Daily Business Report-Oct. 12, 2018
President nominates San Diego federal
prosecutor to Court of Appeals in S.F.
San Francisco Chronicle
President Trump has nominated three California attorneys to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, including a San Diego federal prosecutor who could become the court’s first openly gay judge.
The White House said Patrick Bumatay is a member of the Tom Homann LGBT Law Association, which describes itself as an organization where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lawyers in San Diego “network, build friendships and develop their careers.”
BuzzFeed News reported that Bumatay, if confirmed, would be the second openly gay federal appeals court judge in the nation.
Bumatay is on assignment in the Justice Department as a counselor to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He is editor of a conservative legal journal at Harvard Law School and also worked in the Justice Department under President George W. Bush before becoming an assistant U.S. attorney in 2012.
Trump’s two other Ninth Circuit nominees announced late Wednesday by the White House are Daniel Collins, a Los Angeles attorney and former federal prosecutor who also served in Bush’s Justice Department, and Kenneth Lee, a Los Angeles lawyer who worked in the White House Counsel’s office in the Bush administration.
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Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians
to open new Government Center
The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians will conduct a grand opening ceremony at 4 o’clock today for the Rincon Government Center in Valley Center.
The tribe broke ground in July 2017 and will now replace the temporary trailers it has used for the past nine years. The Rincon Band is also nearing the completion of road improvements along State Route 6 to make way for the Government Center.
The new Rincon Government Center is located on an 11-acre site and is a mechanical and electrical energy efficient 43,000-square-foot complex. The state-of-the art facility includes a reception and lobby area, private offices, break out rooms and conference areas. The building also includes a catering kitchen and an auditorium.
The design and coordination of the interior finishes incorporates the Luiseño culture. “We are going to use this opportunity to incorporate elements that reflect our culture,” said Bo Mazzetti, chairman of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians. “We have artistic statements throughout the building which have been adapted from tribal basket weaving art, historic oak wood and stone elements used in building materials, and indigenous landscaping.”
Joining the Rincon Band will be state Sen. Ben Hueso, Assemblywoman Marie Waldron, Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, Escondido Mayor Sam Abed and San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister.
The address is One Government Center Lane, Valley Center.
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Grossmont College Drone Technology
Program to offer free piloting classes
Grossmont College’s Drone Technology Program launches Oct. 30 with grant-funded classes offering free, comprehensive instruction designed to train novices to become FAA-certified commercial drone pilots with skills to pursue jobs or to become self-employed.
President Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh said the college is excited to offer the new program at no cost to students, noting that private drone schools typically charge thousands of dollars for the training. Despite the cost, the training is growing in demand with many drone pilots working as freelance contractors, flying drones for small businesses and major companies, alike.
Grossmont College’s classes train pilots for two commercial tracks – Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) cinematography and UAS surveying and mapping. As the new curriculum is expanded, classes will be offered next spring in the programming and technology that make autonomous aircraft function.
Grossmont College is unique statewide in offering the classes for free, thanks to a $6 million U.S. Department of Labor Promise grant that was shared by Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges to create education and industry partnerships to train underserved students for high-skilled, in-demand jobs.
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MTS board votes to allow empty parking
lots to be used for affordable homes
The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) board voted unanimously Thursday to accept recommendations from Circulate San Diego and to reform its policies to allow empty parking lots to be transformed into affordable homes. The vote was a response to the release of a report in April by Circulate San Diego titled “Real Opportunity,” which provides detailed recommendations for how MTS can stimulate the creation of as many as 8,000 new homes adjacent to transit stations. The report also includes new research demonstrating that a large number of parking lots owned by MTS are substantially under-utilized.
Circulate San Diego was joined at the MTS board meeting by affordable housing advocates to support the agency adopting updates to its joint development policy to allow their under-utilized parking lots.
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Researchers look beyond BMI
to predict obesity-related disease risk
Scientists at Scripps Research and collaborating corporate and academic partners have found a new way to use distinct molecular “signatures” from people with obesity to predict risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease, an advance that could broaden the way doctors and scientists think about diagnosing and treating disease.
The research, led by Amalio Telenti, professor of genomics at Scripps Research and previously a scientific leader at Human Longevity Inc., shows that predictors of future diabetes and cardiovascular disease for a person with obesity can be found among their body’s metabolites, molecules that all of us produce as we live, breathe and eat.
