Daily Business Report-Sept. 20, 2016
Casa del Prado (Photo: Manny Cruz)
Plan to Remove Traffic from Center
of Balboa Park Advanced by Council
By City News Service
A revived plan to remove vehicle traffic from the center of Balboa Park was moved forward Monday by the City Council, which agreed to spend $1 million to complete planning and documentation.
The roughly $70 million plan envisions shutting off traffic in the Plaza de Panama, Plaza de California and Esplanade areas of the park, constructing a vehicle bypass bridge and building a parking garage behind the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Part of the cost would be offset by paid parking in the garage.
The City Council first approved the project four years ago, but it was overturned by a judge on a technicality. The city later won an appeal, and Mayor Kevin Faulconer recently revived the idea.
During the intervening time, parking areas have been taken away from the Plaza de Panama. The open area between the Museum of Man and El Prado cultural institutions has been spruced up with seating areas and landscaping, but there are still conflicts between moving vehicles and pedestrians.
The council’s 8-1 vote gives the project a place in the city’s capital improvements budget for this fiscal year. A more detailed financing plan is expected to be brought forward in November.
According to city staff, the city’s contribution will be capped at $45 million, with private philanthropy via the Plaza de Panama Committee covering the rest. The estimated cost has increased $30 million since the project was first approved in 2012.
Jim Kidrick, head of the San Diego Air & Space Museum, said the park’s cultural institutions are united behind the plan.
Bill Walton, the former basketball great who is assisting the money- raising effort, told the council that the project “will provide an epic benefit” to the park.
On the other hand, David Lundin, the founder of the Balboa Park Heritage Foundation, called the plan “absurd” and said the design was “wholly inappropriate.”
Council President Sherri Lightner, in casting the dissenting vote, said the project wasn’t in keeping with San Diego’s innovative nature, and that relying on vehicle traffic into the parking garage for revenue was against the city’s plan to combat climate change.
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Air Force Names the New
Stealth Bomber: B-21 Raider
Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James announced the name of the B-21 bomber Monday — the Raider — during her state of the Air Force address at the Air Force Association’s national conference.
Northrop Grumman Corporation serves as the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider, leading a world-class industry team to design, build and deliver an advanced long-range strike system, capable of striking any target worldwide.
“The B-21’s name embodies the legacy and power projection of the Air Force’s long range strike capability. We are proud to partner with the Air Force to deliver a system that is so vital to our national security,” said Tom Vice, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. “As the only company to ever design, build, deliver and modernize a long-range stealth system, we are committed to delivering the fleet of bombers for the 21st century.”
Northrop Grumman and its seven primary industry teammates continue to work with the Air Force to deliver the B-21 Raider to enter operations in the 2020s. Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider industry team includes BAE Systems, GKN Aerospace, Janicki Industries, Orbital ATK, Pratt & Whitney, Rockwell Collins, and Spirit AeroSystems.
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Batelle and Navy Partner to Develop Medical
Wrap to Preserve Tissue in Injured Limbs
By ExecutiveBiz
Battelle has partnered with the Naval Medical Research Center in San Diego and the Office of Naval Research and Naval Research Laboratory to design a medical wrap that will work to cover injured limbs and preserve tissue for up to three days.
The Navy said the Acute Care Cover for the Severely Injured Limb medical wrap will consist of an outer cover that serves to adapt to the shape of the injured limb, mitigate blood loss, protect against dirt and retain body heat.
The wrap will also feature an inner layer with a chemical coating that works to release antibiotics and pain medication, keep the wounded tissue moist and prevent bacterial and fungal growth, the Navy added.
“ACCSIL will be carried by corpsmen and medics, on the battlefield and used in conjunction with a tourniquet,” said Tim Bentley, a program manager at the Office of Naval Research’s warfighter performance department.
Kelly Jenkins, advanced materials director at Battelle’s consumer, industrial and medical business unit, added the medical wrap will focus on tissue preservation for up to 72 hours in case the opportunity for treatment is not readily available.
“[We] want to save enough of the limb to give the patient a good quality of life they might not otherwise have had in such a situation,” Jenkins said.
The Navy noted the team will demonstrate ACCSIL within the next two years and the wrap could also have potential applications in industrial settings at ships or submarines as well as civilian scenarios such as automobile accidents and terrorist attacks.
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Lennar Homes Buys Vista Land
For Construction of 31 Homes
Lennar Homes of California has acquired a residential development site in Vista for $4.8 million for construction of a 31-lot subdivision. A tentative map for the subdivision had been approved prior to the sale. Presidio Vista was the seller.
The site is located at 1405 Ridge Road in Vista. Planned lots will range in size from 1/4 to just over 1/3 of an acre. Homes will range from 2,700 to 3,500 square feet.
Lee & Associates represented both buyer and seller in the transaction.
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KCD PR Acquires Wall & Broadway
KCD PR, a San Diego-based financial services communications consultancy, has acquired Wall & Broadway, a boutique consultancy specializing in technology clients with an emphasis in the fintech sector.
As part of the transaction, Wall & Broadway founder Philippa Ushio joins KCD PR as a managing director.
