Daily Business Report: Monday, Nov. 15, 2021
Irwin and Joan Jacobs pledge
$100 million to Salk Institute
Funds will finance construction of a science and technology center
Irwin and Joan Jacobs, longtime supporters of The Salk Institute the scientific research organization, have pledged $100 million to launch Salk’s five-year, $500 million philanthropic and scientific Campaign for the Future.
The gift is structured as a challenge match, adding $1 to every $2 pledged by June 30, 2022 as a donor naming or endowment gift. The Campaign for the Future will provide funds to construct the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Science and Technology Center on Salk’s campus in La Jolla, support key scientific programs, and increase Salk’s endowment.
The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Science and Technology Center will be home to four scientific Centers of Excellence, advancing discoveries in plant biology, computational biology, engineering, cancer and aging.
The facility will provide much-needed research and administrative space to advance Salk’s scientific efforts supporting expansion of the Institute’s activities in developing new drugs and therapies to fight cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, and finding ways to address climate change.
TOP PHOTO: Rendering of the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Science and Technology Center. Courtesy of The Salk Institute.
Bullet train funding up in the air
CalMatters
Another political battle gathering force in Sacramento: the fate of California’s bullet train project. Newsom’s administration and lawmakers are hoping to reach an agreement in January on how to spend the remaining $4.2 billion of the $10 billion California voters approved for the project, but it appears that significant gaps still separate their respective visions.
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Lakewood Democrat: “The High-Speed Rail Authority has changed their position and is now lying to Californians. They’re … telling them that the high speed rail system is a system that connects northern Kern County to Madera. That’s not what voters voted for. … We promised them Los Angeles County to the Bay Area.”
Melissa Figueroa, a spokesperson for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said: “The the full intent of the project is to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco as voters called for. The project has never been fully funded, and as such we must complete what we have funding for now. … Completing the Merced to Bakersfield section obtains the highest forecast gain in ridership and does so at the lowest increase in cost.”
Cox Communications delivers free Wi-Fi
to Southeastern San Diego
Cox Communications is delivering indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi connectivity to Southeastern San Diego through a partnership with Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, a nonprofit organization.
Cox has connected the Joe and Vi Jacobs Center at 404 Euclid Ave. in San Diego’s Diamond District with Wi-Fi over the next two years that can be utilized by the community as they participate in various programs at the center, such as job recruitment, arts and culture, and special events in and around Celebration Hall, outdoors at Celebration Court and Market Creek Amphitheater and Market Creek Plaza.
Students, families and individuals can access remote work and courses from their devices at one of Jacobs Centers’ outdoor spaces also.
The Jacobs Center is located in San Diego’s federally designated Promise Zone, which consists of neighborhoods that have higher unemployment and lower educational attainment than other communities.
“According to the city of San Diego, there are 53,000 households in the city without Internet and broadband services,” said Reginald Jones, president and CEO of Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation. “We’re grateful to Cox for providing a solution and helping to bridge this equity gap in our neighborhood.”
Former Mission Bay Visitor Center
retooled as the Mission Bay Beach Club
sdnews.com
Closed since 2011, the Mission Bay Visitor Information Center has been rechristened the Mission Bay Beach Club and reopened with a new life and mission as a vegan cafe in its first phase. A pizzeria and an urban vineyard are to follow.
The freshly minted Mission Bay Beach Club at 2688 E. Mission Bay Drive bills itself as “San Diego’s newest waterfront destination for enjoying a day at the beach.”
The first phase of the old visitor center’s renovation now open includes Superbloom, a casual vegan cafe featuring organic cold-pressed juice, quality coffee, and healthy food options. Superbloom is based on the concept that a healthy lifestyle should be easy, enjoyable, and delicious, with convenient offerings in a beautiful setting.
Read more…
Fowler College of Business senior dives into
successful startup — Safety 1st Aquatics
Liam Howlett knew from the time he was in high school that he wanted to start his own business. Then, while working as a privately contracted swimming instructor after graduation in 2016, he saw an unfulfilled need for swimming lessons among those who don’t live near municipal pools.
