San Diego, CA

Daily Business Report: April 18, 2024, San Diego Metro Magazine

Published

2 years ago

April 18, 2024

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Northrop Grumman completes assembly of

Manta Ray uncrewed underwater vehicle

Northrop Grumman Corporation completed assembly of a full-size uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) prototype known as Manta Ray. A new class of UUV, it is an extra-large glider that will operate long-duration, long-range and payload-capable undersea missions without need for on-site human logistics.

Manta Ray was built through a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program aimed at advancing key technologies to benefit future UUV designs, including techniques to manage energy, increased payload capacity, low-power propulsion and more.

DARPA has awarded Phase 2 contracts to continue the Manta Ray program that began in 2020. The effort seeks to demonstrate innovative technologies allowing payload-capable autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) to operate on long-duration, long-range missions in ocean environments. The two prime contractors, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and Martin Defense Group, are each developing unique full-scale demonstration vehicles.

For more on the Manta Ray, click here

Photo: A full-size prototype of Manta Ray, a new class of uncrewed underwater vehicle, is assembled in Northrop Grumman’s Annapolis facility. (Photo Credit: Northrop Grumman)

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An encampment covers a sidewalk near a freeway entrance in downtown San Diego on March 22, 2024. (Photo by Kristian Carreon for CalMatters)

Democrats kill California homeless camp ban, again

By Marisa Kendall | CalMatters

For the second year in a row, Democrats on Tuesday voted down a bill that sought to ban homeless encampments near schools, transit stops and other areas throughout California.

Despite the fact that cities up and down the state are grappling with a proliferation of homeless camps, legislators said they oppose penalizing down-and-out residents who sleep on public property.

“Just because individuals that are unhoused make people uncomfortable does not mean that it should be criminalized. And this bill does that,” said Sen. Aisha Wahab, a Democrat from Fremont and chairperson of the Senate Public Safety Committee. “The penalties will just be added to their already difficult situation of paying for things.”

Senate Bill 1011stumbled in its first committee hearing, stalling in the Public Safety Committee on a 1-3 vote. The measure by Senate GOP leader Brian Jones and Democratic Sen. Catherine Blakespear, both of the San Diego area, would have made camping within 500 feet of a school, open space or major transit stop a misdemeanor or infraction. It also would have banned camping on public sidewalks if beds were available in local homeless shelters.

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San Diego’s OAN settles with Smartmatic

in $2 billion suit over 2020 election lies

By Ken Stone | Times of San Diego

Smartmatic has settled a lawsuit accusing San Diego-based One America News of defamation by falsely claiming that the voting technology company rigged the 2020 presidential election to help Joe Biden beat Donald Trump.

It’s the third settlement involving the right-wing network whose reach has dwindled in recent years. A lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against OAN is still pending.

Terms of the latest settlement are confidential, Smartmatic’s lawyer Erik Connolly said, but the company voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit filed in 2021 in Washington, D.C.

Smartmatic had estimated that OAN’s false claims wiped out much of its business value, reducing it to less than $1 billion from more than $3 billion.

Lawyers for OAN did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit was one of several accusing right-wing or conservative-leaning media of spreading lies about the election to drum up viewership, and boost advertising revenue.

Smartmatic still has lawsuits pending against Fox News and Newsmax over their election coverage. It is seeking $2.7 billion in the Fox lawsuit.

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All Peoples Church sues San Diego

over rejection of Del Cerro project

By Jessica Mills | sdnews.com

All Peoples Church filed a complaint against the City of San Diego on March 25 alleging that the city council’s rejection of the church’s large-scale project for a new 900-seat sanctuary on a vacant, 6-acre lot in Del Cerro violates federal protections provided to churches by the Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act. The suit further claims that the city is in violation of the church’s free speech and assembly and the free exercise of religious rights outlined in the First Amendment.

All Peoples Church purchased the property, located near the College Avenue off-ramp, in 2017. In addition to the 900-seat sanctuary, the church group sought to construct a building with “staff offices, Sunday School classrooms and a multi-purpose room.” The latter of which is intended to serve as a youth room, fellowship hall and a basketball court, according to the lawsuit.

