Daily Business Report — Dec. 14, 2009
CONNECT Bestows Most Innovative Products Awards
Emerging technologies developed in San Diego were represented in the 22nd annual Most Innovative New Product Awards (MIP) announced Friday by CONNECT, the nonprofit organization supporting high technology and life science innovators. The MIP Award winners were selected from 100 entries representing a broad range of companies within eight categories: action and sport, aerospace and security, cleantech, diagnostics and research tools, medical products, software, hardware and general technology and communications and IT.
The 2009 MIP Award winners are:
• Action and Sport Technologies: Neptunic Technologies for Neptech Protective Material
Neptech Protective Material is a lightweight and clothing-like protective textile used in the manufacturing and design of specialized gear for the action sports and defense industries.
• Aerospace and Security Technologies: Intevac Photonics Inc. for Night Port
Night Port is a digital night vision viewer which offers extremely low light sensitivity, compact size, low weight and increased power performance for government and surveillance applications.
• Clean Technology: ecoATM for ecoATM
ecoATM is an eCycling Station that automates trade-in and recycling programs for consumer electronics and mobile phone retailers by automatically inspecting used electronics, evaluating the condition and enabling the immediate buy back directly from consumers.
• Hardware and General Technology: Cymer for XLR 600ix
XLR 600ix is a flexible power excimer laser light source for semiconductor lithography, addressing the market demand for electronic devices requiring smaller and more powerful computer chips.
• Life Science – Diagnostics and Research Tools: Naviscan for the Stereo Navigator Breast Biopsy Accessory
Stereo Navigator Breast Biopsy Accessory is a Positron Emission Tomography (or PET) guided biopsy tool that enables physicians to guide compatible interventional devices toward abnormalities in the breast.
• Life Science – Medical Products: SynergEyes for ClearKone
ClearKone is a hybrid contact lens specifically designed for patients with moderate to advanced stages of keratoconus, a degenerative eye disease. ClearKone delivers a significant healthy amount of oxygen to the eye while maintaining a strong bond between the rigid and soft materials.
• Software: Verance Corporation for Cinavia
A technology platform that employs Verance’s proprietary audio watermarking techniques to enable the enactment of use policies for audiovisual content across a broad range of distribution channels and devices.
• Communications & IT: Nextivity for Cel-Fi
Indoor cellular coverage technology that is network safe, mass deployable, self installable and provides a measurable difference coverage and data throughput.
CONNECT also presented the William W. Otterson Award to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. for the Predator unmanned aircraft. The award is named after the founder and first executive director of CONNECT.
Sycuan Chairman Elected to Top Gaming Post
Daniel J. Tucker, chairman of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, owner of the Sycuan Casino in El Cajon, has been elected chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), the largest tribal gaming organization in California. Cody Martinez, treasurer of the Sycuan Band, was elected southern representative, and Steve Stallings, a tribal council member of the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, operator of Harrah’s Rincon Resort and Casino in Valley Center, was elected treasurer.
Tucker previously served as chairman of CNIGA between 1995 and 2001, during the organization’s formative years, which included such significant milestones as the Proposition 5 and 1A campaigns and the original round of compacting with the state in 1999 in which 61 tribes signed agreements. “I look forward to working with all tribes in California to help safeguard the sovereign right of tribes to conduct gaming on our lands,” said Tucker.
Tucker succeeds Anthony Miranda, who was chairman of CNIGA for six years. Tucker was elected for a two-year term.
During Tucker’s tenure as Sycuan’s chairman the tribe has developed the Sycuan resort into a major destination resort, allowing the Sycuan tribe to diversify itstribal economy and social educational programs.
Stallings is currently the senior vice president and director of the Native American Banking Services group for Wells Fargo. Stallings replaces Dennis Hendricks of Tuolumne, who did not seek re-election.
Mor Furniture to Relocate Warehouse to Otay Mesa
Mor Furniture for Less has signed a 10-year lease for 199,000 sqauare feet of industrial space in Brown Field Business Park, the county’s largest industrial space commitment since 2006. The financial terms were not disclosed. More Furniture is relocating its current warehouse and distribution center from Poway to Brown Field Business Park in Otay Mesa.
“The transaction reflects what we hope to see as a turning point for the industrial market in San Diego, particularly in South County where there continues to be a surplus of inventory,” said Charles Adolphe, director with Cushman & Wakefield who, with Bryan Teel represented the lessor in the transaction, Brown Field Business Park LP. The lessee was represented by Eric A. Northbrook and Sean Williams, also of Cushman & Wakefield. Other companies located at Brown Field Business Park include Honeywell, Panasonic, Parker-Hannifin and Deli-Mex.
New Jobs and Accolades. . .
Crystal Scripps McKellar has joined Morrison & Foerster LLP as a senior associate in the litigation department. She came from New York, where she was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell. McKellar is the great-granddaughter of F.W. Kellogg and his wife, Florence Scripps, who founded the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in 1935. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, received a master’s degree in history from Oxford University, and a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Yale University. The British publication Global Competition Review named McKellar to its list of “100 Women in Antitrust 2009.” Early in her career, McKellar clerked for Judge Marilyn L. Huff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
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William Eigner, partner in the law firm of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, has been elected to the board of directors of the San Diego Venture Group. His six-year term begins Jan. 1. The Venture Group is a nonprofit organization designed to fund and build new business ventures. Eigner’s practice emphasizes venture capital and the financing, governing, operating, buying, selling and merging of growing technology and other businesses. He received a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
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Rick Hill, a veteran construction manager with expertise in senior apartment development, has joined Lackman Commercial Group as a commercial real estate agent. Hill has over 20 years of construction and engineering firm experience. He was previously with Wise River Builders and West Coast Construction. He also held the position of vice president of corporate properties for Interstate Bank.
