Daily Business Report-Nov. 16, 2020
As states have been lifting restrictions, and more businesses have opened, air travel has increased.
San Diego International Airport one of
the fastest recovering airports nationwide
San Diego International airport ranked 13 on the top 15 list of airports recovering the fastest from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new travel survey by FinanceBuzz based on U.S. Bureau of Transportation data.
“We are a year-long leisure destination. People want to come here because of our weather and beaches,” said Sabrina Lopiccolo, public information officer for the airport.
In the survey, April shows close to 40,000 departing passengers from the airport. Then in June, that number jumped to 200,000.
“In April, we were down like many other airports — down 95 percent,” said Lopiccolo. “Month to date in October, we are down 68 percent.”
Lopiccolo added that as states have been lifting restrictions and more businesses have opened, air travel has increased.
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Scripps Health to receive $22.1 million
for health programs
United States District Judge John A. Houston has approved $22.1 million in funding to Scripps Health for a variety of initiatives to support patient care, research and health equity in the areas of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurocognitive conditions.
The approval of funds to Scripps stems from a legal settlement reached earlier this year between the defendant, a pharmaceutical company and the plaintiffs, a class-action group of consumers who claimed the company misrepresented the health risks and benefits of its hormone replacement therapy drugs. Scripps was not involved in the case.
After the plaintiffs received their settlement funds, excess funds remained. The settlement agreement calls for these residual funds to be distributed to benefit California women in the areas that were central to the case: breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurocognitive disease.
Scripps Health’s cancer program plans to use funds to support a number of breast cancer efforts, including clinical trials, translational research, expanded biorepository research, community outreach and a cancer survivorship program.
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Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine looking
90 percent effective
Pfizer Inc. has developed a COVID-19 vaccine may be 90 percent effective based on early test results, and is on track to apply for emergency-use approval from the FDA later this month. Pfizer employs close to 1,000 at its San Diego site, which focuses on oncology and vaccines, and has championed innovative approaches to discovering new drugs to fight cancer, AIDS, and other diseases.
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County receives grant to improve safety
of bicyclists, pedestrians and scooter riders
The County Health & Human Services Agency has received a $125,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to improve the safety of bicyclists, pedestrians, and scooter riders.
Grant funds will be used for a variety of activities promoting bicyclist, pedestrian and scooter safety, including:
- Education workshops geared toward youth, older adults, and community groups.
- Education on the importance of safety equipment that improves visibility such as reflective armbands, bicycle headlights and taillights.
- Bicycle and scooter safety courses
- Presentations to community groups, including disability community stakeholders
- A public relations education and outreach campaign directed to the mobility community, motorists, and businesses
The services, which will run through Sept. 30, 2021, will be provided by Circulate San Diego.
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DERMALA raises $6.73 million for custom
dermatology solutions
MetroConnect alum DERMALA has raised $6.73 million to expand its personalized microbiomed-based solution for acne and other skin conditions. The company will use the funding to scale operations, manufacturing, and commercial efforts for its acne products, as well as expand its researh and development activities around eczema and skin wellness.
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Rexford Industrial completes overhaul
of Sorrento Mesa industrial building
Rexford Industrial has completed a more than $3.5 million renovation of a 106,412-square-foot industrial property in Sorrento Mesa. Upon completion of renovations, Colliers International secured Quidel, a San Diego-based diagnostic health care manufacturer, as the tennt for the entire building under a 10-year lease valued at more than $16,900. The property is at 10015 Waples Court.
Rexford Industrial acquired the property in 2019 for $21.3 million. The transaction was handled by Evan McDonald and Tom Mercer of Colliers International.
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Salk appoints Jesse Dixon as assistant professor
The Salk Institute has appointed molecular biologist Jesse Dixon to the rank of assistant professor for his significant work in uncovering how the human genome, the DNA blueprint for life, is organized in three-dimensional space inside of cells. The appointment was based on recommendations by Salk faculty, and approved by Salk President Rusty Gage and the Institute’s board of trustees.
Dixon came to the Institute in 2015 as a Helmsley-Salk Fellow after completing his M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of California San Diego. The fellowship program is designed to bring scientists from broad disciplines to Salk to trigger innovation and perpetuate the collaborative spirit of the Institute. Fellows have expertise in a wide range of innovative technologies, and their work involves novel, original research that may not obtain support through traditional channels.
Dixon uses computational techniques and laboratory science to explore how abnormal genome folding leads to errors in critical stretches of DNA that can cause many conditions, including cancer.
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New partnership addresses California’s
rural bilingual educator shortage
Across California, school districts are scrambling to fill a severe shortage of bilingual educators to keep up with the growing numbers of English learners in the classroom. The need in rural communities is particularly acute.
As a result, many schools have turned to teachers with only bachelor’s degrees and “emergency credentials” — one-year permits typically given to substitutes — to fill in the gaps.
A new collaboration between San Diego State University’s Department of Dual Language and English Learner Education (DLE), Feather River College and the Butte County Office of Education is stepping up to address the problem. Project Access, as the new program is called, will provide “emergency” educators an opportunity to earn a bilingual credential online in as little as one year.
“What we’re doing here at DLE is growing our own teachers — particularly in the field of bilingual education,” said Margarita Machado-Casas, professor and chair in DLE. “Project Access will provide teachers who are in the classroom on emergency credentials a pathway to come into our program. We hope to use this pilot project as a springboard to expand this further.”
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Paul Parker returns to lead County
Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board
Paul Parker has returned to lead the County of San Diego’s Citizens” Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB), which has expanded authority and increased law enforcement oversight capabilities.
Parker was chosen by CLERB’s board to succeed Julio Estrado, who is retiring after 28 years, the last year and 10 months as CLERB’s leader.
Parker was CLERB’s executive officer in 2017-18 before leaving to become chief deputy director of the Los Angeles County’s medical examiner/coroner’s office. But Parker said this week that he was excited to return, not just to come back to San Diego, but to be involved in a key moment of nationwide change to “improve law enforcement and community relations.”
Parker was a police officer for 10 years before spending most of the last 20 years in the medical examiner/coroner field in San Diego; Phoenix, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Los Angeles.
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PSAR offers free webinar on investing in Panama
The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors’ (PSAR) Global Real Estate Council (GREC) will host a free webinar over Zoom with Luis Pimentel, a real estate executive from the country of Panama, starting at 11 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 17.
Pimentel is president of La Asociación Panameña de Corredores y Promotores de Bíenes Raices (ACOBIR, translated as Panamanian Association of Real Estate Brokers and Developers), which has a cross-border, bilateral cooperative alliance with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in the U.S.
Pimental will provide an update on Panama’s real estate market and highlight business opportunities available there. All San Diego County real estate professionals, regardless of association affiliation, are invited to attend. For more information, visit www.psar.org.
