Daily Business Report-Jan. 18, 2018
Sullivan Solar Power workers assemble solar panels atop Petco Park. (Photos courtesy of Sullivan Solar Power)
Major League Baseball’s Largest Solar Power
System is Under Construction at Petco Park
Construction of the largest solar power system in Major League Baseball has begun at Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres. The 336,520-watt Sullivan Solar Power system is designed to generate more than $4,117,000 in utility savings. The project is larger than the other seven Major League Baseball solar projects combined.
The Sullivan Solar Power system utilizes 716 high-efficiency, 470-watt Sunpower solar modules, and will produce over 12 million kilowatt hours over the next 25 years. This is equivalent to disconnecting over 1,200 homes from the grid. The solar project not only saves the Padres millions of dollars during the lifetime of the system, but it creates local, union jobs, reduces regional air pollution and lessens the need for imported fossil fuels. It also supports the city of San Diego’s climate action plan.
The project is scheduled for completion in March 2018, prior to Opening Day. As part of their partnership, Sullivan Solar Power and Padres will be hosting educational workshops at Petco Park throughout the season to help Padres fans go solar as well.
This is the highest profile solar project on a San Diego facility since the city’s commitment to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. San Diego was the largest city to make such a pledge.
“As a native San Diegan, I could not be prouder that the Padres are joining the solar energy revolution, and showing the world that we no longer need dirty fossil fuels to power our needs,” said Daniel Sullivan, founder and president of Sullivan Solar Power.
To learn more, visit www.sullivansolarpower.com/padres.
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San Diego State Opens New Engineering
and Interdisciplinary Sciences Complex
The future of scientific progress, engineering advances and medical breakthroughs will require more than pure intelligence and hard work — it will also require people from multiple disciplines to come together and pool their disparate bases of knowledge. San Diego State University’s new Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences (EIS) Complex is designed to be a place for that, with the promise of partnership built into its architecture.
Kicking off a new era of scientific and engineering collaboration at SDSU, the EIS Complex formally opened its doors to the campus community on Tuesday.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the collaborations that result from our scientists and engineers being co-located under the same roof,” said Stephen Welter, vice president for research and dean of Graduate Affairs. “The new complex has a world-class set of labs and facilities that just did not exist on this campus before.”
The 85,000-square-foot, $90 million complex is designed to encourage cooperative thinking. It features mobile furniture to assemble quick meetings; glass walls to keep an eye on what others are working on; communal whiteboards in the hallways for spur-of-the-moment brainstorming; and a coffee shop to fuel all this genius.
The Thomas B. Day Quad—named for SDSU’s sixth president who championed the university’s research expansion and whose family’s generous donation was integral to the complex’s construction—serves as the building’s central meeting place. Numerous spaces within the complex are named after other donors who support SDSU’s mission of becoming a top public research university. (Naming opportunities are still available for several critical facilities within EIS.)
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San Diego Businesses Getting
Their Groove Back in New Year
The San Diego County Business Forecast shows county businesses beginning 2018 with a positive outlook, posting a score of 19.5 on the Business Outlook Index (BOI). The increase is due primarily to greater confidence among finance and retail firms. The survey also asked about homelessness and found that more business people see homelessness as an issue compared to December 2015 when the question was last polled. When asked how much one’s company would be willing to pay annually to fund new programs to address homelessness, nearly half of the county’s businesses said their firms wouldn’t pay anything and only 17 percent believe their companies are willing to pay at least $500.
“The business community’s growing concern for the homeless underscores the need to find long term solutions to this issue,” said Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber. “It is our goal that through the Yes! For a Better San Diego ballot measure which increases the tax paid by overnight visitors to San Diego, we will be able to raise funds to address the region’s homeless crisis.”
“Looking back on the year, the evidence suggests that the initial “Trump Bump” lasted about nine months before diminishing,” said Forecast sponsor, Tom Wornham, president and CEO of San Diego Private Bank. “Perhaps we’ll see more optimism return to local business in 2018 with the recently-passed tax reform and more de-regulation.”
