Daily Business Report-May 29, 2020
Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay
Drone industry investments grow
by 67 percent to record high $1.2 billion
Data acquired by Finbold.com indicates that at the end of 2019, total investment in the drone industry was a record-high $1.2 billion, a year-over-year growth of 67 percent. According to the data, venture capital funding stood at $930 million at the end of last year.
VC funding accounts for 68.87 percent of all drone industry investment
The data indicates that between 2008 and 2019 funding in the sector stood at $4.43 billion while venture capitalists pumped in a total of $3.46 billion by last year. In general, drone investment through VC represented 68.87 percent of all funding. There was a significant spike in the investment between 2012 ($42 million) and 2013 ($121 million) with a growth of about 188.1 percent.
Venture Capital funding joined the drone sector by only $2 million in 2010, a figure that has been rising to hit $930 million in 2019. The interest from venture capitalists was notable between 2013 and 2014 when the investment grew by 122.5 percent. On a yearly basis, the VC funding has ranged from $450 million to $550 million over the past four years before the 2019 spike. According to the report:
“The drone industry has been growing with investment being pumped in at least 52 companies. Some of the big players in the sector include 3D Robotics, DJI, Toyota, Boeing, Audi, Airbus, DroneBase, Microsoft among others. The research notes that even though different companies are receiving fundings from venture capitalists, most of them are based in the United States,” the repport says.
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Barnhart-Reese Construction awarded
$19.2 million community college contract
Expanding upon its educational facilities division, Barnhart-Reese Construction (BRC) has been awarded a $19.25 million contract from Southwestern Community College District to complete its Public Safety Training Center as a part of the district’s Proposition Z program.
Five new structures will be built on the site, which is located on the west side of the campus of Southwestern College’s Higher Education Center at Otay Mesa. The project will provide expanded instruction space for the Fire Science, Emergency Medical Technician, and Police Education programs.
The new project, which broke ground on March 10, 2020, includes new instructional space, office space, training areas, and vehicle and equipment storage. Additionally, a firefighter training structure with gas-fueled burn room capacity will be provided in a separate structure, as well as an independent structure for training simulations for fires.
“Students graduating from our Emergency Medical Services, Police Academy and Fire Science programs are in critical demand these days,” said Dean Silvia Cornejo. “This new Public Safety Training Center will give our students enhanced training facilities found nowhere else on a college campus in the county and will better prepare our students for these important careers.”
The Southwestern College project marks the 16th BRC contract for public schools, with the firm having facilities completed or currently underway for MiraCosta College, Palomar College, Escondido Unified School District, San Diego Unified School District, Cal Poly Pomona, UC San Diego, Vista Unified School District, Poway Unified School District, Fallbrook Union Elementary School District, and National University.
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County and Rady Children’s Hospital
to test 2,000 daily for COVID-19
The County and Rady Children’s Hospital launched a new initiative to test up to 2,000 children and their families daily for COVID-19 over the next six months.
Developed with the support of the County’s T3 Strategy of test, trace and treat, the COVID Collaborative for Children will include testing at Rady hospital, clinics, as well as at the locations of Rady’s health care partners.
Rady Children’s Hospital officials said children and their parents can get a test during wellness visits at the facility or its affiliated pediatric primary care offices. The hospital also will test its entire staff.
The goal is to start with about 400 tests daily and ramp up over the next six weeks to about 2,000 tests a day. The tests will be free to all participants. Children are automatically covered under state law. Costs for adults without insurance will be paid by the county.
“COVID-19 is not a disease that only impacts older adults,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., county public health officer. “Pediatric cases have been reported in San Diego County.”
Of the nearly 7,000 COVID-19 cases in the region, 5.6 percent or 391 cases have been reported in children and teenagers. Also, about 52 percent of the cases were in people between 20 and 49 years of age.
Wooten added that it is important to offer testing to families because there have been reports of children who had COVID-19 but lacked symptoms, leaving them in a position where they could unknowingly spread the virus.
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New SDSU partnership expands contact
tracing to prevent spread of COVID-19
Public health faculty at San Diego State University are partnering with the county of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) to advance the county’s COVID-19 T3 Strategy of Test, Trace and Treat in underserved communities in San Diego County.
Through a new contract with SDSU’s School of Public Health and HHSA for nearly $3 million over six months, faculty will both train and recruit community health workers and students — about 110 people — to support the county’s disease control activities and to identify individuals believed to have come into contact with those diagnosed with COVID-19.
“Contact tracing will help us reach the community members most in need, to contain the spread of this disease in San Diego County by helping people become aware that they may be at risk for COVID-19 and informing them of actions they need to take,” said Hala Madanat, SDSU’s School of Public Health director.
Madanat is the contract lead for Communities Fighting Covid, working in partnership with Corinne McDaniels-Davidson, SDSU director of the Institute for Public Health, who is the contract co-lead.
The application form for contact tracers will be available on the SDSU School of Public Health’s outreach website on Tuesday, June 9, at 9 a.m.
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San Diego Foundation names new
chief impact and partnerships officer
Pamela Gray Payton has been hired as The San Diego Foundation’s new chief impact and partnerships officer.
Payton will oversee The San Diego Foundation’s Community Impact programs, leading the organization’s strategic initiatives that advance quality of life for San Diegans. In this position, she will play a critical role in developing cross-sector partnerships and implementing future strategic plans for The San Diego Foundation. She will also utilize her background in government and community relations to inform policy development and advocacy on behalf of the philanthropic and nonprofit community.
Payton previously served as the assistant vice president, community, state, and local government relations; as well as assistant vice president of university communications at the University of San Diego. In both roles, she worked closely with university leadership to build reciprocal community partnerships, as well as develop and implement strategies that advanced the mission of the University of San Diego alongside community partners who shared USD’s commitment to addressing society’s most urgent challenges.
Payton has served as board president for RISE San Diego and the Kim Center for Social Balance, and has also volunteered as a board member for La Jolla Country Day School; the San Diego chapter of Jack and Jill of America Inc.; and Girl Scouts San Diego.
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Michael Helmuth joins Bank of Southern California
Bank of Southern California N.A., a community business bank headquartered in San Diego, announced the appointment of Michael Helmuth as senior vice president, group managing director of the Business Banking Group. He will be responsible for expanding the group’s client base, growing customer relationships and leading the team’s impact and presence throughout Orange County, Los Angeles County, Inland Empire, and San Bernardino County.
Helmuth is an accomplished and effective banking leader with more than 35 years of commercial banking experience. Over the course of his career, he has held positions of increasing responsibility managing large commercial banking teams, including market president and president, chief banking officer. Most recently, he served as executive vice president, Orange County market president for Commercial Bank of California, where he was tasked with building the bank’s market presence in Orange County and the Inland Empire.
Helmuth holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon.
“Michael is a deeply rooted and well-respected banker with a long history of building, developing, and leading successful business banking teams throughout Southern California,” said Tony DiVita, executive vice president and chief operating officer.
