Daily Business Report: Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Tourism to Cabrillo National Monument
creates $62.5 million in economic benefits
A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 684,000 visitors to Cabrillo National Monument in 2021 spent $44.5 million in San Diego communities near the park – one of many gateway communities in proximity to a national park site. That spending supported 564 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $62.5 million.
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. The report shows $20.5 billion of direct spending by more than 297 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 322,600 jobs nationally; 269,900 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $42.5 billion.
As for the economics of visitor spending, the lodging sector had the highest direct effects, with $7 billion in economic output nationally. The restaurants sector had the second greatest effects, with $4.2 billion in economic output nationally.
“National parks are a vital part of our nation’s economy, especially for tourism destinations such as San Diego, and California, where millions of visitors each year find places to sleep, eat, and make use of other local services that help drive a vibrant tourism and outdoor recreation industry,” said Superintendent Andrea Compton. “Cabrillo National Monument is San Diego’s only national park, and we are excited to share the stories of this place and the experiences it provides, while also bringing financial benefits to the greater San Diego area.”
Report authors also produce an interactive tool that enables users to explore visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value added, and output effects by sector for national, state, and local economies. Users can also view year-by-year trend data. The interactive tool and report are available at the NPS Social Science Program webpage: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm
Top photo: The lighthouse at Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma. (Courtesy National Park Service)
California leads nation in rent relief
and eviction protection
California has delivered more direct assistance than any other state in rent relief and eviction protection during the pandemic, according to the Governor’s Office. Over the past 15 months, California’s nation-leading rent relief program delivered approximately $4 billion in financial assistance to over 340,000 renter households, preventing homelessness and providing stability to over 700,000 Californians. This year’s budget provides an additional $1.95 billion in emergency rental assistance for eligible applicants who applied through March 31, 2022.
“California ran the largest and most successful eviction protection and rent relief program in the country,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “340,000 families weren’t evicted because of this and the overwhelming majority of assistance went to very low-income households. Homelessness prevented, public health protected, families stabilized.”
California’s program is the largest unified emergency rental assistance program in the nation, covering approximately 64 percent of the state’s population, with local emergency rental assistance programs covering the rest.
Thousands of Californians in limbo as eviction protections end
By Manuela Tobias | CalMatters
Since September 2020, the Legislature has passed and Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed four laws shielding tenants who were unable to pay rent due to COVID-19 from eviction. The most recent extension shielded tenants through June 30 who had applied for rent relief from the state’s $5 billion program by the March 31 deadline but had yet to hear back or receive payments. Those tenants can now be brought to court by their landlords.
“It’s highly unlikely that they are going to get through all these applications by June 30, when the eviction protections expire,” Sarah Treuhaft, vice president of research at PolicyLink, a nonprofit that has been reviewing the state’s rent relief program, said during a press conference this week. “This means they are likely to be evicted and they might eventually get rental assistance.”
Debra Carlton, chief lobbyist for the California Apartment Association, said they have asked their members not to take their tenants with pending applications to court.
The state Department of Housing and Community Development, which administers the program through a contractor, said on July 1 they had approved all complete applications for eligible tenants. Geoffrey Ross, a deputy director handling the program, said they are still processing 13,000 applications that are either missing documentation, or represent an appeal following a denial. They expect to clear all pending applications by early August.
Concorde Career Colleges launch associate degree programs
Concorde Career Colleges Inc., a national leader in health care education with 17 campuses in eight states, has launched associate degree programs in Cardiovascular Sonography (CVS) and Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) at its San Diego campus. The accelerated programs will provide pathways for students who want to pursue in-demand health care careers as quickly as possible.
The demand for professionals in diagnostic medicine is estimated to grow by 14% from 2020 to 2030, largely because of retirements and career changes, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics.i About 12,000 openings for medical sonographers and cardiovascular technologists are projected each year.
Enrollment for both programs are now open. Classes for the DMS Program will begin in July 2022 and for the CVS Program in September 2022. Teaching students fundamental medical concepts through a mixture of classroom learning and hands-on training in clinical settings, both programs are fast paced and offer 960 clinical hours. Students can complete the DMS Program in as little as 20 months and the CVS Program in 21 months.
Stephanie Feldman named Power Digital’s
first chief marketing officer
Power Digital, a leading tech-enabled full-service digital marketing firm that utilizes data, analytics, and proprietary technology to drive commerce, announced the addition of Stephanie Feldman as its first chief marketing officer.
Feldman joins the organization from consultancy PwC to drive the strategic vision for the brand, positioning Power Digital as the premier digital partner for B2C and B2B companies seeking growth, utilizing their proprietary tech platform, SPRnova.
Feldman brings more than 15 years of experience as a marketing leader specializing in digital, customer and employee experience. Before joining Power Digital, Feldman was the marketing leader of PwC’s Digital Services business focused on driving the firm’s progressive digital and emerging offerings.
There she elevated work with brands like Chipotle, Wyndham and AXS —the latter of which improved accessibility for millions —landing the firm a Fast Company Innovation award.
Prior to PwC, Feldman led the development of the first social media division at Digitaria (later becoming Mirum, and now Wunderman Thompson), a leading digital agency within WPP.
