Daily Business Report-Dec. 8, 2020
After graduating from Miramar College, Tracy Naputi earned a job at Inova Diagnostics making more than $60,000 a year.
Report: San Diego Community
College District generates $4.1 billion
in economic activity annually for the region
The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) annually generates $4.1 billion in economic activity, according to the latest report from a labor market analytics firm that lauds the district for playing a pivotal role in reducing economic inequities.
According to Idaho-based Emsi, the $4.1 billion generated by the SDCCD is enough to support nearly 42,000 jobs, or 1 out of every 52 jobs in the region.
Among other highlights of the report:
- 98 perent of SDCCD students remain in the region after graduation and their impact alone amounted to $3.5 billion in added income in fiscal year 2019-20.
- Students will see a return of $6.20 in higher future earnings for every $1 they invest in their education.
- For every dollar of public money invested in the SDCCD, taxpayers will receive $1.40 in return over the course of students’ working lives.
Alumni aren’t surprised by the numbers. Tracy Naputi was a single mother of five working as a manager at McDonald’s when she enrolled at Miramar College to earn a certificate in applied biotechnology to help her find a better job in a more lucrative career. The tuition-free, hands-on experience secured through the Southern California Biotechnology Center at Miramar College provided her with the skills to become well ensconced in a solidly middle-class job for the past eight years at San Diego-based Inova Diagnostics, where she now works as a quality control analyst.
“Miramar College removed the barriers single moms can face,” Naputi said. “There were so many resources like CalWORKS, EOPS, book vouchers, that the barriers just melted away. When I had a work-study job as an office assistant for the VicePresident of Student Services, everyone was telling me to get out of my comfort zone and reach for my dreams. I can’t thank them enough.”
Yesenia Ponce underscores how the SDCCD’s close collaboration with business and industry is impacting students. Ponce, 26, was working toward her dual associate degrees in science and pre-engineering/mathematics at City College when she learned about a new partnership between the college and Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific in San Diego. NIWC Pacific provided the City Heights resident with a part-time, paid internship and then helped cover her tuition at the University of San Diego, where she transferred this past fall to study electrical engineering.
“I’m already working in an industry I’m interested in, I’m earning a bachelor’s degree, and I have a full-time job waiting for me at NIWC when I’m done,” Ponce said. “It all started at City; I’ve been very blessed.”
Olena Shaber feels the same way. The Ukranian immigrant turned to the Mesa College Interior Design Program nearly a decade ago during the last economic downturn. “It was very hard to get a job,” she said. “So I decided to open my own business in interior design.” Today, Coronado Kitchen & Bath is thriving.
“Things slowed down in March a little bit when everything was closed, but it is much better now, there is a lot of remodeling going on, and business is very good,” said Shaber, who credited Mesa College for providing her with the keys to success.
Manuel Cortez, now working as a plumber, turned his life around through a partnership involving San Diego Continuing Education and the San Diego Rescue Mission that is transitioning homeless adults into the workforce and out of poverty. Cortez began his journey through Continuing Education’s College and Career Readiness classes to prepare for the rigorous curriculum in a certificate program that included learning how to inspect, troubleshoot, and repair water systems.
“At first it was hard to study,” said Cortez, who hadn’t been in a classroom since graduating from high school in 1990. “I didn’t remember my education at all and I had to get used to learning concepts again. But little by little, I started asking questions, I was going to class early, then I would go back to the Rescue Mission to review my notes.”
Landing a job allowed Cortez to stay at the Rescue Mission a bit longer, save money, and find stable housing.
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Wildlife Conservation Board faces controversial
proposal to allow construction on ecological preserve
The California Wildlife Conservation Board today will make what is likely to be its most controversial decision in more than 70 years of existence: whether to allow construction of a luxury housing development on a San Diego ecological reserve in Proctor Valley, home to a federally endangered butterfly, in exchange for several other parcels of land.
Further complicating matters, the board’s chairman, Chuck Bonham, won’t be voting — because he engineered the proposed land swap alongside the developer (GDCI Proctor Valley L.P.) and county officials, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Proponents say the land exchange will provide desperately needed housing and benefit the butterfly in the long run, while nearly 60 environmental groups say the proposal is illegal and will destroy the very habitat the state sought to protect. The contentious vote could set a major precedent for overturning restrictions on state-protected lands.
Dan Silver of the Endangered Habitats League: “To put suburban sprawl on ecological land is unheard of. Nothing vaguely like this has ever happened.”
John Donnelly, executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Board: “The exchange … is probably the smartest action we could take at this time.”
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Port of San Diego selects EDF Renewables for
microgrid installation at Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal
The Port of San Diego has awarded a contract to EDF Renewables North America to build a Microgrid Infrastructure Project at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.
The projecg, consisting of a battery storage system and electrical infrastructure, projects $3.2 million in energy savings for the Port during regular operations over 20 years, and aligns with California Government Code 4217 providing the best value to the Port. The system will provide emergency back-up power to the Port-operated facilities, including security infrastructure, lights, offices, and existing jet fuel storage system in support of the Port’s role as a strategic port.
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City Planning Commission supports
proposed short-term rental ordinance
By Dave Schwab | sdnews.com
The City Planning Commission on Dec. 3 voted 7-0 for a proposed short-term rental ordinance calling for licensing them, capping their numbers, and penalizing violators, while creating a City office to administer the new program while making it subject to annual review.
