Daily Business Report: Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023
Port of San Diego unlocks treasure trove of blue
carbon information on San Diego Bay’s eelgrass beds
The Port of San Diego has released the results of its first study on how much carbon is stored in the eelgrass beds in San Diego Bay and how much carbon eelgrass may continue to sequester into the future.
Like all plants, eelgrass absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2), which is stored as organic carbon in their plant material and produces oxygen through photosynthesis. When land plants die, their carbon is released back into the atmosphere as CO2. Unlike land plants, eelgrass is submerged in water, which prevents the release of CO2. Instead, the organic carbon is sequestered into the sea floor sediments.
Key findings:
• The bay’s eelgrass beds currently contain 1.7 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent to the same amount of CO2 emitted by more than 370,000 cars annually.
Since 1993, the Port and the Navy conduct bay-wide eelgrass surveys every few years.
• Currently, San Diego Bay has nearly 2,600 acres of eelgrass, which amounts to 50 percent of all the eelgrass in Southern California and about 17 percent of eelgras in the state.
• As much as 73 percent of the bay’s carbon is stored in the sediments of the South Bay.
In addition to storing carbon, eelgrass also helps improve water quality, provides protection from waves that erode shorelines, and is a vital habitat and food source for many animals in and around the bay.
San Diego not ready to solicit
bids to redo City Hall complex
San Diego may move slower than expected on its plan to solicit bids to redo the City Hall complex and adjacent downtown properties as questions remain about how much replacement office space the city needs and whether the municipality should retain some of its property.
The initiative, which is designed to secure modern office space for roughly 2,400 downtown city workers while simultaneously promoting affordable housing, is building toward a real estate competition that will ask development teams to put forward their best redevelopment plans for as many as six, city-owned blocks.
Small cities ask SANDAG board heavy hitters
to ‘set aside’ weighted vote practice
By Tigist Layne | Voice of San Diego
San Diego’s small cities want a favor.
The cities face a disadvantage at the San Diego Association of Governments, where larger cities can overrule their wishes with a weighted vote. Ten of the 19 SANDAG board members representing 10 cities, majority of them Republican-led, are requesting the board stop its weighted vote practice.
“What I’m hoping for is that people will agree to set aside calling for a weighted vote in 2023,” said Del Mar Councilwoman Terry Gaasterland, who is leading the effort. “We’re hoping that there will simply be a pledge or an agreement that the cities and the county will not call for a weighted vote.”
The 10 representatives were from Del Mar, Coronado, San Marcos, Poway, Imperial Beach, Oceanside, Vista, Escondido, El Cajon and Santee.
Will McColl joins Agorus as head of automation
Will McColl has joined Agorus, a construction technology company in San Diego, as head of automation.
The Tesla alum will lead a team implementing proprietary systems to manufacture the company’s precision products at scale.
McColl holds a bachelor’s degree and masters’ degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, where he first learned how multi-disciplinary fields work together.
Following graduation, McColl joined Tesla Motors. In his seven years at the company, he worked with colleagues to transition its manufacturing from tabletops into the world’s most advanced electric vehicle factories.
McColl traveled the world and built an automation team dedicated to solving complex manufacturing challenges with automation.
Southern California Rental Housing Association
announces 2023 officers and board directors
The Southern California Rental Housing Association installed its 2023 executive officers and board of directors with Aiesha Blevins elected as president of the board.
Other officers are Vice President Todd Henderson; Secretary Natasha Howell; Treasurer Buck Buchanan; Legislative Chair Allison Pfister; and Immediate Past President Lucinda Lilley.
New and returning board members are Abigail Rex, Alex Winborn, Hojjat (Tom) Tamar, Jay Lopeman, Jennifer Ford, Kimberley McBryde, Mark Feinberg, Matt Ruane, Scott Ledesma, and Shannon Kelly.
The Southern California Rental Housing Association (SCRHA) is the region’s leading trade association serving the rental housing industry.
San Diegan is among first Peace Corps
volunteers to return to service overseas
San Diego resident Matthew Scarlett is among the first Peace Corps volunteers to return to overseas service since the agency’s unprecedented global evacuation in March 2020. The Peace Corps suspended global operations and evacuated nearly 7,000 volunteers from more than 60 countries at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scarlett is a 2022 graduate of Occidental College with a bachelor’s degree in diplomacy and world affairs. He will serve as a volunteer in Ecuador in the education sector.
The volunteer cohorts are made up of both first-time volunteers and volunteers who were evacuated in early 2020. Upon finishing a three-month training, volunteers will collaborate with their host communities on locally prioritized projects in one of Peace Corps’ six sectors – agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health or youth in development – and all will engage in COVID-19 response and recovery work.
Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek law firm adds 2 associates
San Diego-based law firm Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek announces that Christopher T. Angelich and Ben D’Alton have joined the San Diego-based law firm Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek as associates.
Angelich joined SCMV’s Business Department as a law clerk in 2021. He represents clients primarily in the areas of real property and business transactions. Prior to joining SCMV, Angelich was a corporate counsel extern at Nortek Security and Control (now Nice North America). He also served as a tax appeals assistance program representative for the University of San Diego State Sales and Use Tax Clinic.
