Daily Business Report-Jan. 8, 2021
Source: Vincos.it, Alexa, SimilarWeb
Mapping Each Country’s Most Popular Social Network
From just a few thousand users in 2004 to 2.7 billion monthly active users (MAUs) in 2020, Facebook is by far the world’s largest social network.
But its massive global footprint didn’t grow overnight. While Facebook is the most popular social network in many countries, this traction didn’t happen overnight. And in other places, it still hasn’t quite taken off.
To see Facebook’s path to domination, we mapped each country’s most popular social network from 2008‒2020. The data was tabulated by Vincenzo Cosenza at Vincos.it by examining annual traffic data from Alexa and SimilarWeb.
Facebook Grows From the Americas to Southeast Asia
What famously started as Mark Zuckerberg’s late-night intoxicated project called Facemash—a “hot or not” type website for students at Harvard University—soon evolved into the world’s predominant social network.
Before 2008, the social network landscape was populated by social network pioneers such as Myspace and Hi5. Google’s Orkut was the most popular network in Brazil and India, and Friendster found a foothold in Southeast Asia.
But the Facebook wave came in earnest. By 2009, the social media giant took the title of most popular network for the bulk of the Americas, Europe, South Asia, and Oceania, with Orkut in Brazil being the sole holdout until 2011.
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General Atomics selected
for Skyborg Vanguard Program
General Atomics Aeronautical SystemsInc. (GA-ASI) has been selected by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to support the Skyborg Vanguard Program. Skyborg will become the foundation of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning autonomous capabilities for a family of future USAF unmanned combat aerial vehicles.
“GA-ASI is excited to continue working with the Air Force to advance the Skyborg concept,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “Our ongoing investments in advancing unmanned systems over the past 30 years provide a critical advantage for fast-tracking development time and reducing overall program risk.”
GA-ASI will modify two of its company-owned Avenger Remotely Piloted Aircraft with upgraded datalinks and the core Skyborg System Design Agent software, as well as other payloads. These Avengers will then be used as part of various experimentation events in 2021 and 2022, which will enable manned aircraft to control Avengers while in flight and relay specific information between the manned and unmanned aircraft. Flights will be conducted from GA-ASI flight centers in Southern California.
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County Supervisor Nora Vargas
appointed to Airport Authority board
County Supervisor Nora Vargas has been appointed to the board of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, replacing former Supervisor Greg Cox. The Airport Authority, which operates San Diego International Airport, is governed by a nine-member board whose members are appointed by elected officials representing all areas of San Diego County.
Vargas was recently elected to the District 1 Supervisorial seat, which includes the airport.
She currently serves as vice chair of the Board of Supervisors. She formerly served on Southwestern College’s Governing Board of Trustees and was vice president of community and government relations for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest.
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Medical diagnostic company acquires Carlsbad
industrial building for $4.17 million
Drapeau Family Enterprises LLC has paid $4.17 million for a freestanding 20,329-square-foot industrial building located at 2721 Loker Ave. West in Carlsbad. Drapeau Family Enterprises will occupy the building for its medical diagnostic company CLIAwaived.
JLL’s Chris Baumgart and Steven Field represented the seller, J & L Venture Group LLC, in the transaction. Drapeau Family Enterprises LLC was represented by Todd Holley of Voit Real Estate.
“This will be the second location for CLIAwaived as it also has a facility in Sorrento Valley. The company chose this building because of its premier location in North San Diego County and the quality of the building,” said Baumgart.
According to JLL’s Third Quarter San Diego Industrial Insights Report, industrial continues to be the darling product post COVID-19 with e-commerce, 3PL and medical device industries being responsible for much of the demand.
The 2721 Loker Avenue West building features three grade level loading doors, 800 amps of power, 49 parking spaces and a create modern office layout with a grand reception area.
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New clues why gold standard treatment for bipolar
disorder doesn’t work for majority of patients
Lithium is considered the gold standard for treating bipolar disorder (BD), but nearly 70 percent of people with BD don’t respond to it. This leaves them at risk for debilitating, potentially life-threatening mood swings. Researchers at the Salk Institute have found that the culprit may lie in gene activity—or lack of it.
A new study led by Salk Professor and President Rusty Gage, which published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry on Jan. 4, 2021, shows that decreased activation of a gene called LEF1 disrupts ordinary neuronal function and promotes hyperexcitability in brain cells—a hallmark of BD. The work could result in a new drug target for BD as well as a biomarker for lithium nonresponsiveness.
“Only one-third of patients respond to lithium with disappearance of the symptoms,” says Renata Santos, co-first author on the study and a Salk research collaborator. “We were interested in the molecular mechanisms behind lithium resistance, what was blocking lithium treatment in nonresponders. We found that LEF1 was deficient in neurons derived from nonresponders. We were excited to see that it was possible to increase LEF1 and its dependent genes, making it a new target for therapeutic intervention in BD.”
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Former PR agency founder Melissa Rue
joins Nuffer, Smith, Tucker
Nuffer, Smith, Tucker is expanding its leadership team with the addition of longtime PR veteran and former PR agency founder Melissa Rue.
