But he was not ready for retirement and neither was Buzz Woolley, a retired venture capitalist who thought that San Diego readers would miss Morgan's voice. Over lunch several days later, they discussed the idea of launching a news website to cover what they thought mainstream media was ignoring or overlooking in the community. Another phone call brought on board Barbara Bry, a former L.A. Times and Sacramento Bee reporter who'd just helped take Proflowers.com public.

The words connection and communication define Barbara Bry’s career, from her student days to her current position as vice president for business development at Proflowers.com, the largest direct-from-the-grower flower company in the United States. At San Diego-based Proflowers, there are no warehouses and no network of retail florists. Orders are transmitted electronically to growers, who cut, pack, and ship, usually within 24 hours. This supply-chain compression allows Proflowers to offer a unique guarantee —that their bouquets will stay fresh for seven days. Despite recent e-commerce volatility, Proflowers has experienced phenomenal growth, including a new partnership with Amazon.com and expansion into Japan.

The 2nd Annual Women in Leadership Conference held at the University of San Diego on April 8, 2005 provided an exceptional educational and networking forum for business executives and emerging leaders. The conference was a great experience for anyone seeking networking, inspiration and career advice from an array of very successful women leaders.

A start-up news Web site - bolstered by the word power of Neil Morgan - promises to push the envelope on what gets reported in this town. Cross your fingers this thing works.

INK. IT FLOWED THROUGH THE VEINS of newspaper journalists of yore. It ran off the paper and stained your hands. And everyone said you shouldn’t fight with the patriarchs who bought the stuff by the barrel.

The cyber-age is not so messy, at least in content presentation. A tap here and a click there, and—presto— your scoop is published. Such is the case with the newest media outfit staking out the local turf: Voice of San Diego, a nonprofit, interactive news Web site (voiceofsandiego.com).

San Diego, March 18, 2005

The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), San Diego Chapter, presented the 2005 BRAVO! Awards on March 16 at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego to recognize outstanding women business owners and community leaders.

The BRAVO! Awards celebrated the achievements of San Diego women who have excelled as business owners, leaders, and role models in the community. The event was emceed by Charlotte Starck of KUSI News and featured keynote speaker Barbara Bry, founding CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Voice of San Diego, providing an inspiring personal story and imparting lessons she’s learned to other women in business.

Here we were -- 12 executive women from technology companies, six from San Diego and six from the Middle East. On a recent evening, we shared life stories and challenges and found a lot of common ground as we discussed how to manage our jobs, our men, and our compensation. We agreed that managing older men is more difficult and finding a good man in any culture is hard. We learned that we all face glass ceiling issues, and women in Arab countries are usually paid the same as men for equivalent positions. However, in many cases, married men with children receive an extra stipend.

We six San Diego women ranged in age from 30's to early 50's and work in life sciences, telecommunications, online media, and venture capital. Most of us are or were married and have children, ranging from 14 months to 30's. Our Arab guests were 29-35, holding mid to senior level managers in information technology, communications and industrial equipment companies in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. All are single, one is divorced, and none have children. Finding an Arab man who wants a professionally accomplished wife is a challenge.

A new TV program about the telecommunications industry premiered this month on UCSD-TV. Sponsored by the San Diego Telecom Council, "Telecom Today" will also begin airing in October nationwide on UC-TV. The first episode is devoted to wireless solutions to the 'last mile' high-speed Internet access problem. The university-run station is set to produce six half-hour programs over the next year, hosted by Telecom Council president Marco Thompson, and Barbara Bry, founder of the Athena program of UCSD CONNECT.

Ah, romance. At his second wedding, Neil Senturia shared sushi at sunset with his bride. Then the newlyweds dashed off to Scottsdale, Ariz., for a short honeymoon. Rather, call it a "moneymoon." After all, that's what the three-day getaway was all about, if you listen to Senturia. In the days before the wedding, he had been working on a deal to raise some $15 million for his company, Mohomine, a small online search firm in San Diego. Then, a glitch: The venture capitalist got sick. With apologies, the VC said the deal — and the dough — would have to wait until the newlyweds got home. But while on his honeymoon, Senturia met another money man in, of all places, the resort's gym.

One day, technology entrepreneur Neil Senturia had an unexpected phone call from a man working for the CIA.

When a friend asked how it happened, Mr Senturia joked: "They're the CIA. They find anything they want."

Actually, the CIA has not always had the easiest time finding what it needs from the fast-moving world of technology, which is why three years ago it launched a non-profit venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel.

Since September 11, the unit's mission of investing in up-and-coming technologies has become more urgent. Fortunately for In-Q-Tel's 40 employees in Menlo Park and Arlington, Virginia, hundreds of technology companies have come calling.

Another local software firm was acquired by a much larger, Orange County company, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The purchase of Mohomine, a San Diego-based software firm specializing in data extraction and classification, by Irvine-based Kofax Image Products, has been all good, said Mohomine' s chairman and CEO, Neil Senturia.

LEMON GROVE – The city is eyeing an experienced redevelopment team to transform a slice of its downtown.

The Lemon Grove Community Development Agency – composed of the City Council – voted Tuesday night to exclusively negotiate a redevelopment deal with La Jolla based-Tipping Point Partners LLC.

The firm's managing partner helped redevelop downtown San Diego and has teamed with the former head of San Diego's Centre City Development Corp., among others, for the Lemon Grove project.

Over the next nine months, the city will evaluate Tipping Point's plan to revamp a 7-acre strip near the northern part of the city. The company envisions tree-lined streets, hundreds of new homes and a 12-story high-rise.

The plan focuses on an area from North Avenue to just north of City Hall, bounded by Main and Olive streets. It's the first of four portions of downtown Lemon Grove slated for redevelopment.

I have been a San Diego Padres season ticket subscriber for the past 14 years, and this year I did not renew. There was no particular reason. Maybe I didn't want the aggravation of giving away 79 games to my friends or maybe I didn't even have 79 friends.

Then Sandy Alderson, the new CEO of the Padres, called and said come on down to the park and talk to me. The Padres management put 14 former season ticket holders in a room 90 minutes before Wednesday night's game with the Cleveland Indians, and they said, "So, tell us why you did not renew your season tickets?"

As a repeat entrepreneur, Neil Senturia has fielded his share of calls from would-be investors inquiring about his company's products. But those calls did not prepare him for the day the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency rang to ask what his company was up to.

Much to his relief, the voice on the other end was not interested in whether Senturia's firm posed a threat to national security. Instead, it was a representative from the agency's venture capital fund sizing up a potential investment.