San Diego, CA
Opinion: The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce needs a leader who understands cross-border relations
On behalf of the Tijuana Chamber of Commerce, I urge the leadership of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce to select for its next president and CEO a person with strong qualifications to support the development of our San Diego-Tijuana binational region. With more than 2,000 members and a tradition of building relationships with its Mexican neighbors, advancing a binational agenda, and promoting a regional identity, the San Diego chamber has been and must continue to be an indispensable player in cultivating the vast potential of the binational region. That role calls for a special set of abilities and experiences in its leader.
For 50 years I have owned a Tijuana business dependent on cross-border conditions. I have been active in Tijuana chamber affairs for 30 years and became chairman in 2022. Our Tijuana Chamber of Commerce serves the interests of 3,500 members, including many with significant involvement in the San Diego economy.
Ideally, the future president and CEO will be conversant with the issues of regulation of trade, immigration, and investment in public and business infrastructure on both sides of the border. Our region has a vital interest in the evolution of supply chains and the development of nearshoring, along with the renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. They will have regionally rooted binational expertise and experience: a bilingual, bicultural leader embodying the region’s unique identity who has lived and worked at the interface of U.S. and Mexico, building bridges between their economies. The successful candidate will have demonstrated leadership in cross-border collaboration, having played a pivotal role in promoting the region’s cross-border trade and infrastructure. On the U.S. side, the future president and CEO will energetically play a role in the community of entities also engaged in building and sustaining cross-border relations, including but not limited to the San Diego EDC, the Tourism Authority, the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro Chambers of Commerce, Cross Border Xpress (CBX) and the Smart Border Coalition. He or she will have the capacity to provide visionary leadership for a binational mega-region and possess strong regional and national networks of influence and relationships.
This person will fully understand what Tijuana and Baja California are today. Tijuana long ago left behind its old identity as a border town catering to visitors crossing from San Diego. Today it is the second-largest city on the West Coast of North America after Los Angeles and an important global manufacturing hub for medical devices, motor vehicles, audio and video products, and electronic components. Its health sector provides services to “medical tourists” from the U.S. every year. Binational co-manufacturing sees many products crossing the border multiple times in different phases of production. Tijuana has the 16th-busiest airport in Latin America, accessible to San Diego through the remarkably successful Cross Border Xpress passenger terminal and international port of entry, used by more than 4 million travelers in 2024.
San Diego County and the greater Tijuana area have become interlocked, tightly bound, intensely interactive partners. A prime indicator: on an average day, 148,000 routine border crossers, 54 million per year, come north. In fiscal 2024, more than $69 billion in two-way goods trade flowed through the cargo land port of entry, with the explosive expansion of large commercial building around the port on the U.S. side as a visible testimony to this dynamic.
Jerry Sanders, the San Diego chamber’s former president and CEO, raised the organization’s commitment to partnership with Tijuana and Baja California to an unprecedented level. His successor will benefit from that strong foundation on which to build. With the right combination of strengths, this leader will honor the Sanders legacy by working to further fulfill the bright promise of our extraordinary region.
Palombo is the chairman of the Tijuana Chamber of Commerce and resides in San Diego and Tijuana.
San Diego, CA
City considering cutting funding to resource center for those experiencing homelessness
Last week Mayor Todd Gloria released the budget proposal for the 2027 fiscal budget. Protected homeless services is among his top priorities mentioned in the proposal. However, some of the reductions he’s proposing could impact thousands of San Diegans experiencing homelessness.
Located on 17th and K Street, the Neil Good Day Center offers an array of services to nearly seven thousand people experiencing homelessness. The services include giving them a place to shower and do laundry, and connecting them to a case manager, among others.
“These are critical services that are helping people off the streets, but really better their lives and their health and their employment situation as well,” Deacon Vargas with Father Joe’s Villages said.
Deacon Jim Vargas heads Father Joe’s Villages, which runs the center. He said through their prevention and diversion strategies, they’ve managed to keep nearly one thousand individuals from falling into homelessness.
“So by helping them pay rent, or helping them with their utilities, or helping them to reunite with family,” Vargas said.
Right now, the city allocates at least $850,000 per year to the Neil Good Day Center, according to Vargas.
But the future and funding for these services are in limbo because of Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget cuts.
“The impact to those whom we’ve been serving the Daily Center would be very severe,” Deacon Vargas said.
In a statement to NBC 7, Mayor Todd Gloria said in part, “We must find more efficient and cost-effective ways to address this crisis and prioritize funding for programs that provide shelter beds and maximize resources to programs that place people into permanent housing.”
Since it’s still at a proposal stage, Deacon Vargas said it’s unclear how the city will decide to move forward.
However, Deacon Vargas said services would be significantly reduced because they would be forced to operate solely on a budget of about half a million dollars they receive from philanthropy.
“The hours would be cut. Some days would be cut. We would have showers that might be impacted because they’re given seven days a week and we’d close two days a week, then the showers would be five days a week, the case management,” Deacon Vargas said.
Deacon Vargas is certain of one thing.
He would like to continue offering services at the Day Center, even if the city goes through with the funding cuts.
“As we work with individuals at the Day Center and at Father Joe’s Villages, the community becomes healthier as a result of it,” Deacon Vargas said.
The budget also recommends additional cuts to homeless services, but does not give specifics as to where those cuts would be.
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San Diego, CA
Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
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