Daily Business Report: Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021
Iconic local eateries to abound in
San Diego State’s Aztec Stadium
Your first look at SDSU Mission Valley food outlets:
Burgers, cheesesteaks, pizza, cookies and more
San Diego State University announced eight inaugural food vendors for the new Aztec Stadium at SDSU Mission Valley, all with deep-rooted ties to the San Diego community.
Batch & Box (premium cookies), Best Pizza and Brew, Cali BBQ, The Crack Shack (chicken), Everbowl (superfoods bowls), Gaglione Brothers (cheesesteaks), Hodad’s (burgers) and The Taco Stand will be the featured food partners providing a wide variety of options in the new stadium, scheduled to open Sept. 3, 2022 when the San Diego State football team plays host to Arizona.
The eight food vendors cover an extensive range of food options intended to appeal to fans and discerning food critics alike. Each partner will complement traditional stadium food options. Additional food and beverage partners will be announced at a later date.
“Fans at Aztec Stadium will be treated to a best-in-class hospitality experience featuring iconic San Diego brands that have brought smiles to countless San Diegans over the years,” said Susan Hawke, executive general manager of food and beverage at Aztec Stadium. “This will be a destination where people come not only to be entertained but enjoy foods that they love.”
Season tickets for the 2022 San Diego State football season in the new stadium will go on sale to the general public in January.
TOP PHOTO: Eight inaugural food vendors for SDSU Mission Valley’s future Aztec Stadium have been revealed. Above, a plate of sweet treats symbolizes some of the choices.
Visualizing Women’s Economic Rights in Each Country
Visual Capitalist
In recent years, many economies have made women’s rights a priority by eliminating job restrictions, working to reduce the gender wage gap, or changing legislation related to marriage and parenthood.
Still, many laws continue to inhibit women’s ability to enter the workforce or start a business—and even to travel outside their homes in the same way as men. In fact, on average globally, women have just three-quarters of the economic rights of men.
Legal Protections
According to the World Bank, only 10 countries offer full legal protections to women, and all of them are in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the U.S, women still earn an average of about 82 cents for each dollar earned by men, and the gap across many countries in Europe is similar.
Meanwhile, women are represented in just 23 percent of seats in national parliaments globally, and make up just 13 percent of agricultural landholders.
U.S. border opens to vaxxed travelers
The U.S. on Monday flung open its borders to many fully vaccinated international travelers for the first time since March 2020, allowing families separated by various borders to reunite for the first time in 20 months and spurring hopes of accelerated economic recovery in California’s tourism-dependent cities.
Officials representing San Ysidro said the prolonged border closure resulted in nearly 300 local businesses closing and $1.3 billion in lost sales. And San Francisco International Airport lost more passengers during the pandemic than 50 other major airports across the country, a devastating loss for a city where foreign tourists make up 60 percent of overnight visitor spending.
“The return of international tourists is vital to San Francisco’s economic recovery,” Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Flock Freight plans to expand in North County
Rising transportation costs and a labor shortage are the biggest challenges currently facing the nation’s supply chain backlog, but Encinitas-based logistics company Flock Freight is thriving despite the challenges in the marketplace. Flock Freight was the recent beneficiary of $215 million worth of funding from SoftBank and has plans to further expand in North County.
Flock Freight, which moved its headquarters to Encinitas earlier this year, markets itself as a technology company that is “reducing waste and inefficiency by reinventing the supply chain.” The company uses a proprietary algorithm that allows multiple shippers to share truckloads, which the company says reduces costs and transit times, as compared to traditional shipping methods.
Read more…
General Dynamics NASSCO christens
and launches future USNS Harvey Milk
General Dynamics NASSCO christened and launched the future USNS Harvey Milk on Nov. 6, the second ship for the U.S. Navy’s John Lewis-class fleet oiler program. Stuart Milk, nephew of the ship’s namesake and co-founder and president of the Harvey Milk Foundation, served as the principal speaker at the ceremony in addition to remarks from NASSCO and U.S. Navy representatives.
