Daily Business Report-May 19, 2014
Study: E-cigs Reduce Immune
System Ability to Fight Infection
Electronic cigarette vapor makes the antibiotic-resistant “superbug” MRSA harder to kill and reduces the immune system’s ability to fight infection, according to a study by UC San Diego and VA researchers.
If confirmed in people, the laboratory findings indicates a major potential health hazard of e-cigarettes, widely considered safer than smoking tobacco. These devices vaporize various flavored juices. These juices usually contain nicotine, the addictive chemical in tobacco.
Results were released Sunday at the American Thoracic Society’s international conference in San Diego. Dr. Laura E. Crotty Alexander, a UCSD assistant clinical professor of medicine and staff physician at VA San Diego Healthcare System, led the study.
MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, represents a major public health concern, especially at hospitals. The bacterium resists many antibiotics. If MRSA gets into the bloodstream or deep into the body, such as through surgery, or into the lungs, the infection can be life-threatening.
E-cigarettes first appeared on the U.S. market about seven years ago. Their potential hazards has been intensively researched, but there’s still much uncertainty. Earlier this year, researchers at UC Riverside published research showing that cinnamon flavorings can damage cells in lab tests. The study, led by UCR cell biology professor Prue Talbot, was published in the journal Toxicology in Vitro.
Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it would regulate the sale of e-cigarettes as tobacco products. Locally, various government agencies in San Diego County have imposed restrictions on their use. In March, the El Cajon City Council imposed the same restrictions on use and sale of e-cigarettes as apply to regular cigarettes. The Encinitas City Council has also moved in that direction, as has Oceanside.
— U-T San Diego
San Diego Ranked High in Small Business Support
San Diego is one of 12 cities in the U.S. cited by the National League of Cities as having the best practices that support small business development in their regions. The ranking is contained in the organization’s report, “Big Ideas for Small Business,” which concludes that cities must reorganize their resources to be business-friendly and provide owners with access to new sources of capital. The report also provides local leaders with strategies to strengthen local business communities, and as a result, improve their local economies.
“Small businesses are an integral part of every community, and are responsible for roughly half the nation’s economic output,” said Chris Coleman, president of the league. “This new report shows that local leaders are in a unique position to create a small business ecosystem that connects entrepreneurs with city resources, including funding opportunities, streamlined regulations and technical assistance. Cities across the country understand that for small businesses to be successful in the long-term, it is critical that they have the support of communities and local leaders.”
Cities named in the report: Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Kansas City, Mo., Los Angeles, Louisville, Ky., New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.
San Diego Ad Club Becomes SDX
The San Diego Ad Club has changed its name to SDX.
“The name change reflects the evolution of the advertising, marketing, and communications industries that the organization has grown to represent,” the club said in a statement.
“SDX is the intersection of media, marketing, technology, and innovation. Most importantly SDX is an invitation to explore, create, and imagine what’s next in the world of marketing,” said club president Tonya Mantooth.
The original name of the organization was the San Diego Advertising and Sales Club, which was founded in 1911 to help promote the California Panama Exposition in 1915. The organization was also responsible for starting the Better Business Bureau chapter in San Diego in the early 1920s.
The club has nearly 300 companies represented and nearly 700 individual members.
Mantooth said SDX will continue to host the Brand Diego Awards, which honors San Diego’s homegrown brands and those that tend to them. It will also continue the American Advertising Awards, a national competition that recognizes significant achievement in the creative arts and campaign development.
Term Limits Measure Heading for Vote in La Mesa
LA MESA — Supporters of City Council term limits in La Mesa have collected enough valid signatures to put the measure to a vote, City Clerk Mary Kennedy says in a letter to those behind the effort. The matter comes to the City Council at its May 27 meeting.
“The May 27 hearing is merely to execute some ministerial tasks regarding the ballot process,” Bill Baber, the initiative’s campaign manager, said in a prepared statement released by La Mesa Term Limits Committee. “We will get to vote on term limits in November.”
Residents asked the council last year to institute term limits for mayor and City Council. When it declined, Councilmember Kristine Alessio suggested they launch an initiative effort. Backers of term limits then used a combination of paid and volunteer signature gatherers to secure more than 4,500 signatures within 180 days to qualify the initiative for the November ballot. Some 3,306 valid signatures were needed.
The measure calls for the mayor and councilmembers to serve no more than three consecutive terms.
In a statement released Wednesday, Alessio said, “This is a balanced approach. It’s modeled after the state term limits law passed by voters in 2012.”
— La Mesa Courier
