Daily Business Report: Sept. 21, 2023
Three UC San Diego markets introduce
Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology
By Leslie Sepuka | UC San Diego
Three on-campus markets—Roger’s Market, Sixth Market and Seventh Market—will feature Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, eliminating checkout lines and saving valuable time for students, faculty and staff. UC San Diego is the first location in San Diego to feature this technology, which can also be found elsewhere in California and across the U.S.
“Our campus already features time-saving technology like self-ordering kiosks and the Triton2Go mobile ordering app,” said Pierre Ouillet, UC San Diego vice chancellor and chief financial officer. “This latest technology eliminates wait times, adding speed and convenience and aligning with our mission to continuously improve the student experience.”
Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology provides effortless shopping. Students, faculty and staff enter the store using the Triton2Go app at the entry gate. The technology tracks the items a shopper takes from or returns to shelves and creates a virtual shopping session. When guests complete their shopping experience, they can leave the store without waiting in line. Their choice of payment method—Dining Dollars, Triton Cash or a credit card—is charged for the items taken.
Roger’s Market, above, is one of three UC San Diego markets featuring Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology. (UCSD)
General Atomics to be inducted into the
International Air & Space Hall of Fame
Poway-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) will be inducted into International Air & Space Hall of Fame during an event at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. The Museum is honoring General Atomics for its celebrated history of developing and implementing unmanned aircraft systems that have supported worldwide security and defense for more than three decades.
General Atomics headlines this year’s class of Hall of Fame inductees, which also includes William Shatner, Star Trek’s Captain James T. Kirk; Royce Williams, American aviator and Navy Cross recipient; Robert DeLaurentis, record-setting American aviator; and Jessica Meir, distinguished NASA astronaut, biologist and a pivotal member of the groundbreaking Artemis program, which intends to land the first woman and next man on the moon
Pannikin Coffee & Tea expanding to new location in Oceanside
Pannikin Coffee & Tea has leased space in the former Bunker House Café at 322 N. Cleveland St. in Oceanside. Owners of the property tapped Urban Property Group to facilitate the lease.
The cafe, situated in a historic building in the heart of downtown Oceanside, will occupy the ground floor of about 2,000 square feet and the adjacent outdoor patio.
The Bunker House, where Pannikin’s Oceanside location will be located, was first owned in 1886 by Theodore C. Bunker. The two-story building is one of the first brick buildings in Oceanside and one of three brick buildings built in the 1880s that are still standing. Pannikin Coffee & Tea has served San Diegans since 1968 at the original Pannikin Leucadia, which is also located in a historic building.
San Diego’s urban forest to benefit from $10 million federal grant
The City of San Diego has been awarded $10 million from the federal government for planting trees in communities throughout the City, part of an ongoing effort to grow and improve San Diego’s urban forest.
The grant, announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, was among $1 billion in funding to be distributed to cities across the nation. The grants are intended to be used to plant and maintain trees, to aid in combating extreme heat and climate change. The Forest Service selected 385 grant proposals from all 50 states to fund projects working to increase equitable access to trees and nature.
This grant funding will be used for the City’s “Ready, Set, Grow San Diego” program, which seeks to address climate action goals and promote tree equity. The city plans to conduct extensive community outreach to engage residents in planning and participation in the project. Grant-funded activities will include planting trees, and preserving trees through well expansions and removal of tree grates.
Louay Alsadek and Maddie Mawby join
Cushman & Wakefield in San Diego
Cushman & Wakefield announced that a leading investment sales team of Louay Alsadek, vice chair and Maddie Mawby, senior director has joined the firm in San Diego. Led by Alsadek, the team brings decades of Capital Markets experience and expertise specializing in the advisory and disposition of office and life science across San Diego County.
Alsadek and Mawby will focus primarily on life sciences and office property sales. They will report to Matt Chatham, Cushman & Wakefield’s region president for the West.
Serving some of the industry’s most prominent investors, Alsadek is a 36-year real estate veteran and has completed $7 billion of property dispositions across these three asset types during his 23-year brokerage career.
Maddie Mawby is an investment sales professional who specializes in the sale of office, life science, and industrial properties. Since 2020, Mawby has completed over 20 transactions totaling over $650 million in consideration in the San Diego market. Significant transactions include Three Piper Ranch, Aero Court Campus, 4181 Ruffin, Creekside, Champs Plaza Del Mar, Promontory, 505 S. Pacific St, 10225 Willow Creek, and Mission Courtyard.
Changing the Game: Peter Seidler’s Dual Mission
It seems the entire baseball world is fascinated by Peter Seidler’s investment in the Padres, but San Diego leaders can tell you much more about what he’s done for the city off the field. Local executive Dan Shea, a close friend of Seidler since he moved to San Diego from Los Angeles in 2012, has seen first-hand Peter’s commitment to taking his Padres baseball club from the diamond to the community. “Peter gives of his time and resources, without question, like no other we’ve seen in this city. And he does it not by sitting behind a glass-walled boardroom with his checkbook, but by getting up close and personal with people who are suffering,” said Shea.
