Daily Business Report: Wednesday, March 30, 2022
The energy debate threatening San Diego’s
promise of cheaper energy
by MacKenzie Elmer | Voice of San Diego
Come May, residents in five major San Diego cities will automatically begin buying their energy from a new publicly-run operation with a big promise: that its energy will be cleaner and cheaper than its competitor, San Diego Gas and Electric, an investor-owned utility that’s been the sole provider of power in the region for over a century.
The promise is already teetering on a thin margin.
In January, Cody Hooven, San Diego Community Power’s chief operating officer, revealed the fledgling public power company could maintain a one- to two-percent discount over SDG&E, whose energy prices are already the highest in California, and which spiked again this winter.
But San Diego Community Power leaders say there’s one major cost that, if removed, could provide much lower rates for customers: a charge SDG&E collects to pay for energy it bought for its customers back when it was a monopoly – before San Diego Community Power was a thing. And it pays for energy SDG&E owns, like the Palomar Energy Project, a natural gas power plant in Escondido, or long-term contracts for renewables purchased when the cost of wind and solar was a lot higher than it is now.
The charge is called the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment, often referred to as an “exit fee” because those who are against paying it feel it’s an unjust cost placed on customers who automatically leave SDG&E for a public power agency.
Top Photo: canstock photo
Identify fraud losses total $52 billion
in 2021, impacting 42 million U.S. adults
A new study shows that traditional identity fraud losses, caused by criminals illegally using victims’ information to steal money, exploded in 2021 to $24 billion (USD)—an alarming 79 percent increase over 2020. Further, the number of adults in the United States impacted by traditional identity fraud grew more than 50 percent, reaching more than 15 million victims.
These findings are from The Virtual Battleground, the 2022 edition of Javelin Strategy & Research’s annual identity fraud study. Javelin, part of the Escalent family, helps its clients make informed decisions in a digital financial world.
The study also found that losses from identity fraud scams, in which a fraud operator influences a victim to divulge or expose their personal information, added another $28 billion in impact victimizing an additional 27 million U.S. adults. Taken together, identity fraud losses totaled $52 billion and affected 42 million U.S. adults.
“Criminals reverted to pre-pandemic tactics in 2021 by focusing on virtual attack vectors such as bots, malware and a variety of identity fraud scams,” said John Buzzard, Javelin’s lead fraud and security analyst and author of the report. “Further, the 2021 data has shown criminals will change strategies to evade detection and maximize the amount of information they can extract from victims.”
Learn how Jim Stickley has stolen credit cards
and Social Security numbers — and why
San Diego County Credit Union will present an interactive interview with cyber security expert Jim Stickley on Wenesday, April 6, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., where he will offer an inside look into various methods of cyber attacks that criminals use, and detail how to reduce your risk by showing examples of real cases and more.
This free webinar is open to the public, but virtual seating is limited and reservations are required. To register and for details, please visit sdccu.com/fww.
Given the current environment, Stickley will specifically focus on threats that have emerged from COVID-19, including scam emails and phone calls from the IRS, phishing attempts, malicious mobile apps and more.
Stickley has stolen credit cards and Social Security numbers, robbed banks, created fake ATMs, broken into armed government facilities and stolen from teenagers.
Fortunately for all victims involved, he is a cyber security expert with over 20 years in the industry who was hired to perform these attacks by corporations testing their security, and agencies interested in knowing just how easy it is to commit identity theft. His job is to find security flaws before the real criminals find them, and help educate people as well as organizations about what they can do to protect themselves.
Today, Stickley is the CEO of Stickley on Security and can be seen throughout the United States speaking on topics that range from basic identity theft to national cyber terrorism.
Court grants Illumina permanent injunction
against BGI, blocking sale of products in U.S.
by genomeweb
A federal judge has granted Illumina a permanent injunction in the aftermath of a patent infringement lawsuit against BGI, which will delay the sale of BGI’s sequencers and reagents in the US. In an order addressing multiple post-trial motions signed Sunday, Judge William Orrick of the US District Court for the Northern District of California also upheld a jury verdict awarding Illumina $8 million in damages for patent infringement and overturned the jury’s decision to invalidate Illumina’s US Patent No. 10,480,025, “Labeled nucleotides.” Furthermore, he denied BGI’s motions for a new trial and a bid to invalidate several other Illumina patents. Illumina, based in San Diego, declined to comment on the orders.
Karin Burns named chief executive officer
of San Diego Community Power
The San Diego Community Power (SDCP) Board of Directors has appointed Karin Burns, an experienced green energy executive, as chief executice officer of the local community choice energy provider. Beginning April 18, Burns will join the SDCP team focused on delivering clean energy to the families, businesses, and municipalities of Imperial Beach, Encinitas, La Mesa, San Diego, Chula Vista, National City, and the unincorporated areas of San Diego County.
