Local Business Watch: A lot to look forward to, starting with Twilight at Nordstroms

Twilight Encounter

Twilight movie buffs can get their fix when Nordstrom and Summit Entertainmentinvite fans to meet select cast members of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse on Sun., Jun. 27 such as Tyson Houseman (Quil Ateara) at Nordstrom Fashion Valley (San Diego). The cast appearance is only one of many in select Nordstrom stores being held to celebrate the highly-anticipated June 30 release of the third movie in Summit’s Twilight film saga. Nordstrom launched an exclusive clothing and cosmetics collection inspired by the film in early June.

Beginning Saturday, June 19, at 8:00 a.m., customers can acquire VIP access to be one of 200 customers to take photographs with cast members (visit nordstrom.com/eclipse for specific details).

The BP. department at select Nordstrom stores is offering customers advance movie screening passes as gifts with purchase (see nordstrom.com/eclipse for participating stores and details), and all stores will host Twilight styling parties on June 19 and 20.  Customers can visit nordstrom.com/eclipse to learn what events are taking place and sign-up for email alerts.

Air Canada To Land

Air Canada is swooping in to offer non-stop flights to San Diego and Portland as part of its roster. Both flights will offer a choice of Executive or Economy class service, and feature the carrier’s personal in-flight entertainment system available at every seat. The non-stop flights from San Diego to Toronto and from Portland to Toronto will launch June 18.

“The launch of Air Canada’s newest flights to these popular U.S. cities further solidifies our strategy of growing our largest hub at Toronto where our operations are centralized in a single terminal, offering an extremely convenient gateway to and from the U.S. and making it a global transfer point for domestic, transborder and international travelers,” said Ben Smith, executive vice president & chief commercial officer. “With up to 230 daily flights to 58 U.S. airports, Air Canada is the leading transborder carrier between Canada and the U.S. and the Number One foreign carrier flying to the United States – offering the most flights per day to more destinations in the U.S. than any other international airline.”

With the introduction of these non-stop flights, Air Canada has now launched new daily service between Toronto and seven American cities this spring including to and from: Orange County (Santa Ana) and San Diego; Portland; Memphis; Cincinnati; Portland, Maine; and Syracuse, New York.

Air Canada was named Best Airline North America in a worldwide survey of more than 17 million air travelers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax for their 2010 World Airline Awards.

Autism Conference

Jay Nolan Community Services is one of three organizations collaborating with the University of San Diego to sponsor its fifth annual Summer Autism Conference.  This international training event focuses on non-traditional and state-of-the-art viewpoints on living with autism that have challenged the conventional wisdom about the disorder, and inspired a rethinking of autism – from infancy to adulthood.  The three-day conference at USD’s Autism Institute will run June 28-30, and is co-sponsored, as well by the San Diego Unified School District and California Supportive Living Network.

“Beyond Behaviors: Reframing Our Perceptions” offers a unique opportunity to gain new understandings of movement, health/mental health, communication and the role of relationships in developing personalized support and instructional strategies across the lifespan on an individual.  It is a must for parents, educators/special educators, professional caregivers, social workers, physicians/nurses, therapists/clinicians, school district administrators, persons with disabilities and self-advocates.

“Our main goal is to provide information and inspiration,” says Jeffrey Strully, executive director of Jay Nolan Community Services.  “This conference is designed for the very people who support individuals with autism every day or who are living with autism.  World-class presenters with cutting edge information are coming to San Diego not only to share new perspectives, but to inspire much-needed hope in families and professionals who are helping people with autism to truly succeed.”

For more information or to register for USD’s Summer Autism Conference call: 619-260-4585 or register by fax: 619-849-8224 (download form at: http://usd-online.org/mailfaxform.aspx).  The cost for the three-day conference is $245.  For two graduate-level extension credits, the total conference cost is $375.   For more information about JNCS or additional information about the conference, please contact Camille Skipper Watkins at (818) 361-6400, ext 140, or cwatkins@jaynolan.org

Light It Up

ilumisys, Inc., developer and producer of next-generation solid-state lighting technology has partnered with Ecogreen Solutions Inc. to install light-emitting diode (LED) light tubes at Holiday Inn Old Town in San Diego amongst a few other California venues to reduce energy costs and maintenance requirements.

Los Angeles-based Ecogreen Solutions replaced T-8 fluorescent lights with ilumisys MK-1 LED light tubes at both facilities, which will result in nearly $4,000 in energy costs savings annually for Holiday Inn Old Town. Holiday Inn Old Town replaced more than 200 fluorescent light tubes in areas that operate 24/7, including its subterranean parking lot and stairwells throughout the building.

“One of the main benefits to LED lighting is that it is more efficient, which can lead to enormous energy and costs savings,” said Dave Simon, president of ilumisys. “We are seeing more companies beginning to realize the benefits of LED lighting as they look for ways to be more environmentally conscious and reduce energy costs.”

Holiday Inn Old Town benefited from a “zero-out-of-pocket” financing program through their local utility company, which helped to keep initial costs at a minimum.

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