Feldman drove initiatives for brands like Oakley, redesigning their global social media strategy, and built Intel, LPL Financial, and Royal Caribbean’s first B2B digital programs, among others.
Register for free college tuition
through San Diego Promise
High school seniors, high school diploma/equivalency and GED graduates can apply by Monday, August 15, 2022, for up to two years of free tuition and health fees toward San Diego City, Mesa, or Miramar colleges through the San Diego Promise. Launched by the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), the San Diego Promise is also open to veterans of the US armed forces, foster youth, justice-impacted, and undocumented students.
Students, parents, community members and leaders interested in the free-tuition program, the San Diego Promise, are encouraged to attend the virtual information night at 6 p.m. on July 5, 2022, or at 6 p.m. on August 2, 2022. Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.
For the first time since the scholarship program’s inception in 2016, California’s state budget will include funding to enroll any student who goes to a SDCCD college full-time (and who does not already have a college degree). Historically the San Diego Promise was limited to first-time full-time college students.
Port of San Diego’s environmental efforts
recognized with Green Marine Certification
The Port of San Diego has been re-certified by Green Marine, North America’s largest voluntary environmental certification program for the maritime industry. The Port first enrolled in Green Marine in 2018 and at that time was the second port in California to become a Green Marine participant.
The re-certification covers calendar year 2021.
To earn the re-certification, the Port had to undergo a rigorous evaluation of its environmental initiatives.
Results of the evaluation were then verified by an accredited third party.
The program addresses 14 key areas that include community relations and environmental leadership with precise criteria that measure progress beyond regulations.
Areas in which the Port was evaluated include initiatives for reducing greenhouse gas and air pollutants, spill prevention and stormwater management, community impacts, environmental leadership, waste management, and underwater noise.
One Alexandria Square cleared for Salk-inspired remodel
Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.’s One Alexandria Square has been approved for permits needed to begin construction. The state-of-the-art project reimagines its existing 22-acre facility between Callan Road and Science Park Road in Torrey Pines, introducing 229,000 square feet of new construction and a total of 428,1l60 square feet of office and lab space.
UCSD and Scripps Oceanography researchers
part of project to build artificial coral reefs
A team of researchers involving the University of California San Diego has received a $25 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to build artificial coral reefs to protect coastal areas in Hawaii against flooding, erosion and storm damage.
The artificial reefs will be designed to work with local ecology to create a living, growing and self-healing system. The reefs will provide a natural defense that can keep pace with sea-level rise over time and slow down waves, dissipating their energy before they reach land. A big benefit of artificial reefs is that they can be rapidly deployed to provide immediate protection while promoting the growth of reef-supporting organisms. Natural reefs take decades to mature, but the artificial versions can reach full functionality in a matter of months to years.
The project is an academic-industry partnership led by the University of Hawaii, with other partners including UC San Diego, Florida Atlantic University and Makai Ocean Engineering.
Epic Sciences completes first close of Series F financial round
San Diego diagnostics company Epic Sciences Inc. is in an epic position to grow its multi-omic platform and expand operations. On June 2, the company announced it had completed a $43 million first close of its Series F financing round, led by Arsenal Capital Partners with support from existing investors Blue Ox Healthcare Partners, Deerfield Management and Labcorp. This latest funding round brings Epic’s total capital raises to $185 million to date.
“We are extremely proud to have a world-class group of strategic partners backing us to meet the growing demand for Epic’s liquid biopsy offerings,” said Lloyd Sanders, president and CEO of Epic Sciences. “We are continuing to innovate testing for both the research and clinical markets. Our biopharma partners are driving our presence into drug development efforts and an increasing number of clinical trials, while we continue to see growing excitement from practicing clinical oncologists for DefineMBC and future tests.”
Developer breaks ground on $285 million downtown
luxury apartments with extended-stay hotel rooms
A developer has broken ground on a 37-story residential tower near Little Italy that will be a mix of apartments and extended-stay hotel rooms. The Lindley tower joins a rapidly rising area of downtown near the intersection of Columbia and Ash streets. It is about a block from the 36-story Simone apartment building under construction on Union Street. Both projects will increase density in an area already home to some of downtown’s tallest buildings.
Developer Toll Brothers’ Lindley tower is unique among new residential projects because it will have 59 extended-stay hotel rooms that are available for 30 to 90 days in addition to 363 apartments.
PGT Innovations opens new Skye Walls
flagship showroom in San Diego
PGT Innovations, a national leader in the premium window and door category, has opened its new flagship Skye Walls home renovation showroom in San Diego. Located at 8990 Miramar Road in Suite 270, the new showroom features bi-fold doors, multi-slide doors, and hinged glass doors from Western Window Systems, a PGT Innovations brand, and an award-winning manufacturer of window and door products that combine superior craftsmanship and timeless design.
With Skye Walls, the remodel process is streamlined for homeowners, as the entire scope of the project – conceptualization, design, engineering, demolition, installation, inspections – is handled from start to finish by one team. Products from Western Window Systems and Anlin Windows and Doors are available to use in Skye Walls renovation project to seamlessly blend the indoors with the outdoors and expand living areas.
