Daily Business Report: Thursday, April 20, 2023
California lawmakers want to know why billions
in spending isn’t reducing homelessness
By Marisa Kendall | CalMatters
The state has spent billions of dollars on homelessness in recent years. So why is the crisis getting worse instead of better?
That’s what a bipartisan group of California legislators is trying to get to the bottom of by calling for a first-of-its kind, large-scale audit of the state’s homelessness spending.
The state has stepped up its involvement and investment in the crisis under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership, allocating $20.6 billion toward housing and homelessness since 2018-19, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. But despite the influx of cash, during that time, the number of unhoused people in the state has increased by nearly a third — to more than 170,000 as of last year.
That discrepancy between what’s being spent in Sacramento and what voters see — tent cities in their neighborhoods — has many legislators clamoring for an accounting. They have instructed the state auditor to embark on a sweeping project that will analyze multiple state homelessness programs — as well as focus on homelessness spending in two cities — in an attempt to improve California’s response.
“What we’re doing is not working,” said Assemblymember Josh Hoover, a Republican
from Folsom who co-authored the audit request with Democratic Sen. Dave Cortese of Santa Clara County. “And I think it’s important to get to the bottom of that and figure out where are we investing that is not getting a return on investment. And we need to stop spending money on the programs that are not working.”
San Diego renters’ rights would soar
under city’s proposed plan
San Diego released its new renter protection package Tuesday that will make it harder for landlords to evict tenants and will give new rights to renters. City Council is expected to review the legislation next week. If approved, the legislation would surpass the state’s Tenant Protection Act of 2019, known as AB 1482, with stricter regulations in some areas.
The proposed law builds on restrictions that the city enacted during periods of the pandemic, that have since expired, and adds protections for residents who tenant advocates say are hardest hit by orders to relocate: seniors and people with disabilities. And it would specifically aim to make it harder for landlords to remove tenants so they can make renovations and then re-rent units for far higher rents, a practice affordable housing advocates say is linked to housing insecurity and homelessness in the region.
Aroga Real Estate purchases two-story
Sorrento Valley building for $7.3 million
Aroga Real Estate LLC has acquired a two-story, 16,126-square-foot office and lab building in Sorrento Valley for $7.3 million. The seller was Sorrento Realty LLC. Aroga plans to use the property for offices and lease a portion of the building as lab space for product research and development. The property is at 10707 Sorrento Valley Road.
Chris Duncan and Todd Holley of Voit Real Estate Services’ San Diego office represented the seller and buyer, respectively.
Groundbreaking held for Viterbi
Family Vision Research Center
By Jade Griffin | UC San Diego
Following weeks of wintertime rainy days, the sun broke through the clouds and shined bright for a special occasion at UC San Diego recently: the groundbreaking of the Viterbi Family Vision Research Center at Shiley Eye Institute. Supported by a $50 million gift made in 2018 by philanthropist Andrew J. Viterbi, the future five-story, 100,000-square-foot facility will house laboratories, clinical trials operations, administrative and educational spaces to support a variety of research efforts, including curing glaucoma blindness, restoring vision of those blinded by macular degeneration and providing sight to individuals who have reversible vision loss due to cataracts or infections.
Viterbi’s gift was inspired by his late father, Achille Viterbi, a celebrated ophthalmologist. The donation established the new center which is now under construction, as well as the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and six new endowed chairs to recruit top faculty to UC San Diego.
SDG&E scholarships available
for students pursuing STEM course
San Diego Gas & Electric has established a scholarship program to assist students who reside within SDG&E’s service territory and plan to continue their education in college while pursuing an undergrad STEM-related course of study. If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $10,000 award. Up to 10 awards will be granted. Awards may be renewed for up to three additional years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first. Renewal is contingent upon satisfactory academic performance in a full-time course of study. The deadline to apply is April 27 at 1 p.m. Click to apply
$1.5 million COVID-19 relief grants awarded
The City of Escondido, in partnership with the San Diego Foundation, and the Escondido Community Foundation, has awarded $1.5 million in grants to 117 nonprofit organizations in or serving the city. The grants were funded by the American Rescue Plan Act to provide relief funding to nonprofits affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofits were categorized based on the priorities provided by the City of Escondio.
North County Economic Summit is May 11
The 10th annual North County Economic Summit will be staged Thursday, May 11, from 7 to 10 a.m. in the Cal State San Marcos Ballroom. Keynote speaker is Charlie Dougherty, Wells Fargo vice president and economist. Registration is open through May 1. Cost is $120 for individual members, and $140 for individual nonmembers. Click to get tickets.
