Daily Business Report: Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023
Why you should file taxes even if you don’t owe any
By Grace Gedye | CalMatters
Tax season approaches: Cue dread, confusion, and mentally preparing to part with a chunk of your money.
At least, that’s how many people think of taxes.
But in recent years, especially after payments related to the pandemic and rising gas prices in California, submitting a tax return has also become key to receiving money.
Adam Kuhn learned this the hard way. His wife, who is a contractor, lost all of her work early in the pandemic. She received some unemployment benefits, but even with Adam’s work as a software trainer, the couple’s earnings in 2020 were low enough that they didn’t owe taxes. “So why would we bother?” Kuhn, a Sacramento resident, said. They didn’t bother.
Then, in 2021, California started sending out its own pandemic stimulus payments, which reached up to $1,200. To get the payments, you had to have filed a 2020 tax return. The state did a second round of payments in late 2021, also predicated on having filed a 2020 return.
In 2022, with gas prices soaring and a massive budget surplus on their hands, state lawmakers decided to send out another round of payments to help with the rising cost of living — again tied to 2020 tax returns.
“I wish I had filed taxes especially because, you know, it’s not that much trouble to file taxes, and especially when you don’t owe anything,” said Kuhn. “We do okay for two people with no kids, but we certainly don’t make a ton of money,” they said. They were late on their rent several times in 2020, but luckily their landlord was “gracious” about it, Kuhn said. If they had received some of those payments, they said, the couple probably would have spent the money on food.
Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters; iStock
San Diego State University launches
online Cyber Tech Academy
San Diego State University (SDSU) has launched a suite of online cyber security certificates and a new academy, the SDSU Cyber Tech Academy, to thwart the growing threat of cyber attacks. In affiliation with theGraduate Program in Homeland Security, the certificate program has been beta-tested and is ready to formally be deployed, and they are inviting interested students to apply to the unique and innovative certificate academy.
The Cyber Tech Academy includes a series of 14-week professional certificates focused on the most critical topics in cybersecurity, brings together prominent current and former government, military, and industry practitioners focused on developing a workforce that can defeat the threats posed by nation-states and advanced cyber criminals. It was built by professionals who know what organizations want in employees, and what it takes to stop the ransomware, breaches, IP theft, and critical infrastructure attacks that are endangering businesses and putting lives at risk.
“The online academy expands the educational opportunities outside of SDSU’s degree programs and reinforces the university’s commitment to cyber tech training,” says Jeffrey Roberts, dean of SDSU’s College of Sciences. “Unusual among certificate programs, this immersive online program provides participants with the ability to interact with professionals in the field, who will also help guide them in their career development.”
Consultant to propose new development
ideas for the Del Mar Fairgrounds
The state institution behind the Del Mar Fairgrounds is employing a third party to come up with ways to make better use of its expansive, seaside real estate, with a focus on boosting the money-making prospects of the land. The 22nd District Agricultural Association board, which governs the state-owned Del Mar Fairgrounds, voted unanimously to hire real estate consultancy London Moeder Advisors to study how best to use — and profit from — the 324 acres of land spread across the familiar fairgrounds campus and two nearby sites.
The approved contract comes at a cost of $282,000 and allows for a one-year term for work with two optional, one-year extensions if needed.
Northrop Grumman-built satellite to support
US Space Force national security mission
Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Long Duration Propulsive ESPA (LDPE)-3A spacecraft launched successfully in support of the USSF-67 mission. This spacecraft helps advance rapid access to space for the U.S. Space Force and marks the third successful launch in the LDPE program.
The LDPE-3A was built using Northrop Grumman’s ESPAStar, providing rapid access to space by maximizing the available volume inside a launch vehicle. This bus carries hardware for five independent missions, eliminating the need for each mission to wait for a future launch opportunity.
“From conception and development of next-generation space technology, like ESPAStar, to on-orbit command and control, we are prepared to support the full lifecycle of our customer’s missions throughout the ever-evolving threat environment,” said Troy Brashear, vice president, national security systems, Northrop Grumman.
Viasat showcases advanced satellite
communications capabilities
The U.S. military historically has held not only an advantage over adversaries because of its advanced weapons and multi-domain platforms, but also in the area of information exchange and decision-making capability. The latter delivers key situational awareness and strategic maneuvering insight to enable mission success.
But the battlefield has changed, and U.S. military leaders are increasingly examining how to address emerging threats and adversary capabilities to ensure our information and decision advantage is protected.
This past fall, the Viasat Assured Mobility team was out in full force at the 2022 Airlift Tanker Association (ATA) Annual Symposium in Denver. The Viasat team was there to discuss and share capabilities that can help warfighters maintain a decision advantage on the battlefield and operate successfully in contested domain environments.
George Khoury, Chief Technology Officer of Assured Mobility Solutions for Viasat Government Systems, was onsite at ATA leading many of the demos and discussions with military customers.
