Daily Business Report: July 14, 2023
Assembly Democrats reject bill
to severely punish child sex traffickers
By JW August
The rejection of new legislation to severely punish those who sell children for sex fueled a political firestorm across California on Wednesday. Senate Bill 14, introduced by Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove, was rejected by the Democratic majority on the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said he was surprised by the committee’s action, and he told reporters he had spoken to Grove and expressed his appreciation to her and his strong support for the bill.
Newsom said he was puzzled how a bill that passed unanimously in the Senate with widespread support among many groups across California could then be rejected by a committee on the Assembly side. He spoke about his long record in supporting laws that target human trafficking.
Said California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan: “Punting Senate Bill 14 back to the Public Safety Committee that just two days ago voted to kill this critical legislation is not something to celebrate. “These delays were avoidable, and the only ones who benefit from Assembly Democrats’ repeated inaction are human traffickers.
“I am deeply grateful for Senator Shannon Grove and Assembly Republicans’ relentless push for SB14 in order to protect our most vulnerable. Without their persistence, Democrats’ attempts to kill this bill would have succeeded and delivered a major victory to human traffickers.”
Update
Legislative Republicans are celebrating a major victory for victims of sex trafficking as the California Assembly Public Safety Committee on Thursday passed Senate Bill 14 by Sen. Shannon Grove that would make sex trafficking of minors a serious crime in California. Initially, Democrats in the Assembly Public Safety Committee blocked its passage on a 2-0 vote earlier this week with 6 Democrats not voting.
Photo: Sen. Shannon Grove in state Senate chambers. (Courtesy Sen. Shannon Grove Office)
Construction begins on $13.4 million
renovation of Downtown San Diego landmark
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC) has started construction on the $13.4 Million renovation of Five50West, a 20-story, 362,822-square-foot office building located at 550 West C Street in Downtown San Diego. A San Diego landmark and symbol of office grandeur, Five50West is best known for its open concept first floor lobby that seamlessly connects to the expansive outdoor concourse.
The comprehensive remodel was designed by Gensler with construction oversite provided by JLL’s PDS team. The state-of-the-art, fitness and wellness center, with anticipated completion of November 2023, will feature cardio, exercise, circuit-training and strength-extension equipment, towel service, and spa like shower and locker facilities.
The increased capacity conference center will support larger meetings as well as include social media sound rooms. Outside, the expanded concourse will offer comfortable seating areas, collaborative outdoor workspaces and an open concept café. Other enhancements include a tenant lounge, enriched exterior landscape and LED lighting program, and improved parking garage. Completion of the full renovation is anticipated for the first quarter of 2024.
Leading the office leasing at Five50West are JLL’s Richard Gonor, Tony Russell and Bess Wakeman.
San Marcos’ Restaurant Row developer
shares new plans, including 1.5-acre park
Plans are being finalized for a mixed-use development at the City of San Marcos’ Old California Restaurant Row, featuring 202 housing units, commercial space, and a new 1.5-acre public park. Developer Lennar Homes has gathered community feedback and presented updated designs for the park.
The development aims to preserve the area’s history by incorporating mission-style design elements, repurposing original materials, and maintaining its distinctive features. The city plans to release the project’s mitigated negative declaration for 30 days of public review and comment this month. The plan will then go to the San Marcos Planning Commission and City Council for approval.
Illumina hit with $432 million fine
from EU for false start on Grail deal
Illumina said it will appeal a $432 million euro fine levied by the European Commission for jumping the regulatory gun two years ago, when the DNA sequencing giant closed its multibillion-dollar a cquisition of multicancer blood test maker Grail without waiting for official approval —describing the punishment as “unlawful, inappropriate and disproportionate.”
The amount can also be described as a new record. For what the EU called an “unprecedented and very serious infringement” by Illumina and Grail, its penalty weighs in at far above its previous high: a 125 million euro fine delivered to a Dutch telecommunications company in 2018 for a similar flaunting of the EU’s merger rules.
Stone Brewing enters the world of coffee
Escondido’s Stone Brewing has been a long-time California favorite for beer, but they are gearing up to enter another kind of brewing space. Entering the world of coffee, Stone Roasting will partner with NuZee Inc., a third-party coffee co-packer and distributor, to offer single-serve pour over kits, brew bags, whole bean coffee, and capsules inspired by their popular beers. Pre-orders for these coffee products will be accepted starting July 31, as part of a five-year global licensing agreement.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance joins last-chance
effort to save endangered milky stork species
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance conservationists are achieving success breeding a critically endangered coastal bird: the milky stork. This breeding program is part of an 11th-hour effort with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Taxon Advisory Group (AZA TAG) to assist the last remaining individuals of the species living in North America—helping them successfully reproduce, and bolster the world’s population of milky storks.
Under this program, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance brought North America’s last 23 surviving milky storks to a habitat at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, reminiscent of the concerted effort made in the 1980s that helped save the California condor population from imminent extinction. While small milky stork population pockets exist in Asia, the team has been working to aid birds previously living in wildlife facilities throughout North America to produce new chicks. So far, nine milky stork chicks have hatched through these efforts, with the newest one hatching last month.
Cal State’s new chancellor faces stiff challenges:
system’s sexual misconduct allegations, big budget gap
By Mikhail Zinshteyn | CalMatters
A $1.5 billion budget shortfall, student outrage over planned annual 6 percent tuition hikes for at least five years, stubborn racial gaps in graduation rates and widespread distrust over how the university handles sexual assault claims.
This is the job that awaits Mildred García, who was named chancellor of the California State University on Wednesday.
