Daily Business Report: Thursday, June 24, 2021
Will California’s eviction moratorium
be extended beyond June 30?
Lawmakers could finish haggling over details this week
By Manuela Tobias | CalMatters
For the third time during the pandemic, California legislators have pushed off a huge, looming question to the last minute: Will the state shield tenants from eviction?
The answer, most likely, is yes, but for how long and under what terms is still up in the air.
Without a planned floor session Friday, the vote would now most likely occur on Monday — two days before eviction protections are set to expire, after June 30. That would mean putting a plan to paper by Friday at the latest, as bills need to be in print for 72 hours before they can be voted on.
Rental assistance is the key here: The state has been doling out $2.6 billion it’s sitting on at a snail’s pace, while figuring out what to do with an additional $2.6 billion from the federal government.
Since Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature passed the last round of eviction protections in late January, the state has distributed only about $50 million of its $1.4 billion pot, and received applications for only about half of that money. While centralized data is unavailable for the cities’ and counties’ $1.2 billion share, there are similar reports of a slow rollout.
PHOTO: Demonstrators calling for lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to pass rent forgiveness and stronger eviction protections carry a mock casket past the state Capitol in Sacramento on Jan. 25, 2021. (Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo)
New Chemistry and Biotechnology building to be
built at MiraCosta Community College District
National architecture and engineering firm HED and California contractor C.W. Driver have begun work on a new Chemistry and Biotechnology laboratory building for the MiraCosta Community College District (MCCD). The building is sited on the northeast quadrant of the college’s Oceanside campus.
The $37.4 million project, crafted through a design-build partnership between HED and C.W. Driver, will include 24,000 square feet of state-of-the-art STEM instructional space for 21st century learning, including new chemistry labs and 40-person, flexible classrooms. As MCCD’s Biotechnology Program continues to expand and its baccalaureate degree comes online, the building will provide a new, expanded home for the program.
The project will be a major component of the school’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) quad and plaza.
USD receives $1.8 million grant to expand Behavioral
Health Workforce Education and Training program
The University of San Diego was awarded a $1.86 million grant for the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) program. The federal grant, provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), aims to ease the workforce shortage by training behavioral health providers from multiple disciplines who are able to serve children, adolescents, adults, and families from diverse backgrounds—particularly those in underserved communities.
“The majority of the grant funding will go directly to graduate students to support their education as they complete their clinical placements, providing behavioral health services in the San Diego community,” said Florencia Lebensohn-Chialvo, project lead and assistant professor of marital and family therapy.
In addition to the student stipends, the funding from this grant will support the development and evaluation of innovative training methods.
Iris and Matthew Strauss give $2 million to
endow faculty chair at UC San Diego
Iris and Matthew Strauss, longtime supporters of cancer research and patient care at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, have given $2 million to establish the Iris and Matthew Strauss Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Head and Neck Surgery to support excellence in research, education and clinical care.
Joseph Califano, professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, has been named the inaugural chair holder.
“The uniqueness of Dr. Joe Califano is that he is a total care physician-scientist who follows patients’ health far beyond his surgical skills and is a net-worker par excellence,” said Matthew Strauss.
As director of the Head and Neck Cancer Center and physician-in-chief at Moores Cancer Center, Califano has translated multiple discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic, including the application of sequencing technologies to create an early detection method for human papillomavirus (HPV)-related and other head and neck cancers.
Machine learning enhances non-verbal
communication in online classrooms
Researchers in the Center for Research on Entertainment and Learning (CREL) at the University of California San Diego have developed a system to analyze and track eye movements to enhance teaching in tomorrow’s virtual classrooms – and perhaps future virtual concert halls.
UC San Diego music and computer science professor Shlomo Dubnov, an expert in computer music who directs the Qualcomm Institute-based CREL, began developing the new tool to deal with a downside of teaching music over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In a music classroom, non-verbal communication such as facial affect and body gestures is critical to keep students on task, coordinate musical flow and communicate improvisational ideas,” said Dubnov. “Unfortunately, this non-verbal aspect of teaching and learning is dramatically hampered in the virtual classroom where you don’t inhabit the same physical space.”
To overcome the problem, Dubnov and Ph.D. student Ross Greer published a conference paper on a system that uses eye tracking and machine learning to allow an educator to make “eye contact” with individual students or performers in disparate locations – and lets each student know when he or she is the focus of the teacher’s attention.
