Daily Business Report-March 21, 2019
Ellen Neufeldt becomes the fourth president of Cal State San Marcos.
Old Dominion University administrator
named president of Cal State San Marcos
The California State University Board of Trustees has appointed Ellen J. Neufeldt to serve as the next president of California State University San Marcos. Neufeldt currently serves as vice president of student engagement and enrollment services for Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
“I am thrilled about the opportunity to work with CSUSM’s exceptional faculty, staff and growing number of supporters to reach new levels of achievement for current and future students,” said Neufeldt. “There has been remarkable growth both on the campus and in the local community and the opportunity for additional growth still remains. This is an exciting time for the campus and the prospects are limitless.”
Neufeldt becomes the fourth president of Cal State San Marcos. She will join the campus in her new capacity in July. Neufeldt succeeds Dr. Karen Haynes who will be retiring at the end of June, 2019 after serving as CSUSM president for nearly 16 years.
“Dr. Neufeldt has been a visionary leader who has demonstrated a commitment to student success throughout her career,” said CSU Trustee Jean Picker Firstenberg, chair of the CSUSM search committee. “She brings a wealth of experience, and will serve as an inspirational leader on the campus and in the community.”
Neufeldt has served as a vice president at ODU since 2011 where she leads the areas of student engagement, student success enrollment services, government relations, Institutional research, marketing and public relations. Her previous higher education leadership roles include service as vice president of student affairs at Salisbury University and assistant vice chancellor for student development and dean of student life at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where she also served as the assistant dean of students.
Neufeldt earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and a master’s in educational psychology and counselor education from Tennessee Technological University, and a doctorate of education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
In 2017, nearly 60 percent of all consumer loans between $2,500-$4,999 came with rates of over 100 percent. (Photo: CALmatters)
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Lawmakers take aim at predatory loans
Payday regulations in the works
Ben Christopher | CALmatters
Consumer advocates hope this is the year California Democrats will crack down on payday lenders. A bill by Santa Barbara Democratic Assemblywoman Monique Limón would apply an interest rate cap on loans between $2,500 and $10,000. Interest rates on smaller loans are already capped at 36 percent.
By the numbers: In 2017, 58.8 percent of all consumer loans between $2,500-$4,999 came with rates of over 100 percent.
A more lender-friendly bill by Sen. Ben Hueso from San Diego would introduce more modest regulations, requiring consumer lenders to “determine if a borrower has a reasonable ability to repay.” Consumers’ rights groups are not impressed.
Graciela Aponte-Diaz, California director of policy for the Center for Responsible Lending: “It’s just window dressing…it’s just to let the industry say that they’re doing something.”
Californians for Credit Access, a coalition representing small loan lenders, opposes Limón’s bill and argues that it would remove financial options for low-income consumers. The group has not yet taken a position on Hueso’s bill.
Hueso’s proposal mirrors Obama-era regulations now being reconsidered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Yesterday 25 state attorneys general, including California’s Xavier Becerra, wrote the Bureau a letter, arguing that nixing the rules would leave citizens “unprotected from many types of exploitative loans.”
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San Diego officials: Poll shows strong
support for new sales tax for pubic transit
Seven out of 10 San Diego voters support a half-cent sales tax for public transit projects, according to a new poll announced by transit officials. Representatives from the Metropolitan Transit System and San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) released the poll results Wednesday and said it was the first step in a broad public dialogue that will continue over the next nine months.
The recent survey was conducted by FM3 Research and found that a large majority of San Diego residents are willing to pay a little more to increase and improve public transportation options. The poll found that 70 percent of San Diego voters would support a half-cent sales tax increase to fund transit projects such as a Trolley connection to the airport and improving roads that support transit services. Additionally, 69 percent of the respondents had a positive impression of the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS).
The poll results will be presented to the MTS board this morning.
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Navy Region Southwest
to welcome new commander
Rear Adm. Yancy Lindsey will relinquish command of Navy Region Southwest to Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar during a change of command ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday at Naval Base Coronado (Naval Air Station North Island).
Lindsey will assume command of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia in Naples, Italy at a similar ceremony in April. He assumed command of Navy Region Southwest in September 2016.
Bolivar reports to San Diego from Jacksonville, Fla., where she served as commander, Navy Region Southeast. This will be her first San Diego assignment.
Bolivar assumed command of Navy Region Southeast in February 2017. She is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy where she received a Bachelor of Science in oceanography. She holds a Master of Science in Management from Troy State University. Her shore tours include fleet and message center officer/Communications Security Material System custodian at the U.S. Naval Communications Station, San Miguel, Philippines; researcher/writer on the secretary of the Navy’s White House liaison staff; and as ordnance officer at Naval Station Norfolk and Atlantic Ordnance Command Yorktown.
Navy Region Southwest is a six-state region with a large military presence. More than 76,000 active duty sailors serve at 10 installations throughout the region.
