Daily Business Report: May 6, 2024
How Congress is letting die an internet
connectivity lifeline for millions
By Aaron Sankin | CalMatters
On April 30, a popular and widely used government program began the process of shutting down due to congressional inaction. With its demise, closing the digital divide becomes considerably more difficult.
The federal government first launched a broadband subsidy program during the depths of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, where internet connections became many peoples’ only window into the outside world. That effort, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), was made permanent as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It offered a $30 monthly subsidy ($75 on tribal lands) to qualifying low-income households for broadband internet or cell phone bills. The program also offers up to $100 toward a computer or tablet.
However, it came with a major caveat: The $14.2 billion Congress allocated toward the program was a one-time thing. When the money ran out at some point in the future, Congress would have to infuse the program with more money or find a more permanent funding solution.
That future has officially arrived. More than 23 million American households, about 45 percent of all those eligible nationwide, will no longer receive the full subsidies that previously helped them get online. Two-thirds of those households had “inconsistent or zero connectivity prior to ACP enrollment,” a recent Federal Communications Commission survey revealed.
Top photo: Monserrat Ramirez Garcia, 12, uses a laptop while in a remote math class from her home in Oakland on April 23, 2021. (Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
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Two San Diegans appointed as judges
to the San Diego County Superior Court bench
Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed San Diegans Toni Dean Segura and Blair Soper to serve as judges on the San Diego County Superior Court.
Segura has served as a commissioner at San Diego County Superior Court since 2023. She was a deputy public defender at the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office from 2017 to 2023.
Segura was an Associate at Skaja, Daniels, Lister & Permito LLP from 2014 to 2017 and was a sole practitioner from 2004 to 2007. She served as a deputy public defender at the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office from 1996 to 2001. Segura earned a Juris Doctor degree from California Western School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Desiree A. Bruce-Lyle. Segura is registered without party preference. Blair Soper has served as a deputy public defender at the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office since 2006. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. Soper fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Peter L. Gallagher. He is a Democrat.
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Cox Business Survey shows AI support by small businesses and employees
Despite the headlines touting AI as human replacement, most small business owners and employees surveyed by Cox Business view the technology as a tool to strengthen and grow their teams. Cox Business surveyed small business owners and employees to better understand their usage of and sentiment on AI in the workplace. Fifty-two percent of small business owners said AI enables them to increase or retain employees, and 65 percent of small business employees said the same.
Enhancing customer experience
Both small business owners and employees feel they have a good grasp on what AI is and feel comfortable using the tools within their organization:
- 85 percent of owners are somewhat to very comfortable using AI tools in their business.
- 75 percent of employees are somewhat to very comfortable using AI tools in their business.
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General Atomics delivers first MQ-9A Extended Range drone to Marines
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) and the U.S. Marine Corps celebrated the delivery of the first MQ-9A Extended Range Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) to Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Training Squadron 2. The delivery is part of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Unmanned Expeditionary Program, which ordered eight MQ-9A ER UAS as part of the ARES Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity contract.
The MQ-9A ER is designed with field-retrofittable capabilities such as wing-borne fuel pods and reinforced landing gear that extend the aircraft’s endurance to more than 30 hours while further increasing its operational flexibility. The aircraft provides long-endurance, persistent surveillance capabilities with Full-Motion Video and Synthetic Aperture Radar/Moving Target Indicator/Maritime Mode Radar. An extremely reliable aircraft, MQ-9A ER is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and a triple-redundant avionics system architecture. It is engineered to meet and exceed manned aircraft reliability standards.
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UC San Diego receives $7.35 million for
Scripps Center for Oceans and Human Health
By Lauren Fimbres Wood | UC San Diego
The University of California San Diego was awarded $7.35 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a multidisciplinary program to advance understanding of marine contaminants and nutrients in a changing climate, and to ensure that safe and healthy seafood is available and accessible to all people.
The funding, to be awarded over five years, will enable the re-establishment of the Scripps Center for Oceans and Human Health as one of four new nationwide centers focused on understanding how ocean-related exposures affect people’s health.
The center brings together experts from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the School of Biological Sciences, as well as NOAA’s California Sea Grant and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Its multidisciplinary research team will explore the sources, fates and potential toxicity of human-made and natural chemicals in the ocean, and further study their environmental distribution and movement through the marine food web.
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Takeda inks $1.2 billion deal with Kumquat Biosciences
Biopharma giant Takeda has inked a $1.2 billion deal wirth local immuno-oncology startup Kumquat Biosciences. Kumquat will receive $130 million for its phase 1 trial activities after which Takeda will lead future development and commercialization. This deal follows Kumquat’s 2021 partnership with pharma leader Eli Lilly to develop its small molecules platform that stimulate tumor-specific immune responses, securing $70 million up front with a chance to make more than $2 billion in the future.
