Daily Business Report: Oct. 10, 2023
As rooftop solar debate flares, builders,
landlords and renter advocates are taking sides
By Ben Christopher | CalMatters
California isn’t short on lofty goals: Lawmakers have vowed to zero out the state’s carbon emissions by 2045, build 2.5 million new homes by the end of the decade and swap gas-burning appliances with electric ones in 7 million homes over the next 12 years.
Now California’s chief utility regulator I considering a new rooftop solar policy that a chorus of critics say will make it harder for the state to meet any of those ambitious target.
On Oct. 12, the California Public Utilities Commission will vote on whether to reduce the payments that owners of solar panel-equipped apartment buildings receive for the electricity they generate on their rooftops.
The decision could mirror an overhaul that the commission adopted late last year for sun-powered single-family homes and is part of a larger battle among environmentalists and energy policymakers over the role that individually-owned solar panels should play in the state’s planned divorce from fossil fuel-derived energy.
In both cases, the new rules only apply to new customers.
Supporters of the rule change — the state’s major electric utilities chief among them — argue that the new proposed rates, which vary over the course of a day, better reflect the actual value that rooftop solar panels provide to the electrical grid while offering a fairer shake to customers who don’t have the luxury of living beneath solar panels.
But a notably diverse coalition of California interest groups have banded together to argue otherwise.
Photo: Solar installers from Baker Electric place solar panels on the roof of a residential home in Scripps Ranch, San Diego on Oct. 14, 2016. (Photo by Mike Blake, Reuters, via CalMatters)
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UC San Diego awarded $9.5 million
to enhance cybersecurity in health care
By Miles Martin | UC San Diego
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have been awarded $9.5 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health as part of the DIGIHEALS initiative, which supports innovative research that aims to protect the United States health care system against hostile cyber threats.
The new award, the first ARPA-H contract award for any University of California campus, will help the researchers develop better ways to prevent and mitigate ransomware attacks, a type of cyberattack in which hackers attempt to extort money from organizations by blocking access to essential computer systems.
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Governor signs first-in-nation law holding
social media companies accountable
for child sex trafficking and abuse
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1394, making California the first state in the nation to enact a law that expressly both permits survivors of child sex trafficking and abuse to sue platforms for millions of dollars for knowingly contributing to child sex trafficking, and requires platforms to establish a mandated process by which survivors of child sex abuse can demand that platforms remove videos and images of their abuse.
That social media platforms facilitate blatant child sex trafficking and abuse has been repeatedly documented. That the platforms routinely ignore the pleas of survivors to remove re-traumatizing images and videos showing their child sex abuse has likewise been documented.
“Everybody who cares about elevating the needs of sexually abused children above Big Tech profits should thank Governor Newsom and Assemblymember Wicks for their leadership,” said Ed Howard, Senior Counsel at the Children’s Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law, which co-sponsored the bill with Common Sense Media and the American Association of University Women. The bill was opposed by TechNet and NetChoice, and several other business groups.
Copycat nutrient leaves pancreatic turmors starving
A study led by scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys suggests an entirely new approach to treat pancreatic cancer. The research shows that feeding tumors a copycat of an important nutrient starves them of the fuel they need to survive and grow. The method, described in the journal Nature Cancer, has been used in early clinical trials for lung cancer. However, the unique properties of pancreatic cancer may make the strategy an even stronger candidate in the pancreas.
“Pancreatic cancer relies on the nutrient glutamine much more than other cancers, so therapies that can interfere with tumors’ ability to access glutamine could be highly effective,” says senior author Cosimo Commisso, dorector and associate professor of the Cancer Metabolism and Microenvironment Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys.
J. Craig Venter Institute awarded
$5.7 million to develop phage treatment
The J. Craig Venter Institute, led by Derrick Fouts, has been awarded a five-year, $5.7 million grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to develop a bacteriophage (or phage) therapeutic cocktail to treat infections caused by the bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae. Phages are viruses that only infect specific bacterial host cells. This work will be carried out in partnership with Mikeljon Nikolich at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and Adaptive Phage Therapeutics.
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How AI is About to Change Healthcare
A recent article published by Healthcare Financial Management Association looked at efforts by Scripps Health to begin using artificial intelligence tools to improve the ways patients and care teams interact with some of the health system’s technology platforms.
Scripps Chief Information Officer Shane Thielman and Chiev Medical Information Officer David Wetherhold, M.D., discussed how large language models can turn physician-patient conversations into medical progress notes and help analyze patient recored more efficiently.
