Daily Business Report-May 19, 2017
The FCC will now take public comment on its proposal to remove these regulations, and then it will be put to a final vote later this year.
FCC Votes to Roll Back Net Neutrality Rules
GovCon Wire
The Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 Thursday on a plan to strip existing regulations that govern the concept that all Internet traffic must be treated equally. The restrictions on Internet providers is commonly referred to as “net neutrality” rules, and were put in place under the Open Internet Order of 2015 during the Obama presidency.
By a 2-1 vote led by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the agency proposed to end regulating Internet providers in a similar manner to legacy telephone businesses or other utilities.
“Today we propose to repeal utility-style regulation of the Internet,” said Pai, reported the Washington Post. “The evidence strongly suggests this is the right way to go.”
The proposal asks whether the FCC should eliminate the rule that bans ISPs from blocking or slowing websites and whether the FCC should be charged with investigating businesses suspected of being anti-competitive.
The FCC will now take public comment on its proposal to remove these regulations, and then it will be put to a final vote later this year.
The FCC’s only Democrat, Mignon Clyburn, criticized the decision. “The endgame appears to be no-touch regulation, and a wholesale destruction of the FCC’s public interest authority in the 21st century,” he said.
Internet service providers have long argued that these regulations were burdensome and that their removal would help them add much-needed upgrades to their networks.
In a statement, Verizon praised the vote, calling it an “important step” and a sign that business would return to usual, and the way things were before the regulations were passed.
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General Contractor Selected for Expansion
of Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Level 10 Construction has been named the general contractor for the renovation and expansion of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla (MCASD).
The $75 million dollar MCASD expansion will quadruple current gallery space, making room to show the museum’s 4,700-piece collection of contemporary art as well as traveling exhibitions.
Selldorf Architects of New York is the design architect for the project, supported by San Diego Executive Architect LPA Inc. To represent the owner, MCASD selected consultant HR Weatherford Company.
For the expansion, Level 10 Construction will construct a two-story exhibit wing with an ocean-view patio as well as a 41-vehicle, underground garage. The project also calls for converting Sherwood Auditorium to a two-story high-ceiling, naturally lit gallery space. The new flexible multipurpose gallery on the lower level will also provide capacity for programs and talks. A home the museum owns to the south of the property is to be demolished.
“The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, which holds one of the finest contemporary art collections in the world, assembled a world-class team of designers, architects and consultants to help them quadruple their current gallery space,” said Mike Conroy,vice president of operations for Level 10 Construction.
The museum will be closed during construction. MCASD will continue to deliver exhibitions and programming at its Jacobs and Copley Buildings at 1001 and 1100 Kettner Boulevard in San Diego.
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Smoking Out Sources of In-Home Air Pollution
By Michael Price | SDSU NewsCenter
An ambitious study led by San Diego State University researchers has investigated various factors that contribute to air pollution inside the house. Not surprisingly, cigarette smoke emerged as a major source of airborne particles in homes with smokers, but cleaning products, candles, frying food and marijuana smoking also jumped out as in-home air polluters. The findings are especially relevant to families with children living in low-income households; these kids are at greater risk of health problems resulting from poor air quality.
“Our primary goal was to figure out what’s happening in houses that leads to higher air particle levels and in turn, to unhealthy environments for kids,” said study co-author John Bellettiere, a graduate student in the SDSU-UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health.
A research team led by SDSU environmental health scientist and lead author Neil Klepeis, behavioral health researcher and principal investigator Melbourne Hovell, and co-investigator Suzanne Hughes recruited nearly 300 families living in San Diego with at least one child aged 14 and younger and one smoker. They installed a pair of air particle monitors in each of the homes, one in the area of the house closest to where smoking usually occurs and one in the child’s bedroom.
Read on…
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County Water Authority Proposes
3.7 Percent Rate Increase for 2018
The San Diego County Water Authority on Thursday announced that it will recommend increasing rates charged to its member agencies by 3.7 percent for both untreated and treated water in calendar year 2018, mostly because of higher rates and charges from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
The proposed rate increases are the smallest since 2014 and are in line with Water Authority projections. Approximately 56 percent of the overall increase is driven by rising costs from MWD, which increased its base supply rates and also raised its costs for transporting the Water Authority’s independent supplies of Colorado River water, according to Water Authority officials.
Another driver of the proposed increase is a 30,000 acre-foot increase in deliveries of those Colorado River supplies. In 2018, the Water Authority will receive 130,000 acre-feet of water via its long-term water conservation and transfer agreement with Imperial Irrigation District, up from 100,000 acre-feet in 2017. While these supplies cost more than imported water purchased from MWD, they are more reliable and not subject to cutbacks by MWD.
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Naval Medical Center San Diego
Celebrating 100th Anniversary Today
Naval Medical Center San Diego will hold a ceremony at 1 p.m. today to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
It was on May 20, 1917, the Navy’s first permanent medical facility in Balboa Park, the War Dispensary, was established to provide medical support for a Navy training camp on the old Exposition Grounds. Since then, the Navy’s medical footprint in Balboa Park would evolve into the extensive state-of-the-art medical facility it is today, with more than 6,400 military and civilian personnel providing care to an enrolled
population of 125,000 active duty service members, retirees and their families.
“You’ve represented hope, caring and compassion to countless thousands whose lives have been touched or saved by those who came before you,” said Vice Adm. Forrest Faison, Navy surgeon general and chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in a special video addressing the staff at Naval Medical Center San Diego. “While much has changed during the past century, your commitment to providing America’s sons and daughters the best care our nation can offer has never changed or waivered.”
Guest speakers will include Rear Adm. Paul D. Pearigen, commander, Navy Medicine West and chief of the Navy Medical Corps, and retired Vice Adm. Harold M. Koenig, who commanded Naval Hospital San Diego from July 1985 to June 1987, and served as the Navy surgeon general and chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, from June 1995 to June 1998.
Captain Joel A. Roos, commanding officer, Naval Medical Center San Diego, will preside over the ceremony.
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Correction
A story in Thursday’s Daily Business Report incorrectly stated that the former post office building in the Midway/Point Loma area of San Diego would be torn down to make way for a $325 million mixed-use project by a Hammer Ventures affiliate. A spokeswoman for the company said plans are still be developed for the site, which may or may not include tearing down the existing building. The Daily Business Report regrets the error.
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Personnel Announcements
Douglas Gundermann Named Wealth Management Adviser
Douglas Gundermann has been named wealth management adviser for The Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bank in San Diego. In his new role, Gundermann will provide comprehensive wealth management services tailored to the needs of high net worth and ultra high net worth families, executives and private business owners. This includes bringing together a team of specialists to provide customized strategies, often working closely with his clients’ advisors, attorneys and accountants. Prior to this new role, Gundermann served as senior financial adviser for U.S. Bancorp Investments and for Union Bank, both in San Diego. He began his career in the banking and financial services industry in 2003.
Gundermann has a bachelor’s degree from California State University Sacramento and a master’s degree from National University in La Jolla. He holds the Certified Financial Planner and Accredited Wealth Management Advisor designations.
