Sanders to Deliver Third State of City Address on Thursday

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published January 8, 2008 at 11:38 AM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders will deliver his third state of the city address this Thursday. One of the more ambitious ideas in his speech last year was to begin planning for a new City Hall building

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders will deliver his third state of the city address this Thursday. One of the more ambitious ideas in his speech last year was to begin planning for a new City Hall building. That idea is now taking shape. As KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

The Centre City Development Corporation has shortlisted two possible developers who could take on building a new civic center: a Texas based company that managed the construction of Petco Park and an Oregon company that specializes in “Green” environmentally friendly urban design.

CCDC Director Nancy Graham says it’s too soon to be talking designs, the first question is: is the idea financially feasible for the cash strapped city?

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Graham : I think the biggest issue is that people give it a chance and I just hope that people will not start out on a negative foot, and will give it a chance to see whether it is viable or not.

In his state of the city speech last year, Sanders pitched the idea as one that would save the city money. He said building a new city hall could cut $13 million a year the city currently spends on leasing space, because the city hall on C Street is too small.

Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.