Anaheim City Council approves $2 billion Disneyland plan

A proposal that would bring nearly $ 2 billion in new rides, attractions, restaurants and shops to Disneyland was the subject of an hours-long and contentious city council meeting in Anaheim that started Tuesday night and lasted into the wee hours of Wednesday morning. In the end, the plan was approved in a 7-0 vote, the city said. A second council vote is required in May for the plan to get final approval.

Residents packed the meeting where council members were to officially decide the fate of the proposal that would add $1.9 billion in advancements to the park and the surrounding area.

Anaheim says 84 members of the public spoke at the session, with 57 in favor, 24 opposed and three who didn’t have a strong opinion either way.

While many support the idea due the the influx of additional money to Anaheim, plenty of residents have loudly voiced their opposition in recent months.

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April 19 VIP Party sets stage for April 21

La Jolla Concourse d’Elegance automotive showcase

Set atop the seaside cliffs at Ellen Browning Scripps Park, the La Jolla Concourse d’Elegance VIP Party will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. on April 19, marking the beginning of a weekend dedicated to world-class automotive excellence.

The Friday VIP Party leads into a weekend packed with exciting events and displays, all culminating in the prestigious showcase of timeless automotive artistry, the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance 2024 on Sunday, April 21.

Recognized globally as one of the finest classic automobile showcases in the United States, the La Jolla Concours consistently draws discerning car enthusiasts from around the world. This year’s La Jolla Concours theme, celebrating the Roaring 20s and the Glamorous 30s, promises to infuse the event with a sense of yesteryear nostalgia and timeless elegance.

Whether seasoned car enthusiasts or those seeking an evening of indulgence, the Friday VIP Party promises to be an immersive experience not to be missed. Tickets are now available to purchase on the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance website for $300 per person.

For more information about the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance, visit www.lajollaconcours.com

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Dining Out For Life San Diego returns on April 25

The San Diego LGBT Community Center announce the return of Dining Out For Life San Diego on Thursday, April 25, 2024. This annual culinary event brings together food enthusiasts, community members, and local restaurants in support of vital HIV and AIDS services and prevention programs across San Diego County. The Center invites the community to dine out at participating locations. A minimum of 25 percent of sales, and at some sites, up to 100 percent, is donated to HIV services across the county.

North Island Credit Union opens new branch in Escondido

North Island Credit Union recently celebrated the official grand opening of its new full-service retail branch in Escondido located at 1230 Auto Park Way in the Escondido Promenade Shopping Center. Local city, business and community leaders opened the new branch with a ribbon-cutting ceremony along with special member raffles, prizes and give aways. The Escondido branch features a 1,700-square-foot Community Room for local organizations to hold their events and meetings at no charge.

Pilot Energy acquires Worthington Energy Consultants

Pilot Energy, a provider of energy procurement advisory services, announced its acquisition of Worthington Energy Consultants, an energy consulting group headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Together, Pilot and Worthington serve customers across deregulated markets, with significant expertise in CAISO and PJM. Pilot and Worthington each boast decades of industry experience and expertise. Pilot Energy is backed by Boyne Capital Partners.

ideaForge introduces border protection solutions for the U.S. market

ideaForge Technology Inc. (a subsidiary of ideaForge Technology Limited), a leading global drone technology and manufacturing company, announced the launch of new innovative solutions designed to bolster its presence in the U.S. market. These innovative solutions for Border Protection and Public Safety represent the brand’s commitment to addressing pivotal challenges encountered by border patrol agencies and law enforcement bodies through innovation.

Sony Electronics announces a wide-angle zoom lens

Sony Electronics announced a large-aperture wide-angle zoom lens compatible with Sony’s Alpha E-mount cameras. This latest addition delivers sharp imagery from 16 mm through 25 mm while maintaining a maximum aperture of F2.8 over the entire zoom range. The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G is the smallest and lightest constant F2.8 zoom lens that Sony has produced to date. The compact design is a signature feature of Sony’s G lens series and makes it a highly portable lens option. It will retail for $1,99.99 at authorized Sony dealers.

GreenPower to showcase its all-electric commercial vehicles

GreenPower Motor Company Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of all-electric, zero-emission vehicles serving the cargo and delivery market, shuttle and transit space and school bus sector, will participate in the San Diego Gas & Electric Electric Vehicle Fleet Day on April 19, at SDG&E Century Park campus in San Diego. It will showcase its product line of all-electric, purpose-buil commercial vehicles asnd school buses.