“Our acquisition of Wall & Broadway with Philippa Ushio at the helm brings not only complimentary financial services experience, but also deep Silicon Valley credentials across technology and fintech,” said Kevin Dinino, president and founder of KCD PR.
Prior to founding Wall & Broadway, Philippa served in various senior roles with FTI Consulting for over 10 years. She has advised companies and governments in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Middle East on managing communications issues directly related to special situations such as fund raising, restructuring, IPOs, M&A and crisis.
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Bar Association and Chamber Create
Student Civics Engagement Academy
The San Diego County Bar Association and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce have partnered to create the first-ever regional Student Civics Engagement Academy, a program to educate high school seniors on the law and business.
The Academy’s official launch will be Sept. 29 at a lunchtime reception with the California Supreme Court.
Through the program, students will hear from business leaders, judges, elected officials, lawyers and other educators who will demonstrate the importance of informed citizenship.
At the lunchtime reception, the California Supreme Court will help celebrate the program’s launch, with California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye addressing the importance of civics education and her statewide Civics Learning Initiative.
“We couldn’t be more proud to partner with the chamber, and strengthen the connection between our business and law communities,” said Ellen Miller-Sharp, SDCBA executive director & CEO. “Ensuring that San Diego’s next generation of citizens is informed and educated is a priority for the SDCBA, and we look forward to exposing our high school seniors to dynamic leaders from different facets of our community.”
“Educating our young people – who are tomorrow’s leaders – about the important role civics play in all aspects of life is essential to San Diego having a well-prepared workforce for the future,” said Jerry Sanders, chamber President and CEO.
The San Diego Student Civics Academy will have its first session on Oct. 8 and will continue through November. Professionals looking to get involved in future development of the Academy should email SDCBA Executive Director & CEO Ellen Miller-Sharp at emiller@sdcba.org.
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Federal Judge J. Clifford Wallace to Receive
American Inns of Court National Award
San Diego federal Judge J. Clifford Wallace, a leading advocate for the creation of the American Inns of Court, will be honored by the national organization on Nov. 5 with the presentation of the A. Sherman Christensen Award.
Wallace is senior circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The award is “bestowed upon a member of an American Inn of Court who, at the local, state or national level has provided distinguished, exceptional, and significant leadership to the American Inns of Court movement.”
The award will be presented at the 2016 American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence to be held at the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 5. Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. will be the host of the event.
Wallace, who maintains an office in San Diego, was influential in developing the idea of the American Inns of Court and advocated enthusiastically for its establishment. He had accompanied Chief Justice Warren Burger on the 1977 Anglo-American Legal Exchange and served as keynote speaker at the organizational dinner of the first Inn of Court in Provo, Utah. Wallace served as a regular adviser to Judge A. Sherman Christensen, for whom the award is named. He urged attendees to form the Inn to help address trial inadequacy by attorneys. He wrote an article on the topic that was published March 1982 in the ABA Journal.
Wallace was nominated by President Nixon to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on May 22, 1972. He was confirmed by the Senate and received his judicial commission on June 28, 1972. He served as chief judge from 1991 to 1996 and assumed senior status in 1996. Wallace served in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1949. He received his B.A., with honors, from San Diego State College in 1952 and his LL.B. in 1955 from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, where he was an editor of the California Law Review.
The American Inns of Court, a national organization with 360 chapters and more than 130,000 active and alumni members, is dedicated to excellence, civility, professionalism, and ethics in the practice of law. An inn is an amalgam of judges, lawyers, and in some cases, law professors and law students who meet regularly to discuss and debate issues relating to legal ethics and professionalism.
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UCSD Med School, Moores Cancer
Center ID New Immunotherapies
By City News Service
Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have identified a molecular switch that controls immune suppression, which could lead to refinements of emerging immunotherapies that boost the body’s own abilities to fight diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s and Crohn’s diseases.
The findings were published in Monday’s online issue of Nature.
“Immunotherapies, such as T cell checkpoint inhibitors, are showing great promise in early treatments and trials, but they are not universally effective,” said Judith Varner, a professor in the departments of Pathology and Medicine at the UCSD School of Medicine.
“We have identified a new method to boost the effectiveness of current immune therapy,” Varner said. “Our findings also improve our understanding of key mechanisms that control cancer immune suppression and could lead to the development of more effective immunotherapies.”
When confronted by pathogens, injury or disease, the initial response of the body’s immune system comes in the form of macrophages, a type of white blood cell that produce pro-inflammatory proteins called cytokines that, in turn, activate T cells, another immune cell, to attack the health threat.
The macrophages then switch gears to express other cytokines that dampen T cell activation, stimulating tissue repair.
In chronic inflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Crohn’s, however, macrophages continue to produce cytokines and other substances that kill or transform normal cells. In cancer, highly abundant microphages express anti-inflammatory cytokines that induce immune suppression, effectively stopping the healing process.
Varner and her colleagues pinpointed a suspected cause — an enzyme in macrophages called PI-3 kinase gamma. In mouse studies, they found that the enzyme promotes immune suppression by inhibiting activation of anti-tumor T cells.
