Daily Business Report: Sept. 19, 2023
SDSU soars in U.S. News & World
Report’s Best Colleges rankings
San Diego State University gets its highest position ever as a public university, No. 51, in the latest annual rankings of the nation’s best colleges from U.S. News & World Report, which introduced a revised methodology giving greater weight to first-generation graduation rates and faculty research.
Released Monday, the ranking moved SDSU up from No. 72 last year. In the broader field of all national universities, which includes private schools, SDSU is ranked No. 105, up from No. 151 in 2022.
SDSU made its biggest jump in the category of social mobility at No. 38, up 61 spots from 2022. Social mobility looks at the success schools have in graduating students from low-income households, and a factor also given greater weight in U.S. News & World Report 2024 Best Colleges’ set of rankings.
UC San Diego climbs to nation’s sixth best public
university in U.S. News & World Report rankings
The University of California San Diego has advanced two spots to become the sixth best public university in the country, according to the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. Overall, UC San Diego ranked No. 28 on the complete list of over 400 of the nation’s colleges, jumping six spots from last year.
In addition to climbing in both the overall and the public university rankings, UC San Diego has made great strides in a variety of the outlet’s standalone ranking categories. The university is No. 31 on the list of the nation’s top performers in social mobility, moving up 22 spots from last year for its excellence in enrolling and graduating students from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds.
Governor signs non-compete bill drafted by USD law professor
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law Senate Bill 699, which strengthens laws against non-compete clauses in California. Orly Lobel, Warren Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Employment and Labor Policy at the University of San Diego, led the drafting of the bill based on her decade of research on the harms of non-competes.
Non-compete clauses in employment contracts are extremely common in the United States. The Federal Trade Commission estimates about one in five American workers — approximately 30 million people — are bound by a non-compete clause, restricting them from pursuing better employment opportunities. Professor Lobel’s research has shown that non-competes are not only harmful to workers, suppressing wages and job opportunities, but also harmful to entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic growth.
Thousands of Californias are losing Medi-Cal every month
By Shreya Agrawal | CalMatters
Tens of thousands of Californians are losing health insurance every month as the state resumes checking people’s eligibility for Medi-Cal, which it suspended during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
About 16 million people in California will be evaluated for eligibility from June 2023 to May 2024. About half of those up for a review were automatically renewed because officials were able to verify their information in the system. Others were sent yellow renewal packets that they were supposed to fill out and send back to their county Medi-Cal office.
More than 300,000 Californians have lost their Medi-Cal eligibility since July 1. The majority of lost coverage in June and July due to procedural reasons, such as not sending their renewal forms back or having incorrect information in their forms, according to state data.
General Atomics acquires EO Vista LLC
General Atomics announced that it has acquired EO Vista LLC, a leader in the development of advanced space-based and airborne electro-optical payloads, based in Acton, MA. Its business will be integrated into the General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) group.
Founded in 2013, EO Vista is an advanced technology company specializing in the development and delivery of next-generation electro-optical sensor systems.
“EO Vista has a proven track record of rapid innovation that set new standards for performance and affordability in electro-optical payload designs,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS.
San Diego expected to approve water
Rate hikes of almost 20 percent
San Diego water bills would rise nearly 20 percent under a rate-increase proposal the City Council is scheduled to consider today.
The increase, which city officials began studying last fall, would be the first comprehensive rate hike approved by the council in nearly eight years. It would include a 10.2 increase this December and an 8.75 percent jump in January 2025.
City officials say they need additional revenue increases to cover rising costs for imported water, upgrades to thousands of aging pipes and a long list of short-term and long-term capital projects.
The capital projects include the Pure Water sewage-recycling system, which has been under construction since last year, and upgrades needed to several aging city dams that state officials have deemed in poor condition.
LEAD San Diego presents 21st annual Visionary Awards
Lead San Diego brought together nearly 600 business, community, and elected leaders for the 21st annual Visionary Awards, San Diego’s premier leadership recognition event. The event celebrated the work of five honorees whose passion and commitment to our community are leading the region forward.
