companies, and earned numerous medals and awards. Deschaine earned her master’s degree from Auburn University. She earned her law degree from UCLA.

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COVER STORY Sara Katz is president and founder of Katz & Associates, providing public affairs and strategic communications services since 1986. Before forming her own company, she had been a successful political consultant and a member of former Mayor Pete Wilson’s staff. Early on, she connected with a highly visible and debated sewer upgrade project for the city of San Diego.

After a successful pursuit, this led to a multi-decade long charge within San Diego County — and indeed nationwide — to educate communities about wastewater treatment, water recycling, conservation and the beneficial use of the precious and limited resource called water. Her reputation for engaging the community through innovation public involvement progams has led to the firm’s expansion into markets throughout the United States.

Barbara Eldridge is president and founder of Mind Masters, an organization that encourages, challenges and stimulates business development, financial growth and personal and professional change. She is coordinator for Automotive Service Council, NAFE, Connected Women of Influence (CWI), Greater San Diego business Association/BNG and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Eldgridge won the 2010 President Obama Volunteer & Community Service Bronze Award, the 2009 San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year Award in Business and the San Diego Women Inc. Leader of the Year in 2007. She is a graduate of Rivier College in Boston.

Dr. Cheryl Rode is the director of clinical operations at the San Diego Center for Children. The center, founded in 1887, is San Diego’s oldest accredited children’s nonprofit organization, offering comprehensive treatment programs for children and teens struggling with behavioral, emotional and educational challenges. She completed her clinical internship training at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry-Veterans Administration Medical Center. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Diego and Rady’s Children Hospital of San Diego. Before joining the Center for Children, she was a member of the Psychology Service at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital.

Renae Arabo is the chief marketing officer for RJS Law Firm. She brings to the firm more than 20 years of finance and accounting background along with a strong talent for marketing and public relations. She previously worked at Neighborhood National Bank where she assisted in community outreach and public relations. Her diverse background includes more than 10 years as a property manager for Shamoun Investments Co. where she marketed and operated an impressive portfolio of commercial and real estate properties throughout San Diego County. This experience, alongside the four years she spent owning and operating the Fashion Flooring and Design Center, led to her serving as project manager and chief designer on a number of large-scale residential and commercial remodeling projects, including the remodel of the RJS Building in Downtown San Diego. She is particularly passionate about promoting business development in the East County where she has lived for more than 40 years. She is vice chair of events for the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce and a member of the chamber’s board.

She is a prominent member of San Diego’s Chaldean Community.

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COV E R STO RY

Shawn Covell is vice president of government affairs for Qualcomm Inc. In this capacity, Covell helps manage global operations and strategic planning of a 60-plus member government affairs team. Covell also oversees two key government affairs teams responsible for elevating Qualcomm’s profile among policy makers, opinion leaders and governments. Qualcomm’s public affairs is responsible for strategic communications, public policy initiatives and legal communications. Qualcomm’s corporate citizenship initiative, Wireless Reach, strives to bring wireless technology to underserved communities around the world with a goal of creating sustainable advanced wireless projects that strengthen economic and social development.

Previously, Covell was senior director for Southeast Asia Government Affairs, based in Hong Kong. In that role, she directed Qualcomm’s public policy agenda and its relationship with government entities in Southeast Asia.

Misty Moore is a vice president of JLL who has negotiated hundreds of lease transactions valued in excess of $275 million since 1998. She began her career as a tenant rep at Walsh Chacon, where she was promoted to principal within four years of starting at an entry-level position. From there she went on serve as vice president of corporate services for the Staubach Companies, which merged with JLL (then Jones Lange LaSalle) in 2008. She is co-chair of the firm’s San Diego Law Firm Practice Group. Moore has served as a board member and national delegate for CREW, the leading local organizartion representing women in commercial real estate. She serves on the board of the AjA Project, a nonprofit organization. In 2009, she was named a 40 Under 40 award winner by SD METRO Magazine.

Ellen Miller-Sharp is the executive director of the San Diego County Bar Association. In six years with the association, she led the relocation of the association’s headquarters to new offices art 401 West A Street and in June will accept a Gold Circle award from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) for the launch of the new “Bar Center at 401” and the innovative campaign she led to bring members and non-members alike into the new space. Miller-Sharp has been instrumental in reinvigorating the organization’s advocacy efforts for restoration of court funding and reinvestment in California’s judicial branch. She is a director on the executive board of the parent network at Urban Discovery Academy, a Downtown charter school.

Jeanne McAlister is a remarkable woman who helps thousands of teens and adults regain their lives through recovery every month. She is 81 years young and has been clean and sober for 57 years. After struggling with addiction for 10 years, she was able to turn her life around and she now dedicates her life to helping others with recovery. She founded The McAlister Institute in 1977 and now helps more than 2,500 adults and teens every month through 25 different programs that represent a continuum of care that spans prevention, outreach, intervention, deferred entry programs, outpatient treatment and sober living.

She still manages the day-to-day duties as chief executive officer at McAlister Institute.

Lorraine Hutchinson is deputy chief in the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and was named the Susan G. Komen San Diego 2014 Honorary Breast Cancer Survivor. She launched her fire service career with the San Diego Fire Rescue Department (SDFD) in May 1990. She is also a paramedic. She is the first African-American woman in the history of the SDFD to be promoted to engineer, captain, battalion chief and just recently, deputy chief. In November 2012, after being diagnosed with diabetes and struggling to lose 35 pounds, she was stunned to receive a diagnosis of Stage 1B breast cancer. She did not have a family history of breast cancer and she could not feel her tumor — a mammogram detected it and saved her life. As the 2014 Honorary Survivor she hopes to help educated San Diegans, especially in the African-American community, that early detection and education is imperative.

Anneke Stender is vice president of TAG Family CFO. She started her career art TAG in 2003 as the company’s corporate controller and has been promoted continuously to become a key member of the executive management team. In 2007, she developed the TAG Family CFO division and facilitated the acquisition of McKean Financial in La Jolla. TAG Family CFO has grown in revenues each year by 25 percent with 95 percent client retention serving more than 100 affluent families and highnet worth individuals in San Diego and Orange counties. TAG Family CFO opened an office in Rancho Santa Fe in 2012 and another office in Newport Beach in 2014. Stender is involved with several business associations in San Diego. She is a summa cum laude graduate of San Diego State University.

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C O M M E N TA R Y

California Jobs Keep Flowing Out…to Michigan?

There they go again. Good-paying California jobs continue to leave us behind, as yet another company — in this case, Toyota — recently announced it was relocating its workforce from California to friendlier climes.

But this time, the destination is a bit unexpected: the great state of Michigan. Let me repeat that: Michigan. When it comes to creating a hostile business climate, we’ve truly hit a new low.

