Daily Business Report: Thursday, July 8, 2021
California lawmakers tout big college spending,
but key items get zero dollars this year
By Mikhail Zinshteyn | CalMatters
Lawmakers are boasting about a massive infusion of funding in the new budget to help more Californians afford college and expand enrollment at public universities, including the most competitive. But all of those are unfunded promises.
None of that money will be available unless lawmakers and the governor agree next year to fund them.
The $515 million to create a debt-free grant for lower- and middle-income University of California and California State University students? The budget deal for the 2021-22 fiscal year dedicates not one dollar to it but will next year, “subject to an available and sufficient appropriation.”
The $149 million to fund 15,000 extra seats in 2022-23 for California residents at the UC and CSU? Not a dollar either.
For now, the budget language says the Legislature has “the intent” to provide funds next year, a departure from recent practice when the budget act provided money upfront to grow enrollment later.
Legislative staffers explain that their revenue projections show the state will be more cash-rich next year than this year. The move puts pressure on the systems to begin hiring more faculty without money in the bank ahead of an expected mandate to enroll more students.
PHOTO: Students on campus at Cal State San Marcos
JLL’s 2nd Quarter Office Report, in brief:
The market showed signs of resilience, experiencing the first quarter of positive net absorption since the first quarter of 2020, albeit the gains were minimal in the second quarter. Tenant interest remains divergent based on submarket and quality: the Class A segment posted 154,011 square feet net absorption, indicating a flight to quality for tech firms to lure top talent, while Class B underperformed. The largest second quarter net absorption gains were in Eastgate, Del Mar Heights and Rancho Bernardo fueled by tech growth.
Outlook: As companies make their way back to the office and rethink their return-to- office plans, leasing activity will continue to improve as stalled requirements due to the pandemic move forward, and sublease will continue to decline. Tenant requirements in the market for office and lab space has increased by 55 percent year-over-year to a record high of 7.6 million square feet, which should boost future leasing and improve net absorption by year-end.
South Bark Dog Wash co-founder featured
at SCORE Virtual Women’s Network Breakfast
Donna F. Walker is the co-founder of South Park’s award-winning South Bark Dog Wash and South Bark Professional Pet Products, will be the presenter at San Diego SCORE’s Virtual Women’s Networking Breakfast on Friday, July 16, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. online via Zoom, at a cost of $9.99.
Walker co-developed the product/process; “South Bark ‘s Blueberry Facial” and other successful private label items.
Her latest book is “The South Bark Blueberry Girls’ Guide to Success.” Walker holds degrees in Film/Video/Radio/ TV and Animal Health Technology. She retired honorably from the US Navy after 20 years as a chief photographers mate and filmmaker.
County launches Electric Vehicle Consumer Guide
The County of San Diego has created a new electric vehicle consumer guide website with information about benefits, costs, incentives — even a link to start shopping for vehicles.
The County’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Consumer Guide is the latest product of the EV Roadmap that the Board of Supervisors approved in 2019 to build charging stations, encourage people to buy electric vehicles, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Board of Supervisors also voted in January to work with UC San Diego to create a strategy to move the region to zero-carbon emissions by 2035.
“Electric vehicles could help our region move toward that zero-emission goal,” Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher said. “And electric vehicles are not science fiction, they’re a viable option for people. This EV Consumer Guide website has all the information people need to help them decide if driving an electric car is the right option for them.”
The website gives people a single spot where they can get a wealth of information about a wide range of topics.
UBS advisor Courtney Liddy named to Barron’s
Top 100 Women Financial Advisors list
Courtney Liddy, a managing director and financial adviser in UBS Wealth Management USA’s San Diego market, has been named to the Barron’s Top 100 Women Financial Advisors list for 2021. This is one of many recognitions Liddy has received in the past decade, including being named to the Barron’s Top 100 Women Financial Advisors list in 2011 and 2012.
Liddy holds the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor certification. She has been in the industry for over 25 years and with UBS since 2013, building a successful business focused on the dynamic needs of high-net-worth individuals, families, foundations, and businesses by using concentrated stock strategies, liability management, estate planning insights, and institutional money management.
Liddy serves on the national board of Humble Design, which furnishes homes of families emerging from homelessness, and has been an active member of charities such as ROCK and the Gary Sinise Foundation, which supports injured veterans, first responders, and their families. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California in finance with a minor in civil engineering.
The Barron’s Top 100 Women Financial Advisors list reflects assets under management, revenue the advisors generate for their firms, and the quality of their practices.
Nuvve expands vehicle-to-grid footprint
to help electrify school buses
Nuvve Holding Corp., a San Diego company that developed a vehicle-to-grid platform, has been selected as the energy technology provider that will enable school districts and utilities in San Diego and Durango, Colo. to accelerate the electrification of their school buses, further expanding Nuvve’s growing V2G network.
