San Diego Hospice to cease operations
While seeking court approval to transition patients and some staff to Scripps Health, San Diego Hospice announced Wednesday, Feb. 13 its decision to cease operations after years of serving the community. The organization stated plans to file for bankruptcy the previous week. Under the transition plan, Scripps Health, which acquired Horizon Hospice on Feb. 4, will take over patients currently managed by the nonprofit that decide to choose Scripps as their provider. The settlement will also include the San Diego Hospice buildings, their electronic medical record license, associated computer equipment, as well as enough employees to care for the patients that transfer their care. “This is obviously a difficult decision for all of us associated with San Diego Hospice. The plan we have put forward will allow us to take immediate steps to stop incurring debt, which increases every day we remain in operation,” said Kathleen Pacurar, CEO of San Diego Hospice in the announcement. “We are taking this course after many months of discussions to resolve our financial challenges, including talks with Scripps asking for their help. Our decision to file bankruptcy was based on our need to maintain continuity of patient care as we worked through the details of this plan. We believe this is the best course for our patients and their families, and for San Diego Hospice.” Proceeds from Scripps’ purchase of the building would assist San Diego Hospice with existing bills and allow it to eliminate increasing debt. If the court accepts the transition plan, the transition should be completed within 30 days. “San Diego Hospice has provided an important service to this community for many years and we are saddened that they are no longer able to continue their mission,” said Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health. “In our talks with San Diego Hospice, we both agreed that we did not want to see patients fall through the cracks during this process, and we wanted to help as many hospice employees as we could. Our hope is that the court will accept the whole set of proposals so that there can be a smooth transition of care for these patients, and there are opportunities for San Diego Hospice staff to remain employed to continue providing that care.”
Albert Einstein Academies re-certify staff for lock-down & safety skills
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, South Park-based Albert Einstein Academies, which include two schools – the Albert Einstein Academy Charter Middle School (AEACMS) and the Albert Einstein Academy Charter Elementary School (AEACES) – trained 80 staff members on school safety and lock down recertification. The training, called A.L.i.C.E. for Alert, Lockdown, inform, Counter and Evacuate, is part of the Active Shooter Response Training provided by Response Options, a critical-incident response training company. A.L.i.C.E. has been implemented across 18 states and 330 educational institutions nationwide. “At the leadership level, we often discuss ways to better train our staff to handle emergency situations that will likely be chaotic, involve fear or the threat of violence,” said David Sciarretta, principal at AEACMS in a press release. “Our objective with the A.L.i.C.E. training is to empower our personnel so we can be prepared, stay safe and not allow ourselves or the students in our care to become victims.” The local charter schools are tuition-free and AEACMS is the first of its kind in San Diego to offer International Baccalaureate continuum with an emphasis on German and Spanish languages. “In addition to maintaining our certification in A.L.i.C.E. training on an annual basis through a follow-up online module, we also plan to incorporate this program into all new staff member training at Albert Einstein Academies,” said Jeannette Vaughn, principal at the academy’s elementary school in the same release. For more information about the schools, visit aeaces.org or aeacms.org.
Technology incubator launches in Bankers Hill
CyberHive San Diego is a new non-profit technology incubator that focuses on creating cyber security and analytics jobs in San Diego. The organization’s launch and ribbon cutting was held Wednesday, Feb. 13 at the Manpower Building, located at 1855 First Ave. in Bankers Hill. Council President Todd Gloria, Council President Pro Tem Sherri Lightner, Councilmember Kevin Faulconer and other business and civic leaders were in attendance. “My hope is that CyberHive San Diego will help local start-up companies succeed, grow and eventually become larger companies with thousands of employees,” Gloria said in a press release. CyberHive San Diego is based on the CyberHive Maryland program and has the capability to incubate as many as 20 applicants. The organization that is currently led by a board of advisors from other organizations including General Dynamics, Qualcomm, CyberHive/Cyber Maryland, NSA and SINET. “The threat of cyber attacks is real and so is the opportunity for San Diego to be at the forefront of this vital and growing industry,” Lightner said. “CyberHive is going to be instrumental in creating the companies and developing the workforce we need to effectively respond to the threat of cyber attacks.” Clients are treated as businesses from the start and will receive business plans, help identifying investors and help to prepare their products for the market. In return for these services, CyberHive requires clients to provide an equity position to ensure the program remains sustainable well into the future. For more information about CyberHive San Diego email [email protected].
San Diego Musical Theatre presents Chicago
For their first production in their 2013 season, San Diego Musical Theatre announced that Kander and Ebb’s Chicago will open this Friday, Feb. 15 and continue through March 3 at the Birch North Park Theatre. Director Ron Kellum leads the cast with his 21-year career in the entertainment industry. The musical is based in the roaring 1920s Chicago, where Roxie Hart (played by Emma Radwick) murders her faithless lover and convinces her husband, Amos, to take the rap. Once Amos finds out that he has been duped, he turns on Hart and she is convicted and sent to death row. Hart and Velma Kelly (played by Kyra Da Costa) battle it out for the headlines and ultimately join forces for fame, fortune and acquittal. Audiences can expect choreographed works by Randy Slovacek and music from award-winning music director, Don LeMaster. Show times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Single ticket rates start at $26. The Birch North Park Theatre is located at 2891 University Ave. For more information visit sdmt.org.
