Environment

San Diego City College Breaks Ground On New 'Green' Buildings

By Ed Joyce / Reporter

Published February 4, 2011 at 11:01 AM PST

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

Rendering of state-of-the-art facilities that are on track for LEED Gold green building certification at San Diego City College.

The $89 million construction project is paid for with voter-approved bonds.

Dave Umstot, Vice Chancellor Facilities Management with the San Diego Community College District, said the state-of-the-art facilities are designed with features that encourage energy efficiency from water to electricity.

"Both of these will be LEED Gold buildings and what that really means to us is we're really looking hard at energy efficiency and the quality and sustainability of the materials," said Umstot.

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He said the district will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs over the life of the two buildings.

Umstot said the construction is expected to be completed by 2013.

The Arts & Humanities building includes new classrooms, computer labs, and studio space for drawing, ceramics, sculpture and graphics.

The Business Technology building includes seven computer labs, and areas for start-up businesses for students in the business education program.

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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