Shelter Island’s Driscoll Boat Works is rolling out a new 150-ton mobile hoist from Wisconsin-based marina boat handling equipment maker Marine Travelift.
The company said upgrading the hoist marks the start of a $4.5 million renovation project that includes lease renewal negotiations with the Port of San Diego.
The hoist, which replaces the old one in use since 1992, will boost efficiency and productivity at the boatyard, according to a news release.
The new, larger hoist is designed to meet California’s environmental standards.
The boatyard’s renovation features extensive improvements such as adding 200 feet of wharf and installing 7,000 square feet of solar panels.
Other parts of the plan call for even more renovations, which will include adding 200 linear feet of marginal wharf, resurfacing the existing concrete yard, building two new enclosed boat sheds and installing 7,000 square feet of solar panels.
A spokesperson for Driscoll said the 77-year-old business is excited about improving the facility and is looking forward to continuing its partnership with the port.
Gerald Driscoll founded the facility in 1947 and the site has been family-owned and operated for three generations, according to the release.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed highly regarded businessman and civic leader Phil Blair to an agency that runs the San Diego County Fair.
Blair fills a vacant position on the nine-member 22nd District Agricultural Association Board, which owns and operates the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
Blair is joining the board three months before the start of the 2024 fair, which is one of the biggest annual community celebrations in the region.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Blair is one of San Diego’s “most visible and respected business leaders.” Along with partner Mel Katz, the two have built Manpower of San Diego into the largest Manpower franchise in the U.S. with annual sales exceeding $150 million.
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The U.S. Department of Energy will commit up to $72.8 million in loan guarantees to finance development of a solar storage microgrid on lands owned by the Viejas Band of the Kumeyaay Indians in Alpine. The commitment is first through the Tribal Energy Financing Program, which was expanded under an act of Congress.
The act takes the largest action on climate and clean energy in American history, providing funding for tribes adapting to climate change, according to a news release.
The project will provide the tribe with reliable renewable energy and storage with the installation of a 15 MW photovoltaic solar generation system and a 38 MWh battery storage system.
This project is expected to create 250 construction jobs and eight permanent jobs.
The project has previously received more than $30 million through a grant from the state Energy Commission.
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The local nonprofit consortium Life Science Cares San Diego has released its 2023 Impact Report, outlining the organization’s extensive community efforts during the year.
In a news release, the organization said it aimed to increase local community members’ access to “needs, education, and opportunity by harnessing resources provided by members of the local life science community.”
Life Science Cares is a collective effort of the local life sciences industry to reduce the impact of poverty in the community.
Nearly 613,000 residents are living in poverty, and this is increasing due to the impact of Covid-19, according to its website.
The nonprofit awarded more than $1.2 million in grants to area nonprofits, aided 3,000 students with educational access, provided more than 180,000 meals, facilitated connections for over 3,000 under-resourced youth with professional opportunities in the life science industry and helped more than 100 residents with rental and housing support.
Executive director Leane Marchese said in response to the report, “We are incredibly proud to present our Impact Report for 2023, which serves as a testament to the collective efforts and unwavering dedication of our organization and community to erase poverty.”
With hubs in Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and New York, the nonprofit said it has invested $16.2 million and tens of thousands of volunteer hours in various communities.
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The boutique 23-room Pearl Hotel in San Diego has been rated among the top 50 hotels nationwide, as recognized by the travel magazine Fifty Grande.
The list of hotels was part of the publication’s first “Greatest Hotels Ever” awards, as nominated by readers.
Properties selected had to be located in the U.S., charging rates under $350 per night.
Local architect Robert Platt designed the property in the late 1950s and the facility operated as Sportsman’s Lodge throughout the 1960s.
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The overall Wall Beds Market is projected to increase by $1.05 billion over the five years between 2022 to 2027. This represents an annual compound growth rate of 6.5%, according to a new report from market researcher technavio.
One of the beneficiaries of this growth include Murphy Beds of San Diego.
The Technavio report noted that the wall beds market is fragmented owing to the presence of many global and regional companies.
According to a quick search on the internet, Murphy Beds is a family-owned furniture store located on Miramar Road.
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Finally, this bit of cheer.
The state’s single-family housing market continued to demonstrate resilience in February, reaching sales levels not seen since September 2022, the state’s influential California Association of Realtors said in a new report released this week.
The news was even better for San Diego’s housing market.
The median price of a home sold in San Diego was $980,00 in February, up nearly 6% from the $925,000 median price in January, and up nearly 12% from the median sales price of $878,000 in February of last year.
Home sales jumped 21% month over month, according to the report.
Statewide, the median price recorded a good year-over-year gain in February, gaining 10% in 2023 to $806,490 in February 2024 from $735,300 in February 2023.
The Golden State’s median home price was 2.2 percent higher than January’s $789,480. The near-double-digit, year-over-year gain was the eighth straight month of annual price increases for the Golden State, the report said.
February’s sales pace jumped 12.8 percent higher from the revised 257,040 homes sold in January and rose 1.3% from a year ago.
Tom York is a Carlsbad-based independent journalist who specializes in writing about business and the economy. If you have news tips you’d like to share, send them to tom.york@gmail.com.