“We were really there to show that advanced satellite communications capabilities exist that will help meet modern forces challenges, and ultimately help win the information and data transport war over our adversaries,” he said.
Roger Tsien inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
In life, Roger Tsien quite literally helped illuminate it, creating a palette of glowing proteins that could be used to peer within living cells and observe functions never seen before. The achievement, with Osamu Shimomura and Martin Chalfie, earned the trio the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Tsien, who was a professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Chemistry and Biochemistry at UC San Diego School of Medicine, died in 2016 at the age of 64, but celebrations of his enduring contributions to science continue.
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) announced on Jan. 6 that Tsien would be inducted as a member of the 2023 class, along with inventors of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, the mRNA technology underpinning COVID-19 vaccines, a type of stainless steel, new wheelchair technologies and reCAPTCHA, the ubiquitous website security system deployed to distinguish between human and automated users.
The 16 inductees are part of the NIHF’s 50th anniversary, which was founded in 1973 when Thomas Edison was the sole inductee.
OncoK9 Liquid Biopsy test can enhance
cancer monitoring in dogs, study says
PetDx – The Liquid Biopsy Company for Pet, has released a white paper demonstrating that OncoK9, its pioneering multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test for dogs, can enhance cancer monitoring in canine patients with a simple blood draw. The CANcer Detection in Dogs (CANDiD) study previously established the performance characteristics of the OncoK9 test for detection of 30 different types of canine cancer using next-generation sequencing of blood-derived DNA. The Liquid Biopsy Test for Dogs is now recommended for detection of residual disease and detection of recurrence in dogs previously diagnosed with cancer.
Gryphon Online Safey launches
equity crowdfunding campaign
Gryphon Online Safety Inc., a leading family first cybersecurity solution that makes it easy to protect the connected home with machine learning, has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder. Gryphon plans to use the funds from the raise to expand marketing and sales channels as well as invest in new product development. Through its patented machine learning platform, Gryphon has actively blocked over 15 million threats and has sold more than 60,000 units to tens of thousands of families, the company said.
Regulus reports inducement grant
Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced the grant of an inducement stock option to Claire Padgett and to Rekha Garg, M.D., on Jan. 11, 2023 in connection with their respective appointments as Regulus’ senior vice president, clinical operations and senior vice president, clinical development and regulatory. The grants are an inducement material to Padgett’s and Dr. Garg’s acceptance of employment with Regulus.
PriceSmart announces joint technology platform
project with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions
PriceSmart is the first retailer in Latin America to adopt the ELERA Commerce Platform from Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions as the international membership warehouse club looks to transform its front-end experience for its members. As a highly skilled and technically savvy retailer, ELERA’s self-enablement feature was crucial in PriceSmart’s decision to incorporate ELERA into its entire IT, retail enterprise. The feature allows them to react to rapid changes in business and technology while incorporating new functionality and offerings in a self-directed, agile manner.
New Shiley EyeMobile for Children hits the road
The new UC San Diego Shiley EyeMobile for Children has started its engine and is driving to schools in San Diego County to serve low-income families in need of eye exams. The new EyeMobile is a 33-foot-long furnished recreational vehicle with two exam rooms, as well as a waiting area for children and families. It even has a television for the children to watch while they wait for their exam and a wall area with a robust selection of eye frames. The UC San Diego Shiley EyeMobile for Children, a program of UC San Diego Health, was funded by an estate gift from a former patient.
Fixing a misfolded protein to treat lung disease
Scientists at Scripps Research have discovered how to coax a mutated gene into a correctly folded protein, potentially treating Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD), a genetic lung disease that affects more than 100,000 people in the United States and leads to one form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The discovery strategy based on human variation, as described in Cell Chemical Biology, works by boosting a broad-acting protein quality control mechanism already present in all cells and may be useful for treating numerous other genetic diseases.
Scripps climate program renewed with new focus
With $5 million in funding from NOAA’s Climate Adaptation Partners (CAP) initiative, the California Nevada Adaptation Program (CNAP), a collaborative initiative between Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the DRI in Reno, Nevada will work to expand climate research and focus on building adaptation strategies. The program will last five years and aim to empower local communities to use this knowledge to make informed decisions in the face of long-term drought, unprecedented wildfires, and extreme heat impacting public health. Read more…
General Atomics flies multiple missions
using artificially intelligent pilot
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) further advanced its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) ecosystem by flying three unique missions with artificially intelligent pilots on an operationally relevant Open Mission System (OMS) software stack. A company-owned Avenger Unmanned Aircraft System was paired with “digital twin” aircraft to autonomously conduct Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) multi-objective collaborative combat missions. The flights took place on Dec. 14, 2022, from GA-ASI’s Desert Horizons flight operations facility in El Mirage, Calif.
