Daily Business Report: Friday, June 24, 2022
California voters may face two sports
betting measures on the November ballot
What happens if both initiatives pass?
By Grace Gedye | CalMatters
Come November, Californians will likely face the question: Should sports betting be legalized?
And then, a bit further down their ballot, there’s a good chance they’ll get asked again: Should sports betting be legalized?
Yep. Odds are that two measures to legalize sports betting will appear on November’s ballot. That’s pared back from earlier this year, when four different initiatives were in play.
Of the two remaining measures, one is already eligible for the November ballot, and the other is expected to be soon.
Here’s what each initiative does:
The “California Sports Wagering Regulation and Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act” is backed by a group of Native American tribes and is currently eligible for the ballot. It would allow tribal casinos and the state’s four horse race tracks to offer sports betting. It would also allow tribal casinos to expand their gambling offerings to roulette and dice games.
Meanwhile, the “California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Act” is backed by several large sports betting companies, including FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM. It would legalize online sports betting outside of Native American lands, and allow gaming companies to offer online sports betting if they partner with a tribe. Election officials are reviewing the signatures for this initiative — if enough are valid, it too will be eligible for the ballot.
Top Photo: The Breeders’ Cup Classic race at the Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar on Nov. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
LaunchPad startup incubator rebooted
by San Diego’s largest law firm
After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, San Diego startups are now again invited to apply to join Procopio’s acclaimed LaunchPad incubator. Since 2012, select groups of carefully chosen emerging growth companies have begun the formation, protection of core technology, early funding and growth in Procopio’s Del Mar Heights offices, located in the heart of San Diego’s high-technology community.
The companies’ entrepreneurs have worked side by side with Procopio attorneys focused on understanding their industries and positioning them for growth and success.
LaunchPad is a program of Procopio Business Advisors, LLC (PBA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP.
LaunchPad participants receive a selection of complimentary corporate and intellectual property legal services from PCHS along with office space and back-office business support. The nine-month program also includes educational opportunities on key topics.
Applications for the 2022 Launch Pad cohort are now being accepted. Potential participants must complete an application. More information is on the LaunchPad website.
Scripps Research scientists identify
sensor underlying mechanical itch
Scientists at Scripps Research have identified a protein in sensory nerves that works as a key detector of itch—specifically the “mechanical” itch stimulus of crawling insects, wool fibers, or other irritating objects that touch the skin.
The discovery, published June 22, 2022, in Nature, is the first identification of a sensor for mechanical itch rather than chemically-triggered itch. It could lead to better treatments for itch conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.
“These findings help us untangle the complexity of itch sensation, and suggest that PIEZO1 inhibitors could be very useful clinically,” says study senior author Ardem Patapoutian, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Scripps Research, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
Itch is a distinct sensation with its own nerve circuitry and evolutionary purpose—likely to alert organisms to potentially harmful chemicals, insects and parasites.
Microbusinesses get more time
to apply for $2,500 county grants
The smallest of San Diego County’s small businesses ― from dog walkers to tutors, sidewalk vendors and everything in between ― now have more time to apply for a free $2,500 County grant. The deadline for “microbusinesses” hurt by COVID-19 to apply for the second round of $2,500 grants has been extended from June 24 to July 15.
The grants are partly funded by the California Office of the Small Business Advocate. A first round of grant applications closed in March. County supervisors unanimously approved in February giving out 1,550 of the $2,500 grants, totaling $3.8 million, to COVID-19-affected businesses earning less than $50,000 a year with fewer than five full-time employees.
The grants are being given out with a special emphasis on helping businesses run by people and groups that have historically faced barriers to obtaining capital, including women, minorities, veterans, limited English speakers, businesses in low- to mid-income rural areas and people without documentation.
For more information, and to apply, click here.
Luis Sanches, a former tobacco company executive,
has joined Greenbutts LLC as chief strategy officer
Greenbutts LLC announced the appointment of Luis Sanches as the company’s chief strategy officer effective immediately. Sanches is a senior corporate executive with more than 30 years of international experience responsible for managing business teams, supporting growth, and leading transformations across multiple geographies.
