Daily Business Report-July 31, 2019
The Shanghai skyline. (Photo credit: Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego publications and creative services)
Forum on U.S.-China relations to bridge
divide between Washington and Beijing
As trade and technology conflicts between the U.S. and China continue to intensify with economic damages accruing in both countries, the University of California San Diego will host the first-ever high-level forum on advancing U.S.-China relations Aug. 12 to 16. The event is designed to explore bipartisan strategies for bridging the growing gap between Washington and Beijing. It will draw major figures from politics, business, education, military and technology, including two former U.S. National Security Advisors.
Thomas Donilon, who served as National Security Advisor under President Barack Obama, and Stephen Hadley, who served in the same position under President George W. Bush, will participate in an Aug. 12 forum. The two will lead a discussion, along with Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai, on the evolution and future of U.S.-China relations at 4 p.m. on Aug. 12 at the Great Hall on the UC San Diego campus. This event is free and open to the public.
Additional attendees include former Gov. Jerry Brown, former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd, as well as Robert Work, who served as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for both the Obama and Trump administrations from 2014 to 2017.
Other events during the week are closed to the public and media.
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Port awards contract for Chula Vista
Bayfront bicycle and pedestrian path
The Port of San Diego has awarded a construction contract for the Sweetwater Bicycle Path and Promenade Project for the Chula Vista Bayfront, clearing the way for construction to begin. The Board of Port Commissioners selected San Diego-based 3-D Enterprises as the winning bidder at nearly $4.3 million and approved plans and specifications for the project.
Sweetwater Path will wind through the future Sweetwater Park in the northern portion of the Chula Vista Bayfront, connecting the existing Bayside Park (site of the future Harbor Park) to Bay Boulevard at E Street. Ultimately, the path will create a loop connecting to the Bayshore Bikeway at the northern and southern ends of the Chula Vista Bayfront.
Construction is anticipated to begin in August with site preparation. The total project cost is $5.63 million, $4.8 million of which is being funded through an Urban Greening Grant awarded to the Port by the California Natural Resources Agency.
Additional funding of $794,000 is provided by the Port’s Capital Improvement Program and $33,000 is provided by the city of Chula Vista.
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U.S. News ranks Scripps Hospitals No. 1 in San Diego region
The combined medical programs of Scripps Green Hospital and Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla rank No. 1 in the San Diego region for the third year in a row and are among the best in the nation in eight specialties, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Hospitals list, which was released Tuesday.
The annual U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings, now in their 30th year, recognize the nation’s top 50 hospitals that excel in treating patients with the most challenging health care needs. For 2019-2020, U.S. News evaluated hospitals in 16 adult specialties and ranked the nation’s top 50 hospitals in 12 of those specialties based largely on hard data.
The 4,653 hospitals that were analyzed by U.S. News & World Report represent virtually all U.S. community inpatient facilities. Only 165 (3 percent) of the hospitals analyzed were nationally ranked in at least one specialty.
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Judge Dana M. Sabraw to receive
Judicial Award from La Raza Lawyers Assn.
The San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association (SDLRLA) has selected Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California as the 2019 recipient of its annual Judicial Award.
SDLRLA will present its 2019 Judicial Award to Sabraw today in gratitude for his dedication to the integrity of the legal system and exemplary judicial leadership in the San Diego community and beyond.
The SDLRLA Annual Judiciary Reception will take place at the Ultimate Skybox at Diamondview Tower (350 Tenth Ave., San Diego, 92101) from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The SDLRLA Judicial Award recipient is nominated by the SDLRLA members and selected by the SDLRLA’s Board of Directors.
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Elsevier to acquire San Diego’s Parity Computing Inc.
Elsevier, a global information analytics business, has signed an agreement to acquire Parity Computing Inc., a San Diego-based business that employs artificial intelligence to provide high-accuracy entity resolution, profiling and recommendations for STM content and applications in the world of research.
“Parity’s team brings deep academic and research experience in addition to technical expertise,” said Dr. Ramamohan Paturi, founder and chairman of Parity. “We are excited to join Elsevier, and together we’ll be able to better serve researchers, universities and R&D organizations.”
Parity employs a core team of computer science PhDs with extensive experience in machine learning, natural language processing and semantic technologies; they will join Elsevier’s research product team, which supports Scopus, SciVal, Aries, Pure, SSRN, bepress and Science-Metrix.
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Online voting for 2019 Orchids & Onions’
People’s Choice Awards opens Aug. 1
The San Diego Architectural Foundation (SDAF) will open online voting for the Orchids & Onions’ People’s Choice Awards in August to select the 2019 winners. The People’s Choice Awards nominees are determined from Saturday, June 1 through Wednesday, July 31, when the public can comment and share their favorite and least favorite nominated buildings, parks, plazas and more in San Diego County.
Projects that garner the most online interest on the website and on social media are added to a shortlist for consideration. The San Diego community can then pick their fan-favorites from Thursday, Aug. 1 to Saturday, Aug. 31 by casting their vote on the Orchids & Onions website.
The public can vote once per project. Along with the People’s Choice Awards, a group of jurors will tour nominated properties and decide on the official Orchid and Onion winners for the 2019 program. The People’s Choice Orchid and Onion will be announced at the annual awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 3.
The public can vote for the People’s Choice Awards online at www.orchidsandonions.org
