One last reminder that tomorrow is Coffee with Campillo. Please note that the start time has been adjusted: it will now begin at 9:30am and will run until 11:00am at the Allied Gardens/Benjamin Branch Library. As always, we’ll provide the coffee – all you need to do is show up and bring the topics for discussion.

These community coffees are more than just something I plug in these emails for the sake of doing so. They're a way for us to directly connect face-to-face and have honest, genuine conversations about the issues, and by doing so, I am able to do my job better because I'm more informed about what's on your minds.

To RSVP, use this link or email vvettiyil@sandiego.gov. Looking forward to seeing you!

I’m so thrilled to see fresh, new streets for one pocket of San Carlos residents this week, as Laurelridge Rd, High Winds Way, Town View Lane, Ridge Route Rd, Summit Ridge Way, Forrestal Rd, Stevenson Way, and Park Ridge Blvd all received work.

Philip Molnar, the Union-Tribune’s business reporter, wrote this week about how San Diego’s GDP is larger than half the states in America, as well as nations like Greece, Hungary, Morocco, and Ecuador. In fact, according to the article, San Diego County's GDP ranks #10 across the United States.

As the City’s Economic Development Chair, I’m focused on continuing our economic growth so that more of our citizens can prosper. Good jobs, ample access to critical needs like housing and childcare, and low costs must be the guiding lights for our region economically. That’s why I’ve focused on initiatives that bring investment, exposure, and tourism to our region -- like, for example, the World Design Capital. (What a transition, eh?)

This year’s World Design Capital year has more or less come to an end, so it’s time to reflect on what it has meant for our region. I worked hard to bring WDC to San Diego for three key reasons:

1. Collaboration between San Diego and Tijuana should be encouraged because we are truly one binational region, where so many people have economic, familial, and cultural ties on both sides of the border. The crossborder World Design Capital designation was a great opportunity to foster more connection between our two cities.
2. World Design Capital has a proven track record of attracting tourism dollars to the cities that host it, so the WDC designation was an opportunity to bolster our economy in the short run.
3. Over the long run, the designs and ideas borne out of World Design Capital will help build a better, more vibrant, more prosperous San Diego Tijuana region.

From what I’ve observed, as well as the data that I’ve seen from WDC, these goals have borne out. The 600+ events activated by World Design Capital this year, including the EXCHANGE Pavilion in Balboa Park, fostered more connection between Tijuana and San Diego. According to WDC, the designation achieved 600 million global media impressions and attracted 350,000 attendees from our region and across the globe. And when it comes to the issues, World Design Capital focused on everything from sustainability to inclusive economies to resilient healthcare systems and much more.

My greatest hope is that the binational energy created from this year's WDC designation has a lasting impact in our city. My grandparents grew up truly binationally in Calexico and Mexicali, and when I was young, my parents would take me to Calexico all the time to visit family. So believe me when I tell you that having spent a lot of time playing baseball and hanging out with family while literally being able to see across the border wall, I know what binational looks like. I am a strong believer that in order for our region to reach its fullest potential, we must work to connect San Diego and Tijuana, the most populous region along the U.S. - Mexico border.

This week, I joined Junior Achievement San Diego for an energizing event focused around workforce development in the region. Junior Achievement offers financial education, entrepreneurship skills, and work experience to young people in San Diego and around the country. By fostering more talented members of the workforce of tomorrow, Junior Achievement helps our region flourish economically.

Just like our binational geography is a strength of our region, our talented workforce is too -- and we have to ensure that each generation is even more skilled than the last. Thank you Junior Achievement for helping us achieve that goal.