Daily Business Report-June 28, 2017

Middle school students ready the outdoor EarthLab Climate Action Center for the summer EPA-sponsored learning academy. (Photo credit: Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek)

EPA Awards $91,000 to

Groundwork San Diego

to Teach Conservation to Encanto 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $91,000 environmental education grant to Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek to develop and implement a water use and conservation curriculum. The project will improve environmental literacy and stewardship in the Encanto community in southeastern San Diego, and is expected to reach at least 560 students, 24 educators and 50 community members.

The project, “EarthLab Academy: Protecting Water Resources and Enhancing Environmental Literacy,” will use a combination of student learning experiences, professional development, and workshops to equip students, teachers, and community members with tools to make informed environmental decisions. The project will be housed at Groundwork’s Earthlab, a four-acre open space parcel near five participating schools. The lab uses the cultural and natural environment as a context for curriculum to emphasize scientific inquiry and environmental stewardship.

“Through projects like these, Groundwork is helping provide the next generation of leaders with the tools to tackle environmental issues.” said Alexis Strauss, EPA’s acting regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Conserving water and other resources is critical to the San Diego region, and EPA is pleased to support an effort benefiting the broader community.”

“Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek is pleased to partner with the EPA to advance our shared goal of bringing environmental justice to low-income communities,” said Leslie Reynolds, Executive Director of Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek. “The project will be delivered at the EarthLab Climate Action Center, and will work with students and families to address environmental issues in communities that suffer from the highest water and air pollution and public health challenges in the region.”

Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek’s partners on this project include the San Diego Unified School District, the University of California San Diego, San Diego Air & Space Museum, Elementary Institute of Science, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Living Coast Discovery Center, Math for America San Diego, San Diego Natural History Museum, PEAK Energy Center, Suzie’s Farm, San Diego Whale Watch, and the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.

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Supervisors OK $5.7 Billion Budget;

Small Business Leaders are not Pleased

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved a $5.78 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins Saturday, but came under immediate criticism from a group of small business leaders.

Members of the Main Street Alliance of San Diego accused the board of ignoring their demands to use the county’s $1.7 billion surplus to invest in safety net programs that benefit families and protect the economy.

“The newly approved budget continues to keep the surplus tax dollars unspent, locked away from taxpayers,” the group said in a statement.

The spending plan is $94 million higher than what was originally proposed two months ago. The hike includes $40.1 million for road maintenance, a $28 million advance payment for future street improvements and $25 million to create an investment pool to ease the affordable housing crunch.

The increase means that spending will be more than $420 million above the current fiscal year.

Leaders representing 200-plus small business members of the Main Street Alliance said the budget misses crucial opportunities to invest in programs that support small business growth by increasing community access to health and nutrition, providing job training and making housing affordable for residents countywide.

“These improvements could have given families and our employees a higher quality of life. They could have helped small businesses grow and better serve San Diego,” says Mikey Knab, director of operations at Meza Family Restaurant Group. “Instead, we spend another budget cycle watching our tax money leave our wallets only to gather dust, locked away from its potential to build a strong economy and better lives.”

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San Diego Convention Center in Midst

of Largest Series of Upgrades in its History

The San Diego Convention Center Corporation would like the public to know that the Convention Center is in the middle of the largest series of upgrades in its nearly 28-year history.

Eight of the major projects were funded by a $25.5 million loan from the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) in December 2016.

Some IBank-funded projects include:

• Replacing 106,000 square feet of concrete floor in our Sails Pavilion.
• Replacing cooling towers and rooftop chillers.
• Chiller tie-in to connect the building’s heating and cooling systems.

In August, the process of replacing the Sails Pavilion’s fabric roof will begin, with an estimated completion time of January 2018.

Additional projects paid for out of the corporation’s operating budget:

• New LED light fixtures in the entire exhibit hall.
• Three restroom renovations inside the exhibit halls A through C.
• Replacing the ceiling of the Upper Level and Mezzanine.

The corporation’s board of directors also approved the purchase of 10,000 new folding chairs. Another 12,000 stacking chairs will arriving this fall.

Take a look at the various projects underway and already completed. Click here to view the capital improvement projects section.

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Free WiFi Available in San Diego in July,

Enabled by Cox Communications, City

Cox Communications has teamed with the city of San Diego to open Cox WiFi hotspots to the public during Comic-Con festivities. Residents and tourists alike will also have access to the WiFi hotspots during the Fourth of July week.

Free, unlimited access to the Cox WiFi hotspots will be available throughout San Diego County June 30-July 6. All downtown WiFi hotspots will be open July 17-24 for Comic-Con festivities, including those in the Gaslamp District, East Village and Little Italy.

San Diego County has more than 6,000 hotspots, including more than 600 in the downtown area. For maximum coverage, Internet-enabled devices should stay within 200 feet of a hotspot. A complete list of hotspots can be found online at www.cox.com/hotspots.

Cox Internet customers with Preferred, Premier, Ultimate and GIGABLAST Internet packages already have free access to all CoxWiFi hotspots as part of their service. They also have access to the nation’s largest WiFi network, CableWiFi, which includes more than 500,000 hotspots throughout the country.

Non-customers and Cox customers who don’t subscribe to the Preferred or above packages can access the WiFi hotspots during these times by selecting the “FreeCoxWiFi” wireless network on their WiFi-enabled device when at a Cox hotspot. For more information, visit the Cox Wi-Fi homepage at www.cox.com/wifi.

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Bank of America Awards $417,000

in Economic Mobility Grants

Bank of America announced $417,000 in economic mobility grants to 65 nonprofits working to increase basic needs, workforce development and education opportunities in San Diego.

One-third of San Diego County’s working-age households, more than one million people, do not earn enough money to make ends meet, according to a new report by the Center on Policy Initiatives, while the cost of living continues to rise in the region as San Diego is ranked as 45 percent higher than the national average, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research. This gap contributes to the increasing need for people to have pathways to economic mobility.

The nonprofits receiving funding are addressing this gap by connecting youth to first-time jobs, giving young adults pathways to employment and providing second chances to people ready to rebuild careers and lives-work that aligns with the bank’s commitment to building a diverse workforce, in addition to helping people chart a path toward greater economic mobility through access to food, shelter, benefits and other fundamental needs, according to Rick Bregman, San Diego market president, Bank of America.

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Nucleus Biologics Moves to Larger Quarters

San Diego-based Nucleus Biologics, which supplies cell culture products to the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, has moved to a new10,511-square-foot office space at 10929 Technology Place in San Diego. The company is consolidating multiple locations and lab space within a single building to support its growth for the next several years.

Nucleus Biologics Global Headquarters, located off Interstate 15, will have a contemporary office, a modern research laboratory, production space and numerous other amenities, enabling Nucleus Biologics to advance its mission of providing the highest quality cell culture solutions to feed scientific breakthrough.

Nucleus Biologics launched its FBS product, a supplement used to sustain cells in vitro, a few months ago. The company said the product is already being used by biotech companies and institutes in San Diego and across the country. The company anticipates growth and expects to double its staff by the end of next year.

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Personnel Announcements

Solomon Ward Seidenwurm & Smith Add Partner

David Greeley has joined Solomon Ward Seidenwurm & Smith as a partner.

Greeley joins the firm’s litigation department. His practice focuses on resolving business, corporate, insurance, licensing, trademark, leasing, franchising and contract disputes and on advising clients on how to avoid future disputes by strengthening business relationships through effective communication.

Prior to joining Solomon Ward, Greeley was a shareholder for 12 years at Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek.

Greeley received his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Arizona College of Law, and his B.A., cum laude, from Wake Forest University.