Daily Business Report-July 28, 2016
Architect’s rendering of the $128 million, three-story parking plaza at Terminal 2. (Courtesy San Diego County Regional Airport Authority)
Airport to Close Main Terminal 2 Lot
To Build Three-Story Parking Plaza
Times of San Diego
The San Diego International Airport will close the main Terminal 2 parking lot on Aug. 6 to begin building a $128 million, three-story parking structure.
Bill Bolton, director of airport design and construction, described a “bright, inviting” structure with nearly 3,000 parking spaces, more than half of them covered.
“Land is very precious here and we need to build vertically,” said Bolton at a press briefing on Wednesday.
During construction, which will last into the summer of 2018, some 1,200 parking spaces will be lost. The airport is upgrading another lot immediately to the west, where 1,100 spaces will be available.
Bolton said the airport will use a reservation system and discounted valet parking to help relive congestion during construction.
He pointed out that the same lot was closed during the recent upgrade of Terminal 2, and the airport learned from that experience.
“We’re going to do a better job of telling the public,” he said, where to find available spaces, both at the airport and in private lots nearby.
He said Terminal 2 needs 3,000 spaces today, and the airport as a whole will need 7,000 spaces by 2035
“Our customer surveys tell us two things,” he said. “Our wifi at the airport is not good, and our close-in parking is not much better.”
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10-Story Luxury Condominium
Tower Opens in Bankers Hill
Times of San Diego
ICON Properties has opened 41West, a 10-story, luxury condominium tower on Sixth Avenue in Bankers Hill. The tower has 41 units ranging in price from under $1 million to $4 million.
The building’s amenities include 10-foot ceilings, electric vehicle chargers, a 24/7 attended hotel-style lobby, concierge services and dedicated dog grooming stations.
The developer is Vancouver native AJ Tangsoc, whose ICON Properties is an American affiliate of the Canadian real estate development firm, Regent International. The tower is ICON’s first in San Diego.
San Diego County Credit Union’s Super Shred Event will be held Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium. The entire community is invited to bring their confidential documents for free shredding — no limit.
SDCCU is also attempting its fourth Guinness World Record for the most paper collected at a single location in a 24-hour period.
UC San Diego Inventions Attract
$6 Million Venture Capital Backing
“MouthSense” and “SmartFoam,” two new inventions by engineers in the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego, have attracted funding from NextWave Venture Partners, a venture-capital firm specializing in the commercialization of early-stage technologies.
NextWave plans to invest at least $6 million in the two inventions. Local entrepreneur Fred Luddy, founder and CPO of ServiceNow — also a UC San Diego donor and current advisory board member of Moores Cancer Center Research and Training — is one of the initial investors.
MouthSense was invented by nanoengineering professor and chair Joseph Wang and electrical and computer engineering professor Patrick Mercier. MouthSense is a salivary diagnostic sensor that can be worn in the mouth or used externally for continuous non-invasive real-time monitoring of saliva biomarkers, such as lactate, cortisol and uric acid – a marker related to diabetes and gout. This innovative technology could be used to monitor athletes’ performance or stress levels in soldiers and pilots. Wang and Mercier are the director and associate director, respectively, of the UC San Diego Center for Wearable Sensors.
SmartFoam, invented by Donald Sirbuly, professor of nanoengineering, is an intelligent, ultra-compliant composite foam that uses motion to generate electricity. SmartFoam is made from a combination of piezoelectric nanoparticles —materials that can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy (and vice versa) — and a silicon-based organic polymer. The material can be used for ultrasound applications and for making wearable biomedical sensors. This work grew out of Sirbuly’s award-winning work on 3D optical printing of piezoelectric nanoparticle-polymer composites.
LabCorp to Acquire Prenatal Testmaker
Sequenom for $371M in Cash Deal
fiercebiotech.com
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, a global diagnostics company, will buy prenatal testmaker Sequenom —headquartered in San Diego — for $371 million in cash.
