Daily Business Report-Sept. 17, 2019
Vape flavors (Photo: Competitive Enterprise Institute)
Competitive Enterprise Institute Report:
Federal ban on flavored
e-cigarettes will cost lives
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Michelle Minton warned that an e-cigarette ban on flavored e-cigarettes planned by the Trump administration will mean a terrible outcome for public health with few gains to show for it:
“Regulation of e-cigarettes should be based on science, not fear-mongering or fake news.” said Minton. “Evidence shows e-cigarettes are vastly safer than smoking and highly effective at helping smokers quit a habit that kills nearly half a million Americans each year. E-cigarettes have the potential to save millions of lives but not if we destroy what makes them attractive.
“Banning flavors won’t prevent youth vaping but will drive adults back to smoking or into the black market. The rise in death and disease that will follow such a ban will, no doubt, be blamed on e-cigarettes and used to lobby for even greater restrictions. But the blame will belong to special interests spending billions to spread lies, the news media that spreads misinformation, and the lawmakers who base regulations on fear instead of facts.”
Governor signs executive order
to confront youth vaping epidemic
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Monday to confront the growing youth epidemic and health risks linked to vaping. The executive order directs the Department of Public Health to launch a $20 million statewide digital and social media public awareness campaign to educate youth, young adults and parents about the health risks of vaping nicotine and cannabis products.
The departmentis also tasked with developing recommendations to reduce smoking among young adults and teens by establishing warning signs with health risks where vaping products are sold and on product advertisements.
Marijuana vape product sales decline
Recreational marijuana vape product sales have declined in the wake of a nationwide health scare that caused several deaths and hundreds of illnesses, with consumers shifting their spending into other merchandise such as flower and pre-rolls, according to Marijuana Business Daily. Vape’s share of the market in California stood at 32.8 percent the week of 8/19, falling to 29.0 percentby the week of 9/9. “That’s equivalent to a 12 percent drop in market share. Put another way, approximately one out of every eight dollars spent on vapes has shifted to other products such as flower and pre-rolls,” said Eli McVey, research editor of MJBizDaily.
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San Diego Oasis to host free,
immersive tech show for older adults
San Diego Oasis, an award-winning nonprofit organization serving people age 50 and better throughout the county, will host an immersive technology event Oct. 15 designed to help ease frustration when it comes to smartphones, computers, tablets, apps, telemedicine, and much more.
The “Get Connected: Technology Fair for 50+” is Tuesday, Oct. 15, and more than 1,000 San Diego County residents are expected to attend. The tech fair is the region’s largest for older adults, featuring free workshops on social networking, online safety, innovative apps, smart phones and tablets, and much more. Attendees can consult with a tech expert in a one-on-one environment to answer just about any kind of tech question. Opportunity drawings for some exciting tech-related gifts will be held throughout the day.
“In 2018, we welcomed more than 900 older adults at our Oasis Lifelong Learning Center, there was so much positive energy among our attendees and the response to learn about technology, from the basics to advanced topics was incredible,” says Simona Valanciute, president and CEO, San Diego Oasis. “To accommodate the enthusiastic crowd, we are moving the event to Reading Cinemas in Grossmont Center, just steps away from our center.”
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Noble House completes $21 million
renovation at Hilton San Diego Resort & Spa
Noble House Hotels and Resorts Ltd., a hotel ownership and management group, announced the completion of a massive $21 million renovation of the Hilton San Diego Resort & Spa at 1775 East Mission Bay Drive in San Diego. The resort overlooks Mission Bay and offers 357 rooms and suites, an American cuisine restaurant and poolside lounge, waterfront dining, an extensive fitness center and a full-service spa.
Hilton San Diego Resort & Spa’s comprehensive renovation encompasses all guest rooms, the hotel’s expansive conference center, the executive board rooms, and all common areas and lobbies. In addition to new paint, flooring, lighting, finishes, wall treatments and upgraded technology, new custom furniture has been installed throughout the resort.
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General Atomics to demonstrate Agile
Condor capability for U.S. Air Force
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to demonstrate the Air Force Research Lab’s “Agile Condor” capability using a MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) owned by GA-ASI. Agile Condor is a high-performance computing architecture that will be used to demonstrate artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.
“The ability to autonomously fuse and interpret sensor data to determine targets of interest is at the forefront of unmanned systems technology,” said David R. Alexander, president, GA-ASI. “The Agile Condor project will further enhance RPA effectiveness by specifically allowing a MQ-9 to surveil a large area of operations, autonomously identify pre-defined targets of interest and transmit their locations.”
GA-ASI will integrate the Agile Condor capability over a 10-month period beginning this month. The flight demonstration phase will be used to experiment with the Agile Condor payload to determine the optimum artificial intelligence and machine learning methodologies to find, identify and track select targets.
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Launch party to celebrate switch from
SDX to The One Club for Creativity
The One Club for Creativity San Diego (formerly SDX) and the San Diego Advertising Club, will host a launch party on Thursday, Sept. 19 to celebrate the organization’s recent name change. The party from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. will be held at Kairoa Brewing Company, 4601 Park Blvd., San Diego. Admission cost is $25 for members, $45 for nonmembers.
Proceeds from raffle sales will benefit the San Diego Advertising Fund for Emergencies (SAFE), a nonprofit that provides financial support to local marketing and advertising industry professionals facing a life-crisis situation.
At the party, information will be available about The One Club San Diego’s growth plans, as well as sign-up opportunities for corporate memberships at a discounted rate.
In July, the One Club San Diego announced its new name and affiliation with The One Club for Creativity, a New York-based organizer of an international advertising awards competition called The One Show. San Diego’s chapter is one of seven One Club groups in the U.S. Kevin Swanepoel, One Club CEO, is expected to attend the Sept. 19 event.
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Deckard Technologies receives
$500,000 in additional funding
Deckard Technologies, a data mining company that transforms real estate data into actionable insights for communities, has received an additional investment of $500,000, allowing it to emerge from stealth mode. The lead investor in its first two rounds of seed funding is Loeb Enterprises.
This brings initial venture funding to over $4 million for Deckard as it develops ground-breaking approaches to help cities, counties and states become smarter with real estate data, using data analytics, machine learning and advanced statistical analysis to identify unpaid property taxes from real estate improvements done without plans and permits, according to the company.
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SDSU to launch comprehensive
strategic planning process
Hundreds of campus and community members are slated to attend the Sept. 23 kickoff of San Diego State University’s strategic planning process and the discussion group sessions that will immediately follow.
The effort marks the first comprehensive, all-university strategic planning process involving all levels and all areas of campus. The kickoff event will be held Monday, Sept. 23, from 8:15 to 9 a.m. in Montezuma Hall of the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union.
