Daily Business Report-Aug. 6, 2019
Autonomous vehicles, mostly electric, are already here in a limited fashion.
California steers toward
a future of self-driving cars
By Julie Cart, CalMatters
California is laying the groundwork for the next, slightly scary, phase in its push toward zero-emission transportation: self-driving cars packed with computers using finely tuned algorithms, high-definition cameras, radar and other high-tech gadgetry. What the driverless cars won’t feature: steering wheels, brake pedals and gas pedals.
Autonomous vehicles, mostly electric, are already here in a limited fashion—as a slow van, for example, to move people around a Bay Area office park. That kind of shuttle, and small delivery trucks, will likely be the first self-driving vehicles in wide use, employing GPS, 3-D imaging and other technology to process and respond to what their cameras see on the road: other cars, pavement markings, traffic signals, pedestrians, etc.
Officials say automated cars will dovetail in two ways with greenhouse-gas-cutting policies in California, where the transportation sector belches out nearly half of the state’s climate-warming emissions. They’ll be included in the fleets of ridesharing companies, reducing the number of personal cars on the road as the state transitions to electricity-powered transportation. And they’ll almost certainly operate on batteries (though some could run on zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells), helping motorists wean themselves off gasoline.
If properly managed, the coming driverless-car revolution could address other vexing problems as well, said Daniel Sperling, who directs the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis. He cited his sister’s poor peripheral vision, which prevents her from driving.
“It could lead to a dramatic improvement in safety, a dramatic improvement for mobility for the elderly, for physically disabled people and for low-income communities,” he said. For many, autonomous vehicles will mean emancipation.
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Construction completed on redevelopment
of Kilroy Sabre Springs office complex
Construction has been completed on the redevelopment of the Kilroy Sabre Springs office complex at 13480, 13500, and 13520 Evening Creek Drive North in San Diego.
Ware Malcomb provided architecture and interior design services for the project.
The 450,000-square-foot campus includes three six-story office towers.
The project entailed the transformation of 30,000 square feet of lobbies, restrooms, and common areas to activate multiple indoor and outdoor amenity spaces and attract new tenants.
A new restaurant, The Florence. by San Diego-based Legal Restaurants, is designed to provide a variety of eating and drinking options. Named after the late San Diego swimming legend Florence Chadwick, the decor honors her accomplishments, which include being the first woman to swim both directions of the English Channel.
Other reimagined amenities include the REV fitness center managed by DRVN Unlimited and added features to the outdoor common areas such as fire pits and a regulation-sized bocce ball court.
“The Kilroy Sabre Springs campus has been completely reinvented as a highly desirable place to work and play for both new and existing tenants,” said Tiffany English, principal of Ware Malcomb’s San Diego offices.
The general contractors for the project were DCT, Burger Construction and Bycor.
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BLT Enterprises completes renovation
of 60,000-square-foot industrial building
BLT Enterprises, a commercial real estate development and investment company, has completed renovations of a 60,000-square-foot industrial building in Carlsbad. The firm acquired the building from El Cedro LLC in early 2017 and El Cedro leased-back the entire property for three years as part of the transaction.
Improvements include a new roof, new skylights, new HVAC and additional perimeter windows to increase natural lighting as well as a new glass balcony and removal and replacement of lobby stairs. The renovations also include the removal of all interior offices, conference rooms, and warehouse space, effectively bringing the asset to a clean “warm shell” status. Exterior improvements include all-new drought-tolerant landscaping and a new outdoor employee patio with a bocce ball and horseshoe toss activity area, according to Bernard Huberman, founder and president of BLT Enterprises.
Located at 5940 Darwin Court, the property is housed within the Carlsbad Research Center adjacent to McClellan-Palomar Airport.
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SDSU anthropologist elected to national leadership role
By Padma Nagappan
San Diego State University anthropologist Ramona Pérezin November will step into the role of president-elect/vice president of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and assume the office of president at its 2021 meeting. Pérez, who spearheads key cultural programs at SDSU, will lead the largest association of anthropologists in the world, with more than 10,000 members.
Pérez obtained her undergraduate degree in anthropology at SDSU in 1992, then attended the University of California, Riverside for her master’s and Ph.D in cultural anthropology before joining the SDSU faculty in 2001.
She is also director of the Center for Latin American Studies, which provides students with opportunities to study abroad, participate in internships on both sides of the border, and enroll in joint graduate degree programs with other schools within SDSU. She is chair of Aztec Culture and Education, and spearheads all activities and projects for the Aztec identity initiative chaired by the SDSU president. In addition, she also chairs the university’s institutional review board which vets all research related to human subjects, from clinical trials to social surveys.
She also works on border issues, observing human rights violations for deportees and unaccompanied minors. “In my research on the border, I work with street children to document their stories,” Pérez said. “Boys between the ages of 9 to 15 who are deported have no place to go, because shelters are primarily for younger children, women, and older people. I seek to document why boys are caught in the middle and more importantly, what’s going on between our two countries when it comes to unaccompanied minors.”
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MiraCosta College to award
more than $367,550 in scholarships
The eighth MiraCosta College Annual Donor Scholar Celebration honoring more than 310 students and their successes will be held on Friday, Aug. 16, from 4–5:15 p.m. The celebration will be at the Oceanside campus near the Fountain and Clock Tower, located at 1 Barnard Drive. The event provides students the opportunity to celebrate their successes with donors who funded $367,550 in scholarships that are so critical to student success.
The event will also serve as a “scholarship connector” where donors and and scholarship recipients are given the chance to meet and get to know each other.
The event is sponsored by California Coast Credit Union and the MiraCosta College Foundation Office.
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Kratos receives $23 million jet
drone production contract award
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. said its Unmanned Systems Division has received a $23 million award for a production run of one of its high performance jet drones.
In operation around the world, Kratos target drone systems perform as high fidelity enemy threat surrogates, simulating characteristics of a range of threat aircraft and missiles. These target drones are employed for weapons testing, weapons development, and training requirements for the military user. Kratos is a provider of high performance unmanned aerial drone and target systems, unmanned aerial, ground and sea platforms, command, control, avionics control, and termination systems.
