Daily Business Report: Monday, Nov. 7, 2022
Public Health Alert:
Protect yourself from trio of viruses
circulating in the county this season
Federal, state and local leaders are urging the public to get protection against a trio of respiratory illnesses that are circulating in the community this season.
In addition to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the county is seeing an early spike of flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases. Flu cases rose by 1,198 last week and have now hit 3,735 to date, compared to 265 cases at this time last year.
Flu cases typically do not peak until December at which time RSV begins to increase. While not an officially reportable disease, regional RSV cases reached 1,020 through October, compared with 407 for the same period last year.
The viruses currently in circulation are hitting seniors and children particularly hard. Flu and RSV patients are currently inundating local pediatric care providers, with wait times at Rady Children’s Hospital exceeding several hours last week.
Get Vaccinated
Vaccinations are a proven strategy for protecting community health and preparing for a potentially challenging flu season. Both the flu and COVID vaccine take two weeks to become fully effective, so people should get both shots as soon as possible.
San Diegans can also take a number of other preventative measures to avoid getting sick. These actions include:
• Consider a well-fitting, good-quality mask, especially indoors or in crowded spaces;
• Wash hands thoroughly and often;
• Use hand sanitizers, if unable to wash hands;
• Stay away from sick people;
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth;
• Clean commonly touched surfaces; and
• If you are sick, stay home and avoid contact with others.
Top Photo: Registered nurses prepare to enter the Intensive Care Unit at the Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo on Jan. 25, 2022. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton, Reuters, via CalMatters)
Seaport San Diego project faces early vote
After six years of deliberation, the developer proposing to redo Downtown’s Central Embarcadero with hotels, attractions and new marinas is on the cusp of receiving confirmation that its $3.6 billion plan is ready to graduate beyond the realm of the conceptual. On Tuesday, Port of San Diego Commissioners will vote to start an environmental review of 1HWY1’s mega project, called Seaport San Diego. The action, which is recommended by staff and does not constitute project approval, would be an official green light after years of mixed signals, propelling the project into a new era of formal consideration.
Seeing the immune system in full color
Sanford Burnham Prebys
The Flow Cytometry Core at Sanford Burnham Prebys is getting a new piece of state-of-the-art research equipment, thanks to a grant from the National Institutes of Health. The $450,000 grant, awarded to Facility Director Yoav Altman, will go toward a new spectral flow cytometer that can create a cell-by-cell inventory of immune cells in blood or other tissue samples. Flow cytometry is a fundamental technology for studying cells at the individual level, and it has a wide range of applications, both in the lab and in the clinic. Flow cytometers can analyze complex mixtures of cells, such as blood, to determine which kinds of cells are present and in what amounts.
The new machine has five lasers and can detect more colors than the Institute’s current flow cytometers, which will allow researchers to study many more types of cells from a single sample than current equipment allows.
Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg receives
APSCC Lifetime Achievement Award
Calling him “outspoken, softspoken and a visionary,” the president of the Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC) recently presented Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award acknowledged innovation and achievement in the satellite industry, and leadership in developing and expediting the distribution of new satellite services in the Asia-Pacific region.
The third of Viasat’s upcoming ViaSat-3 global constellation will focus on Asia-Pacific.
“We don’t give this every year, and it has to go to a person that has an illustrious career,” said award presenter and APSCC President Gregg Daffner.
“This year is no exception in terms of finding someone really special. Mark is an industry expert in aerospace, defense and satellite communications. He’s a leading visionary for a new generation of high-capacity satellite systems — the ViaSat-3 series (and) he is one of the visionaries of our industry.
NASSCO lays keel for future USS Robert E. Simanek
NASSCO laid the keel for the future USS Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7), the fifth ship for the U.S. Navy’s reclassified Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) program. The ceremony was Oct. 21. Ann Simanek, the sponsor for the future USS Robert E. Simanek and daughter of the ship’s namesake, welded her initials onto a steel plate that will be permanently affixed to the ship’s keel and will remain with the vessel throughout its time in service.
The ship is named for Private First Class Robert Ernest Simanek, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for shielding fellow Marines from a grenade at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the Korean War. The Medal of Honor was presented to him by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in a White House ceremony in 1953.
Luzilda ‘Lucy’ Arciniega joins The Salk Institute
The Salk Institute has named Luzilda “Lucy” Arciniega director of Diversity Strategies & Implementation, as the Institute continues to expand its focus on efforts that support recruitment, retention, leadership, and cultural connectivity throughout its campus.
Arciniega will work to further diversity at the Institute by moving forward a long-term strategic plan that is tailored to Salk’s unique culture, reinforces the Institute’s values, and fosters a sense of belonging through accountability, respect, access, and recognition.
Leveraging her background in anthropology, Arciniega co-founded Willing Observers LLC, a company that works with organizations to assess their cultural norms, beliefs, values, and practices, and use that information to create meaningful, data-driven, and sustainable strategies for DEI improvement and accountability.
Attorney Elizabeth Mireles
joins Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP
Attorney Elizabeth Mireles has joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP’s Business Litigation and Tort & Insurance Law practice groups. Mireles brings a variety of experience to the firm, and her background includes work on subrogation and recovery, advising clients on subrogation viability, supervising forensic examinations, and assisting on property loss cases.
Mireles served as a housing justice fellow with the Inner City Law Center in Los Angeles, and also served as a legal extern for the California State Division of Labor and Standards Enforcement. Earlier in her career, she was a judicial extern for U.S. Magistrate Judge Crawford of the Southern District of California, and she also held an internship with the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. Mireles began her legal career as a law clerk at HFM while in law school. Mireles earned a Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, San Diego.
Sempra signs 20-year deal to build wind farm in Baja
San Diego energy giant Sempra has signed a deal to build a large wind farm, the Cimarrón 60 turbin wind project, in Baja California. The operation will generate the equivalent of the annual energy consumed by 84,000 homes and reduce 210,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. This energy will deliver to the ECO Substation in East County to power California’s electric grid.
CSUSM ranks first in Social Mobility Index
Cal State San Marcos has been ranked first nationally out of more than 1,400 schools in the ninth annual Social Mobility Index by CollegeNET. The ranking focuses on four-year colleges and universities that hold the line on affordable tuition, enroll students from low-income backgrounds, and graduate underrepresented students into quality jobs. Notably, at least 52 percent of CSUSM graduates are the first in their families to earn a bachelor’s degree, and about 80 percent of students remain in the region following graduation.
County gets $125,000 grant for bicycle
and pedestrian safety program
The County of San Diego has received a grant of $125,000 from the California Office of Traffic Safety to fund activities emphasizing the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians. The services will run through Sept. 30, 2023, and will be provided by Circulate San Diego. “Bicycle ridership is growing and a big part of San Diego County’s sustainable future,” said San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency Community Operations Officer Barbara Jiménez. “It has never been more important to promote both the benefits of cycling and ensuring everyone is using our roads safely.”
Kratos awarded subcontract for hypersonic test bed
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. of San Diego has been awarded a subcontract to increase America’s capacity for hypersonic flight testing. The program, known as Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB), was awarded by Naval Surface Warfare Center. The prime contractor is Dynetics and the MACH-TB Team. Under the contract, the Team will develop an affordable and responsive hypersonic test bed platform to dramatically increase the nation’s capacity for ground and flight testing of hypersonic technologies and payloads by leveraging commercial infrastructure and launch vehicle providers.
