Daily Business Report: Monday, July 25, 2022
Proposal to increase California’s minimum wage
misses deadline for placing it on November ballot
By Jeanne Kuang | CalMatters
Californians still won’t get a chance to vote on a minimum wage hike this November, after a judge ruled that the campaign was at fault for missing a key deadline to get the measure on the ballot.
Proponents, including investor and anti-poverty advocate Joe Sanberg, went to court to try to force Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office to place the initiative onto this November’s ballot. If approved by voters, it would raise the state minimum wage to $16 an hour next year and $18 by 2025.
But Sacramento County Superior Court Judge James P. Arguelles ruled that Weber acted properly in enforcing a June 30 deadline for counties to verify signatures for this November’s ballot.
The minimum wage campaign argued that Weber’s office confused county election officials because she told them they had until July 13 to finish the count, based on the requirement that counties get 30 working days for signature verification after campaigns turn in their petitions.
Proponents collected 1 million signatures, but didn’t turn in signatures until May, Weber’s office said, making them late to start the clock. By the June 30 deadline to qualify for this November’s ballot, several counties had not finished verifying signatures and the campaign fell short. Seven other propositions did make the ballot this November.
Top Photo: Fast-food workers protest a $15 hourly minimum wage outside a McDonald’s restaurant in East Los Angeles on March 12, 2021. (Photo by Damian Dovarganes, AP Photo)
SDSU researchers secured $164.5 million in
grant funding in 2022 — a groundbreaking year
By Kellie Woodhouse
San Diego State University researchers secured $164.5 million in grant funding in 2022, marking a record-breaking year for university research as faculty sought to improve human health, confront injustice and develop solutions to major societal issues like climate change.
With 17 percent growth over the previous year, SDSU’s upward trajectory in research-related funding affirms the university is making progress in its goal — outlined in its five-year strategic plan — of becoming a premier public research university.
“This is a groundbreaking year for research at SDSU,” said Hala Madanat, interim vice president for research and innovation. “This incredible research activity is a testament to our faculty and how committed they are to improving society through their work.”
Some 350 principal investigators received 761 awards from 323 funding agencies, and researchers were busy working to secure further support – submitting 1,237 proposals for research-related funding.
Funding during the 2021-22 fiscal year supported research into combatting COVID-19 transmission in schools, developing better pharmaceuticals, protecting water resources, furthering materials processing and development, improving conservation practices, curbing tobacco use, addressing the equity gap in public education, enhancing business education and much more.
Caroline Moon and Sherray McCloud take
executive positions at Scripps Research
Scripps Research has appointed Caroline Moon as chief financial officer and Sherray McCloud as controller/director of accounting.
Moon brings a broad and deep skill set in financial strategy and operations, as well as digital transformation. She was most recently the head of strategic finance at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where she gained an intimate understanding of this top biomedical research institute. Prior to the Broad, she was a partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, where she provided strategic guidance and finance best practices to the executive leadership teams at the firm’s portfolio companies, having served as CFO to a number of early- to growth-stage technology companies before joining the firm.
McCloud has more than 15 years of financial reporting, strategy and talent management expertise. Her skills include an in-depth knowledge of U.S. GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles); budgeting, forecasting and KPI (key performance indicator) analysis; and external audit coordination and tax review.
Most recently, she was director of finance at Palomar Health, the largest health care district in California.
Kratos awarded contract from U.S. Army to
demonstrate military SATCOM modernization
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc., a San Diego defense contractor, has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command to demonstrate a virtualized SATCOM ground system. Based upon Kratos’ OpenSpace Platform, the solution will enable the government to field SATCOM networks in line with modernization goals including streamlining gateway and remote terminal capabilities supported by multiple vendors, reducing life-cycle costs and supporting adaptive, dynamic space operations. Funding for this award was through the Network Command, Control, Communication, and Intelligence Cross-Functional Team (N-CFT) established by the Army’s Future Command.
The Next-Gen Blender
Imagine the freedom of being able o go anywhere and blend your favorite smoothies, shakes, margaritas — even baby food — without the limitations of a regular blender.
All that’s available with the BlendJet 2 portable blender, a product created by two tech guys, Ryan Pamplin and John Zheng, who are based in Benicia, about 30 minutes east of San Francisco.
The developers called their product “The Next-Gen Blender.” “We created the BlendJet 2 so you can make anything you want, anywhere in the world — from a mountaintop to your kitchen countertop,” they say. “It’s easy and convenient to use at home, at work, outdoors, at the gym, in the car, at the beach, on vacation or wherever the day takes you.”
Traditional blenders only use their blades to blend, but Pamplin and Zheng invented a new method they say renders every other blender obsolete. BlendJet 2’s stainless steel blades are offset from the center of the base, which creates a tornato effect that blasts ingredients into the back of the jar 275 times per second, resulting in dramatically better blending. This technology, when combined with a more powerful motor and doubled battery capacity, makes BlendJet 2 more powerful than their original creation, BlendJet One.
