Portable parties

Officials of the San Diego port authority who remained close to home during the party season still managed to take advantage of many free opportunities to celebrate in style. On November 9, it was the Asian Film Festival Gala 2013, where ten employees and family members from financial services, environmental and land-use management, general services and procurement, and the engineering department all took a turn on the red carpet to the tune of $200 each, thanks to the festival’s sponsor.

Justification for the freebies was given as “Representation of the District at an event to sustain or build relationships with tenants, businesses, or local, regional, state or federal agencies.” On November 18, port chairwoman Ann Moore of Chula Vista, a partner in the law firm of Norton Moore & Adams, got a $250 admission to the 30th-anniversary bash for the Institute of the Americas.

She was joined by fellow commissioner and real estate lawyer Rafael Castellanos, a partner with the firm Solomon Minton Cardinal Doyle & Smith LLP, and ex-commissioner Lou Smith.