Bad enough that businesses have flocked across the border to Arizona, Nevada, and even the liberal bastion of Oregon. Sufficiently demoralizing that the governor of Texas has taken to Golden State airwaves to entice —very successfully, as it happens — our companies eastward. Now Michigan — home to Detroit, a city that is actually, officially bankrupt; the state where two major car companies only recently escaped their own bankruptcies — is getting in on the action.

Late last month, Toyota announced it would relocate some 3,0004,000 white-collar jobs to Michigan and, yes, Texas. The Michigan campus will expand its parts procurement operation, while the campus near Dallas — “far and away the best choice” for the company’s move, according to its North American CEO — will supplant Torrance, Calif., as the company’s U.S. headquarters.

The announcement followed a similar one two months earlier by Occidental Petroleum, a storied, 100-year-old California energy pioneer, that it was shifting its headquarters to Houston.

“We need to stop pushing employers out of the state,” Ron Nehring, candidate for lieutenant governor, argued on the Mike Slater radio talk show in late April, “and then wondering ‘Why is our unemployment rate so high? Why do we have the highest poverty rate in the nation?’ Well, you cannot combat this while chas-

By Michael Rosen

ing all of these jobs out of the state.”

The former chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County and the California Republican Party — and, full disclosure, a friend — Nehring has on the campaign trail relentlessly, and justifiably, attacked the job-destroying record of the current occupant of our state’s No. 2 job: Gavin Newsom.

The lieutenant governor’s main function, as chairman of the California Economic Competitiveness Council, is to promote job growth. But according to Nehring, over the last three to four years, more than 50 companies have relocated to or opened new facilities in Texas alone, accounting for 14,000 new Lone Star State jobs. It turns out Gov. Brown and Lt. Gov. Newsom are creating new jobs…in other states.

But why such a torrential outflow?

“Because,” Nehring contends, “when a business says ‘OK, am I gonna to build that facility here in California, or am I gonna build it in Arizona where the laws are more rational and the taxes are more rational?’ Increasingly, they choose other states.”

High taxes, unnavigable regulations, union domination, frivolous lawsuits, greenmail — pick your poison. All of these germs have agglomerated, over the years, to create a thick, impermeable layer of gunk smothering the culture of creativity of California’s small businesses.

With any luck this November, we can turn the tide — and maybe even steal some jobs back from Michigan.

Michael M. Rosen is an attorney with Fish & Richardson and a writer living in La Jolla and working in Carmel Valley. Reach him at michaelmrosen@yahoo.com.

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The Paris Herald reports on Orville Wright’s crash, Sept. 18, 1908. To read the paper’s account of the accident online, visit http://todayinsci.com/W/Wrights/AeroplaneWreckNewsclip2.htm

Remembering The Paris Herald

A G R E AT A M E R I C A N M O N U M E N T

By James Oliver Goldsborough

t was inevitable that the New York Times would do away with the International Herald Tribune, successor to the Paris Herald Tribune, of which it became part owner in 1966. After all, the New York Herald Tribune was the Times’ hated competitor for decades, both at home and abroad.

The Times, which eliminated the Washington Post from Herald Tribune ownership 10 years ago, says the name change has something to do with “digital subscribers,” who will be better served by what is now called the “International New York Times.”

I

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Are digital subscribers really so obtuse? Why didn’t Rupert Murdoch change the names of the Times of London, New York Post or Wall Street Journal into News Corp. or Fox News when he bought them to satisfy his digital subscribers? In these perilous newspaper times it makes sense to respect the names that connect us to the origins of great journalism, names that for decades, even centuries, have been instantly identifiable.

I have nothing against the New York Times. It is a great newspaper.

So was the New York Herald Tribune, which had one of the great jour-

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N E W S PA P E R S nalistic staffs of all time. But the Times and Herald Tribune were always separate and distinct and deserved to remain so.

The Times beat the Herald Tribune in New York, but the Herald Tribune was the better paper in Paris, where it existed for 126 years compared to the Times’ six.

The Times has treated Herald Tribune’s legacy as the communists do photos: Don’t like Leon Trotsky standing beside Stalin or Liu Shaoqi beside Mao: erase them; Kim Jong-un turns against his uncle: air brush uncle out. Alter history.

Any American traveling in Paris in the ‘The Paris Herald,’ a late 19th or early 20th century came novel, a novel by across the Paris Herald at one time or an- James Oliver Goldsborough, will be published other. It was available in the same kiosks by Prospecta Press on on the Champs Elysées kiosks and quais June 10. along the Seine as the latest article in l’Aurore by Zola or the newest installment by Proust in his never ending search for lost time. The Paris Herald, founded in 1887, belonged to Paris as much as Zola or Proust.

Between the world wars, that same traveler would have found the Herald not only in Paris but anywhere he went in France. Each evening at 10:30, trucks lined up along the rue du Louvre to receive stacks of newspapers fresh off the press and bound for the rail stations.

Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Gertrude Stein, Josephine Baker, any American who could afford to live or travel in France at the time could be sure his newspaper would be at the station in time for the 11 o’clock trains to the provinces.

In the 1920s — that brief, giddy interlude between catastrophes — Americans began to find the Herald in Northern Europe as well. Those same trucks from the rue de Louvre now carried newspapers each night to the Gars de l’Est, du Nord and St. Lazare for journeys northward.

Across Europe, the Paris Herald was the one way, the only way, to stay in touch with things American. In 1928, it became the first newspaper to be distributed by air, with daily planes to London. The Times was hardly known abroad.

James Gordon Bennett Jr., founder of the Paris Herald in 1887 and son of the founder of the New York Herald, died in Paris in 1918, but there was never any question of scrapping his newspaper. In 1924, with the merger of the New York Herald and New York Tribune, the Paris Herald became the Paris Herald Tribune and moved from the cramped rue du Louvre to the rue de Berri, off the spacious Champs Elysees. In all those years, the only break in publication came in the early 1940s. But Hitler was soon gone from Paris and the Herald Tribune back to the rue de Berri.

From Bennett, ownership passed to the Reids of New York and then to Jock Whitney, also of New York. As the American presence in Europe grew in the 1950s, the Paris Herald Tribune could be found everywhere in Europe, including in Communist East Europe, though behind the Iron Curtain they kept it under the counter.

Naturally, it attracted imitators. The Wall Street Journal planned and canceled a European edition in the early ’60s. The New York Times launched its Paris edition in 1961, but lacking the Herald’s ca-

chet, name and history, was never successful. In 1966, when union strikers forced the New York Herald Tribune to close its doors, the Washington Post bought into the Paris paper, having the good sense not to change the name to the International Washington Post.