Enlaza raises $100 million in Series A funding
Led byu JP Morgan’s Life Sciences Group, local biotech startup Enlaza secured $100 million in Series A financing. A pioneer in the field of covalent biologics, the San Diego company wiil use the funding to expand its covalent protein drug platform, establish a diverse pipeline of therapeutics, and advance its lead assets to clinical trials.
San Diego welcomes five new routes with Breeze Airways
Budget airline Breeze Airways celebrated the launch of its first flight to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina at San Diego International Airport last week. Expanding connectivity from San Diego, the airline will offer flights from Cincinnati , Jacksonville, Nortfolk, Raleigh-Durham, and Pittsburgh. In another local win, Breeze teamed up with Carlsbad’s Viasat to offer high-speed in-flight connectivity across its fleet.
San Diego couple’s gift ramps up SDSU Imperial Valley nursing program
Thanks to a gift from Carolyn and Cliff Colwell of San Diego to the SDSU Imperial Valley’s School of Nursing , the region’s critical nursing shortage will be addressed. The couple’s $500,000 gift to the nursing program ties the record for the largest cash contribution ever to the Imperial Valley campus and will help address multiple priorities. The Colwells, both of whom have careers in medicine, said they want to address the nursing shortage and its ripple effects on health disparities.
Wells Fargo scales trade finance and compliance with TradeSun
Wells Fargo has entered into an agreement with TradeSun to utilise its trade finance and compliance digitisation solution, as it bids to streamline complex, manual processes faced in the banking industry. Leveraging AI and other advanced technologies, TradeSun’s solution will support Wells Fargo as it bids to reinvent trade finance digitalisation – tapping into the world of cognitive data capture and intelligent process automation. This will level the playing field with fintech innovators and digital banks.
Colliers recruits highly regarded life science and office advisory team
Colliers announced the addition of leading life science and office leasing professionals Chris High, Steve Bruce, and Conor Evans to the firm’s San Diego brokerage. The accomplished team brings an exemplary reputation with multi-faceted industry expertise and a proven track record of success to Colliers’ growing market presence. Joining Colliers from Newmark, High and Bruce will serve as vice chairs and co-leads, Southwest Life Science Practice, and Evans will serve as vice president.
Ivy Energy secures $18 million in Series A funding
Ivy Energy, the creator of the trailblazing Virtual Grid Cloud software, proudly announces the closing of a $18 million Series A funding round. This round, led by global leader in smart energy technology, SolarEdge, marks a leap forward in Ivy Energy’s quest to transform the adoption of solar energy within shared communities, catalyzing a major shift towards sustainability in an underserved real estate arena and combating climate change. In a challenging financial climate, Ivy Energy’s approach and vision for a renewable future drew substantial investments from notable investors.
South 8 Technologies announces collaboration with NanoGraf
South 8 Technologies, the developer of LiGas, a liquefied gas electrolyne for advanced lithium-ion batteries, announced that its collaborating with NanoGraf to deliver higher energy, safer, and lighter batteries for soldiers in the battlefield. South 8’s $6.4 million subcontracf with Nano Graf will support the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command C5ISR Center. South 8 will develop and deliver a high-rate injection System for its LiGas electrolyte to bolster production of cylindrical lithium-ore batteries.
Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering promotes two team members
Latitude 33 Planning and Engineering has promoted two of its top performing team members. Kyle Boyce has become the firm’s youngest principal, and Jason Gordon is now serving as a senior project manager. Both team members have been with Latitude 33 for about a decade each. Boyce has been the engineering lead on local projects totaling more than $3 billion. Gordon has a decade of civil engineering experience.
Ascent unveils the AscentUp Internship Program
Ascent is proud to unveil the AscentUP Internship Program, in partnership with AscentUP and Riipen to offer its borrowers exclusive access to paid remote internships, as well as invaluable professional development training and one-on-one career coaching. Funding for the inaugural cohort was provided, in part, by a grant from Goal Beyond, a 501c3 non-profit organization with a shared mission to empower learners with practical experience and the robust skills essential for thriving in today’s dynamic workforce.
SolarTech designs solar energy solution for Mossy Nissan
SolarTech, a leading solar provider for residential, commercial and nonprofit clients, designed and implemented a tailored solar solution for prominent auto dealership Mossy Nissan Chula Vista. Mossy Nissan Chula Vista, facing challenges of rising energy costs from San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE), sought a sustainable solution that would not only combat rising operating expenses but also provide an opportunity to maximize available tax incentives. SolarTech’s installation of a 391kW solar system with 990 panels saved Mossy Nissan $98,713 on their electric bill in the first year.