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Endeavor Bank approved as lender
under (SBA) 7(a) Program
Endeavor Bank, a San Diego business bank, has been approved as a general lender under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 7(a) Program. Last month, Chief Executive Officer Dan Yates and President Steve Sefton made it official by signing the agreements with District Director Ruben Garcia, and Lead Lender Relations Specialist Maria Hughes from the San Diego District Office of the SBA.
The 7(a) Loan Program is a flexible tool that offers fully amortized loans that may be used for most business purposes, including providing working capital, acquisition of equipment, and the purchase of real estate for business operations. Credit approval required; terms and conditions apply.
Endeavor Bank is primarily owned and operated by San Diegans for San Diego businesses and their owners. The bank’s focus is local: local decision-making, local board, local founders, local owners, and relationships with local clients in the San Diego metropolitan market place and its surrounding areas.
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Draper forms team to pursue
NASA’s next lunar exploration
ExecutiveBiz
Draper has teamed up with three other companies to bid for a project to build small exploration vehicles and scientific instruments to help NASA explore the moon’s surface.
Cambridge, Mass.-based Draper said it will lead an industry team composed of General Atomics’ electromagnetic systems group, ispace and Spaceflight Industries to pursue the space agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract.
NASA asked industry in late 2017 to create CLPS pursuit teams.
Under a teaming arrangement, Draper intends to manage the alliance’s proposed payload, guidance, control and navigation technologies for a lunar rover. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems will manufacture, assemble, integrate and test the lander.
Ispace will support spacecraft design, mission operations and rideshare efforts while Spaceflight will offer launch support services that cover integration, takeoff and range recording, and pre- and post-operations.
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USD to Host gun control debate
University of San Diego will host a debate on gun control on Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Theatre on campus. It is free and open to the public.
University of Colorado Professor of Philosophy Michael Huemer will argued that gun ownership is an individual’s moral right, and that the harm stemming from the private ownership of firearms has been greatly exaggerated. Chapman University Presidential Fellow Michael Shermer will contend that widespread ownership of semi-automatic weapons threatens the rights of all of us to live safely in society, and that the importance of gun ownership for private self-defense is overstated.
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Everyone Counts acquired by Votem Corp.
Everyone Counts, a San Diego company for voter registration and online voting, has been acquired by Cleveland-based Votem Corp. Financial details were not disclosed. With the completion of the acquisition, Votem now offers five voting products: mobile blockchain voting, online voting, online voter registration, voter registration and election management system, and remote accessible voting for military and overseas voters.
“We are excited to combine our respective online voting solutions to offer unparalleled security and service to government bodies, unions, boards, award shows, and any other entity that requires accessible, transparent, and trusted elections,” said James Simmons, Everyone Counts’ CEO. “Together, our products provide a comprehensive solution for voter engagement, voter registration, election management, and voting for our current and future clients. We couldn’t have found a better organization with which to continue and expand our vision for the future of elections.”
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College district receives $336,000 grant
to support undocumented students
The San Diego Community College District has received a $336,000 grant to create and expand programs at its three colleges to support undocumented students and their families so that more people will be able to realize their full potential.
The funds will be used to expand the Dreamer Resource Centers at City and Mesa colleges and establish a Dreamer Resource Center at Miramar College.
San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges are among 32 campuses throughout California that will receive support this academic year from the new California Campus Catalyst Fund. To date, the Catalyst Fund has raised nearly $10 million for this three-year initiative which was founded by educators, funders and advocates. The fund increases support for undocumented students and their families on campuses representing the state’s three public higher education systems: California Community Colleges, California State University, and the University of California.
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10Fold opens a new office in San Diego
10Fold, a business-to-business communications and content agency, has opened its sixth office – located in Downtown San Diego – to accommodate the agency’s growth and leverage the area’s top B2B tech communications talent. The address is 704 J St., Suite 202.
Meghan Brown is senior account manager of the office.
To keep up with client demand, 10Fold has promoted Angelo Griffo to senior vice president of client services and Ross Perich to general manager of the content group and large accounts. The company also hired Mike Kilroy as vice president, reporting to Griffo. This expansion comes on the heels of the agency winning nine major industry awards, including Most Honored Agency, Best Places to Work and the Silver Award for the Entrepreneur of the Year from the Women’s World Awards.