The company also a number of recipes for the BlendJet 2, like the Straberry Hibiscus Cooler, Mango Pineapple Green Tea Smoothie, Iced Frappuccino Protein Shake, Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri and many others.
The BlendJet 2 sells for $49.95 and ships free. More information is available at www.blendjet.com.
Public park tennis celebrating 100-year anniversary
Public park tennis in San Diego began a hundred years ago this month when players raised $5,000 to build what is now the Balboa Tennis Club. The number one racket sport in the country is also the fastest-growing, with 6.8 million new and returning tennis players in 2020 alone—a growth spurt of 22 percent. Research claims it adds ten years to a player’s lifespan; data also reveals it to be the safest sport to play during a pandemic.
One of the main hubs of public park tennis—Peninsula Tennis Club—is located at Robb Field Park in Ocean Beach. Home to Point Loma High School tennis, Peninsula also serves 1,300 other tennis enthusiasts and wears many hats within the tennis community.
USTA League Coordinator Randie Lettington: San Diego has enjoyed double-digit participation increases for the past auz years…Peninsula Tennis Club alone has over 23 USTA teams in 2022.”
Illumina contributes $36 million to venture fund
Illumina will contribute $36 million to a new venture fund created to help seed the next generation of genomic startups. The news comes the same week the company announced it will host former President Barack Obama at its inaugural Genomics Forum in San Diego to discuss the continued need for equity, accessibility and smarter health care to improve the human condition.
Persephone Biosciences raises $15 million for cancer study
Persephone Biosciences, a preclinical biotech focused on microbiome-based medicines, has raised $15 million in seed funding. The Torrey Pines-based company will use the funds to advance its trial for oncology therapeutics and continue developing its over-the-counter medicine to prevent infants from developing illnesses.
Seaside Equity Partners sells Anderson Commercial Plumbing
San Diego-based Seaside Equity Partners LLC, a growth-oriented private equity firm focused on investing in leading providers of mission critical services in the Western U.S., has completed the sale of its portfolio company Andersen Commercial Plumbing, LLC. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Headquartered in La Verne, Calif,, ACP provides turnkey plumbing and HVAC services to the Southern California market, serving as a one-stop solution to its growing customer base. Through its eight locations, ACP services a loyal, blue-chip set of customers across diversified end markets.
Tandem Diabetes Care acquires Capillary Biomedical
Tandem Diabetes Care Inc., a global insulin delivery and diabetes technology company in San Diego, announced its acquisition of infusion set developer Capillary Biomedical.
“Infusion sets provide people flexible options in insulin pump wearability, and we are dedicated to expanding our portfolio of sets to offer our customers even greater choice in personalizing their therapy management system,” said John Sheridan, Tandem Diabetes Care president and chief executive officer. “Through this acquisition, and through our efforts with existing infusion set partners, we look forward to developing new and innovative infusion set solutions that are designed to extend wear time and enhance user experience, while reducing occlusions, body burden and waste.”
ARS Pharmaceuticals to merge with Silverback Therapeutics
ARS Pharmaceuticals Inc. will merge with Silverback Therapeutics Inc. in an all-stock transaction, the companies announced.
Upon closing of the transaction, Silverback will be renamed ARS Pharmaceuticals Inc. and will be headquartered in San Diego. Richard Lowenthal will serve as chief executive officer and president of the combined company. The merger agreement provides that the board of directors of the combined company will be comprised of 10 members, including seven from ARS and three from Silverback.
The combined company will focus on the potential regulatory approval and commercialization of neffy, ARS’s investigational epinephrine nasal spray for the treatment of Type I allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. The combined company is expected to have approximately $265 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at closing.
Community college district seeks applicants
for Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee
The Board of Trustees of the MiraCosta Community College District is seeking qualified, interested individuals to serve on a committee of community leaders, who will operate as the Independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (ICBOC) for the implementation of the District’s Measure MM college facilities bond program.
On November 8, 2016, voters residing within the MiraCosta Community College District passed Measure MM, a $455million bond measure that authorizes funding for needed repairs, upgrades, and new construction projects at MiraCosta College. Proposition 39 required a 55 percent supermajority for approval. Measure MM was passed by 62.39 percent.
The purpose of the Independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee is to (1) inform the public about the expenditure of bond revenues, (2) review and report on the proper expenditure of taxpayers’ money for school construction, and (3) advise the public as to the MiraCosta Community College District’s compliance with Proposition 39 requirements as contained in the California Constitution.
For an application, click here
Cubic awarded Air Force contract for P5 training
Cubic Corporation, Cubic Mission and Performance Solutions division announced that it has been awarded contract from the U.S. Air Force for the P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS) SystemSecurity Update. Cubic’s P5 SSU solution features a low-risk, flight proven, National Security Agency certified Type 1 multilevel encryptor that enables or restricts the access and transfer of information between security domains on the P5CTS without modifyingthe current training Concept of Operations.