Steven Otto joins real estate law firm
Crosbie Gliner as partner
Steven Otto has joined Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP, a real estate law firm, as partner. Previously a senior attorney with Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, he joins the firm’s general real estate practice and will be based in the firm’s San Diego offices.
Otto’s expertise with major projects spans the acquisition, development, leasing, licensing and sale of office, industrial and retail portfolios, power plants and mixed-use office/retail projects. In addition, he has negotiated master developer and merchant builder agreements as well as private party development agreements for retail shopping complexes and residential developments.
His clients have included international firms and public companies, REITs, developers and private joint ventures, and he has played a key role supporting one of the largest nuclear power generating sites in the country.
Prior to joining CGS3, Otto worked for several top tier San Diego law firms, including Latham and Watkins and Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps (now Dentons), where he became a partner.
He holds an M.B.A. from the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego, a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the United States Naval Academy.
Barret Bradley joins Newmark Merrill Companies
as VP of acquisitions and development
Newmark Merrill Companies Inc., a Woodland Hills-based retail shopping center owner, announced the addition of Barret Bradley as vice president of acquisitions & development for the company’s San Diego division.
In his role, Bradley is responsible for sourcing and overseeing acquisitions of existing retail properties in addition to identifying and managing new development projects within San Diego County, South Orange County, and South Riverside County.
Prior to joining Newmark Merrill, Bradley worked on the Development & Acquisitions team at CenterCal Properties, where he was involved in over $400 million of ground-up development projects in California. At CenterCal, Bradley oversaw the entitlement, construction and stabilization of 2nd & PCH, a 215,000 square foot waterfront retail destination in Long Beach. He also served on CenterCal’s investment committee, evaluating and analyzing new opportunities for the company.
Before joining CenterCal, Bradley worked in a variety of roles at Site Centers, one of the largest publicly traded retail property REITs, and progressed through roles in the property and asset management departments before working on their West Coast acquisitions team.
He graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth with a B.S. in finance.
Southwest Airlines to add nonstop service
to Bozeman, Mont. from San Diego
Southwest Airlines announced it will add nonstop service to Bozeman, Mont. via Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport from San Diego International Airport beginning Nov. 23.
Southwest Airlines has also announced it will resume nonstop service to New Orleans, La. via Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport beginning Nov. 7. The resumption comes after Southwest Airlines suspended service in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pre-COVID-19, the airline offered daily nonstop flights.
“Montana has become a popular destination since the state offers an abundance of outdoor winter recreation activities and several national parks,” said Kimberly Becker, President and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
New Orleans is known for its annual Mardi Gras celebration, restaurants serving up Southern favorites, and music.
Construction employment declines in 40
states as soaring materials costs impede recovery
National construction employment in May remained below the April level in 40 states and the District of Columbia, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data. Association officials said skyrocketing materials prices and excessive delays in receiving key construction supplies were holding back the industry’s recovery.
“Today’s numbers show that impacts from the pandemic on demand for projects and on materials costs and the supply chain are weighing down construction in most parts of the country,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “In the few states where industry employment has topped the pre-pandemic levels of February 2020, most gains are likely attributable more to demand for homebuilding and remodeling than to most categories of nonresidential building and infrastructure projects.”
Survey ranks Rady Children’s Hospital
among nation’s top in all pediatric specialties
For the fifth year in a row, U.S. News & World Replrt ranked Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego among the top children’s hospitals in the nation in all 10 pediatric specialties surveyed. The Hospital’s Neonatology program was ranked as No. 5 in country, its Orthopedics program as No. 8, and its Urology program as No. 10.
This is the first time Rady Children’s has had three specialties rank in the top 10. A total of seven specialties were ranked among the top 20 in the nation.
U.S. News introduced the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings in 2007 to help families of children with rare or life-threatening illnesses find the best medical care available. The rankings are the most comprehensive source of quality-related information on U.S. pediatric hospitals.
San Diego Air & Space Museum to host
50th anniversary of Apollo 15 mission
The San Diego Air & Space Museum will host the official Apollo 15 50th Anniversary event on Saturday, July 31, calling the mission “The most complex and carefully planned scientific expedition in the history of exploration.” the celebration takes place at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park.
“This is an incredible opportunity to see and hear from the men who took part in the most extensive in-person exploration of the lunar surface, a goal of humankind from time immemorial,” said Jim Kidrick, president and CEO of the museum. “Apollo 15 is a true milestone in the quest for knowledge and scientific discovery, and we are thrilled to be the only home to this amazing reunion.”
A limited number of tickets to this event are on sale at https://sandiegoairandspace.org/apollo15
