Daily Business Report-May 11, 2018
Jenny Veyna works in a lab at Cal State San Marcos (Photo: Niky Matousek)
The Quiet Path to a Biochemistry Degree
Fear of drug cartels keeps Jenny Veyna silent when visiting Mexico
By Brian Hiro |CSUSM NewsCenter
Photos by Nike Matousek
Jenny Veyna is justifiably proud of her many achievements at Cal State San Marcos. A senior biochemistry major, Veyna will become a first-generation college graduate later this month, and she even tried out to speak at commencement on May 18 (she was picked as a first alternate).
But when Jenny visits the families of her parents in their native Mexico, she doesn’t exactly shout out what she has done from the rooftops. She knows that an American university student who happens to know her way around a chemistry lab might be of keen interest to Mexican drug cartels.
“I’ve never heard of anyone being kidnapped for being a biochem major,” she said, “but I wouldn’t want to put myself in that position.”
Or, as Jenny wrote in the commencement speech she submitted, “Whenever I do visit my family in Mexico, I don’t speak of my major, I don’t speak of my accomplishments associated with my major because you never know what ears are listening or what mouths are talking.”
Jenny grew up in Ventura, one of four daughters of Juan and Esperanza Veyna, who both immigrated to the United States and met while working for the same agricultural company in Ventura. Every summer, the girls would pile into their dad’s truck for a road trip to Mexico, where the family would spend several weeks each at a ranch in Jalisco owned by Esperanza’s father and with Juan’s relatives in the city of Zacatecas, more than 200 miles to the north.
“I loved it,” Jenny said. “On my mom’s ranch, we would milk cows in the morning, jump in the manmade lakes, help my grandpa farm. You felt liberated. And on my dad’s side, I had all my cousins there, so I enjoyed all of it. We would find our own fun.”
As Jenny got older, though, the cartel violence grew worse. When she was in high school, Jenny remembers, the family had to cancel a planned trip to Zacatecas because of a string of grisly murders in the city. And then the scourge of the cartels hit disturbingly close to home when two individuals she closely grew up with were kidnapped, both at least four years ago. Reasons for their kidnapping or why they were targeted still remain unknown. Neither has been heard from since, she says, adding, “We don’t know if they’re alive or not.”
Jenny and her twin sister, Jocelyn, both ran cross country and track at Foothill Technology High in Ventura, and their high school coach’s connection to Cougars coach Steve Scott led to them being recruited by Cal State San Marcos. Jenny competed for two years before deciding to concentrate on academics, and during her sophomore year she switched her major from biology to biochemistry because she enjoyed the challenge.
This year, as a senior, she worked in the research laboratory of chemistry professor Robert Iafe on two projects, including a chemical education project in which her goal was to develop an alkene reduction procedure that could be accomplished in a second-semester undergrad organic chemistry lab. The challenge was that the procedure had to be safe, reproducible and limited to only five hours.
“Jenny has really impressed me as a research student,” Iafe said. “Through her experience in reaction planning and troubleshooting, she is learning to become an independent researcher. It is also great to watch her confidence grow in the research setting.”
Jenny liked her time in the lab, but she discovered that the work is too solitary in nature. A people person, she plans to go to physician’s assistant school after graduation.
And at the commencement ceremony, far removed from her parents’ native land, she will feel no compulsion to conceal her area of study.
As she wrote in her speech, “Here at CSUSM, I don’t need to hide from anyone or anything, and I can proudly say: Mom and Dad, I am almost officially a biochemistry graduate, and I hope you are as proud of me as I am of myself.”
_______________
Red Tide Brings Bioluminescence to San Diego
A red tide just offshore San Diego is bringing a spectacular display of bioluminescence to beaches at night. Bioluminescence expert Michael Latz, a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said the red tide is due to aggregations of dinoflagellates including Ceratium falcatiforme and Lingulodinium polyedra, the latter of which is well known for its bioluminescent displays, with waves or movement in the water causing the phytoplankton to glow neon blue at night.
