Daily Business Report: Monday, Sept. 27, 2021
The Best Selling Vehicles in America, by State
Visual Capitalist
From Ford trucks in the Midwest to Toyotas on the coasts, the best selling vehicles in America reveal a lot about the country.
Compared to other countries with fewer highways or narrower roads, the U.S. is very much a truck-friendly country. Across the U.S., the most sold vehicle in 2019 was the Ford F-Series of trucks, primarily the F-150.
As the home of the world’s pioneer automotive manufacturers, including Ford and GM, consumers primarily purchase local brands. But that hasn’t stopped Toyota, the largest foreign manufacturer in the world, from also gaining a foothold.
This graphic uses 2020 sales data from automotive information resource Edmunds.com, breaking down the best selling vehicles in each state through new vehicle retail registration.
Despite a slowdown in vehicle sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a global chip shortage, Americans still bought plenty of trucks last year.
In fact, 48 out of the 50 states had a truck or SUV as the top selling vehicle in 2020—and most states actually had trucks taking all of the top three spots. The only two with a car topping the leaderboard were California and Florida.
TOP PHOTO: The Honda Civic is the best selling vehicle in California. The Toyota RAV4 is second, and the Toyota Camry is third.
County of San Diego adds more
supportive units for seniors
The County of San Diego and its community partners celebrated the grand opening of a new affordable housing complex for seniors, including those with chronic physical illnesses and mental health conditions.
Trinity Place, located in the community of Grantville and built at the direction of Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation, was designed specifically for formerly unhoused seniors with chronic health issues, so residents will have access to social and medical services that promote health, housing stability and their overall well-being.
Of the 73 apartments, 18 are dedicated permanent supportive housing units serving seniors 55 and older experiencing homelessness and mental health conditions. These residents will receive County-funded supportive services in addition to permanent housing. Wakeland received more than $2.7 million in loans through the County’s Mental Health Services Act Special Needs Housing Program.
Some unique features for seniors include:
Adaptable apartments with bathroom grab bars, large door handles and easy-to-open cabinets; a dedicated curbside pick-up area next to the main lobby for service provider vans to transport tenants, as well as four van spaces and a separate pick-up area in the garage; apartments with ADA features for residents with hearing and vision impairments;
an exercise room to promote movement for able-bodied residents.
Pro-skater Tony Hawk teams up with former
Jeune et Jolie chef on new restaurant
A new project coming to coastal Encinitas will be the first solo restaurant for Andrew Bachelier, formerly of Jeune et Jolie. Called Chick N’ Hawk, it started as a chicken sandwich spot but has since evolved into a full-fledged restaurant with an expanded menu. Slated to open by spring 2022, it will be a collaboration with pro skate icon Tony Hawk, a North County resident and investor in local establishments like Animae, Herb & Sea, Market Del Mar, and Steel Mill Coffee in Oceanside.
Southwestern College opens new
Public Safety Training Center
Southwestern College has its new Public Safety Training Center, which will train hundreds of students for careers in public safety, fire fighting and paramedic/EMT services.
Students at the center will receive an array of first-hand experience throughout their education. Along with a renovated police obstacle track, the center will include a single-story scenario apartment simulator and live-fire tower. The fire simulator is the only one of its kind available to a community college in the entire region.
The Public Safety Training Center also includes a multi-bay apparatus building to accommodate emergency vehicles, a multi-purpose instructional building and a renovated track for police obstacles and other fitness training equipment.
As UC makes room for more Californians,
can it afford to lose out-of-state students?
CalMatters
Out-of-state students at the University of California may pay three times more in tuition than California students, but the Legislature sees in-state students as worth more.
That’s why lawmakers approved plans this summer for the UC to enroll an extra nearly 11,000 California residents, in part by removing 4,500 out-of-state slots over five years.
The enrollment growth for California residents would kick in next fall, conveniently during an election year in which Democratic legislators will seek easy wins to reinforce their political advantage among voters.
Extra slots at the UC for in-state residents can shore up the votes of parents, who’ll be delighted to know their children have a better shot of getting into a top public university.
