Daily Business Report: Monday, May 9, 2022
Governor, legislators won’t budge in high-speed rail dispute
In Summary
Lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom have different opinions on what the next steps for California’s high-speed rail project should be.
by Ralph Vartabedian | CalMatters
California Democrats are locked in one of the most consequential disputes in modern state history over the future of the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco high-speed rail project after a decade of troubled construction.
The $105 billion bullet train project — for which $10.3 billion has been spent so far — would be the largest single investment in state history, the most ambitious civil works effort in the nation and now a symbol to many experts of how not to build a railroad, all of which define the stakes in the current impasse.
The feud has festered for 16 months, since Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the Legislature for a $4.2 billion appropriation in early 2021. The request has triggered a standoff with Assembly Democrats, who have steadfastly refused to hand over the last remaining funds from a 2008 bond measure for high-speed rail.
The battle involves who will exert control over the project’s future, how to improve its efficiency and how the remaining funds can yield the greatest benefits, which involve sharp disagreements that could be difficult to resolve.
“The project is not proceeding according to a robust plan, which results in waste and other inefficiencies,” said Bent Flyvbjerg, a business expert in mega projects at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and IT University of Copenhagen. “Given the political divisions, the cost growth, the schedule delays and the lack of a sound future revenue source, this project is going to the graveyard of famous boondoggles.”
Top Photo: A rendering of the proposed California High-Speed Rail. (Courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority)
Austal USA donates $250,000 toward
the redesign of Pepper Park in National City
The Port of San Diego’s Pepper Park redesign and improvements budget has received a $250,000 infusion thanks to Austal USA, which is operating a new ship repair facility on the National City Bayfront. The Port has designated $3.85 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding toward the Pepper Park redesign and improvements to be completed by summer 2024.
Austal USA’s contribution, presented to the Port at its May 5 Pepper Park design workshop, brings the current budget to approximately $4.1 million.
“Pepper Park is already a recreational gem on our San Diego Bay waterfront. Austal USA’s $250,000 gift, on top of what we’ve already budgeted for the redesign and enhancements, will truly help to make it sparkle,” said Commissioner Sandy Naranjo, Board of Port Commissioners.
Pepper Park and the area in and around Pier 32 Marina are located in the 60-acre National City Marina District. The redesign and future 2.5-acre expansion of Pepper Park is part of the National City Marina District Balanced Land Use Plan, commonly referred to as the “Balanced Plan,” which seeks to rebalance land uses through a collaborative partnership between the Port of San Diego, the City of National City, and business and community stakeholders.
Illumina ordered to pay Chinese firm
$333 million in patent infringement case
by Times of San Diego
A Delaware jury on Friday ordered San Diego’s Illumina pay more than $333 million to a U.S. unit of Chinese genetic analysis company BGI Group after finding that the San Diego company’s DNA-sequencing systems infringed two patents.
The jury also said Illumina infringed the patents willfully, and that three patents it had accused BGI’s San Jose-based Complete Genomics unit of infringing were invalid.
BGI and Illumina are both major providers of genome-analysis technology used to detect genetic diseases. The companies have been embroiled in a global legal battle over their respective sequencing technologies, with court cases in countries including Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, and Turkey.
County Fire reaches new heights with
rebuilt Mt. Laguna Fire Station 49
Mt. Laguna Fire Station 49, the county’s highest elevation fire station, was introduced to the community last week following its construction completion. Representatives from County Fire, CAL FIRE and the Mt. Laguna Volunteer Fire Department celebrated the opening.
San Diego County Fire Station 49 is located at 10385 Sunrise Highway, Mount Laguna 91948. Phone: (619) 473-8281. The building is shared with the County Department of Public Works crews, who are responsible for maintaining roads, including plowing snow or clearing debris following storms.
Station 49 has 5,000 feet of floor space including the area for two fire trucks. It also includes sleeping quarters for six firefighters, a living area, kitchen, office space and gym. There is also a second story balcony so firefighters can enjoy the outdoor environment. The station was built using fire-resistive materials as it is in a high wildfire area.
The site also has very specific lighting systems to maintain the light pollution standards of the International Dark-Sky Association, so it does not impede the research performed at the nearby Mt. Laguna Observatory.
Construction starts on large-scale bus
charging system in South Bay
Construction has started on a large-scale overhead electric bus charging system at the South Bay Bus Operations and Maintenance Facility in Chula Vista, which will be used by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS).
The $8.5 million overhead gantry charging system is capable of charging 24 battery-electric buses at a time, and it is expandable to add more charging capacity as MTS transitions its fleet to all electric over the coming years.
MTS will be installing the Schunk SLS 301 series Depot Charging Pantograph, which offers a quicker and safer hands-free electric vehicle charge. Buses can be docked in the depot in seconds and fully charged in just a few hours. This offers advantages for efficient operations for a clean energy fleet.
Construction is expected to be completed by early 2023, just in time for the new Iris Rapid route, which will consist of 60-foot electric buses serving one of the busiest South Bay corridors between Imperial Beach and Otay Mesa.
MTS has plans to build similar overhead gantry charging systems at its other bus facilities by 2028.
MTS operates more than 100 bus routes and three Trolley lines in 10 cities and unincorporated areas of San Diego.
Wendy Warren named assistant news director
for NBC 7/KNSD and Telemunco 20/KUAN San Diego
NBC 7 & Telemundo 20 San Diego announced that Wendy Warren has been named the assistant news director for NBC 7 / KNSD and Telemundo 20 / KUAN San Diego.
