Daily Business Report-Jan. 7, 2019
Casa del Prado in Balboa Park (Photo: Manny Cruz)
Balboa Park Placed on SOHO Most Endangered List
Save Our Heritage Organisation aims to rally public against controversial park plan
In an unusual move, the Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) has placed the whole of Balboa Park on its 2018 Most Endangered List — the top of the list, in fact — to protest the city’s plan for a bridge and parking garage in the park. The following is SOHO’s rationale for placing the park on the list, which is aimed at raising public awareness about local landmarks.
By the Save Our Heritage Organisation
For residents and visitors alike, Balboa Park is highly regarded as San Diego’s crown jewel.
After nearly a decade of litigation, the battle to protect the park’s historic character from a proposed $80+ million bridge-and-parking-garage boondoggle is still not over.
The recent appellate judgment in the city of San Diego’s favor did not resolve the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Addendum issue at the heart of SOHO’s lawsuit.
SOHO is raising funds now for the next phase of our legal efforts, and you can expect to hear about new filings in the weeks ahead. SOHO continues to urge the city to abandon this ill-conceived plan, which would bring more, not less, unwanted automobile traffic into the historic core.
The new construction would decimate Palm Canyon, adversely impact the peace and tranquility of Alcazar Garden, and permanently alter the iconic Cabrillo Bridge — a picturesque landmark that has symbolized Balboa Park’s beauty for over a century.
Instead of wasting time, effort, and public money on pushing this disaster through hurdles, the city should be investing resources into the estimated $500 million needed for the park’s critical repairs and safety upgrades, such as long overdue earthquake retrofits.
Although the city is focused on implementing this destructive plan, there are still steps that will need to be re-evaluated. The construction bids will likely exceed $100 million, $20 million more than the city and donors expected. Revenues for the proposed parking garage must be reassessed in light of various dockless and alternative transit options for park visitors.
And the City Council must approve the bond necessary for financing this misguided plan. That is unlikely as long as the bond is the center of another party’s legal challenge.
Our venerated Balboa Park will remain on SOHO’s Most Endangered List until the city of San Diego’s elected officials demonstrate that they understand and will protect its historical and cultural importance, respect its prestigious National Historic Landmark District status, and live up to their responsibilities as park stewards. Only then will we all be assured of continuing to enjoy and learn from its historic architecture, gardens, grand walkways, and cultural landscapes now and for generations to come.
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San Diegans appointed to U.S. District
Court for Southern District of California
Magistrate Judge Linda Lopez and Magistrate Judge Michael Stephen Berg of San Diego have been appointed judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Lopez will fill the position left vacant when Judge Jan M. Adler retired. Berg will fill the position left vacant by the death of Judge David H. Bartick.
Judge Lopez most recently practiced as senior trial attorney with Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc. Prior to joining Federal Defenders in 2007, she practiced in the private sector in Florida, litigating primarily criminal defense cases before moving to San Diego.
Lopez was selected to be a lawyer representative for the Southern District of California from 2014 until her appointment to the bench and has served as its co-chair. She is also a Master of the Welsh Inn of Court and serves on the board of directors of the San Diego chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
She graduated magna cum laude from Florida International University and received her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from University of Miami School of Law.
Judge Berg was a criminal defense attorney for 36 years before his appointment. He successfully represented some of the most high-profile criminal cases in San Diego, including the first ever death penalty case filed in the Southern District of California.
Berg is the incoming chairman of the California Board of Legal Specialists for the State Bar of California, is the president of the Rancho Coastal Humane Society Board of Directors and is the former president and current handicap chairman for the Torrey Pines Men’s Golf Club.
Berg was born and raised in South Dakota. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1978 and from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1981.
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Marty Block reappointed chair of the state
Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board
Marty Block, 66, of San Diego, has been reappointed chair of the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board by Gov. Jerry Brown, where he has served since 2016. Block served as a state Senator from 2012 to 2016 and as an Assemblyman from 2008 to 2012.
