Daily Business Report: Oct. 16, 2023
UC San Diego Health welcomes
new hospital to network of care
By Jackie Carr
On September 20, 2023, the Regents of the University of California approved UC San Diego Health’s request to purchase Alvarado Hospital Medical Center from Prime Healthcare. The acquisition of the 302-bed medical campus is expected to be completed in late 2023.
Located at 6655 Alvarado Road, Alvarado Hospital Medical Center has served the College Area community for more than five decades. Its high-quality programs and services include a new emergency department accredited for geriatric care as well as comprehensive behavioral health, medical and surgical services.
Prime Healthcare acquired Alvarado Hospital Medical Center when it was in financial distress in 2010, and during its 13-year tenure invested more than $90 million in new hospital facilities and improvements, including a new emergency department, remodeled intensive care unit, expansion of critical mental health services and facilities, and new equipment, including new electronic medical record systems and state-of-the-art imaging technology.
Photo: Alvarado Hospital Medical Center, a 302-bed acute care hospital in San Diego. (Photo courtesy of Prime Healthcare)
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New law raises minimum wage to $25
for California health care workers
What earlier this year seemed like a long shot is now a done deal: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that will raise the pay for hundreds of thousands of California health care workers and set them on a path to a $25 minimum wage.
Newsom’s signing of the law means medical technicians, nursing assistants, custodians and other support staff will see a gradual wage hike that rolls out starting next year. He got behind the law on the same day that unions representing lower-paid Kaiser Permanente employees announced a new contract with a $25 minimum wage for the health care giant’s California workers.
Newsom’s approval of the new minimum wage for medical workers follows his signature on a separate law mandating a new pay floor for fast-food workers. Starting next April, fast food employees will make at least $20 an hour.
— Ana B. Ibarra — CalMatters
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NASSCO awarded ship repair contract valued at $754 million
NASSCO, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy for the maintenance, modernization and repair of USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) and USS James E. Williams (DDG 95). The contract for an initial $15.6 million includes options that, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $753.8 million.
Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va and San Diego. If all options are exercised, work will continue through November 2030.
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Qualcomm to layoff 1,258 workers in San Diego and Santa Clara
RCR Wireless News
Pointing to the ongoing poor sales performance of its phone chips, Qualcomm notified the California Employment Development Department that it plans to cut 1,258 positions in San Diego and Santa Clara, California, beginning in December. About 1,064 of its these employees will be culled from San Diego, while the remaining 194 will be in Santa Clara. According to the company’s more recent annual report, it currently employs 51,000 people as of September 2022.
The news isn’t entirely shocking as Qualcomm warned of possible layoffs in August in a filing that discussed “continued uncertainty in the macroeconomic and demand environment.”
Specifically, Qualcomm reported a revenue dip of 23 percent in Q3 2023 from the same quarter last year to $8.45 billion with handset revenue down 25 percent and Iot revenue down 24 percent.
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Marine Group Boat Works begins
modernization project on San Diego Bay
Times of San Diego
Marine Group Boat Works will undertake a multimillion-dollar modernization project at its 15-acre shipbuilding and repair facility on San Diego Bay in Chula Vista, the company announced. Central to the project will be the addition of a mobile boat lift, which will be the only sideways-crawling travelift on the West Coast and the largest in the United States, according to a company statement.
MGBW contracted with Cimolai Technology, based in Veneto, Italy, to custom-build an 820-Ton Mobile Telescopic Boat Hoist that will combine “two critical benefits” — mega-capacity and flexibility. The lift will be able to haul a superyacht out of the water and transport it forward, backward and even sideways on wheels that can turn 90 degrees.
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San Diego County launches new ‘Getting to Zero’ app for HIV resources
The County has a new free app to help San Diegans find HIV resources like testing locations and treatment providers. The Getting to Zero Mobile App, launched by the county’s Public Health Services in collaboration with 2-1-1 San Diego, is designed to increase access to HIV, STD and hepatitis related information. The app helps San Diegans and anyone living with HIV or at-risk of contracting HIV, organizations and people working in HIV-related fields, with easy-to-access resources.
People using the app can search from their mobile phone for service providers based on their location or needs. The app can also provide information about transportation routes, other available services and resources and much more. It is available in multiple languages.
