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i On San Diego
INTENSIVE CARE: A shortage of nurses has hurt recruiting efforts at hospitals across the country. But the crisis is even more acute in San Diego, where the cost of living is off the charts, and filling jobs has become an art form. Scripps Health held three recruiting events last month, each at one of three posh resorts: The Lodge at Torrey Pines, Hotel del Coronado and La Costa Resort & Spa. No word on how tough the competition was, but the process sounds comfortable. For lunch at the Lodge, recruits noshed on butler-passed crab cakes, grilled eggplant and goat-cheese crostini, imported cheeses and other delicacies. Their children were entertained with supervised crafts and dined on finger foods.
THE POKING NOSE: Two years after Diane Powers lost the state lease for her original Bazaar del Mundo in Old Town, the new operator, Delaware North, is still struggling. Neighbors, whose own businesses have suffered since the takeover, say Delaware North has been looking for tenants to sublease parcels. One prospect who reportedly said no: Diane Powers . . . Matthew Broderick, who turned a starring role in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at La Jolla Playhouse into a Tony-winning turn on Broadway a decade ago, was supposed to return to San Diego this year. But the pre-Broadway premiere of Kenneth Lonergan’s The Starry Messenger, starring Broderick, was bumped from the Old Globe schedule. Messenger and Broderick will now premiere as part of the Manhattan Theater Club’s 2007-08 off-Broadway season at New York’s City Center . . . Good news for Globe artistic director Jack O’Brien: Tony and Drama Desk awards for Coast of Utopia at the Lincoln Center. Bad news for us: no new production by O’Brien on the Globe’s 2007-2008 season schedule.
MORAL SUPPORT: Not much our Gaslamp Quarter’s trendy Stingaree nightclub could do to really help her, but the owners certainly do know how to get the message to their market. On the day Paris Hilton was sent to the slammer, the nightclub hired planes to trail banners over Southern California beaches carrying this message to its patron saint of party: “BE STRONG, PARIS . . . STINGAREE.” Adds Michael Mark, creative director/CEO of the nightclub’s ad agency NYCA, San Diego: “Paris has an open invitation to Stingaree, where getting stung is the new sexy.”
SAN DIEGANS’ INK: Brian Guiltinan, one of San Diego Magazine’s 50 People To Watch in 2007, has proved us prescient again. Last month, the Prudential California Realty agent represented the buyer of the highest-priced home ever sold in San Diego County——a $35 million Del Mar oceanfront home. Guiltinan now holds the record for the highest-priced sales in three local ZIP codes: Del Mar, La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe . . . Former San Diego City Attorney Casey Gwinn, rumored to be considering a run for retiring Congressman Duncan Hunter’s seat, reportedly changed his mind . . . Meanwhile, potential candidates are lining up to challenge current City Attorney Mike Aguirre. One firm challenger: attorney Daniel Coffey, who quit his column in The Daily Transcript last month to enter the race . . . Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney’s support in San Diego County isn’t particularly wide, but in North County it goes deep. Poway’s Jim Davies, who performs eye surgeries at his office in Carlsbad, has been busy of late raising money for Romney’s campaign. It’s a family affair; he’s married to Romney’s sister, Ann.
QUOTEWORTHY: “[San Diego City Attorney Mike] Aguirre takes the position he has the right to bring lawsuits on behalf of the city of San Diego irrespective of whether the mayor or city council approves those lawsuits. So, you can spend literally four years and many tens of millions of dollars coming up with a plan, persuading the voters at an election, going through the planning and EIR process, getting your approvals from the mayor and council, and then still end up being sued by the city. Now, it doesn’t really matter what I think about this. What matters is whether a development partner of sufficient size and resources would want to get involved in such a process. And we know . . . the answer to that is a firm NO. There are too many places in the country to invest and make money. Why come to San Diego and get involved in this circus?”——Chargers mouthpiece Mark Fabiani
LOSS LEADER: No doubt the building of Petco Park has been good for downtown. Estimates of its economic benefit to the city in the East Village and surrounding neighborhoods range up to $2 billion. But for the Padres, it’s been a bit sketchy of late. For an early June game with the arch-rival Dodgers——a game in which star closer Trevor Hoffman posted his 500th career save and the Padres moved into first place——just 31,500 fans turned out. Perhaps economics is the controlling factor. Forget the cost of a ticket; the basic Wienerschnitzel hot dog and draft beer I bought that night at the Petco concession stand rang up at $11.25.
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