Blocking PI3Ky activated the immune response and significantly suppressed growth of implanted tumors in animal models, the scientists said. It also boosted sensitivity of some tumors to existing anti-cancer drugs and worked with existing immune therapy to eradicate tumors.
Varner and colleagues at the Moores Cancer Center also found a molecular signature of immune suppression and response in mice and cancer patients that may be used to track the effectiveness of immunotherapy.
Researchers with Infinity Pharmaceuticals participated in the study, which was funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health, the CAPES Foundation of Brazil, the Brazilian Ministry of Education, and Ralph and Fernanda Whitworth of Rancho Santa Fe.
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Dempsey Construction
Finishes Retail Building
Dempsey Construction has completed the ground up construction of a new 8,000-square-foot multi-tenant retail building located within the Jamacha Village Shopping Center in El Cajon.
Dempsey Construction worked directly with the project architect, ZAAP Architects, to provide extensive pre-construction services including master budgeting, master scheduling, value engineering exercises and constructability analysis.
The scope of work included the demolition of an existing Burger King building, all associated site work, followed by the construction of the new multi-tenant building with drive-thru, anchored by Starbucks, Chipotle and Jamba Juice. The new building is constructed of wood and stucco and stone veneer accent elements.
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San Diego Suffering From
‘Critically Low Home Building’
Times of San Diego
San Diego is one of 10 metropolitan areas suffering from “critically low home building,” with 55,825 permits for new homes required to meet demand.
That was the conclusion of a study released Monday by the National Association of Realtors that showed steady job creation combined with low building activity is creating a critical housing shortage.
“Inadequate single-family home construction since the Great Recession has had a detrimental impact on the housing market by accelerating price growth and making it very difficult for prospective buyers to find an affordable home – especially young adults,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors.
“Without the expected pick-up in building as job gains rose in recent years, new and existing inventory has shrunk, prices have shot up and affordability has eroded despite mortgage rates at or near historic lows,” he said.
The study examined the ratio of job growth to single-family building permits over the past three years. Historically there have 1.6 new jobs for every new building permit. But in San Diego and the nine other metros identified in the study, the ratio averages 3.4 jobs per permit.
Other West Coast metro areas suffering from low building rates are San Francisco, Seattle and San Jose. In San Francisco, a whopping 127,412 permits are needed.
According to Yun, most of the metro areas with the biggest need for increased construction have strong appetites for buying, home-price growth that outpaces incomes, and quick home sales.
“Their healthy job markets continue to attract an influx of potential homeowners, only fueling the need for more housing,” he said.
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UC San Diego Study Finds
Loneliness is a Heritable Trait
Loneliness is linked to poor physical and mental health, and is an even more accurate predictor of early death than obesity. To better understand who is at risk, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine conducted the first genome-wide association study for loneliness — as a life-long trait, not a temporary state. They discovered that risk for feeling lonely is partially due to genetics, but environment plays a bigger role. The study of more than 10,000 people, published Sept. 15 by Neuropsychopharmacology, also found that genetic risk for loneliness is associated with neuroticism and depressive symptoms.
The research was led by Abraham Palmer, professor of psychiatry and vice chair for basic research at UC San Diego School of Medicine. In their paper, Palmer and team explain that just as physical pain alerts us to potential tissue damage and motivates us to take care of our physical bodies, loneliness — triggered by a discrepancy between an individual’s preferred and actual social relations — is part of a biological warning system that has evolved to alert us of threats or damage to our social bodies.
Click here to read the full study.
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Personnel Announcements
Dr. Zia Agha Promoted to
Chief Medical Officer at West Health
has been promoted to the role of chief medical officer for West Health, and will remain as executive vice president of clinical research and informatics and have additional responsibilities for telehealth.
Agha will serve as physician leader for West Health, which includes the West Health Institute, Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center and Gary and Mary West Foundation.
“Dr. Agha has been instrumental in developing and executing West Health’s clinical strategy of applied medical research to advance new healthcare models for seniors,” said Shelley Lyford, president and chief executive officer of West Health. “He is a passionate researcher, physician and advocate who appreciates the real challenges and unmet needs of seniors and their families.”
Agha joined the West Health Institute in 2014 and leads the organization’s clinical research and medical informatics initiatives, focused on creating and advancing senior-appropriate acute and chronic care models, and improving access to long-term services and supports.
Prior to joining West Health, Agha was director of health services research and development at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
Sherri Wilkins Joins Carling Communications
Sherri Wilkins has been named chief creative officer for Carling Communications Inc. She oversees all creative strategy, branding, and tactical execution, and works in collaboration with her fellow partners in business development activities for the company.
Wilkins has spent 15 years leading creative teams for medical communications agencies in New York City and Southern California. She has extensive experience in many therapeutic areas, with a particularly strong track record in aesthetics, ophthalmology, oncology, diabetes, and cardiovascular medicine.
Over the years, she has helped build brands for major companies including Merz, B&L, Valeant, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Alcon, Baxter, Allergan, Stiefel, Amgen, Obagi Medical, and SkinMedica.
