Daily Business Report: Friday, May 13, 2022
Autonomous ‘robotaxis’ coming to San Diego
Zoox to bring more than 100 new jobs here
Zoox, an autonomous mobility company, is opening a new office in San Diego in Summer 2022. This new office will expand Zoox’s presence throughout California and the West Coast and follows the company’s recent expansion to Seattle last year. With the addition of San Diego, Zoox will have office locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Seattle, Boston, and the United Kingdom.
Zoox’s San Diego office, which will occupy approximately 22,000 square feet, will accommodate the company’s growing teams across software, with a focus on firmware, vehicle system integration and validation, and software release management. The expansion will provide Zoox with the capacity to bring more than 100 new jobs to San Diego.
“San Diego offers an array of technical talent that will help us reach our mission and bring our autonomous robotaxi to public roads,” said Ravi Gopalan, Zoox senior irector of firmware, systems integration and QA. “Zoox will be one of the first autonomous robotaxi companies in San Diego, and we will be able to offer talent in San Diego the opportunity to help solve one of the most technically-advanced challenges of our generation.”
In 2020, Zoox joined forces with Amazon to realize this vision and, in the process, solidify its leading role in the autonomous driving industry. It is an independent subsidiary of Amazon.com and is led by CEO Aicha Evans, former senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Intel Corporation, and Jesse Levinson, co-founder and CTO .
TOP PHOTO: Various images of the Zoox robotaxi. (Courtesy of Zoox)
PETA says Petco’s certification as a
‘humane’ retailer is false advertising
A valued certification for humane animal care awarded to Petco Health & Wellness in March is now under attack by PETA, which contends it amounts to false advertising. The animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, filed a citizen’s complaint on Tuesday with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. It seeks an investigation and injunction. “Well-intentioned shoppers are getting duped into buying from Petco,” PETA alleges.
The dispute centers on the American Humane Certified Seal of Approval. San Diego-based Petco is the first — and so far only — pet retailer to get the designation from American Humane — First to Serve. The 145-year-old organization is the world’s largest certifier of animal welfare, including farm animal certification and the “No Animals Were Harmed” film certification.
Steffi Gascón Hafen named managing partner
at Snell & Wilmer’s San Diego office
Steffi Gascón Hafen has been named managing partner of Snell & Wilmer’s San Diego office. Hafen relocated from Snell & Wilmer’s Orange County office in 2020 to help lead the opening of the San Diego office, which expanded the firm’s presence in California.
Opening just before the pandemic, she has helped to grow the office from just two attorneys in 2020, to an elite team of nine attorneys.
Hafen is Latina, her family having emigrated from Cuba, and she is passionate about gender equity and diversity inclusion in the workplace.
She has worked in different organizations dedicated to these purposes, and continues to use these experiences to grow a robust and inclusive San Diego office, known for its quality and commitment to its clients and community.
Hafen has received multiple recognitions for her leadership, including being named by San Diego Metro as a 2022 Woman of Accomplishment and 2021 40 Under 40 winner, as well as being selected by San Diego Business Journal as a 2020 Next Top 40 Under 40 winner, 2021 Business Women of the Year Awards finalist and 2021 Leader in Law winner.
She was also selected by the American Bar Association as an On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers Honoree in 2019.
She has been named a Top Latino Lawyer by Latino Leaders Magazine since 2018 and a Southern California Super Lawyers, Rising Star – Estate Planning and Probate (2018-2020).
Substitute teacher shortage hits California’s
low-income students harder
CalMatters
California schools with large numbers of high-needs students — low-income, English learners and foster youth — have always struggled to find substitute teachers, but this year’s COVID-19 omicron surge brought them to a breaking point.
The staffing crisis forced school administrators to find alternatives for full-day substitutes, such as math and reading coaches or a rotating cast of office staff, disrupting instruction for students who already may have been lagging academically. While school officials statewide worry about the possibility of another surge, they know teacher shortages are a constant reality, prompting one California legislator to propose funding to attract more substitutes.
CalMatters analyzed data from the state’s seven largest urban school districts for January to determine where the substitute teacher shortage was most acute. The data shows that on average, the schools with the most high-needs students filled about 42 percent of their teacher absences with substitutes. The schools with the fewest high-needs students found subs for 63 percent of teacher absences.
New dean selected for SDSU Imperial Valley
Guillermina Gina Núñez-Mchiri has been named the new Dean for SDSU Imperial Valley. Her appointment will officially begin on Aug. 4.
For Núñez-Mchiri, who currently serves as an associate professor of anthropology and director at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the position marks a return to both SDSU and the Valley community.
A Calexico High School graduate, Núñez-Mchiri received her undergraduate degree in international business and her master’s in Latin American Studies from San Diego State University. She later earned her doctorate in cultural anthropology from the University of California, Riverside.
Núñez-Mchiri began as a visiting assistant professor at UTEP, where she eventually gained tenure and became director of Women’s and Gender Studies.
In 2012, she received the University of Texas Regents Outstanding Teaching Award for her efforts to incorporate community engagement and research experiences to promote student success in higher education.
USD School of Law launches
Center for Employment Law and Policy
The University of San Diego is launching the Center for Employment Law and Policy (CELP). Orly Lobel, Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at USD, will serve as the Center’s director. CELP will be a hub for employment law activity, with a goal of bringing together experts in the field, locally and nationally.
