Daily Business Report-Aug. 27, 2015
Birdseye view of the TOTE 1 launch on April 18, 2015.
NASSCO Invites Public to
Watch Big Ship Launch
NASSCO is inviting the public to witness Saturday night’s launching of its newest vessel into San Diego Bay — the 764-foot TOTE 2. The launch is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. at the shipyard, 2798 East Harbor Drive. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. and a ceremony will be held at 7:30 p.m.
TOTE 2 is the second of the world’s first LNG-powered container ships built by NASSCO.
TOTE 1 was launched in April at the shipyard.
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Medical Device Maker NuVasive
To Open Plant and Hire 300
Times of San Diego
San Diego-based NuVasive, a maker of medical devices for spine surgery, announced plans for a new manufacturing facility employing more than 300 people.
The company said it is looking for locations in the San Diego area for a 130,000-square-foot facility to house approximately 100 computer-controlled machine tools. It plans to have the facility in operation by the end of 2016 and will hire engineers, tool makers, machinists and technicians
“This new manufacturing facility reflects the demand for NuVasive’s innovative spine technology. Along with providing additional capacity to meet this rising demand, our new state-of-the-art facility will further our commitment to expand our internal capabilities to self-manufacture our spinal products and select instruments over time,” said Gregory T. Lucier, NuVasive’s chairman and chief executive officer.
“This new facility not only represents growth for NuVasive, but also for the city where it will ultimately be located,” he added.
NuVasive has grown from a small startup to the third largest company in the $9 billion global spine surgery market.
Belching Beaver Buys Oceanside
Building for Beer Production Site
Belching Beaver has purchased a 24,428-square-foot building in Oceanside for $2.37 million to operate five-stage, 30-barrel beer production site. The seller was AMB SFS Pacific LLC.
The building at 1334 Rocky Point Drive will be Belching Beaver’s fourth location in San Diego County since debuting in 2012. Other locations include the original brewery in Vista, a brewpub in Vista and a tasting room in North Park.
“This purchase was emblematic of their exponential success and the growing demand of their product,” said Stephen Crockett of Lee & Associates, which represented Belching Beaver in the acquisition. “The new facility will allow Belching Beaver the opportunity to increase production capacity from 12,000 to more than 60,000 barrels annually and meet some of that demand.”
The seller was represented by Colliers.
City of San Diego Announces
New Newspaper of Record
With the closing of the San Diego Daily Transcript on Sept. 1, the city of San Diego has selected San Diego Commerce as the official publication of record for city legal notice advertising.
The partnership with the San Diego Commerce newspaper, which is part of the San Diego Daily Journal Corp., fulfills the city charter requirement that a “City Official Newspaper” be designated for publishing advertising that is required by law.
City staff will be working with the San Diego Commerce to facilitate the transition to the “official newspaper, ” according to Jose Ysea, public information officer for the city.
Carnival of Services Expo
Sept. 15 in Mission Valley
The San Diego Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA San Diego) and the San Diego chapter of the International Facilities Management Association will hold the first ever joint Carnival of Services Expo on Sept. 15 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Doubletree Mission Valley Hotel.
Building owners, asset managers, property managers and facility managers are invited to attend, develop business relationships and learn about the latest tools, technology and services available to increase property value and enhance tenant retention. Discover solutions to manage and maintain properties more efficiently, reduce operating expenses, save energy, implement green practices and more. There will be games, prizes, contests, lunch and more.
For more information and to register to attend, visit: www.bomasd.org.
Newest Postal Annex to Celebrate
Grand Opening Sept. 18 in Encinitas
San Diego-based Annex Brands Inc. will open its newest PostalAnnex franchise in Encinitas on Sept. 18 — the 65th location in San Diego County and the third in Encinitas.
Located at 162 S. Rancho Santa Fe Road in the Rancho Santa Fe Plaza, the new PostalAnnex is owned and operated by franchisees Chuck and Cindy Datte. The Dattes have been residents of San Diego since 1969. Cindy Datte is a former project manager with American International Group. Chuck Datte is a Vietnam war veteran and now chief software engineer for SPAWAR.
The official ribbon cutting ceremony will be Sept. 18 atnoon in partnership with the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce. On Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Dattes have organized prizes to give away in a raffle, a display of exotic and classic cars, and complimentary food and drink from neighboring Rancho Santa Fe Plaza businesses.
