Daily Business Report: Monday, Feb. 27, 2023
City of San Diego hosts Cybersecurity
Awareness training for small business
The City of San Diego is inviting small businesses to participate in a Cybersecurity Awareness Program, hosted in collaboration with the Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE).
Local small business owners are encouraged to join the city for a virtual information session and FBI briefing on Thursday, March 2, at 10 a.m. to learn more about the program and current threat landscape. The program is free to participating small businesses and made possible by a grant from the City of San Diego’s Economic Development Department.
Cybercrime has soared in recent years with an estimated $7 trillion in damages in 2022, according to industry expert Cybersecurity Ventures. There have also been several recent attacks on San Diego’s local agencies and institutions, including Scripps Health, the Port of San Diego, the City of San Marcos and UC San Diego Health.
According to Accenture’s Cost of Cybercrime Study, 43 percent of cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses, but only 14 percent are prepared to defend themselves.
Photo: Canstockphoto
SCORE San Diego holds cybersecurity workshop March 3
SCORE San Diego will sponsor a cybersecurity workshop on Friday, March 3, explaining simple things you can do to safeguard your business and home computer systems. Other topics:
• What is the cyber threat, who is attached?
• Social engineering, the hacker’s primary means of attack.
• Training and awareness.
• Business compliance.
• System securing planning.
The workshop will be held at 9 a.m. at SCORE San Diego, 8825 Aero Drive, Suite 102, San Diego 92123.
Arevon and San Diego Community Power
host Vikings Energy groundbreaking event
HOLTVILLE, Calif. – In an effort to provide, reliable, affordable, clean power to the equivalent of 50,000 homes in the San Diego region, Arevon Energy Inc., a leading renewable energy company, and San Diego Community Power broke ground last week at the Vikings Energy Farm, a Holtville-based solar-plus-storage power plant that is one of the first of its kind in the United States. San Diego Community Power has a goal to have 15 percent of its renewable energy locally sourced by 2035.
Vikings Energy Farm is being constructed by SOLV Energy, which has done work throughout the Imperial Valley. The Vikings Energy Farm will feature Tesla Megapack for storage and First Solar thin-film PV modules. Work will be performed by local union labor.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2024.
U.S. Postal Service celebrates
symmetrical beauty of flowers
The U.S. Postal Service has issued a high-denomination stamp celebrating the mathematical symmetry of flowers. A dedication for the stamp was held Friday at the San Diego Stamp Show. The new $10 Floral Geometry stamp complements similar $2 and $5 stamps issued in 2022. These stamps lend a contemporary appearance to packages, large envelopes and other mailings.
The Floral Geometry stamps began as an exploration of the patterns found in nature, specifically the symmetry of flowers. The designs feature a series of overlapping geometric shapes — circles, ovals and triangles — that reflect the symmetry of floral patterns. As the stamp denominations rise from $2 to $5 to $10, the designs become more complex.
The watercolor backgrounds were painted by hand and scanned. The background for the $10 stamp is red; white geometric lines and typography were added digitally. A foil treatment adds a stylish glimmer.
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide.
SDSU chief diversity officer appointed
to California Racial Equity Commission
J. Luke Wood, vice president for Student Affairs and campus diversity and chief diversity officer at San Diego State University, was appointed to serve on the California Racial Equity Commission, the state’s Senate Rules Committee announced. The committee, chaired by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego), said Wood and Candis Bowles, a Southern California attorney, will serve two-year terms.
Wood joined SDSU in 2011 as co-director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL), a national research and practice center partnering with community colleges to support their capacity in advancing outcomes for underserved students of color.
Earlier this month, Wood announced that after five years of service in SDSU’s administration, he will be rejoining the university’s faculty full time. Wood will continue in his role while the university conducts a national search for its next permanent vice president, set to launch in March.
Jan Mello joins ICW Group as vice
president, head of human resources
Jan Mello has joined ICW Group Insurance Companies, a leading group of property and casualty carriers, as vice president, head of human resoures.
Mello brings more than 25 years of experience across multiple industries to ICW Group.
Her expertise includes global human resources leadership, enhancing employee engagement and development, and optimizing performance.
Before joining ICW Group, Mello was partner and chief human resources officer for USI Insurance Services.
