Daily Business Report: Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022

100 more affordable housing 

Units Coming to San Marcos

One hundred more affordable housing units for low-income people and families are coming to San Marcos, thanks to the county and Affirmed Housing. 

A groundbreaking was held Tuesday for Alora, a nearly $40 million complex at 604 Richmar Ave. The project includes the demolition of 40 older units which are being replaced by 100 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for families earning 30-80 percent of area median income.

The four, 3-story walk-up buildings will have laundry rooms, a pool, community room, tot lots and 171 parking spaces. Alora is expected to open in summer 2023.

Alora’s funding includes $6.25 million from the county’s Innovative Housing Trust Fund and funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The development will remain affordable in the community of San Marcos for 99 years, ensuring that the residents have an opportunity for safe affordable housing.

PHOTOS: Renderings of Alora apartments in San Marcos.

Democrats divided on controversial

Single-payer health care system

CalMatters

A controversial proposal to create a state-funded single-payer health care system met a silent death on Monday — an indication of the challenges progressives face in getting their ideas through California’s Legislature despite a Democratic supermajority. 

The state Assembly had to pass the bill by Monday in order for it to stay alive, but its author, Democratic Assemblymember Ash Kalra of San Jose, chose not to bring it up for a vote — effectively shielding lawmakers from having to take sides on a politically contentious proposal linked to sizable tax hikes in an election year. 

“Especially with four Democratic vacancies in the Assembly, the votes were not there today, but we will not give up. Health care is a human right and CalCare has made clear the just path as an alternative to the inequitable system we have in place today,” said Kalra.

But a lot is still at stake politically: The California Democratic Party’s progressive caucus last week threatened to block endorsements for any lawmaker who didn’t support the bill, and said Monday it will still move forward with those plans.

Scripps Research scientists unveil promising

new approach to diabetes prevention

A team of scientists from Scripps Research has conducted promising early tests of a new strategy that might one day be used to prevent or treat type 2 diabetes.

The scientists, whose results are reported in Nature Communications, tested an experimental compound called IXA4 in obese mice. They showed that the compound activates a natural signaling pathway that protects the animals from harmful, obesity-driven metabolic changes that would normally lead to diabetes.

“We were able to activate this pathway in both the liver and the pancreas with this one compound, and that added up to a significant overall improvement in metabolic health of obese animals,” says Scripps Research’s Luke Wiseman, PhD.

“This is the first time anyone has shown that a small molecule activating this pathway in this manner works to treat disease in a live animal,” adds Enrique Saez.

Cubic and McMaster University launch Centre

of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence and smart mobility

Cubic Corporation’s Cubic Transportation System business division and McMaster University are partnering to launch the Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence and Smart Mobility. This long-term program will develop the building blocks to design the future of inclusive mobility through innovation and technology collaboration between government, academia, and the public and private sectors. The program will also train the next generation of engineers, scientists, and leaders through hands-on research and product development with public and private mobility service providers.

Experts at the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC), one of the most extensive transportation research institutes in North America and headquarters of the new centre, and CTS, the leading provider of transportation and traffic management solutions, will work together to address complex issues facing transportation systems through multidisciplinary research and product development.

Permission.io hires Facebook veteran

Lauren Griewski as chief revenue officer

Permission.io, the leading provider of permission-based, Web3 advertising, announced the hiring of Facebook veteran Lauren Griewski as chief revenue officer. She will be leading the company’s growth through strategic partnerships with global advertisers as the startup continues the rollout of its core products to transform the digital advertising ecosystem.

Griewski brings over 15 years of media, advertising, technology, and executive experience with some of the world’s leading platforms including Facebook (Meta), Roblox, VEVO, and Viacom. 

In her role at Facebook, Lauren served as a leader in ad technology, monetization and strategic partnerships. She led the development of Facebook’s B2B advertising business while implementing global market strategies, including the establishment of the B2B Center of Excellence. 

Griewski also served as co-chair of Women at Facebook. More recently, she was founder and CEO at Soul Expressed LLC., a tech platform where she led business leaders and organizations to accelerate global growth and transformation.

Sundt promotes Cade Rowley to

president of its industrial group

Longtime Sundt employee-owner and construction industry veteran Cade Rowley has been promoted to President of Sundt Construction’s Industrial Group — West.In his new role, Rowley will be responsible for all business development, preconstruction and operations for the general contractor’s industrial construction work throughout the Western U.S. and water/wastewater projects across the country.