“San Diego is where PostalAnnex began and the Dattes’ business keeps the brand vibrant and growing, perfectly located to serve the growing needs of Encinitas and Rancho Santa Fe,” said Patrick Edd, president and chief financial officer of Annex Brands.
USS Reagan to Leave Monday
For New Home Port in Japan
City News Service
The transfer of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan from San Diego to Japan will begin Monday, the Navy announced Wednesday.
The Reagan, based in San Diego for around 11 years, is one of three aircraft carriers taking part in a swap of home ports. The USS George Washington left Japan, and following a stop here, is destined for Virginia, where it will undergo a nuclear power refueling.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt, which had been located in Virginia, is currently deployed in the Middle East and will end its voyage at its new San Diego home base.
“We are sending our most modern West Coast-based aircraft carrier to support the security, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and our allies,” said Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, the commander of Naval Air Forces.
The Reagan was one of the first Navy ships to respond and provide assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the east coast of Japan in 2011. The ship was on deployment at the time.
“The strong ties that were established between ship and host nation over four years ago will continue,” Shoemaker said.
Since around two-thirds of the crew of each vessel taking part in the swap are expected to remain at their home port, the Navy expects to save around $41 million in personnel transfer costs.
Most of the sailors taking the Reagan across the Pacific Ocean are former George Washington crew members. The majority of those taking the George Washington to Virginia served aboard the Reagan — and they’re scheduled to fly back when they’re finished and man the “Big Stick” after it arrives in San Diego.
Scripps Scientists Complete DNA
Sequencing Used to ID Thousands of Fish
Times of San Diego
Scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said Wednesday they have completed a two-year sampling of DNA from fish that spawn near the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier, creating a baseline that can be used for future studies.
The research team led by Ron Burton and Alice Harada collected 260 samples from 39 fish species, and used DNA barcoding to identify more than 13,000 fish eggs near the pier, which is in a marine protected area, or MPA.
“The primary purpose of this study was to provide a detailed picture of the species spawning in the MPAs in order to establish a baseline for future studies, which will allow us to examine the effects of climate change on the spawning patterns and fish species assemblage,” said Harada, a Scripps doctoral student. “In the future, we can also use our results to assess the efficacy of the MPAs.”
The results, published Wednesday in the Public Library of Science publication PLoS One, showed consistency in the fish spawning patterns, and revealed which fish are spawning locally.
The most abundant species were speckled sanddabs and senoritas, but other species observed included giant seabass, white seabass, barracuda and sheephead. The researchers did not find many species that are commonly found offshore, such as yellowtail, according to Scripps.
The study was funded by the Richard Grand Foundation and California Sea Grant, a partnership between universities in California and federal and state government agencies.
Doctible and County Medical Society
Launch Health Care Pilot Program
Doctible, a Health care technology company, and the San Diego County Medical Society have teamed up to launch a free pilot program for local employers that reduces health care spending by 10-35 percent and achieves $9 million in health care savings. Doctible is inviting San Diego employers to join the pilot program that starts in September.
The pilot problem addresses two things. For employers, their No. 1 related employee expense is now health care, surpassing all other employee related expenses. In response to cost pressures, employers are shifting their employees to cheaper high-deductible health care plans and/or going self-insured. For employees, the consequence is they are now on the hook for their own health care. In many cases, that out-of-pocket cost is $2,000-$5,000 for an individual or $7,000-$15,000 for a family before insurance kicks in. At the end of the day, employee insurance premiums plus out-of-pocket costs can add up to the same cost as a new car every year.
The free pilot program will be limited to a select number of employers with the specific goal of achieving $9 million in total health care savings for employers and employees.
For more information, visit contact Michael@Doctible.com or call (619) 752-4888.
More F-35 Training Systems
Ordered from Cubic Global Defense
UPI
Cubic Global Defense is to produce and enhance the Air Combat Training System in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the company announced.
Included in the work contracted by Lockheed Martin Aerospace is the addition of an internally mounted sub-system of the P5 Combat Training System, or P5CTS, that enables the F-35 to maintain its stealth characteristics while training.
