Daily Business Report-Sept. 14, 2020
A researcher shown with a California yellowtail at Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute Mission Bay headquarters.
Pacific Ocean AquaFarms
files application for pioneering
sustainable aquaculture operation
San Diego – Pacific Ocean AquaFarms (POA), a collaboration between an ocean science research institute and a purpose-based investment group, has filed applications for permits for a California yellowtail farm in federal waters off the coast of Southern California.
Formed by Pacific6 Enterprises, a Long Beach-based social benefit investment group, with Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI) providing science-based consulting services, POA will construct and operate the first-of-its-kind finfish farm located in U.S. federal waters.
Once approved, POA will initially grow and harvest 1,000 metric tons of Seriola dorsalis (California yellowtail), scaling up over several years to 5,000 metric tons as it proves its environmental and economic sustainability.
HSWRI is a San Diego-based research institute that works in cooperation with, but is independent of, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. For more than 50 years, it has been recognized for its leading environmental and conservation research.
The World Resources Institute has stated that aquaculture is the most sustainable form of animal food production in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. According to a 2018 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report, aquaculture represented more than 50 percent of global seafood production for consumption in 2016.
“We see this as a game changer for the U.S., which today imports the vast majority of its seafood, half of which is farmed,” said Robert Gordon, a founding partner at Pacific6. “Our project will show how aquaculture, subject to our nation’s stringent environmental and food safety standards, will be done right.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will serve as lead agency during the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) review process. POA anticipates that environmental review and permitting will take 18 to 24 months.
Construction should take one year followed by two years growing the first crop of fish. Commercial-scale harvesting will then begin and grow over several years to full production.
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Scripps Research Institute
to pay $10 million for
improper use of NIH grants
In the wake of a whistleblower suit, The Scripps Research Institute has agreed to pay $10 million to settle claims it improperly charged NIH-funded research grants for time spent by researchers on nongrant-related activities, the government announced Friday.
The renowned nonprofit biomedical research institute with campuses in La Jolla and Jupiter, Florida, is accused of using the grants on banned activities including writing new grant applications.
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Airport Innovation Lab seeks
fifth group of innovators
Special Focus on Health & Safety
in the Transportation Environment
The Airport Innovation Lab at the San Diego International Airport is recruiting applicants for its fifth group of innovators to go through a 16-week accelerator program with a focus on health & safety.
This fifth group will participate in one of two opportunity areas: touchless solutions or queue management solutions. Touchless solutions are innovative ideas that allow contactless movement of passengers throughout the airport such as passenger identification, security, concessions point-of-sale, etc. Queue management solutions are concepts that utilize technology to communicate social distancing recommendations, identify congestion, or otherwise guide queuing to more efficient logistics.
At the end of the program, successful innovators have the potential to win a contract from the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, the airport’s owner and operator, and/or gain entrée to other airports and analogous businesses including other transportation hubs, convention centers, shopping malls and other large venues such as ball parks, theme parks and hotels.
One of the first companies to participate in the Airport Innovation Lab, @YourGate, launched their in-airport meal delivery concept at the airport. Today they are operating there as well as other airports across the country. For a list of all companies who have participated in the previous accelerator programs and their products, visit the Airport Innovation Lab’s Success Stories.
Innovators for the fifth group will start the program with the virtual format until COVID-19 restrictions are eased. Potential applicants have until Oct. 4, 2020 to apply to the program which starts in November 2020 and will continue through March 2021.
For more information and to apply, go to www.innovate.san.org.
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COVID-19: latest economic
impact on San Diego
Alan Nevin | Xpera Group
The enormous drop the economy took in April is gradually working its way back up. But, we still have 16 million jobs to recapture before we return to where we were in February.
We have prepared a special mid-year economic update, including the latest available data on local employment, real estate transactions and more to help you understand the impact of COVID-19 on San Diego’s economy.
Click here for the mid-year economic update.
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Xpera Group acquired by
The VERTEX Companies
Xpera Group, which is celebrating its 11th anniversary, has been acquired by The Vertex Companies Inc., an employee-owned AEC firm headquartered in Weymouth, Mass. with offices throughout North America.
VERTEX is a global provider of forensic consulting, engineering design, construction, environmental and technology solutions. The acquisition of Xpera augments the firm’s West Coast presence and expands its service offerings in construction forensics, building envelope waterproofing consulting and residential third-party quality assurance services. Since its incorporation in 1995, the 500+ person company has maintained an annual growth rate of more than 20 percent.
The move represents an incredible opportunity for Xpera to offer a deeper bench of experts and a wider breadth of services to bring value to our clients, said Xpera Founder/Chairman Ted Bumgardner. “Our entire senior leadership team will continue to manage Xpera’s operations from our San Diego office. Our people and client relationships remain in place and will continue to serve as the cornerstone of our business.”
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Cubic books $193 million contract
to extend air combat training
Govcon Wire
Cubic will continue to provide logistics support for air combat training systems of domestic and international defense customers under a seven-year, $193.3 million contract from the U.S. Air Force.