He was president of the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2008 and served as judge pro tem at the San Diego County Superior Court from 1998 to 1999.
Block was an elected member of the San Diego County Board of Education from 1986 to 1994 and served in several positions at San Diego State University from 1979 to 2006, including professor, administrative director and assistant dean of education.
Block earned a Juris Doctor degree from the DePaul University College of Law. The position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $158,572. Block is a Democrat.
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New state law prohibits gender
discrimination in car insurance pricing
Gender is no longer a factor in pricing car insurance in California. The Gender Non-Discrimination in Automobile Insurance Rating Regulation became effective on Jan. 1.
According to The Zebra’s State of Auto Insurance report, prior to this law, women paid slightly more annually than men on their car insurance premiums. ($1,817 annually for women on average in California v. $1,815 annually for men on average in California.)
Click here to read the report.
Most people are surprised to learn that their information plays into a very specific algorithm to determine their auto insurance pricing. Information used to calculate these rates include: ZIP code, marital status, homeowner status, age, and in many states (but no longer California) gender. Credit score is another factor used in most states, but not California — the state deemed it discriminatory.
Voter-approved Proposition 103 requires auto insurance premiums to be based primarily on factors within a motorist’s control: driving safety record, miles driven, and years of driving experience. It also applied state civil rights laws to insurance, prohibiting discrimination based on sex, race and sexual orientation, among other factors.
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Forge Therapeutics gets up to $11.1M
to advance ‘Superbug’ drugs
By Sarah de Crescenzo | Editor of Xconomy San Diego
As strains of bacteria evolve to fight back against common antibiotics, a slew of biotechnology companies are working to develop ways to combat these “superbugs.”
San Diego’s Forge Therapeutics is among those targeting gram-negative bacteria, a type of bacteria that has a protective outer membrane that makes it especially resistant to drugs. Comparatively, gram-positive bacteria don’t have that extra membrane, and they’re easier to treat.
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Resource Fair for former Brightwood College students
The San Diego Community College District will hold a resource fair from 3 to 5 p.m. today for students impacted by the closing of Brightwood College. San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges offer a number of certificate and degree programs as well as free, short-term training programs that may be similar to a student’s educational path at Brightwood College. While the district only accepts credits from regionally accredited institutions, other options may be available for Brightwood students since Brightwood College was not regionally credited. The Outreach Resource Fair will be held at the Continuing Education at Mesa College, Room 118, 7350 Armstrong Place, San Diego.
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Cisco to acquire Carlsbad
chipmaker for $660 million
Networking-equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. said it intends to acquire privately-held Luxtera Inc., a semiconductor company based in Carlsbad that uses silicon photonics to build integrated optics capabilities for webscale and enterprise data centers, service provider market segments, and other customers. Cisco said it will pay $660 million in cash and assumed equity awards for the acquisition of Luxtera. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of Cisco’s fiscal year 2019.
Cisco noted that Luxteras technology, design, and manufacturing innovation will significantly improve chip scale and performance, while lowering costs. The company plans to incorporate Luxtera’s technology across its intent-based networking portfolio, spanning enterprise, data center and service provider markets.
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General Atomics to integrate hosted payload
for NOAA Space Data Collection program
ExecutiveBiz
A General Atomics business unit has received a delivery order from the U.S. Air Force to integrate a satellite payload into an orbital test bed in support of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mission.
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems will launch a 242.5-pound OTB satellite for the Argos Advanced Data Collection System designed to collect global data for environmental and other applications, the company said.
France’s space agency will provide the A-DCS payload for the mission.
Gathered data support a variety of areas including wildlife monitoring, ocean buoy tracking and maritime security.
The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded the delivery order under the military service’s Hosted Payload Solutions program.
OTB satellite is designed to accommodate one mission payload or support simultaneous launch of multiple payloads with a single platform.
