Daily Business Report-April 8, 2019
An example of “Accessory Dwelling Units,” or granny flats, which are helping ease California’s housing crisis. (Photo by Jason Goecke via Flickr)
Are granny flats the secret solution
to California’s housing shortage?
By Matt Levin | CALmatters
California lawmakers have pitched dozens of bold, high-profile solutions to California’s affordable housing shortage: billion dollar affordable-housing bonds, revamping the state’s signature environmental protection law, suing NIMBY-inclined cities into permitting more development.
But for all the big-picture housing legislation that has actually become law over the past few years, the solution that’s proved most immediately effective at providing new housing has been rather small in size: Accessory Dwelling Units, colloquially known as in-law units or granny flats.
Primarily as a result of new state laws that make it easier and cheaper to convert garages into living spaces or to build a backyard “casita,” these units have exploded in popularity in many California cities. Los Angeles received 25 times as many applications to build them in 2017 than it did the previous two years; Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose also have seen major jumps.
The backyard units, which are typically around 500 square feet and have a bathroom and kitchen, are especially popular among older California families looking to downsize and rent out their main property. Estimates for the cost of constructing the units vary from builder to builder and city to city, but one survey found an average cost of $156,000 for builders of Accessory Dwelling Units in the Pacific Northwest.
“Now we’re finding dad has died, mom’s there by herself, and all the kids are gone, and they don’t need that big a house,” said state Sen. Bob Wieckowski, Democrat from Fremont, who co-authored legislation in 2016 and 2017 to ease the costs and regulatory hurdles to building such units. Wieckowsi is at it again this year, and predicts that the state could create up to a million new homes with the these accessory units, assuming some important regulatory tweaks.
On this episode of “Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast,” CALmatters’ Matt Levin and the Los Angeles Times’ Liam Dillon discuss the promise of in-law units as a solution to the state’s housing crisis. They interview Sen. Wieckowski and builder Stan Acton of Acton ADU.
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USD professor awarded $452,000
grant from Army to promote innovation
The U.S. Army is looking for a few good ideas, and USD Associate Professor of Management Jennifer Mueller wants to help find them.
Armed with a $452,000 grant, Mueller will study how military leaders can overcome a bias against novelty, as evidence suggests that the leadership skills taught today are not adequately preparing leaders to lead in the current volatile world.
According to Mueller, IBM recently conducted a study interviewing more than 1,500 C-suite executives who identified the ability to recognize value in new ideas that disrupt the status quo as the most important leadership competency today, but also noted that more than 50 percent of leaders said they felt unprepared to embrace the new.
Mueller, whose research on biases against creativity has been published in top management journals including the Academy of Management Journal and the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and Psychological Science, hope to further uncover the practices leaders enact to help them see value in new ideas rather than rejecting them, during the two and one-half year study contract.
“Ironically, rising evidence from the industry, science and education suggests that leaders with decision-making authority are more likely than ever to desire new ideas and approaches but also more likely than ever to reject these new approaches in favor of status quo solutions,” she said.
The ultimate goal of the project “is to develop the next generation of education for Army leaders and leaders in general to help them learn this critical leadership competency around embracing new ideas so they can effectively compete in today’s fast-paced environment,” Mueller added.
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Mouse model develops Parkinson’s
just like humans, opening door
to more accurate drug screening
To study a disease, scientists need to be able to track its progression in a living organism, such as a mouse. But scientists studying Parkinson’s disease have found it challenging to design a genetic animal model that mimics specific aspects—such as progressive neuronal cell death, motor symptoms and behavioral changes—seen in the inherited form of Parkinson’s disease.
Now, scientists at Scripps Research have found a way to tweak the mouse genome to make a mouse model that better mimics Parkinson’s disease in humans. The new research, published in the Nature journal Communications Biology, will make it possible to screen drug candidates more reliably and investigate the root cause of the disease.
“This is the first mouse model that really reflects one form of inherited Parkinson’s disease,” says Steven Reed, a professor at the Department of Molecular Medicine. “This is a better model for testing if a drug really has an impact.”
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Princeton Prize in Race Relations
awarded to Bishop’s School junior
Sarina Krishnan, a junior at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, has been named the winner of the annual Princeton Prize in Race Relations, which is given to high school students across the country who have advanced the cause of positive race relations in their schools or communities. The award was announced by The Princeton Prize in Race Relations Committee of San Diego.
