Daily Business Report: Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021
Average new-car price tops
$45,000 — an all-time high
For the first time ever, the average price of a new car has edged past $45,000, according to a new report from Kelley Blue Book and data from TrueCar, a Consumer Reports partner that provides market analysis and an online marketplace for cars.
Buying a car—just about any car—has been difficult for months now, and new data shows that new cars, like used ones, are costing consumers more than ever. Blame it all on the pandemic, and the resulting global semiconductor shortage that has hobbled automakers’ ability to crank out new cars, crimping supply, pushing up prices and limiting availability.
“We are seeing new transaction prices hit all-time highs,” says Nick Woolard, an analyst with TrueCar. “In September, we saw the average transaction price increase 7.7 percent over a year earlier.”
TOP PHOTO CREDIT: © Can Stock Photo / Stocksolutions
San Diego approves 96-year park agreement
with a real estate investment trust
San Diego will let a private developer build and manage a public park on waterfront land opposite San Diego Bay instead of doing so itself.
Monday, City Council members unanimously approved a park agreement with real estate investment trust IQHQ for a 1.5-acre parcel, referred to as Block 1A, at the former Navy Broadway Complex downtown. The action means the city will forfeit a long-held right to lease the block from the developer, and it makes the builder responsible for the creation of a mostly passive public park that it will manage and control through May 31, 2117.
A ground-level view of the early design of the public open space at the northwest corner of the former Navy Broadway Complex that would be owned and operated by developer IQHQ. (Courtesy, City of San Diego)
Unemployment department making progress on key
reforms, but transformational changes years away
CalMatters
The good news: California’s unemployment department is making progress on key reforms. The bad news: Some of the most transformational changes are likely still years away.
The slow pace of change at the Employment Development Department — which acknowledges it may have approved as much as $31 billion in fraudulent payments amid the pandemic even as hundreds of thousands of jobless Californians’ claims were backlogged for weeks at a time — emerged as a source of both frustration and fear for state lawmakers during a Monday oversight hearing.
Democratic Assemblymember Cottie-Petrie Norris of Laguna Beach, chairperson of one of the committees hosting the hearing, cited a January report from the state auditor that found EDD was unprepared for the pandemic in part because it failed to address critical operational issues it had known about for more than a decade.
Rita Saenz, whom Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed to lead EDD in January, said the department is “being transformed” and is paying claims “faster and in a more secure way,” though many fixes are not “an overnight type of change.” She added that EDD has made progress on 13 of the 21 recommendations outlined in State Auditor Elaine Howle’s two January reports.
Ambient Communities announces next phase
of development for San Elijo Town Center
Ambient Communities announced the second to last phase of its San Elijo Town Center project located in San Marcos, a master planned development. This phase consists of a 7,850-square-foot neighborhood retail center, spanning two-stories.
Three commercial suites will occupy the space. GC Dance Company, a dance studio currently in Solana Beach and San Elijo Hills Veterinary Clinic have signed long-term lease agreements and the last space is currently in negotiation.
Located within walking distance to San Elijo Hills’ neighborhoods, this phase will add additional services and recreational / educational opportunities to the existing commercial and residential projects. The earlier phases included the MarketWalk Street Shoppes and The Town Center home to professional offices, restaurants, fitness, eateries, and 24 Townhomes. Pacific Western Bank provided construction financing as well as the initial purchase and development funding.
Sahar Abushaban appointed vice chancellor for
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District
Sahar Abushaban, a veteran administrator with the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, has received permanent appointment as vice chancellor-business services following a two-year interim term.
Her selection to the post, announced by Chancellor Lynn Neault, is effective Nov. 1.
Abushaban brings to the role substantial experience in public education budgeting and administration, including 15 years with the college district.
She first began at the district in 2006 as a financial analyst, and went on to serve as interim director of District Business Services.
She was appointed associate vice chancellor-business services in 2011. She then served as vice president of Administrative Services at Cuyamaca College for five years before returning to District Services.
A community college alumna, Abushaban then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from San Diego State University and a master’s in accountancy from National University.
