Daily Business Report: Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021
Students save local manufacturers
millions through high-impact assessments
By Kellie Woodhouse and Christopher Leap | SDSU
Over the past 30 years, the San Diego State University Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) has offered high-impact advanced manufacturing research and training to more than 300 student engineers and helped Southern California manufacturers save $35 million.
The IAC connects faculty researchers and students from the College of Engineering with local companies that are looking to save money by improving energy efficiency. Faculty experts, including engineers Asfaw Bayene and Joaquin Camacho, train students in field research, assessment tools and evaluation methods.
Students are paid to participate in the program, which requires challenging work, the ability to learn on the go and technical know-how.
The IAC team visits local small and mid-sized manufacturers, assesses their production process and offers a free assessment with recommendations on improving energy efficiency and reducing costs.
“This program is at the front line between industry and the university,” Camacho said. “It helps California companies save energy, reduce costs and learn about new technologies, and it allows SDSU to train the next generation of engineers using proven, high-impact field practices.”
Each year, the team makes assessments for about 17 manufacturers. Students present the assessments orally and then submit a written report. In the past two years, roughly 40 percent of the IACs suggestions have been implemented by companies.
TOP PHOTO: Recent graduate Iliana Dougraghi
Walz Properties in San Diego acquires Vista’s
Sycamore Hills Village for $59.5 million
Sycamore Hills Village, a 155-unit multifamily property in Vista, has sold for $59.5 million, or $388,870 per unit, to Walz Properties, a San Diego property management firm. The seller was a tenant-in-common partnership consisting of eight entities.
Built in 1990 on 12 acres, the 17-building property is composed of 85 two-bedroom/two-bath units and 70 three-bedroom/two-bath apartments.
Select units have recently received new kitchen cabinets, quartz countertops, stainless-steel appliances, and modern flooring. Community amenities at Sycamore Hills Village include a heated swimming pool with a sundeck, a whirlpool spa, picnic and playground area, gated controlled access, and a clubhouse with a fireplace, kitchen, and wireless Internet.
Christopher J. Zorbas, Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) executive managing director investments, and IPA’s Alexander Garcia Jr. and Gary Weddle, represented the seller.
455 new words and definitions added to Merriam-Webster
Updates include dad bod, vaccine passport, and digital nomad
Merriam-Webster announced the addition of 455 new words and meanings to its iconic dictionary. All have recently met the dictionary’s entry criteria—some, such as vaccine passport, because of new prominence, and others, like dad bod, because they’ve demonstrated staying power. As always, these new additions offer a window into how the English language is changing and expanding.
Highlighting the connection between technology and daily life, digital nomad refers to someone who performs their occupation entirely over the Internet while traveling. The threats of technology are also represented: zero-day describes a vulnerability that is discovered and exploited by cybercriminals before it is fixed, and bit rot refers to “the tendency for digital information to degrade or become unusable over time.” From business and finance comes the term blank check company (also known as a SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, which is “a corporate shell set up by investors for the sole purpose of raising money through an initial public offering to acquire another business yet to be determined.”
Social media has popularized amirite, informally used in writing for “am I right,” and the abbreviation TBH, short for “to be honest.” Deplatform has also found a place in the dictionary, where it is defined as “to prevent from having or providing a platform to communicate.”
See a larger selection of new words added — and their destinations — here.
San Diego adopts program to permanently
allow outdoor business operations
The San Diego City Council has approved the Spaces as Places program, an innovative solution to allow businesses and institutions to continue occupying outdoor public spaces that were temporarily approved for use in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
City staff devised the Spaces as Places program as a way to transition temporary spaces into permanent facilities with established design and safety standards. The program offers a menu of options to allow for the creation of outdoor areas for dining, walking, biking and other activities.
The program targets businesses in traditionally underserved communities to ensure outdoor dining investments and bicycle and pedestrian improvements are equitably distributed across the city.
The Spaces as Places program will be available for business owners 30 days after the City Council’s second reading of the ordinance, which is expected in November. The program would also need Coastal Commission approval before it could be implemented within coastal areas.
City and Mesa Colleges as among top 20
in nation for study abroad
San Diego City and San Diego Mesa colleges were recognized today by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for having produced the most Gilman scholarship recipients over the past twenty years amongst those colleges awarding associate degrees.
Fifty-three students from City College and 30 students from Mesa College have received Gilman awards since 2001, placing them among the top 20 nationally for community colleges.
“Study abroad is such an important aspect for student learning,” said San Diego City College President Ricky Shabazz. “Our students are members of the global community that are charged with leading the world forward in solving global issues.”
“Studying internationally opens a wide array of opportunities for our students, and helps to broaden their access to rich, unique and long-lasting learning,” said Mesa College President Dr. Pamela Luster.
Rosie Cooper joins CBRE as first vice president
Cooper, who is coming over from real estate investment and development company JPI, will join up with multifamily investment sales professionals Stew Weston, Dean Zander and Kevin Mulhern.
She will be based in San Diego.
Cooper was previously executive vice president and regional managing partner with JPI, overseeing all components of the company’s $1.9 billion western region multifamily development pipeline.