The center’s programs will work to elevate research, policy impact, and teaching in the field while highlighting the employment law expertise of local practitioners; and providing a forum for engagement and debate on employment-related topics.
By providing rigorous research and learning about human capital, ethical work environments, and best practices in employment relations, CELP will strive to support San Diego’s economic growth in the biotech, pharma, tech, military, health, arts, entertainment, hospitality, sports, education, and other sectors and industries, all of which present dynamic frontiers of employment issues.
The center will sponsor speakers, workshops, roundtables, visitors and fellows, and provide opportunities for collaborative research by USD faculty, USD students, policymakers, and practitioners locally and nationally.
European Wax Center opens its 900th
center on Del Mar Heights Road
European Wax Center has opened its 900th center in San Diego, located at 3485 Del Mar Heights Road, Suite A4. It’s the first center in the region to debut the company’s new design and the 20th center opening for longtime European Wax Center franchise owner Shawnee Oliver.
“We could not be prouder of our continued growth and strength as a brand, especially as we expand with franchise partners who celebrate our unique European Wax Center experience and embody our core values,” said David Berg, CEO of European Wax Center. “After 14 years with European Wax Center, Franchisee Shawnee Oliver has been an exemplary ambassador, and we appreciate her steadfast belief in the power of this brand.”
The San Diego center opening on Thursday came with a $2,500 donation to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
Sunway Communications partners with BMF
to develop next generation antennas
Sunway Communications, a supplier of electronic componentsand modules, has partnered with Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) to develop next generation antennas. The companies have opened a joint development lab in San Diego.
“We have been looking for alternative approaches to meet the demands of miniaturization. BMF has quickly developed their technology and applied it in multiple industries. This joint development agreement will accelerate our efforts and advance our leadership position,” said Wilson Wu, Sunway executive vice president and general manager of Sunway USA.
USAA to gift recycled vehicles to
military families in San Diego
USAA is celebrating 100 years of serving military families by gifting 100 vehicles across the country to military families in need. San Diego will get vehicles on Nov. 10.
For 100 years, USAA’s mission has served active-duty service members, veterans and their families. Recipients have been nominated by nonprofit organizations to receive a Recycled Ride. With the partnership of the National Auto Body Council (NABC), a nonprofit committed to serving their communities, and many in the collision repair industry, vehicles are repaired and donated to those identified as in need of reliable transportation.
“USAA is committed to giving back to those who have gone above and beyond by means of service to our country. We are honored to provide reliable transportation to 100 families in our 100th year, and beyond, as we continue to transform the lives of those most in need by providing them with dependable vehicles,” said Ramon Lopez, vice president, USAA.
Cubic names Matt Luxton as senior
vice president and general counsel
Cubic Corporation announced the appointment of Matt Luxton as senior vice president and general counsel. Luxton will lead, manage, and advise on all legal affairs to support the company’s operations and business growth initiatives, with far-reaching impacts across the company. He will report to Stevan Slijepcevic, president and chief executive officer.
Prior to joining Cubic, Luxton held multiple leadership roles at General Dynamics; vice president and general counsel for General Dynamics NASSCO/General Dynamics BIW, vice president and chief financial officer and most recently as vice president and general counsel; safety and security for Electric Boat.
Luxton has an MBA in business from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, JD, Law from Mitchell Hamline School of Law and BSAE, Aerospace Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Poll workers still needed for June primary election
The Registrar of Voters is seeking additional poll workers throughout the county for the June 7 Gubernatorial Primary Election. Poll workers play an essential role in elections and can serve their community while earning $15 per hour.
There is a particular need for additional poll workers in Linda Vista, Valley Center, Pala, Warner Springs, Borrego Springs, Dulzura, Santa Ysabel and Jacumba. Applicants do not need to live in those communities to work at vote centers in those locations.
With the introduction of the Voter’s Choice Act, vote centers replace traditional polling places. Vote centers are open throughout the county for an extended period before Election Day. Rather than a single day of service, poll workers are now needed to staff vote centers up to 11 days in the two weeks before Election Day.
English speakers who are bilingual in Spanish, Filipino, Vietnamese or Chinese are also needed.
Responsibilities include: submitting hiring/payroll paperwork; attending a two-day, paid poll worker training; opening/closing a vote center; processing voters; answering voter questions.
Applications are available online.
Four Presidio Residential Capital builders
earn spots on nationwide homebuilder list
Presidio Residential Capital, a San Diego-based real estate development management company, announced that four of its California joint venture partners have once again been named to Builder Magazine’s 2022 Next 100 list, the housing industry’s premier ranking of the nation’s most active homebuilders.
This is the fourth year Central Valley community homebuilder San Joaquin Valley Homes has made one of Builder’s lists, which is typically dominated by large private and public builders. This year it ranked 118 across the nation based on 449 homes closed and $160 million in gross revenue.
Van Daele Homes from Riverside closed 427 homes in 2022 earning a spot at 123 (its same ranking in 2021), and Williams Homes, headquartered in Santa Clarita, climbed up the 2021 list 31 spots to number 129 with 400 closings and $272 million in gross revenue. San Diego’s Cornerstone Communities, which premiered on the Next 100 list in 2021, is back on the 2022 list ranked at 158 with 306 closings and $206 million in gross revenue in 2021.