A veteran clean energy executive and environmental advocate, Burns comes to SDCP with extensive expertise in building sustainable enterprises and dedicated teams driven to achieving challenging goals and objectives. She is a passionate advocate for innovation and clean energy investment, with a diverse background in leadership roles at multiple energy businesses, two environmental nonprofits, and a clean energy investment advisory firm
Burns most recently served as vice president of corporate evelopment and previously as regional vice president of the Pacific at Franklin Energy, a Wisconsin-based provider of energy efficiency, demand response, electrification, and grid optimization solutions.
Before it’s assets were acquired by Franklin Energy, Burns led the nonprofit Build It Green team of 40+ personnel, managing a diverse set of programs across energy efficiency, workforce development, healthy homes and reach codes for utilities and local governments.
CSUSM names dean of College of Humanities,
Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences
Cal State San Marcos announced the appointment of Liora Gubkin as the next dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences. Gubkin will start in her position on July 11. She will take over from Elizabeth Matthews, who has served as interim dean since August 2019.
Gubkin has been the associate dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at Cal State Bakersfield since August 2016 after working part-time in the dean’s office for two years through a faculty leadership development program. She also served as interim dean during the 2016-17 academic year. She works with administration, faculty and staff on curriculum development and implementation, especially coordinating efforts to ensure high-impact practices and student-centered scheduling and advising.
In addition to her administrative duties as associate dean, Gubkin is director of CSUB’s
Institute for Religion, Education and Public Policy. She has conducted research and published in the areas of Holocaust education, multi-religious belonging and violence against women in world religions.
PriceSmart starts construction
of 10th warehouse club in Colombia
PriceSmart Inc. has purchased land in the El Poblado area in Medellín, Colombia, where it has started construction of its second warehouse club in Medellín and tenth overall in Colombia. The company plans to open the El Poblado club in the summer of 2023.
Sherry S. Bahrambeygui, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We have long sought a suitable site in this very densely populated and growing area of El Poblado, Medellín,” said Sherry Bahrambeygui, chief executive officer of PriceSmart. “We believe the demographic profile around this location closely aligns with the value proposition we are known for. We look forward to serving both new and existing members.”
New method for making tissue transparent
could speed study of many diseases
Scientists at Scripps Research have unveiled a new tissue-clearing method for rendering large biological samples transparent. The method makes it easier than ever for scientists to visualize and study healthy and disease-related biological processes occurring across multiple organ systems.
Described in a paper in Nature Methods on March 28, 2022, and dubbed HYBRiD, the new method combines elements of the two main prior approaches to tissue-clearing technology, and should be more practical and scalable than either for large-sample applications.
“This is a simple and universal tissue-clearing technique for studies of large body parts or even entire animals,” says study senior author Li Ye, assistant professor of neuroscience at Scripps Research.
Tissue-clearing involves the use of solvents to remove molecules that make tissue opaque (such as fat), rendering the tissue optically transparent—while keeping most proteins and structures in place.
American Specialty Health named one of
San Diego’s ‘Best and Brightest Companies’
American Specialty Health Inc. has been named one of San Diego’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For and San Diego’s Best and Brightest in Wellness 2022 by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR). This marks the sixth consecutive year that ASH has been recognized as a Best and Brightest winner in wellness in San Diego. In addition, ASH received the “Best of the Best Wellness Provider” Elite Award for the third consecutive year.
San Diego isn’t the only ASH office to achieve awards year after year. The company’s headquarters in Indiana has been named a Top Workplace the last two years, the South Carolina office has been selected four years in a row by Best Places to Work, and the Fort Worth facility was also named a Best & Brightest worksite.
Loadsmith to adopt TuSimple’s
autonomous technology into its operations
TuSimple, a global self-driving technology company based in San Diego, announced its partnership with Loadsmith, the leading third-party logistics capacity as a service platform bridging the gap between shippers and carriers, to adopt, integrate and scale TuSimple’s SAE L4 autonomous technology into their operations.
The partnership is an important strategic component of Loadsmith’s mission to address the driver shortage in North America, while focusing on delivering unparalleled safety, and efficiency. Included within the agreement comes an initial reservation of 350 units of purpose-built SAE Level 4 autonomous trucks for operation on TuSimple’s autonomous freight network in 2024.
“Loadsmith is an ideal partner to adopt, integrate and scale our autonomous trucking technology into their operations,” said Xiaodi Hou, co-founder and CEO, TuSimple.
Tabula Rasa HealthCare announces partnership
extension with Gary and Mary West PACE
Tabula Rasa HealthCare, a health care technology company advancing the safe use of medications, announced a five-year renewal with Gary and Mary West PACE, for its CareKinesis PACE Pharmacy and Pharmastar services.
Gary and Mary West PACE is a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) in San Marcos, which currently serves over 180 participants who live in North County. TRHC has partnered with Gary and Mary West PACE since 2018, with the program holding its official opening in October 2019.
“We have been very happy with the service and support TRHC has provided since we opened our doors, and we are pleased that our participants will continue to benefit from these important services,” said Renata Smith, executive director of Gary and Mary West PACE. “With unrivaled attention to detail and focus on care, we remain confident in the quality delivered by CareKinesis and Pharmastar.”