Daily Business Report: March 26, 2024
California insurance market ‘in chaos,’ says former insurance chief.
Can this chief fix it?
By Levi Sumagaysay | CalMatters
With more California homeowners just discovering their insurance policies are getting canceled — and hundreds of thousands of others stuck with a pricey option of last resort — state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s efforts to fix the home insurance market can’t come quickly enough.
Lara has introduced two main regulations, with more to come. The first, unveiled last month, aims to streamline rate reviews. State law gives the Insurance Department the power to approve or deny insurers’ requests to raise premiums. Insurance companies complain the process has been holding up the increases they seek as a result of what they say are increased costs due to rising climate-change risks and inflation.
The second regulation will let insurers use catastrophe modeling — which combines historical data with projected risk and losses — along with other factors when setting their premiums. California is the last state to allow for catastrophe modeling.
“We’re undertaking the state’s largest insurance reform,” Lara said during a press conference earlier this month. “We can no longer look solely to the past to guide us to the future.”
He said catastrophe modeling will lead to “more reliable rates,” “greater insurance availability” and “safer communities,” because he said it would further encourage and reward wildfire mitigation by homeowners and communities. Insurance Department spokesperson Michael Soller said success will mean fewer homeowners needing to turn to the FAIR Plan, the state-mandated insurer of last resort.
Top photo: The remains of a burned home in Berryessa Highlands on Sept. 21, 2020. (Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters)
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County’s first microenterprise home kitchen
operation is led by restaurateur Diana Tapiz
The title of San Diego County’s first official microenterprise home kitchen operation (MEHKO) went to Diana Tapiz, owner of Tres Fuegos Cocina and client of the Small Business Development Center hosted at Southwestern College.
Southwestern College is home to the San Diego & Imperial Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network lead center as well as the network’s South San Diego SBDC. Tapiz worked with one of the SBDC’s business advisors, Marisa Castaneda, to help launch, sustain and grow her small business.
Tapiz described how she achieved the restaurant she dreamed of inside her home. She added how she’s grateful for the many SBDC resources available to her and to the county’s MEHKO program, which helped her launch her recipes to a larger audience. And she noted the MEHKO process is good for small business owners and good for San Diego.
Tres Fuegos started as a home-based business, but eventually expanded to work out of a commissary kitchen for a while. All the while Tapiz considered how best to handle the restaurant business and current environment.
“We wanted to see what people thought of our food, and it just boomed,” Tapiz said.
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Say Hello to Biodegradable Microplastics
Research shows plant-based polymers can disappear within seven months
By Michelle Franklin | UC San Diego
Microplastics are tiny, nearly indestructible fragments shed from everyday plastic products. As we learn more about microplastics, the news keeps getting worse. Already well-documented in our oceans and soil, we’re now discovering them in the unlikeliest of places: our arteries, lungs and even placentas.
Microplastics can take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years to break down and, in the meantime, our planet and bodies are becoming more polluted with these materials every day.
Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New research from scientists at the University of California San Diego and materials-science company Algenesis shows that their plant-based polymers biodegrade — even at the microplastic level — in under seven months. The paper, whose authors are all UC San Diego professors, alumni or former research scientists, appears in Nature Scientific Reports.
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King Street Properties unveils plans for
60,000-square-foot life sciences project in Sorrento Mesa
King Street Properties has unveiled plans for a new 60,000-square-foot speculative lab and life sciences redevelopment called Mesa Labworks in Sorrento Mesa. King Street is converting the existing single-story building located at 5825 Oberlin Drive, which was originally built in the mid-1980s and last renovated to creative office use in 2016. Construction on Mesa Labwork’s first two speculative lab suites is now underway.
Mesa Labworks, offering move-in ready spec lab solutions, will deliver suites ranging from 8,000 to 15,000 square feet. Scheduled for completion in August 2024, the new suites will deliver state-of-the-art lab infrastructure within a prominent life science epicenter.
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SANDAG planning mass transit option from downtown to airport
By Dave Schwab | sdnews.com
San Diego Association of Governments is laying the environmental groundwork for implementing an automated people mover from the Santa Fe Depot to the San Diego International Airport.
SANDAG is in the early stages of studying, and narrowing down, several automated people mover alternatives. One of those concepts could involve a high-speed, above-ground monorail service for that 2 ½-mile stretch between Downtown and the airport.
Previously, the board of SANDAG, San Diego’s transportation planning agency comprised of elected officials from the region’s 18 city councils and County Board of Supervisors, approved an amendment to its $1.2 billion budget for the 2024 fiscal year. That amendment adds $643 million in federal, state, and local revenue to more than 30 projects over the next five years.
