Daily Business Report-Nov. 27, 2018
Procopio’s LaunchPad now occupies the entire fourth floor of the Del Mar Heights office building, One Del Mar. (Photo courtesy of The Irvine Company)
Procopio expands LaunchPad
startup incubator in Del Mar Heights
The Procopio law firm is looking to admit additional entrepreneurial startup clients to its LaunchPad incubator program, now possible due to additional office space in its Del Mar Heights office in the One Del Mar building.
The real estate expansion, a result of Procopio’s growth as the largest law firm based in San Diego, affords the firm the opportunity to assist more local startups from inception to launch.
“Procopio’s commitment to our clients’ needs drives our continued growth,” said Managing Partner John D. Alessio. “As a firm that works closely with the startup community across San Diego County and California, we’re delighted that our Del Mar Heights office expansion allows us to assist more startups with our LaunchPad incubator.”
The LaunchPad program has since 2012 provided high-technology entrepreneurs a place to start a new business. LaunchPad participants form their corporate structures, seek protection of core technology, acquire early funding, and grow their companies in dedicated space in Procopio’s Del Mar Heights office alongside attorneys who understand their industries and the path to success for emerging growth companies.
LaunchPad participants benefit from a complimentary legal start-up package, valuable office space and back-office business support including conference rooms and other amenities. Procopio attorneys provide ongoing legal support on a variety of key legal issues, and educational opportunities are also available for participants. Potential LaunchPad participants can learn more at procopio.com/launchpad.
Procopio previously occupied the third floor of the four-story Del Mar Heights office building, One Del Mar, at 12544 High Bluff Drive. The firm now occupies the entire fourth floor while also maintaining third-floor office space, all housing its attorneys and staff.
The Irvine Company acquired One Del Mar earlier this year.
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Nation’s shoppers spent record high
$17.8 billion on Small Business Saturday
The ninth annual Small Business Saturday, held on Nov. 24, kicked off the holiday shopping season for consumers and small, independently owned businesses with record levels of reported spending. Total reported spending among U.S. consumers who said they shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on the day reached a record high of an estimated $17.8 billion, according to data released from the 2018 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey from American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business. Based on this annual survey over the years, Small Business Saturday spending has now reached a reported estimate of $103 billion since the day bgan in 2010.
Communities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico celebrated this Small Business Saturday with special events and activities. From lighting up the Empire State Building blue in New York to crafting a life-sized Shop Small® gingerbread shop in San Diego, to block parties featuring local jazz and salsa bands in San Juan, businesses and neighborhoods showed what makes their communities unique and vibrant. An estimated 104 million U.S. consumers reported shopping or dining at local independently owned businesses on Small Business Saturday, according to the same survey.
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El Cajon Blvd. Business Improvement
Association hosts 2nd ‘Blvd. 20/20 Town Hall’
The El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association will host its second “Blvd. 20/20 Town Hall” on Tuesday, Dec. 4. The community is invited to provide input and feedback as the organization works to develop its new vision for the historic mid-city corridor.
The “Blvd. 20/20 Plan” envisions El Cajon Boulevard as a model for successful transit-oriented communities in San Diego. The BIA is engaging with the community through a series of public workshops on topics such as neighborhood amenities, affordability, accessibility, cultural enhancement and urban living. The first Town Hall was held in June, in collaboration with the Housing You Matters Coalition, and focused on the subject of developing housing for all income levels within the community.
The Dec. 4 Town Hall, which will focus on mobility issues, will be held at the Rock Church in City Heights (4001 El Cajon Blvd.). Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., with the program running from 6 to 8 p.m. Participants will include Transit Center Foundation visionary Kirk Hovenkotter, San Diego City Councilman Chris Ward to discuss various issues relating to transit-oriented development. Representatives from the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System will also attend to discuss planning and policy updates along the Boulevard, including advancement with Bus Rapid Transit, transit lanes, modal balance and more. More information is available on our Facebook event page.
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VA, Apple mull deal to give veterans
mobile access to health records
ExecutiveBiz
Apple and the Department of Veterans Affairs are in talks to develop tools to help approximately 9 million former service members access electronic health records with the use of iPhones, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The report said Apple also offered to provide engineering support to the department through the proposed partnership.
The technology firm aims to produce mobile software for military veterans to import and share medical data with other healthcare-related applications designed to offer information about clinical services such as automated medication refills.
Apple reportedly first discussed its plans with the VA in early 2017 in a push to tap millions of potential new customers in the $3.2T healthcare market.
The company introduced heart-monitoring and fall-detection features on its smartwatch product earlier this year.
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Environmental groups reach pact
with city to address water pollution
San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation have reached agreement with the city of San Diego regarding major stormwater infrastructure projects to improve water quality in several critical water bodies including Mission Bay, Rose Creek, San Clemente Creek, and the Tijuana River. The deal will help to bring the city into compliance with federal and state clean water legal requirements.
