Daily Business Report: Sept. 25, 2023
Can this plan fix California’s insurance crisis?
What you need to know
By Ben Christopher | CalMatters
A week after negotiations to rescue California’s floundering home insurance market stalled out in the Legislature, the state’s top insurance regulator put out his own rescue plan that effectively amounts to a trade for the state’s major insurers.
Under proposed regulations Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Friday, major insurers will be required to cover a certain share of homeowners in the state’s most wildfire-prone areas. In exchange, the Department of Insurance will allow companies to charge more to cover the rising costs of doing business in a fire-ravaged state.
Lara called the package of new proposed regulations “the largest insurance reform” since 1988, the year California voters passed a proposition requiring insurance companies to get prior approval before raising premiums.
The plan is meant to reverse what has amounted to a slow-motion exodus of private home insurers from the state. In the last year and a half, seven of the top 12 property insurers operating in California have either placed new restrictions on where they do business or stopped selling new policies here entirely.
The biggest player of all, State Far, announced a freeze on new policies in May, kicking off a fresh round of panic among homeowners scrambling to find affordable insurance policies and lawmakers eager to tackle the crisis.
Photo: Fire damage to a neighborhood after a wind-driven wildfire burned through a canyon in Laguna Niguel on May 11, 2022. (Photo by Mike Blake, Reuters, via CalMatters)
SANDAG board removes controversial
‘mileage tax’ from 2025 Regional Plan
By Debbie Sklar
The San Diego Association of Government’s Board of Directors Friday voted 15-4 to remove any mention of a controversial Regional Road User Charge — sometimes referred to as a mileage tax — from its 2025 Regional Plan.
San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones led the charge to excise the tax, leading a protest outside SANDAG’s office Friday morning before the board met.
“This policy threatened the core principles of American freedom and imposed a disproportionate burden on the majority of our region’s residents,” said El Cajon Mayor Bills Wells, also a vocal opponent to the tax. “Today, we proudly announce a committed and unified stance to eliminate this regressive tax.
“The notion of being tracked and taxed for every mile one drives is fundamentally contrary to the values that define our great nation,” he said.
USS Bunker Hill decommissioned in San Diego
USS Bunker Hill (CG 52), the 11th ship of the Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser, recognized more than 37 years of naval service during a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego, Sept. 22.
During the ceremony guest speaker, Bunker Hill’s second commanding officer, Vice Adm. Rodney Rempt, USN, Ret., wished the current crew fair winds and following seas as they bid farewell to their ship.
Bunker Hill maintained a crew of 40 officers, 31 chiefs, and 300 enlisted sailors. The ship was built in Pascagoula, Miss. by Ingalls Shipyard Company and commissioned Sept. 20, 1986, at Charlestown in Boston. It was the first U.S. surface warship to be equipped with the below-deck, advanced MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS), a multi-warfare missile-launching system capable of striking targets in the air, on and under the ocean surface, and on land.
MAAC gives big boost Early Childhood Education salaries
MAAC, one of San Diego’s largest nonprofit organizations, said it will increase Early Childhood Program pay rates for teachers and key support staff by an average of 24 percent, an action that will impact 224 positions.
MAAC estimates the total number of children served through their programs will be 35 percent higher than last year. Salary increases are expected to help fill 42 current teacher vacancies, which will result in 21 additional classrooms opening.
“Today’s action directly reflects MAAC’s commitment to its staff and the communities we serve,” said Arnulfo Manriquez, president and CEO of MAAC San Diego. “This ensures that we can continue to provide the high-quality care and education that families have come to expect from MAAC for generations.”
Academy of Our Lady of Peace to host fourth annual Hackathon
The Academy of Our Lady of Peace will host the fourth annual Hackathon on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The hackathon is open to girls from all San Diego County schools, in 6th through 12th grade.
A hackathon is a meeting of the minds to challenge current notions, problem-solve, create, and collaborate. OLP’s Engineering Projects in Community Service Club (EPICS), the hosts of the annual Hackathon, focus on how STEM can solve global issues using science, technology, engineering, and math. Students identify specific problems in the world and formulate systematic and realistic solutions to them through researching, analyzing data, and communicating with a group of workers. This is a friendly competition, and the teams will be presenting their solutions to a panel of judges. Teams in first, second, and third place will receive prizes.
Three county Indian tribes to share $2.5 million from state
Three Indian tribes in San Diego County will receive a combined total of $2.5 million from the state to combat homelessness, and support affordable housing and youth programs.