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How attention helps the brain perceive an object
Salk scientists find that attention cuts through
brain “noise that impairs visual perception
It’s easy to miss something you’re not looking for. In a famous example, people were asked to closely observe two groups of people—one group clad in black, the other in white—pass a ball among themselves. Viewers were asked to count the number of times the ball passed from black to white. Remarkably, most observers did not notice a man in a gorilla suit, walking among the players. This ability of the brain to ignore extraneous visual information is critical to how we work and function, but the processes governing perception and attention are not fully understood. Scientists have long theorized that attention to a particular object can alter perception by amplifying certain neuronal activity and suppressing the activity of other neurons (brain “noise”).
Now, Salk scientists have confirmed this theory by showing how too much background noise from neurons can interrupt focused attention and cause the brain to struggle to perceive objects. The findings, which appeared in eLife on February 22, 2019, could help improve designs for visual prosthetics.
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Wastewater treatment startup wins
$200,000 at San Diego Angel Conference
AquaCycl, a startup that uses electricity-generating bacteria to speed up wastewater treatment rates, resulting in a more efficient, lower cost option, won big at SD Angel Conference. A panel of angel investors that had vetted the finalists for months selected AquaCycl as the winner, for a $200,000 cash prize. The company was also voted in as the audience favorite.
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Qualcomm rolls out new audio chips
targeting smart speakers, home assistants
Qualcomm has long aimed to diversify its business beyond smartphones, and it took a step in that direction Tuesday by unveiling a new series of audio processors designed for smart speakers and the connected home markets.
The San Diego wireless technology firm rolled out the QCS400 – a series of integrated system-on-a-chip processors targeting the next generation of smart speakers, soundbars, home assistants and audio visual receivers.
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Personnel Announcements
Rabbi Laurie Coskey named head of
San Diego Continuing Education Foundation
has been appointed executive director of the San Diego Continuing Education Foundation. Coskey has been serving San Diego Continuing Education (SDCE) since April 2018 as the executive director of San Diego Gateway to College and Career and prior to her appointment as executive director, she was president and CEO of United Way of San Diego County.
Dr. Coskey led SDCE’s Gateway to College and Career program in its first Apprenticeship Readiness course during summer 2018. Young people between the ages of 18 and 24 who were neither enrolled in school nor working received paid internships and trained with contractors in electrical, carpentry and plumbing to learn valuable, hands-on experience that will lead to living wage jobs in San Diego with the potential of earning $25 and more per hour.
Initial priorities for Coskey will be to expand fundraising for San Diego Gateway to College and Career apprenticeship readiness program, supportive services to disenfranchised young adults, urgently needed barrier grants, and student scholarships. These are priorities for the SDCE Foundation Board.
Coskey has spent more than 30 years in professional positions of leadership addressing the needs of San Diego families and children—including more than 15 years at the Interfaith Center for Worker Justice and most recently at the United Way of San Diego County.
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Bree Schuman hired as account
manager at Cavignac & Associates
has been hired by Cavignac & Associates as an account manager within the company’s Commercial Department.
Bringing to Cavignac & Associates 10 years of experience in the insurance industry, Schuman serves as the primary contact at the agency for her assigned clients, responsible for managing their exposure to risk, negotiating insurance, and generally ensuring all their service needs are met. Among other duties, she is responsible for endorsement processing, billing and cancellation issues, reconciling audits and contract review.
Schuman previously served 10 years at Marsh & McLennan Insurance Agency LLC in San Diego, where she last held the position of client manager, fulfilling the service needs of various pharmaceutical, life science and technology company clients. There, she helped facilitate local admitted clinical trial placements in 80-plus countries and managed a $2.4 million book of business.
Schuman attended the University of San Diego, where she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with a minor in marketing.
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Living Coast Discovery Center to mark
opening of new exhibit ‘SEA the Change’
The Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista will celebrate the opening of its new seasonal exhibit, SEA the Change, on Saturday and Sunday. The special exhibit, which includes new animal ambassadors, interactive displays and nature-influenced art, will run through the spring and summer months at the zoo/aquarium on San Diego Bay.
In keeping with the Living Coast’s mission, the exhibit plays on Mahatma Gandhi’s inspirational message of “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
SEA the Change shines a light on critical environmental issues such as habitat destruction, ocean pollution, coral bleaching, climate change and more. Through up-close animal encounters and hands-on, interactive features, guests will be able to literally see the changes native species are experiencing and learn how humans can help. SEA the Change aims to inspire new ideas for making a
difference in our own communities with small changes that can have a lasting, positive impact on the planet.
SEA the Change will feature a number of new animal ambassadors, including an opossum, green tree boa, dart frogs, panther chameleon, legless lizard and western pond turtle. They join dozens of the Living Coast’s year-round animal favorites, including endangered eastern Pacific green sea turtles and various species of sharks, rays, snakes, owls, hawks, eagles and more.
The public grand opening will be held on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., including visits with new animal ambassadors, guided trail walks, recycled art projects, and more.
“SEA the Change really embodies the mission of the Living Coast – to inspire care and exploration of the living earth by connecting
people with coastal animals, plants and habitats,” said Executive Director Ben Vallejos. “The exhibit is visual, tactile, and touches both your heart and head. You look at these incredible animals and see the challenges they face and think ‘I want to protect them.’ That personal connection is key to inspiring meaningful positive change for future generations.”SEA the Change runs through Labor Day and is included with regular admission to the Living Coast Discovery Center.
