Daily Business Report: Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Bill would allow gun manufacturers
to be sued for marketing guns to kids
By Nigel Duara | CalMatters
The man at the gun show lifted a 2.2 pound rifle and pulled back the stock with an audible “chock,” presenting it to the YouTube segment’s host.
“When we set out to produce a small firearm for children in an AR-looking package, we were pretty sure we needed to have a ‘wow factor’ in the safety area,” Eric Schmid, owner of Wee 1 Tactical, said in a video uploaded in January.
What Utah-based Wee 1 Tactical produced was a smaller model of the AR-15, called the JR-15. Schmid was in Las Vegas in January to promote the smaller weapon, which the company pledges will look and feel “just like Mom and Dad’s gun.”
Schmid demonstrated a safety pin intended to keep the weapon’s trigger locked. He and the host noted that it would likely prevent small children from operating a firearm without their parents present.
“It takes a lot of tension to be able to pull that out,” said host Barret Kendrick.
“Your 12-year-olds are gonna unlock it really quickly,” Schmid replied.
A bill that passed out of the Assembly on Thursday night would make the marketing of firearms to children and those not legally allowed to possess them a civil liability. AB 1594 would allow lawsuits against gun manufacturers based on their marketing, one of the few exemptions to a federal ban on such lawsuits. The bill is now in the hands of the Senate.
Brought by San Francisco Democrat Phil Ting, the bill is an attempt to ensure that gun manufacturers can’t object in state court to lawsuits that target their marketing – an argument Smith & Wesson made in a San Diego court last year.
The proposal is similar to a bill passed last year in New York – one that survived a legal challenge from guns rights advocates in federal court on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, it seems like not a day goes by before there’s another tragic mass shooting,” Ting said. “We have guns in the hands of the wrong people and we have an industry that takes no responsibility for empowering killers in our community.”
TOP IMAGE: WEE1 Tactical claims their JR-15 .22 caliber long rifle is 20 percent smaller than a traditional AR-15. (Screenshot via YouTube)
San Francisco developer wants to put 37-story
apartment tower in Downtown San Diego
A developer is proposing a 37-story residential tower in Downtown San Diego, adding to a growing list of new projects.
San Francisco-based Cresleigh Homes, which has built multifamily projects throughout California, plans for 443 apartments, a small commercial space (about 985 square feet) and two levels of underground parking.
The proposed 20,063-square-foot site is on Island Avenue between 6th and 7th avenues near Petco Park and across from Sempra’s headquarters. It would take the place of Ballpark Self Storage. Early estimates put the cost at nearly $233 million, but the developer said they are in the process of coming up with a new projection because of rising costs.
California’s rent relief programs distribute over
$1 billion to more than 1 million residents
California’s state and local rent relief programs have hit a major milestone with over $5 billion having been distributed to help more than 1.2 million Californians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic stay stably housed. The Governor’s California Blueprint May Revision proposes an additional $2.7 billion in emergency rental assistance for eligible applicants who applied through March 31, creating a total $8.1 billion investment.
“With the largest rent relief program of any state in the nation, we’ve ensured more than one million Californians remain housed, and we’re advancing funding to help more families get back on their feet through this historic effort,” said Gov. Gavib Newsom. “As California’s recovery progresses, the state is committed to continuing our work to ensure the hardest-hit communities have the support and resources they need to thrive.”
Throughout the pandemic, California has had the most robust eviction protections, for the longest period of time, in the country. Statewide eviction protections remain in place through June 30, 2022, for eligible applicants who applied through March 31, with additional local protections in place throughout the state. The state program has helped those hardest hit by the pandemic, with more than 85 percent of households that have received rental assistance at or below 50 percent of Area Median Income.
San Diego’s MG Properties acquires
Verona Apartments in Henderson, Nev.
MG Properties, a private San Diego-based real estate investor, owner and operator has acquired the 275-unit Verona Apartments in Henderson, Nevada. MG Properties owns five other properties in the Las Vegas submarket.
MG Properties has acquired 11 communities in 2022 so far, totaling over 2,800 units exceeding $990 million in combined value. The company is targeting further acquisitions in Washington, Texas, Oregon, Arizona, California, Colorado, and Nevada.
MG was founded in 1992 by Mark Gleiberman. The company’s current portfolio is comprised of over 28,000 rental homes in California, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Oregon, including 89 communities.
