Daily Business Report-Sept. 28, 2020
In order to comply with local regulations, a Vista, Ca nail salon operates outside on Aug. 1, 2020. (Photo by Simone Hogan via iStock)
Nail salons can reopen indoors;
COVID tests now available to all
By Ana B. Ibarra | CalMatters
A bit of good news for Californians who have been putting off their mani-pedis because of the pandemic: the state will relax restrictions on nail salons and allow them to resume indoor operations with some modifications, the state’s top health official said.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s health and human services secretary, said during a press briefing that an examination of how nail salons can make indoor operations safer led to the decision. The state is allowing nail salons to resume services inside even in counties in the most restrictive “purple” tier — a designation for widespread virus transmission — in California’s reopening blueprint.
Beauty industry representatives say this is the result of advocacy and education done right.
“I don’t think Dr. Ghaly would have made this announcement if it wasn’t for our pressure, not just political pressure, but also education,” said Fred Jones, attorney and lobbyist for the Professional Beauty Federation of California.
Until Ghaly’s announcement last week, nail salons in counties with high transmission of coronavirus were only allowed to conduct business outdoors. While not ideal because of the summer heat wave and wildfire smoke, many salon owners did open up shop outside, usually in parking lots and under tents.
In late August, when the governor first announced the state’s new blueprint to reopen the economy, he also announced that hair salons would be allowed to welcome clients indoors, but left out nail salons. Estheticians were not included in last week’s announcement.
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Bidding opens on San Diego’s
gas and electric franchises
In the City of San Diego’s search to overhaul its existing gas and electric franchises with increased ratepayer savings and align them with energy and equity goals, Mayor Kevin Faulconer on Sept. 24 officially advertised the city’s franchises for gas and electric services with an Invitation to Bid initiating the competitive bidding process with terms shaped by input from the public, stakeholders and the City Council.
The once-in-a-generation pact provides an estimated $110 million in ratepayer savings and $1.4 billion in revenue over 20 years, offers increased accountability with regular performance audits, and ensures transparency through a competitive bidding process with a minimum bid of $80 million – a substantial source of revenue as the nation continues to grapple with the economic downturn caused by a global pandemic.
Read more…
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Boeing teams with General Atomics,
Aerojet Rocketedyne to pursue
next-gen Interceptor program
Govcon Wire
Boeinghas partnered with Aerojet Rocketydyne and General Atomics’ electromagnetic systems business to form an industry team to compete for the Missile Defense Agency’s Next-Generation Interceptor program.
Norm Tew — vice president and general manager of the missile and weapon systems division at Boeing’s defense, space and security business — said in a statement the Boeing-led team aims to deliver critical technology to improve the country’s homeland missile defense by building on the companies’ decades of combined experience in missile and weapons systems.
Boeing submitted on Aug. 12 its proposal for the NGI program.
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems will share its experience in delivering missile technologies for national defense programs, while Aerojet Rocketdye will provide propulsion systems.
Northrop Grumman will act as the team’s component supplier.
MDA issued a solicitation for the NGI competition in April and expects to award the contract later this year.
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Illumina acquires GRAIL for
$7.1 billion to scale early cancer detection
Local genomics giant Illumina will purchase Menlo Park-based GRAIL, a developer of a blood test that promises to detect cancer early, for $7.1 billion. Illumina plans to leverage its global scale, manufacturing, and clinical capabilities to support commercialization efforts for GRAIL’s multi-cancer screening test, which is expected to launch in 2021.
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San Diego groups create $1.3 million
fund for Black community investments
San Diego community leaders have created a $1.3 million Black Community Investment Fund, aimed at increasing racial equity in the region. The fund will be used for projects in education, employment, entrepreneurship, and housing, including a scholarship program that honors San Diego County Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten.
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Libra Therapeutics raises
$29 million to target ALS
San Diego biotech Libra Therapeutics announced that it has raised $29 million to develop treatments that could one day prove useful in treating a wide swath of neurodegenerative disorders. Libra is taking aim at amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a deadly disorder in which nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement slowly die off, eventually making it difficult to breathe and swallow.
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Cindy McCain to address annual conference
on Restoring Civility to Civic Dialogue
Philanthropist and businesswoman Cindy McCain will be the featured guest at the 9th annual Conference on Restoring Civility to Civic Dialogue, which will be held online Oct. 7 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
McCain, widow of the late-Sen. John McCain, serves as chair of the board of trustees at the McCain Institute for International Leadership. The McCain Institute last year launched the #ActsOfCivility campaign, and Acts of Civility will be this year’s conference theme.
The conference is presented by the Institute for Civil Civic Engagement, a partnership between San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges, and the University of San Diego. The highlight is a live, 25-minute interview of McCain by conference organizer Carl Luna, a professor of political science at San Diego Mesa College who also serves as director at the Institute for Civil Civic Engagement.
The interview will be followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer period with questions submitted by the viewing audience.
The conference’s “virtual doors” will open at 10:20 a.m. The event is free and open to the public, but attendees are asked to register through the Institute for Civil Civic Engagement’s webpage.
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Rita and Richard Atkinson to give nearly $7 million
to establish physician assistant ed program
Former University of California San Diego Chancellor and UC President Emeritus Richard Atkinson and Rita Atkinson have committed to give nearly $7 million via a charitable trust to establish and endow the Richard C. and Rita L. Atkinson UC San Diego Physician Assistant Education Program. The gift, which contributes to the Campaign for UC San Diego, is contingent on the establishment of a physician assistant education program at UC San Diego if approved by the University of California.
The physician assistant education program, which is expected to be based out of the UC San Diego School of Medicine, will train the next generation of health care professionals to serve the local region and beyond. The program is intended to expand the pipeline of students interested in exploring this career path while also addressing the rising demand for the employment of physician assistants (PAs). Approval and accreditation by the UC system could take two years.
