Daily Business Report-Oct. 2, 2020
Property tax bills. (Courtesy of the County of San Diego).
More than 1 million property tax
bills are coming in the mail
San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister announced his office started mailing more than 1 million 2020-2021 secured property tax bills.
“These property tax bills are expected to generate $7.27 billion – money on which our local cities and the county depend,” said McAllister. “Public health, voting administration, schools, and many more essential services are funded by property tax dollars, so we encourage you to pay your taxes as early as possible.”
All 1,004,808 tax bills are available now at sdttc.com to view and pay. Property owners can pay online for free using an e-check (electronic check). Taxpayers will also get an immediate, emailed receipt for payment confirmation if they use the online payment system at sdttc.com.
The first property tax installment is due on Nov. 1, 2020, and becomes delinquent after Dec. 10, 2020. The second installment is due Feb. 1, 2021, and becomes delinquent after April 12, 2021.
The total amount owed by property taxpayers is $370 million more than last year’s total of $6.9 billion. Rising home prices and new residential units are contributing to the increase.
For additional information, call the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office toll free at 877-829-4732.
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California one of few states without
top school nurse during pandemic
Cal Matters
California is one of 10 states that doesn’t have a state school nurse leader, exacerbating the logistical complications schools face as they seek to reopen amid the pandemic, CalMatters’ Ana Ibarra reports.
The lack of centralized leadership has posed problems for school nurses juggling questions and concerns from parents, teachers and administrators, and left a vacuum when it comes to coordinating local, state and national guidelines. Meanwhile, more than half of districts in the state don’t have a school nurse, leaving untrained administrators to handle complex health recommendations in the absence of a state nurse consultant.
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Northrop Grumman wins $690M task
order to build DIA data system
Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $690 million task order contract by the General Services Administration’s Federal Systems Integration and Management Center to develop a suite of data systems for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the company announced.
“Northrop Grumman will continue its longtime partnership with DIA, the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community in the delivery of this critical national security capability,” said Ginger Wierzbanowski, vice president, intelligence solutions, Northrop Grumman.
Under the task order, Northrop Grumman will deliver the Transforming All-Source Analysis with Location-Based Object Services (TALOS) program. The TALOS program focuses on the build of big data systems for DIA, such as the Machine-Assisted Rapid-Repository System (MARS).
Northrop Grumman will serve as the enterprise module integrator for MARS. MARS will create a military intelligence environment that will be accessed for up-to-date information by the Intelligence Community (IC) and warfighters.
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UC San Diego reports a safe start
to in-person activities in fall quarter
UC San Diego’s in-person activities are off to a safe start under the campus’ Return to Learn program, according to university officials. With the beginning of the fall quarter on Sept. 28, 5,730 undergraduate students moved on campus over a 10-day period beginning Sept. 19.
The university mapped out a staggered move-in process to allow for physical distancing as well as mandatory testing, all in an effort to provide a world-class education to students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time of student move-in, the UC San Diego Center for Advanced Laboratory Medicine (CALM) averaged 1,500 tests daily for two weeks straight, far more than any other UC campus. Most test results were returned the next day, with an average turnaround of 15 hours.
Thousands of tests were administered to students over the 10 days, of which only 10 students tested positive and more than 5,700 tested negative.
These students were found to be asymptomatically shedding the virus, equating to a positivity rate of 0.17 percent out of the nearly 6,000 undergraduates who moved on campus. These students received clinical guidance and were promptly moved to isolation housing (the university currently has more than 600 beds to accommodate such needs). They will move back into their general campus housing as soon as they are no longer potentially infectious to others.
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Multi-tenant industrial property
in National City sold for $13.5 million
A multi-teant industrial property at 131 W. 33rd St. in National City has been sold for $13.5 million to Unilev Capital, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm. The seller was an undisclosed institutional investor.
The single-story building was 96 percent leased at the time of sale. The multi-tenant property features 3,943 square feet of office space along with industrial space that is divided into two types of uses: typical warehouse industrial use and industrial storage.
CBRE’s Matt Pourcho, Anthony DeLorenzo, Gary Stache and Erik Parker represented the seller. Unilev Capital, was represented by Unilev’s investment team comprised of Raymond Levy, Ian Konowitch and Peter Berges.
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Ligand Pharmaceuticals completes
acquisition of Pfenex Inc.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced it has completed its tender offer for all outstanding shares of Pfenex Inc. for $437.5 million in cash, plus one non-transferable contingent value right (CVR) per share representing the right to receive a contingent payment of $78 million in cash if a certain specified milestone is achieved. The acquired company will cease trading on the NYSE American under the symbol PFNX effective as of Oct. 1, 2020.
“This is a transformative acquisition that provides a highly valuable technology platform and a portfolio of royalty-bearing collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies for treatments and vaccines. The business is well established with an attractive growth outlook that is expected to add significantly to Ligand’s financial growth and performance,” said John Higgins, chief executive officer of Ligand.
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Cubic wins contract to deliver customer
Information system for San Francisco MTA
Cubic Corporation announced its Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) business division was awarded a contract from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to deliver a comprehensive, next-generation Customer Information System (CIS) for the San Francisco Municipal Railway public transportation network.
Cubic will provide upgraded system software, multimedia LCD digital signs at bus shelters and railway platforms, on-board digital sign software, an updated mobile app with trip planning capabilities, as well as an analytics platform, all designed to optimize transit operations and enhance the travel experience for transit riders.
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Cassandra Crowe-Jackson named
chief experience officer at Sharp HealthCare
Cassandra Crowe-Jackson has joined Sharp HealthCare as chief experience officer. Crowe-Jackson has more than 20 years of leadership experience with the last 15 being in patient experience and service excellence.
She has served as vice president, patient experience for University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, a community-based, not-for-profit health care organization located in Harford County, Md.
Previously, Crowe-Jackson was the senior director, Office of Patient Experience and Service Excellence at University of Colorado Health, a not-for-profit health care system headquartered in Aurora, Colo.
A Certified Patient Experience Professional, Crowe-Jackson holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, N.C. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Management from University of Phoenix.
“Casandra is creative problem solver, and hands-on leader, trainer, and agent of change,” said Chris Howard, president and CEO of Sharp HealthCare.
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Susan Volpe and Dustin Pfluger join
CWDL accounting and consulting firm
CWDL, an accounting and consulting firm specializing in mortgage banking and educational industries, has added two strategic hires to support the firm’s exponential growth and help drive future market development. Susan Volpe and Dustin Pfluger have been appointed as the director of accounting and consulting and partner of the Mortgage Banking Division, respectively.
In their new roles, Volpe will lead an accounting team that has grown 100 percent in the past year, and Pfluger will help lead the mortgage practice by providing additional expertise across CWDL’s growing nationwide client base
Volpe joins CWDL after previously running her own accounting services business and serving as the CFO for an independent mortgage company. With an accounting and human resources background that spans over 25 years, Volpe lends invaluable professional acumen to guide both staff and clientele.
Pfluger brings 16 years of public accounting experience to CWDL, 11 of which have been exclusively dedicated to the mortgage industry. A certified public accountant, Pfluger adds keen insight through his past work at accounting firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Richey May.
Volpe and Pfluger will play major roles in guiding CWDL’s day-to-day operations as the company continues to expand its existing roster. They will be based in the Boston, Massachusetts area and Austin, Texas, respectively.
CWDL is headquartered in San Diego.