Drata announces Tony Hawk as Drataverse keynote speaker

Drata, the leading continuous security and compliance automation platform, announced that skateboarding phenomenon and entrepreneur Tony Hawk will deliver the keynote session at the company’s annual user conference, Drataverse, on June 12 at Pier 27 in San Francisco. Drataverse will bring together governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), IT, and cybersecurity professionals for a full agenda of presentations, workshops, networking, and entertainment.

Ascential Medical & Life Sciences appoints

Anupam Girdhar as divisional CEO

Ascential Medical & Life Sciences announced the appointment of Anupam Girdhar as divisional CEO. A business leader with 25 years of operational and strategic experience, Girdhar has managed complex life science tools and medical devices businesses. He has a proven track record fostering growth and cultivating top-tier organizations and will work towards positioning Ascential Medical & Life Sciences for lasting success. Girdhar joins the Ascential team from Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he spent the last seven years.

Dunham & Associates unveils new approach to retirement planning

Dunham & Associates Investment Counsel Inc. announce the launch of the Dunham Retirement Income Program. Dunham introduces its Retirement Income Program as a comprehensive solution designed to assist financial advisors in guiding clients toward achieving their retirement planning objectives. Dunham believes the Dunham Retirement Income Program is a pivotal program for financial advisors, integrating back-office support and comprehensive planning tools to create a holistic retirement approach.

County Line Fitness offering expert personal training in San Diego

Amid the ever-evolving wellness industry, where the pursuit of fitness and strength is a prevailing focus for many, County Line Fitness emerges as a beacon of expert personal training and health coaching in San Diego. With a dedicated emphasis on strength training and weight loss, County Line Fitness stands at the forefront of providing unparalleled fitness solutions that cater to the diverse needs of individuals striving to achieve their health goals.

ASQ’s World Conference on Quality & Improvement set for May 12-15

Building on a rich legacy of more than 75 years as the quality community’s premier event, ASQ’s World Conference on Quality & Improvement (WCQI) stands as a beacon, connecting people passionate about quality with the processes, technologies, and experts necessary to achieve curated results for their organizations. Taking place at the San DiegoConvention Center May 12-15, 2024, this year’s WCQI promises to be a transformative experience for attendees.

Kumquat Biosciences and Takeda announce collaboration

Kumquat Biosciences, a leader in translating breakthrough science into first-in-class therapeutics, announced a strategic and exclusive collaboration with Takeda to develop and commercialize a novel immuno-oncology small molecule inhibitor as a mono- and/or combination-therapy. Under the terms of the agreement, Kumquat granted Takeda an exclusive, global, and royalty bearing license to develop and commercialize a selected small molecule inhibitor.

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Scripps Oceanography granted $15M for deep sea, glacier science

Published

9 minutes ago

March 3, 2026

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Scripps Oceanography granted M for deep sea, glacier science

The Fund for Science and Technology, a new private foundation, granted Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego $15 million for ocean science Tuesday.

FFST, funded by the estate of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, was started in 2025 with a commitment to invest at least $500 million over four years to “propel transformative science and technology for people and the planet.”

“Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego is pushing boundaries for exploration and discovery across the global ocean,” Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said. “This visionary support from the Fund for Science and Technology will enable Scripps researchers to advance our understanding of our planet, which has meaningful implications for communities around the world.”

The grant, the largest of its kind since Scripps joined UCSD in 1960, will go toward research in three areas: monitoring of environmental DNA and other biomolecules in marine ecosystems, adding to the Argo network of ocean observing robots, and enhancing the study of ocean conditions beneath Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, often referred to as the “Doomsday Glacier.”

Scripps Institution of Oceanography has used Argo floats for more than two decades to track climate impacts in our oceans. NBC 7 meteorologist Greg Bledsoe reports.

“The Fund for Science and Technology was created to support transformational science in the search of answers to some of the planet’s most complex questions,” said Dr. Lynda Stuart, president and CEO at the fund. “Scripps has a long tradition of leadership at the frontiers of ocean and climate science, and this work builds on that legacy — strengthening the tools and insights needed to understand our environment at a truly global and unprecedented scale.”

