Daily Business Report-Sept. 3, 2019
A neighborhood in the Northern California city of Santa Rosa, after a devastating 2017 wildfire. (Photo by Anne Belden, istockphotos.com)
California’s peak fire months loom
History shows that September and October, with their hot,
fierce winds, are the state’s worst times for fire
The wildfire season is off to a slow start, but September and October, with their hot, fierce winds, are the state’s worst times for fire.
Clearing and cutting has helped eliminate some of the brush and trees that fuel the flames. But California’s forests are clogged with 147 million dead trees. And the late-winter rain encouraged the growth of highly combustible plants.
The data firm CoreLogic, in a report due out in September, estimates that 640,000 homes in California are in high or extreme fire risk zones. The cost to replace those homes: nearly $280 billion.
A RAND Corp. report, prepared for the state last year, estimated that the insurance industry’s underwriting profits of $12 billion from 2001 through 2016, “were almost completely wiped out” by 2017 wildfires. Residential insurance claims from the 2017-2018 fires totaled $26 billion.
Bottom line: Of the 20 most destructive fires in state history, 14 have occurred since 2007. The fire started slow, but it’s early.
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General Atomics gets $93 million
contract to test UAV platforms
Govcon Wire
A General Atomics business unit has landed a potential five-year, $93 million contract from the U.S. Special Operations Command to integrate and test modified variants of two unmanned aerial vehicle platforms.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. will incorporate Special Operations Forces Peculiar modifications into MQ-9 and MQ-1C medium altitude, long endurance tactical UAVs, the Department of Defense said.
Contract work is initially scheduled to occur through September 2023 at a company facility in Poway.
The MQ-9 Reaper, also called Predator B, is designed to operate for more than 27 hours at an altitude of up to 50K and carry 3,850 pounds of payload.
The MQ-1C Gray Eagle can soar up to 29K feet and accommodate 1,075 pounds of payload such as Hellfire missiles, a synthetic aperture radar and an electro-optical/infrared technology.
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Board of Supervisors meetings
temporarily moving to new location
Starting Sept. 10, County Board of Supervisors meetings will be temporarily held at the County Operations Center in Kearny Mesa.
The meetings typically take place Downtown at the County Administration Center, but the building’s Board Chamber is currently closed for renovation.
The next 12 board meetings are scheduled to take place at the Campus Center Chambers at 5520 Overland Ave., 92123.
If you plan to attend, allow for extra time to find a parking space and pass through security screening. The nearest parking structure is located at 5515 Overland Ave. across from the Campus Center Chambers. You can reach the structure from several routes, but most directly from an entrance on Farnham St. You can park in the visitor or white spaces on the lower levels of the parking structure. The chambers building is west of the structure. Gain entry to the meeting by passing through the Commons Café.
Live video is available while the meetings are in progress and archived several hours later. Board agendas are also available online the Wednesday before scheduled meetings.
The Board is expected to resume meetings at the County Administration Center in January 2020.
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40,000 students expected to attend classes
at San Diego Continuing Education this fall
From Barrio Logan to Miramar, many San Diego residents are returning to school as adults to change careers, to earn high school diplomas, to improve English or to become United States Citizens. 40,000 students are expected to attend classes when San Diego Continuing Education’s (SDCE’s) fall semester begins today.
“Many middle-skills jobs require more than a high school education but less than a four-year college degree,” said SDCE’s President Carlos O. Turner Cortez. “Free career training is one of the best and fastest paths to employment with living wages.”
This fall, SDCE will introduce two new career training programs in Cybersecurity and Medical Terminology.
For scholars who prefer to study remotely, SDCE offers free online classes including, ESL, Business, Information Technology, Digital Media, Medical Terminology, and High School Diploma/Equivalency.
After certification completion at SDCE, students are ready for entry-level employment or can transition to San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College or San Diego Miramar College. Various SDCE career training programs permit college credits earned toward an Associate degree.
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Amy Reising of San Diego named to
Commission on Teacher Credentialing
Amy Reising, 56, of San Diego, has been appointed director of performance assessment policy and development at the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Reising has been deputy director of the commission since 2015. She was director of credentialing and teacher development at High Tech High Charter School from 2008 to 2015 and deputy director of the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality at Learning Point Associates from 2006 to 2008.
Reising was administrator of exams for research and teacher development programs at the Commission on Teacher Credentialing from 1998 to 2006, a research consultant at WestEd from 1990 to 1997 and an assessment associate at the Bureau of Evaluation and Assessment at the Connecticut State Department of Education.
She is a member of the American Education Research Association and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Reising earned a Master of Arts degree in educational psychology from the University of Connecticut. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $144,132. Reising is a Democrat.
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San Diego Diplomacy Council
to stage regional summit Sept. 19-21
The San Diego Diplomacy Council, in partnership with Global Ties U.S. and the U.S. State Department, will hold a Cali Baja regional summit and anniversary celebration from Sept. 19-21.
The Diplomacy Begins Here Regional Summit: Innovation in the Cali Baja Region and Beyond will include speakers, panel discussions and an exhibitor fair with international experts from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The events kick off on Sept. 19 with the Diplomacy Rocks! 40th Anniversary Party at Park and Rec in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood.
On Sept. 20, participants of the summit will learn from experts and exchange program alumni about the role of international exchanges and collaboration in spurring prosperity in the Cali Baja region and beyond. Speakers include Mexican Ambassador Carlos Gonzalez-Gutierrez; consul general of Mexico in San Diego Sue Saarnio; Denise Garcia, director of international affairs for the city of San Diego; and C Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas.
The activities wrap up on Saturday, Sept. 21 with a gastro diplomacy tour through Tijuana’s vibrant culinary scene led by Turista Libre.
To learn more and register, visit www.sandiegodiplomacy.org.
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Warner Bros. opens new mobile
game studio in Carlsbad
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment opened a new gaming studio in Carlsbad. The new studio, which is making free-to-play mobile games, plans to hire new workers across multiple disciplines, from art and design to business and engineering.
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The Kavli Foundation gifts Salk $3 million
for cutting-edge neuroscience research
The Kavli Foundation has committed $3 million to support ongoing neuroscience research at the Salk Institute as part of the joint UCSD-Salk Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind (KIBM). The gift—matched by an additional $3 million from Salk—will add $6 million to the KIBM Endowment, to enable faculty in neuroscience to work on the most impactful questions in the field. The Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind was established through a $15.5 million endowment commitment from The Kavli Foundation, shared between Salk and UC San Diego.
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Northrop Grumman sponsors UAV
Academy for Japanese and U.S. students
Northrop Grumman Corporation held an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Academy from July 29 to August 3, at the company’s Autonomous Systems Center of Excellence in San Diego. The weeklong global education and cultural exchange program provides high school students from Japan and the U.S. the opportunity to learn about unmanned systems technologies.
The company sponsored six students from Japanese high schools located in Tokyo, Nagasaki and Kyushu, and six students from Westview High School in San Diego. During the program, the students learned about unmanned vehicles and how to build and fly them, completing various mission scenarios while working together on team-building skills. The students also participated in various cultural exchange activities, such as staying with American host families and sightseeing in San Diego. Northrop Grumman sponsored all transportation, accommodation and participation expenses.
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Four additional Belgian companies join Team SkyGuardian
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. announced that four more Belgium-based businesses have been selected to join five previously identified companies to support the development of MQ-9B SkyGuardian RPA for Belgium. AeroSimulators Group (ASG), AIRobot, ALX Systems and Hexagon will join Team SkyGuardian, which already includes the following five Belgium companies: SABCA, Thales Belgium, Esterline, Newtec and DronePort.