The following year, 1967, the Times admitted failure, closing its money-losing Paris newspaper and buying a minority interest in the joint Whitney-Post Paris paper, hating every minute of it. The new paper was the International Herald Tribune, which had great success for 36 years before the Times strong-armed out the Post and another 11 years before the Times brushed it from history.

This act of journalistic hubris and contumely should not pass without recognition for a great American monument: the Paris Herald. It was as much America’s gift to France as the Statue of Liberty was France’s gift to America. It should not be allowed to disappear without a moment of remembrance and mourning.

James O. Goldsborough is an award-winning writer with a 40-year career in journalism, specializing in foreign affairs. Goldsborough spent 15 years in Europe as a foreign correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune, International Herald Tribune, Toronto Star and Newsweek Magazine before returning to America to resume his newspaper career as an editor and columnist for the San Jose Mercury-News and San Diego Union-Tribune. Currently, he writes a column for the Voice of San Diego.

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AUTO

NEW CAR REVIEW: The 2014 Acura MDX Acura has performed a Jenny Craig miracle with the new MDX. The just-updated 2014 is bigger and quicker. But it’s also much lighter (by more than 500 lbs.) and a whole lot less thirsty (28 on the highway now vs. 21 before).

Did I mention the new MDX costs less to start, too?

What It Is The MDX is a luxury-sport crossover SUV. Its main competition is the Lexus RX, but the MDX is sportier and, unlike the Lexus, the Acura comes standard with a third row and room for seven.

Prices for the 2014 — which has been thoroughly redesigned for the new model year — begin at $42,290 with FWD and top out at $56,505 for an AWD-equipped model with the optional Advance and Entertainment packages, the latter of which includes a wide-screen (16.2 inch) DVD system and 115V household-style power point.

One of the new MDX’s unusual tech features is a semi self-steering system. Also available is solar-sensing climate control that automatically adjusts interior temperature in accordance with the intensity of exterior sunshine.

What’s New The works. The 2014 MDX is built on an all-new platform — one not shared with the current Honda Pilot. Direct injection (a step up over mere EFI) is now standard equipment, and this contributes to the ’14’s improved performance and economy. Also, for the first time, AWD is no longer standard, which accounts for the lower to-start sticker price, as well as the lower as-it-sits curb weight.

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By Eric Peters

What’s Good Lighter, quicker, cheaper (to start) and much less thirsty than before. Available SHAWD system is more sophisticated than AWD systems in the competition. More adroit handling/feeling than the competition.

Cutting-edge technology. MDX offers things (SH-AWD) competitors don’t and does things (like steer itself ) that few competitors can do.

What’s Not So Good Complicated inputs/controls. Cutting-edge equipment such as the semi-automatic steering may encourage passive — inattentive — driving. Single-screen entertainment system is big picture, but makes it impossible for two people to watch different movies at the same time. Second row legroom has been reduced.

Under The Hood A V-6 teamed up with a six-speed automatic is still standard (no turbo four, as is the trend) but it’s smaller now (3.5 liters vs. 3.7 liters last year) and a bit less powerful (290 vs.

300 hp). Sad news? Nope, because the new MDX is incredibly more than 500 pounds lighter than the outgoing model (4,025 lbs. vs.

4,550 lbs.), which means the ’14’s power-toweight ratio is significantly higher than the stronger-on-paper 2013s. Adjusted for bulk, for the lack thereof, the ’14 MDX is realworld stronger than the 2013 MDX. The stopwatch tells the tale: Zero to 60 for the 2014 is 6.4-6.5 seconds (FWD/AWD) vs. over 7 for the powerful-on-paper but porkedout 2013. The difference also shows up at the pump. The new MDX rates 20 city/28 highway with FWD vs. a guzzlicious 16 city, 21 highway for the 2013. Even when equipped

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with the now-optional SH-AWD system, the 2014 is Unlike most other AWD systems, which are set up to be FWD dominant almost all of the time and which only kick power back to the rear wheels as a pair and only up to a certain percentage, the SH-AWD system is set up to mimic the power transfer (and thus, the road feel/handing) of a RWD vehicle when you’re really hammering it. This is done by routing most of the available power to the rear wheels under WOT. But that’s not all she does. The SH-AWD system keeps the MDX tracking true in the corners by modulating the power delivery to individual wheels, applying braking pressure (and then, power) as necessary to limit if not eliminate any sliding tendencies or loss of stability.

Equipped with SH-AWD, it almost impossible to ditch the MDX. In the snow, in the wet or on dry pavement.

On The Road In a sea of relative sameness, the MDX breaks right and barrel rolls like an F-18 that got tired of herding a group of C-130s. It is one of the few large crossovers that wants to play, and encourages you to join in. I’ve already expounded on the virtues of the SH-AWD system. To get something comparable, you’d need to go with something laid out RWD, like the BMW X5. But the move-bustin’ BMW has only two rows of seats and it starts at $53,725, and when ordered with a few bells and whistles (like AWD), the price approaches (and can easily exceed) $60k. That puts it in another orbit.

Speaking of orbits, the Acura offers something really far-out: A semi-automatic steering system called Agile Handling Assist

AUTO (yeah, I know - Acura loves clunky acronyms.

Just imagine how they sound in Japanese). Depress the little button on the steering wheel and a form of early automotive sentience is aroused.

Sensors mounted in the front of the vehicle “see” the painted lines on the road ahead and use these as reference points to keep the MDX in its lane — even in the curves — via computer-controlled steering. You feel the wheel cant left or right, making course corrections on its own. To be clear, it’s intended to provide assist — not to take over — and Acura is emphatic about not taking your hands off the wheel. But the fact that you can — and the car will steer itself — is a temptation many will not be able to resist.

Now the system is not foolproof — so do not be a fool. It sometimes fails to read the painted lines (if they are faded or simply not there) and it cannot self-steer beyond a certain point, as in a less than very mild curve. So resist the temptation to take your hands off the wheel, even to show off to your friends. And if you do, the car will ding (and flash) warnings when manual steering input (that’s you) is needed.

The reduction in unsprung mass — and the much higher power-to-weight ratio — makes the new MDX feel a lot more sprightly, in the corners and coming out of them. The MDX has always been among the best handling, most responsive vehicles of its type and now it’s noticeably better. It pulls harder and it’s not as necessary to put the pedal all the way down to access that pull.

Acura deserves kudos for maintaining these attributes without downsizing the MDX.

