Daily Business Report-Oct. 20, 2016

Downtown Works features an open layout occupying 15,346 square feet of workspace and amenities.

Downtown Works Co-Working Space

Sets Grand Opening for Oct. 27

Downtown Works, San Diego’s first integrated co-working community and accelerator, will have its official grand opening on Oct. 27 at 550 W. B St. in Downtown. The event, free and open to the public, will be from 6 to 9 p.m.

The grand opening celebration will feature a live DJ, refreshments and hor d’oeuvres. Downtown Works will be giving away a one-month and one-year dedicated desk membership, and current resident startups including Industry, Lead With The Lights On, rockpaperbrands and more, will be raffling prizes.

“We invite San Diego businesses to thrive with us,” said co-founders Wolf Bielas and Michel Cohen. “With an accelerator program on the horizon and in-house mentorship, our grand opening is just a taste of what’s to come.”

With over $9 million dollars invested by Bielas and Cohen, Downtown Works features an open layout occupying 15,346 square feet of workspace and amenities, such as a full-service concierge and rooftop deck.

Downtown Works seeks to house local startups, entrepreneurs and growing businesses.

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San Diego State Graduation

Rate Reaches All-Time High

By City News Service

The graduation rate at San Diego State University has reached an all-time high of 74.1 percent, compared to 68.5 percent last year, school officials reported Wednesday.

The figures conform to the national standard of graduating within six years, so the nearly three-quarters of students who received diplomas represented freshmen who entered SDSU in fall 2010.

The rate for underrepresented students also rose, to 69 percent.

According to a report earlier this year from Education Trust, SDSU is one of 26 universities in the U.S. to have increased graduation rates for all students while also closing the achievement gap.

SDSU credited initiatives that include increasing the number of academic advisers and tenure track faculty, decreasing class size, investing in programs to recruit and retain underrepresented students, and investing in commuter student success programs and infrastructure.

“All of the resources and programming for our diverse students at SDSU are inclusive and provide a sense of belonging,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Eric Rivera. “When students feel accepted and welcomed, they have the capacity to grow academically and personally.”

Graduation rates have steadily improved for students who entered SDSU in the new millennium, going from 57.3 percent for those starting in Fall 2000 and 56.1 percent for Fall 2001 to the new record level.

SDSU also reported that around 90 percent of last year’s freshman and new transfer students enrolled in classes this semester, a key indicator of student progress and continuity.

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New Incentives Available for Homeowners

Wanting to Replace Water-Hungry Lawns

By City News Service

New financial incentives are available for homeowners who want to replace water-hungry lawns with more efficient landscaping, the San Diego County Water Authority announced Wednesday.

The agency has $500,000 available from grants awarded by the state Department of Water Resources, and an upcoming grant is expected to add another $600,000.

Qualified applicants can receive up to $1.75 per square foot toward eligible project costs for upgrading 500 to 3,000 square feet of existing turf areas, according to the Water Authority.

Funding for incentives is limited, and will be reserved for completed and approved applications on a first-come, first-served basis. Money from previous incentive programs dried up quickly.

Those interested in participating must be ratepayers within the service areas of the San Diego County Water Authority or the California-American Water Co., and must not remove their turf grass before receiving an official “Notice to Proceed” from the program.

Lawns to be replaced must have an in-ground irrigation system, and the site needs to have an inspection before the conversion takes place.

Areas covered with artificial turf, turf-like grasses or invasive species, or are irrigated with well water or recycled water aren’t eligible.

The incentive program is a partnership of the Water Authority, Association of Compost Producers, the California-American Water Co., the city of San Diego, the county of San Diego and the Surfrider Foundation.

The program’s website contains additional information about eligibility requirements and how to apply.

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UCSD and San Diego Police Join

Forces to Reduce Teen DUI Cases

In an effort to put the brakes on sobering statistics related to teenagers driving under the influence, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine will join forces with the San Diego Police Department to reduce alcohol-impaired driving among San Diego youth ages 15 to 20.

With funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the UC San Diego Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety Program will contribute to SDPD’s Teen Alcohol Awareness Program (TAPP) by implementing an evaluation component and delivering sessions to parents about how to most effectively communicate with their kids about drinking and driving. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), 74 percent of youth under age 18 identify their parents as the leading influence in their decisions about drinking.

TAPP classes, hosted at the SDPD headquarters, educate teenagers and parents about the dangers and consequences of driving under the influence, as well as the responsibilities of social hosting and the penalties for violating current local ordinances.

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Affordable Apartment Project

Opens at Pacific Highlands Ranch

A grand opening was held Wednesday for the Torrey Vale Apartments in the Pacific Highlands Ranch, a 28-unit project that will rent to low-income families.

The San Diego Housing Commission partnered with Chelsea Investment Corp. for the development of the apartments, which will remain affordable for 55 years, according to officials.

The 28 rental units at Torrey Vale Apartments are affordable for families with incomes between 50 to 60 percent of the San Diego Area Median Income (AMI), approximately $42,500 to $51,000 a year for a four-person household. The annual Median Household Income in Pacific Highlands Ranch is nearly three times higher, $149,346, according to a 2015 estimate from the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).