International Air & Space Hall of Fame
inductee to be honored on Nov. 20
Tammie Jo Shults, a retired Southwest Airlines pilot and one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy, will be honored in person at the 2021 International Air & Space Hall of Fame Gala at the San Diego Air & Space Museum on Nov. 20, the museum announced.
Shults and Barbara Barrett, an American businesswoman, attorney and diplomat who served as the United States Secretary of the Air Force, were introduced as the 2020 Class of the International Air & Space Hall of Fame during a special video conference in 2020.
Shults is a retired pilot for Southwest Airlines and one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy.
She has been praised for her quick thinking and calm demeanor under pressure during an emergency landing that saved 149 passengers at Philadelphia International Airport.
While in the United States Navy in 1985, Shults served as an instructor pilot flying the F/A 18 Hornet and EA-6B Prowler, eventually achieving the rank of lieutenant commander.
Tax attorney Paul Vargas joins law
firm Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek
Paul M. Vargas has joined the law firm of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek as of counsel in the Transactional Tax Planning & Tax Controversy and International Finance, Investment & Tax practice groups.
A veteran tax attorney, Vargas is handling transactional tax matters and tax planning for businesses, investors and individuals, bolstering a practice that is growing to meet clients’ needs.
Prior to joining SCMV, Vargas was the managing attorney at Vargas Law in Hermosa Beach for a decade. He’s also practiced at other Southern California law firms.
In addition to his transactional tax experience, Vargas has also represented individuals and businesses in tax litigation in federal court and before the IRS, California Franchise Tax Board, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and other state tax authorities.
Vargas earned his law degree, cum laude, from Western Michigan School of Law and his LL.M. in taxation, with honors, from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Loyola Marymount University.
Joint venture equity partnership arranged
for industrial to life sciences conversion
JLL worked on behalf of the Luminous Capital Management to arrange the partnership with Austin-based Virtus Real Estate Capital. The new ownership hired JLL to lease the project.
Completed in 1979, the two-story industrial building features clear heights ranging from 14 to 16 feet, three roll-up doors, six platform docks, heavy power capabilities and ample parking. LCM plans to reposition the property into a high-image industrial asset for life sciences manufacturing uses. Renovations include creating 28-foot clear heights, which will better facilitate the production of pharmaceuticals and other therapeutics.
San Diego Foundation awards record
$104 million in grants for 2021 fiscal year
The San Diego Foundation announced that it granted a record-breaking $104.1 million during the 2021 fiscal year, most of which stayed in the San Diego region.
Nearly 7,000 grants were distributed to about 2,000 nonprofit organizations in a variety of sectors. Approximately $33 million went to nonprofits specializing in health and human services, with $20 million to education nonprofits and $17 million to youth development nonprofits, among others.
This past year, The San Diego Foundation continued its work with the San Diego COVID-19 Community Relief Fund, which was launched in March 2020. From its launch through this fiscal year, the fund has granted more than $67 million to San Diego nonprofits and provided more than 2.3 million services focused on childcare, financial assistance, education, food security, medical support and workforce development, with 79 percent of those served living in poverty.
All four Scripps Emergency Departments
accredited for geriatric care
All four of Scripps Health’s hospital emergency departments have been awarded geriatric emergency department accreditation by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), a designation that recognizes the delivery of a high level of specialized care to older patients.
To attain the geriatric emergency department accreditation, the four Scripps hospital campuses – Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego, Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas – met a range of criteria involving staffing, education, guidelines and procedures, equipment and supplies, and the physical environment.
Through the accreditation process, the Scripps emergency departments were recognized for providing excellent care for seniors, said Sandy Schneider, M.D., director of emergency medicine practice at ACEP, in letters announcing the designations.
COVID-19 vaccine boosters
available for San Diegans
COVID-19 vaccination boosters are now recommended and available for everyone who qualifies. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved booster shots for all three COVID-19 vaccines currently available. However, the time frame for when people should get a booster depends on which vaccine you received.
For people who were vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC indicates the following groups are eligible for a booster shot at 6 months or more after their initial series:
• 65 years and older
• Age 18+ who live in long-term care settings
• Age 18+ who have underlying medical conditions
• Age 18+ who work or live in high-risk settings
For San Diegans who got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, booster shots are also recommended for people 18 and older and who were vaccinated at least two months ago.
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.