Read the Healthcare Financial Management Association article: How AI is About to Change Healthcare
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Bristol Myers Squibb acquires San Diego’s
Mirati Therapeutics for $4.8 billion
Bristol Myers Squibb has agreed to acquire San Diego-based Mirati Therapeutics Inc. for $58 per share in cash for a total of $4.8 billion. Mirati stockholders will also receive one non-tradeable Contingent Value Right for each Mirati share held, potentially worth $12 per share in cash, representing an additional $1.0 billion of value opportunity. The transaction was unanimously approved by both the Bristol Myers Squibb and the Mirati Boards of Directors.
Pala Casino Spa & Golf Resort and QCI announce product launch
In a landmark joint development and product launch, Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI) and Pala Casino Spa & Golf Resort unveiled the Pala PURL, a revolutionary product for the casino industry. This unprecedented technology empowers players with instant access to their player accounts via their mobile devices, giving them the ability to self comp (instantly redeem player points for free play, concert tickets, hotel rooms, food comps, and much more).
Water Authority wins national 2023
EPA WaterSense Excellence Award
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized the San Diego County Water Authority with a 2023 WaterSense Excellence Award for advancing water efficiency through its Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper program, better known as QWEL. The Water Authority received one of 25 Excellence Awards on Oct. 5 at the national WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas. This is the fourth EPA WaterSense award won by the Water Authority.
Palomar Health earns ‘A’ for incluvisity on national ranking
As California’s largest health district, Palomar Health’s Escondido campus has been recognized by the Lown Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that generates bold ideas for a radically better system of health, for success at serving all patients in its community, receiving an “A” grade for inclusivity on the 2023-24 Lown Institute Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility. Palomar Health achieved this honor out of more than 3,500 hospitals nationwide graded by Lown.
Ballots go out to registered voters for Nov. 7 elections
Nearly 600,000 ballots are on their way to registered voters in the Fourth Supervisorial District, City of Chula Vista, Fallbrook Public Utility District and Rainbow Municipal Water District for the Nov. 7 special election. The special runoff election for the Fourth Supervisorial District will fill the vacant seat for the remainder of the current term ending in January 2027.
Peninsula Shepherd Center receives $33,000 grant
The Peninsula Shepherd Center at 1475 Catalina Blvd. has received a $33,000 grant from San Diego Seniors Community Foundation. That grant will be used to help fund the center’s Out & About Peninsula Seniors Transportation Program, as well as to launch a re-branding campaign and membership drive in early 2024. PSC is a local nonprofit serving seniors in the Peninsula communities.
New YMCA Gymnastics Center opens in La Jolla
An official ribbon-cutting celebration was held Sept. 23 for Dan McKinney Family YMCA’s new Gymnastics Center in La Jolla at 8355 Cliffridge Ave. Participating were YMCA officials, dozens of gymnasts and community members. The Y is the starting point for many children to learn about the importance of being active and developing healthy habits they’ll carry through their lives. The Y’s goal is to provide a safe, fun and encouraging environment for kids to learn gymnastics, build confidence and make new friends.
Birch Aquarium to launch Halloween Aglow
Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography is launching Halloween Aglow, a new event that will take place Oct. 27-28 from 6-8:30 p.m. Modeled after Oceans at Night, the aquarium’s popular adults-only event, Halloween Aglow celebrates the wonders and mysteries of the ocean after dark in a fun family-friendly atmosphere. After the sun goes down, the aquarium will transform into a glowing nightscape featuring live music, a costume contest and trick-or-treat stations.
City of San Diego officially closes Point La Jolla
The City of San Diego on Sept. 18 officially approved a year-round closure of Point La Jolla for at least seven years, approving an amendment to a previous coastal development permit that authorized a seasonal closure of Point La Jolla. The year-round Point La Jolla closure also applies to coastal bluffs at Boomer Beach, which is a popular spot for sea lions. Access to Boomer Beach remains open.
California Wild Ales open new brewery in Midway District California Wild Ales held the grand opening of its new brewery and tasting room at 3826 Sherman St. in the Midway District on Friday, Sept. 15. The brewery moved to the Point Loma area from its original location in Sorrento Valley, where it had been operating since 2015. The brewery offers a wide variety of classic fruited sours, clean IPAs, and lagers, as well as seltzers and a non-alcoholic beer on its 20-tap system in its two-story tasting room overlooking the oak barr