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Personnel Announcements
Andrew Sassine named CFO of Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd.
Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd., a San Diego-based company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics towards rare, infectious, fibrotic, and respiratory diseases, has appointed Andrew Sassine as chief financial officer.
Sassine has been serving as Arcturus’ interim chief financial officer since August 2018 and has served on the company’s board of directors since May 2018.
In addition to serving on the Arcturus board, Sassine serves on the boards of iCAD Inc., a provider of advanced image analysis, workflow solutions and radiation therapy for the early detection and treatment of cancer, and Gemphire Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on therapies for the treatment of dyslipidemia.
Previously, Sassine served in various positions at Fidelity Investments from 1999 to 2012, most recently as portfolio manager.
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New insurance commissioner hires
ex-lobbyist for company under
investigation by insurance agency
By Dan Morain | CALmatters
One of two people leading state Sen. Ricardo Lara’s transition as California’s newly elected Insurance Commissioner worked until last month as the Sacramento lobbyist for a major drug maker that is the subject of an investigation by the Department of Insurance that Lara soon will head.
Lara, a Democrat from Bell Gardens, was to be sworn in as Insurance Commissioner today, succeeding Dave Jones, who was termed out.
In December, Lara issued a press release announcing that Michael Martinez would help lead his transition to the 1,300-employee department. That release described Martinez, a former insurance department official and aide to Gov. Jerry Brown, as “currently working in California’s life sciences sector.”
The release neglected to elaborate on the work Martinez did in the life sciences sector and it didn’t identify his employer.
In a separate public filing with the Secretary of State, Martinez disclosed that until December, he had been a lobbyist for the Foster City-based pharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences.
Gilead, in turn, disclosed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as recently as Nov. 6—election day—that the California Department of Insurance and Alameda County District Attorney’s Office issued subpoenas in October 2017 requesting documents related to its marketing, and interactions with specialty pharmacies.
Gilead also disclosed it received subpoenas for similar information from U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Massachusetts and the Southern District of New York, and from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The company said it is cooperating with the inquiries. It did not respond to CALmatters’ requests for comment. Nor did the Department of Insurance comment on the investigation, and outgoing Insurance Commissioner Jones could not be reached.
Gilead’s drugs include Truvada, otherwise known as PreP, short for preexposure prophylaxis. Truvada protects users from contracting HIV, the virus that leads to acquired immune deficiency syndrome. As part of its marketing, Gilead reimburses consumers for their co-payments, regardless of their income levels.
In a statement to CALmatters, Lara’s office said: “Commissioner-elect Lara looks forward to Mr. Martinez rejoining the Department of Insurance, where he served under Commissioner Jones with great integrity before serving in Governor Brown’s administration. His new role will be announced in coming days.”
The statement did not say whether Martinez would be walled off from any investigation of Gilead.
Reflecting the revolving door that regularly swings in Sacramento, Martinez worked for almost a decade as a lobbyist for the firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Sacramento before going to work for the Insurance Department after Jones was elected in 2010, and later for Brown. He joined Gilead at the end of 2017, and worked as its Sacramento lobbyist for a year.
In Sacramento, Gilead regularly lobbies on legislation related to drug pricing, including the landmark 2017 legislation requiring that pharmaceutical companies disclose if they are raising prices on their products.
Gilead also is a regular campaign donor, joining other pharmaceutical companies by spending $4 million to oppose a 2016 initiative that sought to cut prescription drug prices, and spending another $670,000 since 2013 on various candidates and campaigns. Lara received $4,000 from Gilead for his insurance commissioner campaign.
In the Democratic wave that swept California, Lara defeated former Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a former Republican-turned no-party-preference candidate, by a 52.9-47.1 percent margin.
As Insurance Commissioner, Lara will oversee a department with 1,325 employees, a budget of $287 million and a significant law enforcement operation. The department shares authority over aspects of health insurance—and thus prescription drugs—with the Department of Managed Healthcare.
CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
