Daily Business Report-Oct. 2, 2019
Burundian girl sitting in BFI English Club. (Photo courtesy of Burundi Friends International)
San Diego nonprofit to bring
information technology to Burundi
Thanks to a six-figure grant, a San Diego-based nonprofit organization is set to bring information technology to children in Burundi.
Burundi Friends International is laying plans to create IT centers and advance STEM education in the tiny East African country after receiving a one-time grant of $125,000 from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.
During its 10-year history, Burundi Friends International has formed English clubs and provided English instruction to youth and children in each of the country’s 18 provinces. To support that effort, the nonprofit group has transported shipping containers filled with books to create simple libraries.
With the grant from the Boston-based McGovern Foundation, four of those libraries will be retrofitted with electricity, plumbing and Internet access to create “IT Think Tanks,” where instructors can use computers to support lessons in science, technology, engineering and math.
“Building IT Think Tanks paves the way for solutions to Burundi’s toughest challenges,” said Julie Marner, Burundi Friends’ executive director. “The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation understands that education leads to economic empowerment and self-sustaining communities. I am confident the Foundation’s investment will pay great dividends for Burundi.”
Bordered by Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania, Burundi was colonized by Germany and Belgium before gaining independence in 1962. Civil wars and ethnic cleansing during the 1970s and 1990s have challenged development in the country, one of the world’s poorest, where chronic malnutrition is rampant. Political strife returned to Burundi in 2015.
Burundi Friends International expects to launch “Project 2020: Education, IT Think Tanks and STEM” this fall.
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Burundi Friends International’s Executive Director
As BFI’s executive director, Julie Marner oversees programming, funding, and implementation of projects in Burundi. Her love for Burundi began with her first visit to the country in 2010, then a subsequent trip in 2011 to teach English Communication at Light University.
Since that time, Julie’s trips to Burundi have expanded beyond efforts in education to larger projects in economic empowerment. Throughout her life, Julie has assisted many volunteer organizations focusing on the homeless, the imprisoned, and the mentally ill. Julie has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Colorado and a M.A. in Practical Theology from the University of San Diego.
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Los Angeles firm acquires Bankers Hill
office building for $8.68 million
System Property, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment and development firm, has purchased an office building in Bankers Hill for $8.68 million or $502 per square foot. The seller was San Diego-based commercial real estate firm H.G. Fenton Co.
Located at 3043 Fourth Ave., the single-tenant office building is 100 percent leased to RealPage Inc., a global provider of software and data analytics for the real estate industry. The two-story property features ocean and canyon views to the west and 33 underground parking spaces. The 17,302 square-foot office building recently underwent a $2 million renovation that included new building infrastructure, modern finishes and exterior façade and landscaping improvements.
CBRE represented the seller and buyer in the transaction.
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Coast Guard partners with Scripps Oceanography
to establish Blue Technology Center of Expertise
The Coast Guard has entered into an agreement with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego to establish a Blue Technology Center of Expertise (COE). The COE will provide opportunities for rapid identification, evaluation and transition of new blue technologies into Coast Guard capabilities.
The Coast Guard was authorized to establish the center by the 2018 Save Our Seas Act. Blue technology, as defined in the legislation, is any technology, system or platform designed for use above, on, or below the sea surface that can support or facilitate Coast Guard maritime domain awareness; search and rescue; emergency response; maritime law enforcement; marine inspections and investigations; or protection and conservation of the marine environment.
“This partnership with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography is a significant step in bringing awareness of blue technologies to the Coast Guard, and provides an opportunity to study how those technologies can be used to enhance Coast Guard operational performance and mission readiness,” said Wendy Chaves, chief of the Coast Guard Office of Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, which will oversee the COE through its Innovation Program.
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Stos Partners acquires multi-tenant
R&D office property in Carlsbad
Stos Partners, a privately held commercial real estate investment and management firm, has acquired a multi-tenant R&D/office property in Carlsbad, bringing the firm’s year-to-date acquisition volume in 2019 to 402,500 square feet totaling more than $55.5 million throughout Southern California.