The contract is follow-on to a prior award that expired July 20 and covers depot-level services to address P5CTS foreign military sales and non-foreign military sales requirements, the Department of Defense said.
P5CTS is designed to support air-to-air and air-to-ground weapon simulations, uses a long-range data link for time, space, position data transmission during exercises and delivers voice communications-based kill notifications to aircrew, according to Cubic.
U.K., Australia, Morocco, Egypt, Poland, Oman, Singapore, Qatar and Saudi Arabia account for 56 percent of contract purchases.
The AF Life Cycle Management Center is the contracting activity and will obligate $236,134 at the time of award. Contract work will take place in San Diego through September 2027.
Cubic received a separate contract in late 2019 to manufacture more airborne P5CTS pods for the service branch and an international client.
Leonardo DRS serves as Cubic’s principal airborne instrumentation pod subcontractor.
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Valley Parkway Auto Service
Mall sold for $3.6 million
Valley Parkway Auto Service Mall, a 34,111-square-foot automobile service center in Escondido, has sold for $3.6 million to Cohen EVP LLC. The Buster Family Trust was the seller.
Valley Parkway Auto Service Center is comprised of four multi-tenant industrial/retail buildings located on 2.33 acres at 2109-2127 East Valley Parkway, Escondido.
Bill Barnett and Doug Hogan of Colliers International San Diego Region represented the seller and the buyer.
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How loss of single gene fuels
deadly childhood brain cancer
Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRT) are a rare, fast-growing form of brain cancer that usually strikes children three years and younger, though they can occur in older children and adults. There are multiple treatments, but no definitive standard of care and long-term survival is poor.
The cause of ATRT is primarily linked to inactivation of a gene called SMARCB1, part of a larger complex that helps regulate gene expression and developmental processes. In a study published online September 10, 2020 in the journal Genes & Development , an international team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the San Diego Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, describe how the loss of the gene negatively impacts neural development and promotes tumor growth.
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Energy Commission Oks
funding for hydrogen
stations in San Diego
The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved funding for two new hydrogen fueling stations in San Diego county. The stations are slated for construction in Carlsbad and San Diego.
Three companies — FirstElement, Shell and Iwatani — were awarded funds for 36 stations to service passenger vehicles across the state. Another 87 stations were also recommended for future funding. Combined, this represents well over $200 million in private sector investments to help the state reach its goal of 200 stations by 2025.
Demand for the CEC funding was strong; applications for more than $100 million above what was available from the CEC were submitted.
The full list of funded stations, including their exact street locations, can be accessed here.
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Windsor Pointe to offer
affordable apartments
Affirmed Housing announced that it anticipates pulling its building permit for the long-awaited affordable development Windsor Pointe in Carlsbad by January 2021. The project will serve low-income individuals and families, and people who are homeless or nearly homeless with mental illness.
A strong preference will be given to veterans and their families. Windsor Pointe has been in process since 2016, when Affirmed Housing purchased the properties from three sellers. The project will be located on two sites: 3606, 3618, and 3630 Harding St., and 965 and 967 Oak Ave. Windsor Pointe will offer much-needed affordable apartment homes to 48 vulnerable individuals and families.
Windsor Pointe will consist of new and attractive Spanish Revival style buildings featuring red-tiled roofs, arched windows and doorways, and punctuated by new landscaping. The Harding building will have 26 total apartments, and the Oak building will have 24. One unit at each site will be reserved for an on-site manager. Windsor Pointe will also offer professional on-site supportive services from qualified case managers who work with residents to access needed services. Like their market-rate counterparts, all apartments will be rented for one year.
Twenty-four of the Windsor Pointe apartments will be offered to individuals and families earning 50-60 percent of the area median income (AMI). This workforce housing includes 12 studios, 7 one-bedroom, 3 two-bedrooms, and 2 three-bedroom apartment homes.
The other 24 apartments will be offered under the No Place Like Home program, which offers supportive housing to individuals and families who are homeless or near homeless.
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County to offer rotating
coronavirus testing at
Mexican Consulate
Starting today, San Diegans wishing to get a COVID-19 test have a new option: the Mexican Consulate in Little Italy. Each Monday, the county will offer free, no-appointment tests from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the patio of the Mexican Consulate, located at 1549 India St. in San Diego.
The Mexican Consulate site will officially kick off a 14-day rotating program of COVID-19 testing in hard-hit communities, including those with larger Latino and immigrant populations. Other locations to be announced next week will be in community and faith-based organizations that are helping the county with its testing efforts.
The first new site at the Consulate is one of seven locations throughout the region that offer free COVID-19 tests without an appointment.
The other six sites are located at:
- California State University San Marcos – Viasat Engineering Pavilion
- University of San Diego Parking Lot (Moving to a building on Tuesday, Sept. 15.)
- San Diego State University Parking Lot 17-B (Moving to the Alumni Center on Monday, Sept. 14.)
- Tubman-Chavez Community Center
- Mar Vista High School (Drive-up site)
- San Ysidro Port of Entry PedEast
Appointments are necessary at other County testing sites. To make an appointment, visit www.211sandiego.org or call 2-1-1.
