Daily Business Report-Nov. 13, 2015
With Private Gift, Scripps Keeps Critical
Earthquake Monitoring Network Open
A key Southern California earthquake monitoring network operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego will continue to operate with funding support from Seismic Warning Systems Inc.,a private company that provides seismic detection and earthquake warning systems and services.
A gift of $700,000 by Seismic Warning Systems will sponsor support and ongoing operations of the ANZA Seismic Network, which features 28 earthquake monitoring stations in San Diego and Riverside counties. The ANZA network, a state-of-the art system in operation since 1982, provides the best coverage of the San Jacinto fault zone, considered the most active fault in Southern California. Seismologists have identified the San Jacinto, San Andreas, and Elsinore faults as having increased probability of rupturing with earthquakes of magnitude 6.7 or higher in the next 30 years. The ANZA Network’s seismic sensors provide critical earthquake risk information for San Diego County’s 3million residents. A year ago, funding cuts facing the ANZA network put its operation in jeopardy.
“The ANZA network provides critical data to help detect and transmit earthquake hazard information to protect lives and infrastructure,” said Margaret Leinen, vice chancellor of marine sciences at UC San Diego, and director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “Seismic Warning Systems has stepped up to provide the kind of critical private funding that makes a difference to our science and our society.”
“We are extremely pleased to support the important work of UC San Diego and Scripps Oceanography,” said George Dickson, founder and CEO of Seismic Warning Systems. “This is a great example of how a collaboration between the private sector and a leading university can advance the science and practical application of regional earthquake warning solutions in the pursuit of saving lives and critical infrastructure.”
Based in Scotts Valley, Calif., Seismic Warning Systems develops and deploys earthquake warning systems and services. The new collaboration will enhance regional earthquake warning deployments and promote education and training for the public to develop an understanding of what will happen in the event of an earthquake, and how to be as prepared as possible.
When Supervisor Greg Cox was informed about the proposed cuts to the ANZA network, he was concerned it would have left only a few USGS real-time stations adjacent to San Jacinto fault, decreasing earthquake warning lead time and significantly reducing seismic monitoring capabilities in the region.
“California is earthquake country and this funding will keep this critical seismic network operating,” said Cox.
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$48 Million Little Italy Project to Include
129 Residential Units and Retail Space
With $48 million in funding by Fident Capital, CityMark Development plans to develop the former Caliber Collision Center building on Kettner Boulevard Downtown into a 129-unit multi-family project, with completion scheduled for early 2017.
The building is located on the western half of the city block from 2101-2175 Kettner Blvd. between Ivy and Hawthorn streets in Little Italy. The six stories will include 100,000 square feet of residential space, 2.5 levels of subterranean parking and 8,000 square feet of retail space. The builder will preserve the historic front entrance facade of the building.
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Brigantine Proposed as Anthony’s Replacement
The Brigantine should replace the venerable Anthony’s Fish Grotto on the Downtown waterfront, says a staff report released Thursday night from the San Diego Unified Port District. The full board is scheduled to consider the staff’s recommendation at its 1 p.m. meeting Tuesday. If approved, the new restaurant complex, “Portside Pier,” could open as early as late 2017, officials said.
San Diego Union-Tribune
Get Election Materials Emailed to You
The Registrar of Voters is sending out 1.4 million postcards to registered voters in San Diego County this week asking if they’d like to receive those election materials in their inbox instead of their mailbox.
At one time, state and local laws required the Registrar to mail a copy of the sample ballot and voter information pamphlet to each registered voter. Now the Registrar is allowed to offer those materials online instead.
In the 2014 election cycle, the Registrar mailed County residents more than 3 million pamphlets adding up to 281 tons of paper. Voters who sign up to get the materials electronically will allow the Registrar’s Office to save money and help the environment at the same time.
Voters who opt in to electronic materials will see another advantage, too. They’ll get the sample ballot and voter information pamphlet immediately after they are released while other voters must wait a day or so before the information shows up in their regular mailbox.
The postcards will also give voters who usually cast their ballots at the polls the opportunity to sign up to become a permanent vote-by-mail voter.
Whether they are mailed or emailed, sample ballots and information pamphlets are available upon request in Spanish, Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese.
For more information, call (858) 565-5800 or visit sdvote.com.
Cars and Trucks — Even School Buses
For Sale at County Vehicle Auction
The county’s latest public vehicle auction has begun and potential bidders can see what’s available in person or online.
Hundreds of surplus vehicles, including automobiles and heavy equipment, and surplus government property from the county and other local agencies are going on the auction block. Many bids start at $100.
Among the vehicles: a 2007 Honda Accord, a 2009 and 2005 Toyota Prius Hybrids, family vans, Ford Taurus sedans, Ford Explorers and Ford Escapes.