Under terms of the agreement, LabCorp will acquire all of Sequenom in a cash tender offer for $2.40 per share, or an equity value of $302 million, the company said. That represents a total enterprise value of approximately $371 million, which includes net indebtedness.
The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and shareholder approval, will be done through an acquisition subsidiary, Savoy Acquisition, setup by LabCorp. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year, the company said.
“This is exactly the kind of strategic acquisition that LabCorp seeks,” David King, chairman and CEO of LabCorp, said in a statement. “Sequenom’s proven best-in-class technology and strong research complement LabCorp’s extensive women’s health offering, providing patients and physicians with one source for the most complete range of testing options in women’s health, including NIPT (noninvasive prenatal testing) and reproductive genetics.”
Following a change in leadership last September, Sequenom announced it reached a deal with UnitedHealthcare to offer its carrier screening tests to the insurer’s 43 million covered lives. The deal was seen as a big boost for its business, as the contract brought the number of covered lives under Sequenom’s diagnostic services to more than 200 million.
LabCorp focuses on diagnostic solutions, getting new medicines to patients faster and developing technology solutions. The company reported net revenue of more than $8.5 billion in 2015.
JP Morgan is acting as financial adviser to Sequenom for the transaction, and Cooley is providing legal advice. Barclays is acting as financial adviser to LabCorp, and Hogan Lovells is providing legal advice.
Actress Annette Bening to be Honored as
Part of the San Diego International Film Festival
Actress Annette Bening will be the recipient of the Gregory Peck Award for Excellence in the Cinema at San Diego Film Foundation’s Night of the Stars Tribute Sept. 29 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla.
The Night of the Stars Tribute occurs a day after the 15th annual San Diego International Film Festival opens on Sept. 28. The festival runs through Oct. 2.
Annette Bening is a four-time Academy Award nominee, two-time Golden Globe-winner, and two-time recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Award. She will next be seen on screen in Mike Mills’ “20th Century Woman,” in Michael Mayer’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s play “The Seagull,” and in Warren Beatty’s “Rules Don’t Apply.”
In 2011, Bening starred in Focus Features’ critical and commercial sensation ‘The Kids Are All Right.” Her role as Nic earned her a Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Circle award, as well as Oscar, Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice, and Independent Spirit nominations in the Best Actress category.
Bening also starred in the critically acclaimed film “American Beauty” for which she won two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a BAFTA Award, and received both an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. For her role in “Being Julia,” Bening won the Golden Globe and the National Board of Review Award and received an Oscar and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
Created in honor of famed actor and San Diego area native Gregory Peck, with the support of his family, this award is given to an individual whose work has made a profound impact on the art of cinema. Launched in 2014, the first recipient of the award was Alan Arkin. This year, 2016 marks Mr. Peck’s centennial.
The San Diego International Film Festival will screen a range of narrative, documentary, spotlight and short films. Screenings will be held in the newly renovated historical Balboa Theater and Regal Theaters in Downtown San Diego, and ArcLight Cinemas in La Jolla. The complete list of 2016 San Diego Film Festival titles including descriptions are available at sdiff.com.
Individual tickets to The Night of the Stars Tribute will go on sale Aug. 25.
Mastering the Art of Craft Beer
Beer enthusiasts from as far away as Brazil, Colombia and Western Australia will be attending the new, comprehensive Craft Beer Education Camp offered through San Diego State University’s Business of Craft Beer certificate program this summer. Attendees are also coming from Alabama, Arizona, California, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. What’s the draw? The SDSU craft beer program has been off the charts since its inception in fall 2013, with courses selling out in minutes. The program’s popularity mirrors the booming craft beer industry in San Diego, which is currently the Craft Beer Capital of the U.S. That’s according to the latest list compiled by West Coaster. San Diego is home to 129 craft beer breweries and 23 additional ones are currently in the works.
The first camp has already started. The second, Brewery Startup Camp, will be Aug. 2-10 and provide all the knowledge and tools attendees need to launch a brewery. The course offers eight days of hands-on learning and tasting, and one free day to explore San Diego.
