Daily Business Report: Nov. 8, 2023
Internal documents reveal the story
behind California’s unemployment crash
By Lauren Hepler | CalMatters
Scammers pulled off one of the biggest suspected frauds in U.S. history while laid-off workers scrambled to survive. A CalMatters investigation finds that the EDD missed red flags and failed to make long-promised changes before the pandemic — and that once the twin crises hit, the state and its top contractors kept making money but were slow to deliver relief.
By the first COVID summer, no one kne who was who. In Nigeria, an oil company IT engineer was allegedly filing for unemployment in California and 16 other states with a slew of fake gmail accounts. At a desert state prison in Imperial County, an inmate used personal data bought on the dark web to funnel unemployment money to his wife for a $71,000 Audi and a down payment on a house.
In Carlsbad, Danny Ramos was one of millions of real California workers realizing that something was going very wrong, as weeks or months went by without the unemployment benefits they badly needed. “I felt, Ramos said, like this was just a big old scam.”
Illustration by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters’ iStock
__________________________________________________________________________
San Diego defense contractors awarded
$1.1 billion in military drone, satellite contracts
The Defense Department says it will pay upwards of $1.1 billion to a pair of San Diego’s best-known defense contractors to separately build high-altitude drones and command-and-control systems for satellites.
The awards represent the latest big investment in a region that received more than $36 billion in direct defense spending in fiscal 2023, according to a recent economic impact report the San Diego Military Advisory Council.
Northrop Grumman will get $543 million to build three MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft for the Navy, as well as an operating base for the high-altitude drones. The Navy has been using this type of aircraft for surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting in the Indo-Pacific.
The Defense Department also says that it is giving $579 million to Kratos Technology & Training Solutions to develop sustain and develop a telemetry, tracking and command system for military communications satellites. The work will be done on behalf of the Space Systems Command in Colorado.
__________________________________________________________________________
Northrop Grumman secures $732 million SDA contract
Northrop Grumman will build 38 Alpha satellites for the second tranche of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture’s transport layer under a potential $732 million contract with the Space Development Agency. The contract covers five years of satellite operations and sustainment services and support for associated ground elements.
According to SDA, the PWSA Tranche 2 Transport Layer Alpha satellites in low earth orbit will deliver global communications capability and persistent, encrypted connectivity to warfighters to support missile warning and tracking and beyond-line-of-sight targeting missions.
__________________________________________________________________________
Researchers awarded $1 million
to build first-of-its-kind microscope
By Xochitl Rojas-Rocha | UC San Diego
National Science Foundation has awarded $1 million to an interdisciplinary UC San Diego research team to build a first-of-its-kind, super-resolution microscope that will set the stage for advances in the biomedical sciences. Using materials custom-built at the university, the machine has the potential to achieve 10 times the resolution and more than 100 times the measurement speed of similar microscopes at current state-of-the-art levels.
__________________________________________________________________________
Cox Business to power Oceanside’s Frontwave Arena
with high-capacity fiber network to enhance fan experience
Cox Business says it will be powering Frontwave Arena, a multi-purpose sports and entertainment venue — and future home of the San Diego Sockers — with a full suite of technology solutions when the 170,000-square-foot arena in Oceanside is completed and opens next year.
The company said it will provide state-of-the-art IP voice solutions, dedicated fiber internet, advanced network and premise security, and Hospitality Network-managed WiFi access points, among other provisions. Together, Cox Business and Frontwave Arena will develop and innovate connected fan and guest experiences like other multi-purpose venues in Southern California, the company said in a news release.
In addition to the entertainment it promises to provide, the 7,500-fan capacity Frontwave Arena will create jobs and economic opportunities for residents of the surrounding areas, creating positive impact in the community.
__________________________________________________________________________
Randy Grossman joins Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, a multidisciplinary, integrated professional services firm, announced that Randy S. Grossman has joined the firm’s Trial, White Collar and Investigations practice and will lead its new San Diego office.
With extensive experience that spans the private and public sectors, Grossman most recently served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California. Grossman has nearly three decades of experience as a prosecutor and in private practice.