Scripps Director Emeritus Margaret Leinen will use a portion of the grant in her analysis of eDNA — free-floating fragments of DNA shed by organisms into the environment — in understudied parts of the ocean to collect crucial baseline data on marine organisms, according to a statement from Scripps.

“In many regions, we know very little about the microbial communities that form the base of the ocean food web or that make deep sea ecosystems so unique,” Leinen said. “Without data, we can’t predict how these communities are going to respond to climate change or what the consequences might be. That’s a vulnerability — and this funding will help us begin to address it.”

Using autonomous samplers that can collect ocean water for eDNA analysis, as well as conventional sampling, scientists will use tools to “reveal the biology of the open ocean and polar regions.”

According to Scripps, the international Argo program has more than 4,000 floats that drift with currents and periodically dive to measure temperature, salinity and pressure. Standard floats can record data up to depths of 2,000 meters (6,560 feet), while newer Deep Argo floats can dive to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet).

The grant funding announced Tuesday will allow for Scripps to deploy around 50 Deep Argo floats along with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.

Sarah Purkey, physical oceanographer at Scripps and Argo lead, said this leap forward in deep ocean monitoring comes at a crucial time because the deep sea has warmed faster than expected over the last two decades.

Thwaites Glacier is Antarctica’s largest collapsing glacier and contains enough ice to raise global sea level by roughly two feet if it were to collapse entirely. According to Scripps, prior expeditions led by scientist Jamin Greenbaum discovered anomalously warm water beneath the glacier’s ice shelf — contributing to melting from below. Greenbaum now seeks to collect water samples and other measurements from beneath Thwaites’ ice tongue to disentangle the drivers of its rapid melting.

This season’s Antarctic fieldwork will “test hypotheses about the drivers of Thwaites’ rapid melt with implications for sea-level rise projections,” the statement from Scripps said.

“The ocean holds answers to some of the most pressing questions about our planet’s future, but only if we can observe it,” said Meenakshi Wadhwa, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and vice chancellor for marine sciences at UCSD. “This historic grant will help ocean scientists bring new tools and approaches to parts of the ocean we’ve barely begun to explore.”

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Southern California’s Jewish community reacts to war in the Middle East

Published

12 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Southern California’s Jewish community reacts to war in the Middle East

The Jewish community in Southern California is sharing their fears and hopes following the weekend’s strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks on Israel, U.S. military bases and other targets in the Middle East.

The exchange of missiles in the Middle East is having a devasting effect on Iran’s defense capability, but retaliatory strikes in the region are taking a toll.

“Weapons of enormous capacity that are targeting civilian areas,” said Elan Carr, CEO of Los Angeles-based Israeli American Council.

Carr says toppling the Iranian regime, taking out its nuclear capabilities and freeing the Iranian people from this oppressive rule should have been done decades ago.

“This is about seeing the most evil regime, the world chief state sponsored terrorism to no longer have the ability to do what it’s been doing,” Carr said.

Sara Brown, regional director of the American Jewish Committee, said the U.S. and Israel are concentrating strikes on Iran’s missile sites and military industrial complex. Iran’s retaliatory strikes are focused on many civilian targets.

“We are hearing from our partners from around the region, who are terrified,” Brown said. “Across the Middle East right now, I think there is a tremendous amount of fear, but also hope and also resolve.”

AJC is the advocacy arm for Jewish people globally. Many members and partner groups are in harm’s way. Brown says the risk is great, but the potential reward is world changing.

“That Iranian people will get to choose leadership for themselves, that we will finally see a pathway forward for peace across the Middle East,” Brown said.

If wars of the past hadn’t produced lasting peace, then why now? Carr says Iran’s nuclear capabilities are destroyed and Iran’s military and proxies are weakened after Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas ambush.

“No more terrorist network throughout the Middle East. Think of what that could mean. Think of the normalization we could see,” Carr said.

President Donald Trump expects fighting to last several weeks. Some critics are concerned about a drawn-out conflict that could spread.

Carr is not convinced.

“Who is going to enter a war against the U.S. and Israel? Russia is plenty busy. China has no interest in jeopardizing itself this way,” Carr said.

Besides the six Americans killed as of Monday night, government officials say 11 people were killed in retaliatory strikes in Israel.

