Q2 REPORT: April, May, June ‘08

One Region. One Future. That’s our message as EDC implements its new strategic plan focused on business development and policy, adopted by our Board of Directors and informed by Partnership for the Global Economy. We highlight early successes and new directions for the quarter.

Business Development Jason Anderson, Vice President, Business Development, and Katie Mayfield, Manager, Business Development, launched an aggressive program in May with greater emphasis on attraction, modeled after best practices in economic development around the country.

EDC received and responded to five requests for information from companies located outside of -- and to 17 requests for information from companies within the region. No companies made site visits to San Diego during the fourth quarter.

EDC worked with a San Diego-based medical technologies company to expedite their Substantial Conformance Review, and with an aerospace company to expedite their permitting process for both inside and outside the City of San Diego.

EDC is a trusted partner to CalBIS, the State of ’s economic development entity, and shared with subregional EDCs three requests for information from companies that contacted the State. The three projects were a manufacturing facility for an electric car company, a manufacturing facility for a food manufacturer, and an aircraft manufacturing and assembly plant. We will monitor and assist as needed.

For retention purposes we continue outreach calls to companies located in downtown San Diego, to understand their commitment to the downtown area.

Trade shows are an effective way to network with decision-makers in specific industries. EDC participated in the Systems & Software Technology Conference in Las Vegas, which is the premier systems and software technology conference for DoD contractors. During the conference EDC met with two companies located in San Diego, and 11 companies outside of San Diego, about any expansion plans within the region. EDC also participated in the BIO International Convention where some 20,000 attendees from the global life sciences community attended. More than 200 people visited with EDC at our booth in the California Pavilion at BIO, generating 13 qualified leads.

EDC hosted 57 executives and their guests representing 54 companies during the U.S. Open. Industry leaders and representatives of relevant industry associations joined us in our suite to further showcase San Diego’s collaborative business environment. Two leads requiring immediate attention were captured, and we will communicate on a quarterly basis with all of the executives who attended the U.S. Open as part of our agreement with the City.

July 2008 Report to San Diego Regional EDC Investors Page 1 The Mega-Region Initiative’s Advisory Board participated in a tour of existing and potential renewable energy projects in Imperial Valley including Hoch Plant, a CALENERGY facility, National Beef for the potential of biodiesel and methane energy generation, and Earthrise, an algae production facility. We also briefed Assistant Secretary of Commerce Sandy Baruah on the initiative’s progress. In pursuit of best practices, and to model the best possible business development program, we spoke with the Fairfax County, Virginia Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) about their benchmarking practices. We discussed EDC’s Indicators of Sustainable Competitiveness benchmarking study, and our annual best practices trips. FCEDA described their business outreach program. Their input helps inform our own program.

Policy Two initiatives were launched that emerged from Partnership for the Global Economy:

1) Infrastructure 2010 Initiative: More than 30 EDC board members, investors and invited community members launched a project that will frame a new EDC regional infrastructure policy by early 2009. During the second quarter, members heard needs assessments in the area of energy, water and transportation.

2) Workforce Development Initiative: Business leaders established two EDC workforce development priorities: First, improved availability of workers with education and skills in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and second, programs to improve the capacity of our workforce at the entry level and mid-career junctures. Using an early 2009 deadline for the development of policy and program priorities, over two dozen EDC investors and invited community members heard needs assessments and proposals from regional school district superintendents, the San Diego Foundation and former Senator Dede Alpert, who co- chaired a statewide education reform assessment.

Continuing the organization’s historic commitment to organizing the region to grow stronger, the EDC Board of Directors and staff advocated before government agencies for important regional investments and projects: · SUPPORT Sunrise Powerlink: Parks Commission, PUC · SUPPORT Westfield UTC Expansion: City of SD Planning Commission · SUPPORT Poseidon Desalination Plant: California Coastal Commission · SUPPORT SDSU Master Plan: SDSU Trustees · SUPPORT Lindbergh Field Expansion: SDCRAA · SUPPORT Navy Broadway Complex (City of San Diego) · SUPPORT Chargers: With Don Ings serving as EDC liaison to the Chargers, he met with Chargers, Mayor Cheryl Cox of Chula Vista

To help ensure that candidates in the 2008 elections are informed of business community priorities, EDC inaugurated a candidate education and evaluation process in collaboration with the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. The two organizations collaborated to distribute the questionnaire to all regional candidates – and will reprise the initiative for candidates proceeding to the November election.

July 2008 Report to San Diego Regional EDC Investors Page 2 EDC also collaborated with SANDAG and the Bank of America on two other projects:

· Regional team of public and private entities that submitted proposals that won $400 million in state transportation bond funds for the San Diego region · Issuing the region’s first “Housing Scorecard” sponsored by Bank of America – a “one- stop” assessment of housing issues and areas for policy development to ease San Diego’s critical need for workforce housing.

Strategic Plan Implementation

As part of the One Region One Future strategic plan, we have formed three new leadership spheres to support our Board of Directors. We have confirmed seven members of the new Governors Council with other confirmations pending. The Strategic Roundtable (former CEOs and elected officials with considerable experience as civic leaders) has 19 committed participants and is focused on civic issues. The Next Generation Leadership Committee (emerging civic leaders) has eight participants, but will grow with designations by Governors Council and others.

More than 750 people attended the Annual Dinner on June 24. Throughout the evening, the One Region One Future theme was echoed by EDC’s Chairman for the past two years Tom Wornham. New Chairman Bill Geppert, Herb Klein Civic Leadership award recipient , and keynote speaker all spoke to this theme, and Gergen incorporated the theme into his closing! Representatives of the new leadership spheres also spoke at the dinner, including Malin Burnham for the Strategic Roundtable, Andrew Clark for the Next Generation Leadership Committee, and Hank Nordhoff for the Governors Council.

Research supports both business development and policy. We handled 97 requests for information on the San Diego region from investors, the general business community, and the media in the first three quarters of the current fiscal year. We completed a research project for Centre City Development Corporation that measures businesses' perceptions of downtown San Diego. The study was undertaken to help CCDC understand factors that might influence more firms to locate downtown. The research was conducted among companies that participated in Partnership for the Global Economy.

Websites are an important tool for site selection consultants and corporate real estate executives. We’ve had 20,085 new visits year-to-date, and 28,610 total visits. Most frequented pages are Home Page, News & Events, About EDC: Board of Directors.

We communicate our positions on policy issues and promote EDC services through the news media. We had 30 requests from local media for comment, six EDC press releases issued over newswires, eight media advisories distributed to local press, and three opinion editorials placed. The opinion editorials reflect leadership on policy issues, collaboration with other organizations, and an active role by the Strategic Roundtable, as follows:

April 11, 2008 – The San Diego Union-Tribune – Time for all to get behind stadium effort – by Thomas V. Wornham

July 2008 Report to San Diego Regional EDC Investors Page 3 May 9, 2008 – The San Diego Union-Tribune - Changing the state's energy dynamic – by Malin Burnham, Duane Roth and Julie Meier Wright

May 23, 2008 – The San Diego Union-Tribune – Time for San Diego to focus on issues – authored by 16 members of the Strategic Roundtable

July 2008 Report to San Diego Regional EDC Investors Page 4