He took the plunge into entrepreneurship and founded Safety 1st Aquatics, a company that connects people with swim instructors for lessons at nearby private pools, in 2017.
To acquire advanced business skills, he was drawn to San Diego State University’s Fowler College of Business by the prospect of participating in the college’s Lavin Entrepreneurship Center, which offers workshops, mentor programs and other expertise to students interested in launching a business.
The Glendora native is now a senior at SDSU and a participant in the Lavin Entrepreneurs program, which he credits for helping him grow his business.
U.S. Postal Service to hold Nov. 18 job fair to hire
300+ employees in San Diego, San Bernardino
The U.S. Postal Service is hosting job fairs in San Diego and San Bernardino from 2 to 6 p.m. next Thursday, Nov. 18, to facilitate the hiring of more than 300 employees.
The 300+ available positions include jobs as City Carrier Assistants, Mail Handler Assistants, Postal Support Clerk Employees, Rural Carrier Associates, Assistant Rural Carriers and Tractor Trailer Operators, and hourly pay from $16.87 to as much as $23.74 an hour.
Interested applicants are encouraged to register in advance by going online at www.eventbrite.com.
“This is a great opportunity for anyone seeking a fast-paced, rewarding work environment with good pay,”said USPS Human Resources Manager Connie Sallee. “While these 300 positions are not career positions, we hope and expect that every single person we hire will take advantage of the opportunities to advance and become a part of our career work force, with all of the benefits that entails.”
Brookings Metro celebrates 25 years of impact
Brookings Metro is celebrating its 25th anniversary by reflecting on its impact and commitment to ensure communities are prosperous, resilient, and just, no matter their starting point. This impact is especially true for San Diego EDC, as the partnership with Brookings served to catalyze and inform EDC’s Inclusive Growh anf Global Cities work.
Aztec Recreation Center reopens
after year of construction
After over a year of expansion on Nov. 8, Associated Students at San Diego State University held the Aztec Recreation Center’s grand reopening to present the newly rebuilt gymnasium. The new ARC is nearly complete with 94,000 square feet, two floors, an indoor track, many activity rooms, almost all brand new equipment, a rock wall, different fitness areas and more.
The construction on the ARC renovation will continue throughout the upcoming semester until the summer of 2022 in order to finish the basketball court, activity rooms and heart rate monitors throughout the gymnasium. This will result in seven multi-use courts on the north portion of the facility according to the Associated Students website.
Jenna Harris joins San Diego County
Taxpayers Association as VP and COO
Jenna Harris has joined the San Diego County Taxpayers Association team as vice president & COO/ chief of staff this month. An alumna of SDCTA and former deputy chief of staff to San Diego City Councilmember Chris Cate, Jenna brings extensive experience in government affairs and community relations to her new role.
Harris is a graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University and serves on the Board of Directors for The Rosie Network.
Jenna and her husband, Bobby came to San Diego in 2011 when Bobby retired from the United States Marine Corps, and their family now includes two daughters, Evelyn and Audrey.
Can ancient botanical therapies
help treat COVID-19?
A novel study is assessing whether medicinal mushrooms and Chinese herbs provide therapeutic benefit in treating acute COVID-19 infection. MACH-19 (Mushrooms and Chinese Herbs for COVID-19) — a multi-center study led by University of California San Diego School of Medicine and UCLA, in collaboration with the La Jolla Institute for Immunology — is among the first to evaluate these specific integrative medicine approaches using the gold standard of Western medicine: the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Judge dismisses Carlsbad group’s suit
to stop mask mandate in schools
A San Diego Superior Court judge Friday dismissed a lawsuit that challenged Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mask mandate in state schools. The lawsuit, filed by the Carlsbad group Let Them Breathe, sought to overturn mandated masking at schools, as well as other state guidance related to quarantines and COVID-19 testing on campuses.
In her ruling, Judge Cynthia Freeland wrote that state officials have “a legitimate interest in protecting health and safety by mandating public measures, which measures can include masks.”
In its suit, Let Them Breathe argued that masks are ineffective against COVID-19, while also alleging that mask use in schools has harmful psychological ramifications for students.
