Daily Business Report-Nov. 15, 2019
Grant funding will be used for a variety of activities to promote the proper use of child safety seats.
County receives grant for
child passenger safety education
San Diego County’s Health and Human Services Agency, Integrative Services Division announced a $225,000 grant has been awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to fund programs that educate parents and guardians on child passenger safety. The grant is ongoing through Sept. 30, 2020.
Grant funding will be used for a variety of activities to promote the proper use of child safety seats, including:
- Car seat checkup events and/or one-on-one appointments to inspect car seats.
- Child safety seat education classes informing parents on using and properly installing the right car seat based on a child’s height and weight.
- Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) training and certification/re-certification courses.
- Distribution of child safety seats to families in need.
Surveys on car and booster seat compliance rates.
- Community events and fairs to increase awareness about child passenger safety.
- Conduct “roll call” training sessions on occupant protection.
- Conduct child passenger safety education classes for elementary schools.
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EDDY Pump Corp. wins $35,000 in
additional MetroConnect funding
World Trade Center San Diego named EDDY Pump Corporation, a global pump and dredge equipment manufacturer, as the MetroConnect program grand prize winner. Made possible through a grant from JPMorgan Chase & Co., the $35,000 award will be used to excel its technology and services to additional international markets.
“EDDY Pump Corporation is a quintessential example of a San Diego defense company taking their products global,” said Nikia Clarke, executive director of World Trade Center San Diego. “The results from this year’s cohort are impressive. From opening new offices in the Japan to inking multi-million dollar deals throughout Latin America, the participating MetroConnect companies are collectively strengthening the San Diego region’s economy.”
During the 12-month program, companies in MetroConnect Year 4 collectively generated a net increase of $69.6 million in exports sales, signed 369 international contracts and opened 10 new facilities overseas. Together, the 20 participants also created more than 100 jobs in San Diego – evidence that exporting supports the increase of jobs locally.
MetroConnect is an export assistance program managed by World Trade Center San Diego, an affiliate of San Diego Regional EDC.
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USD Students compete in the
Fowler Business Concept Challenge
The Fowler Business Concept Challenge, University of San Diego’s firs entrepreneurial competition of the year, will be staged today in the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice on campus.
Sixteen semi-finalists will pitch to judges from 10 a.m. to noon. Four finalists will pitch from 1:45 to 3:15 p.m. An awards ceremony and networking will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
FinForward, a financial literacy app for students, and One of a Line, an online clothing company that allows consumers to wear high-fashion brands and buy them for a discount, are a few of the ideas submitted for the competition to ignite students’ entrepreneurial passions.
Students from all majors can win up to $45,000 in scholarships at the competition.
A $100,000 gift from San Diego businessman Ron Fowler and his wife, Alexis, made the challenge possible.
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City of San Diego ranked No. 1
in nation for innovation in government
The city of San Diego was named first in the nation for its use of technology by the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute for information technology (IT) policies and best practices by state and local governments.
The city was praised for its use of technology in responding to homeless challenges, improving the quality of life in neighborhoods, helping protect the environment for future generations and meeting the City’s Strategic Plan goals.
San Diego was named No. 1 among cities with populations greater than 500,000. In 2017, San Diego was ranked third in the nation, and in 2018, it was ranked second.
Each summer, the survey examines the individual effectiveness of technology programs and plans from cities across the country. This year, the survey focused on how well cities used technology to meet individual city goals and priorities, improve the interactive experience for citizens and business partners, enhance citizen engagement, achieve cost savings through newfound efficiencies, boost transparency, enhance cybersecurity and efficiency and proactively address citizen expectations.
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Legal challenge filed against law requiring
corporations to include women on boards
Dan Morain CalMatters
Legislation approved last year requiring that California-based publicly traded corporations include women on their boards will face a legal challenge.
The Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation filed the suit in federal court in Sacramento on behalf of Creighton Meland Jr., an attorney from Illinois who owns shares in Hawthorne-based OSI Systems.
OSI, which sells security machines and medical monitoring and anesthesia systems, has a seven-man board of directors. Under the legislation by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, a Santa Barbara Democrat, OSI would need three women by the end of 2021.
Attorney Anastasia Boden, of the Pacific Legal Foundation, said in a statement: “This law is built on the condescending belief that women aren’t capable of getting into the boardroom unless the government opens the door for them. Women are capable of earning a spot on corporate boards without the government coercing businesses to hire them.”
In signing the legislation, then-Gov. Jerry Brown cited “serious legal concerns” with the concept. But there was a matter of timing: The U.S. Senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, following allegations he had assaulted Christine Blasey Ford when he was in high school.
Brown: “Given all the special privileges that corporations have enjoyed for so long, it’s high time corporate boards include the people who constitute more than half the ‘persons’ in America.”
Brown underscored his point by adding: “CC: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.”
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New chip for waking up small wireless
devices could extend battery life
UC San Diego News Center
A new power saving chip developed by engineers at the University of California San Diego could significantly reduce or eliminate the need to replace batteries in Internet of Things (IoT) devices and wearables. The so-called wake-up receiver wakes up a device only when it needs to communicate and perform its function. It allows the device to stay dormant the rest of the time and reduce power use.
The technology is useful for applications that do not always need to be transmitting data, like IoT devices that let consumers instantly order household items they are about to run out of, or wearable health monitors that take readings a handful of times a day.
