Daily Business Report: June 12, 2024
City breaks ground on $100 million airport
redevelopment project at Brown Field
By Elizabeth Ireland | Times of San Diego
The city of San Diego Monday broke ground on a 20-year project to redevelop Brown Field Municipal Airport and construct state-of-the art aviation and commercial facilities.
The developer, San Diego Airpark, will cover the estimated $100 million cost for the first phase of the project, with the first buildings expected to be finished by the end of 2025.
The San Diego Airpark project is anticipated to create 2,500 new airport jobs and have a $1.5 billion economic impact on the San Diego region. It is being built on 331 acres of land at Brown Field and will include a new fixed-base operator with a terminal building housing a general aviation customs inspection facility.
The project will also feature commercial hangars and new roads, a hotel and a restaurant.
The Federal Aviation Administration has classified Brown Field as a reliever airport for the San Diego International Airport. According to a city statement, over the next five years, Brown Field is slated to receive approximately $14.8 million in Federal Airport Capital Improvement Grant funding to pay for airfield infrastructure and security needs.
Photos: Renderings of the Brown Field Municipal Airport redevelopment project. (Credit: city of San Diego)
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California gig worker law withstands
challenge from Uber at federal appeals court
By Levi Sumagaysay | CalMatters
Uber on Monday lost its long-running attempt to overturn a California law that would require it to provide employment rights to its drivers and delivery workers.
The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could have major implications — depending what the state Supreme Court decides in a separate but related case.
Uber and Postmates, a food-delivery platform Uber now owns, alleged that Assembly Bill 5violated their rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the state and U.S. constitutions. AB 5 requires ride-hailing and delivery companies to treat their workers as employees instead of independent contractors and codifies the so-called ABC test to determine which workers should receive benefits. Under the law, other gig companies are subject to a different test, which Uber and Postmates claimed was unfair.
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Would a wealth tax actually drive the rich out of California?
By Grace Gedye | CalMatters
Lawmakers in blue states like California may prefer to tax the rich, but there’s always a risk: What if the rich just move elsewhere?
Last week Assemblymember Alex Lee said he was introducing a new tax on “extreme wealth.” It wasn’t the first time the Milpitas Democrat pushed the idea. But this year, he had backup. Lawmakers from seven other states, including Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, Illinois and Washington were introducing new taxes for the rich on the same day.
“The counter argument is that the rich will just leave,” said Lee. “Well, this is kind of the strategy of ‘You can run but you can’t hide.’”
Lee’s proposal would apply to individuals with a net worth of $50 million or more, taxing their wealth at 1 percent annually. Wealth beyond $1 billion would be taxed at 1.5 percent. The tax would apply to about 23,000 households, or the wealthiest 0.1 percent in the state, and would raise about $21.6 billion in revenue per year, according to calculations from UC Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez, who helped design Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s national wealth tax proposal and had a hand in some of the state-level proposals.
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Realtors groups to hold the 2024 Realtor Games on June 21
The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR) and the North San Diego County Association of Realtors (NSDCAR) will jointly present the 2024 Realtor Games from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, June 21 at NTC Park at Liberty Station, 2455 Cushing Road, in San Diego’s Point Loma area.
The Realtor Games, now in its sixth year, will feature up to 20 teams, each team with up to six PSAR or NSDCAR realtors, competing for bragging rights in various competitions, including sack race, jenga, football toss, cornhole, puzzle and relay race. Entry fee is $300 per team. Real estate professionals from throughout San Diego County, regardless of association affiliation, are invited to attend and cheer for their favorite team.
Proceeds will benefit the Chicano Federation’s efforts to assist San Diego flood victims who suffered damage from January’s winter rainstorm, as well as the California Association of Realtors’ Realtor Action Fund, which supports public policy and advocacy lobbying efforts that promote protect private property rights and the value of homeownership.
Deltek hosting 9th annual Government Contract Pricing Summit
Deltek, the leading global provider of software and solutions for project-based businesses, is hosting hundreds of the top federal contract pricing professionals this week, June 11-13, at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina in San Diego. The Government Contract Pricing Summit (GCP Summit) brings together both government agencies and contractors to discuss best practices, new trends and how to address contract pricing challenges facing the Now in its 9th year, the GCP Summit is designed for top contract and acquisition professionals from prime contractors, subcontractors, consultants and technology providers.
North Island Credit Union Foundation provides $500 teacher grants
Understanding organisms and issues in the water shed, starting a market for 3rd grade entrepreneurs, creating a folk art program and launching a solar desalination project are just some of the school projects receiving funding from North Island Credit Union Foundation through its Spring 2024 Teacher Grant program. As part of its commitment to help educators create innovative learning opportunities for their students, the Foundation has provided 10 grants of $500 each to underwrite class projects in San Diego County.
