Daily Business Report: June 19, 2024
California pushes insurers
to cover more homes in these areas.
Is your ZIP included?
By Levi Sumagaysay | CalMatters
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara unveiled today an effort to force insurers to resume writing policies in high-fire-risk areas — part of an overall plan to address the state’s insurance crisis.
It consists of three different ways insurers can meet minimum requirements for writing policies in areas deemed “high risk” or “very high risk” by the department, which aligns with Cal Fire’s identification of hazard zones. Insurance Department regulators said this hybrid approach takes into account the state’s complex geography as well as the different risk levels that big and small insurers can afford to assume. Lara said this should help homeowners who have lost coverage or been forced to turn to the last-resort FAIR Plan.
Insurance companies would have these three options:
- Write 85 percent of their statewide market share in high-risk areas. The department explains it this way: “If a company writes 20 out of 100 homes statewide, it must write 17 out of 100 homes in a distressed area.”
- Achieve one-time 5 percent growth in the number of policies they write in high-risk areas.
- Expand their number of policies 5 percent by taking people out of the strainedFAIR Plan,a pool of insurers the state requires to provide fire-insurance policies when property owners can’t obtain insurance elsewhere.
Insurers could meet these policy-writing quotas either at the county level or the ZIP code level.
Top photo: A house burns on Platina Road at the Zogg Fire near Ono in 2020. California home insurance regulators are cracking down on companies’ refusal to write policies in distressed areas. (Photo by Ethan Swope, AP Photo)
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CalMatters
After two mild fire seasons, California is bracing for whatever 2024 brings.
Favorable weather marked 2023 and 2022, when the total acreage burned — less than 400,000 acres each year — was considerably lower than the state’s 5-year average of more than 2.3 million acres.
But 2024 has already started in a worrisome way, particularly in northern Los Angeles County, where two heavy rainy seasons fueled thick grasses and brush. The Post Fire in the Gorman area already had burned almost 16,000 acres in its first three days. The fire is raging in steep, hard-to-reach areas, and Cal Fire notes that “fire weather conditions” — gusty winds and warm temperatures — are making it even more difficult to control
As climate change warms the planet, the state’s fires have become so unpredictable and extreme that new words were invented: firenado, gigafire, fire siege — even fire pandemic.
The landscape is getting hotter, and sooner, in more places. And it’s drier, for longer, all over the state. California now has 78 more annual “fire days” — when conditions are ripe for fires to spark — than 50 years ago. When is California’s wildfire season? It is now almost year-round.
Nothing is as it was. Where are the worst California wildfires? All over. Whatever NIMBYism that gave comfort to some Californians — never having a fire in their community before — no longer applies.
Photo: Firefighters battle the Mosquito Fire burning in unincorporated Placer County in 2022. (Photo by Noah Berger, AP Photo)
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Renowned Scripps scientist receives elite recognition
The Oceanography Society (TOS) has selected Professor Dariusz Stramski, a renowned expert in optical oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanograpy, as the 2024 recipient of the Nils Gunnar Jerlov Medal in recognition of his significant and wide-ranging contributions to the field.
With a distinguished career spanning over 40 years, Stramski has made profound impacts on the study of ocean optics.
Born in Poland, Stramski received his master of science degree with honors in oceanography in 1978 and in Earth sciences in 1985 from the University of Gdańsk in Poland.
He then continued his professional career in the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, the Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Marines in Villefranche-sur-Mer in France, Université Laval in Québec City (Canada), University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography where he founded the Ocean Optics Research Lab in 1997.
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Biden offers path to citizenship for undocumented
immigrants married to Americans
President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a program offering a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the U.S. illegally who are married to U.S. citizens, a large-scale legalization effort that contrasts sharply with Republican rival Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportations.
The program, which will roll out in coming months, will be open to an estimated 500,000 spouses who have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17, senior Biden administration officials said in a call with reporters on Monday. Some 50,000 children under age 21 with a U.S.-citizen parent also will be eligible, they said.
The majority of people who would likely benefit are Mexicans, with many in California.
The program will allow the spouses and children to apply for permanent residence without leaving the U.S., removing a potentially lengthy process and family separation. They could eventually apply for U.S. citizenship.
Biden, a Democrat seeking a second term in the White House, took office vowing to reverse many restrictive immigration policies of Trump, who is also seeking a second term in the White House. But faced with record levels of migrant arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border, Biden has toughened his approach in recent months.
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Staley Point Capital and Bain Capital acquire Poway building for $20 million
Staley Point Capital, a value-add investor focused on industrial properties across the West Coast, and Bain Capital Real Estate, the real estate investing business of Bain Capital, announced the acquisition of a 78,000 square foot industrial asset in Poway for approximately $20 million. The purchase represents Staley Point and Bain Capital’s third acquisition in the San Diego market. The asset is at 13450 Stowe Drive in Poway. The property is leased to a long-standing global credit tenant.
