Daily Business Report-Jan. 28, 2019

A junior majoring in applied physics at Cal State San Marcos, Lauren Tafla presented research earlier this month in Seattle at the American Astronomical Society’s annual meeting. (Photo by Andrew Reed)

Opportunity knocks for physics

student at Cal State San Marcos

By Eric Breier |Cal State San Marcos

Lauren Tafla’s introduction to Gerardo Dominguez’s physics lab at Cal State San Marcos began with a simple knock on the door.

Lauren had only recently started taking physics courses and was touring some of the labs when her professor, Stephen Tsui, had to step away. He told Lauren to look around while he attended to another matter. Lauren knocked on the first door she saw, which happened to be Dominguez’s lab. She poked her head in and asked what he did.

Dominguez’s research interests include astrophysics, also one of Lauren’s passions, so he invited her in and provided an impromptu overview of his work.

“I was so happy,” Lauren said. “I asked him if I could start working in his lab. I was probably only a month into my first physics class.”

Dominguez recommended that she come back after completing more of the physics basics. She kept his contact information and returned after completing her second physics course.

Lauren’s persistence paid off. She not only earned a place working in Dominguez’s lab, but had the opportunity to present her research earlier this month in Seattle at the American Astronomical Society’s annual meeting.

“Lauren joined the lab in late spring of 2018 and as a junior has already had an impact on the work we do,” Dominguez said. “She is developing protocols for experiments aimed at understanding the behavior of water in astrophysical environments. This is important work, and she is doing what a first-year graduate student at an R1 institution would be doing.

“It’s a pleasure to work with her, and I’m lucky to have her as part of my research group here at CSUSM.”

 It’s a far different path than the one Lauren planned when she enrolled at CSUSM.

Lauren wanted to study something she considered practical, so she chose accounting, the same major her mother pursued. But from the moment she started taking accounting classes, she realized it was a poor fit. She began reading some of the philosophy books that her mother had at home and became interested in philosophical theories about the universe. It wasn’t long before she changed her major to applied physics.

Lauren completed Physics 201 in the months following her initial meeting with Dominguez and returned to his lab after taking Physics 202. Dominguez suggested that she attend his weekly student lab meetings and read up on topics such as geochemistry, isotopes and vacuum systems.

“It was a little intimidating at first,” she said. “Everyone in the lab tries to be really supportive, but they also have a lot of work to do. I just had the mindset of ‘I can do it. I can figure it out.’ ”

When students used unfamiliar terms during the meetings, Lauren would write them down and look them up later. Her efforts led to her being selected for the College of Science and Mathematics’ Summer Scholars Program, a 10-week program in which students work closely with a faculty mentor to gain hands-on experience. In Lauren’s case, that meant an opportunity to further her research in Dominguez’s lab. When the Summer Scholars Program ended, Dominguez offered Lauren a paid position in the lab, which she happily accepted.

Last fall, Dominguez suggested that they present their research at the 233rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Lauren jumped at the opportunity. She was one of just a handful of undergraduate students in attendance.

“Everyone was really inclusive,” said Lauren, who will graduate in May 2020 and plans to pursue her Ph.D. in physics. “It was a really supportive environment. Being able to represent Cal State San Marcos at the conference gave me a lot of collaboration opportunities.”

Eric Breier is public affairs specialist at California State University San Marcos.

ebreier@csusm.edu. Click here for the CSUSM NewsCenter story.

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Credit union spending and savings

report issued for San Diego County

The San Diego County 3rd Quarter Credit Union Snapshot has been released and reveals the large-scale spending and savings choices that today’s 1.06 million credit union members across this region are making as the economy enters what many experts say is the “later stage” of its growth cycle.

The seven-page report shows how local credit union members in San Diego County continue taking on various types of first-mortgages, home equity loans, new and used auto loans, credit cards and personal loans. However, they are also trying to save money and increasingly using their credit union to transact for purchases and bill-pay.

Overall, year-over-year growth is continuing, although it is very recently starting to slow down in certain lending categories compared to the past couple of years.

More than 74,000 consumers over the past year chose to become members of a credit union headquartered in San Diego County as of Sept. 30, 2018 (third quarter) — the latest available data. Total membership in the region now stands at 1.06 million (at 16 credit unions).

From the report

•  Loans: $13.6 billion loaned-out within the local community—a 9 percent year-over-year (YOY) increase. Historically, this $13.6 billion figure has doubled (rising 100 percent) from a post-recession low in 2012 of $6.8 billion and now represents a record outstanding dollar amount (first-mortgages, second-mortgages, HELOCs, business loans, new and used auto loans, credit cards, and sometimes other consumer loans). The last historical peak was $8.3 billion in 2008. 

•  10 percent increase in new auto loans: Hit a record  outstanding dollar amount of $2.3 billion and has  nearly sextupled (rising 486 percent) from the most recent low in 2012 of $395 million. (The last historical peak was $992 million in 2008). 

• 6 percent increase in credit card lending: Hit a record outstanding dollar amount of $561 million and has risen 33 percent from the most recent low in 2012 of $423 million. (The last historical peak was $466 million in 2009). 

Click here for the detailed report.

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Former Gov. Jerry Brown

gets $120,000 a year pension

By Judy Lin | CALmatters

Former Gov. Jerry Brown, who pushed to rein in public employee pension costs, has started drawing on his $120,000-a-year pension after decades of public service.

Brown officially retired Jan. 7 to his ranch in Colusa County and began drawing $9,994.29 a month after 33.5 years of service, according to Amy Morgan, a spokeswoman for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

Brown, the son of former Gov. Pat Brown, began his political career on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees. Over a five-decade span, he served as secretary of state, mayor of Oakland, attorney general and a record four terms as governor, all of which counted toward his service credit at CalPERS.