The P5CTS is designed to provide secure, real-time and post-mission training for air-to-air, air-to-ground and surface-to-air combat missions by displaying live-air picture, recording mission data, and relaying time, space and positioning information between participating aircraft during training flights.
The P5 training system is an encrypted system interoperable with the P5CTS/Tactical Combat Training System used by the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and many international partners.
Cubic said that under the new low-rate initial production contract from Lockheed Martin, it is to produce additional JSF P5 systems.
The announced production came in a series of contracts from Lockheed Martin Aerospace, the company said, but no details as to their financial value were disclosed.
Carlsbad City Council Bypasses Ballot
Measure and OKs Mall on Lagoon Shore
The Carlsbad City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to skip a ballot referendum and simply OK Caruso Affiliated’s plan to build a shopping mall on 27 acres near the south shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. The proposal also permanently designates another 173 acres, including the famed strawberry fields, as open space.
The meeting drew hundreds, and a record 133 of them spoke at the podium. The plan now will be sent to the California Coastal Commission for review.
San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy
Awarded $20,000 for River Path Del Mar
The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Walter J. and Betty C. Zable Foundation towards construction of the River Path Del Mar. The River Path provides a scenic overlook of the San Dieguito Lagoon and River, complete with interpretive signage of the flora and fauna of the River and Lagoon.
The conservancy is spearheading the effort to build the River Path extension for residents and visitors to learn about the lagoon environment and the River Valley Park. The existing trail goes from Jimmy Durante Boulevard westward to the coast and parallels the south edge of the river.
The grant will help fund the construction of the portion of River Path Del Mar from Jimmy Durante Blvd. east to the Old Grand Avenue Bridge, providing scenic vistas of the lagoon wetlands and interpretive information of the flora and fauna. The total project cost is estimated to be approximately $475,000.
Currently, 65 percent has been committed through a $150,000 grant provided by the County of San Diego through District 3 Supervisor Dave Roberts; $73,000 in private donations received by the Conservancy; $54,500 in grants received by the Conservancy ($20,000 from the Tippett Foundation, $20,000 from the Zable Foundation, $7000 from REI, $6,000 from the Del Mar Foundation and $1,500 from the California 10/20 Race), and $35,000 through the City of Del Mar, including a $5,000 grant from the Friends of the San Dieguito River Valley).
Voters Favor Tobacco Tax, Minimum Wage Hike
About two-thirds of California voters support increasing the state cigarette tax by $2 a pack, and a similar percentage would back a minimum wage hike to $15 an hour, according to a Field Poll released Wednesday and reported by The Sacramento Bee.
Proposals to raise the tobacco tax or increase the minimum wage have been introduced in the Legislature or as voter initiatives in recent years. On Wednesday, health and labor groups unveiled legislation for a $2-a-pack boost in the cigarette tax.
“We are committed to raising the tobacco tax,” Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group Health Access California, said in an interview. “We prefer to do it legislatively, but there is an active and aggressive campaign to move it onto the ballot” if necessary.
Personnel Announcements
Chula Vista Police Chief Appointed
To California Corrections Board
Chula Vista Police Chief David Bejarano, 58, of Bonita, has been appointed to the California Board of State and Community Corrections by Gov. Jerry Brown. Bejarano has been chief of the Chula Vista Police Department since 2009. He was president at Presidential Security Services from 2005 to 2009 and served as the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of California from 2003 to 2005.
Bejarano served in several positions at the San Diego Police Department from 1979 to 2003, including police chief, supervisor, detective and officer and served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1975 to 1978. He is president of the California Police Chiefs Association.
The position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bejarano is a Republican.
San Diego Musical Theatre Names Executive Director
Colleen Kollar Smith has been named executive director of the San Diego Musical Theatre.
A native San Diegan, Smith has made a career on and off San Diego stages with such organizations as Lamb’s Players Theatre, CYT San Diego and most recently New Village Arts.
“We, along with the board of SDMT are thrilled to have Colleen’s expertise, education, and vision guiding our organization into its next exciting phase of growth,” said founders Erin and Gary Lewis in a statement. “We know that with Colleen as part of our team, we have a new and fresh energy that will help SDMT to provide more opportunities to enrich the development of the arts in San Diego.”
“In addition to the season of Broadway musicals SDMT has become known for, we are poised to build exciting new programs that we hope will attract and serve new audiences,” said Smith.