Under the agreement, the city will upgrade practices for handling stormwater, as well as human and solid waste, at five major city-owned facilities: Miramar Landfill, Metro Biosolids Center, North City Reclamation Plant, Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant, and South Bay Water Reclamation Plant. Coastkeeper and CERF negotiated for the city to contribute $35,000 to San Diego Audubon Society, which will use the funds to improve water quality and restore habitats in and around Mission Bay.
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Cubic announces proposed
public offering of common stock
Cubic Corporation announced Monday that it has started an underwritten public offering of 3.3 million shares of its common stock. In connection with the offering, Cubic expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 495,000 additional shares at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
Cubic intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to repay a portion of its outstanding borrowings under its revolving credit agreement used to finance the acquisition of Trafficware, and the remainder for general corporate purposes.
J.P. Morgan and Citigroup are acting as joint book-running managers and representatives of the underwriters of the offering.
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Brain Corp announces launch
of autonomous vacuum cleaner
Brain Corp, artificial intelligence company specializing in the development of self-driving technology for robots, announced that it is powering autonomous capabilities in a new product launched by SoftBank Robotics.
The product, an autonomous vacuum cleaner, has been designed specifically for use in commercial spaces such as retail and office environments. Sales are slated to begin in 2019 and will focus initially on the Japanese market. The vacuum will be powered by BrainOS, Brain Corp’s proprietary operating system.
Earlier this year, Brain Corp announced entry into the Japanese market with an application in large-scale, industrial floor scrubbers. The newly announced vacuum product, while also in the cleaning space, will be significantly smaller in size than the machines BrainOS has supported in the past.
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Gubernatorial Appointments
Megan Lim-Blair, 37, of San Diego, has been appointed to the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board by Gov. Jerry Brown. Gary Strawn, 72, of Santee, has been reappointed to the board, where he has served since 2010.
Blair has been chief development officer at the San Diego Public Library Foundation since 2008. She was capital campaign and major gifts manager at Girl Scouts, San Diego – Imperial Council from 2007 to 2008, where she was a fund development associate from 2006 to 2007. Blair was a development associate and environmental analyst at Save the Harbor, Save the Bay from 2003 to 2005. She is a member of the United Way of San Diego Board of Directors, Women Give San Diego and the Junior League of San Diego. The position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Blair is a Democrat.
Gary Strawn was an engineering consultant at Gary Strawn Consulting from 2007 to 2012 and a program manager at United Technologies Hamilton Sundstrand from 1988 to 2006. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1988. Strawn is a member of the Santee Historical Society, San Diego River Park Foundation and San Diego Fly Fishers. Strawn is registered without party preference.
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Personnel Announcements
Petco names Genevieve Kelly chief legal officer and corporate secretary
Petco announced the appointment of Genevieve Kelly as chief legal officer and corporate secretary overseeing all legal, corporate governance and regulatory affairs for the company.
Petco operates more than 1,500 retail locations and employs 26,000 partners across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico. As chief legal officer and corporate secretary, Kelly will be responsible for leading Petco’s legal affairs department in support of Petco’s strategic plans, growth objectives and broader vision for healthier pets, happier people and a better world.
Kelly brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in legal practice for multinational corporations from around the globe. Prior to joining Petco, she served as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Dole Food Company, where she was promoted five times to roles of increasing scope and responsibility during her 14 years there. Previously, Kelly also worked as a corporate attorney for the international law firms Sidley Austin LLP and McDermott Will & Emery, and as legal counsel for multinational corporations Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and for the global investment bank Houlihan Lokey.
She is both a Fulbright and Rotary Scholar.
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Dr. Budgets Inc. names 2 new money coaches
Dr. Budgets Inc., a San Diego-based small business focused on helping people achieve their financial goals, announces two new money coaches available to work with clients from around the country.
Kai Dickens is a money and life coach, a role specifically created for Dickens because of his ability to show people how to transform their relationship with money. He is a graduate of and former mentor coach with Accomplishment Coaching in San Diego and is currently working on an MS in Leadership Studies at the University of San Diego.
“Kai is extremely passionate about supporting people in achieving the lives of their dreams,” said Dr. Budgets owner Daniel Rodriguez.
Katie McDonnell is passionate about personal development. According to Rodriguez, “Katie easily connects and empathizes with people, giving them a safe space to explore their dreams, and then encouraging them to achieve those dreams.” While in college, she studied human services and completed a program to become a chemical dependency counselor. As a money coach, McDonnell will work with clients to develop a spending plan, then talk with them monthly to review their spending, check progress toward goals and hold them accountable to their plan.
