Daily Business Report: Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022
Naval architect selected for Scripps Oceanography’s
new California coastal research vessel
By Lauren Fimbres Wood
Naval architecture and marine engineering company Glosten has been selected as the architect for the new Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s California coastal research vessel. The new vessel will be an innovation in the maritime industry with a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-hybrid propulsion system.
With this selection, Glosten will provide the preliminary design, contract design, and detailed design for the research vessel to be operated by Scripps Oceanography. Glosten is a consulting firm of naval architects and marine, electrical, production, and ocean engineers with expertise in providing design and engineering support to the oceanographic research community. Glosten was selected after participating in UC San Diego’s request for proposal process.
“This vessel will be the first of its kind, and the selection of the naval architect is a major milestone for Scripps,” said Bruce Appelgate, associate director and head of ship operations at Scripps Oceanography. “Fundamentally, our ships have to be reliable and capable in order to support the innovative research our scientists conduct at sea. On top of that, the ship we envision needs to demonstrate that zero-emission power systems work effectively under demanding real-world conditions. It’s the job of the naval architect to provide the necessary engineering, design, and integration skills needed for this project to succeed on every level.”
California legislators allocated $35 million towards the design and construction of this vessel last summer. When complete, the vessel will serve as a platform for education and research dedicated to understanding the California coast and climate change impacts to the coastal ecosystem.
Top photo: Proposed conceptual rendering of the new California coastal research vessel. (Credit: Glosten)
California taxpayers will subsidize new Oakland A’s ballpark
By Dan Walters
As the 2021-22 state budget was being finalized in June of last year, a $279.5 million appropriation was quietly inserted into the massive spending plan before it was sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“Funds appropriated in this item shall be for the Port of Oakland for improvements that facilitate enhanced freight and passenger access and to promote the efficient and safe movement of goods and people,” the budget declared.
Seemingly, the Legislature was responding to numerous pleas from the shipping industry for upgrades to maintain the port’s viability in the face of intense competition for international trade.
However, when the port commission recently approved a list of specific projects the money would finance, its long-suspected true purpose became clear. The money would not be spent to improve cargo-handling, but rather to subsidize development of a new stadium for the Oakland A’s baseball team on a disused container site known as Howard Terminal near Jack London Square.
The money would pay for facilities to make it easier for baseball fans to access the new stadium. They apparently would be the “passengers” the appropriation cited.
The commission acted shortly after the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission officially removed Howard Terminal’s designation as a cargo site.
‘The Art of Marketing’ conference scheduled
for Friday, Oct. 21 at University of San Diego
American Marketing Association (AMA) San Diego Chapter is now accepting registrations for its The Art of Marketing: The Future is WOW Conference set for Friday, Oct. 21 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the new Knauss Center of Business Education building on the University of San Diego campus. The conference will also be livestreamed to accommodate virtual attendees from across the country.
Early registrations are encouraged as seats are limited. Reserve tickets here.
The Art of Marketing: The Future is WOW conference will feature 30+ keynotes and speakers, panels and roundtables designed to empower, educate, and propel attendees into the future of marketing. An audience of 300+ are anticipated to attend in-person and will be some of the first to visit the new state-of-the-art Knauss Center of Education building at USD, while hundreds of virtual attendees join online.
SDSU ready to assist as California
takes transitional kindergarten plunge
As the new school year approaches, a major change is coming to elementary education in California: public schools are about to get younger. This fall, schools will open transitional kindergarten (TK) programs serving children who just missed the kindergarten cutoff, turning 5 between Sept. 2 and Dec. 5. It’s California’s first baby step toward a goal of universal TK for all 4-year-olds — an ambitious vision that foresees enrolling more than 300,000 children and hiring tens of thousands of newly qualified teachers by 2025-26.
San Diego State University’s College of Education says it is eager to help the state meet massive, looming workforce needs — and do so in a way that puts teachers in TK classrooms who understand the unique developmental needs of their youngest pupils.
“We’re really well-positioned for this,” said Sarah Garrity, interim senior associate dean. “We have the subject-matter experts that can come together and design a program that is going to meet the needs of students, families, teachers and communities.”
New 10 million-funded institute
will get to the CORE of Data Science
A new National Science Foundation initiative has created a $10 million institute led by computer and data scientists at University of California San Diego that aims to transform the core fundamentals of the rapidly emerging field of Data Science.
Called The Institute for Emerging CORE Methods in Data Science (EnCORE), the institute will be housed in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), in collaboration with The Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI), and will tackle a set of important problems in theoretical foundations of Data Science.
UC San Diego team members will work with researchers from three partnering institutions – University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas at Austin and University of California, Los Angeles — to transform four core aspects of data science: complexity of data, optimization, responsible computing, and education and engagement.
Researcher awarded $2.8 million to study
well-known gene linked to Alzheimer’s disease
Timothy Huang has been awarded $2.8 million by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to continue his work on Alzheimer’s disease. The four-year project will use human stem cells transplanted into mice to determine the role of specific Alzheimer’s-related gene mutations in the brain.
