Daily Business Report-Aug. 27, 2020
Avocados (Photo courtesy of County of San Diego)
Crop Report:
San Diego County’s crop value
comes close to $1.8 billion
Agriculture values blossomed for the third year out of the past four and grew close to $1.8 billion, a height they last reached in 2014, according to the County of San Diego’s annual Crop Report.
The value of all agriculture crops and commodities rose about 1.5 percent in the new Crop Report that covers the 2019 growing season, from $1,769,815,715 in 2018 to $1,795,528,573.
Total agriculture values also increased in the 2016 and 2017 reports, before slipping by one-quarter of 1 percent in last year’s 2018 report.
This year’s increase was fueled in large part by a 5.8 percent increase, from $322.9 million in 2018 to $341.7 million in 2019, in the overall values of Fruits and Nuts, a category that includes three of the Top 10 crops: avocados, lemons and oranges.
Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, which has been the top crop in San Diego County for the past 11 Crop Reports, since 2009, continued to increase in overall value, increasing by just .6 percent, but to $445,488,124, its highest total over that time.
The rest of the annual Top 10 crops remained similar to previous years, although some crop categories were changed slightly. For example, this year’s number two crop, Bedding Plants, Color & Herbaceous Perennials, like flowers and herbs, was combined with Cactuses & Succulents and had a total value of $399,028,516.
The third-ranked crop, Indoor Flowering & Foliage Plants earned a total value of $291,335,199. The fourth-ranked, and possibly San Diego’s most famous crop, Avocados, increased in value by nearly 16 percent and $19 million, from $121,038,020 in 2018 to $140,116,363.
Here’s a look at the 2019 Crop Report’s Top 10 Crops:
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County gives schools OK to reopen
for in-person instruction next Tuesday
Times of San Diego
Public health officials said Tuesday that all schools in San Diego County will be allowed to reopen for in-person instruction next week.
Schools will remain open, even if the county is placed back on the state’s COVID-19 monitoring list because of a case rate that exceeds 100 per 100,000 residents, said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s chief health officer.
She tempered that slightly, however, saying a major increase in the case rate would likely trigger changes. “If case rates become astronomically high again, that’s a game changer,” Wooten said.
The amended public health order does not require schools to reopen Sept. 1, but leaves it up to schools to decide independently. It also does not end distance learning.
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Final phases of Civita Park in Mission Valley are open
The final phases of Civita Park are complete and have opened to the public, adding four acres of playgrounds, game areas, ornamental gardens and open lawns to the 14.3-acre park, which is the largest park in Mission Valley.
Civita Park is a public-private partnership of Sudberry Properties, master developer of Civita, the City of San Diego through the Parks and Recreation Department, and the Grant family, which owned the property and mined a quarry on the site for many decades. The city park was designed by Schmidt Design Group, developed by Sudberry Properties, and built by Hazard Construction Company. The development team also included Architects HGW, Rick Engineering and BrightView Landscapes LLC.
Planning continues on three additional parks in Civita: Creekside Park, Franklin Ridge Park and Phyllis Place Park. When complete, the 230-acre community of Civita will contain 60 acres of public parks, open space and trails.
Because of the public health order in response to COVID-19, the park is open for passive use only. Playground equipment cannot be used.
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Seventh annual Women’s Venture Summit
to be held virtually on Sept. 18-19
Stella Labs and Ad Astra Ventures will host Women’s Venture Summit on Sept. 18-19, an event focused on activating female investors and improving access to capital for female founders.
To date, the conference sponsored by Cooley LLP and Morgan Stanley has helped women raise more than $10 million in seed capital. Now in its seventh year, the first as a two-day virtual event, the Summit will take place from 9 a.m. to noon both Friday and Saturday.
There will be breakout sessions for investors and tracks for entrepreneurs, plus scheduled networking opportunities. Discussions will cover such topics as “Surviving COVID-19: How to Pivot During Crisis”; “How to Transition from Entrepreneur to Angel Investor”; and “The Power of Inclusive Innovation.”
Leading up to the event is a virtual Women’s Fast Pitch Competition being held across six regions. The finalist from each region will compete on Day Two of the summit and one winner will take home a $10,000 investment. Simultaneously, Stella Labs is working to activate more female investors and structure funding opportunities for pitching participants.
Also in advance of the Summit, Ad Astra Ventures will host its “Close the Gap” Investor Bootcamp which will equip accredited investors with the skills needed to overcome unconscious bias in venture investing. Coordinated as part of Women’s Venture Summit, the event will take place on Sept. 14-15.
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Tim Fennell retires as Del Mar Fairgrounds CEO;
Carlene Moore named interim CEO
Del Mar Fairgrounds long-tenured CEO Tim Fennell has retired. The board of the 22nd District Agricultural Association, which operates the fairgrounds, has appointed Carlene Moore as interim CEO.
Tim Fennell was appointed CEO of the Del Mar Fairgrounds in June 1993. During his tenure, $280 million was invested in capital improvements, including construction of
the Grandstand, Wyland Hall, Activity Center, and a $5 million wetlands and habitat restoration project in the San Dieguito Lagoon.