Red tides are unpredictable and not all of them produce bioluminescence. There is no red tide monitoring program, but the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System at Scripps Oceanography performs weekly sampling for potential harmful algal toxins.
Scientists do not know how long the current red tide will last, as previous events have lasted anywhere from one week to a month or more. Bioluminescent displays are viewed best from a dark beach at least two hours after sunset — but of course, visibility is not guaranteed. On Monday, May 7, bright bioluminescence was observed from La Jolla to Encinitas.
_______________
San Diego Green Building Council
Calls for Projects for Green Home Tours
The San Diego Green Building Council is now accepting project submissions for its ninth annual Green Homes Tour, which will be held on Sunday, Oct. 21. Each year, the event brings together hundreds of members of the local community to celebrate best practices in green building and design while showcasing the innovative work of some of the industry’s top professionals.
The diverse projects include sustainably remodeled residences, urban multifamily developments, luxurious custom homes and many projects that have achieved or are seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the top third-party verification system for sustainable structures around the world.
For this year’s Green Homes Tour, the committee will consider a variety of residential project types from throughout San Diego County, including:
- Single- and multi-family homes, new construction, renovations or additions
- Custom, spec and production-built homes
- Third-party green certifications (LEED, Green Point Rated, etc.)
- Unique home types: converted shipping containers, tiny homes, etc.
- Sustainable design features (building sites, materials, water/energy conservation, indoor air quality, landscaping, etc.)
To submit a project for the tour, complete a brief application form at http://tinyurl.com/GHT2017.
The application deadline is May 31 for priority consideration.
To learn more about the Green Homes Tour, visit the event website at www.sdgreenhomestour.org or contact Adam Pascu at adam@73degrees.com or (858) 761-1707 with any questions.
_______________
Billie Jean King to Address
Travel Association Convention
Tennis icon Billie Jean King will give a keynote address at the annual convention of the Global Business Travel Association Aug. 11-15 at the San Diego Convention Center. King will address the association on Monday, Aug. 13.
Kevin O’Leary, investor on ABC’s Shark Tank, chairman of O’Shares ETF Investments Financial Group and bestselling author, will be featured speaker at the Aug. 14 session.
Named one of the “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” by Life magazine and a 2009 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Billie Jean King has long been a pioneer for social justice. King grew up playing tennis in the California public parks and won 39 Grand Slam titles during her career. She helped form the Virginia Slims Series and founded the Women’s Tennis Association. She defeated Bobby Riggs in one of the greatest moments in sports history – the Battle of the Sexes on Sept. 20, 1973.
_______________
Preuss School UCSD Ranked
Top High School in San Diego
The Preuss School UCSD has been named the top high school in San Diego County by U.S. News and World Report, which just released its annual list of “Best High Schools.” The school also received a Gold Award designation and was ranked the #6 school in the State of California based on performance on state assessments, graduation rates and college preparation. Located on the campus of UC San Diego, The Preuss School is a charter middle and high school for low-income students who strive to become the first in their families to graduate from college.
The Preuss School was also ranked as one of the top 100 high schools nationally (#76) and the 25th best charter school in the nation.
_______________
Turnkey Greenhouse Facility Sold
Douglas Wilson Companies has brokered the sale of a 4.1-acre, 124,500-square-foot turnkey greenhouse facility in San Marcos for the owner, Kent’s Bromeliad Nursery. The sales price was $1.6 million. Mountain View Nursery of San Marcos was the buyer, represented by Patrick Miller of Lee & Associates.
Located at 2064 Marilyn Lane, the property is situated in the Twin Oaks Valley, an unincorporated area of San Diego County popular with equestrians and agricultural users.
“Kent’s is a family owned nursery, considered the gold standard for bromeliad development and propagation,” said Alan Scott, managing director of brokerage services for DWC. “Fortunately they aren’t leaving the bromeliad business, but are consolidating to larger facilities in Vista, where they own 850,000 square feet of greenhouses.”