Warren joins NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 from NBC 10 and Telemundo 62,
NBC Universal’s owned stations in Philadelphia, where she served as director of integrated media and was responsible for managing both station websites and overseeing the stations’ OTT programming including NBC 10’s newly launched FAST channel.
Prior to this, she held the same role at WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.
“Wendy is a journalist through and through. She loves reporting, writing, and telling important stories. She is also a leader with a proven track record of analyzing and improving systems and workflows. These skills will be helpful as we look to reinvent our newsroom to serve our audience on all platforms,” said Greg Dawson, vice president, NBC 7 San Diego.
Prior to working at NBCUniversal, Warren was the vice president of Philly.com, a partnership between the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. Warren has been honored with numerous awards in print, digital, and broadcasting, including multiple regional Edward R. Murrow awards.
California launches Workforce Development
Fund to train workers for jobs of the future
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new public-private partnership to create workforce development programs focused on good-paying careers in climate, public health and other jobs of the future, particularly in disadvantaged communities. The High Road Training Fund is launched in partnership with the nonprofit Jobs for the Future (JFF) and California Workforce Development Board.
The state has already invested approximately $62 million in public funding to expand High Road Training Partnerships (HRTP) and High Road Construction Careers (HRCC). Over the next three years, the High Road Training Fund will invest more than $18 million to support the needs of HRTP and HRCC grantees. Newsom has proposed more than $500 million to further expand high road programs.
The HRTP and HRCC, administered by the California Workforce Development Board, provide training to help workers garner the skills and experience necessary to participate in growing and emerging industries such as construction, forestry and agriculture, hospitality, public transit and utilities, health care, trade, and logistics.
Qualcomm to supply chips for Volkswagen
San Diego’s Qualcomm has been selected by Volkswagen to supply chips for its autonomous driving technology. The wireless giant’s Snapdragon ride processors will power advanced and autonomous driver assistance safety features in Volkswagen cars beginning in 2025.
Amazon expands San Diego operations, workforce
Amazon has announced the expansion of its San Diego operations with plans to bring more than 700 new jobs to the region. To accommodate the expansion, Amazon has signed a new lease in University Town Center and will tap into the region’s skilled tech talent pool to support building its cloud infrastructure, strengthen its Alexa experience, and develop video games.
Cardea Bio awarded $1.1 million grant from Gates Foundation
La Jolla-based Cardea Bio has been awarded a $1.1 million grant from the Gates Foundation to conduct research that could detect diseases such as COVID-19 and cancer via odor. If successful, the project would bring inexpensive, accessible handheld diagnostics to parts of the world that have little access to medical testing facilities.
Illumina’s GRAIL named ‘Best Overall Medical Device Company’
Illumina’s GRAIL has been named “Best Overall Medical Device Company” in the 2022 MedTech Breakthrough Awards. GRAIL is a health care company with the mission of detecting cancer early, when it can be cured. The Galleri test is the first of-its-kind multi-cancer early detection test available in the U.S.
With a single blood draw, the Galleri test provides early detection insights that help patients and their physicians be proactive about their health. The revolutionary technology can detect cancer early, even before an individual is showing symptoms. In clinical studies, the Galleri test demonstrated the ability to detect a common cancer signal across more than 50 types of cancers – more than 45 of which currently have no screening options – and predict where the cancer signal originated in the body.
Latina-owned business receives grant
from Eva Longoria Foundation
Mirna Guardiola’s handbag business Mujer Brave is one of 12 Latina-owned businesses receiving cash awards from the Eva Longoria Foundation and nonprofit lender Accessity. Operating from her home in San Ysidro with merchandise from artisans in Mexico, Guardiola sells handbags online and at some in-person events. She still drives for Uber and Lyft, but now counts on her business not only as an additional stream of income but as a source of motivation for other women like her.
She says her company is meant to “inspire other women to never give up,” hence the name of her business, which translates to “brave woman.”
San Diego’s Quick Custom Intelligence
announces signing of 60th casino resort
San Diego-based Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI) announced the signing of their 60th casino resort, saying the continued success in signups and successful deliveries is a testament to their dedication in building a scalable product that the industry really needs.
“Signing 60 resort casinos is a major milestone for any gaming company,” said Buddy Frank, casino industry leader. “What has also impressed me is that the rate of fully successful deployments is about one per week. I attribute this rapid growth in part to the experience of the team and their deep knowledge of the industry. This experience has enabled QCI to stay on target delivering what the industry really needs.”
“The ability for our team to quickly deploy our on-premises, hybrid or cloud-based technology with no disruption to the casino’s operation allowed QCI to install four casino resorts in April,” said Ralph Thomas, CEO of QCI. “We will be announcing more deployments in the coming months, including a very large strip operator.”
Big turnout expected for Cal State San Marcos commencement
More than 3,000 graduates and about 30,000 people are expected to be in attendance as Cal State San Marcos holds its first unrestricted commencement in three years on Friday, May 21, and Saturday, May 21.
A total of 4,406 students will graduate as part of the Class of 2022, with more than three-quarters of them having registered to attend one of the on-campus ceremonies. CSUSM’s commencement will take place at Mangrum Track and Field, with six different ceremonies stretched across the two days.
CSUSM will host commencement without public health restrictions after the 2020 ceremony was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s event featured numerous restrictions, including social distancing and a facemask requirement. With unlimited guests with prior reservation allowed this year, close to 30,000 people are expected to be on hand.
In the Class of 2022, 58 percent of the graduates are the first in their families to earn a bachelor’s degree, and 34 percent are the first to attend college. More than 45 percent come from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, and 57 percent are non-white. The ages of the graduates range from 19 to 69.