As the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, he was the chief federal law enforcement official responsible for prosecuting federal crimes committed throughout San Diego and Imperial counties as well as for representing the United States in civil litigation.
Kerri Fox named executive director of Resounding Joy
Resounding Joy,a San Diego-based music therapy nonprofit, announces the appointment of Kerri Fox as its new executive director and CEO. Fox takes over leadership from founder and CEO, Barbara Reuer, who is retiring from the organization that serves active duty military and veterans, hospitalized children, senior adults and others in the community. Fox has a wealth of professional experience to bring to her new role. She most recently served as a strategic consultant working with small San Diego for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
C3 Risk & Insurance Services
names Marife Molina as executive VP
San Diego-based specialty insurance brokerage C3 Risk & Insurance Services announces the appointment of Marife Molina as its new executive vice president of strategic revenue. With an impressive track record and extensive experience in the insurance industry, Molina brings a wealth of expertise to drive strategic growth and revenue initiatives at C3. Molina comes to C3 Risk & Insurance Services from a large multinational insurance carrier where she served as SVP, regional leader of its San Diego and Orange County personal and commercial lines operations.
CSC wins twice at the TSIA Star Awards 2023
CSC, a leading provider of global business administration and compliance solutions, has won two Technology & Services Industry Association (TSIA) STAR awards. San Diego-based TSIA is a research and advisory firm which helps technology companies create profitable growth and long-term value. Since their inception in 1990, the firm’s STAR awards continue to promote innovation, leadership, and excellence across the sector.
Toragen report positive safety data from cancer drug
Toragen Inc., a San Diego-based clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing uniquely selective drugs targeting cancers caused by viruses, announced positive safety data from Cohort 1 of its Phase 1 trial of TGN-S11, its first drug candidate, in patients with HPV-associated cancers. The study is being conducted in two parts: a dose escalation part and a dose expansion part.
Nucleix receives reimbursement for Bladder EpiCheck
Nucleix, a liquid biopsy company revolutionizing cancer treatment by detecting the disease earlier, announced it has been informed it will receive national reimbursement approval from The Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZA) in the Netherlands, effective Jan. 1, 2024, for its CE-marked Bladder EpiCheck test for detection of primary or recurrent bladder cancer and upper tract urinary cancer. Bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the western world, but the costliest to care for.
Proteintech Genomics launches medical cocktail
Proteintech Genomics, a subsidiary of Proteintech Group Inc., and a provider of multiomic solutions for single-cell and spatial analysis, announced the launch of the MultiPro Human Fixed Cell Immune Profiling Antibody Cocktail. This cocktail contains 53 antibodies against intracellular and cell surface proteins, plus 5 isotype controls. The pre-titrated cocktail is demonstrated to be compatible with the 10x Genomics Chromium Single Cell Gene Expression Flex product.
MAAC San Diego’s 2023 Soiree fundraiser raised $335,000
MAAC San Diegoannounced that the 2023 Soiree fundraiser raised a $335,000 on Oct. 26. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, MAAC is a leading provider of comprehensive social services in San Diego County, creating healthier and stronger communities through advocacy and access to high-quality programs in economic development, education, health and well-being, housing, and advocacy and leadership development.
Vista OKs 183-unit Kensho residential project
The Vista City Council unanimously approved a 183-unit residential project proposed for a mostly vacant lot west of the railroad tracks and across the road from the new Found Lofts project by the same developer, Tideline Partners. Known as the Kensho Residential Project, the development off Guajome Street at the edge of the downtown district was brought to the
City Council after being rubber-stamped by the Planning Commission earlier this month.
Downtown’s e3 Civic High selected for MIT program
e3 Civic High, located inside the San Diego Central Library, is one of eight school nationwide selected to participate in the prestigious Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams for 2023-2024. The InvenTeams are focusing on problems facing their local communities, with a goal that their inventions will have a positive impact on beneficiaries and, ultimately, improve the lives of others beyond their communities.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance partners
with Special Survival Commission
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has been recognized for its expertise in wildlife biobanking, and has partnered with the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the world’s largest conservation organization—the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—to form the new Center for Species Survival: Biodiversity Banking. The new center is the first ever to have a strategy focus rather than a taxonomic one.
