Daily Business Report-Feb. 18, 2020
Geek+ products.
Robotics companyGeek+ launches
U.S. operations with office in Carlsbad
Geek+, a global provider of robotics technologies for logistics, has launched its Americas operations and opened a new office in Carlsbad. Geek+ Americas will manage robotic warehouse and smart factory projects, delivering the company’s solutions to customers across the continent. The new office is at 2051 Airport Road, No. 105.
As chief operating officer for the Americas, Mark Messina will drive operations in the U.S. and business expansion across the continent. An early logistics robotic advocate, Messina brings over two decades of experience in operations and engineering, including leadership roles in robotics automation with Mattel, as director of robotics and automation, and Amazon, where he was director of mechanical engineering for the Kiva/Amazon Robotics AGV platform.
As business development and partnership director for the Americas, Rick DeFiesta will drive sales and customer relations.
Kevin Guo, formerly head of service at Geek+, leads the Americas team as general manager. Kevin joined Geek+ after over a decade with ABB in various senior service, project and sales roles across China and Europe.
The company said that in just five years, Geek+ has become the largest logistics robotics solutions provider globally, with over 200 projects, delivering 10,000 robots worldwide. More than 800 employees including 400 R&D engineers work in Geek+ offices across China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Germany and the UK. With its new U.S. office, Geek+ is ideally positioned to serve customers facing complex supply chain challenges across the globe.
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The Gift of Forgiveness
Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt to Speak at San Diego Women’s Week
The Gift of Forgiveness is one of the most difficult challenges in life– learning to forgive.
Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt will share with us what we can learn from others who have struggled with forgiveness, some still struggling, and others who have been able to forgive what might seem truly unforgivable.
She will offer a fresh and inspiring perspective on the lessons she has learned from others journeys and of course her own challenges and path to forgiveness in her own life. Katherine’s message is a perfect blend of personal insights, powerful quotations, and hard-won wisdom for those seeking a way to live with greater acceptance, grace, and peace.
San Diego Women’s Week events are March 16-20. Everyone is invited, and tickets can be purchased at www.sdwomensweek.com.
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California Tower at Balboa Park
reopens after seismic retrofit
The California Tower at the San Diego Museum of Man has reopened to the public following the completion of a seismic retrofit of the historic structure by the city of San Diego.
Upon reopening–and in celebration of the five-year anniversary of the California Tower first opening to the public in January 2015–California Tower tours will now feature a new tour experience that highlights the histories of many of San Diego’s diverse communities, while still culminating with the spectacular 360-degree views of San Diego from the eighth-floor viewing deck.
“Since 2015, our Tower tours have provided over 130,000 visitors from around the world the opportunity to experience the Museum of Man and San Diego in a fun and dynamic way, and we are so pleased to once again be offering these tours to the public,” said Micah Parzen, chief executive ufficer of the San Diego Museum of Man. “We thank the city of San Diego for their partnership and investment in preserving the California Tower–one of the city’s most iconic cultural landmarks. We look forward to welcoming countless more visitors to experience these one-of-a-kind tours for many years to come.”
The seismic retrofit of the California Tower was funded by the city of San Diego and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and project construction was managed by the city of San Diego. The improvements upgraded the Tower’s seismic capabilities based on the latest seismic building codes, which will help fortify the Tower against potential earthquake damage, preserving the iconic San Diego landmark and enhancing the safety of museum visitors, staff, and the public.
California Tower tours are offered 10 times daily during the museum’s regular hours of operation and 12 guests can be accommodated on each tour. Tickets for tours are now available for purchase onsite at the museum, and online tickets will be made available soon at CaliforniaTower.org.
The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Many low-income Californians don’t use credit cards.
Should stores be required to accept cash?
By Jackie Botts, CalMatters
Last May, Burger Patch first opened its doors in midtown Sacramento with a sign that said “No Cash Accepted.” The owners of the organic and vegan burger joint were worried that a cash register might invite theft.
But customers kept showing up with only cash. Sometimes the cashiers would accept it, working around the digital system; other times, they’d simply give the customer a free meal. About a month in, Burger Patch changed course, deciding to install a cash register after all.
“We want to be able to have everyone come and eat here no matter what,” said Zia Simmons, who has worked at the restaurant since it opened. “We don’t want to ever have to be like, well if you don’t have a card, you can’t eat here.”