The Del Mar Fairgrounds began as an agricultural exhibition in 1880 and continues to provide entertainment, education, horse racing, and hosts 300+ annual events. In addition, the fairgrounds plays an integral role during emergencies as an evacuation center for large animals and citizens of San Diego County.
Carlene Moore joined the Del Mar Fairgrounds in February 2019 as deputy general manager. Moore has an extensive background working in the fair industry for over 30 years and has held previous titles such as deputy manager, general manager, and most recently, CEO of the Napa County Fair Association.
Moore received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Strategic Management from Cal State University, Sacramento.
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Male film critics continue to outnumber female critics nearly 2 to 1
The arena of film criticism continues to look like a man’s world.
A new study shows that in early 2020, male film reviewers outnumbered their female counterparts by nearly 2 to 1, before the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the film business and movie theaters closed worldwide this spring.
Female film critics contributed 35 percent of the film reviews across print, broadcast and online outlets, up 1 percent from 2019, according to the report, titled “Thumbs Down 2020: Film Critics and Gender, and Why It Matters.”
Though the increase in numbers of female film critics seems marginal, the numbers show a marked improvement from the 73 percent male to 27 percent female breakdown in 2016.
Since 2007, the study has been conducted annually by San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women Film and Television. Researchers, led by Dr. Martha Lauzen, analyzed more than 4,000 film reviews by over 380 individuals working for print, broadcast and online outlets from January through March 2020.
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Cal State San Marcos awarded $1.7 million
to help students succeed in college
Cal State San Marcos’ TRIO Student Support Services program will receive a federal grant of more than $1.7 million over five years, the U.S. Department of Education announced. The funding for the first year is $348,002, a 3.5 percent increase over last year.
TRIO SSS is funded by the U.S. Department of Education to support 206 CSUSM students who meet at least one of the following criteria: They come from a low-income background, they are a first-generation college student and/or they have a verified disability. The program offers academic, personal and professional support to increase the retention and graduation rates of participants.
TRIO SSS has been continually funded at CSUSM since 1993. The university has three objectives upon which it is measured each year: retention of participants, good academic standing of all participants, and six-year graduation rate. CSUSM reached and surpassed its targets in each area, including for the past five years:
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Carlsbad office building sells to
private investment firm for $6.15 million
CBRE announced the sale of an office building in Carlsbad to a private investment firm for $6.15 million.
Located at 5928 Pascal Court, the 38,276-square-foot property is 79 percent leased to two tenants: financial services firm Capital Partners Services and DR Horton, America’s largest home construction company.
One 8,174-square-foot suite is vacant and was recently put on the market. The property was originally built in 1986 and was renovated in 2013.
CBRE’s Matt Pourcho, Gary Stache, Anthony DeLorenzo, Doug Mack, Bryan Johnson and Blake Wilson represented the seller, a local private investment group, in the transaction. The buyer was self-represented.
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BioMed Realty relocates headquarters
to University Towne Centre
BioMed Realty has relocated its headquarters to discover@UTC at University Towne Centre, a campus the company has assembled and transformed over the last several years into a life science park in one of the top biotech markets in the country.
“Placing roots at our discover@UTC campus puts us at the center of our core San Diego market and adjacent to the region’s leading life science and technology companies and research institutions,” said President and CEO Tim Schoen.
Located at the intersection of Towne Centre Drive and Executive Drive, discover@UTC is a life science campus comprised of four buildings with 288,000 square feet. BioMed Realty’s new headquarters brings the property’s leasing percentage to 94 percent. Other tenants that also moved their corporate headquarters to discover@UTC include Poseida Therapeutics, Samumed and Human Longevity.
BioMed Realty acquired the campus in phases in 2010 and 2016, and remodeled and repositioned the entire campus in 2017 under Blackstone’s ownership. In 2020, BioMed Realty completed significant improvements, including converting the properties to state-of-the-art lab/office buildings, enhancing the exterior façade, and adding new interior and exterior amenities.
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Pilot study at Sharp Memorial Hospital to study
use of Attune Medical’s thermal regulating device
A pilot study using Attune Medical’s ensoETM, a thermal regulating device, has begun enrollment in the first study to evaluate the impact of core warming on the length and severity of illness in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
The randomized, single-center pilot study, Core Warming of COVID-19 Patients Undergoing Mechanical Ventilation, is being conducted by physicians at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, and will investigate whether core warming can improve the recovery of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and decrease their time spent on mechanical ventilation (breathing support).
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General Atomics selects 18 companies to present
capabilities to support SkyGuardian development
Eighteen Belgium-based companies have been selected to present their capabilities to a panel of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems evaluating their ability to support the development of MQ-9B SkyGardian remotely piloted aircraft selected by Belgian Defense.
The presentations will be held during the week of Sept. 21, and unlike the first Blue Magic Belgium industry outreach event in 2019, this year’s event will be held virtually due to travel and in-person meeting restrictions stemming from the coronavirus.
The companies participating in Blue Magic Belgium the week of September 21st will be Airobot , AKKA BENELUX, Altran Belgium, ALX Systems, Any-Shape, Cenaero, Feronyl, Hexagon Geospatial, IDRONECT, Lambda-X, ML2Grow, Moss Composites, Optrion, Oscars, ScioTeq, Siemens, VITO-Remote Sensing, and von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics.
