Daily Business Report-Feb. 17, 2020
What you need to know about registering to vote.
Tuesday is the deadline to register to vote
If you want to vote in the March 3 Presidential Primary Election, register by Tuesday.
You will need to register if you
- Are not registered in San Diego County
- Recently moved
- Changed your political party status
If you want to vote for president, make sure your ballot has the option you want. Political parties decide who may vote in their presidential primaries.
If you are registered with a political party that is different from the presidential candidate you want to vote for, you will need to register to vote with that party and should do so by Tuesday.
If you are registered as Nonpartisan (also known as independent, no party preference or decline to state), the presidential contest won’t be listed on your ballot. You may request either an American Independent Party, Democratic Party or Libertarian Party ballot at your designated polling place to vote for one of their presidential candidates. These parties are allowing Nonpartisan voters to vote in their primaries.
However, if you want to vote for a presidential candidate in the Green, Peace and Freedom or Republican parties, you must re-register with that party, and you should do so by Tuesday. These three parties are allowing only those registered with their party to vote in their presidential primary.
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Leading in a Challenging Environment
Linda Cureton, former CIO of NASA, certainly knows a bit about inclusion and what types of leadership behaviors help to foster an inclusive environment. Working and succeeding in a male-dominated industry, Linda has been credited with her leadership as being respected by many of her male counterparts at NASA.
She led one of the best IT organizations in government and while CIO, she served as principal adviser to the NASA administrator, and provided insight and technology leadership to some of the most brilliant scientists and engineers in the world.
You’ll want to hear more about what Linda has to say during the March 16-20 San Diego Women’s Week events. Everyone is invited, and tickets can be purchased at www.sdwomensweek.com.
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Predicting autism risk may begin with a drop of blood
Within days of birth, a few drops of blood are collected from every newborn in California—and across the United States — which are then stored on filter paper and screened for dozens of genetic and congenital disorders, such as phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited metabolic disorder that can result in intellectual disability, seizures, heart and behavioral problems.
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have launched a Phase II research study to look for signs of another similarly devastating disorder, one that typically does not appear in seemingly healthy children until years later: autism spectrum disorder or ASD.
The UC San Diego Newborn Screening-Autism Risk Study is designed to determine whether the dried and stored blood drops of children later diagnosed with ASD contain within them the tell-tale presence and combinations of biological molecules and environmental chemicals that might predict the risk of a future ASD diagnosis.
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Tuition-free San Diego Promise Program
celebrates 4th anniversary on Tuesday
The tuition-free San Diego Promise program celebrates its fourth anniversary on Tuesday, the date when the San Diego Community College District’s (SDCCD) Board of Trustees unanimously implemented the America’s College Promise initiative locally.
The SDCCD was among the first in California to launch its Promise program, which has served 4,360 students at San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges since its implementation and is now one of the largest in the state.
The San Diego Promise started as a locally funded pilot with an initial cohort of 186 students in the 2016-17 academic year and grew to include 664 participants in 2017-18. In October 2017, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 19, which created the California College Promise, a program providing free tuition for one year at the state’s community colleges for eligible full-time students. That move significantly bolstered funding for the San Diego Promise and allowed the SDCCD to expand the program to cover two full years of tuition for first-time, full-time students. A total of 2,042 were covered in 2018-19, and that number grew to 2,889 students in the fall of 2019.
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Wounded Warrior Homes launches
Community Warriors Volunteer Program
San Diego nonprofit Wounded Warrior Homes has launched a new volunteer program, Community Warriors.
The Community Warriors program will support the mission of Wounded Warrior Homes of bringing an end to veteran homelessness by expanding outreach in the community. Wounded Warrior Homes was established to serve our heroes by providing them with a safe environment of support and supplemental services to aid them in transitioning back to civilian life. The 501(c)3 nonprofit provides transitional housing and re-integrative services to post 9/11 veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and/or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Community Warriors are dedicated Wounded Warrior Homes volunteers who can assist the nonprofit in a myriad of ways, from organizing food drives to planning fundraising events to helping with yard work at the transitional homes. Opportunities include weekly commitments in the office for 4-16 hours a week to monthly yard work and maintenance days that last 2-6 hours to annual fundraising goals and event planning.
“After 10 years, we have successfully crafted and implemented a transitional support program with a phenomenal success rate of 95 percent. Now as we look to the next 10 years, we intend to expand our program to support more veterans and become a leader in ending veteran homelessness in the United States,” said Justin Hoke, who is leading the program for Wounded Warrior Homes.
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County creates online portal to track
General Plan progress
Since the county of San Diego adopted its General Plan nine years ago, 5,802 residences have been built in the county’s unincorporated communities, leaving capacity for another potential 60,748 residences under the plan.
And now you can track progress on the General Plan and local development online, thanks to a new county website — the Housing Capacity & Production Portal.
The portal includes text summary reports; maps that show how many residences have been built in each unincorporated community; the capacity the General Plan would still allow to be built in each community; and a search tool. It will be updated every quarter.