San Diegans at Sea
SOUTH CHINA SEA (April 17, 2023) U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Jessica Cruz, left, from San Diego, instructs Chief Cryptologic Technician Shane Newton as he performs chest compressions on a practice dummy aboard the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52). Bunker Hill, part of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, is in U.S. 7th fleet conducting routine operations. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jordan Jennings)
Balboa Art Conservation Center receives
$1 million from the Mellon Foundation
SAN DIEGO —Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC), the only nonprofit regional conservation center in the western region, has received $1million from the Mellon Foundation, the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. This funding will support BACC’s evolution into a radically inclusive nonprofit art conservation organization and its mission centered on sustainability and inclusivity. The center provides art conservation and cultural preservation services for cultural institutions and the general public.
Orange Biomed to unveil latest technology in San Diego
SAN DIEGO — Orange Biomed, a North Carolina health care startup with cutting-edge diabetes management technology, is set to unveil its latest technology at the 83rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), to be held in San Diego in June 2023. The company was launched Wednesday with a mission of filling critical testing gaps for people with pre-diabetes and diabetes.
Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services gets FDA
approval for high potency fill line
SAN DIEGO — Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, a leading provider of biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing services, announce that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company’s high potency vial line to manufacture a commercial product. Aji Bio-Pharma has six fill finish lines located in San Diego, including a new line that offers a range of configurations, including prefilled syringes, cartridges and vials.
SubMFG installs Epson dye-sublimation
printers for increased productivity
SAN DIEGO — SubMFG, a technology-focused cut-and-sew warehouse, announced the selection and installation of the Epson SureColor F10070 and SureColor F10070H production dy-sublimation printers and multiple SureColor F3070 direct-to-garment printers as turnkey solutions to produce their signature apparel offerings. The company said the additions have caused an increase in business productivity.
Sinopia Biosciences’ lead Parkinson’s
disease drug candidate gets funding
SAN DIEGO — Sinopia Biosciences Inc., a biotechnology company advancing novel therapeutics identified using its proprietary computational drug discovery platform, has selected SB-0110 after extensive preclinical studies as its lead clinical candidate for Parkinson’s disease and levodopa-induced dyskinesia. By successfully meeting this milestone, Sinopia has triggered Phase II funding of its Fast Track Small Business Innovation Research grant for a cumulative funding of $3.3 million awarded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a part of the National Institutes of Health.
Rady Children’s Hospital adopts Juniper
Networks’ networking technology
Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego is the largest children’s hospital on the West Coast and one of the nation’s top pediatric healthcare systems, has adopted Juniper Networks’ AI-driven networking technology to drive digital transformation and improve experiences for both patients and staff. The hospital has currently deployed around 85 Juniper AP43 Access Points to their IT facility, HomeCare, Plaza and Asthma Care buildings, with a goal to implement a full-stack solution by 2024.
Onramp Invest teams up with CoinDesk I ndices
SAN DIEGO — Onramp Invest, the turnkey digital asset service for financial professionals, announced its partnership with CoinDesk Indices, a subsidiary of CoinDesk, a leading provider of digital asset indices by AUM since 2014. Through this collaboration, Onramp will offer advisers using its Marketplace access to CDI’s powerful, innovative indices to help create and customize portfolio models for clients.
Digital access workshop scheduled
for Friday at San Diego Central Library
The Southern Border Broadband Consortium and other regional agencies are co-hosting a regional workshop on Friday to gather input for the state’s five-year action plans that will determine how federal dollars are allocated to the Southern Border communities. The noon to 4:30 p.m. event is no cost and open to the public. Lunch will be served at noon. Location is the San Diego Central Library.
Art of Skin MD expands medical and
cosmetic dermatology practice
SOLANA BEACH — Art of Skin MD, a leading San Diego medical and cosmetic dermatology practice founded by Melanie Palm, MD, announced the hires of April Brinkley and Stephanie Williams, board-certified physician assistants specializing in general dermatology and aesthetic medicine. These personnel additions are a part of Palm’s strategy to expand Art of Skin MD’s practice in the San Diego area. Art of Skin MD is currently hiring for open positions – to learn more, call 858-792-7546 or visit www.artofskinmd.com.
Element Biosciences signs multiple global distributors
SAN DIEGO — Element Biosciences Inc., developer of an innovative DNA sequencing platform that is disrupting the genomics industry, has signed distribution agreements with companies based in Israel, South Korea, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates to bring its AVITI System to more customers around the world. The strong global demand for AVITI across multiple geographies shows that labs across the world are eager for the platform, which brings them high quality, low-cost, easy-to-use genomics tools that accelerate discovery.