The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indianswill receive $1.3 million to support the development of affordable housing. The Pala Band of Mission Indianswill receive $300,000 to support their efforts to prevent homelessness.
The La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indiansin San Diego County will receive $300,000 to support youth programs.
Ideal Plumbing Heating Air Electrical a winner
Of 2023 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics
The Better Business Bureau Serving the Pacific Southwest (BBB) has named Allied Gardens-based Ideal Plumbing Heating Air Electrical a winner of the 2023 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics in San Diego County. Co-Title Sponsored by HomeStreet Bank and ignite sparked by BBB, the program honors businesses that go above and beyond to operate with integrity and raise awareness about marketplace trust. For more information on BBB Torch Awards for Ethics visit: torchawards.bbbcommunity.org.
Wall Street Journal praises San Diego Convention Center
Improving San Diego’s Convention Center has long been near the top of the to-do list for regional leaders, but the Wall Street Journal likes the waterfront faciliy just the way it is. In a new ranking of the 30 largest convention centers in the U.S., the San Diego Convention Center came in fourth — trailing only Chicago and two centers in Las Vegas.
National University receives $400,000 NSF grant
National University is taking an interdisciplinary approach to STEM education, integrating visual and fine arts with biological studies to lessen anxiety around science courses and improve the way they are taught to college students. Over the next three years researchers will use a $400,000 National Science Foundation grant to continue exploring the cognitive and academic benefits of art-enhanced science instruction.
Arialys Therapeutics launches with $58 million in seed financing
Alexandria Venture Investments, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, and founding investors have raised $58 million to launch Arialys Therapeutics after two years in stealth mode. The San Diego precision therapeutics company will use funding to advance treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and psychosis with treatments initially researced at Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma.
E85 fuel offers massive savings as gas prices rise
Prices for E85 fuel in California are offering savings of more than two dollars per gallon as the cost of gasoline has continued to increase. The state’s average gasoline price reached $5.66 per gallon this month, its highest level in nearly a year and 45 cents more expensive than a month ago. Pearson Fuels is the state’s largest E85 distributor and has partnered with more than 325 retail stations to offer E85.
Choctaw Nation installs Quick Custom Intelligence platform
Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI), a renowned name in custom data solutions, announced the purchase and swift installation of the QCI Enterprise Platform across all 22 Choctaw Nation casinos. Achieving this ambitious deployment in just over a month stands as a testament to QCI’s unwavering commitment to excellence and efficiency, the company said.
SOCi Inc. earns new accolades from Entrepreneur
SOCi Inc., a leading CoMarketing Cloud Platform for multi-location enterprises, has secured several accolades illustrating its commitment to customers through its award-winning platform, including being named a Top Franchise Supplier by Entrepreneur for the sixth year in a row and achieving Leader status in 11 G2 Grid Reports in marketing categories. Based on a survey of more than 1,000 franchisors, SOCi upheld its ranking in Entrepreneur’s Top Franchise Supplier list as a top 3 supplier in the Marketing category,
GoldBook Financial expands into San Diego
GoldBook Financial, a leading financial services company, announced its strategic expansion into Southern California, with a particular focus on the thriving market of San Diego. This move presents a significant opportunity for the company to broaden its footprint and drive top-tier financial services to a wider clientele. GoldBook also announced the addition lf Greg Kaltenbach as the company’s newest partner.
Monoceros Biosystems and SeekIn announce partnership
Monoceros Biosystems, a prominent bioinformatics service provider in the United States, announced a strategic partnership with SeekIn, a leading liquid biopsy testing provider in China, to embark on a groundbreaking collaboration aimed at revolutionizing the field of blood-based cancer testing. The partnership represents a significant milestone in the quest to advance cancer early detection and disease monitoring through state-of-the-art genomics and bioinformatics expertise.
NTC Park refurbishment to begin
The Point Loma Association announced that DPR Construction is expected to begin demolishing the dilapidated granite submarine memorials at NTC Park in Liberty Station, replacing them with concrete replicas and fresh information plaques. The company is donating their work, and now that the city has released the Right of Entry Permit, it is hoped the DPR can fit the memorial restoration project into their busy schedule soon.
County Assessor Jordan Marks receives
2023 Emerging Professional Award
Jordan Marks, San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk, is a recipient of the International Association of Assessing Officers’ (IAAO) 2023 Emerging Professional award.The award is presented to an IAAO member who, comparatively early in his or her career, has made a significant contribution by demonstrating leadership in the organization, participating in various IAAO activities, assisting other members and working toward IAAO’s mission.