_______________
Legal Administrators Chapter
Receives 2018 Award of Excellence
The San Diego chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators has been awarded the 2018 Presidents’ Award of Excellence at the National Association of Legal Administrators conference. The award was presented to the chapter’s outgoing president, Shaila Schaible, and the board of directors for the 2017-2018 years.
To qualify for the award, chapters are encouraged to take effective and collaborative action in support of ALA’s mission to promote and enhance the competence and professionalism of legal administrators and all members of the legal management team; improve the quality of management in law firms and other legal service organizations; and represent professional legal management and managers to the legal community and to the community at large.
_______________
Cubic to Update Navy’s LCS
Virtual Training Environment
ExecutiveBiz
Cubics global defense business has received eight delivery orders worth $16 million combined to add new functions and virtual content to a U.S. Navy virtual training environment for Littoral Combat Ships. The company said the orders fall under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for support work on the service branch’s Immersive Virtual Shipboard Environment. IVSE is designed to generate a virtual three-dimensional environment that works to simulate real-world scenarios.
The company aims to deliver training platforms that align with the Chief of Naval Operations’ vision for the service branch to address learning requirements with modern technology. Cubic looks for subject matter experts and professionals in the software engineering, instructional design, technical production, 3D arts to help the company fulfill the delivery orders.
Work will take place at the company’s Orlando, Fla., facility.
_______________
MTS Board Approves
Electric Bus Purchase
The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Board of Directors unanimously approved the purchase of six 40-foot electric buses from New Flyer and options to purchase nine depot chargers. The total cost is estimated to be $6 million and the buses are expected to arrive in mid-summer 2019.
The new electric buses will have a maximum range of 150-200 miles. The buses are equipped with 480 KW of stored energy and will be charged through individual depot chargers at MTS’ operating facility. They will have many modern amenities including the newest onboard video surveillance systems, enhanced wheelchair restraint systems with forward-facing safety barriers for improved safety, electric air conditioning and engine coolant systems.
A zero-emission bus pilot program was ordered by the MTS board in October 2017. Six of the depot chargers will be installed at the Imperial Avenue Division as the primary operating facility for the zero-emissions bus pilot program. The three additional chargers will be installed at the other fixed route operating facilities to allow testing and provide continuity of service as the pilot program progresses.
_______________
24-Unit Point Loma Apartment
Building Sells for $7,695,840
A 24-unit apartment building at 1770 Evergreen St. in Point Loma has been sold for $7,695,840 AMG Evergreen Apartments L.P. with Steve Huffman and George Mazis as principals. The seller was Kathryn Hattox Trust.
The apartment building was built in 1965. It consists of one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, many of which have views over the bay and city skyline.
The property will be managed by Altas Management Group, a local apartment management company.
Kidder Mathews represented the buyer. Scott & Quinn Real Estate represented the seller.
_______________
‘Mow Down Pollution’
Lawnmower Exchange Program is Saturday
County Supervisor Ron Roberts — “the lawnmower man” — will host his last lawnmower exchange program on Saturday — the 19th annual “Mowing Down Air Pollution” event at SDCCU Stadium in Mission Valley. Roberts, who is termed out, founded the popular program.
San Diegans can receive a re-chargeable electric mower in exchange for a working gas-powered one, along with $99.
The trade-in event has been successfully lowering harmful air pollution emissions by an average of 2.5 tons per year since 1999, according to the San Diego Air Pollution Control District.
The event lasts from 8 a.m. to noon, or earlier if sold out. (Gates open at 4:30 a.m.)
To date, San Diego County residents have replaced over 8,000 gas-powered lawn mowers with zero-emission electric-powered mowers.
Participants can spent time visiting a SDG&E display of electric cars, getting coffee or snacks from a food truck and scouting out the display of 600 succulents donated by the San Diego County Farm Bureau. Samples will be given free to participants.