Reinforcing its leadership in this market, Nuvve’s proprietary V2G technology will create value for the customers of these deployments by lowering the total cost of ownership of electric school buses to be equal to or less than that of diesel school buses, the company said.
“We’re helping pave the way for more schools to rapidly electrify their fleets and for more regions to leverage EVs as distributed energy resources,” said Gregory Poilasne, chairman and CEO of Nuvve. “These school districts aren’t just electrifying their fleets; they’re demonstrating that their immediate needs and budget constraints can be addressed through our V2G technology and intelligent bidirectional energy management to create cleaner and healthier rides for students.”
SBA hosts National SBIR Week to connect
tech innovators with research funding
The U.S. Small Business Administration will host 2021 National SBIR Week on July 19 through July 23 for small business innovators. The virtual event will connect entrepreneurs working on advanced technology to the country’s largest source of early-stage funding – the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman will provide welcome remarks on July 19.
“The $4 billion in federal non-dilutive funding offered through SBA’s SBIR/STTR programs is often a critical milestone in moving an entrepreneur’s research idea from concept to commercial product/services. This national conference will enable entrepreneurs across the country to engage virtually with the federal program managers that oversee more than 7,000 awards annually,” said John Williams, director of Innovation and Technology.
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
adds Wynter L. Deagle as a partner
Wynter L. Deagle has joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the Intellectual Property practice group and will be a member of its Privacy and Cybersecurity team.
Deagle was most recently a partner at Troutman Pepper, where she was office managing partner of the San Diego office. She is the 13th lateral partner to join Sheppard Mullin in 2021.
Deagle represents companies in the courtroom when they face new and unsettled issues found at the intersection of law, technology, and innovation. A Certified Information Privacy Professional and experienced trial attorney, Deagle specializes in defending clients from privacy and cybersecurity-related consumer class actions, business disputes, regulatory investigations, and enforcement actions. I
Deagle also represents clients in complex commercial litigation, including claims involving the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, California’s Unfair Competition Law, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and other business claims.
She received her B.A. from Roger Williams University and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.
Scripps Family Medicine Residency Program
to receive $2.85 million in grant funding
The Scripps Mercy Family Medicine Residency Program has been selected to receive $2.85 million in grant funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The residency program will use the funds over the next five years to develop and implement initiatives to enhance physician training in family medicine obstetrics and maternal and child health along the U.S.-Mexico border of San Diego and Imperial counties.
The Scripps training program is one of 31 medical residency programs in the U.S. recently selected as an award recipient in HRSA’s highly competitive grant funding opportunity, which was open to primary care residency programs nationwide.
“This new funding will play a vital role in expanding our efforts to make an even greater impact on the health and well-being of our underserved communities,” said Ghazala Sharieff, M.D., MBA, Scripps Health chief medical officer for acute care, clinical excellence and experience.
With the grant funding, Scripps aims to increase the number of primary care physicians trained in public health, enhanced obstetrical care and general preventive medicine with maternal health care expertise.
Athletic Brewing Company receives $50 million
to finance new East Coast brewery
San Diego’s Athletic Brewing Company announced it has closed a $50 million funding round that will fuel a major investment in a larger East Coast brewery less than a year after opening its 150,000-barrel brewery in San Diego. The round was led by long-time investors and board members Alliance Consumer Growth and TRB Advisors.
Also participating were athletes, entrepreneurs, and celebrity investors Blake Mycoskie, David Chang, Lance Armstrong, Darren Rovell, Justin Tuck, and multiple-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year JJ Watt.
Many of the partners have been immersed in the company since its earliest days. Other supporters include Tastemaker Capital, Benevolent Capital, and Wheelhouse.
In addition to a new East Coast brewery, Athletic will use a portion of the capital to strengthen its community, inside and outside of the company. The company now employs over 150 people in 32 states and D.C.
XIFIN acquires Computerized Management Services
San Diego-based XIFINannounced the acquisition of Computerized Management Services, a provider of revenue cycle management services for radiology groups and imaging centers.
The company said the acquisition builds on XIFIN’s RCM leadership and footprint across the diagnostic industry, providing health care organizations with specialized solutions and services that streamline and optimize the billing process, improve claims management, and provide leaders with greater business visibility.
The combined organization will provide health care technology services across diagnostic markets — including radiology, pathology, oncology, digital health, and laboratory.
The acquisition positions XIFIN firmly in the diagnostic imaging market, estimated to be over $100 billion in the U.S., the company said. It doubles the company’s total available market when combined with its existing diagnostics business.