Mello received her Bachelor of Administration degree in business administration from California State University, Fullerton, and holds several human resources and talent certifications.
She will lead the Human Resources and Learning and Development teams based out of ICW Group’s corporate headquarters in San Diego.
General Atomics performs cold weather tests
on company-owned MQ-98 SkyGuardian RPA
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. successfully performed cold weather validation using a company-owned MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft System in late Jan./early Feb. 2023, adding to the cold weather experience of the MQ-9 family of systems. The system’s ground servicing actions, maneuvers, and flights were based out of GA-ASI’s Flight Test and Training Center (FTTC) in Grand Forks. SkyGuardian is being proposed to multiple Nordic countries for their defense and security needs. The cold weather flight test widens and accelerates the global operational implementation for SkyGuardian, especially for countries that need to operate in cold conditions.
San Marcos firm gets $14.9 million contract
to provide Dell laptops to Air Force base
SAN MARCOS — MCP Computer Products Inc. of San Marcos has been awarded a $14.9 million contract to provide a blanket order of Dell laptops and associated equipment to the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.
Innovision signs contract with Valley
View Casino & Hotel and Palomar Health
SAN DIEGO — National marketing agency InnoVision Marketing Group has signed extended contracts with two of its large clients, and San Diego’s larger brands, Valley View Casino & Hotel and Palomar Health. The extended three-year contract solidifies InnoVision’s partnership with Valley View Casino & Hotel, the agency’s flagship client since day one when it began in 2012. Palomar Health, California’s largest health care district, has signed on for another five years.
Airgain to host Analysts Day on March 15
SAN DIEGO — Airgain Inc., a leading provider of wireless connectivity solutions, will host an Analyst Day on Wednesday, March 15, at the Morgan Run Club & Resort in Rancho Santa Fe. Presentations are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Airgain executives will update attendees on the company’s business strategy, growh drivers, and conduct product demonstrations. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear customer and partner testimonials and participate in a question-and-answer session.
General Atomics, Oracle track space debris
SAN DIEGO General Atomics has joined Oracle, a program of the Air Force Research Laboratory that will track space debris and spacecraft in cislunar space between the earth and moon. The San Diego company’s Electromagnetic Systems division will build a satellite intended to track objects, perform payload integration, and more.AFRL initiated its project to prototype a satellite, originally called Cislunar Highway Patrol Satellite, back in 2020 designed to track other satellites, spacecraft and debris in an area of space expected to become more crowded over the next couple of decades.
Viasat finalizes Wi-Fi deal with Mexico
CARLSBAD — Telecom giant Viasat has signed an agreement with Mexico’s state-owned electric utility that will connect thousands of small, hard-to-reach areas to the internet at no charge. These satellite-powered Wi-Fi hotspots will be delivered to 850 rural schools, health centers, and public areas with limited infrastructure.
Faro Health secures $20 million to continue expansion
SAN DIEGO — San Diego cloud-computing startup Faro Health raised $20 million in a second round of venture capital funding. Faro Health’s technology streamlines the protocols and data collection in planning and running clinical trials in fields like immuno-oncology, promisin significant savings in direct costs and time.
Major milestone reached in plans
for proposed Freedom Park on Navy Pier
SAN DIEGO — Plans to convert Navy Pier into a public park along San Diego Bay’s North Embarcadero have taken a major step forward. The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to issue a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) to the Port of San Diego and USS Midway Museum for the project. The CDP approval is the culmination of a years-long collaborative effort of the Port, the Midway, and Coastal Commission staff. The Midway proposes to call the park Freedom Park, with nods to San Diego’s military history throughout.
Ryne Biotechnology awarded $4 million
to advance therapies for Parkinson’s disease
Ryne Biotechnology Inc. has announced a $4 million Clinical Stage Research Program grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to advance its lead candidate for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. According to a company press release, RNDP-001 is a dopamine neuron progenitor derived from induced pluripotent stem cells for treatment of both inherited and idiopathic forms of PD. The novel therapeutic has completed preclinical efficacy and safety studies, the company stated, and the research grant will allow Ryne Bio to submit an investigational new drug application to the FDA within the next 12 months.
