Daily Business Report-March 5, 2018
The high altitude, long endurance Global Hawk aircraft, in active operation with the U.S. Air Force since 2001, has amassed more than 250,000 flight hours with missions flown in support of military and humanitarian operations. (Photos courtesy of Northrop Grumman)
Northrop Grumman Celebrates 20th
Anniversary of Global Hawk UAV
Northrop Grumman Corporation last week celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first flight of its autonomous Global Hawk high altitude long endurance aircraft. The Global Hawk System remains on duty around the world and is one of the premier providers of persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information supporting the United States and its allies.
The first Global Hawk aircraft, named Air Vehicle 1, or AV-1, was built by Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical at the Ryan factory near San Diego’s Lindbergh Field. Northrop Grumman would acquire Teledyne Ryan in 1999.
The aircraft was all white, except for its U.S. Air Force markings and sported a unicorn-like mast out of the front of its nose. Ryan pilot Mike Munski, in the ground control station nearby, clicked the take-off button on his control console and AV-1 took off into the desert sky from Edwards Air Force Base. After a 56 minute flight, the first Global Hawk landed safely and stopped itself on the runway, just six inches off the painted centerline.
The first Global Hawk aircraft were in the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). DARPA is responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
“Those of us in the Global Hawk program today owe a great deal of gratitude to those who developed the first Global Hawk and helped create this weapons system that is so vital to serving our nation and its allies,” said Lauren Stevens, vice president and program manager, Global Hawk program, Northrop Grumman. “AV-1 and the Global Hawk Program have shaped aviation history and some of those Ryan employees who worked on AV-1 are still on the program today working to increase the system’s capabilities and continue to defy expectations.”
In active operation with the U.S. Air Force since 2001, Global Hawk has amassed more than 250,000 flight hours with missions flown in support of military and humanitarian operations. Able to fly at high altitudes for greater than 30 hours, Global Hawk is designed to gather near-real-time, high-resolution imagery of large areas of land in all types of weather – day or night.
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Researchers: Stem Cells are Revealing
New Secrets About Mental Illness
Millions of Americans who suffer from bipolar disorder depend on lithium. The medication has been prescribed for half a century to help stabilize patients’ moods and prevent manic or depressive episodes. Yet what it does in the brain—and why it does not work for some people—has remained largely mysterious. But last year San Diego–based researchers (Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute) uncovered new details about how lithium may alter moods, thanks to an approach recently championed by a small number of scientists studying mental illness: The San Diego team used established lab techniques to reprogram patients’ skin cells into stem cells capable of becoming any other kind—and then chemically coaxed them into becoming brain cells.
Read more…
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Kim Coles: A Woman on the Move
Actress, comedienne, author, playwright and TV personality, Kim Coles is truly a renaissance woman. Best known for her zany characters and outrageous sense of humor, Coles began her journey to Hollywood when she was announced the runner-up in the “Big Beautiful Woman” pageant in Atlantic City, N.J.
She rode her beauty pageant success into a plus-size modeling career and as a stand-up comedienne.
Coles will speak at the Leadership Conference March 23 as part of San Diego Women’s Week sponsored by the North San Diego Business Chamber.
Women’s Week runs March 19-21-23. Click here for the schedule.
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County Releases Lilac Fire
Response Report
Preparedness, regional collaboration, and fire and emergency management resources, coupled with a lucky break in the weather, were credited in a County After Action Report for stopping the December 2017 Lilac Fire’s fast-moving destructive path within 12 hours. The report released Friday also credits heroic actions of first responders for saving lives in dangerous conditions. Read more…
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Regional Partners Sue Federal Agency
Seeking Halt of Border Sewage Spills
The San Diego Unified Port District and City of Chula Vista are joining the City of Imperial Beach in suing a federal agency to halt the flow of toxic waste and sewage from the Tijuana River to the Pacific Ocean.
On March 2, 2018, the Port of San Diego and City of Chula Vista joined with the city of Imperial Beach in filing a lawsuit against the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) and Veolia Water North America (Veolia) over their significant, longstanding violations of two U.S. laws designed to protect water quality and public health, the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, in their operation of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment plant.
Read more…
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General Atomics Awarded Army Contract
to Advance Railgun System Technology
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Army through the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium to evaluate and mature electromagnetic railgun weapon system capabilities to support the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Command. The three year period of performance contract will team General Atomics with ARDEC to advance railgun technologies, deliver a series of prototypes, and perform system integration and testing for mission effectiveness and possible integration with existing and future Army vehicles.
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New TSRI Research Points to
Better Way to Treat Depression
Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered a new target for treating major depressive disorder, a disease that affects more than 16 million American adults. Their research shows that individuals with high levels of an enigmatic receptor called GPR158 may be more susceptible to depression following chronic stress.
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Personnel Announcements
Jarrett Johnson Promoted at Pardee Homes
Pardee Homes San Diego has named Jarrett Johnson vice president of sales and marketing. Johnson joined Pardee Homes in 2017 as the director of sales. In his new role, he will oversee the development and implementation of all sales and marketing programs for the San Diego region. Johnson succeeds Rachel Collins who retired in December 2017, following a 30-year career with Pardee Homes.
as director of sales, Johnson developed strategies and pricing analyses to meet and exceed Pardee’s marketing targets. Johnson forged and maintained strong, lasting relationships with the communities Pardee Homes serves and was integral in the grand opening of Pardee’s newest master-planned community, Weston. With more than 12 years of experience in marketing and sales in California’s Central Valley, Bay Area, and Southern California Divisions, Johnson’s work has won numerous industry awards.
Johnson studied International Business at ITESM — The Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mazatlan, Mexico.
