Daily Business Report: Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023
Race to zero: Can California’s power grid
handle a 15-fold increase in electric cars?
By Nadia Lopez
As California rapidly boosts sales of electric cars and trucks over the next decade, the answer to a critical question remains uncertain: Will there be enough electricity to power them?
State officials claim that the 12.5 million electric vehicles expected on California’s roads in 2035 will not strain the grid. But their confidence that the state can avoid brownouts relies on a best-case — some say unrealistic — scenario: massive and rapid construction of offshore wind and solar farms, and drivers charging their cars in off-peak hours.
Under a groundbreaking new state regulation, 35 percent of new 2026 car models sold in California must be zero-emissions, ramping up to 100 percent in 2035. Powering these vehicles and electrifying other sectors of the economy means the state must triple its power generation capacity and deploy new solar and wind energy at almost five times the pace of the past decade.
The Air Resources Board enacted the mandate last August — and just six days later, California’s power grid was so taxed by heat waves that an unprecedented, 10-day emergency alert warned residents to cut electricity use or face outages.
Top photo: The sun sets behind a row of electric towers in Fresno County on Sept. 6, 2022. (Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local)
Judge Jose Castillo nominated for seat
on Fourth District Court of Appeal
Judge Jose S. Castillo, 44, of San Diego County, has been nominated to serve as an associate justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One, by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
He has served as audge at the San Diego County Superior Court since 2020.
Castillo served as an assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California from 2010 to 2020.
He served as a staff attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit from 2007 to 2010 and was an adjunct professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law from 2009 to 2010.
Castillo fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Judith L. Haller.
The position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. He is a Democrat.
Attorney John Pro appointed to serve
as judge on San Diego Superior Court
John Pro, 47, of San Diego County, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the San Diego County Superior Court by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Pro has been Team Leader in the Major Narcotics Division at the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office since 2018, where he has served as a deputy district attorney since 2005.
He was a staff attorney at the Center for Community Solutions in 2004.
Pro earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arizona College of Law.
He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Frederick L. Link.
Pro is a Democrat.
New rules for street vendors aims
to end chaos on the waterfront
In a major policy shift, the Port of San Diego has created legal space along the Embarcadero for food vendors, T-shirt sellers and other merchants who obtain permits and follow a set of new rules governing commercial activity.
San Diego Port commissioners voted unanimously last week in favor of amendments to its ordinance governing street vending and what’s referred to as expressive activity, meaning music, art, pamphleteering and other pursuits protected by the First Amendment. The new law, which goes into effect on May 1, carves out 36 defined spaces in eight designated areas along the Embarcadero, from the Grape Street piers down to Seaport Village, for permitted commercial vendors. There are another 41 first-come, first-serve spaces set aside for the free-speech folks in the same region.
Rubio’s rebrands restaurants
with a taste of Baja and new dishes
sdnews.com
The home of The Original Fish Taco, Rubio’s Coastal Grill, is celebrating its 40th anniversary by rebranding. The eatery’s new A Taste of Baja brand positioning captures Rubio’s Baja-inspired Mexican food and the laid-back, beachy Baja lifestyle.
The new brand look combines creative inspiration from Rubio’s Baja roots with modern design influences, for an elevated take on the legacy of Rubio’s original taco stand. New restaurant signage features Mexican patterns, custom illustrations, quality ingredients, and coastal lifestyle cues.
This month, all Rubio’s Coastal Grill locations will be debuting the refreshed store décor and packaging, plus offering new dishes that highlight the company’s commitment to fresh, sustainable seafood and the flavors of Baja.
Multi-platform demonstration showcased interoperability
among F-35, MQ-4C E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and naval ships
Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully demonstrated its gateway technology in a flight test that proved the ability to connect airborne platforms with naval assets. The first-of-its-kind demonstration was conducted in San Diego with Naval Air Systems Command, Office of Naval Research, Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific and BAE Systems.
Equipped on Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton Flying Test Bed, the airborne gateway shared fifth-generation sensor data to ground-based simulators that represented an F-35, an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, U.S. Navy Aegis class destroyers and carrier strike groups.
The gateway integrated with Triton’s radar and artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to significantly enhance situational awareness across previously disconnected platforms.
The addition of the gateway on Triton expands data sharing and will improve the warfighter’s ability to stay ahead of the adversary and make decisions faster across a vast and diverse environment.
