Daily Business Report: Friday, Sept. 3, 2021
Chula Vista is building a real-time crime center
Drones and license plate readers are mere pieces of a bigger project
By Jesse Marx | Voice of San Diego
Chula Vista has come under criticism over the last year for its use of new technologies, but it turns out those efforts — drones, license plate readers — were just pieces of a larger plan to become a model of policing in the 21st Century.
Long term, the city is constructing an intelligence-gathering operation with the help of a corporation that bills itself as the “eyes and ears” of emergency responders.
It will be a real-time crime center, which despite escaping the attention of the public at large, is not unique. At least 80 police departments around the country, according to one group of researchers, have built technology hubs where sworn officers and analysts can monitor what’s happening around town through displays of various video and information streams.
In December, the Chula Vista Police Department asked the City Council to waive the city’s traditional bidding process and sign a contract with Motorola Solutions “to create situational awareness” by bringing “disparate systems and data” — including camera feeds, dispatch and mapping software, jail records, drones and license plate readers — “into a single interface.” A staff report stated that one of the purposes of partnering with the company was the delivery of “more actionable intelligence” to help the city leverage its current investments in technology.
TOP PHOTO: Chula Vista Police Capt. Don Redmond shows drone footage that helped officers capture a suspect during a recent arrest. / Photo by Adriana Heldiz
That student in a community college class could be a bot
CalMatters
As it turns out, California’s unemployment department isn’t the only target for fraudsters.
In what experts are calling one of the state’s biggest financial aid scam attempts in recent history, California’s commumity college system has identified more than 65,000 fraudulent aid applications that appear to have been filed by bots posing as students — and who are likely seeking to capitalize on $1.75 billion in federal relief funds earmarked for the Golden State’s community college students. At least 10 districts or individual colleges have seen increases in fake applications, registrations, financial aid filings or some combination of the three, according to a CalMatters investigation.
Though it’s unclear how much, if any, aid was paid to fraudulent students, the bots are wreaking havoc in other ways: they’re blocking real students from being admitted, they’re filling up classes and preventing real students from enrolling, and they’re demoralizing faculty and students.
Trumark Homes unveils plans to build
four new home neighborhoods in Oceanside
Trumark Homes, a California-based homebuilder, announced plans to develop Melrose Heights, a planned community of four new home neighborhoods in Oceanside.
Melrose Heights’ neighborhoods will feature detached single-family homes and two- and three-story townhomes ranging in size from 1,175 square feet to 2,416 square feet. The homes will offer a wide choice of floor plans, from a two-bedroom, two-bath design to one featuring five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Models for the four neighborhoods – titled Sunset, Neptune, Harbor and Strand – are expected to open in early 2022. Prices are anticipated to range from the low $500,000s to the low $800,000s.
Shore House at The Del, resort real estate
property at Hotel del Coronado, is sold out
Shore House at The Del, the new resort real estate property at Hotel del Coronado, announced that it is 100 percent sold out, with all 75 luxury residences now placed under firm contract. Public sales for Shore House launched five weeks ago on July 22, 2021, following an pre-sales period resulting in nearly 85 percent of the available residences placed under contract.
Scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2022, Shore House represents the final piece of the Hotel del Coronado’s $400 Million Master Plan, a multi-year, multi-phase reimagination of the legendary hotel, located across the bay from Downtown San Diego on one of America’s most iconic beaches. Celebrating its 133-year anniversary in 2021, the resort has hosted royalty and U.S. presidents as guests, and served as the sun-drenched backdrop for “Some Like It Hot” with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.
Cal State San Marcos program gets $6 million
grant to help student veterans get energy careers
An innovative program at Cal State San Marcos that helps student veterans discover careers in sustainable energy has received a grant of $6 million from the U.S. Department of Defense. The grant to Veterans to Energy Careers (VTEC) from the Office of Naval Research covers three years at double the amount of funding that established the program at CSUSM in 2018.
The substantial increase in grant money is a reflection of the success that VTEC has enjoyed in placing student veterans into internships that lead to energy careers as well as a desire by ONR to expand the program to a wider swath of the country.
The original grant of $3 million required VTEC to place at least 30 student veterans into internships at any given time. Under the terms of the new grant, which began Aug. 1, that reach has increased to 50 internships.
Simultaneously, VTEC, which mainly has been connecting universities with sites at naval bases on the West Coast and in Hawaii, will work to broaden its reach to the Eastern seaboard.
Nonprofits to donate $900,00 worth of medical
care to children and teens with physical deformities
Fresh Start Surgical Gifts and Fresh Start Caring for Kids will donate $900,000 worth of transformative medical care for 60 children and teens combined during their Surgery Weekend in San Diego and Chicago. Patients in San Diego will be receiving surgery at Rady Children’s Hospital Sept. 11-12. Sept. 18-19, children will receive specialized surgery at Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Both hospitals are highly ranked in the U.S.
Fresh Start is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the lives of disadvantaged youth with physical deformities by providing comprehensive reconstructive surgery at no cost at all to the patient and their family. The medical personnel, comprised of world-renowned surgeons and their staff, generously donate their time and talent to deliver much-needed medical care and give these children a chance to lead a life beyond their condition.
San Diego County Bar Association
to host inaugural Leadership Academy
The San Diego County Bar Association (SDCBA) will host its inaugural Leadership Academy in January 2022 as part of its ongoing efforts to train lawyers to be effective, service-oriented role models and leaders. The initiative aims to provide hands-on leadership opportunities to a diverse group of lawyers from a variety of practice areas and personal and professional backgrounds, and is the first and only program of its kind focused on the San Diego legal community.
