Daily Business Report-March 10, 2020
A biology conference scheduled for April at the San Diego Convention Center (pictured) was canceled.
Fear of coronavirus spread prompts
cancellation of San Diego conventions
Several conferences that were scheduled to be held in San Diego in March and April have been canceled or rescheduled because of worries about the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
The 34th National Institute on White Collar Crime, which was set to begin Wednesday and end Friday at Marriott Marquis San Diego, has been canceled.
The Future of Individualized Medicine 2020, scheduled for Thursday and Friday at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has been canceled because of concern for the health of registrants, speakers, exhibitors and staff, organizers said.
The Experimental Biology conference, scheduled for April 4-7 at the San Diego Convention Center, was canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
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Lots of San Diego companies
suddenly have women on their boards
A Voice of San Diego review found more than a dozen San Diego companies have added a woman to their board of directors within the last year following the passage of SB 826, which requires publicly held companies based in California to have at least one woman on their boards. The law’s first set of requirements kicked in Jan. 1.
Less than a year ago, San Diego still had more than 20 companies with no women on their boards. Many of those company boards have since brought on a woman.
The Secretary of State’s office released a new statewide report on companies’ progress complying with SB 826. But the report isn’t necessarily a great window into how many companies actually have a woman on their board of directors; rather, it simply documents companies that have filed a 2019 Corporate Disclosure Statement, which includes a question about their board makeup.
Only 330 of 653 companies filed a statement, and of those, only 282 reported themselves as in compliance with the law. But many companies that actually do have at least one woman on their board appear to have not filled out the form.
San Diego-based Qualcomm and Jack in the Box, for example, don’t appear to have filed their forms, according to the report. Yet both have multiple women on their boards.
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Brain Corp and Dane Technologies partner
to manufacture autonomous delivery robots
San Diego-based Brain Corp, an AI company creating transformative core technology in the robotics industry, and Dane Technologies announced a technology partnership to manufacture autonomous material delivery robots for use in public and commercial applications.
Under the partnership, Dane Technologies will license BrainOS, a cloud-connected operating system for commercial autonomous robots, and begin building the delivery robots in the second quarter of 2020. The two companies will pilot the robots with several major retailers this spring.
“Dane Technologies has a successful track record of developing equipment for demanding retail and manufacturing environments, including the pioneering QuicKART shopping cart management system,” said John Black, senior vice president of new product development for Brain Corp. “They are a perfect partner to help bring accessible automation to this broad range of applications.”
The autonomous delivery robots are capable of operating across a variety of indoor public spaces, enabling the seamless transportation and delivery of goods from point to point. Users of the machine can utilize a simple and intuitive “teach and repeat” approach to building routes, allowing for easy initial deployment and updates to delivery routes as the environment changes, according to the companies.
The robots enable workers to avoid pushing several hundred pounds of inventory from the back of a store to in-store displays, thereby increasing efficiency, lowering workers’ compensation-related injuries, and freeing up time for employees to serve customers.
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Medical office building in El Cajon
sells to medical group for $5.55 million
Grossmont Summit, a medical office building in El Cajon, has been sold to a local medical group for $5.55 million. The buyer was not identified in the CBRE announcement of the sale. The seller was a private investor.
Located at 1380 El Cajon Boulevard, Grossmont Summit is a two-story, Class A multi-tenant office building suitable for high-end office and medical users. Originally built in 2006, the property features 79 parking spaces.
CBRE’s Dan Henry and Lars Eisenhauer represented the seller. The buyer was represented by an outside firm.
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Cubic awarded place on Army
multiple award contract vehicle
Cubic Mission Solutions business division of Cubic Corp. was among 22 companies selected to compete for an Army GTACS II contract for information technology services and hardware with a ceiling of $5.1 billion.
The contract covers information technology services and hardware to support the development of a tactical communications network for soldiers. The vehicle also includes services such as systems engineering; hardware and software engineering; development; maintenance; software development, sustainment and support; program management and analysis; logistics; and supply chain management.
“We offer highly proven and differentiated tactical communications capabilities to support the expeditionary needs of our military forces,” said Mike Twyman, president of Cubic Mission Solutions. “GTACS II gives us an additional avenue to continue delivering our comprehensive C4ISR solutions to one of our key customers and positions us well for continued growth.”
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Three SDSU faculty members and an alumna
to be inducted into Women’s Hall of Fame
Four San Diego State University alumnae — three of whom are current faculty members — will be inducted into the San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame for 2020.
Nola Butler-Byrd (’99, ’04), associate professor in counseling and school psychology, was honored in the Empowerer of Women category while Lupe Holguin Buell(’85, ’02), lecturer and program coordinator in dual-language education, was named in the Bridge Builder of Multicultural Understanding category. Sue Gonda (’90) a lecturer in women’s studies, and alumna Olivia Puentes-Reynolds (’75) were named recipients of the Spirit of the Hall of Fame Award.
They will be honored on March 15 alongside U.S. Rep. Susan Davis, activist Kathi Anderson and historian Iris Engstrand, joining more than 100 San Diego women already enshrined. The Hall of Fame is a project of the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women, the Women’s Museum of California, the SDSU Women’s Studies Department, and the University of California, San Diego Women’s Center.
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Blue Shield of California becomes first health
plan in U.S. to cover cost of rapid whole
genome sequencing for critically ill children
Blue Shield of California has become the first health plan in the United States to cover rapid and ultra-rapid Whole Genome Sequencing to help critically ill babies and children in intensive care with unexplained medical conditions receive precision care.
Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine researchers have pioneered the fastest use of this advanced diagnostic technology to rapidly identify and decode the root causes of rare genetic disorders for some of the sickest infants and children hospitalized in intensive care across the country.
The Rady Children’s Institute team offers the quickest turnaround of genomic test results available nationwide, delivering a preliminary diagnosis in less than three days for medically urgent cases. The blood samples can be taken at any hospital and sent to Rady Children’s Institute for sequencing and analysis.
“Our system is optimized to identify or rule out most genetic diseases in a single test, and provide the medical team at the bedside with child-specific, disease-specific information so they can make better, faster medical decisions,” said Stephen Kingsmore, M.D., president and CEO of the institute.
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Home sales and prices in February
edge up, says Realtors association
Sales of previously owned homes ticked up in February, as did prices, according to housing statistics compiled through the San Diego Multiple Listing Service by the
Greater San Diego Association of Realtors.
Single-family (detached) home sales in the past month edged up only about a half percent, while attached properties (condominiums and townhomes) saw a healthy 9 percent increase over January. Compared to last February, total home sales of detached and attached properties were up about 4 percent.
The median price of single-family homes in February was slightly higher than a month ago, standing at $677,000, and about 8 percent higher than a year ago. The median price of condos and townhomes, at $450,000, was 3 percent higher than January and more than 9 percent higher than a year ago.
“It’s still too early to predict the full economic impact of the ‘coronavirus,’ but it can’t be denied that mortgage rates are about as low as you are going to find them,” said SDAR President Carla Farley. “Borrowers who lock in today’s low rates will benefit significantly in the long term.”
In February, the ZIP codes in San Diego County with the most single-family home sales were:
92028 (Fallbrook) with 40
91977 (Spring Valley) with 38
92065 (Ramona) with 35
92064 (Poway) with 31
92115 (College) with 30
The most expensive single-family property sold in February in San Diego County is an oceanfront property on Camino De La Costa in La Jolla. The 5,818 square foot, 5-bedroom home sold for $9.5 million and possibly will be considered for rebuilding.
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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.