Griffo has been with 10Fold for 11 years and brings nearly 20 years of corporate communications experience to her role. Perich, who has been with 10Fold for 18 years, has expertise as a corporate communications professional, content strategist and video producer. Kilroy is an award-winning communications executive with more than 25 years of experience leading results-oriented communications programs for top-tier, mid-sized and emerging technology firms.
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Personnel Announcements
Michelle Bonfilio named chief human resources officer for Petco
Petco has appointed human resources executive Michelle Bonfilio as chief human resources officer. Bonfilio brings more than 20 years of experience translating business objectives into comprehensive HR strategies and initiatives that drive transformational growth. Prior to joining Petco, she served as chief human resources officer nfor The Wine Grou, LLC, the second-largest global producer of wine in the United States. Previously, she held senior leadership roles at Delta Dental of California, Big Heart Pet Brands and Gap Inc.
Bonfilio holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Davis. Starting on Oct. 22, she will be based at the company’s National Support center in San Diego.
“As a pet parent myself, I share the passion and dedication that Petco partners have for animals — an attribute that’s inherent to the company’s long history and a powerful driver of the brand’s success,” said Bonfilio. “I look forward to helping this team harness that passion to fuel ongoing success and a culture that allows all of us to achieve both individual and collective objectives.”
Bonfilio will report directly to Petco CEO Ron Coughlin, who said: “Michelle is known for developing progressive HR strategies and fostering diverse, cohesive, high-impact cultures that promote both employee engagement and business success. I’m excited to welcome her to our leadership team and confident her point of view will be invaluable as we work to further tap into our team’s distinctive passion and unlock Petco’s full potential.”
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Lydia Chen & Kate Harvey named client
relationship managers for TAG Family CFO
TAG Family CFO, an outsourced accounting firm specializing in personal financial reporting and family bill pay services for the high-net-worth, announced that Lydia Chen and Kate Harvey have been appointed as new client relationship managers for the La Jolla office.
In this role, Chen and Harvey will oversee a team of accountants and handle a complex portfolio of clients ranging from high-net-worth families, their businesses, trusts and foundations.
In business since 1996, with over 150 clients, TAG Family CFO provides back-office accounting support including consolidated financial reporting, cash flow management and bill pay services to help the high-net-worth organize and navigate through their financial affairs.
TAG Family CFO works in partnership with their client’s trusted advisors to produce a holistic view of assets and financial holdings, helping them make better decisions with their wealth.
Previously, Chen was the corporate controller for TAG and accounting consultant for various companies in San Diego.
She has expert knowledge in several accounting software systems, including QuickBooks, NetSuite and Sage construction accounting software.
Prior to joining TAG Family CFO, Harvey was a controller and senior business analyst for multiple industries including real estate development, manufacturing and nonprofit organizations
She also served as senior auditor at Grant Thornton in New York and PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Pittsburg.
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Gubernatorial Appointments
• Carlos Varela, 47, of Chula Vista, has been appointed to a judgeship in the San Diego County Superior Court. Varela has served as chief of the South Bay Division at the San Diego District Attorney’s Office since 2018, where he has served as a deputy district attorney since 1998. Varela earned a Juris Doctor degree from the California Western School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Lisa Schall. Varela is a Democrat.
• Jason Haider, 30, of San Diego, has been appointed to the California Workforce Development Board by Gov. Jerry Brown. Haider has been founder and chief executive officer at Xenco Medical since 2011. He is a member of the California Association for Local Economic Development. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Haider is a Democrat.
• Benjamin Clay, 73, of San Diego was reappointed, and Clarissa Falcon, 46, of Bonita and Elsa Saxod, 74, of San Diego, were appointed to the San Diego River Conservancy Governing Board. Clay has served on the board since 2010. He was owner at Carpi and Clay Government Relations from 1984 to 2005, vice president of government relations at Torrey Enterprises from 1982 to 1984, and director of intergovernmental relations for the county of San Diego from 1976 to 1982. He is chair of the USS Midway Foundation and a member of the San Diego Maritime Museum and the San Diego Symphony Board. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Clay is registered without party preference.
Falcon has been owner and principal consultant at Falcon Strategies since 2010. She was district director in the Office of California State Sen. Denise Ducheny from 2003 to 2010, a public policy analyst at the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation from 2000 to 2003 and a field representative in the office of Assemblymember Denise Ducheny from 1994 to 2000. Falcon is a Democrat.
Saxod has been president at Saxod Enterprises since 1978. She is a member of the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors. Saxod is a Democrat.
The positions do not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem.
