Daily Business Report-May 16, 2019
Rendering of a proposed shared hospitality pod hotel that would be built on Pacific Highway between the Port of San Diego Administration Building and Palm Stree.
Port of San Diego selects developer
for new shared hospitality pod hotel
The Port of San Diego has selected an international hospitality team to develop and operate a new shared hospitality pod hotel concept, expected to be one of the first in the country. The action is meant to be a step forward in providing lower-cost overnight accommodations on land managed by the Port.
The Port sought proposals for an innovative team to develop and/or operate lower-cost overnight accommodations near San Diego Bay. Of the three complete proposals received, the Board of Port Commissioners selected the STAY OPEN team, a partnership between Los Angeles-based CaRE Development, LLC and New Zealand-based JUCY Snooze, at its meeting on May 14, 2019. The STAY OPEN team proposes to create a new “shared hospitality” pod hotel experience where people from all over the world come to connect under one roof. Pod hotels, marketed to budget travelers, feature shared rooms with multiple pods and a shared bathroom. The STAY OPEN hotel would feature:
• 220 self-contained pods (33 rooms with eight to 12 pods per room) – each with a single-occupancy bed, storage locker, power supply, ventilation control, closeable screen for privacy and security; and free Wi-Fi.
• Well-appointed shared bathroom with shower facilities, comparable to a high-end fitness center.
• Six private Ensuite rooms with private bathrooms featuring queen and twin beds ideal for couples and families.
• An activated rooftop space with a restaurant, bar and outdoor seating, which will be open to the public.
The Board’s action formally concludes the competitive process. Port staff will now begin exclusive negotiations with the STAY OPEN team.
Port staff expects to return to the board by the end of 2019 to seek direction to commence the environmental review process.
The new STAY OPEN Hotel will help the Port meet its goal of developing lower-cost overnight accommodations by creating a new opportunity for visitors from a variety of backgrounds and incomes to enjoy the full range of coastal experiences available on the San Diego Bay waterfront. It will be located on Pacific Highway between the Port’s Administration Building and Palm Street.
___________________
San Diego Promise grads say free
tuition program was life changing
Among the San Diego Community College District’s record 4,000 graduates this spring are several dozen students from San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges who are graduating debt-free thanks to the San Diego Promise free community college program.
At least 50 San Diego Promise students are expected to earn an associate degree this spring and many others have completed their transfer requirements and have been accepted to a four-year university this fall.
That’s the type of return-on-investment San Diego Community College District leaders envisioned three years ago when they launched the program with a focus on completion.
The San Diego Promise provides two years of tuition-free education, book grants, and support services for first-time, full-time students. The Promise has grown to include more than 2,000 students in 2018-19 after being launched as a pilot program of 186 students just two years ago. More than 2,500 students have taken part in the program since it began in 2016-17.
Because of additional counseling and support services, San Diego Promise students earn higher GPAs, and complete more classes than their non-Promise peers.
Click here to read out three students who embody what the program is all about.
___________________
UCSD has not told women with HIV
of data breach, despite researchers’ pleas
inewsource.org
University of California San Diego officials stonewalled attempts to notify women in an HIV research study that their confidential data was breached more than seven months ago, an inewsource investigation has found.
UCSD researchers conducting the EmPower Women study told university officials in October that participants’ names, audio-taped conversations and other sensitive materials were made accessible to everyone working at Christie’s Place, a San Diego nonprofit supporting women with HIV and AIDS. They called the situation “very serious” and said the women affected are “within one of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations.”
___________________
Illumina files patent infringement suit
against BGI Europe in Denmark
GenomeWeb
Illumina has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against BGI Europe, a subsidiary of BGI Group, in the Maritime & Commercial High Court of Denmark. According to the complaint, BGI’s sequencing products, including the BGISEQ-500 and MGISEQ-2000 instruments and related sequencing chemistry reagents of BGI Group subsidiary MGI Tech, infringe Illumina’s European patent EP 3 002 289 B1, which covers sequencing-by-synthesis chemistry.
The complaint also alleges that BGI’s use of the name MGISEQ infringes Illumina’s trademark for the MISEQ name, registered trademark No. 8972127.
This is the second patent infringement lawsuit that Illumina has filed against BGI this year. In March the company sued Latvia MGI Tech, another subsidiary of BGI Group, in a German court for alleged infringement of Illumina’s European Patent EP 1 530 578 B1, which also covers sequencing-by-synthesis chemistry.
“As we have previously stated, Illumina will continue to vigorously protect our patented technology and file patent suits where appropriate when our patents are infringed,” Charles Dadswell, senior vice president and general counsel of Illumina, said in a statement.
MGI said earlier this year that it plans to start selling its sequencing instruments in North America and Europe. BGI Europe’s Copenhagen laboratory currently has several MGI sequencing platforms installed but said that it only uses them for internal training purposes, not to provide commercial sequencing services.
___________________
Sharp HealthCare hospitals earn top
marks in Leapfrog Safety Grade Survey
Sharp HealthCare’s acute-care hospitals received top marks in a national safety survey announced by The Leapfrog Group, a national organization that tracks and promotes progress in the quality and safety of American health care. The Leapfrog assessment includes 30 measures, including patient satisfaction scores – all currently in use by national measurement and reporting programs — and rates how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries and infections.
Leapgfrog Hospital Safety Grades (A, B, C, D and F) are assigned to more than 2,600 general acute-care hospitals across the U.S. twice annually, in the spring and fall. The Spring 2019 Leapfrog Safety Grades for Sharp include:
“A” for Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center
“A” for Sharp Coronado Hospital
“B” for Sharp Grossmont Hospital
“A” for Sharp Memorial Hospital
___________________
Navy lays keel of future fleet oiler John Lewis
ExecutiveGov
The U.S. Navy authenticated the keel of its first John Lewis-class fleet oiler, marking the beginning of the ship’s construction. USNS John Lewis underwent its keel-laying ceremony Monday at General Dynamics NASSCO’s facility in San Diego, Naval Sea Systems Command.
“These ships are steadfast, reliable and allow our warships to defend our freedoms for which Representative Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting,” said Mike Kosar, program manager for support ships, boats and craft at Program Executive Office, Ships.
Ships under the new class build on commercial design standards and will function as part of the service’s combat logistics force.
___________________
California Coastal Commission approves
restoration of south San Diego Bay wetlands
Poseidon Water, owner and operator of the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, received unanimous approval from the California Coastal Commission last week on a Coastal Development Permit for restoration of the Otay River Estuary in South San Diego Bay.
The Otay River Estuary Restoration Project will create, restore and enhance approximately 125 acres of coastal wetlands to benefit native fish, wildlife, and plant species, and to provide habitat for migratory seabirds and shorebirds and salt marsh–dependent species.
“After several years of collaboration with Poseidon Water, we are proud that our proposal for the restoration of the Otay River Estuary has been approved by the California Coastal Commission,” said Andy Yuen, Project Leader for the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex, part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “This is the final step in the process towards making this project a reality.”
The innovative project will restore approximately 125 acres of coastal wetlands and associated uplands on the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