At The Curb Nothing in the MDX’s price ballpark that also handles also comes standard with — or

even offers — seven-passenger seating. It is the MDX’s second trump card. (The first being its innovative and uniquely capable SH-AWD system.) The BMW X5 is a fun-driver, but it only seats five. Ditto the hot roddy Infinit QX70 and the snarky Caddy SRX. The Lexus RX is also a two-row-only ride. You could move up to something bigger, a Buick Enclave, for instance. It can handle more people (up to eight). But it doesn’t handle. It wasn’t designed to. It’s a boozy downthe-road cruiser, a kid-carter and family trip mobile. As pretty much all three-row crossovers are ... except for the MDX. The new model, despite being so much lighter, is actually bigger footrpint-wise. Nearly three inches longer overall (194.3 inches for the ’14 vs. 191.6 for the ’13) and rides on a 111-inch wheelbase now vs. 108.3 inches previously.

Weirdly, and unfortunately, there is no appreciable increase in interior real estate (or cargo capacity). In fact, there is a bit less room overall.

Second-row legroom now stands at 36.6 inches vs. 38.7 previously. Since cargo space behind the third row remains about the same (15.8 cubic feet for the ’14 vs. 15 even for the ’13) the lost space has probably been given over to the third row, to make it more viable for other than tweens. It’s still a tight fit, though, and a tight squeeze.

Getting in and back out requires some limberness. If you lack it, forget it. The third row is kind of like the “break glass in case of emergency” fire extinguishers. It’s there if you really need it, but you hope you never need to use it. If you do need a third row that can comfortably handle adult humans, you will probably have to give up handling to get it and go get yourself something along the lines of the Enclave.

On the upside, the second row slides both ways (almost six inches of travel) allowing you to configure the cabin in such a way as to maxi-

mize the space for the occupants you're carrying.n which direction the threat is coming from.

The Rest My chief gripe with the MDX, current and former, is the less-than-user-friendly layout of the secondary controls. Many “inputs” require first scrolling through (or digging through) various layers of tap and click first. There are now two smaller flat screens instead of the former one, but the workings can still be intimidating and more than a little bit frustrating.

Haptic (tactile feedback) buttons help, but I still frequently found myself having to take my attention off the road and direct it to the center stack to try to keep track of what I was trying to do. To be fair to the MDX, this is a pretty common problem because of the exponentially increasing array of features being offered by higher-end cars. There is only so much space on the dashboard/center stack, hence the adoption of mutli-function buttons (and scrollthrough menus) in lieu of individual control buttons and switches. The fulsome scurvy truth is we are within sight now of the autonomous, self-driving car. It is just over the horizon.

Soon, cars will drive themselves and then we'll be free to play with all the toys all the time.

The Bottom Line Button happiness aside, if you’re looking for a crossover that handles — and can handle more than five — the MDX has to be on your short list.

Eric Peters is the author of Automotive Atrocities” and “Road Hogs” and a former editorial writer /columnist for The Washington Times, a contributor to Cars.Com, The CarConnection. com and SD METRO.

2014 Acura MDX Specifications: Base price: $42,290; as tested

(SH-AWD & Technology Package) $48,565.

Engine: 3.5 liter V-6, 290 hp

Transmission: six-speed automatic.

Length: 194.3 inches Width: 77.2 inches

Wheelbase: 111 inches Curb weight: 4,025 lbs.

Luggage capacity: 15.8 cubic feet

EPA fuel economy: 20city/28 highway (FWD) Where assembled: Lincoln, Ala.

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TBRAAV N KE ILN G

Torrey Pines Bank Models San Diego’s Iconic Tree Extends its roots deep into San Diego Eons before the arrival of human beings to the place now called Del Mar, there was one dominant tree species growing there, the Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana). Endemic to the coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion, it is the rarest pine species in the United States, growing only in San Diego County and on one of the Channel Islands.

A survivor of the Ice Ages, in its native habitat, Pinus torreyana learned how to adapt to dry and windy conditions, getting their water from the dense fog that often covers the coast, growing slowly in dry sandy soil with an extensive root system, twisting into beautiful sculptural shapes as they are battered by coastal winds.

For centuries before the arrival of Europeans, the Torrey pine was an important source of food and craft materials for local Kumeyaay Native Americans. In the 16th century these trees served as a prominent landmark to seafaring Spaniards on an otherwise bare coast. They gave the name “Punta des Arboles,” the Point of the Trees, to the current location of Torrey Pines State Reserve.

Inspired by its namesake, the Torrey Pines Bank is a prominent landmark in San Diego, focused on service to the community, helping its clients adjust to changing and challenging environments. Its ability to adapt makes the bank a viable institution for the long term, which brings comfort and confidence to its clients and the community.

Founded in 2003, Torrey Pines Bank is a division of Western Alliance Bank, with 11 offices throughout San Diego, Los Angeles and the Bay Area, with headquarters in Carmel Valley.

The bank’s success is attributed to its prudent banking practices, fi-

By Delle Willett

nancial capacity, strong focus on personalized attention, and commitment to providing customers with direct access to local experts who can help their clients advance their businesses and the local economy.

“Our team strives to be an integral part of the communities we serve.

This is true even at the highest level of our organization,” said Linda Stouffer, senior vice president, senior commercial lender, who works at the Downtown San Diego branch and has lived in San Diego for over 50 years.

“The majority of our bankers have a long history of banking experience to draw upon, which really pays off for the client, as we can provide the guidance and advice our business customer covet rather than just provide a loan or account,” said Stouffer.

Many on staff have had long-term relationships with their clients, spanning decades and include locally owned, privately held businesses, professional firms, local nonprofit organizations, high net-worth individuals, real estate professionals and developers, consumers wanting a personal banking relationship, and SBA 504 customers. By contrast, the average life of a business banking relationship is eight years.

So what makes the clients of Torrey Pines Bank stay with their bank?

“It’s our people,” said Robert McNamara, senior vice president and market manager for the bank’s Downtown and East County markets.

“We offer a high level of personalized service coupled with industry experience that is second to none.”

One of those niche markets is with San Diego’s legal professionals, The Torrey pine, the bank’s namesake.

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BANKING especially those in the Downtown area.

“We have an array of bankers with decades of experience and a depth of knowledge covering a wide range of specialty law firms. Contract law, litigation, public-agency law, malpractice, and construction defect law are some of the areas of expertise of the law firms who bank with us,” said McNamara, who has 29 years’ experience as a commercial lender and manRobert McNamara, ager in the San Diego market. senior vice president According to McNamara, professionals and market manager in the legal industry are looking for a for Torrey Pines Bank’s banker who can provide immediate feed- Downtown and East back and are decision-makers on loan re- County market quests. They are also seeking bankers who know the latest products and services available for the cash-management needs of their firm.

“Our Juris Banking program provides a suite of products and services which are tailored to meet the needs of law firms as well as the individual attorneys within the firm. The program also contains commercial banking benefits for firms and individuals who are members of the San Diego County Bar Association,” McNamara said.

