Daily Business Report-April 13, 2017
Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8C Fire Scout helicopter alights from the USS Montgomery. (Northrop Grumman)
Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout completes
first flight from Littoral Combat Ship
Northrop Grumman Corporation’s autonomous helicopter, MQ-8C Fire Scout, took to the air for the first time from a U.S. Navy independence-class Littoral Combat ship, the USS Montgomery.
The flight took place Tuesday off the coast of California during the second phase of Dynamic Interface testing, demonstrating Fire Scout’s stability and safety while operating around the ship.
The two week at-sea event allowed the U.S. Navy to test the MQ-8C Fire Scout’s airworthiness and ability to land and take off from a littoral combat ship throughout a broad operational envelope. The MQ-8C Fire Scout conducted its initial at-sea flight test aboard the guided missile destroyer, USS Jason Dunham in December 2015.
“Fire Scout’s successful testing aboard USS Montgomery and USS Dunham proves its capability to fly from multiple air capable ships,” said Capt. Jeff Dodge, program manager, Fire Scout, Naval Air Systems Command. “We plan to have the MQ-8C Fire Scout deployed aboard multiple ships in the near future giving the fleet the persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting asset they need.”
With the completion of Dynamic Interface testing, the MQ-8C Fire Scout is one step closer to Initial Operational Test and Evaluation and full operational deployment.
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Qualcomm to pay Blackberry
$815 million to settle royalty dispute
PC Magazine
Qualcomm must refund nearly $815 million in overpaid royalty fees to BlackBerry, according to the settlement of an arbitration action announced on Wednesday.
BlackBerry, which made some of the hottest smartphones on the market in the pre-iPhone era, will get $814,868,350 from Qualcomm as part of the settlement, in addition to interest and attorneys’ fees that will be determined at a hearing next month. The decision is the latest setback for Qualcomm, which has been the recipient of a lawsuit from Apple and the subject of multiple government investigations into its business practices.
BlackBerry’s agreement to use Qualcomm’s modems and other technology in its smartphones involved a bulk prepayment of royalty fees based on the expected sales volume of the devices, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. But BlackBerry’s smartphone sales fell to just 7 million devices in 2015, down from 53 million in 2012.
“When BlackBerry structured the deal, management had expected higher smartphone shipment volumes but ended up overpaying when units collapsed,” industry analyst Tim Long told the Union-Tribune. BlackBerry, which no longer makes smartphones but still partners with Qualcomm on products for the automotive industry.
For its part, Qualcomm said it does not agree with the decision, which is binding and cannot be appealed. The company said in a statement that the settlement has “no impact on agreements with any other licensee.”
Shares of BlackBerry shot up about 16 percent, to $8.92, in heavy trading. Qualcomm was down about 1 percent at $54.81.
Read more…
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First Quarter venture funding slumps in San Diego
Thirty-seven venture-backed companies in the San Diego area collected almost $350 million in new funding during the first three months of 2017, according to data released this week as part of the latest Venture Monitor report from the National Venture Capital Association and Seattle-based PitchBook.
That was down 39 percent from the $574.5 million that VCs invested in San Diego startups in the same quarter in 2016, and off nearly 17 percent from the $420.3 million invested in the prior quarter, according to PitchBook data.
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EvoNexus tech incubator collaborates with
3 tech companies on seed capital for startups
EvoNexus, a leading nonprofit technology incubator in San Diego, is collaborating with three technology companies that may provide seed capital of up to $250,000 each to high-tech startup companies.
The three are Qualcomm Ventures, the venture capital arm of Qualcomm Inc.; ViaSat, a global broadband services and technology company; and InterDigital, a developer of advanced digital wireless technologies.
In addition to potential seed funding, admitted startups receive all of the pro-bono EvoNexus incubator resources provided by EvoNexus such as mentorship, access to additional capital, and free Class A office and dry lab space in Irvine, La Jolla and Downtown San Diego, provided by commercial real estate developer Irvine Company.
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Water Quality Control Board approves modified
permit for Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant
The city’s plan to divert wastewater flows and develop a sustainable water supply for San Diego’s future came one step closer Wednesday when the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board gave its approval of a modified permit for the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The Pure Water Program will use proven water purification technology to clean recycled water to produce safe, high-quality drinking water. The program offers a cost-effective investment for San Diego’s water needs and when fully operational will provide 83 million gallons of water every day by 2035 – equal to one-third of the city’s entire water supply. It is one of the major sustainability projects that supports Mayor Faulconer’s Climate Action Plan.
Federal law requires all wastewater treatment plants to renew their discharge permits every five years. The city of San Diego’s renewal is for a modified permit from the EPA, based on the specific conditions of the treatment process and environmental conditions. Without this modified permit, the cost to transform the Point Loma plant to secondary treatment levels is estimated at $1.8 billion. The plant has operated under a modified permit since November 1995.
