Daily Business Report: July 7, 2026
Private Prison Company Sells Two of California’s Immigrant Detention Centers to the Feds
By Wendy Fry/Nigel Duara | CalMatters
The private prison company CoreCivic has sold two of the largest immigration detention facilities in California to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in a deal worth $1.5 billion, the company announced Monday.
CoreCivic said it anticipates that the sale of the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego County and the California City Detention Facility in Kern County will bring the company an estimated net proceeds of approximately $1.1 billion.
The sale closed on July 2, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with the federal government paying $739.2 million for the 1,994-bed Otay Mesa facility and $732.6 million for the newly-opened 2,560-bed California City facility. The two properties were sold under separate purchase agreements, signed and completed on the same day.
Doctor and pharmacist accused of unsafe GLP-1 compounding in San Diego clinic
By Dorian Hargrove | Times of San Diego
A San Diego‑based doctor and a pharmacist are facing state accusations of improperly manufacturing, labeling and administering popular GLP-1-type weight-loss and diabetes drugs in an unsafe and unclean manner.
In a June 2026 accusation by the Medical Board of California, investigators claim San Diego pain specialist Dr. Ronald Cohen allowed pharmacist Bernard Gramlich to use his Sorrento Valley office to produce semaglutide and tirzepatide — GLP‑1‑based injectable medications widely used for diabetes and weight loss.
Cohen’s facility, however, did not have a certified cleanroom with required hygiene equipment, cleanable surfaces, air filtration, or written operating procedures typical of medical facilities and laboratories.
Environment Report: Is Plug-In Solar Actually Dangerous?
by MacKenzie Elmer | Voice of San Diego
I’ve been writing about an effort in California to legalize “plug-in solar,” small panels renters or condo-owners can install on balconies and plug directly into a regular outlet.
Utility companies like San Diego Gas and Electric oppose the bill, which its supporters suspect is because, when people generate their own energy, there’s less need for utilities to build expensive infrastructure that generates profit for utility shareholders.
But SDG&E’s subject matter expert on solar and batteries, Sherise Blackwood, told the California Assembly’s Utilities and Energy Committee last month that the utility is worried about safety.