Stos acquired the two-tenant R&D/office property from the seller, a private entity, and negotiated a sale/leaseback through which the seller will remain a long-term tenant, occupying 79 percent of the 22,156-square-foot building. The remaining vacant suite will be renovated.
The Stos team plans to implement cosmetic improvements and building upgrades that include a new roof, exterior and interior paint, revived drought-tolerant landscaping, parking lot upgrades and speculative creative office interior improvements to attract small to mid-sized tenants.
the property is located at 5816 Dryden Place. Adam Foster of Foster Commercial Real Estate represented Stos as the buyer in the acquisition.
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Cohn Restaurant Group takes over
properties of The Patio Group
By Dave Schwab | sdnews.com
In fallout from the Gina Champion-Cain investment scandal, a court-appointed receiver has closed six of her subsidiary enterprises from The Patio Group, while turning temporary operations of four of her restaurants over to the Cohn Restaurant Group.
ANI Development LLC and its principal and receiver, Krista Freitag of E3 Advisors, has been court-appointed to oversee and manage personal and business assets of Champion-Cain, including her many restaurants.
In August, Gina Champion-Cain, founder of The Patio Group, was civilly charged by the United States Federal Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly operating a “multi-year, $300 million scheme that defrauded approximately 50 retail investors.”
Read more…
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Congress expanding investigation
into San Diego VA liver study
inewsource
Congress will conduct a hearing to investigate a powerful healthcare office in the Department of Veterans Affairs following inewsourcestories that exposed the office’s shoddy review of a dangerous San Diego liver study.
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County supervisors call for
moratorium on vaping products
County Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Nathan Fletcher are proposing a ban on the sale and distribution of flavored tobacco made for electronic cigarettes, along with a moratorium on the sale and distribution of the e-devices in the county’s unincorporated area. They are encouraging cities in San Diego County to do the same.
County public health officials are also advising people to stop vaping, as investigators continue looking into what’s causing a nationwide epidemic of respiratory illnesses among those that use the e-cigarettes or vaping products. There are currently more than 800 lung injury cases and 12 deaths associated with e-cigarette or vaping use. Teenagers have been the hardest hit. Nearly 2 out of 3 people affected by e-cigarette illnesses are 18-24 years old.
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Point Loma Credit Union changes
name to MyPoint Credit Union
Point Loma Credit Union announced its new name, MyPoint Credit Union. The new name is part of a broader strategic initiative that started two years ago to align the overall brand’s experience with the needs of consumers and employees today and for the next 70 years.
The credit union got its start in 1948 as Naval Electronics Laboratory Employees Federal Credit Union. In 1967, it became Point Loma Federal Credit Union. In the mid-‘90s, credit union officials realized that the restrictions of the field of membership were not allowing them to realize their full potential. So in 1998, they converted to a state charter and expanded their field of membership to include all who “live, work or worship in San Diego County.” In 2002, they added Riverside County to their field of membership. Despite these changes, they elected to retain “Point Loma” in their name.
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Upcoming Major Events
at the San Diego Convention Center
Psych Congress 2019: Oct. 3-6, 3,000 attendees
American Trucking Association Annual Meeting: Oct. 6-8, 3,000 attendees
Art San Diego: Oct. 10-13, 10,000 attendees
TheFitExpo San Diego: Oct. 12-13, 10,000 attendees
65th Annual Employee Benefits Conference: Oct. 20-23, 6,000 attendees
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Biproxi announces $10 million
seed round led by Greycroft
San Diego-based Biproxi, a commercial real estate transaction platform, announced Greycroft as the lead investor in its $10 million seed round. Additional investors include Newmark Knight Frank, RPM Ventures, and the National Association of Realtors.
The funding was announced alongside the launch of the company’s newest product, Biproxi Off Market, an algorithmic-based data platform that provides instant property and valuation data on over 32 million off-market commercial properties. Designed for brokers, buyers, and tenants, the platform allows users to access detailed property data, historical sales data, assessed property values and financing history for middle-market commercial properties valued up to $25 million.