The bank has also successfully focused on marketing to claims administrators and fiduciaries who manage fund disbursements and legal settlements.

“Our cash management products allow us to offer these clients multiple levels of deposit insurance to meet the fiduciary requirements for these types of accounts. Based on input provided by claims adminis-

trators throughout our market area, we have customized our check-clearing software to meet the requirements of these high-volume accounts,” said McNamara.

Torrey Pines Bank also has the unique advantage of having resources that surpass most community banks while they preserve the ability to adapt their offerings to each customer. For example, in the area of commercial real estate loans, as a division of Linda Stouffer, senior Western Alliance Bank, Torrey Pines Bank vice president, senior commercial lender for can offer loans three to five times larger than a typical local bank.

Torrey Pines Bank.

“Our lending practices have always been thorough, methodical and designed to reward established, well-qualified borrowers,” said Stouffer. “So while other community banks find themselves constrained by a lack of capital, deteriorating loan portfolios and lending limits, we’ll often provide financing others can’t.”

“While we are competitive with the larger banks from a rate perspective, I believe that our biggest attribute is our flexibility and creativity to customize our products to our clientele, providing them with varied services and products uniquely tailored for them,” Stouffer said.

Making San Diego its native habitat since 2003, the Torrey Pines Bank has set itself apart as a rare species of bank — extending its roots deep into San Diego, remaining flexible to the changing business climate, and evolving into being a prominent landmark institution in San Diego’s banking community.

MEN WHO IMPACT SAN DIEGO COMING IN JULY

NOMINATION DEADLINE: JUNE 30

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SPAWAR

DEFENSE

THE NAVY’S BIG ECONOMIC DRIVER

By Manny Cruz

An aerial view of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) headquarters in San Diego.

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T

DEFENSE

he headquarters of the Space and 19,000 jobs in San Diego County in Fiscal Naval Warfare Systems Command in Year 2014 and $1.6 billion in total personal San Diego is noted for its massive income (accounting for ripple and multiplier World War II-era buildings with the saweffects). tooth roofs. The elongated buildings stretch • SPAWAR will generate a total of $2.5 bilbetween Pacific Highway and Interstate 5, lion of output or GRP in Fiscal Year 2014. just west of Lindberth Field. These are the This amounts to nearly $800 for each San same buildings where Convair routinely Diego County resident or approximately pushed B-24 bombers out the door during the $2,200 for every household. war.

• SPAWAR directly employs more than Most San Diegans probably have seen the 4,900 individuals in San Diego County, which elongated buildings but not many would know puts it on a scale comparable to the 12 leadwhat goes on inside them. Officially, ing private sector employers in the region.

SPAWAR -- as it is called -- serves • SPAWAR employs a highly as the “Navy’s technical lead for skilled, experienced, and educated command, control, communicawork force, including over 160 tions, computers, intelligence surPhDs and 1,200 master’s degrees. veillance and reconnaissance, • With an average civilian salary providing the hardward and softof $105,000, SPAWAR employees ware to connect sailors at sea, on are compensated on par with their land and in the air.” private sector counterparts possessBasically, it is responsible for the ing advanced skill sets. information and communications “SDMAC’s study shows networks connecting the Navy’s SPAWAR is a huge economic sea, land, air, and cyber defenses. driver in the San Diego econThe San Diego Military Advi- Jamie Moraga, presiomy,” said Jamie Moraga, sory Council (SDMAC) in April dent of the the San SDMAC president. “One half of released its first economic impact Diego Military Advisory SPAWAR’s nearly 10,000 emstudy examining the impact of Council. ployees work in San Diego; their SPAWAR on the San Diego cyber and information technoleconomy and job market. ogy focus causes a vast ripple of Bottom line of the report: highly technical and skilled jobs SPAWAR will pump more than throughout the region.” $1.77 billion into the San Diego SPAWAR directly employs economy in fiscal 2014. nearly half of all the cybersecurity Commissioned and funded by jobs in San Diego and its presence SDMAC, the study was auin San Diego is a huge contributthored by Dr. Lynn Reaser, chief ing factor for many cyber compaeconomist at Point Loma nies to remain located in San Nazarene University’s FermanDiego, and its expansive research ian Business & Economic Instifacilities and cutting-edge laboratute, and principal author of the Dr. Lynn Reaser, author tories located in Point Loma are a study. unique National asset, according of the report.

Some of the highlights of the to the study. study: “SPAWAR’s ripple effect on San Diego’s • SPAWAR will pump over $1.77 billion economy works both ways,” said Moraga. into the San Diego economy in Fiscal Year “Just as increased defense spending creates 2014. Funds will flow through five primary jobs, a cut in defense spending will reverberchannels: SPAWAR employment and comate through the local economy.” pensation, contracts to private firms, spendWhat the Future Holds ing on operations and maintenance, smaller Looking ahead to Fiscal Year 2015, the purchases made through government purDepartment of Defense will be at the center chase cards, and associated tourism. of the conflict between national budget pres• SPAWAR will be responsible for nearly

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A B-24 bomber production line in the Consolidated Aircraft Corp. facility during World War II. The company later became Convair.

sures and the critical need to upgrade the nation’s technology for defense, the study says.

Even in the face of tremendous budget pressures and sequestration, the FY15 President’s Budget listed cyber security as one of the largest growth areas. On balance, dollars flowing into San Diego County linked to SPAWAR are expected to decrease 2.4 percent to $1.73 billion.

The study said SPAWAR/San Diego is now playing a vital role in upgrading the Navy’s entire fleet with new communications networks involving major advances in both software and hardware. The SPAWAR/San Diego nexus will be pivotal in supporting some of the Navy’s most important initiatives: developing unmanned undersea vehicles, expanding the Navy’s use of the electromagnetic spectrum, and continuing to develop the nation’s ability to dominate cyberspace.

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B A L B O A PA R K

Unveiling the Mystery of the Great White Shark 3D film aims to educate public on the endangered mammal “Great White Shark,” a new 3D film at the San Diego Natural History Museum, unravels the mystery of the creature we love to fear — the much maligned, misrepresented and misunderstood great white shark.

And the film goes to the depths of human daring to tell the true story of human daring to tell the true story of the shark’s role atop the ocean’s food chain.

“Our mission is to change people’s attitudes toward the great white,” said Steve McNicholas, co-director of the film, which will be on view until Dec. 31. “It’s not the menacing, evil predator it’s made out to be. It’s simply performing its crucial role at the top of the ocean’s food chain. Great whites are not monsters any more than the polar bears or lions that we revere.”