D’Alton joinedthe firm’s Business Department as a law clerk in 2022. Also a member of the firm’s Tax Department, his practice focuses on tax law, tax exempt organizations, business law and employee benefits. Prior to joining SCMV, D’Alton was a law clerk at Potente and a summer intern at Deloitte Tax LLP. He also served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Larry A. Burns of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
Optimal diets for longevity: Keynote with Dr. Valter Longo
Local residents can learn strategies for living a longer, healthier life at a public keynote address by Dr. Valter Longo, author of “The Longevity Diet,” on Friday, Jan. 27. The event will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine, located at 3777 La Jolla Village Drive. The keynote address is the only public portion of the 18th annual Natural Supplements Conference, a continuing educational event for medical professionals hosted by the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. Longo is director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California and is also director of the Program on Longevity and Cancer at the IFOM Institute of Molecular Oncology in Milan, Italy.
Al Dente debuts in University Heights
A well-seasoned group of Sicilian and Neapolitan restaurant professionals have combined their talents and skills to deliver an Italian dining destination in the trend-forward community of University Heights. Al Dente specializes in offering traditional Italian recipes with a modern twist, and the talented team they have put together will focus on bringing new flavors to the table, with a mix of reimagined and traditional Italian dishes to give guests a taste of home. Al Dente’s unique offerings will include specialties using wild game meat, like wild boar sausage and braised duck, plus entrees such as Oxtail Ravioli and Elk Chops as a specialty dish. Their classic homemade pasta is made in-house.
Alume Biosciences secures
$13 million in Series B financing
La Jolla-based Alume Biosciences Inc. has secured $13 million in Series B financing to advance its lead candidate, Bevonescein (ALM-488), in Phase 3 clinical trials. Alume, a leader in the field of nerve-targeted diagnostics and therapeutics, announced in August, 2022 that the first patient had been dosed in a Phase 3 pivotal study of ALM-488 for intra-operative visualization of nerves in head and neck surgery. ALM-488 is a peptide-dye conjugate designed to highlight nerves with fluorescence in real-time during surgery.
Cymbiotika announces launch
of new weight loss supplement
Cymbiotika, a leading nutritional supplement brand known for creating pure, clinically-backed supplements, announced its newest product, Metabolic Health. Metabolic Health contains concentrates of highly-researched compounds that are scientifically and clinically backed for efficacy and results. While other metabolism supplements take a stimulant approach, this formula takes a slower, therapeutic approach by targeting metabolism from a physical and physiological standpoint. Cymbiotika is an innovative wellness brand based in San Diego.
Blenders Eyewear expands athlete roster
with three champion sportwomen
Blenders Eyewear, founded in 2012 by Chase Fisher in San Diego, has expanded its athlete roster with the addition of CrossFit athlete Anikha Greer, professional climber Sasha DiGiulian, and Team Ireland cyclist Orla Walsh. With this initiative, Blenders Eyewear will serve as the exclusive sunglasses partner for all three competitors as it grows its impressive athlete roster with pave-making sportswomen. Blenders produces a wide range of men’s and women’s sunglasses and snow goggles.
Wiliot launches new Innovation Kit
Wiliot, the Internet of Things pioneer, announced the launch of its Innovation Kit, which equips companies of any size and budget with an easy onramp to begin exploring and building ambient IoT solutions that can solve the biggest challenges facing supply chains, retail, CPG, health care, agriculture, and more. The Innovation Kit is now offered alongside Wiliot’s Starter Kit, which is a plug & play experience using an IoT Pixel-ready coffee cup that demonstrates item-level temperature monitoring right out of the box.
Ethos Asset Management
secures deal with Grupo Fetz
Ethos Asset Management Inc. USA announced a new long-term financing partnership with Grupo Fetz, a major player in the construction industry contributing to the development of Brazil. Ethos has committed to providing significant capital infusion that will continue for several years. Grupo Fetz are equipped with state-of-the-art technology, constantly updated so that the most efficient techniques are available to the customer.
Costco adds Phexxi to Member Prescription Program
Evofem Biosciences Inc. announced that Phexxi (lactic acid, citric acid, potassium bitartrate) has been added to the Costco Member Prescription Program, giving millions of additional women access to this innovative hormone-free contraceptive. “We are pleased to partner with Costco, the largest warehouse club and third-largest retailer in America, to expand Phexxi’s footprint in the cash space,” said Saundra Pelletier, chief executive officer of Evofem. “This program enables Costco members with no insurance or whose plans have denied coverage to fill their Phexxi prescriptions at a reduced cost.”
Fuse releases white paper examining
joint-force battleship communications
Fuse Integration, a warfighter-focused engineering and design firm in San Diego, announced the release of its white paper, “JADC2: Tactical Edge Networking to Win in Great Power Competition,” which outlines communications challenges facing the U.S. military at the tactical edge. It also highlights promising initiatives and innovative technologies designed to ensure that joint-force warfighters will be able to securely communicate with each other and with command centers, without having to consider interoperability limitations. Visit the Fuse website to download the white paper.
