In This Issue:

• BUDGET STALEMATE CONTINUES

• BOARD OF EQUALIZATION ANALYSIS TARGETS SALES TAX HIKE

• 2008 INDUSTRY AWARDS ANNOUNCED – GALA IN OCTOBER

• 100 PINE STREET S.F. IS FIRST MULTI-TENANT LEED-EB IN CALIFORNIA

• STATE WATER BOARD LIFTS MORATORIUM ON NEW CONSTRUCTION IN L.A. REGION

• AB 32 SCOPING COMMENTS

• CBPA 2008 CALENDAR

BUDGET STALEMATE CONTINUES

Five weeks into the new fiscal year and still no state budget and no agreement is in sight. Both sides have thrown mud in the press and have tried to shame the other into changing positions, but that hasn’t worked. A shortfall of cash has been threatened, but that hasn’t worked. The Governor has signed an Executive Order which threatens to slash state worker pay to the minimum federal wage; he has also told Legislators that he won’t sign any bills that are sent to his desk. He even offered a plan to increase the statewide sales tax by a penny. None of that has worked either.

So both sides sit there staring at each other. In a silly sign that shows how bad the relationship is between the two parties, the annual charity legislative softball game has been cancelled. Instead of expending energy to play games outside of the protective bubble of the Capitol Dome, legislators will be able to focus all their gamesmanship on politics surrounding the budget...
 

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION ANALYSIS TARGETS SALES TAX HIKE

An analysis by the state agency that collects California's sales taxes suggests that a one-cent increase in the statewide sales tax would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars less than anticipated and cost thousands of jobs. Read the full Capitol Weekly story by clicking here.
 

2008 INDUSTRY AWARDS ANNOUNCED – GALA IN OCTOBER

Winners of the 2008 CBPA Industry Awards have been announced. Industry Awards are given to leaders in the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry that have significantly contributed to the advancement of the profession.

Champion of the Industry Award Honorees
Retail: Brian Smith, Regency Centers
Industrial: John Hagestad, Sares-Regis Group
Office: Steve Soboroff, Playa Vista

Ernie Hahn Memorial Award Honoree
Building Owners and Managers Association California (BOMA California)

John Caldecott Award Honoree
Kim Winston, Starbucks

The Industry Awards Dinner is scheduled for October 23, 2008 at The Island in Newport Beach. This event is not to be missed as it is a chance to recognize the unwavering leadership of individuals and companies dedicated to our industry. Click here for more information about the honorees and for sponsorship information.
 

100 PINE STREET S.F. IS FIRST MULTI-TENANT LEED-EB IN CALIFORNIA

The owners of 100 Pine Street in San Francisco (Unico Properties) have announced they are the first building to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). A 35-story, 440,500 square foot, Class A office tower, 100 Pine is the first multi-tenant office building to receive such certification in California and is only the third LEED-EB building in San Francisco. The only other buildings in San Francisco to carry LEED-EB status are Pacific Gas & Electric’s HQ and construction contractor Swinerton Inc.’s headquarters, both of which are single-tenant buildings.

In order to make the 400,000 s.f. concrete and glass building originally built in 1972, the building's heating and ventilation systems were overhauled by adding digital controls to improve efficiency. New low-flow toilets will cut water usage by 50 percent. Several other major improvements were also made such as installing motion detectors and using drought tolerant landscaping.

Margot Crosman, General Manager of 100 Pine, states that “Receiving LEED-EB certification is a tremendous accomplishment and would not have been possible without the support and financial commitment of the building's owners over the past two years. We also have a terrific team of service partners and customers, and it’s so important to create a community in our building where we share responsibility for improvements that create a healthier workplace for everyone.”

Congratulations!
 

STATE WATER BOARD LIFTS MORATORIUM ON NEW CONSTRUCTION IN L.A. REGION

Responding to an order from the Orange County Superior Court, the State Water Resources Control Board (the “State Board”) has lifted a two-week-old moratorium on new construction in the Los Angeles region. The State Board announced on Friday that it would resume processing new enrollments under the statewide NPDES Construction General Storm Water Permit (the “Construction General Permit”) and other statewide NPDES permits. The State Board had suspended such enrollments just two weeks earlier, in response to a writ of mandate issued by the court in the Arcadia II litigation. However, the court clarified on Friday that the writ does allow the State Board to implement the terms of NPDES permits, so long as those terms are not used to enforce numeric water quality standards. Click here for more information.
 

AB 32 SCOPING COMMENTS

The AB 32 Scoping Plan Appendices were recently released. This document contains much of the detail for plans to implement a landmark law, which mandates that California reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels. As the AB 32 regulatory process continues to move forward, we hope to keep you informed and solicit comments. Click here to read the Draft Scoping Plan and Appendecies, and click here to read CBPA's comments on the plan.
 

CBPA 2008 CALENDAR

October 23, 2008

CBPA Joint Board & Legislative Meeting
The Irvine Company, Newport Beach

2008 Industry Awards Dinner
Island Hotel, Newport Beach