The county’s Department of Planning & Development Services (PDS) created the new portal to give the public the ability to track the progress of the county’s General Plan on a regular basis. PDS has been working on this system as required through the General Plan Implementation Plan and to facilitate the production of data needed for the annual report to the state on the General Plan’s Housing Element.
The current numbers in the portal are good as of Jan. 31, 2020, with information on 33 unincorporated communities in the county.
The portal, which also links to the county’s General Plan webpage, includes a total of 12 “heatmaps” depicting number ranges in colors, illustrating information including:
- Number of residential dwelling units that are allowed by the county’s General Plan and could be built in the future if the land is suitable for construction, provided with infrastructure, and obtains necessary approvals from the County
- Changes to the General Plan since 2011 that either increase or decrease the number of residential dwelling units that could be built
- Number of existing and new residential dwelling units that were built since 2011
- The number of residential dwelling units that have received discretionary approvals from the county since 2011 but haven’t been built
- Residential Development Projects that are approved with units that either exceed or are below the amount allowed by the General Plan
- Sites of residential dwelling units that are currently being graded and prepared for construction
For more information about the County’s General Plan, go to PDS’s General Plan webpage.
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AIS Technology Services becomes NFINIT
San Diego-based AIS Technology Services (AIS), a provider of cloud, colocation and connectivity services, is now NFINIT. Over the last two years, the company has invested over $15.5 million in technology platforms, network, and facilities.
The new brand reflects the evolution of the company into a full stack technology services provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of technology solutions and cloud platforms.
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Lyft opens Driver Center in Bay Park
Facility will function like race car pit stops
Lyft officially opened its 35,000 square-foot Driver Center at 1240 West Morena Blvd. The Bay Park facility, formerly Toys “R” Us, will serve as a one-stop-shop for thousands of Lyft drivers, providing them competitively-priced vehicle repairs, maintenance, and other services, along with other driver support.
The facility will provide 20 jobs – from vehicle service specialists to driver support and onboarding staff.
Car service and repair shops currently available weren’t created with rideshare vehicles in mind so Lyft created its Driver Centers to function like race car pit stops, as several technicians work together to quickly complete repair work, allowing drivers to get back on the road as soon as possible and earn an income.
Vehicle services offered at the Driver Center include maintenance and routine services such as conventional or synthetic oil change, tire rotation, and replacement, brake pad replacement, wiper blade replacement, filter changes, spark plug replacement, battery replacement, and free diagnostic assessments.
The center also serves as a driver hub, providing drivers a comfortable place to relax in between rides, with access to bathrooms, Wi-Fi, coffee, lounge and workspaces and more. Drivers can connect in-person with community representatives for assistance, including vehicle inspections and app support.
The Express Drive program will also operate out of the San Diego Driver Center, connecting drivers to rental vehicles with standard maintenance and insurance coverage through a rental partner, Flexdrive. A rental fleet, including 100 hybrid vehicles, are available for Lyft drivers to rent as an alternative way to drive and earn.
“We’re proud to open one of Lyft’s first Driver Centers in San Diego to further meet our drivers’ needs directly,” said Lyft Southern California general manager Hao Meng. “We know that maintaining a vehicle can add up and our goal is to service drivers’ vehicles in a timely and affordable way so they can get back on the road.”
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History-shaping Sacramento Bee will still
publish as its owners turn to bankruptcy
The Sacramento Bee, the flagship of the McClatchy Newspaper chain and a paper that helped shape California politics and policy for most of its 163 years, will publish today and for the foreseeable future, even as its owners turn to bankruptcy court to reorganize hundreds of millions in debt.
Chatham Asset Management LLC, a hedge fund, is expected to emerge as the 30-newspaper chain’s new owner, as the McClatchy family relinquishes control. There are no plans to cease publication.
McClatchy D.C.’s Kevin Hall reports the company has $703 million in debt and unfunded pension obligations of $805 million.
The company’s fortune turned after its ill-timed purchase of the larger Knight-Ridder chain in 2006.
Within two years, the Great Recession hit, and revenue plunged.
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Pardee Homes takes Gold and Silver awards
in national building industry competition
Pardee Homes has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders Sales and Marketing Council (Nationals) for its Vista Santa Fe and Sendero neighborhoods in the Pacific Highlands Ranch community.
April Gingras, sales manager at Pardee Homes San Diego, was presented with a Silver Awards for “Sales Manager of the Year.”
With nearly 1,300 award entries, Pardee came out on top with a Gold Award for “Best Interior Merchandising of a Model Priced over $1 Million” and Silver
Awards for “Sales Manager of the Year,” “Best Single-Family Detached Model Home – 2,501 to 3,000 square feet,” and “Detached Community of the Year,” defined as a single neighborhood and collection of plans by one builder.
Every year, The Nationals Award Ceremony recognizes top performers in the building industry for their determination, integrity, creativity and endurance.
“We are honored to be recognized with such prestigious awards,” said Jimmy Ayala, division president of Pardee Homes San Diego. “These awards are a reflection of the outstanding work and dedication our talented team is committed to every day and the amazing homes they bring to life.”
Vista Santa Fe is a gated community of 44 homes. The Sendero neighborhood includes 112 homes.