A small, but growing number of businesses are no longer accepting cash. Owners say that accepting only credit cards, debit cards or digital wallets like Apple Pay is more efficient and lowers the risk of being robbed. Electronic forms of payments are gaining popularity with consumers.
But the cash-free trend has raised concerns that such shops exclude customers who rely exclusively on cash. Sen. Jerry Hill, a Democrat from San Mateo, says this amounts to discrimination against people without credit cards or bank accounts, who tend to be low-income.
“I don’t think it’s intentionally discrimination. But that’s in fact what they’re doing,” Hill said. Cashless stores “may be the thing of the future, (but) it’s not there yet.”
That’s why Hill introduced a bill last week to require that all brick-and-mortar businesses in California accept cash.
If passed, California would become the third state, after Massachusetts and New Jersey, to ban cashless businesses before they become widespread. San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York City passed similar ordinances in the past year, and Washington, D.C., is currently considering a ban.
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Neuropore Therapies receives $500,000
grant from ALS Association
Neuropore Therapies Inc., a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders, announced that it has been awarded a $500,000 grant from The ALS Association to support the preclinical evaluation and development of its leading Toll-Like Receptor 2 (TLR2) antagonist NPT1220-312 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The grant has been made through the association’s Lawrence and Isabel Barnett Drug Development Program.
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are found on brain cells. Their function is to trigger inflammation that activates the immune system in response to bad players such as viruses or bacteria. Research suggests that TLR2 over-activation plays a key role in driving chronic inflammation that leads to the degeneration of neurons in people with ALS and Parkinson’s disease. NPT1220-312 is a potential treatment to protect neurons from the damaging inflammation generated by TLR2 receptors.
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Airport will add seasonal nonstop
service to 6 cities on Allegiant
San Diego International Airport will soon add seasonal nonstop service to six U.S. cities on Allegiant, the low-cost airline announced.
Allegiant will offer flights from San Diego to Las Vegas six times weekly beginning June 3 through Aug. 17.
Cities that will have twice weekly flights from San Diego include:
Tulsa, Okla. – June 3 through Aug. 15
Billings, Mont. – June 4 through Aug. 16
Medford, Ore. – June 4 through Aug. 16
Sioux Falls, S.D. – June 5 through Aug. 17
Idaho Falls, Idaho – June 5 through Aug. 17
Tickets are already on sale on the website, allegiant.com. With the exception of Las Vegas, the new service offers travelers direct access to cities that are not currently served by other airlines from San Diego.
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EP Wealth’s Adam Werner elected president of
Financial Planning Association’s San Diego chapter
Adam Werner, San Diego-based vice president of EP Wealth Advisors LLP, has been elected president of the Financial Planning Association’s San Diego chapter.
Werner assumes the leadership role of the chapter and its roster of over 350 influential financial services professionals across San Diego County.
The group offers professional support, networking opportunities and continuing education, while advancing on the FPA’s mission of upholding integrity in the financial planning profession. In his role, Werner will oversee all chapter activities and strategic direction.
Werner is based in EP Wealth’s San Diego office, where he works with high-net-worth individuals and families in achieving their long-term financial goals. He earned the Certified Financial Planner and the Certified Private Wealth Advisor designations. He is a graduate of San Diego State University.
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Schmidt Ocean Institute appoints
Jyotika Virmani as first executive director
The Schmidt Ocean Institute has appointed Dr. Jyotika Virmani as its first executive director, to lead the global nonprofit in its work to advance the field of oceanographic science through innovative research and technology. The announcement was made at the Ocean Sciences Meeting, the flagship conference for the ocean sciences and larger ocean-connected community.
With an extensive background in science and innovation, Virmani most recently served as the executive director of planet and environment at XPRIZE and the executive director of the Rainforest XPRIZE, a competition for innovations in biodiversity assessment technologies. She was also executive director of the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, which incentivized the development of deep-sea technology to map the ocean floor quickly and accurately at a high resolution.
She joined XPRIZE in 2014 as the technical director of the Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE, a competition that advanced the development of pH sensors to measure ocean acidification.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute was established in 2009 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to advance oceanographic research through the development of innovative technologies, open sharing of information and broad communication about ocean health. The institute operates the only year-round seagoing philanthropic research vessel in the world—Falkor—and the remotely operated underwater robotic vehicle, SuBastian. Both are made available to the international science community at no cost.
