Daily Business Report-July 29, 2013

A Northrop Grumman test engineer conducts manufacturing testing on a transceiver module for the AN/ASQ-242 communications, navigation and identification system for the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft. 

Northrop Grumman Delivers

Key System for F-35 Stealth Fighter

Northrop Grumman Corp. has delivered its 100th communications, navigation and identification system (CNI) to Lockheed Martin Corp. for integration into the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft. Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems.

Northrop Grumman’s CNI system provides F-35 pilots with the capability of more than 27 avionics functions. “By using its software-defined radio technology, Northrop Grumman’s design allows the simultaneous operation of multiple critical functions while greatly reducing size, weight and power demands on the advanced fighter,” the company said in a release.

Besides developing and producing the CNI system, Northrop Grumman produces the center fuselage; designed and produces the aircraft’s radar and electro-optical subsystem; develops mission systems and mission planning software; leads the team’s development of pilot and maintenance training system courseware; and manages the team’s use, support and maintenance of low-observable technologies.

General Atomics Flight Tests Improved Gray Eagle

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.  announced the successful first flight of the U.S. Army’s Improved Gray Eagle, a next-generation derivative of the Block 1 Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System that has accumulated over 70,000 flight hours since 2008. The flight occurred at the company’s El Mirage Flight Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. “Improved Gray Eagle will provide a game-changing capability, adding more endurance, more payload carriage, with increased reliability for our Army customer,” said Frank W. Pace, president of the aircrafts systems group at General Atomics. “The first flight of this aircraft ushers in a new era in unmanned aviation, building upon the successes of its predecessor and providing unmatched, life-saving support for our troops abroad.”

Councilman Urges Amendment to City Code on Recall Elections

San Diego Councilman Mark Kersy proposed Friday that a San Diego municipal code section on recall elections be amended to bring it into line with state law. The City Council should discuss the issue at the next available meeting, since a recall effort against Bob Filner appears imminent, Kersey wrote in a memo to council President Todd Gloria, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith and City Clerk Elizabeth Maland. (City News Service)

Balboa Park Makes World’s Top 40 Public Spaces List

Along with Egypt’s Asafra Beach and New York’s Grand Central Terminal, San Diego’s Balboa Park is selected as one of the best public spaces around the world. Project for Public Spaces, a New York-based group that works around the world helping citizens boost their sense of community, describes San Diego’s historic site as “An oasis of tropical nature in the midst of a busy city, this public park is home of the internationally known San Diego Zoo.”

SDG&E Awards $7.2 Million to UC San Diego for Energy Efficiency

San Diego Gas & Electric has presented UC San Diego with $7.2 million representing energy efficiency incentives earned through implementation of 30 energy efficiency projects from 2010 to 2012. The total amount includes incentives earned by UC San Diego for energy efficiency efforts in 2010 ($330,000), 2011 ($2.5 million) and 2012 ($4.4 million).

Through the 30 projects implemented during a three-year period, UC San Diego has saved more than 21 million kilowatt hours, 2.1 million therms and reduced more than 2 megawatts of demand. That’s the equivalent of removing more than 5,000 cars off the road, powering nearly 4,000 homes for a year, and preventing the emission of more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere.

Sempra Energy Names Executive VP and General Counsel

Martha B. Wyrsch, a former president of Vestas American Wind Systems of Portland, Ore., and a former executive with Duke Energy, will join Sempra Energy in San Diego on Sept. 3 as executive vice president and general counsel. Wyrsch, who also will serve as chief environmental officer, succeeds Javade Chaudhri, who is retiring. Wyrsch was with Vestas American from 2009 to 2012 and spent nearly 10 years at Duke Energy and its spin-off, Spectra Energy Corp. Other previous positions have been with KN Energy Inc. and the law firm of Davis, Graham & Stubbs in Denver.

Tristan Prettyman to Perform at Benefit for Rachel’s Women’s Center

Singer, songwriter and former model Tristan Prettyman, a Del Mar native, will perform at a Sept. 15 fundraiser brunch to benefit Rachel’s Women’s Center, a center opened by Catholic Charities in 1984 as a safe home for homeless and low-income women. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be hosted at the estate of Joan Waitt. All ticket sale proceeds will go directly to Rachel’s Women’s Center. The goal is to raise $500,000. Individual tickets are $425. The Estate of Joan Waitt is at 7243 Encella Drive in La Jolla. Semi-formal attire. Valet on site. For tickets, call Casey Blatt at (619) 704-1733 or visit www.ccdsd.org/rachels-brunch-2013.

Services provided by Rachel’s Women’s Center include a day center providing humanitarian services and counseling for homeless women, an emergency night shelter, longer-term housing and counseling, an independent living program and financial literacy training.

Tristan Prettyman was born and raised in Del Mar, attended Torrey Pines High School and began her career playing in local clubs and bars in San Diego County before being invited to join San Diegan Jason Mraz on his national tour. “Twentythree,” her first album, was released in August 2005. A second, “Hello,” was released in April 2008. Her third studio album, “Cedar + Gold,” was released in October 2012. “Say Anything,” a track from that album, will be featured in the upcoming 2013 adaptation and accompanying sound track of Nicholas Sparks’ novel, “Safe Haven.”