“There is a lot of evidence connecting certain genes to Alzheimer’s, but the role that individual gene mutations play in the brain remains unclear,” says Huang, an assistant professor in the Degenerative Diseases Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys. “Figuring out these specifics is key to uncovering new approaches to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s.”
One of the defining characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease is the accumulation of proteins in the brain called amyloid proteins. Huang and his team will be studying a gene called SORLA, which helps regulate how much amyloid protein is able to accumulate.
“Researchers are starting to uncover the links between SORLA and Alzheimer’s, but there is a lot more work to do before we can start leveraging that into treatments.”
County declares monkeypox local health emergency
Local public health and elected officials in San Diego announced the declaration of a local health emergency Tuesday to respond to monkeypox in the San Diego region.
The action does not indicate that San Diegans are at higher risk of contracting the virus, but it is meant to reassure the public that local health authorities are proactively working to stay ahead of any challenges that may arise. The local health emergency must be ratified in 7 days, by the County Board of Supervisors, and then will need to be ratified again every 30 days, as needed.
Ramona Fire adds crews and resources in transfer
San Diego County Fire has accepted a transfer of responsibility for fire protection and emergency medical services in Ramona. The deal benefits the community, the Ramona Municipal Water District and County Fire.
“This is a great example of two groups coming together to better serve the community”, says Jeff Collins, San Diego County Fire director. “Ramona will gain more firefighters, more paramedics and updated equipment that promotes safety and well-being for our residents. County Fire protects the community, and the Ramona Municipal Water District can focus on providing water and wastewater services.”
County’s Love Your Heart campaign
screened more than 46,000 people
San Diego County released its annual Love Your Heart report Tuesday, showing the February blood-pressure screening campaign alerted 473 people they were in imminent medical danger and warned nearly 22,000 others they could be vulnerable to serious illness and death from heart disease, stroke and COVID-19.
The annual Love Your Heart campaign, held each February, urges people to ‘know their numbers’ by getting their blood pressure screened and promotes education about the dangers of high blood-pressure. Also known as hypertension, high blood-pressure is often referred to as a “silent killer” because most people who have it do not show symptoms.
County officials said this year’s campaign tested the blood pressure of more than 46,000 people, online, and in person at more than 287 sites in San Diego County and Mexico, between Feb. 12 and Feb. 20.
Encinitas agencies cooperating to
refurbish reservoir for recycled water
Olivenhain Municipal Water District is partnering with the San Elijo Joint Powers Authority and the San Dieguito Water District for a $2.2 million rehabilitation of the Wanket Reservoir in Encinitas, providing needed storage for recycled water for irrigation and industrial uses. The 3-million-gallon reservoir was built by the San Dieguito and Olivenhain water districts in 1974 and was last used to store potable water in 2008 when water conservation efforts and efficient indoor plumbing rendered the tank unnecessary at the time.
Olivenhain Municipal Water District is also beginning construction this week on a new recycled water pipeline in Encinitas along Manchester Avenue and South El Camino Real. Customers connecting to this new pipeline will irrigate with recycled water, reducing demand for imported potable water by more than 10 million gallons every year. Read more about the pipeline project.
Buena Vista Lagoon restoration project gets $1 million grant
State Fish and Wildlife Department officials have awarded a $1 million grant to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) for planning the restoration of the Buena Vista Lagoon at the Oceanside-Carlsbad border, the region’s only freshwater marsh, to saltwater wetland. The new grant brings SANDAG up to about half the money it needs to finish the engineering and design work that must be completed before the project can be offered for construction bids.
The agency has applied for more grants to complete the work. No funding has been allocated so far for construction, which is expected to cost between $80 million and $90 million. The restoration should be finished in three to four years after the construction contract is signed.
SANDAG’s board of directors approved the lagoon restoration plan in 2020 after decades of negotiations between residents and the government agencies involved. A low dam at the outlet will be removed to allow ocean water to flow in and out, changing what has become a freshwater marsh back to a saltwater wetland.
Fuse Integration and Raytheon Missiles & Defense
enter Mentor- Protégé agreement
Fuse Integration , a federal defense communications, networking and computing solutions provider based in San Diego, and Raytheon Missiles & Defense have entered into a formal DoD Mentor-Protégé agreement sponsored by the Missile Defense Agency Office of Small Business Programs. The DoD’s Mentor-Protégé program is designed to support eligible small businesses to gain capacity and win government contracts through relationships and partnerships with large companies. Under the program, Raytheon Missiles & Defense will help Fuse mature its engineering capabilities and corporate infrastructure.
Fuse specializes in virtualized network systems, tactical edge virtual networks and airborne networking gateway products, utilizing a warfighter-focused engineering and design approach to improve connectivity in contested environments.
Borg-Warner acquires San Diego’s Rhombus Energy Solutions
BorgWarner Inc. announced that it has acquired San Diego-based Rhombus Energy Solutions. Rhombus offers V2G and Underwriters Laboratory-certified charging. Rhombus supplies its patented technology to EV OEMs, including Proterra, and charging and grid service providers.
The transaction has an enterprise value of up to $185 million, which is being funded primarily with cash balances. Approximately $130 million was delivered at closing and up to $55 million could be paid in the form of contingent payments over the next 3 years.