Three years in the making, Great White Shark takes viewers around the world to great white hotspots: the crystal clear waters of Mexico’s legendary Guadalupe Island; newly-discovered shark territory around Stewart Island off the southernmost tip of New Zealand; the bone-chilling waters of South Africa’s “flying” great whites; and finally to the California coast near heavily-populated Los Angeles.

The film examines what we know about these incredible animals through the eyes of several people whose lives and work have become inextricably linked to the great white.

Using revolutionary high-speed, digital IMAX cameras in South Africa, filmmakers captured the great white breaching for the first time in 3D. Distributed by Giant Screen Films, “Great White Shark” is produced by Yes/No Productions and Liquid Pictures 3D. It is narrated by acclaimed stage and film actor Bill Nighy.

To gain worldwide awareness of the plight of all sharks, “Great White Shark” has teamed with notable

international conservation organizations Oceana and WildAid to educate viewers about the fate of sharks at the hands of Earth’s greatest predator of them all — humans.

“Over one-third of all open-ocean shark species are endangered and up to 73 million sharks are killed by fishermen every year to make shark fin soup that is sold throughout Asia,” said Peter Knights, executive director of WildAid. “A shark is finned and 98 percent of the shark is dumped back into the ocean to die.”

Dr. Geoff Shester, California program director of Oceana, said that juvenile great whites are regularly caught as by-catch in gillnets in certain fisheries off California and Mexico, yet scientists estimate only a few hundred adult and juvenile great white sharks remain in the entire West Coast population. Oceana is working to protect this population of great whites by winning endangered species status for these sharks from the state of California and the federal government.

“Their future is now in our hands,” said Shester.

“Listing great white sharks as an endangered species is the best way to afford reasonable protections from fishing, while promoting research to ensure they remain part of the ocean ecosystem for another million years to come. WildAid is very pleased to be associated with this film that will help us raise public awareness and educate people about the real danger to sharks.”

D.J. Roller, producer and director of photography for “Great White Shark,” said the film dazzles because his uniquely designed camera enabled him to capture much higher resolution and better slow motion underwater than ever before. “We were determined to bring audiences something truly ground-breaking in a shark film,” he said.

Giant Screen Films is one of the world’s leading Divers filming a great white.

Free diver and shark.

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large-format/giant screen film production and distribution companies. GSF’s mission is to create and share films that push the boundaries of the large- format medium, challenging the imaginations of children and adults alike. At the core of this mission is a dedication to the partnerships that bring a diverse range of subjects to the screen and, through meaningful educational collaborations, extend each film’s impact beyond the theater.

Founded in 1992 by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, Yes/No Productions was originally established to manage the enterprise of their world-renowned rhythm-based show, “STOMP.” Since its founding, the firm has created and developed large-format and feature-length films and programming for network and cable television.

Liquid Pictures produces and collaborates with many of the world’s leading media companies. The company’s creativity and expertise spans stereoscopic production; from designing its own groundbreaking 3D camera systems, refining shooting techniques and 3D workflow to final screen presentation in 3D theaters and homes. The proprietary Liquid Pictures 3D Digital Cinema Camera System technology is among the most advanced in the world.

Oceana is the largest international advocacy group working solely to protect the world’s oceans. Since 2001, the group has protected millions of square miles of ocean and innumerable sea turtles, sharks, dolphins and other sea creatures. More than 550,000 supporters have already joined Oceana. Global in scope, Oceana has offices in North, South and Central America and Europe.

For show times and to watch the trailer, visit www.sdnat.org/giantscreentheater.

H E A LT H C A R E

UC San Diego Researchers Try To Quiet Noisy Hospitals Noise pollution contributes to patient and nurse stress When San Diegan Merry Maisel’s 92year-old mother entered the hospital after a fall in 2002, she was put in an intensive care overflow unit with six other patients. There were heart monitors beeping, TVs on and loud chatter from the nurses’ station.

Maisel believes that noisy hospital visit started her mother’s downward spiral. “She would jerk at each noise. She would shudder,” Maisel said. “She must have felt it as an attack.”

Maisel’s mother died six weeks later, from complications stemming from the fall.

Noise in hospitals has been a problem for decades.

Studies show that noise not only disturbs patients’ sleep, it can also cause spikes in blood pressure.

Eve Edelstein, an associate professor at the University of Arizona as well as a neuroscientist and architect, has measured the sound levels in hospital emergency rooms during shift changes as new staff enters the building.

“All of the equipment is going for 20 patients. And now 20 more nurses walk in and they’re each having one-to-one conversations about each patient’s status and everyone’s speaking above the level of the EKG alarm and the overhead announcements and the ventilator systems,” Edelstein explained.

Sirens and sounds from nearby ambulance bays also add to ER noise.

Normal speech measures between 45 and 65 decibels. During those shift changes in ERs, Edelstein has measured sound levels as high as 100-110 decibels. “That’s as loud as a jet engine,” Edelstein said.

It’s not just a problem for the patients.

Hospital staff have told Edelstein that noise pollution contributes to their stress. One nurse said her ears ring after she leaves the hospital.

Edelstein is working with UC San Diego music and sonic arts professor Peter Otto on ways to reduce hospital noise. Otto has a lab at UC San Diego’s California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, or Calit2.

Otto has developed a device called the sound bender. It’s small, the size of a cable box. It has 12 speakers and can direct sound like a laser beam. In a clinical setting, that laser beam could be directed at a nurses’ station.

“We’d like to be able to do announcements that just the nurses can hear and that are not going to wake up patients when they’re dozing,” Otto said.

The sound bender points sound in a distinct direction and doesn’t let it spill over.

Otto demonstrates how it can create three distinct sound zones in roughly 14 feet of space.

We stand on one side of the sound bender and listen to muzak coming from the speakers. I walk four feet to the center of the room and the sound shifts to multiple voices in a public space. Four feet to the opposite side and the sound tapers to one woman’s voice.

As I listen to the woman talking, I am standing just feet from the clamor I heard moments ago in the center of the room. I can no longer hear it.

The sound bender could be used to efficiently direct sound to only the people who need to hear it. Like in operating rooms, explained Otto, where there are a lot of alarms.

“What if we just had the interesting messages for the anesthesiologist pointed at him and the things the surgeon needs to pay attention to are only directed to his or her listening space?” Otto said. “The nurses might have another stream they are paying attention to.”

Otto is working on more than the sound bender.

Sounds bounce around a hospital. There are not a lot of absorptive materials on walls, floors, or ceilings. They’re hard to clean, so most hospitals have hard surfaces.

In his lab, Otto can test combinations of building materials to reduce noise and enhance sound clarity.

Sitting in front of his computer, we look at a virtual patient room. A nurse reads medications with names that sound alike, such as aspirin and adrenaline.