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Researchers Create Remote-Controlled
Immunotherapy System
A team of researchers has developed an ultrasound-based system that can non-invasively and remotely control genetic processes in live immune T cells so that they recognize and kill cancer cells.
There is a critical need to non-invasively and remotely manipulate cells at a distance, particularly for translational applications in animals and humans, researchers said.
The team developed an innovative approach to use mechanogenetics–a field of science that focuses on how physical forces and changes in the mechanical properties of cells and tissues influence gene expression–for the remote control of gene and cell activations. Researchers used ultrasound to mechanically perturb T cells, and then converted the mechanical signals into genetic control of cells.
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H.G. Fenton’s Michael Neal to be Inducted
into California Homebuilding Hall of Fame
Michael Neal, president and CEO of H.G. Fenton Co. in San Diego, is one of five professionals to be inducted into the California Homebuilding Foundation’s homebuilding Hall of Fame on June 26 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco.
The CHF Hall of Fame gala celebrates and recognizes individuals who have left an indelible mark on the homebuilding industry through their innovation, leadership and philanthropic contributions with an annual dinner and formal induction ceremony.
Neal has served as CEO of H.G. Fenton for 16 years. He was hired by the 111-year-old, San Diego real estate company after graduating college in 1988, and by 2000, was named president and COO. Under his leadership, H.G. Fenton owns and manages 16 apartment communities and supports over 1,250 local businesses with over 4.5 million square feet of commercial property. A former board president of the California Building Industry Association and member of the National Association of Home Builders, Neal has been involved with his local BIA since 1994.
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Skaggs Family Makes Lead Gift Toward
The Scripps Research Institute Grad Program
The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) announced that the Skaggs family has made a lead gift through their foundations toward TSRI’s $100 million campaign to establish fellowships for all students in its Graduate Program. In recognition of this gift, the program will be renamed the Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Sciences.
The Skaggs family’s gift will make it possible for individual supporters of the graduate program to donate $500,000 that will then be supplemented by an additional $500,000 from The ALSAM Foundation and the Skaggs Foundation for Research to create a $1 million endowment for an individual named student fellowship. Phil Dawson, the dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies, emphasizes that members of TSRI’s faculty and board of directors have made personal donations to the campaign, totaling more than $10 million to date. “We really value our students here at Scripps,” Dawson says. “In fact, our graduate program was originally conceived and developed by Scripps faculty. Training the next generation of creative scientists is central to our identity.”
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Littoral Combat Ship Omaha to Arrive
in San Diego Homeport on Friday
The newest Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship, PCU Omaha, is scheduled to complete her maiden voyage from Mobile, Ala. and arrive at her new homeport of San Diego Jan. 19.
Following construction and acceptance trials at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, the ship completed a rigorous schedule that included vendor training, various crew and ship certification events, several maintenance availabilities and a Panama Canal transit.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the hard work and dedication Omaha’s crew has exhibited over the last eight months away from our homeport and bringing our ship to life,” said Cmdr. Michael Toth, Omaha’s commanding officer. “Their efforts have safely brought Omaha to homeport and set a culture of pride, professionalism and excellence which will endure in the years to come.”
Omaha will be commissioned in Downtown San Diego on Feb. 3. “After her commissioning, Omaha will join Commander, Surface Division 11 and immediately begin the next steps in preparing for deployment,” said Capt. Jordy Harrison, commander, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 1. “We are proud of this ship and her crew and welcome them to the growing Fleet of LCS.”
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The Salk Institute and Indivumed Partner
to Advance Global Cancer Research
The Salk Institute, which hosts a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, and Indivumed GmbH, a world leading cancer research company, announced a multi-year strategic alliance to secure, preserve and analyze human cancer tissue and annotated clinical data from consenting patients around the world, enabling the most cutting-edge basic and translational research in cancer.
Reuben Shaw, director of the Salk Cancer Center and world renowned cancer researcher, described the potential for the Indivumed collaboration as “one of the most exciting partnerships we are pursuing.”
