Daily Business Report-July 13, 2018
Rendering of a portion of the SDSU West proposal. (Credit: SDSU West)
Judges clear both Mission Valley
stadium initiatives for November ballot
Times of San Diego
In separate rulings on Wednesday, two San Diego County Superior Court judges approved competing stadium initiatives for the November general election ballot. It will now be up to San Diego voters whether the SoccerCity or SDSU West plans — or neither — are the future for the former Qualcomm Stadium property in Mission Valley.
“The city has not surmounted the extremely high bar required to remove the ‘SoccerCity’ initiative from the November, 2018 ballot,” wrote Judge Timothy Taylor. And Judge Randa Trapp confirmed her earlier, tentative ruling that the SDSU West initiative could remain on the ballot.
City Attorney Mara Elliott had asked the court to review both measures, arguing they interfered whit the mayor and city council’s ability to manage finances, land use, water and public contracts associated with city-owned land.
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City water department resisted oversight,
downplayed smart meter problems
By Ry Rivard | Voice of San Diego
Shortly after Vic Bianes took over San Diego’s water department, he instructed his staff to hide information.
Less than a month after he began leading the $1.1 billion Public Utilities Department in mid-October, Bianes emailed staffers who were preparing a presentation for one of the water department’s oversight bodies. Bianes said it’d be best to be “vague” and not give the Independent Rates Oversight Committee any specifics about how the department was handling ongoing customer service issues.
“No need to allow them to focus on giving us direction on how to improve,” Bianes wrote, according to emails obtained by Voice of San Diego and NBC 7 Responds through a Public Records Act request.
The months since Bianes’ email show there’s room for improvement.
Over 1,000 water customers have complained about bill spikes and other billing problems so far this year. Two sets of auditors are now looking for deeper problems with the department and Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office is growing impatient.
Nevertheless, the department has tried to downplay problems, resist public records requests and mislead the public, VOSD and NBC 7 found.
For instance, department officials denied for months that there were problems with a $60 million program to upgrade the city’s water meters.
But, in fact, department officials have known of a “glitch” with the new meters since at least 2016. The program is also relying, in part, on technology from a meter company that has admitted to making products that prematurely fail. Those problems may not be related to billing spikes, but could cause other billing problems and be a costly mistake in their own right.
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Council Rules Committee votes
in favor of ban on single-use plastics
The Rules Committee of the San Diego City Council voted 3-2 in favor of a ban on polystyrene foam, and restrictions on single-use plastics in the city of San Diego. The measure now moves to a full City Council for a vote as early as September.
Council members Chris Ward, President Pro Tem Barbara Bry, and Myrtle Cole — who chairs the Rules Committee — voted in favor. Councilmembers Mark Kersey and Chris Cate voted against.
Representatives from Surfrider Foundation, 5 Gyres Institute, Teamsters Local 911, California Grocers’ Association, and Business For Good all spoke in support of the ordinance, which would place restrictions on the use of expanded polystyrene (commonly referred to as Styrofoam), and reduce the distribution of other types of single-use plastics in the city of San Diego.
The ordinance would restrict the sale and distribution of polystyrene foam products for use as food serviceware, fish and meat trays, egg cartons, and coolers in the city of San Diego. It would also make single-use plastic foodware, such as straws and utensils, available only upon request.
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Rules Committee votes for moving
$900 million ballot measure to Council
The Rules Committee of the San Diego City Council voted to move a $900 million bond measure for affordable housing to the full Council for consideration for the November ballot. The measure, sponsored by the San Diego Housing Federation, would provide homes for veterans, seniors, individuals with disabilities, those currently experiencing homelessness and low-income families.
The Rules Committee passed the action item in a 3-2 vote, with Councilmembers Myrtle Cole, Barbara Bry and Christopher Ward supporting, while Councilmembers Mark Kersey and Chris Cate opposed.
The Housing Federation requested to present the proposed ballot measure to San Diego City Council on July 31.
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Scientists ID protein exploited
by virus ravaging West Africa
A research team from several institutions being led by the University of California San Diego has deciphered a key component behind a rising epidemic of pathogens that the World Health Organization (WHO) recently added to its list of critical emerging diseases.
New research published July 12 in the journal PLOS Pathogens uncovered a protein enabling the replication of arenaviruses, pathogens carried by rodents that can infect humans and cause lethal hemorrhagic fevers. According to the WHO, the Lassa virus—an arenavirus with symptoms similar to the Ebola virus—is currently widespread in West Africa, with nearly 300,000 infections and more than 5,000 deaths reported per year. Research and identification of clinical targets to combat these diseases are urgently needed, the WHO has indicated.