Brown retired at age 80, which is 22 years older than the average retirement age of state workers. Among his legacies is a rebalancing of state pensions for hundreds of thousands of public employees, a fight he took all the way to the California Supreme Court.

Payments for public employee retirement benefits are putting pressure on government budgets throughout cities, counties and school districts in the state, so much so that Brown once called pension reform a “moral obligation.” “

For comparison, Brown’s pension falls in the middle of recent governors. According to CalPERS, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger waived his salary so he isn’t collecting a pension. Gov. Gray Davis retired in 2003 with 30 years of service and collects $140,767 a year. Gov. Pete Wilson retired in 1999 with about 12 years of service and receives $77,051 a year.

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San Diego saw record 35.8 million visitors

in 2018, and is spending $19M to attract more

San Diego County welcomed a record 35.8 million visitors last year, and it hopes to attract even more this year following the launch of a $19 million advertising campaign that includes all new TV commercials.

Last year’s visitation numbers, which are still a preliminary estimate, mark the eighth consecutive year of growth for the region, the San Diego Tourism Authority reported Wednesday. Year-over-year growth was 2.3 percent, with last year’s visitors spending an estimated $11.3 billion.

Read more…

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Mesa College’s Health Information Management

Bachelor’s Degree Program gets accreditation

San Diego Mesa College’s Health Information Management (HIM) Bachelor of Science degree Program has been awarded initial accreditation for its Health Information Management Bachelor of Science degree program. The accreditation is from the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Mesa College made history in May 2018 by graduating the first group of bachelor’s degree students.

“This accreditation means Mesa College students are eligible to sit for the national exam and receive the highest credential offered by the American Health Information Management Association, which is the Registered Health Information Administrator,” said Connie Renda, program director for Mesa’s Health Information Management Program. “This credential is required for many high level, high paying jobs. It is an honor for Mesa College to have earned such high recognition for this program.”

Graduates obtaining their Registered Health Information Administrator certification are qualified for multiple careers, with the potential to earn anywhere from $60,000 — $140,000 per year. 

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San Diego Foundation announces

scholarship opportunities for students

The San Diego Foundation announced that hundreds of scholarships are available for San Diego students pursuing higher education during the 2019-2020 school year. The San Diego Foundation Common Scholarship Application is available online until Feb. 5 at 2p.m. Click here.

Through one online application, students can access more than $2 million through 100 types of scholarships for the 2019- 2020 academic year, with awards generally ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Awards are granted to four-year universities, two-year colleges, graduate or trade/vocational schools.

The San Diego Foundation Community Scholarship Program is the largest in the region outside of the university system and provides a variety of scholarships to high school students, current college students, graduate students and adult re-entry students. Since 1997, the program has awarded more than $30 million to thousands of students.

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VEBA unveils innovative Mission Valley Resource Center

Created to provide customized programs to achieve personal health and wellness goals, the VEBA Resource Center (VRC) hosted its Grand Opening celebration last week with a reception event. The VRC is the latest innovation from California Schools Voluntary Employees Benefits Association (VEBA), a nonprofit health care trust serving nearly 150,000 members from 65 participating public sector employers, including the San Diego Unified School District and the County of San Diego.

Most health care systems are designed for efficiencies, which does not give people the space they need to explore their most pressing issues. At the VEBA Resource Center, members – who are teachers, sheriff deputies and other public-sector employees – receive personal guidance from a trained nurse Care Navigator who helps to identify goals and address and overcome challenges to healthy well-being. Navigators lead members in designing customized plans for fitness, nutrition, stress reduction and mental health support.

For more information, click here

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Cubic renovates manufacturing facility

to accommodate air training systems

Cubic Corporation announced that it is completing the renovation and upgrade of its San Diego manufacturing facility to accommodate the production and testing of components for pods, ground subsystems and secure components for its live, virtual and constructive (LVC) air combat training systems. Due to Cubic Global Defense’s recent success in the Secure LVC Advanced Training Environment (SLATE) Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD), its facilities are being readied to perform the final assembly and testing of its new secure LVC pods.

“Cubic’s Air Ranges team has worked very hard to develop LVC-enabling technologies to successfully demonstrate the efficacy of blending virtual and constructive entities into live aircraft cockpits,” said Mike Knowles, president of Cubic Global Defense. “We are thrilled with the latest enhancements to our manufacturing facility and look forward to strengthening and increasing the production of our new secure LVC pods here in San Diego.”

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Personnel Announcements

Kevin Finney joins Abide Therapeutics

as president and chief operating officer

Abide Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapeutics targeting the serine hydrolase family of enzymes, announced the appointment of Kevin Finney to the position of president and chief operating officer. Finney will join Abide’s board of directors.

Finney has more than 20 years of health care industry leadership experience spanning pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic segments. His extensive experience encompasses the early stages of development through commercialization of brands. Prior to Abide, Finney was chief operating officer of Zavante Therapeutics, currently Nabriva Therapeutics. He led the initial financing of the company and operations from inception through the sale in 2018. Previously, Finney was vice president and head of World-Wide Corporate Development at Allergan, Inc., an international specialty pharmaceutical company operating in more than 10 countries worldwide. In this role he led strategic corporate development and was at the center of some of the industry’s largest transactions.

 During his tenure at Allergan, the company grew from $3 billion in annual revenue to $7 billion through organic and acquired growth, including substantial growth of the neurology franchise with the flagship product BOTOX.

Prior to Allergan, Finney held commercial executive management roles at Prometheus Laboratories Inc. (now Nestle Health Science), Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (now Bristol-Myers Squibb), and the Parke-Davis division of Warner-Lambert (now Pfizer). 

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BRINGING THE SHIP TO LIFE