Daily Business Report: Oct. 6, 2023
County breaks ground on $93.3 million
public health lab in Kearny Mesa
County officials broke ground Wednesday for the new, state-of-the-art, $93.3 million public health lab at the County Operations Center in Kearny Mesa. The new lab will be nearly three times the size of the old, cramped and outdated building on Rosecrans. The facility closed due to its aging infrastructure.
The new two-story facility will measure 52,000 square feet and create space for nearly 90 employees and contractors, and still allow room to grow.
The county’s public health lab protects the health of everyone in the region by testing for infectious diseases like COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus known as RSV, flu and a host of other diseases. Lab workers also test for food and water safety, animal rabies and dangerous pathogens like anthrax. They conduct research, assess environmental health and help with emergency preparedness and response.
The county moved forward on the lab construction project after an analysis showed that consolidating campus offices could empty an existing four-story office building. That meant 600 staff members for the Health Services Center could move inside and save the county from spending $130 million to build them a new facility.
Those savings allowed for the construction of the lab and a new six-level parking garage nearby. The $33.8 million structure will feature more than 700-spaces and up to 260 electric vehicle charging stations.
Photo: Artist’s rendering of the county public health lab. (Courtesy San Diego County)
AAA Management secures $99.4 million
loan to build 320-unit apartment project
San Diego-based real estate development company AAA Management has secured a $99.4 million construction loan for the development of Ion Aero, a 320-unit apartment community at 8555 Aero Drive in San Diego.
The eight-story project will have studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 500 square feet to 1,400 square feet. Some of the community amenities will include an indoor-outdoor fitness center and yoga studio, co-working space, a clubroom with indoor and outdoor entertaining space, playground, dog run, pool and spa and a seventh-floor sky lounge.
Bill Chiles, Scott Peterson and Morgon Fraser with CBR Capital Markets secured the loan for the developer.
Region’s fastest-growing jobs don’t need college degree
Despite challenges like high living costs, San Diego County’s economy has bounced back from the pandemic with increased job opportunities, particularly in tourism and biotech. The region’s job growth, which has outpaced both California and the national average with a 31 percent increase since 2000, offers diverse occupations from health care to construction. However, it’s worth noting that many of the fastest-growing professions in the county, such as cooks in restaurants (projected growth of 79.7 percent), nurse practitioners (79.3 percent), and ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers (75.5 percent), typically require no more than a high school diploma. Despite lower wages in some sectors, the overall job market in San Diego County is on the rise, with growing industries and increasing wages in various sectors.
California workers to get more paid sick days
CalMatters
Starting next year, workers in California will be entitled to at least five days of paid sick leave — up from the current three days. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature is a win for labor groups, for whom the bill authored by Sen. Lena Gonzalez was a top priority. But it falls short of the seven days in the original bill.
Still, unions and workers applauded the move.
Ingrid Vilorio, a Jack in the Box worker: “Now, workers will no longer have to worry about how to make the month’s rent or how to keep food on the table while recovering from illness or caring for a loved one.”
But the California Chamber of Commerce, which had the bill on its “job killer” list, warned of the impact on small businesses.
The chamber: “Our concern is that far too many small employers simply cannot absorb this new cost, especially when viewed in context of all of California’s other leaves and paid benefits, and they will have to reduce jobs, cut wages, or raise consumer prices to deal with this mandate.”
Cuteness overload: Meet the new Big (Little) Skates at Birch Aquarium
Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography is celebrating the arrival of some ravioli-sized newborn Big Skates. For now, the babies will be raised in the nursery habitat in the Hall of Fishes as well as behind the scenes. As they continue to grow, they will be moved to other locations in the aquarium.
A name that speaks for itself, Big Skates are the largest species of skates found in North America and can get upwards of eight feet – that’s about the size of a surfboard. Despite this large size, their flat features and sandy coloration enable them to seamlessly blend into the seafloor.
They have two large, black spots on their fins masquerading as oversized eyes. It’s believed these “eyes” make skates look larger, tricking potential predators from messing with them. While skates closely resemble stingrays, they are different. Skates lack a stinging barb and do not give live birth.
Tucker Dowling joins Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani law firm
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, the nation’s first and only law firm with offices in all 50 states, has named Tucker Dowling as a partner in the firm’s San Diego office. He will work in the Commercial Litigation practice group.
Dowling’s practice focuses on product liability defense, commercial litigation, and business torts across multiple jurisdictions. He has broad experience defending Fortune 500 companies and global product manufacturers in both state and federal court against single-plaintiff claims, class actions, and other pattern litigation matters involving medical devices, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, industrial machinery, construction equipment, and consumer fraud.
He also represents corporations and early-stage entrepreneurs in transactional and litigation matters.