The Getting to Zero app is available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
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Schools, colleges now struggling to
find out if AI wrote students’ essays
Artificial intelligence might be the new frontier in technology, but Toby Reed, a senior at Fremont High in Oakland, has no doubts about whether to harness its powers — at least on his college application essay. “No. It’s blatantly plagiarizing,” said Reed, who, like hundreds of thousands of other California seniors, is in the process of applying to colleges. “It’s bad enough stealing content, but with ChatGPT you’re not even stealing from a real person.”
In the first college application season since generative AI tools like ChatGPT have become widely available, colleges and high schools are grappling with the ethical and practical implications of text-writing technology.
CalMatters
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Imperial Beach Pier to undergo structural updates
The Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners has approved a $1.5 million utility piping and pile replacement project at Imperial Beach Pier. This project will enhance the safety, functionality, and longevity of the pier’s infrastructure. The key components of the project include the replacement of two piles, retrofitting utility line support systems, routine maintenance, repairs to utility lines and conduits, rewiring lighting and electrical panels, corrosion removal and coating, and architectural work for enclosure and protection of the electrical room.
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County’s Edgemoor among best nursing homes in California
The County Health and Human Services Agency’s Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facility has been named one of the best facilities of its kind in the state of California by Newsweek magazine. This marks the fifth-straight year that Newsweek has ranked Edgemoor as one of the state’s top three nursing homes. For its list of America’s Best Nursing Homes 2024, Newsweek expanded the criteria from three data sources to five in order to compile its rankings.
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Acturus secures $9 million form mRNA cystic fibrosis treatment
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation awarded messenger RNA-specialty biopharma company Arcturus Therapeutics an additional $9 million, raising its total contribution to $25 million. One of the firms in San Diego’s $6 billion RNA cluster, Arcturus will use the funds to advance its inhalable mRNA cystic fibrosis drug that could maintain the balance of salt in human lungs and restore lung function for patients with the disease.
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Conrad Prebys Foundation to award art organizations $16 million
The Conrad Prebys Foundation has announced plans to award $16 million in grants to support the arts in San Diego County. The grants will be awarde through three initiative funds that are all now accepting applications: Communities of Belonging; Anchoring the Arts; Art Bridging Communities. More information on the initiatives and how to apply can be found online here.
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San Diego rated as No. 1 in ‘Greenest City in America’ survey
San Diego is ranked No. 1 in Wallet Hub’s “Greenest Cities in America” survey. To determine the cities promoting an environmentally friendly lifestyle, Wallet Hub compared the 100 largest cities across 28 key “green” indicators. Its data set ranges from greenhouse-gas emissions per capita to number of smart-energy policies and initiatives to green job opportunities.
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Lytx rolls out its Weather Hazard Alerts
Lytx Inc. has rolled out its Weather Hazard Alerts, available to all clients. This new AI-powered geospatial technology was developed within Lytx Lab, an idea incubator and a way for Lytx engineers and safety experts to collaborate with customers. Weather Hazard Alerts allow fleet managers the option to get notifications based on geospatial criteria and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather data to facilitate real-time decision making for safer and more efficient driving.
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Soapy Joe’s launches ‘Splash Dash’ augmente reality game
Soapy Joe’s Car Wash, the family-owned car wash with locations across San Diego County, launched its “Splash Dash” web-based augmented reality (AR) game powered by Continuum XR at the Wave FC Fan Fest Sunday at Snapdragon Stadium. This isn’t your average AR game; each unique game play donated $2 back to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
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Genome Insight launches research
collaboration with Shriners Children’s
Genome Insight Inc. and Shriners Children’s have launched a new human, whole-genome sequencing research project called Unraveling the Genetic Mysteries of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Groundbreaking Research Collaboration. The project will analyze genomic data from 100 adolescent patients treated at Shriners Children’s. The team will examine the complete DNA sequences of these patients.
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Axos Bank awarded Best Mobile Banking
Axos Financial Inc., parent of Axos Bank, announced that leading personal finance website GOBankingRates.com named Axos Bank “Best for Mobile Banking” in America. This is the sixth time since 2015 that Axos Bank has been featured on GOBanking Rates’ list of best banks. Customers can open a variety of checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts at https://www.axosbank.com/Personal/Checking and through Axos Bank’s mobile app.
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Revelation Biosciences reports Gemini therapeutic value
Revelation Biosciences Inc. announced that data from recent preclinical studies of the Company’s Gemini formulation demonstrated its therapeutic potential as a preventative therapy across multiple indications including infection and acute kidney injury. Additional nonclinical biomarker analyses are ongoing in preparation for a planned Phase 1 study to be initiated later this year. Revelation intends to publish the full results of these nonclinical studies.