Formally Melissa Burns, Rue brings more than 20 years of public relations experience to her account director role, including 13 years directing client services and strategic planning for the mobile technology boutique PR agency she co-founded, Mobility Public Relations, which was acquired in 2018. A graduate of San Jose State University’s Bachelor of Science Public Relations program, Rue has driven PR success for household brands from Amazon and Dolby Laboratories, to Hewlett-Packard and Sony Electronics.
“At NST, we constantly aim to push ourselves, our industry and profession to explore, and Melissa brings expertise, a fresh perspective and a business-minded approach to do just that and immediately move the needle for NST’s present and future clients,” said NST President and Partner Teresa Siles. “Expanding our team with strong additions like Melissa actively propels our vision to ‘redefine PR.’”
“In addition to her client-focused work, Melissa will also play a key role in driving the next evolution of NST’s strategic plan, focused on serving not only our clients, but also our team, through mentorship, professional development and continuous learning opportunities,” addedSiles.
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San Diego city attorney prosecuting
fewer domestic violence cases
As victims of domestic violence find themselves in circumstances made more dire by the coronavirus pandemic, the San Diego city attorney is prosecuting fewer and fewer of their cases. Voice of San Diego’s Ashly McGlone dove into the data, and found domestic violence prosecutions dropped 15 percent between 2019 and 2020, though the number of cases actually reported only dropped by about 13 percent. Monthly prosecutions of the last decade were at its highest in 2015, preceding City Attorney Mara Elliott’s tenure, when the office tackled 94 per month.
This decline comes at a time when victim support centers are seeing a surge in calls. The impacts of COVID-19, like isolation and job loss, make it that much harder for victims to leave abusive relationships.
Elliott’s office said part of the reason is there are hundreds of cases still pending review, and prosecutors have one to five years to actually file charges on the crime. Another reason, a spokeswoman for Elliott claimed, is it’s become harder to secure convictions because juries are asking for video evidence of the crime to turn a guilty verdict more than before.
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Governor wants extra $600
stimulus for low-wage Californians
By Nigel Duara | CalMatters
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to double stimulus aid by putting an additional $600 into the hands of low-wage Californians, and extend the state’s eviction moratorium, which is set to expire at the end of the month.
The Democratic governor announced the two proposals today as part of his upcoming budget for 2021. Newsom made a virtual appearance with Democratic lawmakers in a show of support to target aid to low-income families that have been most financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic. He said he would ask lawmakers to pass urgency legislation in order to get stimulus checks out much sooner than the mid-year budget deadline.
“We don’t want to wait until July,” Newsom said. “We want some immediate actions to distribute $2.4 billion in what we call the Golden State stimulus. This is our version of what the federal government just did. But we want, instead of $600 checks landing in people’s pockets based upon what the feds just did, we want to double that. We want to get $1,200 into people’s pockets.”
Newsom also proposed distributing a total of $2.6 billion in federal rental relief dollars to low-income renters and small landlords.
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Alaska Airlines adds two new
routes from Southern California
Alaska Airlines announced two new routes from its key hubs in San Diego and Los Anfgeles that will begin flying this spring. The airline will launch daily, nonstop service between Los Angeles (LAX) and Austin on March 18, with an increase to three daily departures on May 20. Daily, nonstop service between San Diego and New York JFK starts on April 4.
“Southern California is an integral part of Alaska’s network and continues to offer valuable opportunities for selective expansion,” said Brett Catlin, Alaska Airlines vice president of network and alliances. “These two new routes enhance our guest proposition in Southern California while providing valuable connectivity to our global partners as we join oneworld on March 31.”
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Father Joe’s Villages joins Health Center
Partners of Southern California
Father Joe’s Villages has joined Health Center Partners of Southern California (HCP), a consortium providing health care policy, advocacy, technical assistance and training, and programs and services to community health centers and other safety net partners.
Health Center Partners of Southern California, a family of companies, includes a 17-membership organization of Federally Qualified Health Centers, Indian Health Services Organizations, both urban and sovereign, and Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, collectively serving 966,000 patients each year, for 3.7 million patient visits each year, at 160 practice sites across San Diego, Riverside, Imperial counties, with the seventh largest provider group in the region.
“Our decision to join HCP is based largely on the strength we get by learning, growing, and working with other health centers in southern California,” said Dr. Jeffrey Norris, chief medical officer, Father Joe’s Villages. “Through collaboration, we elevate the health and well-being of everyone in our region. Together, we can build a brighter future for all.”
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The Healing Center San Diego
acquired by Columbia Care Inc.
Columbia Care Inc. has acquired The Healing Center San Diego, one of the leading dispensaries in Southern California, for approximately $15 million.
An accretive transaction for shareholders, total consideration includes $3 million in cash, $6 million in Columbia Care stock and $6 million in seller promissory notes.
Excluding any revenue or margin synergies, the purchase price represents approximately 1.2x and 4.7x estimated 2021 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, respectively. Since its founding, The Healing Center has consistently generated revenue growth, as well as positive Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow.
THCSD, founded by Ray Taylor and Jim Dickinson, opened its doors in 2016 as one of the first dispensaries to operate in San Diego, a limited license market. Offering a wide selection of products, high touch customer service, outstanding access and an expanded sales floor that will be open soon, THCSD continually receives some of the highest online customer ratings in California’s second largest metropolitan market.