One of those projects on which that funding is being used is the longtime proposed airport transit connection discussed by local officials as a possible solution to perennial complaints of traffic congestion and an overall lack of public transportation options to the airport.
Coleen Clementson, SANDAG deputy CEO, has told the board studies indicate the people mover concept, estimated to cost $1.3 billion to $2 billion, could cut traffic on surface streets by an estimated 20%, and possibly save up to 24 minutes in travel time to the airport. She said Santa Fe Depot has been selected as the endpoint for the people-mover project because it lies at a public transportation crossroads with buses, the trolley, Amtrak, and Coaster trains all using it as a transit hub. She noted a project of this scale would also likely qualify for matching federal transit funds, adding the airport has already committed to helping fund it.
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KB Home opens Prospect Gardens in Santee
KB Home announced the grand opening of Prospect Gardens, its latest new-home community in Santee. These new homes are designed for the way people live today, with popular interior features like modern kitchens overlooking large great rooms, expansive bedroom suites with walk-in closets, and ample storage space. The community’s one- and two-story floor plans feature up to five bedrooms and three baths. Amenities include a park and children’s playground.
SEQSTER selected by Multiple Sclerosis Association of America
SEQSTER, a leading patient-centric healthcare technology company, has been selected by the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America for its patient-centricity, 1-Click Records and cutting-edge longitudinal health record. SEQSTER unifies people living with multiple sclerosis, researchers, and care centers nationwide. To learn more about the Multiple Sclerosis Implementation Network, click here.
Hyper Photonix to participate in Ethernet Alliance multivendor optical demonstration
Hyper Photonix, a pioneer in silicon photonics technology and high-performance optical transceivers, announced its participation in the Ethernet Alliance multivendor optical networking and interoperability demonstration during OFC 2024 in San Diego March 26-28. Hyper Photonix will be showcasing its latest silicon photonics optical transceivers with a broad range.
RMS North America and Solonis announce partnership
In a significant move to enhance revenue opportunities for property managers, RMS North America and its subsidiary, Solonis, announced their partnership and successful integration with Vrbo, a global leade in vacation rental marketplaces. The collaboration marks another milestone in delivering innovative solutions to property managers and guests worldwide. Vrbo connects millions of active users seeking accommodations tailored to group travel.
Ivy Fertility hires Dr. Bryn Willson and Dr. Shelun Tsai
Ivy Fertility, a collaborative network of globally-renowned fertility clinics, welcomes Bryn Willson, MD and Shelun Tsai, MD to its collaborative team of physicians. Dr. Willson and Dr. Tsai are both board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology, and will complete their fellowships in reproductive endocrinology this spring. Dr. Willson will practice at San Diego Fertility Center, located in Del Mar. She will begin seeing patients in September. Dr. Tsai will practice at Pacific Northwest Fertility clinic.
Primergy signs power purchase agreement wih San Diego Community Power
Primergy Solar LLC, a leading developer, owner, and operator of utility-scale solar and energy storage projects, has signed a long-term power purchase agreement for the full capacity of its 400 MWac and 1.6 GWh battery energy storage Purple Sage Energy Center with San Diego Community Power. SDCP will receive green energy and attributes in a long-term power offtake agreement to begin at the project’s scheduled delivery start in 2027.
LENZ Therapeutics merges with Graphite Bio Inc.
LENZ Therapeutics Inc., a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing the first aceclidine-based eye drop that has been shown to improve near vision in people with presbyopia, announced the completion of its previously announced merger with Graphite Bio Inc. The new combined company will operate under the name LENZ Therapeutics Inc. and will commence trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “LENZ” on March 22, 2024.
MACOM to showcase products at San Diego conference
MACOM Technology Solutions Inc. announced that it will host live demonstrations of its products at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition in San Diego March 26-28. MACOM’s optical and high-speed analog IC design and applications engineering teams will demonstrate the company’s advanced semiconductor solutions and provide updates on its latest innovations in optical communications.
Industry leaders collaborate to define specs for linear pluggable optics
A group of industry-leading networking, semiconductor, and optics companies announce the formation of the LPO MSA (Linear Pluggable Optics Multi-Source Agreement) to develop the specifications for networking equipment and optical modules required to enable a broad ecosystem of interoperable LPO solutions. These specifications target the industry-wide challenge of reducing the power, cost, and latency, while improving the reliability of high-speed optical interconnects.
Telescent launches its new G5 automated cross connect management system
Telescent, a leading manufacturer of automated fiber cross connects for network and data center operators, announced the launch of its new G5 automated cross connect management system. The new and enhanced G5 automated cross connect management system will be showcased at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference 2024, the largest global conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals taking place at the San Diego Convention Center.