The development is made up of:

• 8 three-bedroom units

– 1 unit at 50 percent AMI, with rent of $1,003 a month

– 7 units at 60 percent AMI, with rent of $1,215 a month

• 19 two-bedroom units

– 2 units at 50 percent AMI, with rent of $909 a month

– 17 units at 60 percent AMI, with rent of $1,100 a month

• A manager’s unit at 65 percent AMI, rent of $1,147

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Scripps Research Institute Signs

Pact with California Institute

The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the California Institute for Biomedical Research announced the signing of a strategic affiliation that combines the two organizations into a new biomedical research entity with the tools and know-how to rapidly translate its scientific discoveries into life-saving medicines for the public benefit.

The agreement will reduce the costs and timelines associated with the crucial early stages of drug development, and lead to the creation of a self-sustaining model for non-profit research in which drug development successs drive the funding of new scientific discoveries and medicines many years into the future, the organizations said.

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CONNECT Announces Finalists for Annual

Most Innovative New Product Awards

Thirty San Diego-area companies have been selected as finalists for the 29th annual Most Innovative New Product Awards, a signature event sponsored by CONNECT to honor innovative companies along with their groundbreaking products.

There were a record 111 entrants into this year’s program. Each semi-finalist demonstrated its products in front of an expert judging panel earlier this month, from which 30 were selected as finalists.

Listed below, in their respective categories and alphabetized by company name, are the 2016 Most Innovative New Product Award finalists:

Bluetech:

• Cardinal Point Captains – provides services and technology for government and industry with extensive experience and capabilities supporting complex scientific and maritime operations
• Planck Aerosystems – brings high performance, autonomous unmanned aerial systems to new markets
• Water Pigeon –  an alternative solution to existing automated metering infrastructure (AMI) for water

Cleantech, Sustainability, and Energy:

• Camston Wrather LLC – produces sustainable resources and commodities from electronic waste using proprietary patents and green technology
• Measurabl – precision software built to help collect, report and act upon non-financial data
• SDG&E – regulated public utility that provides energy service to 3.6 million people through 4,100 square miles in San Diego and Orange counties

Defense, Transportation, and Cybersecurity:

• B&B Technologies LP – develops advanced magnetic suspension/propulsion shock mitigation technology R&D for the military, medical and professional/commercial markets
• Cubic Corporation – designs, integrates and operates systems, products and services that increase situational awareness for customers in the transportation and defense industries
• Space Micro – an engineering driven small business that focuses on technology advancement and product implementation for highly reliability satellite electronics

Information Communications Technologies:

• Aira – develops remote assistive technology that connects the blind with a network of certified agents via wearable smart glasses and an augmented reality dashboard that allows agents to see what the blind person sees in real time, allowing them to assist with a variety of daily tasks and activities
• Creative Electron – manufactures and distributes high performance, off the shelf and custom x-ray inspection systems used for quality assurance, material conformity and counterfeit detection in a wide range of applications
• Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. – designs and markets wireless telecommunications products and services

Life Science Diagnostics and Research Tools:

• DermTech – a commercial stage, genomic based, health technology company with a non-invasive gene expression platform for dermatology
• Echo Laboratories Inc. –  developed the Revolve, a new hybrid microscope that easily transforms between upright and inverted configurations, merging the capabilities of two instruments into one
• Nanocellect Medical Devices –  aims to make flow cytometry and cell sorting technology more affordable and accessible for life science researchers to perform cellular analysis, develop molecular diagnostics, and improve personalized medicine

Medical Devices:

• 11Health – a connected medical device company, where all patented devices use Bluetooth® wireless technology to send secure real-time data to most mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets and watches
• Innovative Trauma Care – created the ITClamp Hemorrhage Control System which is designed to address massive hemorrhage – a leading cause of death in traumatic injury – by controlling critical bleeding in seconds
• Onciomed Inc. – a privately held medical device company that has developed a proprietary long term, minimally invasive and reversible device, the Gastric Vest System (GVS) to treat obesity and glycemic control

Pharmaceutical Drugs and Biologic Therapies:

• ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. – recently received FDA approval for NUPLAZID, the first and only medicine approved for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis
• NXT Robotics – provides service robots to support increased security monitoring and alerting requirements
• Robolink – aims to make STEM education accessible, engaging and fun for children and hobbyists by producing robotics educations kits and providing educational lessons that teach core principles of engineering and programming

Software, Digital Media, and Mobile Apps:

• Guru – creates digital experiences for museums, aquariums and zoos
• Nanome Inc. – developed the world’s first immersive and scientifically-accurate molecular modeling tool in VR
• South Doctors Inc. – the leading platform that connects patients from around the world with the best doctors and facilities in Mexico

Sport and Active Lifestyle Technologies:

• Bixpy LLC – developed a versatile and robust underwater propulsion system that runs on lithium batteries and is able to attach to anything from a diver’s forearm to the back of a kayak
• ElliptiGO Inc. – combined the best of running, cycling and the elliptical trainer for a fun and effective way to exercise outdoors
• FlyDive –  introduced the FlyDive X-BOARD, the most advanced hydro flight system designed and engineered to support both beginners and professional riders

The winners will be announced the evening of Dec. 1 at the awards presentation and dinner, to be held at Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine, 3777 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego.