Daily Business Report-June 23, 2016
Encapsulated MUOS-5 communications satellite readied for Friday launch. (Photo courtesy of United Launch Alliance.)
Navy Preparing to Launch 5th Ultra-High
Frequency Communications Satellite
The Navy is preparing to launch an ultra high frequency communications satellite on Friday that will join four others in geosynchronous orbit that will greatly improve ground communications for U.S. military forces on the move. The launch is scheduled for Friday morning at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The Navy’s Program Executive Office for Space Systems, located at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in San Diego, is responsible for the program, called the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS). The MUOS-5 satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, is to join four MUOS satellites already on orbit and four operational ground stations, providing near-global coverage including communications deep into polar regions. More than 55,000 currently fielded radio terminals can be upgraded to be MUOS-compatible, with many of them requiring just a software upgrade
MUOS provides improved secure satellite communications around the world via an Internet Protocol-based system, equipping tactical and mobile warfighters with cell phone-like capabilities such as crystal-clear voice quality, excellent call completion rates and the ability to use voice and data simultaneously.
MUOS provides satellite communications in the UHF narrowband spectrum, which represents more than 50 percent of all Department of Defense satellite communication users. The system is designed to support users who require greater mobility, higher data rates, access to Defense Information Systems Network voice and data services and improved operational availability.
The first four MUOS satellites are in their operational slots and providing legacy communications capability from their geosynchronous orbits. The MUOS constellation and associated network will extend narrowband communications availability well past 2025, according to Navy officials.
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Budget Committee Requests Draft
To Implement Minimum Wage Hike
By City News Service
The City Council’s Budget Committee Wednesday unanimously requested staff to draft an ordinance to implement the voter-approved increase in San Diego’s minimum wage, and bring it before the full City Council next month.
Proposition I, which included the wage hike and five days of paid sick leave — both above that required by the state — was backed by 63 percent of voters in the June 7 election.
The City Council originally approved the boosts two years ago, but opponents in the business community collected enough petition signatures to force the issue to the ballot.
San Diego’s minimum wage is set to increase to $10.50 an hour. It will go to $11.50 an hour on Jan. 1.
The state’s hourly minimum wage is currently $10, and is set to go up to $10.50 in January.
Committee Chairman Todd Gloria said the implementing ordinance will hopefully include “best practices” from other California cities with higher minimum wages.
“I know a lot of small businesses already pay better than the minimum wage because they understand that’s actually a really good thing to do,” Gloria said.
“We want to make sure it’s a level playing field, that no businesses get a competitive advantage because they’re cheating with their employees,” said the councilman, who led the push to hike the minimum wage. “A lot of that comes from making sure that we’re clear about expectations and repercussions from non-compliance.”
The city’s budget that goes into effect July 1 includes $400,000 to provide education and outreach to local businesses, and add compliance staff to the treasurer’s office. Information about the increase is already on the city’s website.
Gloria said he hopes the implementing ordinance will go to the full City Council on July 11, when the panel is tentatively scheduled to certify the election results, which would allow the pay hike to take effect.
Nominations Sought for
Orchids & Onions Awards
The San Diego Architectural Foundation is now accepting nominations for its annual Orchids & Onions awards program. The awards recognize the best (and worst) in architectural design, form and function in five categories: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation, Interior Design, and Miscellaneous (public art, lighting, graphics, etc.). 2016 marks the celebration of 40 years of Orchids & Onions.
“Great design and great development create great neighborhoods,” said Pauly De Bartolo, San Diego Architectural Foundation president and principal with De Bartolo + Rimanic Design Studio. “This is a critical time as San Diego debates how to accommodate future growth and considers several landmark projects. Everybody should come out and voice their opinion about what they think represents a good built environment.”
Orchids & Onions provides an opportunity for members of the public to have their say in the design of their neighborhoods and to set the standard for future projects. Everyone is encouraged to nominate the local development projects they admire (or loathe) by posting photos of the projects with a description online at orchidsandonions.org.
Nominations close July 31. The public can vote online for the “People’s Choice Orchid & Onion” starting Sept. 1. Other projects will be judged by a jury, including, for the first time, a high school student from the ACE Mentorship Program.
To be eligible, projects must be non-residential or include at least four residential units and must have been built in the last three years. Single family homes will not be considered.
The awardees will be announced at a reception and awards ceremony on Oct.13 at Horton Plaza Park and Spreckels Theatre.
Career Diplomat is new Mexican
Consul General in San Diego
Times of San Diego
High-ranking career diplomat Marcela Celorio has been named the new Consul General of Mexico in San Diego.
Celorio met with the San Diego press for the first time on Wednesday at the Cross Border Xpress, the new terminal and bridge from Otay Mesa to the Tijuana International airport.
Calling herself a “cross-border consul,” she said she is committed to promoting bilateral trade in a secure environment and to boosting economic growth throughout the Cali-Baja mega-region.
She also promised to help Mexican immigrants in San Diego become better integrated into American society by helping them to learn English.
“I’m convinced that migrants have to learn English; it’s the only way to belong, to be able to integrate in the American society where they live, work, and raise their children,” she told the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Originally from Mexico City, Celoria is an attorney whose previous assignments have included chief of staff at Mexican embassy in Washington and postings in Israel, the European Union, Belgium, Luxembourg and most recently New York, where she was deputy consul.
She replaces Remedios Gomez Arnau, who now heads the Mexican Consulate in Raleigh, N.C.
Personnel Announcements
Andrea Dorigo Joins Fish & Richardson
Andrea Dorigo has joined the Fish & Richardson’s Southern California office, based in San Diego, as of counsel.
Prior to joining Fish, Dorigo was senior director of intellectual property at Arena Pharmaceuticals.
Dorigo has a background in chemical/pharmaceutical arts, as well as more than 15 years of experience in both patent-related aspects and transactional aspects of intellectual property. He also has extensive experience in various aspects of licensing agreements, including due diligence analysis of licensor patents and negotiations of key IP provisions.
Dorigo received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law and his Ph.D. in chemistry from UCLA.
Loleena Ansari May is New Wilson Turner Kosmo Associate
Loleena Ansari May has joined the firm of Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP as an associate. May joins the firm’s Business Litigation, Employmnent Law and Product Liability practice groups.
May previously was a staff attorney at Appellate Defenders Inc. where she conducted legal research and complex analysis, and authored briefs on more than 30 direct appeals before the California Courts of Appeal and petitions to the California Supreme Court.
While in law school, May worked as a law clerk in the United States Attorney’s Office Criminal Division and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California for Judge Anthony J. Battaglia.
A community volunteer, May is a district activist leader for the National Sclerosis Society, a volunteer attorney at the San Diego County Bar Association’s Civil Appellate Self Help Clinic and a volunteer conflict teacher for Children At Risk.
May received her J.D., with honors, from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2013, her M.A. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Hofstra University in 2009 and her B.A., with honors, from the University of California, San Diego in 2007