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By Angela Carone

Otto changes the room’s building materials to see which allows us to hear the nurse more clearly. First he installs vinyl concrete, which creates an extreme echo. Otto switches to four walls of plate glass. When he adds heavy carpet, the nurse's voice becomes clear and sharp.

He can alter the size and shape of the room, which also changes the acoustics. Experimenting like this is cost effective. Architects don't have to draw up expensive mock ups. More importantly though, mixing these elements allows designers to better predict sound clarity in hospital rooms.

Otto specialized in music composition and cello performance, but he’s always been fascinated by the physics of sound. He started thinking about sound in clinical environments when observing his young autistic son at kindergarten. There was a large heating and air conditioning unit, or HVAC, on the roof of the temporary mobile unit where class was held.

“There was vibration and low frequency and high frequency HVAC noise in that room and the kids were just bouncing off the walls,” Otto said.

The way to fix this seemed simple to Otto, but no one seemed to be paying attention.

“It could be so much more of a healthy, relaxed, focused environment,” Otto said. “I started thinking about it more seriously and professionally.”

Maisel, whose mother suffered during her hospital stay, says just paying attention to hospital noise will make a difference for patients.

“There’s noise everywhere,” she acknowledged. “Because of that, people treat it as tertiary and say there’s nothing you can do about it,”Maisel said.

“But if people did something about noise (in the hospital), I think they’d see better outcomes.”

Angela Carone is arts and cultural reporter for KPBS.

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AV I AT I O N

MYTHS ABOUT SAN DIEGO’S DRONE INDUSTRY

Ocean Aero’s Submaran Unmanned Underwater Surface Vessel (UUSV).

MORE THAN A DOZEN COMPANIES PLAY A ROLE

BY LISA HALVERSTADT | VOICE OF SAN DIEGO

San Diego’s drone industry is at least somewhat grounded by misunderstandings about how its systems work and what they are allowed to do.

The FAA has weighed rules surrounding business uses of drones for years, a process slowed by widespread fears they could invade Americans’ privacy or pose safety risks.

This, coupled with the complex dynamics of this relatively new industry, has allowed some big myths about the industry to fester.

Let’s clear up a few of them.

Many folks associate drones with robots that blindly follow a mission or even boldly set out on their own.

But the unmanned aircrafts flying today still require a human pilot manning the controls on the ground. Depending on the system, this could mean someone is holding a controller or sitting in front of a more sophisticated computer system. Some drones incorporate GPS. “The vehicle itself isn’t just going out and flying and making decisions,” said Ben Gielow, senior government relations manager for the industry’s lobbying arm, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Sys-

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tems International.

That’s not to say drones won’t ever determine their own paths.

A couple years ago, Northrop Grumman debuted a drone known as the X-47B that can fly – and even land on an aircraft carrier – on its own. The Navy acquired two X-47Bs but retired them to military museums last year after lots of testing.

Still, military leaders say they can override a drone’s software-generated plans.

San Diego is home to two big drone companies The presence of two major drone-makers in San Diego was enough for outsiders to dub San Diego the U.S. drone hub.

Yes, Northrop Grumman and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which both primarily produce unmanned systems for the military, are here – but they’re not the only drone companies in town.

So far, I’ve found more than a dozen other companies that play some role in the drone industry. Examples include 3D Robotics, which largely sells small systems to hobbyists and farmers, and Datron World Communications, a distributor of one of the more popular military and law en-

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forcement systems.

Many of these smaller companies stand to see an uptick in business once the FAA releases regulations for commercial drone flights. Those rules aren’t expected to be in place until at least next year, which is why some companies operate virtually undercover.

Drones are just flying machines The latest drone debate largely revolves around the devices that move up in the air but they’re not the only unmanned systems.

San Diego alone is home to a handful of companies that design or service sophisticated gizmos that dive underwater or drive around without a human on board.

Ocean Aero in Point Loma is working on a scavenging vessel that can be used to monitor everything from water quality to marine animals, and SeaBotix builds underwater drones that can record and retrieve objects under the sea.

Then there’s Vision Robotics in Sorrento Valley, which produces robots that can thin lettuce and prune grapes, and 5D Robotics in Carlsbad, which develops software for a variety of ground drones.

AV I AT I O N General Atomics’ Predator Avenger C.

The U.S. is at the forefront of drone use.

The U.S. has the world’s largest military drone fleet but experimentation elsewhere surpasses what American businesses are doing.

Yamaha has long supplied Japanese farmers with RMAX helicopters they use to spray their crops with fertilizers and pesticides.

They’re now used in South Korea and Australia too.

The Associated Press recently detailed some other schemes taking flight overseas: www.wtop.com/256/3583891/US-lags-as-commercial-drones-take-off-around-globe Television networks use drones to cover cricket matches in Australia. Zookal, a Sydney company that rents textbooks to college students, plans to begin delivering books via drones later this year.

The United Arab Emirates has a project underway to see whether government documents like driver’s licenses, identity cards and permits can be delivered using small drones.

In the United Kingdom, energy companies use drones to check the undersides of oil platforms for corrosion and repairs, and real estate agents use them to shoot videos of pricey properties. In a publicity stunt last June, a Domino’s Pizza franchise in the U.K. posted a YouTube video of a “DomiCopter” drone flying over fields, trees and homes to deliver two pizzas.

U.S. drone makers are pushing similar uses here – particularly for farmers – but a lack of clarity on whether drones can fly for commercial purposes has partly hindered the drone industry here. The FAA essentially banned commercial flights in 2007 and attorneys on both sides are now arguing whether the agency has the authority to enforce a regulation that wasn’t formally approved.

As a result, some U.S. manufacturers are actually selling Vision Robotics of Sorrento Valley is devel- more drones to interoping a robot that can identify and har- national customers vest fruit from an orchard, without human than those in their

home country.

Jill Meyers, senior manager at 3D Robotics in Otay Mesa, told Voice of San Diego about 70 percent of her company’s sales are with consumers overseas or across the border.

“Because they don’t have the restrictions,” Meyers said.

From media partner Voice of San Diego.

intervention.

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SMALL BUSINESS

San Diego Small Business Awards Honorees to be feted at June 11 awards program The San Diego district office of the Small Business Administration announced its 2014 Small Business Week Award winners, who will be honored at a June 11 awards breakfast at the Town and Country Resort and Conference Center in Mission Valley.

The award winners: Small Business Team of the Year John Tyszka, CEO; Chip Prescott, CFO & Steve Patterson, COO, Precision One Medical Inc. (Oceanside) Small Business Exporter of the Year (San Diego District Winner and SBA Region IX Winner) Paul Thomas, president/founder, Julian Hard Cider ( Julian).

