Daily Business Report-Dec. 21, 2017
Photo montage from the UC San Diego Extension report ‘Emerging Careers for 2017’.
UC San Diego Extension Report
Lists the 10 Most In-Demand Jobs
UC San Diego Extension has a report that can tell college graduates and others what the most in-demand jobs with the highest growth potential are in San Diego and nationally.
According to the report, “Emerging Careers for 2017,” the 10 emerging careers in San Diego for 2017 are:
- Operations research analysts
- Interpreters and translators
- Personal financial advisers
- Computer systems analysts
- Information security analysts
- Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors
- Market research analysts and marketing specialists
- Meeting, convention and event planners
- Software developers, applications
- Management analysts
To compile the list, UC San Diego Extension’s Center for Research on the Regional Economy identified the top 10 occupations that combined the highest projected growth rates and the most online job postings using information from labor-market data firm Emsi. Researchers focused on careers that required a bachelor’s degree with less than five years of work experience.
The report, which details the salaries, age and gender breakdown of each emerging career, also features insights from people in those fields on the micro trends and niche skills shaping their various industries.
Click here for the full report.
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Jack in the Box Agrees to Sell
Qdoba Restaurant Corporation
Jack in the Box Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Qdoba Restaurant Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company which operates and franchises more than 700 Qdoba Mexican eats restaurant.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Apollo funds will purchase Qdoba for approximately $305 million in cash, subject to customary closing conditions and adjustments.
The transaction is expected to close by April 2018. The company expects to use the net cash proceeds after tax and transaction costs to retire outstanding debt under its term loan, as required by the terms of its credit facility.
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Kratos to Provide Drone Services
for Undisclosed Government Agency
San Diego-based Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. said its Unmanned Systems Division has received a $27 million contract to deliver drone-related services for an undisclosed U.S. government agency involved with national security.
The company said it will perform contract work in Kratos-owned and government facilities.
Kratos’ USD aims to provide its clients with affordable unmanned aerial systems designed for a variety of military and security uses.
Steve Fendley, president at Kratos’ USD, stated that the recent award stems from the company’s UAS strategy that was executed years ago.
The award follows the company’s UAS contributions to the NATO-led Formidable Shield 17 missile defense exercise.
“Kratos’ Unmanned Systems Division continues to successfully execute its business plan as demonstrated by this most recent contract award, and with our recent participation in Formidable Shield 17, where a number Kratos unmanned target drone and ballistic missile targets performed successfully,” said Eric DeMarco, president and CEO of Kratos. “Additionally, USD remains in pursuit of several other large program opportunities which we are hopeful of receiving over the next several weeks.”
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Researchers Track Muscle Stem Cell
Dynamics in Response to Injury and Aging
A new study led by researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute describes the biology behind why muscle stem cells respond differently to aging or injury. The findings, published in Cell Stem Cell, have important implications for therapeutic strategies to regenerate skeletal muscle in response to the normal wear and tear of aging, or in cases of injury or muscle diseases such as muscular dystrophy.
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Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals Collaborate
Biogen and San Diego-based Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. have entered into a new collaboration agreement to identify new antisense oligonucleotide drug candidates for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Biogen will have the option to license therapies arising out of this collaboration and will be responsible for their development and commercialization.
Under the new collaboration agreement, Ionis will receive a $25 million upfront payment and will earn development and regulatory milestone payments from Biogen if new drugs advance towards marketing approval. Upon commercialization, Biogen will pay Ionis performance milestones and tiered royalties on net sales.
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College and University Partnership
Leads to Student Bachelor’s Degrees
The first groupof students earning a bachelor’s degree through a partnership between Cuyamaca College and Point Loma Nazarene University secured their diplomas during a Dec. 16 commencement — just 15 months after the affiliation was launched.
The PLNU program offering bachelor of arts degrees in child development and in organizational management without having to leave the Cuyamaca College campus began in the fall of 2016 and were the first baccalaureate programs ever offered from the Rancho San Diego campus. All 10 students who enrolled in the child development program when it began took part in the Dec. 16 commencement; seven of the eight who enrolled in the organizational management program earned their degree.
Both programs accept up to 84 community college transferrable credit units to complete the 120 units needed to graduate.
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Laboratory Diagnostics Medical Group
Joins Scripps Clinic Medical Group
In a move toward greater integration of pathology services for Scripps patients, the members of Laboratory Diagnostics Medical Group Inc. (LDMG) have joined the department of pathology at Scripps Clinic Medical Group.
The five pathologists and two pathologists’ assistants of LDMG have joined the existing team of 14 pathologists and four pathologists’ assistants in Scrips Clinic Medical Group. The newly expanded group now provides anatomic and clinical pathology services to Scripps Green Hospital, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, as well as to all Scripps Clinic locations and Scripps Coastal Medical Centers in San Diego County.
