Daily Business Report-Jan. 21, 2020
Aerial view of San Diego State University. (Courtesy SDSU)
Next stop for free college: Cal State University?
By Felicia Mello | CALmatters
In yet another push to make higher education more accessible in California, a bill filed in the state Legislature last week would extend the state’s tuition-free college guarantee to four years — and beyond community college — for some students, making it one of the most generous programs in the nation.
Students who earn an associate’s degree for transfer through the California College Promise program could finish their bachelor’s degrees for free at California State University under the legislation, authored by Los Angeles Assemblyman Miguel Santiago.
While the bill must still make its way through the legislative process, it has surfaced at a time when free college has become a hot topic during the Democratic presidential primaries, just a year after California’s liberal governor and Legislature gave community college districts money to waive two years of fees for first-time, full-time students.
Santiago authored that law, too, and said his goal now is for students from low-income families to see a bachelor’s degree as within their financial reach.
“If we want a truly debt-free education, you’ve got to begin that conversation by cutting tuition and fees,” he said. “If you don’t tell these kids every single day that you’re going to go to college, it may not be a reality.”
While the bill does not contain a cost estimate, the price tag would likely be “in the low hundreds of millions,” said Francisco Rodriguez, chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District, a bill sponsor. (The overall state budget proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last week totaled $222 billion, with nearly $4 billion earmarked for Cal State next year.)
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Applications open for firms to
participate in export assistance program
World Trade Center San Diego is accepting applications for 15 companies to participate in Year 5 of its flagship export assistance program, MetroConnect.
To date, the program has assisted 65 companies in turning $790,000 in export grants into $85 million in new international sales, 500 new international contracts and 18 new offices around the world.
The deadline has been extended. Applications will be accepted from now through Jan. 31, 2020.
Qualifications:
- Company must be headquartered in San Diego.
- Must be export-ready, meaning it is already exporting (goods/services) or are looking to pursue.
- International sales as a near-term priority.
Complete the online application: bit.ly/MetroConnect2020.
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San Diego office market ends decade with a bang
2019 reflects 10th straight growth year
Cushman & Wakefield San Diego’s year-end office market report for 2019 reflected a robust market climate. Tenants absorbed a whopping 768,000 square feet in the final period of 2019, the single-largest quarterly gain since mid-2014, bringing total annual net growth to 1.35 million square feet —and more than doubling 2018 growth. In addition, San Diego’s direct office vacancy closed 2019 at 11.4 percent, a decrease of 40 basis points from the previous quarter.
The report also showed San Diego employment continued to record job growth, adding 34,300 jobs (+2.3 percent) year-over-year through November 2019, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of the 34,300 jobs added, 8,200 or 24 percent were in the professional and business services sector, a primary sector driving office demand.
“A mix of technology and life science tenants drove absorption in the final quarter of 2019, fueled by occupancies in Central County submarkets like Sorrento Mesa, Campus Point and Eastgate,” said Brett Ward, executive director with Cushman & Wakefield’s Office Division in San Diego. “With plenty of occupancies still in queue, we predicted the fourth quarter to finish on a positive note and looking ahead we maintain our optimistic outlook, as office tenant demand remains at stout levels with 4.8 million square feet of requirements, actually 20 percent above last quarter.”
The report noted Apple had occupied 97,000 square feet in Eastgate in the fourth quarter of 2019, and recently leased an additional 360,000 square feet in Eastgate which it is anticipated to occupy in 2021. Last March, the company publicly announced their intent to hire 1,200 employees in San Diego with an expectation to grow further in central county. The tech titan’s presence is expected to have a lasting and ripple effect in myriad ways in San Diego.
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Encube Ethicals acquires Tioga Research
San Diego-based Tioga Research, a CRO and MetroConnectcompany, was acquired by Encube Ethicals. The acquisition creates one of the largest skin topical manufacturers and service providers globally. Tioga will continue operations under its brand, and plans to establish a presence in Europe as well as scale its data science programs.
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Biotech startup aims to mimic exercise
and fasting with a pill, raises $85
Empirium, a biotech startup in La Jolla, raised $85 million to investigate its idea for treating age-related diseases — a pill that mimics the effects of exercise and fasting. Epirium plans to add 40 more positions within 12 months.
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New reports highlight importance of
childcare for a thriving San Diego
Two reports released by San Diego Workforce Partnership and San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the San Diego Foundation, look at access to childcare and its impact on the local economy. The reports’ findings show how supporting working parents with affordable childcare is integral in building a more inclusive SD.
The San Diego Workforce Partnership and The San Diego Foundation, in a report titled
“Workforce + Childcare,” link child care and economic development, noting that in 70 percent of San Diego families with children under 12, both parents in the household are working. Only 9 percent of companies in San Diego provide on-site childcare.
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Petition drive launched to persuade local officials to
open vacant, government buildings to the homeless
The Lucky Duck Foundation announced an online petition campaign to urge local officials to open vacant, government-owned buildings to provide shelter and critial services for the homeless.
According to the foundation, a poll it commissioned by Competitive Edge Research found that more than 80 percent of registered voters believe the city and county should play a major role in addressing homelessness in San Diego.
The Lucky Duck Foundation also released a video exploring the regional homelessness crisis and the public opinion poll results supporting immediate action. The video can also be viewed on the petition website by clicking here.
“The city of San Diego’s Homeless Action Plan pledges to reduce homelessness by 50 percent, however, with thousands of people still unsheltered on the streets and a plethora of government-owned buildings sitting vacant and completely unused, opening and activating these buildings is a must,” said Lucky Duck Foundation board member Dan Shea. “There is an urgent need with a solution available, but only if our local elected officials take action. If action is not taken, we formally request the city and county schedule public hearings to discuss this issue.”
By putting this important information into the public arena, it is the goal of Lucky Duck Foundation to continue driving meaningful, humane, and cost-effective strategies. “Publicly-owned property can and should be used to provide shelter, especially in the winter months while we work to develop longer-term solutions,” said Peter Seidler, Lucky Duck Foundation board member.
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Your guide to the 2020 California Primary
California: Get ready for your close-up.
Long viewed as a cash-rich afterthought on the presidential campaign trail, the country’s largest state will finally have an early say in who will win each political party’s presidential nomination — and by extension, who will occupy the White House come January 2021.