García, a former CSU president, will oversee the nation’s largest four-year public university system and its nearly 500,000 students at a time when public confidence in the value of a bachelor’s degree is at a nadir.
She’ll begin her post Oct. 1.
“The students at the CSU represent a new majority of America: The first-generation, the low-income, the students of color, the adults,” García said to the trustees. “What a privilege that I have been granted.”
Port commissioners approve permit
for Pepper Park improvements
NATIONAL CITY — The Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners has approved a Coastal Development Permit for improvements to the existing Pepper Park, a significant step toward transforming Pepper Park into a resource that visitors and residents will cherish for years to come on the National City Bayfront. Pepper Park is an approximately 5.2-acre park located on the National City Bayfront adjacent to Pier 32 Marina. Existing park amenities include a boat launch ramp, picnic tables, restrooms, fishing pier, floating boat dock, playground equipment, lawn areas, and the National City Aquatic Center.
College Avenue Center receives $10,000 grant
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Seniors Community Foundation (SDSCF) has awarded the Jewish Family Service College Avenue Center $10,000 as part of SDSCF’s Empower San Diego Senior Center grant program. College Avenue Center, along with 10 other local senior centers and nonprofits, received the grants to help implement SDSCF’s “San Diego Master Plan for Senior Centers,” a countywide plan aimed to enhance modern senior centers across local communities. College Avenue Center acts as a central meeting hub for older adults.
Port to provide $400,000 for free electric
shuttle program in National City
NATIONAL CITY — The Port of San Diego is providing $400,000 to the upcoming Free Ride Around National City (FRANC) Program via the Port’s Maritime Industrial Impact Fund (MIIF). Through the MIIF, the Port has directed $2.1 million in support of numerous efforts in communities adjacent to the maritime industry and terminals, such as youth programs, bicycle infrastructure, air quality improvements, noise reduction efforts, and more. FRANC is being created by the City of National City, in partnership with Circuit Transit Inc.
Del Mar Highlands Town Center honored
with Gold Nugget Grand Award
SAN DIEGO — Architecture and interior design firm RDC’s Del Mar Highlands Town Center was honored with a 2023 Gold Nugget Grand Award for Best Commercial project at the recent Pacific Coast Builder’s Conference. The prestigious award recognizes those who improve communities through exceptional concepts in design, planning, and development.
The repositioning of the center was undertaken by Donahue Schriber Realty Group, beginning in 2012.
Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort installs
slots made by San Diego’s QCI
SAN DIEGO — Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort and San Diego-based Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI) jointly announced that the casino in Mount Pleasant Michigan has installed QCI Slots. By integrating the QCI Slots solution, Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort will benefit from the advanced capabilities offered by the QCI Artificial General Intelligence Platform, empowering them to enhance player experiences, optimize operations, and drive business growth.
ESET and Borussia Dortmund
partner for 2023 U.S. Summer Tour
SAN DIEGO — ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, announced that it has expanded its collaboration with Borussia Dortmund (BVB) as a partner of the BVB U.S. tour 2023. Since 2019, ESET has been a Champion Partner for BVB while also serving as an IT security partner to the club – providing security for BVB’s IT infrastructure. This summer’s tour is a special treat for American soccer (football) enthusiasts — marking BVB’s third trip to the U.S. since its inaugural trip in 1954 and the first time since the pandemic that the eight-time German champions return to the U.S. with their first-team squad.
SOCi Inc. launches SOCi Surveys
to enable businesses to collect feedback
SAN DIEGO — SOCi Inc., a leading comarketing cloud for multi-location enterprises, has launched SOCi Surveys to empower businesses to proactively collect continuous first-party feedback from customers to create more personalized experiences. With real-time customer insights, SOCi Surveys will help businesses measure customer sentiment to understand their satisfaction and preferences. SOCi Surveys transforms feedback into valuable insights that inform and improve business operations, resulting in enhanced customer satisfaction and retention.
XTEND partners with San Diego’s ModalAI
SAN DIEGO — XTEND – the Israeli developer of XOS, a human-guided autonomous operating system, announced a multi-layered partnership with San Diego-based ModalAI Inc., the leading Blue UAS Framework manufacturer of autonomous drone and robotics technology. The partnership will see XTEND make available their award-winning XOS operating system on ModalAI’s technology, and XTEND’s range of revolutionary human-guided autonomous drones become tightly fused with ModalAI’s industry leading VOXL 2 Autonomous AI Autopilot.
Goal Solutions of San Diego unveils
Lucidity reporting, analytics portal
SAN DIEGO — In response to the prevailing challenges faced by investors in the structured finance industry, Goal Solutions of San Diego has unveiled an innovative solution, the Lucidity reporting and analytics portal. This advanced portal aims to address the long-standing problem of limited visibility and inadequate trend analysis in securitizations and warehouses, enabling investors to make more informed decisions and mitigate risks effectively. Lucidity offers a game-changing value proposition by providing transparent and interactive access to warehouse and securitization reporting.
Small and midsize business confidence
stabilizes following pandemic volatility
SAN DIEGO — Small and midsize business (SMB) CEO confidence in the economy stabilized during Q2 2023, following nine quarters of pandemic-driven economic volatility, according to the latest CEO Confidence Index from CEO coaching and peer advisory organization Vistage, a SanDiego company. The Q2 2023 Vistage CEO Confidence Index rebounded to 74.2, a modest rise from 72.6 in Q1 2023, with the last four quarters moving upward within a 2.7 point range. Vistage has measured SMB CEO sentiment on a variety of economic and business factors on a quarterly basis since June 2003