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Kurt M. Waefler of San Diego has earned the certified executive chef designation from the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Inc. Waefler is executive chef/instructor, at San Diego Culinary in La Mesa and a member of ACF Chefs & Culinarians of San Diego. ACF operates a comprehensive certification program for chefs in the United States and currently certifies nearly 9,000 professionals worldwide.
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Scott Levine, partner with Silldorf & Levine LLP, recently developed and taught a course on employment law at UCSD Extension titled, “Workplace Survival Guide.” The course was a new addition to the seminars offered through UCSD Extension’s Career and Life Stage Services Department. The idea for the course came from Levine’s realization that most employees do not understand their rights in the workplace. “Employees are often ‘salaried’ when they should be paid for every hour worked,” said Levine. “If employees know the rules, their employers may be forced to follow the law. Sometimes employers don’t follow the law because they don’t know the rules. Other times, it is more intentional.”
The “Workplace Survival Guide” course provides an overview of the intricate laws related to employment in California. Topics addressed include whether a position should be compensated hourly or via salary, when an employee is entitled to overtime pay, and when an employee is entitled to meal and rest breaks. The course provides interactive case studies that allow participants to work out hypothetical scenarios to better understand the complicated rules of exempt versus non-exempt classification and how to negotiate the proper balance between wages and hours. The course concludes with an explanation of what happens when an employer fails to comply with the law.
Because of the success and positive feedback from the course, Silldorf & Levine will continue to offer employment-related workshops and educational sessions throughout San Diego County. Contact Silldorf & Levine associate Christina Ciceron (cciceron@silldorf-levine.com) for additional information.
Leasing Projects Filled
New leasing activity has brought three industrial projects along central San Diego’s I-15 Corridor to 100 percent leased. Located in Scripps Ranch, Rancho Bernardo and Poway, the three projects total 375,166 square feet.
• Chassis Plan Inc. leased 22,976 square feet for 66 months at Scripps Ranch Business Center, 10121 Carroll Canyon Road, San Diego. The light industrial/corporate headquarters lease is valued at $1.5 million. Scripps Ranch Business Center is a six-building, 158,818-square-foot industrial project with other tenants including Plansee, PowerGenix and Lifecare Solutions. Bill Dolan and Chris Pascale of CB Richard Ellis of CB Richard Ellis represented the lessor, H.G. Fenton. Craig Knox of Irving Hughes represented Chassis Plan Inc.
• Wheat Accessories leased 24,370 square feet at The Crossroads, 10948 Willow Court, San Diego. The 13-month lease is valued at $225,000. The Crossroads is a two–building, 85,000-square-foot warehouse/distribution project with other tenants including the San Diego Zoo. Dolan represented the lessor, AFJR Partnership. Wheat Accessories represented itself.
• California Container & Cabinet leased 10,445 square feet for 60 months at Poway Industrial Center, 12215 Kirkham Road, Poway. The warehouse lease is valued at $572,600. Poway Industrial Center is a four-building, 131,348-square-foot warehouse project with other tenants including CED, Poway Unified School District, Toro Aire and The San Diego Union-Tribune. CBRE’s Dolan and Doug Works represented the lessor, Harsch Investment Properties. Evan McDonald of Colliers International represented California Container & Cabinet.
Comedian Kathy Griffin to Visit Warwick’s Bookstore
Actress and comedian Kathy Griffin will be at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave. in La Jolla on Dec. 23 from 8 to 10 p.m. to sign “Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin.” The signing is free and open to the public, although in order to be signed, books must be purchased from Warwick’s. For more information, call Warwick’s at (858) 454-0347.
St. Madeleine Sophie’s to Sell at NTC Promenade
St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center (SMSC) will operate its Pop-Up Retail Shop at the NTC Promenade through Dec. 31. Pop-up retail is a trend around the world where galleries pop-up, draw in crowds, and then disappear or reappear. SMSC’s art gallery, Sophie’s Gallery & Gift Shop, provides opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities to create and sell artwork. Their creativity runs the gamut from clocks made from old albums to painted and altered clothing to mosaic mirrors, frames, and pots. Some individuals from Sophie’s compete with other artists for art awards.
Sophie’s Art Gallery & Gift Show is at 2690 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 19 at NTC. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sundays, noon to 6 p.m.
Federal Contracts . . .
• Anacomp Inc., San Diego, won a $32,562 federal contract from the Defense Logistics Agency’s Acquisition Locations, Mechanicsburg, Pa., for com film.
• Drew George & Partners Inc., San Diego, won a $41,500 federal contract from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Ore., for architect and engineering project management services for the San Diego Visitor Contact Station.
• General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, won a $1,167,144 federal contract from the U.S. Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for communication, detection and coherent radiation equipment.
•MDF Technologies Inc., Encinitas, won a $532,073.25 federal contract from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Aviation Logistics Center, Elizabeth City, N.C., for HH65 aircraft spare parts.
(Source: Targeted News Service)
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