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Gubernatorial Appointments
Beverly Kathlyn Mead and David Watson
Reappointed to San Diego County Fair Board
Beverly Kathlyn Mead, 59, of Escondido, and David Watson, 60, of Chula Vista, have been reappointed to the 22nd District Agricultural Association’s San Diego County Fair Board of Directors by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Mead has served on the board since 2014. She has been president and chief executive officer at the San Diego Foundation since 2014. She was executive vice president at the California Endowment from 2007 to 2014, president and chief executive officer at the Council of Community Clinics from 2006 to 2007 and vice president at Blue Shield of California from 2005 to 2006. Mead was president and chief executive officer at Sharp Health Plan from 1996 to 2005 and vice president at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego from 1994 to 1996. She is a member of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science Board of Trustees. Mead is a Democrat.
Watson has served on the board since 2011. He has been a partner and attorney at Duane Morris since 2010. Watson was a partner at Hecht Solberg Robinson Goldberg and Bagley from 2008 to 2010 and from 2002 to 2006. He was vice president of Yokohl Ranch Company LLC from 2006 to 2008 and an attorney at Gray Cary Ware and Freidenrich from 1988 to 2002.
The positions do not not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Watson is a Democrat.
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Personnel Announcements
Jack in the Box Hires Former Papa John’s Executive
Lance Tucker as Executive VP and CFO
Jack in the Box Inc. announced that Lance F. Tucker will join the company as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective March 26, 2018. Tucker is currently senior vice president, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer for Papa John’s International Inc., where he oversees all finance, accounting, legal, human resources, investor relations, strategic planning and risk management functions.
Jerry P. Rebel, who has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer for Jack in the Box Inc. since 2005, announced in April 2017 his plans to retire from the company when a successor was hired. He’ll work with Tucker to help assure a smooth transition.
Tucker was promoted to CFO and Treasurer at Papa John’s in February 2011 and added the CAO title and responsibilities in July 2012. From June 2010 to February 2011 he was Papa John’s chief of staff and senior vice president, strategic planning, and he served as its chief of staff and vice president, strategic planning from June 2009 to June 2010.
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Victoria Boynton Joins Larson & Solecki
Real estate legal veteran Victoria Boynton has joined business law firm Larson & Solecki LLP as of counsel. Boynton had served as associate general counsel for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties since 2007. Similar to named partner, Peter Solecki, Boynton has extensive experience representing and advising real estate agents, brokerages and escrow companies.
In 2014 she was voted by her peers as a leading in-house corporate counsel for The Daily Transcript’s “Power of Attorneys” special edition. Prior to entering the real estate domain, she handled litigation matters successfully through trial. She served as in-house counsel for The Upper Deck Company, a sport memorabilia firm, as well as a North County developer of golf courses, resorts and commercial shopping centers in San Diego County. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, she prosecuted high-level drug cases and represented the government on civil tort claims.
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Former 40 Under 40 Award Winner Jennifer Chang
Joins Hecht Solberg Robinson Goldberg & Bagley
Real estate attorney Jennifer W. Chang has joined Hecht Solberg Robinson Goldberg & Bagley LLP as an associate. She will be involved in all real estate matters with an emphasis on acquisitions, dispositions and leasing transactions.
Most recently, Chang was associated with Gresham Savage Nolan & Tilden PC, where her clients included commercial property owners, tenants, banks, asset managers and nonprofits. Previously, she was associated with Sullivan Hill Lewin Rez & Engel. In addition, she has worked as in-house counsel for Sempra Energy and DaimlerChrysler Corporation.
Chang has held various leadership roles in Lawyers Club of San Diego since 2012, including election to the board of directors from 2014 to 2017, serving as treasurer from 2014 to 2016 and as the vice president of policy and membership in 2017. She is also a member of the Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego and the San Diego County Bar Association. She was a coordinator for the Washington Elementary School Law Firm Partnership for four years, inspiring fourth and fifth graders to explore careers in law.
Chang’s professional achievements and community service has led to selection as one of the “40 Under 40” honorees by San Diego Metro Magazine.
