Daily Business Report-June 30, 2020
Eko Blok homes along Hornblend Street in Pacific Beach.
Lennar announces grand opening of
single-family homes in Pacific Beach
Home builder Lennar announced the debut of Eko Blok, a collection of 30 upscale, single-family homes situated at Crown Point in Pacific Beach.
Eko Blok features six two- and three-story, contemporary home designs that include large patios, courtyards and rooftop decks, in most floor plans.
The homes range from 1,655 to 1,776 square feet, with three to four bedrooms and two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half bathrooms. The floor plans feature spacious living areas with spa-like master suites and upscale features for entertaining including large patios, gourmet kitchens and upper decks in most floor plans.
Pricing begins in the high $1.2 million. Plus, residents will enjoy no Mello Roos and no HOA fees.
Eko Blok is located at 740 Hornblend St., San Diego, 92109. For more information call (858) 465-6065.
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Summer gas and electric pricing to be
reduced for SDG&E residential customers
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) residential customers will see a 5 percent reduction in summer pricing to help alleviate concerns about higher energy bills due to hot weather and people spending more time at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The California Public Utilities Commission approved a pricing reduction that will benefit the majority of SDG&E customers – those who are enrolled in the Time-of-Use (TOU)-DR1 pricing plan, SDG&E’s default turn-on plan. The new pricing will go into effect July 1 and run through Oct. 31 and are applied to all three TOU time periods: on-peak, off-peak, and super off-peak.
The decrease in summer pricing will be offset by an increase of 4 percent during winter pricing months, Nov. 1 through May 31.
An average SDG&E TOU-DR1 customers using 400 kWh per month could see a bill decrease during the summer of about 5 percent or $5.80 per month with this change. Those customers on the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) Program, a bill discount program that offers 30 percent or more discount on monthly bills, using 400 kWh per month could see a bill decrease close to 5 percent or $3.96 per month.
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Asymtomatic testing is central to UC
San Diego’s Return to Learn for fall semester
The University of California San Diego announced the next step in its Return to Learn program, which will guide an incremental repopulation of the campus while offering broad, asymptomatic testing for faculty, staff and students on a recurring basis to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Return to Learn positioned UC San Diego as a nationwide leader in defining comprehensive and regular asymptomatic testing of students—and regular testing of infrastructure—as a strategy to reopen the campus.
The program incorporates elements of risk mitigation, viral monitoring and public health intervention to detect outbreaks early and reduce the risk of transmission.
UC San Diego plans for fall quarter, which begins Sept. 28, will include more than 4,750 lecture, lab and discussion course sections. Approximately 30 percent of courses will be conducted in person and the rest will be conducted in remote or hybrid formats.
In addition to guidance from public health agencies, the Return to Learn program and other safety measures UC San Diego will implement are guided by scientific evidence and expertise from the UC San Diego School of Medicine and Wertheim School of Public Health and Longevity Science and health care experts from UC San Diego Health.
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Sun Genomics secures first close of
$8.65 million Series A financing
Sun Genomics, the direct-to-consumer custom probiotics and gut health company in San Diego, announced $8.65 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Pangaea Ventures with additional investments from Danone Manifesto Ventures, SOSV, Human Longevity, and Nascita Ventures.
Chris Erickson, founding general partner at Pangaea Ventures, has joined as a new board member.
Sun Genomics is the first to market with completely personalized probiotic solutions based on whole-genome sequencing diagnostics, the company said. With the global human microbiome market expected to reach $1.4 billion by 2020, Sun Genomics will use this round of funding to support its growth in the custom probiotics market, scale delivery across the U.S., enter international markets, and propel the publication of its studies in partnership with leading academic institutions.
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SDSU Research
Diets higher in acidic foods hurt cancer
survivors, especially past smokers
Fresh and processed meats, cheese, eggs, sugary food, soft drinks, and grains are acid-producing foods. For cancer survivors who have a reduced capacity to process such foods that produce sulfuric, phosphoric, or organic acids, it can increase their mortality risk trifold if they also smoked in the past, a new study found.
Public health researchers at San Diego State University analyzed the diet patterns of nearly 3,000 women who had either smoked in the past or had never smoked, but have had breast cancer. Their findings could have implications for the dietary guidelines for cancer survivors.
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Cubic teams with Carley Corp. and Northrop
Grumman to pursue Navy contract
Cubic Corporation’s Cubic Global Defense business division has partnered with Carley Corporation and Northrop Grumman to pursue the U.S. Navy’s potential $93 million contract for the design, development, testing and delivery of products in support of the Fiscal Year 2021 Ready Relevant Learning Content Conversion program.
The Cubic-led team will use innovative instructional systems design, systems engineering and training assessment approaches in conjunction with new and modernized technologies to support ratings-accession training while simultaneously supporting the broader Sailor 2025 overarching goal of improving sailors’ transfer of training to the operational work environment.
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Petition seeks endangered species protection
for Quino checkerspot butterflies
The Center for Biological Diversity and Endangered Habitats League filed a petition Monday to protect Quino checkerspot butterflies under the California Endangered Species Act.
The petition, filed with the California Fish and Game Commission, notes that the Quino checkerspot butterfly was once one of the most common butterflies in Southern California. But with the rapid spread of sprawl development, the butterfly lost more than 75 percent of its habitat and in 1997 was listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. In 2002, despite continued habitat loss, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reduced the butterfly’s designated critical habitat by 63.8 percent.
“It’s alarming that a butterfly that once filled the skies of Southern California is now only found in pockets of its former range,” said Dr. Tara Cornelisse, an entomologist and senior scientist at the Center. “Even more alarming is that some of those few critical patches of remaining habitat are slated to be developed.”
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Nomination deadline extended for
Orchids & Onions Awards
The San Diego Architectural Foundation is inviting the public and design industry professionals to nominate the best and worst of San Diego’s architecture in the run up to the 44th annual Orchids & Onions awards ceremony.
For the first time, the annual event will be hosted in a virtual setting on Oct. 1, 2020. To nominate a project, click here. Fill out the form before July 10.
The program recognizes the best (Orchids) and worst (Onions) in architectural design, form and function, and brings San Diegans together to decide which parts of the built environment make our city a better place to live. Nomination categories include: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Design, Historic Architecture, and a Miscellaneous Category for Public Art or other community improvements.
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Taylor Jacobs joins Anagram Ventures
as vice president of real estate
Anagram Ventures, a private, independently owned hospitality-focused investment firm, announced the appointment of Taylor Jacobs as vice president of real estate.
Taylor joins the company’s executive team with a goal to support the creation of stakeholder value through a nuanced understanding of market trends, consumer needs and property valuations. His responsibilities include sourcing real estate investments for the firm; driving development and execution of new strategic initiatives; raising capital and overseeing asset and fund management for the firm’s many hospitality-related investments and clients.
Taylor previously served as vice president of investments for NewcrestImage, where he developed multiple ground-up hotel projects in high barrier-to-entry markets, including an AC Hotel by Marriott and other brands by Hyatt and Hilton.
Prior to this, Taylor held positions with RLJ Lodging Trust, where he supported the acquisitions and portfolio analysis team, and with Accenture, a management consulting firm, where his specialty was digital products. He has also worked in hotel operations at properties across Mexico and Spain.
Jacobs earned a degree in finance and international business at the University of Washington in Seattle and holds a certificate from Cornell University in hotel real estate investment and asset management.