There are pickup trucks on hand and even one-ton cargo vans if you’re looking to expand your business. There are even school buses up for bid, not to mention a 2002 Pacific mobile office trailer.
To check out the vehicles in person, they’ll go on display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday at 369 Main St., Ramon.
You can register to bid for the auction online. Bidding ends at 1 p.m. the following Monday, Nov. 16.
For more information, an auction catalogue and photos of many of the items up for auction, visit TNT Public Auction.
City Attorney’s Office Gets $238,346 grant
The California Office of Traffic Safety has renewed a $238,346 grant to the San Diego City Attorney’s Office to fund the continued operation of an Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driving vertical prosecution team.
The program puts prosecutors in the courtroom when motorists are arrested in San Diego for driving under the influence of drugs, or drugs in combination with alcohol. The prosecution team works the cases from arrest through sentencing.
With support from the grant, the office prosecuted 150 impaired-driving cases over a 12-month period, the majority of them purely drug DUI cases, with a 99 percent conviction rate, according to the City Attorney’s Office. It had prosecuted 88 cases over the previous 12 months.
Software San Diego Becomes Tech San Diego
Software San Diego, a regional technology industry association, announced that it has changed its name to Tech San Diego to reflect the organization’s broader mission to serve all regional businesses producing, utilizing, or selling information technology-enabled products and services.
Formed in 1994 to serve software publishers, consultants and developers, Tech San Diego said it is responding to the needs of manufacturing, financial services, entertainment, security, retail, energy, and health care businesses that strategically use software, data science, cloud computing, robotics, and embedded intelligence for competitive advantage.
California’s Life Sciences Sector
Supports Nearly 1 Million Jobs
Times of San Diego
California’s life sciences sector is the largest of any state with some 2,848 companies directly or indirectly employing nearly 1 million people and generating $132 billion in revenue.
And while biopharmaceutical and medical device employment in numerous states, including New York and New Jersey, has decreased in recent years, employment in California grew by six percent between 2010 and 2014.
Those were among the conclusions of the annual California Life Sciences Industry Report, which was released Thursday by the San Diego-based California Life Sciences Association and the consulting firm PwC US.
“California’s life sciences ecosystem is driving the economy and delivering life-changing medicines and technologies that benefit health and well-being far beyond our state’s borders,” said Sara Radcliffe, president and CEO of the association.
“The sector is a state treasure, and we look forward to working with officials at all levels — locally, in Sacramento and in Congress — to ensure we protect and promote the sector and the promise and hope it offers to millions around the world.”
Among the report’s other findings:
California life sciences companies have 1,235 new drugs in the development pipeline
Those companies directly employ 281,000 people and indirectly employ another 581,000
The industry paid workers $30.6 billion in salaries and wages during 2014 with the average annual salary at $108,893
California scientists received $3.26 billion in National Institutes of Health research grants in federal fiscal year 2015 — the most of any state in the nation
$4.79 billion in life sciences venture capital is projected to be invested in California companies in 2015 — more than double that of the second ranked state, Massachusetts.
Personnel Announcements
President Named for Mission Federal Services
Mission Federal Credit Union has named Ron Araujo as president of Mission Federal Services LLC, a wholly owned Credit Union Service Organization of Mission Fed.
Araujo joined Mission Fed in 2007 where he serves as the organization’s chief financial officer. He will step down from that position when his successor is named.
Araujo has provided investment management advice to the credit union industry, and has been a frequent contributor to financial webcasts and podcasts. Prior to joining Mission Fed, Araujo worked for one of the largest pension plans in the U.S.
He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from San Diego State University.
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Dumpster Puppies Rescued
Two young mixed breed terriers are safe at County Animal Services after being discovered in a dumpster in Otay Mesa Thursday morning.
A passerby heard the puppies and found them inside a box in a dumpster near state Route 905 and Siempre Viva Road. The dogs were brought to a nearby gas station and Animal Services was called in. An animal control officer took the dogs to the County’s animal care facility in Bonita.
“It is illegal to abandon an animal, and it is also repugnant,” said Animal Services Deputy Director Dan DeSousa. “If a person cannot care for an animal, they can reach out to various rescue groups or contact the department, either for assistance or to take the animals.”
The female puppies are about 4 months old, and while dirty, they appeared to be healthy and otherwise well cared for. They didn’t have any identification but Animal Services is required to hold the animals until close of business on Tuesday, Nov. 17 to give the owner a chance to claim them.
There is the possibility someone other than the owner took the puppies and abandoned them, and now their owner is searching for them.
If the owner doesn’t come forward, the dogs will become available for adoption on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