HNM Systems joins Fiber Broadband Association
HNM Systems Inc., a leader in providing direct hire, contract to hire and professional placement to the telecommunications, utilities and IT sectors, announced it has joined
the Fiber Broadband Association, an organization that is dedicated to accelerating the deployment of fiber broadband networks to ensure every community can leverage the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver.
Aventa Genomics launches Aventa FusionPlus
Aventa Genomics LLC, a clinical laboratory established as a joint venture between Carlsbad-based Arima Genomics Inc. and Protean BioDiagnostics Inc., announced the launch of Aventa FusionPlus, a next-generation sequencing test for the detection of gene fusions, translocations, and rearrangements across 361 genes from formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue. Aventa’s testing service is performed in its CLIA-certified laboratory in Orlando, Fla.
Peter Dobson joins Greenbutts as sensory adviser
Greenbutts, a leading innovator in biodegradable filtration technology, announced the addition of Peter Dobson to its team as a sensory adviser. With a remarkable 34 years of experience in craftsmanship and business leadership, Dobson brings his expertise in sensory assessment to further strengthen Greenbutts’ position in the market. In his previous role as global product manager at British American Tobacco, Dobson successfully managed renowned global drive brands, including Dunhill and Pall Mall.
Anju to showcase life science solutions at SCDM conference
Anju is pleased to announce its participation at the upcoming Society for Clinical Data Management conference taking place from Oct. 8-11, in San Diego. Anju’s presence at SCDM underscores itscommitment to providing industry-leading solutions that empower organizations to excel in the management of clinical data. Anju also announced the submission of TA Scan, one of its cutting-edge flagship products, for the inaugural Innovation Award.
Vistry unveils Conversational AI platform for food commerce
Vistry, a San Diego-based startup, leading the way in Generative AI and restaurant automation, announced the launch of its Conversational AI platform, along with its AI Customer Assistant chatbot. The chatbot assistant, called LumoChat, is designed to assist customers in completing their online ordering tasks across different channels such as web and mobile.
Fresh Start Surgical Gifts returns to San Antonio
Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, a San Diego-based nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families through reconstructive surgery and comprehensive medical care, announced its return to San Antonio for its second Surgery Weekend in partnership with University Health. The Surgery Weekend will take place Oct. 14-15, offering hope and transformation to children with congenital and acquired cosmetic differences.
Point Predictive partners with Metro Jobbers to combat fraud
San Diego-based Point Predictive, a leader in AI-powered fraud solutions for the auto lending industry, has joined forces with Metro Jobber’s, a wholesale automotive distributor, to tackle the growing issue of auto loan fraud in the Detroit Metropolitan area. The partnership is set to transform the landscape of automotive sales by giving turnkey access to Point Predictive’s BorrowerCheck solution to dealerships across the Detroit area.
MD Revolution, Hybrid Chart partner to
advance coordination of remote care delivery
MD Revolution, a leading provider of remote care management and clinical services, has announced a new integration agreement with HybridChart, a leader in mobile rounding software that features charge capture, census management and discharge planning. The integration of MD Revolution and HybridChart’s technology platforms allows their mutual clients to access and compare discharge data and readmission data with care management activity in a remote care setting.
Coeptis Therapeutics to present at Society
for Immunotherapy of Cancer meeting
Coeptis Therapeutics Holdings Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative cell therapy platforms for cancer, announced that an abstract involving SNAP-CAR has been accepted for presentation at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s 38th Annual Meeting Nov. 1–5 at San Diego Convention Center in San Diego. The presenation will be given by a research team from the University of Pittsburgh.
n-Lorem Foundation collaborates to support
children with extremely rare diseases
n-Lorem, a nonprofit foundation, announced a collaboration with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to accelerate the development of optimized experimental antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) medicines for pediatric patients with extremely rare genetic neurological disorders. St. Jude and n-Lorem will initially develop two ASO treatments together through a collaboration designed to increase the capacity of the n-Lorem pipeline and to expand St. Jude’s recently formed genomic medicine program.
1859 announces formation of Scientific Advisory Board
1859, an AI-driven small molecule drug discovery company advancing next generation medicines, announces the establishment of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Comprising experts in the fields of AI, biotechnology, and chemistry, the board’s achievements span innovative strategies to drug novel modalities, cutting-edge chemical synthesis techniques, transformative AIML applications, and translational high-throughput experimentation technologies.
Cubic Defense to make demonstration at AUSA 2023
Cubic Defense, a recognized industry leader in providing assured data access, digital intelligence, and live, virtual and constructive (LVC) training, will showcase its solutions for multi-domain convergence at this year’s AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition from Oct. 9-11 in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. During the AUSA exhibition, Cubic leaders will learn more about the U.S. Army’s future priorities and key objectives while demonstrating the company’s solutions tailored to meet and support the missions of the U.S. Army.
