Daily Business Report: Monday, Aug. 1, 2022
The Top 25 Newspapers by Daily Circulation
Visual Capitalist
Most people today—more than 8 in 10 Americans—get their news via digital devices, doing their reading on apps, listening to podcasts, or scrolling through social media feeds.
It’s no surprise then that over the last year, only one U.S. newspaper of the top 25 most popular in the country saw positive growth in their daily print circulations.
Based on data from Press Gazette, this visual stacks up the amount of daily newspapers different U.S. publications dole out and how that’s changed year-over-year.
Extra, Extra – Read All About It
The most widely circulated physical newspaper is the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) by a long shot — sending out almost 700,000 copies a day. But it is important to note that this number is an 11 percent decrease since 2021.
Top Photo: Can Stock Photo/scanrail
Marriott’s Courtyard San Diego Downtown Hotel
sold to two East Coast management companies
Marriott’s 245-room Courtyard San Diego Downtown Hotel has been sold for an undisclosed price to an affiliate of New York City-based Certares Management LLC in partnership with Philadelphia-based HHM. Michael DiPrima and Diana Simpson with CBRE Hotels handled negotiations for the seller.
The sale marks the duo’s eighth hotel transaction in the San Diego metro since June 2021, the most of any investment sales team in the region. In that time, DiPrima and Simpson have worked approximately a half billion dollars in hotel transactions in San Diego.
“San Diego is the greatest hotel market on the West Coast and possibly the country,” said DiPrima. “The metro is seeing more transaction activity than any other region in Southern California, and a lot of that has to do with its booming tourism and leisure activity, as well as the tremendous amount of life sciences and technology development underway.”
Located at 530 South Broadway in Downtown San Diego, the historic hotel was originally built as the San Diego Trust & Savings Bank in 1928 and converted into a hotel in 1999. The hotel features a grand lobby with 32-foot-high ceilings, 4,800 square feet of meeting space including the Safe Deposit room with the original 47,000-pound Mosler Safe Company vault door, and 245 guest rooms that recently underwent a $4.5 million renovation.
$165 million refinancing secured for
Genesis Science Center in Sorrento Mesa
JLL Capital Markets has arranged a $165 million refinancing for Genesis Science Center, a four-building, life sciences R&D campus totaling 252,000 square feet in San Diego. JLL worked on behalf of Phase 3 Real Estate Partners Inc. and Bain Capital Real Estate to secure the three-year loan through a national bank.
Genesis Science Center is positioned on 13 acres at 5510, 5550, 5580 and 5590 Morehouse Dr. in the heart of the Sorrento Mesa biotech cluster. The fully leased campus is home to a variety of emerging and established life sciences and biotech firms and offers tenants an outdoor eatery, fitness center and a conference center that can accommodate 100-plus people.
The JLL Capital Markets team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director Tim Wright, Managing Director Todd Sugimoto and Associate Daniel Pinkus.
Andrew Roseberry joins Erickson-Hall
Construction Co. as a talent acquisition specialist
Erickson-Hall Construction Co. has hired Andrew (Drew) Roseberry to its team as a talent acquisition specialist.
A U.S. Navy veteran, Roseberry brings eight years of experience in personnel management.
Filling a newly created position within the company, Roseberry’s hiring demonstrates Erickson-Hall’s steady growth and projected need for additional team members to keep up with demand.
An award-winning and employee-owned leader in California construction, Erickson-Hall has been growing steadily since 1998.
As a young adult, Drew enlisted in the Navy and spent time on the U.S.S. America (an Amphibius Assault Ship), Whidbey Island in Washington State, and in South America.
During his years in the Navy, he advanced to became a senior personnel manager. He helped develop and design personnel policies and culture, implement HR improvements, and served as a career counselor.
Roseberry was commended by leadership for growing and sustaining team engagement.
While in the military, he earned his bachelor’s degree in health care management and his MBA from Columbia Southern University.
Amanda Glosson and Kaylei Wright take
top staff positions at AppTech Payments Corp.
AppTech Payments Corp. in Carlsbad announced an expansion of its leadership team to include two leaders in the Fintech space: Software Engineer Amanda Glosson and Chief of Staff Kaylei Wright.
Ms.Glosson joins AppTech with 14 years of payments engineering experience at Blackbaud where she held several positions focused on a future-driven approach to solutions. In her new role, she is an integral part of the AppTech engineering team responsible for developing the organizations core payments and digital banking solutions to enable omni-channel commerce experiences for customers that propel business growth.