Research led by Elina Zúñiga’s laboratory in UC San Diego’s Division of Biological Sciences identified DDX3, a protein involved in RNA metabolism, as a key factor promoting arenavirus multiplication through its unexpected ability to promote viral RNA synthesis and dismantle normal human immune system defenses.
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Cubic to feature training
systems at U.K. airshow
ExecutiveBiz
Cubic’s global defense business will bring its combat training systems to the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow, held in the U.K. from July 16 to 22. The company announced it will present its P5 Tactical Combat Training System, Cubic Miniature Encryptor for Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation, and a live, virtual and constructive simulation security product.
Dave Buss, president of Cubic Global Defense, said the company equips encrypted P5 internal subsystems for the F-35 to facilitate fourth and fifth-generation interoperation.
Cubic will continuously update its products to address training systems demand from F-35 and P5 operators, addedMike Knowles, vice president and general manager of Cubic Global Defense’s air ranges unit.
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Personnel Announcements
BIOS Lighting adds to professional staff
BIOS Lighting announced the expansion of its team with three seasoned professionals. With offices in Melbourne, Fla. and Carlsbad, the company brought on Kenneth Esterly as regional vice president of sales, Erica Voss as director of circadian design, and Eric Schafer as senior embedded engineer.
Esterly joins BIOS with over 18 years in the lighting industry and over 15 years of successful sales experience, including the last two years working on BIOS projects/AIA presentations. In his new role as regional vice president of sales, he will be responsible for driving BIOS’ circadian lighting sales and business development strategies.
Voss will help bridge the gap between lighting research and application. With nine years of design experience and a Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Science in Architectural Sciences which focused on the circadian impact of a 24-hour lighting scheme for the aging eye, her passion for design comes from the synthesis of light and architecture.
Schafer brings over 25 years of engineering experience, with a focus on electronic and embedded software projects. He most recently served as director of engineering at Signature Control Systems, leading the software, hardware, and mechanical engineering teams and overseeing the concept to production process.
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Victoria Abrams joins Integrated Health Partners
Health Center Partners of Southern California, a consortium of primary care organizations, announced the appointment of Victoria Abrams to the role of executive vice president for its subsidiary, Integrated Health Partners (IHP). IHP is the clinically integrated primary care network in San Diego and Riverside counties, comprising 10 community health centers representing more than 750,000 low-income and under-insured Medi-Cal patients. Abrams is a well-regarded and highly experienced health care executive with over 30 years’ experience working with payers and providers in mature managed care markets, and will lead the strategy and execution of IHP’s business, ensuring true clinical, financial and administrative integration.
Abrams’ broad-based expertise has been honed over more than three decades in roles spanning a diverse array of entities within managed care ecosystems. Prior to joining IHP, she advised the leadership of the Boston Medical Center, the largest safety net provider in Massachusetts, Boston Accountable Care Organization (BACO) and Boston Healthnet Plan on implementation of the state’s recently launched Medicaid ACO. She also oversaw the managed care finance and contracting functions for the commercial and Medicare value-based agreements of BACO’s network of federally qualified health centers, hospitals and medical providers, working with the organization’s internal strategy group, finance committee and board.
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Mike Easter joins Colliers International
Colliers International San Diego Region announced that Mike Easter has joined the firm’s Debt and Equity practice group as a senior vice president specializing in the advisement of clients on securing and structuring debt and equity capital for a wide range of investment real estate assets.
Over his 15-year career, Easter has completed more than $2.8 billion worth of real estate transaction including more than $1.5 billion in in real estate debt and equity capital transactions.
Easter earned a Master of Science in Real Estate & Construction from University of Denver and holds CCIM and Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA) designations. Mike has served on the CCIM National Board of Directors and is actively involved in the CCIM Southern California Chapter, National Multi-housing Council and Mortgage Bankers Association among many other industry groups.
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Insiders bet heavily on Gavin Newsom
By Dan Morain | Lucas Public Affairs
Democratic gubernatorial front-runner Gavin Newsom has raised $2.4 million since winning the June 5 primary, pulling in donations from a major backer of his vanquished rival, Antonio Villaraigosa, and insiders with issues pending in Sacramento, my count shows.
Indicating how donors expect the race to turn out, Newsom’s Republican opponent, John Cox, raised half as much, though the wealthy businessman boosted his total to $1.8 million by giving his campaign $590,000.
Making amends: Netflix founder and charter school advocate Reed Hastings, who gave $7 million to an ill-fated independent campaign to help Villaraigosa, donated the maximum $29,500 to Newsom in June.
Business matters: Some donors are especially narrowly focused. One is the Motor Vehicle Software Corporation, an Agoura-based contractor that does business with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Governors appoint DMV directors.
In a two-day period in June, the corporation and its chairman, Kelly Kimball, gave Newsom’s campaign a combined $116,800, the maximum allowed.