Cybersecurity expert Stefan Savage
elected to National Academy of Engineering
By Ioana Patringenaru
UC San Diego cybersecurity expert Stefan Savage, whose work examines a wide range of technologies, from cars, to spam emails to cryptocurrencies, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. It’s the latest in a long series of accolades for Savage, who has also received a MacArthur “genius” award, the ACM Prize in Computing, which recognizes the greatest achievements in the field, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also the first researcher to have received the “Test of Time” award from each of the leading computer security conferences: IEEE Security & Privacy, ACM Computer and Communications Security and USENIX Security.
Savage is being recognized for contributions to the security, privacy and reliability of network systems, transforming approaches to problems in these areas. He is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, where he is the Irwin Mark and Joan Klein Jacobs Professor in Information and Computer Science.
$17 million grant establishes institute as global
hub for immunology data curation and analysis
A new grant of over $17 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has established La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) as the leading institute for human immunology data curation, analysis, and dissemination. With this funding, LJI has taken the helm of the Human Immunology Project Consortium Data Coordinating Center, a critical tool in the effort to fuel scientific collaboration in immunoprofiling and highlight findings from the overall Human Immunology Project Consortium.
Jamul Indian Village and Jamul
Casino celebrate Black History Month
The Jamul Indian Village of California Tribe and Jamul Casino invite San Diego to join them in observing Black History Month, a time for everyone to celebrate the rich history, culture and contributions of Black Americans. Jamul Casino recognizes the importance of being a part of the cultural conversation about race and inclusion. With a number of events and initiatives scheduled throughout February, the tribe and Jamul Casino are joining the celebration by amplifying Black voices and highlighting the significance of the historical contributions of Black Americans as well as the ongoing struggles.
Consumer Fusion launches Smart
Review Response feature
SAN DIEGO — Consumer Fusion Inc., a leading online reputation management company, has released an automated Smart Review Response feature to their software, a new tool that utilizes AI technology to build response templates based on the top sentiment keywords detected in the online reviews for a business. Targeting specific keywords ensures that the responses written by this intuitive tool are relevant to the review posted by the consumer. The automated responses also help to increase the brand’s online activity, which in turn organically improves rankings in local search results.
Screen Your Gut-Save Your Butt 5K
challenge set for Saturday, March 4
SAN DIEGO — The inaugural Screen Your Gut-Save Your Butt 5K Challenge, sponsored by the CA Colorectal Cancer Coalition, will take place on Saturday, March 4, at Mission Bay Park. The event is to raise awareness about colorectal cancer, the second deadliest form of cancer, and to promote its prevention and early detection. The event will be staged from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost, $45 adults, $30 12 and under. Website/Event Registration
Cubic executive Simon McLevie named
to ITS Australia Board of Directors
SAN DIEGO and SYDNEY — Cubic Transportation Systems, a division of Cubic Corporation, announced that the company’s VP of business development, Asia Pacific and managing director, Asia/New Zealand Simon McLevie has been elected to the Intelligent Transport Systems Australia board of directors. Representing more than 100 member organizations across government, industry and academia, ITS Australia plays a critical role in promoting, debating and advancing opportunities for the adoption of intelligent transport solutions nationwide across all public and private modes.
U.S. Embassy in India visits Indian
Navy station operating leased MQ-9
SAN DIEGO — The Indian Navy has been operating General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) manufactured MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems under lease for over two years. Recently, senior staff from the U.S. Embassy of India visited the operating location. The U.S. Embassy Staff were familiarized with the ongoing operation by a tour of the GA-ASI facilities set up within the Indian Naval Station by Indian Navy personnel. The U.S. Embassy Staff were briefed by the Indian Navy about the capabilities of the remotely piloted aircraft and its various sensors.
Viasat awarded satellite communications
managed services contract by USMC
CARLSBAD — Viasat Inc., a global communications company, announced it was awarded a contract to provide end-to-end satellite communications (SATCOM) support through a fully managed service to the United States Marine Corps. The contract is an extension following a successful pilot and follow-on service program in the government’s FY22 through which Viasat delivered a fully managed SATCOM as a managed service solution to the USMC I Marine Expeditionary Force, the Marine Corps’ largest warfighting organization.