Introducing next generation of the Wrensilva Record Console Collection
Wrensilva, synonymous with handmade craftsmanship and an unmatched music listening experience for the home, proudly unveils the next-generation Wrensilva Record Console Collection. Featuring the meticulously handcrafted M1 and The Standard models, the new Wrensilva Collection is a testament to timeless design with elegant heirloom-quality details and a warm, signature sound shaped with respected music creators. Each console is meticulously built by hand in San Diego’s vibrant Barrio Logan neighborhood.
Launch of Redy empowers home sellers to dictate their own terms
Redy, the only marketplace that rewards home sellers for selecting an agent who best aligns with their sale goals, announced its launch in five markets. Home sellers can now turn their listing opportunities into assets in San Diego, Atlanta, Dallas, Orlando, and Phoenix. Through Redy, the tens of billions of dollars agents have traditionally spent buying leads through big companies like Google, Facebook, and Zillow go straight into the home seller’s pocket. The home seller selects the agent they want to interact with.
Surglogs announces strategic collaboration with QUAD A
Surglogs, the nation’s leading regulatory and accreditation platform for health care facilities, has announced a strategic collaboration with QUAD A (American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities Inc.). This collaboration enables Surglogs users to access QUAD A accreditation standards through the digital platform. Surglogs recently launched the industry’s first and only AI-driven solution that automates the creation of policies and procedures, seamlessly links them to accreditation standards, and effortlessly assigns workflows and tasks to the entire staff.
Aethlon Medical receives Ethics Committee
approval for Hemopurifier cancer trial
Aethlon Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: AEMD), a medical therapeutic company focused on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening infectious diseases, announced that, on June, 13, 2024, the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) granted full ethics approval for Aethlon’s safety, feasibility and dose-finding clinical trial of the Hemopurifier in cancer patients with solid tumors who have stable or progressive disease during anti-PD-1 monotherapy treatment, such as Keytruda.
Cireson recognized on Inc.’s Annual
List of Best workplaces for 2024
Cireson, the experts in Microsoft Service Management and a Gold Certified Microsoft partner, has been named to Inc.’s annual Best Workplaces list. Prominently featured on Inc.com, the list is the result of a comprehensive measurement of American companies that have excelled in creating exceptional workplaces and company cultures, whether operating in a physical or a virtual facility. Founded in 2011, Cireson has become a market leader in developing IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions exclusively for the Microsoft ecosystem.
Sycuan Band donates $100,000 to four local charities
The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation donated $100,000 to four charities on Wednesday, June 5 at the Sycuan Cup 33rd Annual Charity Golf Tournament at Singing Hills Golf Club at Sycuan. The event was kicked off with a fun-filled day of golf followed by dinner and an awards ceremony for the tournament’s participants made up of representatives from the Tribe, event sponsors, and beneficiaries. the Sycuan Tribal Council presented $25,000 each to the American Indian College Fund, Groundwork San Diego, Inner-Tribal Treatment, and San Diego Suicide Prevention Council for a total donation of $100,000.
Primrose Bio announces investment from 1315 Capital
Primrose Bio Inc., a company focused on developing and licensing its manufacturing technologies for nucleic acids and proteins used in therapeutics and vaccines, announced a significant equity investment from 1315 Capital, a Philadelphia-based, health care-focused growth equity firm. Primrose Bio was formed in 2023 through the merger of Primordial Genetics, Inc. and Pfenex to create an integrated end-to-end technology platform for solving complex drug manufacturing and design challenges. 1315 Capital is a private investment firm with over $1 billion of assets under management.
Avidity Biosciences Inc. announces clossing
of upsided public offering of connon stock
Avidity Biosciences Inc., a biopharmaceutical company committed to delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates, announced that it has closed its previously announced underwritten public offering of 12,132,500 shares of its common stock, including 1,582,500 shares sold pursuant to the underwriters’ full exercise of their option to purchase additional shares, at a price to the public of $38.00 per share. The gross proceeds to Avidity from the offering, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, were approximately $461.0 million.
Anju Showcases at DIA Global Annual Meeting 2024
Anju Software, a trailblazer in comprehensive data and information management solutions for the life sciences industry, is proud to announce its participation in the DIA Global Annual Meeting at the San Diego Convention Center on June 17-19. Anju will display its advanced eClinical suite, including TrialMaster and CTMS, at booth #1710, underscoring its dedication to evolving clinical research through innovative technology. The DIA Global Annual Meeting 2024 will bring together top innovators and thought leaders in the life sciences sector for networking, knowledge sharing, and showcasing the latest advancements in clinical research.