The Habit Burger Grill to open in Pacific Beach
The Habit Burger Grill, known for its Charburgers grilled over an open flame, will hold a grand opening Wednesday at its Pacific Beach location at 980 Grand Ave. Upon opening, the restaurant will offer dine-in, takeout and drive-through ordering. Curbside pickup and delivery is available via The Habit Mobile App and online at order.habitburger.com
“The San Diego area is home to over 15 Habit Burger Grill restaurants and we are so excited to be opening a drive-thru in Pacific Beach. Guests can look forward to great handcrafted food and our signature ‘Habit Hospitality’,” said Iwona Alter, chief brand officer at The Habit Burger Grill.
Shannon Miller joining Scripps
Research Fellowship Program
Shannon Miller, Ph.D., will join the Scripps Research Fellowship Program launching an independent laboratory to address questions in the fields of genetic engineering.
“Shannon was one of the top candidates based on her outstanding graduate studies on precision gene editing and bold future research plans on directed evolution of adeno-associated viruses,” says Howard Hang, a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology and chair of the Scripps Research Fellows Search Committee. “We are thrilled to recruit Shannon and look forward to having her as part of the program at Scripps Research.”
As a member of the Department of Chemistry, Miller’s program of research will focus on developing new methods for the successful delivery of gene-editing biomolecules to cells. By improving delivery efficiency and reducing potential off-target effects, Miller hopes her group’s research will accelerate the generation and implementation of future gene therapies for conditions ranging from hereditary blindness to blood disorders.
Petco Park The Best in Baseball
All 30 MLB stadiums ranked: 2022 edition
Andrew Joseph/USA Today
Petco Park is simply the best place to watch a baseball game. The location (embedded in Downtown San Diego), the weather, the food, the beer and, of course, the stadium itself — it’s all phenomenal. Petco Park often doesn’t get the credit it deserves when compared to the Fenways and Wrigleys of the baseball world. But don’t listen to those people. Petco Park is the best stadium in baseball.
NIH awards $4 million to initiate clinical trial
of stroke drug invented at Scripps Research
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded the first $4 million tranche of funding for a large, “phase three” clinical trial of an experimental stroke drug invented at Scripps Research.
The award, totaling approximately $20 million in direct funds over six years, will fund an international, multi-center clinical trial of the experimental treatment 3K3A-APC in about 1,400 patients led by the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).
The trial will focus on patients who experience the most common form of stroke (“ischemic” stroke), which is caused by the blockage of blood flow—usually from a blood clot—in vessels serving the brain. The trial will determine whether 3K3A-APC can hasten recovery and improve outcomes for these patients when added to standard clot-busting treatment.
Airspace raises $70 million for global expansion
Carlsbad-based Airspace, an air-freight logistics startup, raised a $70 million funding round to support its global expansion ans sustainability efforts. The company will use the funds to increase its focus on European aid Asian markets, and expand services to help new sectors ship their products as efficiently and quickly as possible.
Locals top Forbes’ Best Employers for New Grads list
San Diego companies including EDC members Southwest Airlines, Qualcomm, Northrop Grumman, Sony, Apple, Bank of America, Takeda, BAE Systems, Thermo Fisher Scientific, JPMorgan Chase, Sempra, and more have decorated Forbes’ Best Employers for New Graduates list. Forbes partnere with market research company Statista to survey 20,000 young professionals and identify the companies most liked by new workforce entrants.
Prometheus moves to Torrey Pines, doubles footprint
Prometheus Bioscience has moved into nearly 28,000 square feet of lab and office space at The Muse, a 180,000-square-foot life science campus in Torrey Pines. The company also has leased additional space of about 30,000 square feet at the development and within the next year, will have a total of about 60,000 square feet at The Muse, said Mark McKenna, chairman and CEO of Prometheus.
City Heights Adventure Club Program
awarded $674,566 by California State Parks
California State Parks has awarded $674,566 to the City Heights Adventure Club Program for residents near Crawford High School in the city of San Diego. This program will include approximately 72 activity days in the community for approximately 1,000 participants and 216 trips to natural areas for approximately 3,100 participants during four years of programming. Some of the trips to natural areas outside of the community will include half-day/afterschool outings at San Diego National Wildlife Refuge and Torrey Pines State Reserve. Participants will also be able to participate in a multi-day snowboarding mountain excursion at Snow Valley Mountain.