The SDCBA is currently accepting applicants for the 2022 leadership cohort, which will launch in January with a two-part opening weekend session. The Leadership Academy’s program will consist of monthly half-day sessions through June and will culminate with a capstone project and graduation celebration. It is open to lawyers with three or more years in practice who are members of the SDCBA. The application deadline is Sept. 15 for the inaugural January 2022 cohort.
Urban Land Institute tackles region’s climate risks
with ‘Resilience Symposium: Water & Fire’
TheSan Diego/Tijuana District of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) will host afive-part virtual and in-person “Resilience Symposium: Water & Fire,” featuring a mix of national and local leaders exploring the current science behind climate change and land use. Panelists will examine how our region’s public policy, development pattens and regulations across the public and private sector are shaping our future
The ambitious program will be kicked off by a presentation by Spencer Glendon, founder of Probably Futures, a non-profit created to help people understand and explore the physical world, what’s coming, and what the consequences of climate change will be. Glendon maintains that civilization has been built on a stable climate and we are now moving rapidly into instability with corresponding risks, crises and pressures. The virtual event, Sept. 8, from 4:30-6 p.m., is open to the public. Tickets for individual sessions and the complete symposium can be purchased at SanDiego-Tijuana.uli.org
Plantible Raises $21.5 million to
redefine the future of food
Food-tech company Plantible Foods Inc. announced the closing of a $21.5 million Series A funding round led by Astanor Ventures, a global leader in agrifood impact investing. With this new funding, Plantible has raised a total of $27 million to achieve its mission of contributing to the supply of plant-based nutrition for humanity.
Other participants in the round included Piva Capital, CJ CheilJedang, Good Friends, Bradley Horowitz (SVP of Product at Google), Trevor Martin (founder of Mammoth Biosciences) and Chris Bryson (founder of Unata) along with returning investors Vectr Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, eighteen94 capital (Kellogg Company’s venture capital fund), FTW Ventures and Unshackled Ventures.
Plantible was founded in 2018 by Tony Martens and Maurits van de Ven with the goal of reshaping the world’s food supply chain.
Tower 16 Capital Partners acquires
two multifamily properties in Arizona
San Diego-based Tower 16 Capital Partners has acquired two properties across two separate transactions totaling 508 units in Phoenix, Ariz., for a total of $78.5 million. Banyantree Apartments, a 232-unit multifamily property located in Phoenix, was acquired for $36.5 million. Banyantree was built in 1973 and has been owned and operated by a private family for nearly 30 years. Solano Pointe Apartments, a 276-unit multifamily property located in Glendale, Ariz., was acquired for $42 million. Solano Pointe was built in 1983 and was secured on an off-market basis.
Wood Partners announces groundbreaking for
its luxury residential development in Oceanside
Wood Partners, a multifamily real estate developer, announced the groundbreaking of its newest luxury residential community—Alta Oceanside—in Oceanside. Construction is now underway, and the community is scheduled to officially open in late 2023.
Once complete, Alta Oceanside will feature 309 apartment homes comprised of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. The units will come in two-color schemes with modern hardware and finishes and include high-end offerings such as walk-in showers and private balconies with Pacific Ocean views.
Amenities will include four separate courtyards including an indoor/outdoor fitness center with yoga equipment, a lap pool for swimming and poolside lounging, a public plaza, and a fifth-floor viewing deck. Residents will have access to ann on-site library with conference and co-working spaces and a barbecue area with dining and lounge seating. On-sit storage for beach cruiser bikes and surf- and paddle boards will also be available.
Poway costume company renews global
rights for its LEGO costume line
Poway-based Disguise Inc., a costume company, announced a multi-year renewal of global rights for its LEGO costume line. Disguise will continue to design, market, manufacture and distribute costumes and costume accessories for the LEGO Group across the world. The Disguise and LEGO partnership first started in 2015 and helped Disguise launch its costume footprint around the world with high-quality products designed specifically for a premium brand such as the LEGO brand.
“The LEGO brand is a massive global brand that continues to lead and innovate in the toy world and has shown unprecedented growth, and we are pleased to continue our costume range with them,” said Tara Hefter, president and general manager of Disguise Inc.
Quidel to bring QuickVue AT-Home OTC
COVID-19 tests to CVS Pharmacy
Quidel Corporation, a provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, announced that in the next week it will make its non-prescription QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test available to consumers at more than 7,000 CVS Pharmacy locations across the United States and online at cvs.com. The shelf-stable packages each contain two self-administered rapid antigen tests.
The QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test allows consumers to easily perform the test themselves without a doctor’s prescription and get results in 10 minutes from nasal swab samples.
General Atomics’ SeaGuardian RPA
flies from UK to The Netherlands
In cooperation with UK and Netherlands airspace authorities, the Royal Air Force, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. flew a company-owned, MQ-9B SeaGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft from RAF Waddington across the North Sea to Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands, completing a two-day series of flights between the two airspaces.
This multi-day demonstration displayed SeaGuardian’s maritime surveillance capabilities in support of international allies. SeaGuardian returned to RAF Waddington at the conclusion of the event.
The flight is part of a maritime demonstration series that began in August and continues through September. The goal of the flight series is to showcase the many operational capabilities of the MQ-9B, including the platform’s advanced maritime Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Detect and Avoid System (DAAS), industry-leading endurance, and interoperability with NATO partners.