SANDAG appoints Todd Gloria as Chair of Transportation Committee
Council President and District Three Representative Todd Gloria was appointed to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) chair, announced Jan. 29. “I am grateful to SANDAG Chair Jack Dale for selecting me for this position,” Gloria said in a press release, “and am excited about tackling this critical issue from a regional perspective.” SANDAG is the regional planning agency for transportation, and develops the Regional Transportation Plan to implement long-range vision for buses, trolleys, streetcars, rail, highways, major streets, bicycle travel, walking, goods movement and airport services. SANDAG has been pursuing other alternative-transportation and active-transportation projects, such as the Regional Bike Corridor projects in North Park–Mid-City and Uptown. Gloria has been a member of the Transportation Committee for the past four years. “I am well aware of the transportation-related challenges that face our region: air quality, scarcity of available land, growing population, lack of infrastructure for active transportation, funding, and a public transportation system that is not seen as efficient, are just a few,” Gloria said. “I will proudly voice District Three’s and the City of San Diego’s priorities and concerns to my SANDAG Transportation Committee colleagues, and know we will make great progress as a region in the coming year.”
Special Delivery receives Weingart Foundation grant
Ruth Henricks, executive director of Special Delivery San Diego, announced in a press release the organization was awarded a $20,000 grant from the Weingart Foundation. Special Delivery is a non-profit nutrition-services organization that serves people with AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses in San Diego. “We are thrilled to receive this very generous award from such a prestigious Southern California organization, Henricks said. “This contribution will be used to help us continue our work of providing our nutritious meal-delivery service and onsite food pantry to over 1,000 unduplicated men, women and children annually in 14 central San Diego neighborhoods.” Special Delivery has served more than 1.7 million meals to more than 4,700 clients since 1991. Their Mission Hills onsite food pantry provides more than 1,000 people annually with pre-packed grocery bags of nonperishable nutritious food items. The pantry also offers clients the ability to shop at no cost for fresh produce and bakery items as well as refrigerated and frozen foods per visit. The Weingart Foundation supports nonprofit organizations in the areas of health, human services and education across seven Southern California counties, providing more than $910 million in grants since 1972.
Atkins appointed to three key posts
Assembly Majority Leader Toni Atkins was appointed to serve on three leadership positions by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. The three positions are the Assembly Select Committee on Homelessness, the Assembly on the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and one of two Assembly representatives on the California Historic and Cultural Endowment. “In order to preserve California’s unique quality of life, it is important that we look both forward to the future and back to the past. The Ocean Protection Council and the Historic and Cultural Endowment serve both of those goals,” Atkins said in a press release. “Many of our fellow Californians have no place to live but the streets and cannot share in the golden dream of California. That is why the work of the Select Committee on Homelessness is so important. I am honored and grateful to Speaker Pérez for appointing me to leadership positions on these critical bodies.” Atkins has served as the chair for the Committee on Homelessness for the past two years and was renewed as its chair for the current two-year legislative session. The OPC, which Atkins held a position on during the 2010-2012 legislative session, is a state body that focuses on protecting California’s ocean and coastal ecosystems. The California Historic and Cultural Endowment program is part of the California State Library that provides grants to preserve historic artifacts that are important to our state’s cultural legacy.
Lambda Archives receive DADT transcript from Rep. Davis
On Jan. 24, Congressmember Susan Davis visited and toured the Lambda Archives of San Diego in University Heights. Archives Board President Maureen Steiner introduced Davis to several staff, volunteers and board members, and gave a brief history of the organization. “It’s so rewarding to know the rich history of the LGBT community recorded by the Lambda Archives. As a member of Congress, my visit to the Lambda Archives encourages me to continue to work hard on behalf of the LGBT community,” Davis said in a press release. As a founding member of the LGBT Equality Caucus, Davis has been a strong ally of the LGBT community. Lambda Archives head archivist Kelly Revak gave Davis a tour of the facilities, including the exhibit area, processing rooms and archival collections. “It has been a true pleasure to be involved in an organization doing such good work, and to witness the changes as we increase our visibility and community profile,” Revak said in the release. At the end of the visit, Davis donated an official transcript of the hearings to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” in which she played an integral part. “Helping to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ was one of [my] proudest legislative accomplishments,” Davis said. The transcript joins an official copy of the repeal bill signed by President Barack Obama, as well as other materials in the Archives, strengthening the documentation surrounding this moment in the LGBT rights movement.