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Surprising brain change
appears to drive alcohol dependence
A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) could help researchers develop personalized treatments for alcoholism and alcohol use disorder.
The research reveals a key difference between the brains of alcohol-dependent versus nondependent rats. When given alcohol, both groups showed increased activity in a region of the brain called the central amygdala (CeA)—but this activity was due to two completely different brain signaling pathways.
TSRI Professor Marisa Roberto, senior author of the new study, said the findings could help researchers develop more personalized treatments for alcohol dependence, as they evaluate how a person’s brain responds to different therapeutics.
The findings were published recently online ahead of print in The Journal of Neuroscience.
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Scripps professor receives Fridtjof Nansen Award
Lynne Talley, professor of oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, was awarded the 2017 Fridtjof Nansen Award from the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The medal was awarded to Talley for her “innovative research and leadership in observing and understanding the global ocean circulation and its role in climate,” according to EGU.
Talley’s research focuses on the general circulation of the ocean and the role of various oceanic and atmospheric conditions that affect ocean currents and property distributions, including salinity. Her work involves analysis of data from most of the world’s oceans, depicting the movement of heat, salinity, and water masses, and the formation of water masses, particularly in subpolar regions.
Talley will receive the award at EGU’s 2017 General Assembly meeting, which will take place April 23–28 in Vienna, Austria.
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Salk’s research center receives additional
$3 million gift from Glenn Foundation
The Salk Institute has received a $3 million gift from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research for the second time in four years, enabling the Institute to continue investigating the biology of normal human aging and age-related diseases.
The gift will support the work of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at the Salk Institute, which was established in January 2009 with a $5 million gift from the Glenn Foundation. In 2014, the foundation continued its support of the center with the first $3 million gift. The center draws from 13 of Salk’s leading laboratories specializing in genetic analysis, stem cell biology and metabolism research.
“Understanding the effects of biological aging is the first step in the discovery of treatments to delay or cure age-related disease,” says Glenn Foundation President Mark R. Collins. “Aging is the climate change of human biology.”
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Scripps Health named among best workplaces in health care
Scripps Health ranks No. 9 in Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work’s 30 Best Workplaces in Health Care list for 2017.
The list was based on surveys from nearly 88,000 employees across the nation’s health care industry. Employees from the winning organizations said they enjoy a supportive work environment.
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Entertainment group takes ownership
of Chula Vista card room with a shady past
Chula Vista’s Seven Mile Casino, a card room with a recent history of alleged money laundering and other financial improprieties, has new owners. The City Council voted Tuesday to approve transfer of ownership of the casino to the Stones Group, a family owned and operated entertainment group.
“Stones Group is proud that we have been granted state and local approval for the purchase of Seven Mile Casino, affirming our commitment to becoming industry leaders and elevating the card room industry,” said Ryan Stone, an owner. “Our mission is to create a first-class entertainment destination in Chula Vista that will stand as a source of pride for the city, our customers, and our employees.”
Seven Mile Casino’s alleged improprieties dates back to 2015. In September of that year state gambling regulators accused longtime owners of the card room of failing to disclose a $3 million loan used to construct a new and larger facility on the city’s bayfront and conducting other improper financial transactions. The state also wanted to revoke the license of Harvey Souza and his wife, Elizabeth, owners of the card room which has been a fixture in Chula Vista since 1946. The business relocated from Broadway in the center of the city to a new building constructed on Bay Boulevard.
In December 2015, federal officials raided the Seven Mile Casino card room and another card room and issued arrest warrants for 25 people in connection with an alleged conspiracy to launder millions in profits from high-stakes poker games.
The Stones Group has retained Steve Giorgi as a compliance consultant. “These cardrooms were once dark, dingy sites on the wrong side of the tracks with very little government oversight, but that has changed considerably in the past few years,” said Giorgi. “Stones has a very different ownership philosophy than a lot of other cardrooms in the state, and the compliance here is very impressive. There is just no grey area for the Stones, and they are now the flagship in the California cardroom industry.”
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Personnel Announcements
Julie Brennan joins Cavignac & Associates
Cavignac & Associates has appointed Julie Brennan to the post of senior account manager within the agency’s construction practice. Brennan has 17 years of experience in the insurance industry.
In her new position, she will serve as the main point-of-contact at the agency for both surety and commercial insurance clients.
Brennan previously was commercial lines manager for Orion Risk Management in Newport Beach, where she led a service team of 20 individuals in two offices. She worked eight years with John Burnham Insurance Services in San Diego, working her way up from senior account manager, construction, to producer/commercial lines manager. Prior to that, she was employed for three years by Wells Fargo Insurance in Columbus, Ohio, Washington D.C. and San Diego, where her most recent position was account executive, commercial insurance.
For another four years, she worked for Willis Risk & Insurance Services in Washington D.C., and La Jolla, last holding the position of marketing manager.