Commissioners also agreed to a “carve out” for Mission Beach, the community with the highest percentage of short-term rentals citywide, from the overall compromise plan offered by District 2 Councilmember Dr. Jennifer Campbell.
Campbell’s chief of staff Venus Molina testified the District 2 office felt it was necessary for Mission Beach to be dealt with separately from other City areas, because of its existing and historic preponderance of short-term rentals.
Reacting to the commission’s favorable decision, Campbell said in a released statement: “San Diegans have been ready for a plan that puts housing stock back on the market, provides licensing, regulation and enforcement in the short-term vacation rental space. This compromise provides a path forward toward a better San Diego providing more homes for San Diegans.
Read more…
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Diamonds may be award-winning physicist’s best friend
By Cynthia Dillon |UC San Diebo
The goal of superconductivity is to move charge currents through a material without resistance. This is important in physics and materials science for the future of low-power electronics and quantum technology.
For everyday purposes that translates to faster and more efficient laptops and cell phones. UC San Diego’s Chunhui Du is working toward this outcome using defects in diamonds to achieve quantum sensing.
Out of more than 200 proposals submitted to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the assistant professor of physics is one of 36 scientists and engineers from 27 research institutions and businesses in the U.S. whose creative, basic research proposal was recently selected for the Air Force’s Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) Award.
YIP seeks out individuals who show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research of military interest. Du was selected for her brand of “brilliance”—nanoscale quantum sensing, a technique developed by her and members of the Du Research Lab at UC San Diego.
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SoftBank Vision Fund leads new funding
round of $113.5 million for Flock Freight
The SoftBank Vision Fund is leading a new funding round of $113.5 million for the Solana Beach-based digital freight forwarder Flock Freight at a reported$500 million valuation. The round marks the biggest single round raised by Flock Freight since its inception and now brings the total amount of funding raised by the startup to nearly $200 million.
Flock Freight is a digital freight platform that links up customers looking to move their goods with trucking providers signed up on its platform. It’s similar to the many digital freight platforms that have emerged in recent years, including the likes of Uber Freight, Convoy, Next Trucking, and Loadsmart which itself recently raised a $90 million round led by the asset management firm BlackRock.
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Krista Smith joins Nuffer, Smith, Tucker as
account executive with expertise in agriculture
Krista Smith has joined Nuffer, Smith, Tucker as an account executive, bringing a decade of marketing communication experience to her role.
Smith has a passion for and extensive knowledge of California agriculture, including recently earning her master’s degree in public policy with an agricultural policy, narratives and framing emphasis. She also earned an agricultural communications minor as part of her bachelor’s degree in journalism.
She previously led consumer engagement efforts for the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, which included significant collaboration with the region’s wineries and growers. Most recently, Smith spent four years in public affairs and communications at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she oversaw the digital presence for the College of Liberal Arts and its 17 departments and programs.
At Nuffer, Smith, Tucker, Smith will support industry outreach for the California Citrus Pest & Disease Prevent Program, administered by California Department of Food Agriculture. She will focus on building partnerships with key allies, including growers, industry partners, research organizations, universities, farm bureaus and more. Smith aspires to build impactful relationships and encourage collaboration among industry partners.
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Mission Healthcare adds chief
operations officer and chief growth officer
San Diego-based Mission Healthcare, a regional home health, hospice, and palliative care provider, has added two new executives to its team: Chief Operations Officer JoAnn Mack and Chief Growth Officer Damien Weston.
JoAnn Mack, a veteran in the home health and hospice industry, has more than 30 years of health care operational experience, previously holding leadership positions at VNA Health of Santa Barbara, Vitas, and Interim Healthcare. As COO, Mack will spearhead initiatives maintaining the high standard of care provided by Mission Healthcare as they look to expand.
Weston will lead Mission Healthcare’s development teams and provide executive direction to champion the company’s continued momentum. “We are thrilled to put Damien at the helm of our expansion efforts. His experience will be integral to helping us scale strategically and expand our quality care offerings,” said Mission Healthcare CEO Paul Verhoeve said.
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Lori Weston to be elevated to partner
at San Diego law firm in February
is one of 15 attorneys from the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati who were elected as partners, effective on Feb. 1, 2021. She is based in San Diego.
Westin, specializing in patents and innovations, advises clients on patent-related matters, including strategic intellectual property counseling and patent prosecution.
Prior to practicing law, she was a research scientist at several companies and academic institutes.
Westin is the primary author of numerous scientific and legal publications, and she is an inventor on seven issued U.S. patents on microchip and DNA amplification technology. She received her J.D. from Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
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Price Club opens new warehouse
club in Bogotá, Colombia
San Diego-based PriceSmart Inc. held the grand opening of its new warehouse club in Bogotá, Colombia on Dec. 4, bringing to 47 the total number of warehouse clubs in operation. This warehouse club is located within the Usaquén locality, on the northern side of Bogotá, Colombia. The Usaquén Club is PriceSmart’s eighth warehouse club in Colombiaand the third in the greater metropolitan area of Bogotá.
The company also announced that for the month of November 2020, net merchandise sales increased 7.9 percent to $300 million from $278.1 million in November a year earlier. Foreign currency exchange fluctuations impacted net merchandise sales negatively by 3.4 percent, or $9.8 million, versus the same one-month period in the prior year.