Cetera welcomes $91 million AUA Advisor to Cetera Advisor Networks
Cetera Financial Group, the premier financial advisor Wealth Hub, announced that Michael Volini has joined Cetera Advisor Networks via North Ridge Wealth Planning LLC. Volini provides comprehensive financial planning and investment advice to clients and has more than $91 million in assets under administration as of May 25, 2024. He focuses his practice on the protection, growth and retirement income of Fire Department of New York employees, retirees, city workers and privately held businesses.
Strongest nuclear battery is revealed by U.S company
Infinity Power in San Diego County has successfully developed a very powerful and long-lasting nuclear battery that harvests decay energy from radioisotopes, under strong support from the U.S. Department of Defense. It has been demonstrated that over 60 percent of overall efficiency is attained. Compared to other radioisotope energy conversion methods with low efficiency (10 percent), it marks the highest level of overall efficiency ever achieved. This shows that the upcoming commercial release of next-generation radioisotope power sources holds out huge hope.
San Diego teen publishes Children’s book
San Diego teen Siena Ferreyra-MacPete proudly releases her adorable new children’s book “The Legend of Inti and Flora: How the Peruvian Hairless Dog Lost Its Hair just in time for Peruvia Hairless Dog Day. June 12th is Peruvian Hairless Dog Day, the day that celebrates Peru’s famous National Dog. The Peruvian Hairless Dog was the inspiration for Siena Ferreyra-MacPete’s recently published children’s book.
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Illumina DRAGAN v43 powers most
comprehensive, accurate genome
Illumiana Inc., a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based techn v4.3, the latest version of itftware, part of the Illumina Connected Software portfolio, for analysis of next-generation sequencing data. DRAGEN’s innovation in multigenome mapping complements the efforts led by the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC). The HPRC, funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute, aims to equip the genomics community with high-quality assemblies from diverse ancestries and combine them into a reference human pangenome.
Perfect Bar navigates shoppers to real fresh food
Perfect Snacks®, leader in the Fresh-Snacking category since 2005, announced a new campaign aimed to help overwhelmed shoppers simplify grocery store navigation when trying to find the perfect foods. Perfect Bar created a look alike protein bar, complete with its own GPS, to guide shoppers to where the freshest products live – the fridge. the brand partnered with reality star Chelsea Blackwell, who famously went viral for her celebrity look alike comparison, to show shoppers how to spot the freshest products amongt the imposters. As seen in Perfect Bar’s latest creative video, as shoppers interacted with the look alike protein bar, they’re hilariously redirected to the fridge.
PNC Bank Announces $500 +million Credit Facility
PNC , National Association, announced the closing of a $500+ million senior secured credit facility for San Diego’s Seismic, a global leader in sales enablement software. PNC served as Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent for the credit facility and PNC Capital Markets LLC served as Lead Left Arranger. Seismic is the global leader in enablement, helping organizations engage customers, enable teams, and ignite revenue growth. The Seismic Enablement Cloud is the most powerful, unified enablement platform that equips customer-facing teams with the right skills, content, tools, and insights to grow and win.
Unleased Brands Foundation and partners bring joy to yoksung
Unleashed Brands Foundation, the charitable affiliate of Unleashed Brands, the leading youth enrichment growth-focused platform, celebrates the success of an unforgettable family trip for Samuel, a brave young leukemia fighter. This heartwarming initiative was made possible by partnering with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). LLS initiated the relationship when the Foundation was launched in October 2023, and the team was introduced to Samuel, an ambassador for LLS with the Dare to Dream Project. The seven-year-old’s adventure underscores the Unleashed Brands Foundation’s commitment to positively impacting children and families facing health challenges.
Evofem announces issuance of new U.S. patent covering Phexxi composition of matter
Evofem Biosciences Inc. announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent No. 11,992,472, which covers composition and methods for contraception with a composition that encompasses Phexxi, lactic acid, citric acid, and potassius bitartrate vaginal gel. Phexxi net sales have increased in each consecutive year since its U.S. commercial launch in 2020. Key growth drivers for 2024 include increasing use of Phexxi for supplemental contraception among women of reproductive age who take oral birth control pills in conjunction with GLP-1 agonists like Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Tax Guard announces partnership with Venture Lending Technologies
Tax Guard, a Cogency Global Company and the first provider of real-time IRS tax data services, is announcing it has entered a partnership with San Diego-based Ventures Lending Technologies, a premier end-to-end lending software for banks and mission-based lenders.
This partnership will better support lenders by marrying two of the most effective industry solutions together. With the integration of Tax Guard, lenders are now able to manage all their federal tax data needs within the Ventures platform, providing lenders with a full picture of a business’s financial health when offering financing.