NOAA awards more than $7 million
for California ocean observing
The Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) is among 11 U.S. ocean observing systems awarded renewed funding from NOAA’s U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS).
SCCOOS is managed by researchers based at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and will jointly receive over $7 million with the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System. These two collaborative entities comprise the greater California Ocean Observing System.
The funding is part of new five-year cooperative agreements from IOOS, which will distribute $41 million to nationwide ocean and Great Lakes observing systems to support the continued growth, expansion, and modernization of observing capabilities.
Little Blue Penguins exhibit coming
to Birch Aquarium in summer 2022
Little Blue Penguins have come to Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
“Little Blue Penguins and other seabirds, are sentinel species for our ocean’s health and help us understand how we can be better stewards for our planet,” said Jenn Nero Moffatt, senior director of animal care, science and conservation. “We hope that one look at their awkward waddling, their pint-sized bodies, torpedo swimming and social nature will leave our guests enchanted, and wanting to learn how to aid in conservation efforts.”
The Beyster Family Little Blue Penguins exhibit is named in honor of a $1 million gift from the Beyster Family, who are long-time supporters of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Birch Aquarium.
The 2,99-square-foot exhibit, which will open in summer 2022, will include rocky and sandy shore habitat and an 18,000- gallon pool where guests will observe the penguins socializing, interacting, and nest building. The exhibit also includes a small amphitheater for guests to observe birds swimming, and a discovery cave to closely observe Little Blue Penguins on land and inside a nesting box!
Tyra Biosciences goes public, raises $199 million
Carlsbad-based biotech Tyra Biosciences has raised $199 million and gone public in a quest to create cancer drugs that precisely target the tumors of patients who aren’t responding to current therapies. The firm develops drug targeting mutated proteins that allow cancer cells to multiply and spread throughout the body — potentially proving to be more effective than other strategies that kill bot normal and cancerous cells.
San Diego named ‘early adopter’ of AI
by Brookings Institution
The Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution ranked San Diego as an “early adopter” of AI and recognized the region as positioned for growth — supporting EDC’s recently released report. Key drivers of the region’s AI prowess stem from local companies including Qualcomm, Intuit, Teradata, Viasat, Thermo Fisher, and Illumina; the military economy including NAVWAR; and local universities fueling the region’s AI talent pipeline.
Kilroy lands major life science leases in San Diego
Kilroy Realty Corp. has completed three major lease transactions in San Diego with publicly traded life science and biotech companies. The lease deals total 330,000 square feet, and will involve the redevelopment of current office space into life science facilities.
Tandem Diabetes Care signed a 182,000-square-foot lease with Kilroy, DermTech signed a 96,000-square-foot lease and Sorrento Therapeutics took 52,000 square feet. Nelson Ackerly, senior vice president of Kilroy, said the three leases illustrated the quality and flexibility of the firm’s properties, particularly after initial leasing.
Kilroy is actively expanding its life science portfolio. The firm is currently planning construction on Santa Fe Summit, a 600,000-square-foot life science facility in San Diego that it says will meet the growing demand in the market. The development is located in the 56 Corridor.
Carlsbad-based mobile game publisher
Jam City raises $350 million, buys competitor
Jam City has raised $350 million in funding and has closed its purchase of mobile game publisher Ludia for $165 million. The deal comes after Jam City scuttled its $1.2 billion plan to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) because of changing conditions in the stock market. The $350 million consists of a combination of equity and debt financing.
GigaIO raises nearly $15 million to help
more companies catch the AI wave
Carlsbad’s GigaIO, which developed technology aimed at making high-performance computing more accessible to more companies so they can tap into artificial intelligence, has raised $14.7 million in a second round of venture capital funding.
Founded in 2012, GigaIO’s FabreX is a hardware and software network platform that increases flexibility and efficiency for data intensive computing jobs, enabling faster results.
Annual Cox Top Tech Awards honor 11
innovators in San Diego County business
Eleven of San Diego County’s technology innovators were recognized at the 14th annual Cox Business-sponsored Top Tech Awards, which honor the region’s “unsung heroes” of information technology in the areas of business, education, government and nonprofit organizations.