Rowley joined Sundt in 1998 as a field engineer and has served in multiple positions across the organization in the years since.

As a recognized expert in alternate project delivery methods, he has managed and led a number of design-build and construction manager at-risk projects to successful completion.

Most recently, Rowley served as senior vice president overseeing Sundt’s transportation and heavy civil work throughout the Southwest and Intermountain regions. His teams have successfully built several billion dollars’ worth of water/wastewater distribution projects, critical flood control projects, bridge construction and highway expansions, and light rail projects across a number of states using various project delivery methods.

Scripps Health predicts return to pre-surge

COVID-19 hospitalization levels by early March 

Predictive modeling by Scripps Health shows that the current surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations should wind down by early March, with a slow decrease in patient volumes driven by the Omicron variant of the virus over the coming weeks, the San Diego health system said Monday.

While that certainly is good news for the San Diego region, health system officials said staffing demands at Scripps facilities will remain high as hospitals stay busy with cases unrelated to COVID and as other patients reschedule procedures that were deferred during the ongoing pandemic surge.

“We are finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel for the Omicron surge, but this pandemic likely isn’t ending,” said Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder.. “COVID vaccination continues to play an important role in reducing the severity of surges and offsetting the potential effects of new coronavirus variants that might spread through the population in the future. That includes getting your booster shot as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is 90 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations according to the agency’s most recent research.”

San Diego Habitat Conservancy land

trust accreditation renewed

The San Diego Habitat Conservancy’s (SDHC) land trust accreditation with the Land Trust Accreditation Commission has been renewed. Originally accredited in 2016, SDHC applied this past year to renew its accreditation with the LTAC, the national accrediting body for land trusts, in order to demonstrate continued integrity and commitment to practicing effective habitat management. 

The accreditation is a mark of distinction in land conservation that assures the public SDHC meets national standards of excellence, upholds the public trust, and ensures that its conservation efforts are permanent. There are over 450 accredited land trusts across the country.

 Greater San Diego Association of Realtors

establishes partnerships across Asia

The Greater San Diego Association of Realtors signed formal agreements with real estate associations throughout Asia, opening the door for Realtors to compete in the global marketplace by expanding to international clients.

San Diego is a premier location for foreign real estate buyers and SDAR is seeking new opportunities for brokers and agents to do business on the international market. Through reciprocity agreements with associations in four countries across Asia, SDAR is establishing mutual interests to do more business and promote their respective markets. 

This past year, Asia accounted for the largest group of international buyers in the United States at 22 percent, and even higher in California at 47 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Grossmont Healthcare District

receives $47,117 in COVID-19 relief

The Grossmont Healthcare District announced it has received $47,117 in state funding for COVID-19 relief, which it plans to reinvest into the community by supplementing the nationwide effort to provide the public with free COVID-19 at-home test kits. 

The funding is made available from a $100 million allocation provided by the state Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom in the 2021-2022 State Budget to provide fiscal relief to independent special districts for revenue losses and or unanticipated costs incurred due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

The GHD Board of Directors authorized use of these funds to cover a portion of the purchase of 7,560 at-home COVID test kits for residents in East County.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, California’s special districts provided essential services to their local communities, but initially received none of the COVID-19 relief funding available to cities and counties.

The Old Globe receives $2 million from

philanthropists Paula and Brian Powers

The Old Globe announced Tuesday it has received a $2 million gift from longtime Globe supporters and philanthropists Paula and Brian Powers to create the Powers New Works Fund. The transformative gift was made to support new play development at The Old Globe and is in addition to the couple’s previous contributions supporting the organization’s general operating fund and annual Powers New Voices Festival. The Powers New Works Fund is intended to be spent over 10 years, enabling the Globe to build on its already significant new play development 

programs, cementing the Globe’s reputation as a national leader in the creation and presentation of new works by American playwrights.

The Old Globe will use the funds to advance the theatre’s new work programs and activities.

Tribes reach $590 million opioids

deal with Johnson & Johnson

Native American tribes have agreed to a deal worth nearly $590 million with Johnson & Johnson and major opioids distributors to settle claims over the companies’ alleged role in exacerbating the opioid crisis, according to court filings Tuesday.