Wright was promoted to Chief of Staff at AppTech. She made great advancements at AppTech, starting as an intern in the investor relations group and eventually leading the communications team. In her new role, Wright will continue to work alongside multiple arms of the organizational leadership to shape strategic direction and define messaging for both investors and the general market alike.
Rosie Rios new chair of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission
Former Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios has been designated as the chairperson for the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, the first woman to lead the national bi-partisan group.
The Commission provides leadership for the America250 Foundation in the planning of the July 4, 2026 anniversary of the country’s founding.
Rios, the longest serving treasurer in U.S. history from 2008 to 2016, was designated to be chair by President Biden. She has been serving on the Commission since January 11, 2018.
“Rosie is a uniter who brings a wealth of experience, an inclusive perspective, and a respected track record of serving the American people. She has dedicated her life to helping our nation live up to its ideals of liberty, freedom and justice through public service and civic engagement,” said Joe Daniels, America250 president and CEO.
Former chairperson Dan DiLella will remain on the commission.
County to install naloxone vending machines
to combat growing opioid overdoses
The County of San Diego is readying a new tool to help fight the growing number of opioid overdoses in the region.
It will install 12 naloxone vending machines throughout the region by next summer, with half of them scheduled to go up by the end of this year.
Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, is a medication used to reverse overdoses by restoring normal breathing.
The drug can prevent overdose deaths if used quickly and followed by medical treatment.
Risks related to substance use and opioid-related drug overdoses have been on the rise in the region for the last couple of years. Based on preliminary data, nearly 900 people died from accidental opioid overdoses in San Diego County in 2021.
That’s a 55 percent increase compared to 2020.
The goal of the County’s Naloxone Distribution Program is to disseminate 33,000 naloxone kits by June 30 of next year.
CheeseSmith Artisan Creamery wins medal
at American Cheese Society national awards
San Diego-based cheese maker CheeseSmith Artisan Creamery received a Silver Medal at the American Cheese Society Award Ceremony held in Portland, Ore. on July 21, 2022. The contest evaluated 1,387 entries submitted by 196 cheese companies. CheeseSmith is located within San Diego’s iconic brewery, AleSmith Brewing Company, with both companies owned by Peter Zien.
The winning cheese was a Persian Lime and Chili Pepper Cheese Curd made by Zien. This was his first time entering a professional cheese contest.
CheeseSmith Artisan Creamery opened in 2018 and is located at the rear part of AleSmith’s expansive 109,000 square foot brewing facility in Miramar. The concept of a creamery located within a brewery started decades earlier with the spent grain from brewing was given to local farmers, some raising goats and cows, as feed supplement. Many times the farmers would share fresh goat and cow milk with Peter, who expanded his interest in beer to the realm of cheese and cheese making.
Various cheese offerings can be purchased to-go or enjoyed on site at the AleSmith Tasting Room and Gift Shop located at 9990 AleSmith Court in San Diego. Also, cheese and beer pairing events featuring CheeseSmith and AleSmith are held at the brewery.
Apple expands San Diego footprint with 67-acre purchase
Following a 2018 commitment to grow an engineering hub in the region, Apple has acquired a seven-building, 67-acre campus in Rancho Bernardo for $445 million. The deal marks Apple’s first local commercial property purchase, which will support its goal to hire 5,000 locally by 2026 — a nod to the region’s long-established tech ecosystem and talent pool.
Salk, Scripps announce HIV research breakthroughs
A team of scientists from the Salk Institute has determined the molecular structure of a protein that plays a key role in HIV replication. At the same time, scientists at Scripps Research discovered how our immune system detects the virus. These San Diego-made discoveries could impact drug development for HIV treatments and vaccines, and opens the door for important follow-up research.
Genomics startup Replay raises $55 million
Replay, a genomics toolkit startup with dual headquarters in San Diego and London, secured $55 million in seed capital to develop technologies for delivering next-generation gene and cell therapies. The company’s series of platform technologies aim to better write and deliver emerging genomic therapies to targets.
SANDAG supports study looking at extending
Blue Line Trolley over border into Tijuana
Imagine stepping into an elevated trolley car in Tijuana — and moments later emerging across the border in the United States. No more hours spent inching forward on foot toward the San Ysidro Port of Entry. No more getting stuck in fume-choked lines of idling cars.
The San Diego Association of Governments is supporting a private-sector study that looks at extending San Diego’s Blue Line Trolley over the border into Tijuana. If it sounds far-fetched, proponents point out that their idea is not so different from the Cross-Border Xpress, the airport pedestrian bridge connecting travelers in San Diego to Tijuana’s A.L. Rodriguez International Airport.
Procopio reboots LaunchPad after two-year hiatus
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.