Minority-Owned Small Business of the Year Deborah Hamilton, president, Teehee Engineering Inc. (Oceanside).

Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year Michael Bilodeau, owner/president/CEO, IO Environmental & Infrastructure Inc. (San Diego).

Women-Owned Small Business of the Year Annie Aguilar, president/principal engineer, San Dieguito Engineering Inc. (Encinitas).

Financial Services Champion of the Year Dominique Molina, CPA, co-founder and president, The American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches (San Diego).

Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year Karen Linehan, San Diego Unified School District (San Diego).

Women In Business Champion of the Year Felena Hanson, president and founder, Hera Hub Inc. (San Diego).

Region IX Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Christopher Pohle, CEO, Tactical Edge Inc. (San Diego).

Selected Awards George Chandler Leadership Award Jeanette Alessio-Way, founder, The History Lady (La Mesa).

Anthony Vigil Small Business Advocacy Award Sudershan Shaunak, director, North San Diego Small Business Development Center (Oceanside).

District Director’s Environmental Excellence Award J. Eric Taylor, Enalasys Corporation (Calexico).

Director’s Award for Early Graduation Samuel Flores, president, PKL Services Inc. (Poway).

Director’s Award for Business Creativity & Growth Steven Raketich, co-founder, Backyard X-Scapes Inc. (San Diego).

Director’s Award for SBA Mission Support Rod Means, district president, SCORE (San Diego).

The June 11 Small Business Awards Breakfast is sponsored by SBA and the North San Diego Small Business Development Center. It will be held from 8 to 11:30 a.m. at the Town & Country Resort & Conference Center. The cost is $50 per person. More information and registration is available at www.sandiegosmallbiz.com.

Minority Small Business Champion of the Year Elaine Richardson, manager of small business development, SANDAG (San Diego).

Small Business Journalist of the Year Neil Senturia & Barbara Bry, entrepreneurship columnists, U-T San Diego. Nominator: Cliff Boro, CEO, The Team Group

Michael Bilodeau, owner/president/CEO, IO Environmental & Infrastructure Inc.,San Diego, Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year.

Paul Thomas, Small Business Exporter of the Year, San Diego district winner and SBA Region IX winner.

Small Business Team of the Year: John Tyszka, CEO; Chip Prescott, CFO and Steve Patterson, COO, Precision One Medical Inc. in Oceanside.

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Annie Aguilar, president/principal engineer, San Dieguito Engineering Inc., Encinitas, WomenOwned Small Business of the Year.

A wall drawing at DZ Akin’s.

MOUTH-WATERING

ENTREES

EXTRAORDINARY

& DESSERTS

D E L I - C I O U S D Z A K I N ’ S C E L E B R AT E S 3 4 Y E A R S

By David Rottenberg

Triple decker

Customers were lined up three deep at the takeout counter at DZ Akin’s, waiting to pick up fish, chicken, brisket, matzo and other goodies essential for the Passover holiday. But no bread. Bread is not part of the Seder celebration.

In the adjacent dining room, diners were biting into delicious mile-high pastrami sandwiches, overflowing salad bowls, chicken soup with matzo balls, mouthwatering entrees, and extraordinary desserts.

The bakery was pumping out huge bagels, full seeded rye breads and other wonderful products.

There are only a few “deli’s” in San Diego County, particularly ones that serve that

Chocolate Eclair

kind of menu available at DZ Akin’s. This restaurant, located in the College area, is perhaps the oldest deli and certainly one of the best.

Founded in 1980 in a small store in a strip shopping center, DZ Akin’s is about to celebrate 34 years of service to the community.

The small shop has expanded over the years, absorbing adjacent stores to the point that it now occupies the entire building. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, operates a successful catering business and has a small gift shop on the premises selling specialty items that are appropriate for holidays like Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year and Passover, the holiday of redemption.

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Throughout the year, racks of loaves of breads run along the back wall next to challeh, braided sacramental breads used on Sabbath and Jewish holidays. Boxes of matzo, halavah and other packaged goods divide the arc of displays.

It started off as a family affair. Debbi Akin (the “D” of the restaurant’s name) operated the “front of the house,” sitting on a high stool like a queen to survey her servers helping diners. At the same time, her husband Zvika the “Z” of the restaurant’s name) worked the “back of the house,” making sure that all the dishes the left the small kitchen met their high standards of quality and appearance.

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R E S TA U R A N T R E V I E W

Cream Puff

The loaves.

Debbi’s father, wearing lots of gold chains and a golden smile, roamed the restaurant, greeting guests and welcoming friends.

The word “delicatessen” comes from German and means “delicacies.” There are many types of “deli” — German, Polish and others. DZ Akin’s is a Jewish deli and serves such delicacies as kugel, kishke and kreplach.

If you’ve never tried this cuisine, you’re in for a treat.

The restaurant adheres to a simple success formula — give customers lots of delicious food. Prices may a a bit higher at the margins but customers always leave satisfied and never hungry. I can order a dinner entrée, eat my fill and still have enough left over for breakfast and maybe lunch (I love cold leftover dinner food for breakfast).

The success formula works! DZ Akin’s has a large following of devoted customers who delight in the casual ambiance, the speed of the service, and the consistency of

good, tasty dishes. The menu is quite large, so there’s always something that will satisfy and breakfast is served all day. Who isn’t happy when ordering a Lox & Whitefish Platter that comes with large bagels, cream cheese, sliced tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and Greek olives?

Now, the business is managed by Debbie and Zvika’s son, Elan, who left a promising career in television production in order to take over the family business. It is a family business, so you know that everything will be done right.

The recipes that have pleased so many and for so many years come from a number of sources. Some are old family recipes, some are “old world” dishes, some were created inhouse. The ingredients are always fresh (they sell so quickly that delivery trucks are always replenishing) and of highest quality.

Meats are from the Midwest and nitrate free. Turkey is low sodium.

“Today’s customer has become very health conscious and we’ve oriented ourselves to providing good healthful cuisine,” Elan said proudly. And loyal customers know what to expect. That’s why they come back.

Who doesn’t love a bargain? Check out the breakfast and early bird specials for pricing that will not only satisfy one’s appetite but one’s wallet as well.

DZ Akin’s Restaurant & Deli is located in the Alvarado area, just down the road from San Diego State and conveniently off Interstate 8. Parking is free. Prices are moderate. Portions are memorable. Reservations are not taken. Be sure to check out the fabulous bakery and takeout offerings. The pastry tastes as good as it looks. The meats and fish taste as good at home.

DZ Akin’s is located at 6930 Alvarado Road, San Diego 92120. Call (619) 2650218 for information and directions.

DZ Akin’s is located at 6930 Alvarado Road, just down from San Diego State.

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