Former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus declared the John Lewis-class of oilers be named after leaders who fought for civil and human rights. The second of six ships honors Harvey Milk, human and civil rights activist who dedicated his life advocating for equality.
Designed to transfer fuel to U.S. Navy carrier strike group ships operating at sea, the oilers have the capacity to carry 157,000 barrels of oil, a significant dry cargo capacity, aviation capability and up to a speed of 20 knots. The John Lewis-class ships will replace the current T-AO 187-class fleet replacement oilers.
USD student writes children’s book to teach kids about STEM
Taylor Brown, a senior Industrial and Systems Engineering student at University of San Diego, has dreamed of writing a book since she was about 8 years old. The self-proclaimed bookworm says she had free time while she was interning in Sweden this summer and decided to finally make her lifelong dream a reality.
In about two months, Brown says she created her children’s book, “What Do You Know About…STEM!” using the platform, Canva. The alphabet-style book teaches kids about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) in a fun way that she hopes will inspire kids to start thinking about STEM early.
“I’m an engineer. I’m also involved with the National Society of Black Engineers on campus and we’re dedicated to making sure that there are more underrepresented people in STEM fields. It matched with what I’m passionate about as far as what I’m involved in,” said Brown.
The 29-page book is geared toward kids between 3-6 years old. Brown’s main message in the book: STEM is fun, interesting, cool and anyone can do it. You can find it on Amazon, $12.99 paperback, $5.99 Kindle.
Megan Dickerson joins Birch Aquarium
at Scripps Oceanography as director of exhibits
A new director of exhibits is joining the team at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Megan Dickerson comes to the aquarium from The New Children’s Museum, where she served for eight years, most recently in the role of director of exhibitions.
Dickerson serves as the leader of the aquarium’s in-house design team, bringing with her 20 years of user-centered design experience as well as expertise in art, science and play to the development of transformative new spaces.
In addition to creating new exhibits and guest experiences, Birch Aquarium’s Exhibits Team is responsible for enhancing and maintaining current exhibits as well as signage and audio/visual elements throughout the aquarium.
In coming years, Dickerson will be part of a master planning process that will transform Birch Aquarium’s guest experience through exhibits, with a particular focus on content addressing climate change.
When she was at The New Children’s Museum, Dickerson introduced community-based exhibit development to the museum’s practice of commissioning artists to create installations for children.
Attorney Alma V. Montenegro joins
Higgs Fletcher & Mack law firm
Attorney Alma V. Montenegro has joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack, becoming a part of the law firm’s Business Litigation and Employment Law practice groups.
Montenegro has represented employees and defended employers in single-plaintiff, class and PAGA actions involving wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wage and hour claims. Her experience also includes litigating construction and general business matters.
Montenegro earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of California San Diego and earned her law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law, where she was awarded both a Faculty Honor Scholarship and a La Raza Lawyers Association Scholarship.
Her involvement in the legal community has included serving as vice president of the Central Valley La Raza Lawyers Association. Montenegro is a native Spanish speaker and a consummate volunteer who enjoys working with nonprofits to assist underserved members of the community.
Baker Tilly to acquire
Carlsbad’s The Compliance Group
CPA firm Baker Tilly US LLP announced its intent to acquire Carlsbad-based The Compliance Group (TCG), a one-stop-shop for mortgage lenders requiring regulatory compliance and seeking risk management. The combination will be effective Dec. 6, 2021.
TCG’s deep understanding of managing the regulatory and risk obligations for the mortgage industry plus Baker Tilly’s extensive financial services specialized knowledge and solutions — internal audit, cybersecurity, digital transformation, regulatory compliance and financial modeling — creates a combination of skills, knowledge and bench strength to produce powerful outcomes for the financial services industry, said Baker Tilley in the announcement.
TCG’s 110-person remotely located team will join Baker Tilly.
