Daily Business Report: Wednesday, June 23, 2021
San Diego region is drought-safe
this summer
Strategic investments and water-use efficiency
mean no shortages or mandates in forecast
The San Diego County Water Authority announced that the region is protected from drought impacts this summer, and through 2045, despite continued hot and dry conditions. “No shortages or regional water-use mandates are in the forecast, the result of three decades of strategic investments that create an aquatic safety net for San Diego County’s $253 billion economy and quality of life for 3.3 million residents,” the agency said.
“Thank you San Diegans for everything you have done to make sure that we have enough water to meet the region’s needs now and for decades into the future,” said Wather Authority board chair Gary Croucher. “You have invested through your water bills and your water-smart practices, and those efforts are paying off in tangible ways. The key this summer is to stay water-smart.”
In the early 1990s, the county’s economy was crippled by drought, suffering 13 straight months of 31 percent supply cutbacks from the Water Authority’s wholesale water provider, the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which controlled almost all of San Diego County’s water.
Today, the picture is much different: The region’s diversified water supply portfolio includes highly reliable, locally controlled and drought-proof supplies from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant and the nation’s largest conservation-and-transfer agreement, which provides high-priority, low-cost water from the Colorado River. The combination offers significant protection against droughts and other emergencies.
PHOTO: San Vicente Dam and Reservoir
An Illustrated Guide to the Recall Election
Want to quickly get up-to-speed on efforts to recall California governor Gavin Newsom? This illustrated guide will walk you through it. Click here
Regent Properties, a real estate investment and development firm, has acquired a portfolio of four high-rise commercial office buildings in Downtown San Diego for $420 million.
The properties, 1 Columbia Place, 701 B Street, 2 Columbia Place, and 707 Broadway, represent a combined total of 1.5 million square feet of commercial space, or approximately 16 percent of all Class A/B office inventory in Downtown. The transaction reflects a price of $281 per square foot. The portfolio also includes the 6th & A Parking Garage.
Prior to Regent’s acquisition, the previous owner had extensively renovated the portfolio’s common areas, including upgraded lobbies and outdoor amenities. Regent plans to augment these renovations with additional hospitality-oriented improvements which focus on tenant engagement and include activating new fitness and conference centers, eateries, and community gathering places such as outdoor terraces and wine lounges.
Border Report: California reopened, but the border did not
California reopened last week, but the border remains closed to non-essential travel. And there is no timeline for when it might reopen.
The Trump administration first restricted non-essential travel in March 2020, with the stated purpose to slow the spread of COVID-19. Now that vaccination rates are on the rise and infection rates on the decline, that original reason behind the closure becomes less justified.
Meanwhile, businesses along San Ysidro continue to shut down and hundreds of thousands of people whose lives cross the border continue to be impacted by the Biden administration’s decision to keep it closed.
The indefinite nature of these non-essential travel restrictions is also frustrating members of Congress. Last month, a group of bipartisan lawmakers wrote a letter to the Department of Homeland Security asking for a roadmap toward the reopening of the border. The same group wrote an identical letter back in October 2020 that seems to have been ignored.
RDC San Diego signs lease at historically
significant Hillcrest building
Architectural design firm RDC is moving to the Design Center in the Hillcrest neighborhood. The firm has signed a lease in a mid-century multi-tenant office building at 3611 Fifth Avenue.
Designed by architect Lloyd Ruocco, the 1949 building is designated by the City of San Diego as a Historical Resource Site. It is known as an architecturally significant landmark in the urban San Diego area. Now, the only vacancy remaining is a 2,700-square-foot space with polished concrete floors and a wrap-around window line.
The Design Center property was a personal work for Ruocco, an acclaimed architect who designed the complex as his studio, home, and office. High exposed ceilings with extra-large windows wrap the three-story building, giving it all-day natural light.
The 1,100-square-foot space was listed for lease by Kidder Mathews Vice President Jeff Gilbert, who also represented the landlord
Hugo Villar selected as the next dean
of UC San Diego Extension
Hugo O. Villar, associate dean for professional and continuing education at UC San Diego Extension, has been selected as the next dean of UC San Diego Extension after a nationwide search, effective July 1, 2021.
Villar will succeed Dean Mary Lindenstein Walshok, who will be stepping down in order to focus exclusively on UC San Diego‘s innovative initiative UC San Diego Park and Market, a major center of activity in downtown San Diego slated to open in 2022.