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Study: Medications Alone Don’t
Help Smokers Quit the Habit
Pharmaceutical interventions are routinely prescribed to help people quit smoking. However, a new study by UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers suggests that, despite promising results in clinical trials, smoking cessation drugs alone may not be improving the chances of successful quitting among smokers in general.
“Thirty four percent of people who are trying to quit smoking use pharmaceutical aids and yet most are not successful,” said senior study author John P. Pierce, professor emeritus in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center. “The results of randomized trials that tested these interventional drugs showed the promise of doubling cessation rates, but that has not translated into the real world.”
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Mid-City Slumlords Arraigned on 10 Counts
The City Attorney’s Office is prosecuting a La Jolla couple on behalf of seven Congolese refugee families that are living in a dangerous and substandard apartment complex in Mid-City.
The property owners, John and Mahin Nobel, were arraigned Monday and pled not guilty to 10 criminal charges for maintaining dangerous and substandard living conditions at the apartment complex at 5344 Rex Ave. in Mid-City. Property manager Devdatt Patel was also arraigned and pled not guilty.
The Nobels are repeat offenders who have been previously prosecuted for similar violations and for leasing to illegal marijuana dispensaries. Their Rex Avenue apartment complex was leased in July, August and September 2016 to seven families with young children. Upon move-in, the families complained about the substandard conditions, but their requests were ignored.
An inspector with the Code Enforcement Division of the Development Services Department found numerous violations, including mold, rodent and roach infestation, inadequate heating, inadequate sanitation, improper electrical connections, and a lack of proper fire exits and fire extinguishers. Outside the building, the inspector found human waste, graffiti, an accumulation of junk, and numerous structural and fire hazards. Exit and fire violations were created when the apartments were illegally converted from two-bedroom units into three- or four-bedroom units.
The Nobels were ordered by an administrative law judge to reimburse the City $34,278 in relocation benefit payments advanced by the city to the seven families, assessed a civil liability of $10,000 for their failure to pay relocation benefit payments directly to their tenants, and ordered them to reimburse the City $6,845 in investigative costs.
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Personnel Announcements
Erin Brown Joins Crow PR
Crow PR announced the addition of Erin Brown as account supervisor. In her new role, Brown will be responsible for managing client and media relations, strategic planning and team development.
Prior to joining Crowe PR, Brown spent nearly six years working with and in local media. Working as an account supervisor at a local PR agency, she was responsible for handling client communication, account management, and media relations for hotels, restaurants, and lifestyle brands in San Diego. Before her public relations experience, Brown worked as a television news producer at FOX 5 San Diego, where she learned storytelling techniques, how to grab consumer’s attention through newsworthy headlines, and how to develop innovative TV segments.
Brown holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and digital media from DePaul University. She will be based in the company’s East Village headquarters at 406 Ninth Ave., Suite 304, San Diego.
Kara Kong and Olivia Chivers Join Southwest Strategies
Two new employees have joined public affairs firm Southwest Strategies —Manager of Public Affairs Kara Kong and Account Executive Olivia Chivers.
Kara Kong brings more than 11 years of experience in strategic communications, community outreach and government relations. She will oversee large-scale public outreach programs.
Kong began her career at a Sacramento-based public affairs firm, aiding the success of dozens of state-wide ballot initiative campaigns and varied regulatory campaigns.
Prior to joining Southwest Strategies, Kong spent five years leading the community and government relations program for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, an international road race series that started in San Diego.
Olivia Chivers brings superior writing skills to the Southwest Strategies team. Prior to joining the firm, Chivers worked as a freelance writer developing creative content for a variety of clients. She has experience with traditional copywriting and editing, as well as content creation for social media and the web. Chivers was a contributing writer for her university newspaper while attending Arkansas Tech University.
Chivers graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Bellevue University.
Anna-Marie Rooney Joins The Scripps Research Institute
has been hired as vice president of communications for The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). She will direct all marketing strategy and communications efforts for the institute and its affiliates.
Rooney will direct media relations, electronic communications and social media outreach, and will devise targeted campaigns to augment TSRI’s development endeavors.
Prior to joining TSRI, Rooney was chief communications officer at the Salk Institute. There she oversaw all communications and media relations. Under her leadership, both the website and institute magazine were redesigned, ultimately earning a number of industry awards. Preceding that role, she served as vice president/chief strategy and brand officer for The San Diego Foundation.
Rooney earned her degree in communications with an emphasis on marketing and public speaking from the University of Denver.