Former North County Times
building sells for $11.4 million
The former North County Times building on South Coast Highway at Cassidy Street in Oceanside has sold for $11.4 million, according to an announcement from the buyer, HP Investors of San Diego. “The size and location of the project present an amazing opportunity to turn the project into something special,” said Sumeet Parekh, managing partner at HP Investors. “This represents our third investment in Oceanside and furthers our strategic belief in the rapid growth of the coastal San Diego market.”
AseptiScope gets contract with UC
San Diego Health for DiskCover system
AseptiScope Inc., a privately funded San Diego-based clinical innovation company, has entered into an agreement with the top-ranked academic health care system in San Diego, UC San Diego Health, to supply its flagship infection control product, The DiskCover System.
The DiskCover System (www.diskcover.com) is the first touch-free stethoscope barrier dispensing system designed to protect patients from exposure to pathogens on the stethoscope, a medical instrument used so frequently, 5.5 billion times a year in the U.S. alone, it is commonly referred to as the clinician’s third hand.
UC San Diego Health been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the top-ranked health system in San Diego and the fifth-ranked in all of California.
Why America Gives report shows
America’s generosity is here to stay
San Diego-based Classy, a giving platform that enables nonprofits to connect supporters with the causes they care about, unveiled its fourth annual report titled, “Why America Gives 2021: The Lasting Impact of a Pandemic on Donor Experience.” The report, which collects findings from 1,000 U.S. adults about their giving behaviors, motivations, and habits reveals that, despite continued uncertainty, Americans plan to continue generously donating to the social sector at high levels.
In 2020, donors across the nation stepped up to support some of the world’s most pressing causes leading to a record-breaking giving year. This year’s Why America Gives report shows that American generosity will not break, as 84 percent of respondents intend to donate the same or more in 2021. This generosity is also expected to spread across causes and organizations. Half of donors plan to support at least three nonprofits with one-time donations and about one-third (31 percent) plan to give multiple recurring donations this year.
Brain Corp’s robotic fleet reaches milestone
of 100 billion square feet covered autonomously
Brain Corp, an artificial intelligence company creating transformative core technology in robotics, announced that its BrainOS-powered fleet of autonomous mobile robots have officially reached 100 billion square feet of coverage. In doing so, 6.8 million hours have been given back to employees and operations managers, allowing them to focus on customer experience and other high-value tasks.
From October 1, 2020, to October 1, 2021, usage of automated robotics increased across a number of industry sectors with several seeing dramatic year-over-year growth.
While Brain Corp’s initial robot fleet growth was centered on retail environments, the significant increases in deployments within other sectors including malls, educational facilities, and hospitals, reflects the ability of BrainOS-powered robots to learn the key dynamics of new environments, a critical factor in the ongoing advancement of its technology.
Sunrise Management expands Portland office
Expanding its new Portland, Ore. office, San Diego-based Sunrise Management, which has specialized in managing multifamily properties since 1978, has added Lydia Stiles as asset director for the region. In this capacity, Stiles takes charge of overseeing property and asset management functions for the firm’s Portland office, focusing on bolstering property values as well as increasing market share in the region.
Stiles, who was most recently a portfolio manager for Portland-based Affinity Property Management, has a track record in the Portland multifamily market, with extensive experience in managing financial operations, overseeing capital improvements and acquisitions/repositioning..”
MTS wins national award for COVID-19 response
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has selected the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) as the winner of the Rail Safety & Security Excellence Awards for the agency’s outstanding response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rail Safety & Security Excellence Awards recognizes transportation systems that have implemented programs or initiatives that have achieved documented success in addressing specific safety or security program areas.
In 2020 amid the COVID-19 crisis, MTS created a safety campaign called CLEAN RIDE to help give people confidence in the safety of traveling on public transportation. MTS remained agile during the evolving situation, adjusting the CLEAN RIDE safety campaign to adhere to current CDC recommendations and industry best practices.