Three other local students have been recognized with Certificates of Accomplishment for their efforts. All four students will be honored in a ceremony beginning at 2 p.m. on May 5 at the Point Loma Assembly Hall in San Diego.
In August 2017, Sarina began working with refugee families in San Diego as the only high school student in a group of college students from the University of Southern California. They helped Syrian refugee families with their written and verbal English skills. Their intent was to help them apply for drivers licenses, shop without needing translators at grocery and department stores, and perform everyday tasks. From this experience, Sarina created her own nonprofit to continue these activities on a consistent basis in her community.
One of the main projects focuses on the interactions of new immigrants with the local police. Sarina formed a partnership with the University of San Diego (USD) Institute for Peace and Justice to create this program. This involved organizing periodic meetings between the refugee youth groups and police officers in a friendly environment.
To date, Sarina and her team have worked with over 200 refugee youth of all races and religions at several local events, including the African Youth Empowerment Conference and the Nile Sisters Conference, striving to empower refugees to embrace their own unique identities.
The three high school students in the region awarded Certificates of Accomplishment for their efforts to promote racial harmony are: Alejandro Dennis, a junior at St. Augustine High School; Gabriel Jinich, a junior at Francis Parker; and Saw Paw Kay, a sophomore at e3 Civic High School
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Personnel Announcements
Sanya DeVore joins Mission Federal Credit Union
Mission Federal Credit Union has named Sanya DeVore as its new vice president, director of marketing. DeVore comes with more than 20 years of global marketing and management experience, and a diverse background which includes working at Fortune 500, SMB, start-up and marketing agencies across the technology, financial services and wireless industries. DeVore will be responsible for managing Mission Fed’s entire marketing function, including operations, creative, communications and community relations.
DeVore came to Mission Fed from Cisco where she served as senior brand and event strategy consultant for the Cisco Live Strategy Team. She was responsible for creating and evolving its CIO thought leadership event, driving the program strategy, building the agenda and content, securing speakers, and managing executive leadership engagements. Prior to being a strategy consultant, DeVore held a few leadership positions at Dell EMC — creating a thought leadership program and overseeing a global marketing department for Iomega, their consumer and SMB business unit.
DeVore’s previous experience is broad and diverse working for and/or partnering with companies including Apple, Dell EMC, Equinix, Fujitsu-ICL, Intel, Iomega, Lotus Formula 1 Team, McAfee, McCann Erikson, Qualcomm, Townsend Agency, and VMware.
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Weston Yahn joins Cushman & Wakefield as a director
Weston Yahn has joined Cushman & Wakefield’s brokerage services in San Diego as a director. Yahn will be based in Cushman & Wakefield’s Carlsbad office, where he will specialize in R&D and industrial leasing and sales in San Diego’s North County.
Yahn comes to Cushman & Wakefield from Voit Real Estate Services in San Diego where he most recently served as a senior associate. His transactional volume exceeded 1 million square feet of leasing and sales with a total consideration of over $60 million. He was the recipient of Voit’s 2017 Rising Star Award and the company’s 2016 Grinder Award. Prior, Yahn was a financial consultant with AXA Advisors.
Yahn is a member of NAIOP San Diego and the San Diego Venture Group. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of San Diego with a minor in international business. He is a member of the university’s Alumni Association, a Dean’s List achiever, a former participant on the university’s championship football team, and a member of the Torero Athlete Mentor Program.
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Joel Ellazar joins Oster and Associates as a public relations specialist
Joel Ellazar has joined San Diego advertising and public relations agency Oster and Associates as a public relations specialist.
Ellazar is a marketing professional who has worked in various industries over the past 20 years, ranging from technology to consumer goods and medical to government contracts with companies like Buck Knives and Cosmetic Laser Dermatology. His talent and skills will be a huge asset to the firm and its clients regarding messaging and brand presence.
In his new role at Oster and Associates, he will be responsible for the strategic development and expansion of Oster’s public relations efforts, writing and producing marketing materials, building and maintaining media relationships, social media marketing and developing ties to current and prospective clients with nonprofit organizations.
Ellazar holds a master’s in business administration (MBA) with an emphasis in marketing from the Keller Graduate School of Management in San Diego. He is also an alum of Santa Clara University where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science. In addition to his many professional accomplishments, Ellazar is a long-time supporter of the Autism Society of San Diego.