He was previously the senior vice president of R&D for Reynolds American Inc., an American tobacco company and subsidiary of British American Tobacco, the second-largest tobacco company in the United States that generated north of $35 billion revenue for 2021. His corporate tenure under British American Tobacco spanned 31 years in total, including the position of group head of product development in the United Kingdom and vice president of Kentucky BioProcessing KBP. He successfully led the development of novelty scientific knowledge and multi-category consumer lead product innovations.
Sanches will oversee the company’s global expansion strategy regarding material and filter production in every region where Greenbutts serves customers. In addition, Sanches will work on optimizing the firm’s filter manufacturing process to meet the regulatory needs and specifications of each of its customers.
Susan Mason joins Tyson & Mendes law
firm in San Diego as a new partner
Nationwide civil litigation defense firm Tyson & Mendes LLP announced the addition of Susan Mason as a new partner in the firm’s San Diego headquarters. Mason is a veteran trial lawyer who brings nearly 30 years of experience and substantial knowledge working with, and on behalf of, insurance carriers and their insureds, evaluating and trying cases and working toward favorable outcomes for her clients short of trial.
She has litigated roughly a thousand civil matters in her career. Her practice focuses on personal injury, product liability, employment, and the defense of nonprofit organizations.
Mason served as a partner at Devaney Pate Morris & Cameron in San Diego before joining Tyson & Mendes. Before that, she served as a partner with Brack & Mason for nearly 25 years. She is recognized as a Martindale-Hubbell AV-Preeminent Peer Review Rated attorney for the highest level of professional excellence.
Mason obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego, where she received the American Jurisprudence Award in insurance law and graduated cum laude. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in political science from the University of California, San Diego.
Business Accelerator Program created
by Black Chamber of Commerce
The County of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce has created a Business Accelerator Program under its Urban Business Resource Center (UBRC).
The first cohort, comprised of 14 minority-owned businesses, graduated in May, and on June 10 at UC San Diego Park & Market, the graduates were awarded a grant of almost $12,000 per participant in cash and Sony Electronics equipment.
With sponsorship from The San Diego Foundation, Sony Electronics Inc., and Bank of America, the County of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce is proud to offer this opportunity to elevate these local small businesses.
MXR Imaging acquires Mega Tech Inc.
MXR Imaging Inc. has completed the acquisition of Mega Tech Inc.
Mega Tech, headquartered in Paterson, NJ, has been a leading provider of CT and MRI equipment sales and maintenance service for decades.
Established in 1995 and known for their personal touch and strength of their technical background, Mega Tech has provided high quality medical imaging services to its customers in all sectors of healthcare.
MXR Imaging executives stated that this acquisition will expand the company’s footprint in the northeast and further strengthens its service support organization.
“We are very excited about the technical imaging expertise and talented people that are becoming part of the MXR Imaging organization,” said Bernard Amato, CFO of MXR Imaging.
Fuse Integration conducts live-flight demo
during joint Marine Corp/Navy exercise
Fuse Integration, an innovative federal defense communications, networking and computing solutions provider, announced it conducted a successful live-flight demonstration of its Tactical Edge Networking capability in support of the U.S. Marine Corps’ I Marine Expeditionary Force and the U.S. Navy’s Third Fleet. The joint multi-domain exercise enabled the interconnecting of multiple distributed nodes and command posts replicating expeditionary advanced base operations.
Throughout the day-long exercise at Camp Pendleton, Fuse provided networked text, voice communications and live video across the distributed network to the I MEF and Third Fleet. The company demonstrated resilient, multi-domain networking in a notional, SATCOM-denied environment; low probability of intercept/low probability of detection discovery for Bandwidth Efficient Common Data Link over out-of-band control planes; directional mesh networking; and multi-link crossbanding.