Her responsibilities included site selection, development, design management, construction, asset management and capital markets through disposition.
An undergraduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Cooper began her career as a civil engineering officer for the Air Force.
She has a Master of Real Estate Development and Master of Science Construction Engineering and Management from the University of Southern California and more than 20 years of engineering, construction and real estate development experience.
Sandé Lollis to launch her solo album on Dec. 6
Sandé Lollis’s long-awaited solo album, “Being Human,” will launch at a CD release party on Dec. 6, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Navajo Live at 8515 Navajo Road, San Diego, 92119.
Lollis will be joined on stage by musicians from the album: Jeff Berkley on guitars, who also produced the album; Josh Weinstein on keyboard; Josh Hermsmeier on drums; Rick Nash on bass; and Ted Stern on pedal steel; and Sam Hunt will sit in on acoustic guitar.
“I am in awe of these guys,” says Lollis. “They have all been amazing, professional, and creative, so easy to talk to and get my point across, and funny as hell; just all-around good guys to be working with.”
Technology career center at MiraCosta College
gets $10,000 grant from Gene Haas Foundation
The MiraCosta College Foundation announced that the Gene Haas Foundation has donated $10,000 to help support the MiraCosta Technology Career Institute. The primary mission of the Gene Haas Foundation is to partner with schools to introduce students to career opportunities in Manufacturing and to provide scholarships to students who choose training in Computer Numerical Control (CNC).
The charitable gift from Gene Haas Foundation will create more opportunities for students at MiraCosta College to receive accelerated, hands-on job training that allows them to pursue high-quality, high-wage professions. In total, the Gene Haas Foundation has contributed $65,000 to the MiraCosta College Foundation to help students achieve their dreams.
The Technology Career Institute at MiraCosta College provides opportunities for students to gain real-world work experience through hands-on, accelerated educational offerings. Upon completion, program graduates are well positioned for employment with many of the world’s most renowned corporations.
Shares in this Encinitas-based biotech
jump 31 percent in first day of trading
Encinitas-based Ventyx Biosciences joined the pack of newly minted San Diego public companies on Oct. 21, raising nearly $152 million to pursue drugs for psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and other ailments.
The company sold nearly 9.5 million shares at $16 each — the midpoint of its projected price range. The stock had a good first day of trading, gaining 31 percent to close at $21.02 on the Nasdaq.
Ventyx is at least the 15th San Diego area startup to go public this calendar year. Many of these firms are in the life science sector and remain years away from having a drug ready to seek regulatory approval.
Palomar Medical Center Escondido named
in top 5 percent in nation for surgical care
Palomar Medical Center Escondido is among the top 5 percent in the nation for surgical care and a recipient of the Surgical Care Excellence Award, according to new analysis by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems.
Every year,Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 31 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions.
Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Awards recognize hospitals with superior performance in specific specialty lines and specialty focus areas.
For example, from 2018-2020, patients treated at hospitals receiving the Surgical Care Specialty Excellence Award have, on average, a 29.8% lower risk of experiencing a complication or dying while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award.
SDSU named 2021 HSI leader by Fulbright program
San Diego State University has been named a Fulbright HSI Leader by the U.S. Department of State, becoming one of only 35 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) in the nation to receive the first-ever recognition.
The selection by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) follows SDSU’s demonstrated engagement with Fulbright exchange participants during the 2019-2021 academic years.
“This is such a proud moment for our SDSU community, and we are so appreciative of this recognition from the U.S. Department of State,” said SDSU President Adela de la Torre. “It reinforces our clear commitment to being the transborder research university for California, to expanding our top ranked international education programs, and our legacy of service to our transborder region and around the globe.”
The inaugural cohort of Fulbright HSI Leaders was announced Oct. 27 at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) annual conference.
Imact Naturals takes top prize at CBD Expo West
The cannabinoid life science and health supplement company Impact Naturals received the Best in Show / Dr. John MacKay Award for Best Scientific Advancements in the CBD Industry at CBD Expo West in Los Angeles. The award recognizes Impact Naturals’ innovative Chylosoma capsule formulation, which significantly enhances the bioavailability of cannabinoids.
One of the most attended shows in the cannabis and CBD industry, this year’s CBD Expo West was Impact Naturals’ first ever in-person trade event. The company’s line of highly-bioavailable CBD capsule products (Revive, Restore and Rest) first became available for purchase September 2021 after being in research and development since 2019.
San Diego proclaims International
Brain Tumor Awareness Week
In recognition of the local strides being made in the fight against brain tumors, Mayor Todd Gloria has designated Oct. 30 thru Nov. 6, 2021 as International Brain Tumor Awareness Week in the City of San Diego.
Local researchers at Global Cancer Technology are currently executing on promising pre-clinical studies that could provide a new treatment for glioblastoma—an aggressive form of brain cancer—and a pathway to an eventual cure.
Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor, representing 48.6-percent of all malignant brain tumors. The cancer kills more than 241,000 people around the world each year, including more than 10,000 Americans, many of whom are diagnosed with just a 16-month life expectancy.
