Daily Business Report: Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Cost of fighting COVID in California: $12.3 billion
How much taxpayer money has it cost to fight COVID-19 in California since the start of the pandemic? At least $12.3 billion — a sum greater than the gross domestic product of 50 nations; more than the value of the Dodgers, Yankees and Giants combined; and enough to give $313 to every Californian.
Some of the biggest price tags include $1.8 billion for COVID-19 testing, $1.6 billion to fight the virus in state prisons and $1.4 billion for a controversial mask contract. But the alternative — doing nothing — would have been much more costly, experts say.
Adam Rose, a USC economist: “If you save 1,000 lives, that’s $10 billion that you save. If you did nothing at all, the situation would be much worse. You’re going to pay one way or another.”
Much of the money spent in California has come — or is forthcoming — from the federal government. But the $12.3 billion figure doesn’t include key federal programs that will benefit Californians — including a child tax credit that, starting July 15, will send qualifying households $300 per month per child. Nor does it include the $5.2 billion in rental relief that California is struggling to disburse to low-income tenants, as CalMatters’ Manuela Tobias and the Los Angeles Times’ Liam Dillon discuss in the latest episode of the “Gimme Shelter” podcast.
Illustration by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters; iStock
Cox Communications’ onsite solar and battery
energy system goes live in San Diego
The solar photovoltaics and battery energy storage project built and serviced by
PowerFlex — an EDF Renewables Company— is now operating at Cox Communications’ corporate office in San Diego, reducing utility costs and improving sustainability at the Federal Blvd site.
As the first solar plus storage project in the country for Cox Communications, the integrated onsite battery storage, carport and roof-top solar installation combined are projected to offset more than 374 tons of carbon each year, contributing to the more than 657,000 tons of CO2 offset since 2007 by Cox Conserves, Cox Enterprise’s national sustainability program.
Solar reduces utility costs by decreasing energy consumption while the battery storage shifts the solar generation into the evening on-peak period of expensive power. The storage system will also be used to mitigate spikes in energy usage thereby lowering utility demand charges.
Orange County real estate company purchases
Oceanside’s Stone Arbor Apartments for $29.3 million
Stone Arbor Apartments, an 88-unit multifamily community in Oceanside, has bee sold to Orange County-based MIG Real Estate for $29.3 million.
Stone Arbor Apartment Village was originally constructed in 1977 and is located 40 miles north of San Diego at 612 Los Arbolitos Blvd. The 89,119 square-foot, seven-building property features a resort-style swimming pool, clubhouse, fitness center, playground and 170 parking spaces.
A small number of units had recently been upgraded and the buyer will continue to renovate all units. Other capital improvements will include new landscaping, clubhouse and pool upgrades, a dog park, roof and window replacements.
Kevin Mulhern, Stew Weston and Dean Zander of CBRE represented the seller, a private family office, in the transaction. Scott Peterson, Bill Chiles, Brian Cruz andColby Matzke of CBRE’s Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance have arranged a $25 million acquisition loan on behalf of MIG Real Estate to fund post-closing.
Eric Ganci promoted to associate
attorney at CaseyGerry law firm
CaseyGerry – a San Diego-based personal injury and complex litigation law firm –has promoted Eric Ganci to associate attorney. Ganci previously worked as a staff lawyer for CaseyGerry’s complex litigation team and now joins its serious personal injury practice group.
Prior to joining CaseyGerry, Ganci ran his own San Diego-based law firm, Ganci Esq. APC, with a focus on representing persons arrested for impaired driving in trials through objective science. With his former practice, he earned the “Lawyer-Scientist” designation as recognized by the American Chemical Society, Chemistry and the Law Section.
Currently a teacher with Trial Lawyers College – a nonprofit dedicated to training attorneys nationwide – he is a former public school teacher and band director and also works as a professional musician.
Ganci’s board service and memberships include San Diego Law Library Foundation board member (2020 to present); and San Diego County Bar Association (technology committee member 2019 to present, vice-chair 2021.
Qualcomm appoints Don McGuire as
senior vice president and marketing officer
Qualcomm Inc. announced the appointment of Don McGuire to senior vice president and chief marketing officer, reporting directly to Cristiano Amon, president and chief executive officer of Qualcomm, effective immediately. Penny Baldwin, senior vice president and chief marketing officer who joined Qualcomm in 2017, will continue to serve in an advisory role to support the transition along with other marketing initiatives until her retirement later in the year.
McGuire brings more than 25 years of marketing expertise, working across the service provider, device OEM, content/applications, and semiconductor industries. He joined Qualcomm in 2016 as vice president of global product marketing and was promoted to senior vice president last year.