International Institute of Metabolic Medicine
signs alliance with UC San Diego
The International Institute of Metabolic Medicine (IIMM), based in Tijuana, announces the formal partnership with the Department of Surgery at the University of California San Diego. This partnership for teaching, consulting, and the second opinion sees the union of two metabolic and bariatric surgery powerhouses.
This collaboration opens the doors to cross-border health services and a network of health providers in Mexico.
The IIMM will house the Center for the Future of Surgery (CFS) of UCSD, the only based outside the U.S. Thanks to education, research, and innovation, Tijuana will be a medical benchmark in Latin America.
BXNG Club expands with new Rancho Bernardo location
The BXNG Club, a leader in combat sports and fitness, announced its new location in the heart of Rancho Bernardo. This will be the combat sports leader’s fourth overall location with 16,000 square feet for signature programs and offerings with an opening date scheduled for early 2023. As Rancho Bernardo continues to be home to incredible corporations, schools, local businesses, wineries, and more – there is complete alignment for BXNG expansion in Rancho Bernardo.
The new club will include more than 50 boxing heavy bags, professional full-size boxing rings, a grappling area, an indoor cycling studio, a functional training area, a specialized cardio deck & weight room, a recovery studio, locker rooms, saunas, and a members lounge. The BXNG Club offers a wide lineup of programs taught by world-class coaches ranging from boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, yoga, strength training, cycling, high-intensity interval training, and more. With over 100 classes a week – unlimited classes is truly limitless.
Big Blue Swim School to open 70 locations in California
Big Blue Swim School, one of the country’s fastest-growing franchises in the $3 billion learn-to-swim industry, sets its sights on California for its next wave of expansion, projecting nearly 70 new schools to open in the state over the next five years.
Also contributing to the brand’s growth in California, Big Blue has signed a multi-unit franchise agreement to open eight stores in San Diego with Blue Marlin Ventures LLC and a three-unit deal with local Bay Area residents, Sean Alexis and Aldona Clottey. Eventually, Big Blue plans to expand north across San Jose and Sacramento.
Founded in 2009, Big Blue Swim School is one of the fastest-growing swim school franchises in the industry. The brand has signed commitments for 227 schools in 25 states and is aiming for 240 pools sold by the end of 2022.
Grand opening June 28 for new
Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos
On June 28, one year after kicking off construction, the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos will celebrate the grand opening and ribbon cutting of its new Walter J. & Betty C. Zable Foundation Branch, located in the Richmar neighborhood of San Marcos. A collaboration between the nonprofit youth organization and the City of San Marcos, the Boys & Girls Club’s new 6,000-square-foot clubhouse will serve up to 125 elementary school-aged children each day.
The City of San Marcos’ commitment to revitalizing the Richmar neighborhood spans nearly two decades. When the City was looking for the perfect community-focused tenant to occupy a vacant block of commercial space in the Richmar neighborhood, city staff presented the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos with an offer: a $1 per year, 30-year renewable lease and $1.2 million of additional funding to help pay for the tenant buildout to open a second San Marcos Clubhouse. That funding was made possible through affordable housing grants and the city’s allocation of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Quidel Corporation and American Heart Assn.
join forces to improve health of San Diegans
QuidelOrtho Corporation announces that its subsidiary, Quidel Corporation, is collaborating with the American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer and healthier lives, to improve the health of San Diego residents and deconstruct barriers to equitable health in our communities. Quidel Corporation will invest funding totaling $750,000 and support over the next three years as the American Heart Association approaches their centennial anniversary in 2024.
“Collaborating with the AHA San Diego Division helps us fulfill our responsibility of supporting our community, and there’s no better time to announce this collaboration than now,” said Douglas Bryant, chairman and CEO of QuidelOrtho Corporation. “Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and for many diseases such as heart failure, the prevalence is only increasing. As we remain dedicated to addressing unmet needs in diseases, our top priority continues to be to elevate attention to heart disease. We look forward to continuing to work together with the AHA to advance their goals and initiatives.”