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Wildfire risks and the insurance industry’s impact
on California and San Diego’s housing market
With five insurance heavyweights – State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, Chubb, and American International Group (AIG) – occupying a nearly combined 27 percent share of the California property and casualty insurance market, announcing they’re reducing their footprint in the Golden State by either no longer writing new homeowners’ policies, canceling customers with homes in areas they view as prone to wildfires or other risks or limiting the number of customers they add each month, San Diego County homeowners, plus many in California, are seeing as much as a 100 percent increase, sometimes more, in their annual property insurance costs.
Jandy introduces new WaterColor LED lineup for pools
Jandy is giving pool owners a whole new way to customize their pools with an unlimited choice of colors when it comes to their pool lighting. The NEW Jandy Infinite WaterColors LED Lights offer all the colors of the rainbow and more. Unlike conventional color pool lights that only provide a handful of primary colors, the Infinite lights provide a full selection of shades along with 10 traditional pre-set colors and five light shows.
Torres Brandy Zero Challenge comes to the U.S.
Juan Torres Master Distillers and Infinium Spirits jointly announced the Torres Brandy Zero Challenge, a program of the USBG that will be coming to the United States. In this challenge, Torres Brandy calls on bar managers and bartenders around the world to submit their sustainable bar initiatives to promote a new mindset in mixology that prioritizes the environment. The Torres Brandy Zero Challenges is the first international competition to present an award to the world’s most sustainable cocktail bar project.
Independent Financial Group donates $58,500 to Promises2Kids
Independent Financial Group, a San Diego-based independent broker-dealer, made a combined donation of $58,500 to Promises2Kids, a San Diego charity serving foster youth, in conjunction with IFG’s annual National Conference, held at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad. The $58,500 donation comprises $31,000 raised at a silent auction coordinated by IFG, an additional $15,000 donation from IFG to supplement the silent auction, and IFG’s $12,500 contribution to the Promises2Kids’ Dream On Concert Gala.
CureScience Institute to present educational
Program in bioinformatics and machine learning
CureScience Institute, a San Diego- based nonprofit announced that Professor Igor Tsigelny and Professor Valentina Kouznetsova, both of UC San Diego, will again offer an educational program in bioinformatics and machine learning for undergraduate and high school students interested in STEM careers. The Fall-Spring Scholars Bioinformatics and Machine Learning Program invites students with a strong interest in science to fill out the online application on the CureScience Institute website. Apply online
Hillhurst Biopharmaceuticals’ $3 million grant
will fund sickle cell disease clinical study
Hillhurst Biopharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing liquid drug products containing therapeutic gases, announced the award of an $3 million Phase 2b SBIR grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. This award, along with matching funds, will fund the company through a Phase 2a clinical study of HBI-002, an oral low dose carbon monoxide therapeutic candidate in patients with sickle cell disease.
Bowman supplying engineering for new entertainment center in Midway area
The Midway Rising group, companies planning the redevelopment of the Sport Arena area, have contracted Bowman Consulting Group to deliver a master plan and engineering services for a new entertainment center to replace the Pechanga Arena with a 16,000-seat facility designed to host a variety of events, including sports matches, concerts and entertainment shows. The master plan also includes 4,250 housing units to include 2,000 designated as affordable housing units.
North Carolina joins Asteres’ automated pharmacy pickup service
San Diego-based Asteres Inc, an industry leader in 24/7 automated pharmacy pickup, announced that North Carolina joins the list of more than 30 states that allow for self-service prescription pickup via secure lockers such as Asteres’ flagship product, ScriptCenter.
With over 5 million prescriptions delivered worldwide, and more than 200 units deployed in prestigious health care, government, and retail pharmacies, ScriptCenter helps pharmacies improve adherence, outcomes, and margins.
Mitchell named a global leader in cloud computing
Mitchell, a leading technology and information provider for the property and casualty claims and collision repair industries, has received a 2023 Stratus Award for Cloud Computing from Business Intelligence Group. The organization’s annual awards program seeks to identify the companies, products and people offering unique solutions that take advantage of cloud technologies.
‘Extending the Ladder’ podcast goes to college
Compass Datacenters has launched a new episode of its popular podcast “Extending the Ladder” about the experiences young women have in STEM and future career opportunities. The episode features host Chief Innovation Officer Nancy Novak in a discussion with talented students from San Diego State University’s Departments of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. Watch the episode
FMG Suite acquires MyRepChat
FMG Suite, a leading SaaS company specializing in marketing content, automation, and websites for financial advisers, announced its acquisition of MyRepChat, the number one client text messaging platform for regulated industries. FMG will leverage its investment in MyRepChat’s leading technology chassis to augment its capabilities and extend its value propositions. This marks FMG’s eighth acquisition in seven years, exemplifying the company’s ongoing expansion strategy.