Previously, Villar worked in the biotech industry at the interface between chemistry and information technologies to speed up the development of new therapeutic agents. He joined UC San Diego Extension in 2008 as an academic adviser and has served in a leadership position for more than a decade.
In his current role, Villar oversees professional and continuing education programs, the Center for Research and Evaluation, online learning operations, custom and corporate education programs, and self-supporting master’s degree programs, with a budget of $25 million and a staff of 80 employees, including academic personnel.
MedCrypt and Greenlight Guru partner to provide
cybersecurity solutions for medical devices
MedCrypt, an Encinitas-based health care cybersecurity developer, and Greenlight Guru, a medical device software company, have formed a partnership to simplify the way medical device solution providers collaborate and increase the security posture of life-saving technologies.
MedCrypt’s cybersecurity software paired with Greenlight Guru’s eQMS solutions offer medical device manufacturers both proactive security features and ongoing quality management services to ensure better security preparedness.
According to a 2021 IBM Security Report, cyberattacks on health care, manufacturing, and energy doubled in 2020 from the previous year, disrupting medical efforts and critical supply chains.
Under this new mutual referral agreement formed by Greenlight Guru and MedCrypt, the two companies will refer prospective clients to one another and co-market their cybersecurity software solutions, consulting, and quality management services to ensure clients understand and meet the FDA’s requirements.
Biocept to collaborate with Quest Diagnostics
to provide liquid biopsy testing for lung cancer patients
San Diego-based Biocept Inc.,a provider of molecular diagnostic assays, products and services, announced a collaboration with Quest Diagnostics to provide laboratory testing services to Quest patients for its Target Selector NGS-based liquid biopsy targeted lung cancer panel. Quest Diagnostics is the leading provider of diagnostic information services, including in advanced diagnostics.
The Biocept Target Selector NGS-based liquid biopsy assay is a less invasive, lab developed test that can be used for genomic profiling in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to help qualify them for advanced targeted therapies and monitor the effectiveness of treatment. With a physician order, patients will be able to provide a blood specimen for testing at one of Quest’s 2,200 conveniently located patient service centers across the United States. The two parties expect the service to be available to Quest Diagnostics’ providers and patients in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Acimoto to showcase Fun Utility Vehicle and
Deliverator at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Arcimoto Inc., makers of fun, affordable, and ultra-efficient electric vehicles for everyday drivers and fleets, announced that it will showcase the Fun Utility Vehicle and Deliverator during the 2021 Electric Mobility Symposium being held at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on June 24.
Alongside Beam, creators of the world’s fastest deployed solar EV Arc chargers; JuiceBar, makers of the most powerful Level 2 EV chargers on the market; and TESIAC, a Managed Services Platform that delivers Infrastructure-as-a-Service to public and private entities, Arcimoto will demonstrate the potential for shared fleets of ultra-efficient EVs to be deployed on military bases, in smart cities, and beyond.
The 2021 Electric Mobility Symposium begins at 9 a.m. at MCAS Miramar,and will feature key government leaders discussing changing policies and plans for electric mobility.
The latest technologies with industry-leading organizations will showcase the latest in what is possible for use on and off base, both now and in the near future. MCAS Miramar is a leader in infrastructure electrification and mobility, with 5G-enabled networks, microgrids with multiple renewable energy sources, and autonomous vehicle proving grounds. Visit the official event page here.
SDG&E launches matching fund program
for teachers to support anti-racism at schools
To support educators’ ongoing efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in their classrooms and at their schools, San Diego Gas & Electric has established a new grant program with $250,000 in shareholder funding. Teachers who request anti-racism learning materials through the nonprofit crowdfunding platform DonorsChoose, will have donations to their projects matched with $2 for every $1 that they raise.
While SDG&E has provided matching funds to teachers via the DonorsChoose platform for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education projects for the past three years, the anti-racism initiative is the first of its kind for the company and for the region. This initiative is in addition to SDG&E’s DonorsChoose STEM matching fund program, which will launch this summer.
The SDG&E anti-racism initiative will provide matching funds for teachers’ classroom projects focused on addressing implicit bias and racism and promoting diversity and inclusion.
To apply, teachers can visit this website.