Three students liked the camp options so much, they decided to attend both camps. “If they’re new to craft beer, we will ignite their passion,” said instructor “Dr.” Bill Sysak, the craft beer ambassador for Stone Brewing Co. “If they’ve been around the industry for a while, we will fan the flame that originally got them into craft beer.” All courses were developed by instructors and advisory board members of SDSU’s Professional Certificate program — a who’s who of San Diego craft-beer industry superstars — to ensure the most relevant training.
For more information or to register, visit neverstoplearning.net or call (619) 265-7378.
Army Orders More Cubic Laser
Engagement Training Systems
ExecutiveBiz
Cubic Corp. has received more than $10 million in new orders from the U.S. Army for the company’s tactical engagement system that works to help the service branch facilitate live, force-on-force training of soldiers.
Cubic said Wednesday its Instrumentable-Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System Individual Weapon Systems 2 will support mission readiness exercises at the Army’s home stations.
Dave Buss, president of Cubic’s global defense segment, said the company designed I-MILES IWS 2 to combine realistic environments and equipment intended to help ground forces prepare for combat operations.
The laser engagement system works to transmit laser messages when a military weapon fires blank ammunition, Cubic noted.
The system’s body sensors are designed to detect hits and assess casualty to simulate combat effects.
Cuyamaca College to Offer Unique
Associate Degree in Kumeyaay Studies
Cuyamaca College will be among the first community colleges in California in the fall to offer a degree program focusing on the language, culture and history of a specific Native American tribe. It will launch an associate degree in Kumeyaay studies.
The associate degree in Kumeyaay Studies in is a multidisciplinary program that draws from the sciences, humanities, world languages and history departments. Required courses include Kumeyaay History, Kumeyaay Arts and Culture, Ethnoecology, Ethnobotany, and the Kumeyaay language. Students who complete the program will be able to communicate in the Kumeyaay language at a basic level in a variety of settings; have an understanding of Kumeyaay heritage, history, society and traditions; and gain sensitivity, globalism and cultural competence of a unique group of people.
Courses will be held at both Cuyamaca and Kumeyaay Community College on the Sycuan reservation.
The Kumeyaay, whom scholars say have lived in the area for some 12,000 years, are native to a region stretching roughly from the Pacific Ocean east to the Colorado River, and from Oceanside south to Ensenada. Today, the Kumeyaay make their home on 13-federally recognized reservations, including Barona, Viejas, Campo, Ewiiaapaayp, Jamul, Inaja-Cosmit, La Posta, Manzanita, Mesa Grande, Santa Ysabel, San Pasqual and Sycuan.
Potential students with questions about the program should contact Teresa Greenhalgh at Teresa.greenhalgh@gcccd.edu.
UC San Diego Extension Program Helps
High School Students Prepare for College
The University of California San Diego Extension is helping 453 high school students prepare for the rigors of college through Academic Connections, a three-week residential program that provides hands-on educational opportunities for qualified high school students with a special focus on those from underserved communities.
The rigorous summer program is open to students with a 3.3 GPA, allowing them to receive college credit in such subjects as science, engineering and math. Because it is primarily a residential program, Academic Connections also provides students with a college-like experience to help them prepare for the real thing — both socially and academically.
While the cost of Academic Connections is $3,900, UC San Diego Extension is committed to ensuring that students of different backgrounds and income levels are able to participate by offering a robust scholarship program. Of the 453 students in this year’s Academic Connections class, 157 received some form of assistance totaling almost $421,546 in scholarships. Since 2011, Academic Connections has given out almost $1.5 million in scholarships.
Students enrolled in Academic Connections choose from one of approximately 25 course offerings. Classes meet five hours a day, with a maximum of 22 students per class, to ensure quality interaction with instructors and instructional assistants. Academic Connections instructors are typically UCSD doctoral students who design and instruct the course. To find out more, click here.