This year’s honorees:
The Neil Morgan Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement – Alan Ziter, former Executive Director, NTC Foundation
The Ronald Kendrick Memorial Award for Regional Collaboration – USS Midway Museum
The Charles Nathanson Memorial Award for Cross-Border Region Building – Rady Children’s Hospital International Outreach Project
Innovation & Economic Opportunity Award – San Diego Wave FC
2023 Community Spotlight Award – Dr. Teresa Smith, Dreams of Change
Jack in the Box continues new market expansion
Jack in the Box Inc., one of the nation’s leading QSR chains, announced the opening of its first drive-thru only location featuring its CRAVED image. It is also the second opening this summer in the Salt Lake City metro area, continuing the brand’s entry into its first new market in more than a decade. The new Ogden restaurant comes on the heels of the July opening in Salt Lake City, which reported a record-breaking full-first-month sales that outperformed the previous record setting new market opening by 66 percent.
Galactic Guac: SDSU’s superfood for space travelers
San Diego State University researchers in biology, nutritional science and aerospace engineering received awards from the NASA Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) initiative for their innovative projects in algae-infused space guacamole and drone highways. In August, NASA announced that SDSU was among 15 institutions awarded under this initiative, which grants researchers at Minority Serving Institutions funding to devise new technologies for space exploration and commercial industry applications.
McAlister Institute holds 5k Walk for Sobriety
McAlister Institute will hold its 11th annual 5K Walk for Sobriety on Saturday, Sept. 30, at NTC Park at Liberty Station. The Walk is an opportunity to bring help and hope to thousands of individuals and families braving the unforgiving cycle of addiction. Check-in and registration will begin on-site at 8 a.m. Registration costs $35 per adult and $5 per child (ages 12 and under). Register online here
Wiliot introduces humidity sensing to platform
Wiliot, the Internet of Things pioneer, announced it has achieved the breakthrough ability to sense and analyze humidity levels of individual products, in real-time, throughout the supply chain. By adding humidity sensing to the company’s Visibility Platform Wiliot has made it possible for companies to better ensure the safety, integrity, freshness, and sustainability of moisture-sensitive products – end-to-end and at unprecedented scale.
Cireson to exhibit at Experts Live Europe
Cireson, the experts in Microsoft Service Management and a Gold Certified Microsoft partner, will exhibit this month at Experts Live Europe, a community-driven IT conference with a focus on Microsoft cloud, datacenter, security and modern workplace solutions. Cireson will be showcasing its cloud-based IT Service Management platform built for Microsoft Teams. .
Therapeutic Solutions International recruits
Dr. Navneed Boddu to Scientific Advisory Board
Therapeutic Solutions International Inc. announced the appointment of internationally renowned stem cell therapist Dr. Navneet Boddu to the company’s Scientific Advisory Board. Boddu is affiliated with Scripps Memorial Medical Center, Encinitas; Tri City Medical Center; North Coast Surgery Center; and Carlsbad Surgery Center. Boddu was chosen as Top Doctor of San Diego in 2022, 2021, and 2017.
Nextivity and Leviton announce business alliance
Nextivity, the industry leader in intelligent cellular coverage solutions, and Leviton announced a marketing relationship to deliver cellular connectivity over quality infrastructure for enterprise customers. The cooperative agreement between the two global organizations leverages the strengths and experience of each company to bring off-air cellular solutions indoors over the world-class infrastructure Leviton is known for providing.
Nuvotronics to debut at European Microwave Week 2023
Cubic Corporation announced that its microelectronics business, Nuvotronics, will be making a significant debut at the European Microwave Week 2023, taking place Sept. 18–21 in Berlin, Germany. Attendees have the opportunity to witness Nuvotronics’ innovative commercial space-grade mmWave product lines and capabilities that deliver high-performance solutions to the broadband satellite communications industry.
Wells Fargo collaborates with Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce
In its third year, Tu Futuro, a financial literacy program and platform aimed at teaching finance basics to Spanish-speaking Latinos, has expanded to additional markets across the country including: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas. The Tu Futuro program is made possible by Wells Fargo through its collaboration with the San Diego-based Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce (HISCEC) and Univision/Entravision.
RayzeBio Inc. announces $311 million initial public offering
RayzeBio Inc., a targeted radiopharmaceutical company developing an innovative pipeline against validated solid tumor targets, announced the pricing of its upsized $311 million initial public offering of 17,277,600 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $18 per share. RayzeBio is offering 16,114,600 shares of common stock and the selling stockholder named in the prospectus is offering 1,163,000 shares of common stock. The gross proceeds to RayzeBio from the offering are expected to be approximately $290.1 million.