In this role as senior vice president, he had responsibility for Snapdragon marketing and redefined Qualcomm’s strategic approach to product marketing. His oversight and strong marketing expertise have led to innovative marketing campaigns and collaborative partnerships that have brought the most cutting-edge products to market, including the latest in 5G technologies.
New Children’s Museum welcomes new philanthropy leader
The New Children’s Museum announced the appointment of seasoned nonprofit executive Kathleen Daugherty as its new deputy director of philanthropy. Daugherty brings over 20 years of experience as a fundraiser and philanthropy adviser in the areas of higher education, health and human services, youth development and the arts.
A San Diegan by birth, Daugherty most recently served as director of principal gifts at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society where she cultivated transformational gifts toward a mission of curing blood cancers in our lifetime. She also managed national board giving, the advancement sub-committee, and served as a partner to the 26 regional offices. Previously, she was senior director, regional and international advancement at the College of William & Mary. An inaugural member of the university’s regional initiative, she opened the California office for William & Mary cultivating major and principal gifts, managing a campaign committee, and developing infrastructure for the $1 billion For the Bold campaign.
Joe Carroll, legendary priest devoted
to helping the homeless, dead at 80
City News Service via Times of San Diego
Father Joe Carroll, the legendary San Diego priest who built a nationally known nonprofit organization to help the homeless, has died at the age of 80 after a battle with diabetes, Father Joe’s Villages said Sunday. Carroll died Saturday morning at a hospice care home in the East Village, according to the homeless organization named in his honor.
Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages said “his legacy will live on in all that we do … Father Joe was a constant source of inspiration, hope and light. He took San Diego by storm. He created innovative programs in his over 30 years of service.”
San Diego sailor Joshua Moll doing
inspection work aboard the USS Charleston
Engineman 2nd Class Joshua Moll, from San Diego, inspects a fuel sample aboard Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Charleston (LCS 18) during a contactless brief stop to Singapore, June 6. Charleston, part of Destroyer Squadron Seven, is on a rotational deployment operating in the U.S. 7th fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Adam Butler)
Vervent and CoreCard establish partnership
for ‘best-in-class’ credit card processing
San Diego-based Vervent has formed a partnership with CoreCard to expand their payment processing offerings. CoreCard, headquartered in Norcross, Ga, is a leading international provider of innovative prepaid and credit technology solutions and processing services to the financial technology and services market.
This partnership will add a new, innovative payment platform with modern technology to Vervent’s arsenal to enable more flexibility and get client card programs live more quickly.
“We’re excited to add CoreCard as one of our industry leading partners and believe this partnership will enhance our ability to offer more flexible, faster-to-market card program solutions for our clients,” said Lou Geibel, EVP, Sales.
Stos Partners acquires Ventura County industrial property
Stos Partners, a privately held commercial real estate investment firm in San Diego, has acquired an approximately 125,000 square-foot multi-tenant industrial property in the Ventura County submarket of Simi Valley, from a private seller for $20 million.
According to Jason Richards, Partner at Stos Partners, the firm was able to draw on close relationships to secure the asset through an off-market transaction.
The property is 94 percent leased to a diverse base of several long-term tenants, notes Richards.
SoCalGas and SDG&E recognized on
nationwide list of Best Places to Work in IT
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) – sister utilities in the Sempra family of companies – have earned a spot in the top 20 of Large Companies on the IDG Insider Pro and Computerworld’s 2021 list of 100 Best Places to Work in IT. The list recognizes the 100 top organizations in the U.S. that create meaningful work for their IT staff while providing great benefits and compensation.
“Our IT teams play an important role in making SDG&E and SoCalGas the most innovative energy companies in America. Being singled out as top-tier place to work speaks to our commitment to our employees – the culture that SDG&E and SoCalGas have created where our IT professionals feel empowered and have the tools they need to grow in their careers,” said Ben Gordon, senior vice president, chief information officer, and chief digital officer for SoCalGas and SDG&E.
Website created by Quidel Corp. gives consumers
easy-to-understand answers about Lyme Disease
Americans looking for information regarding Lyme disease, often referred to as the “epidemic within the pandemic,” now have a new and trusted resource in which to rely with the launch of LymeDiseaseAnswers.com.
Created by San Diego-based Quidel Corporation, the website provides consumers with the peace of mind that comes with increased knowledge of the prevalence, causes, warning signs, symptoms and advances in the testing of Lyme disease, which afflicts nearly 480,000 people across the country each year.
Quidel is the diagnostic health care manufacturer behind the industry’s most rapid and reliable in-office test for Lyme disease, the Sofia 2 Lyme FIA test.