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San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Elephant Valley: Get closer to elephants

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Elephant Valley: Get closer to elephants

Todd Martens
| Los Angeles Times

San Diego — Before we see elephants at Elephant Valley in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, we come face to face with destruction, only the wreckage is beautiful. A long, winding path takes guests around and under felled trees. Aged gray tree hunks form arches, for instance, over bridges that tower over clay-colored paths with hoof prints.

The design is meant to reorient us, to take us on a trail walked not by humans but traversed and carved by elephants, a creature still misunderstood, vilified and hunted for its cataclysmic-like ability to reshape land, and sometimes communities.

“It starts,” says Kristi Burtis, vice president of wildlife care for the Safari Park, “by telling the story that elephants are ecosystem engineers.”

Elephant Valley will open March 5 as the newest experience at the Escondido park, its aim to bring guests closer than ever to the zoo’s eight elephants, which range in age from 7 to 36, while more heavily focusing on conservation. The centerpiece of the 13-acre-plus parkland is a curved bridge overlooking a savanna, allowing elephants to walk under guests. But there are also nooks such as a cave that, while not previewed at a recent media event, will allow visitors to view elephants on their level.

In a shift from, say, the Safari Park’s popular tram tour, there are no fences and visible enclosures. Captive elephants remain a sometimes controversial topic, and the zoo’s herd is a mix of rescues and births, but the goal was to create a space where humans are at once removed and don’t impede on the relative free-roaming ability of the animals by keeping guests largely elevated. As an example of just how close people can get to the herd, there was a moment of levity at the event when one of the elephants began flinging what was believed to be a mixture of dirt and feces up onto the bridge.

“Our guests are going to be able to see the hairs on an elephant,” Burtis says. “They can see their eyes. They can see the eyelashes. They can see how muscular their trunks are. It’s really going to be a different experience.”

Elephant Valley, complete with a multistory lodge with open-air restaurants and bars, boasts a natural design that isn’t influenced by the elephant’s African home so much as it is in conversation with it. The goal isn’t to displace us, but to import communal artistry — Kenyan wood and beadwork can be found in the pathways, resting spaces and more — as a show of admiration rather than imitation.

“We’re not going to pretend that we’re taking people to Africa,” says Fri Forjindam, now a creative executive with Universal’s theme parks but previously a lead designer on Elephant Valley via her role as a chief development officer at Mycotoo, a Pasadena-based experiential design firm.

“That is a slippery slope of theming that can go wrong really fast,” she adds. “How do we recognize where we are right now, which is near San Diego? How do we populate this plane with plants that are indigenous to the region? The story of coexistence is important. We’re not extracting from Africa, we’re learning. We’re not extracting from elephants, we’re sharing information.”

But designing a space that is elephant-first yet also built for humans presented multiple challenges, especially when the collaborating teams were aiming to construct multiple narratives around the animals. Since meetings about Elephant Valley began around 2019, the staff worked to touch on themes related to migration and conservation. And there was also a desire to personalize the elephants.

“Where can we also highlight each of the elephants by name, so they aren’t just this huge herd of random gray creatures?” Forjindam says. “You see that in the lodge.”

That lodge, the Mkutano House — a phrase that means “gathering” in Swahili — should provide opportunities for guests to linger, although zoo representatives say reservations are recommended for those who wish to dine in the space (there will also be a walk-up, to-go window). Menus have yet to be released, but the ground floor of the structure, boasting hut-like roofing designed to blend into the environment, features close views of the elephant grazing pool as well as an indoor space with a centerpiece tree beneath constellation-like lighting to mimic sunrises and sunsets.

Throughout there are animal wood carvings and beadwork, the latter often hung from sculptures made of tree branches. The ceiling, outfitted with colorful, cloth tapestries designed to move with the wind, aims to create less friction between indoor and outdoor environments.

There are, of course, research and educational goals of the space as well. The Safari Park works, for instance, with the Northern Rangelands Trust and Loisaba Conservancy in Kenya, with an emphasis on studying human-elephant conflict and finding no-kill resolutions. Nonprofits and conservation groups estimate that there are today around 415,000 elephants in Africa, and the African savanna elephant is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Studies of the zoo’s young elephants is shared with the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in the hopes of delivering care to elephant youth to prevent orphanage. Additionally, the Safari Park has done extensive examination into the endotheliotropic herpes virus. “The data that we collect from elephants here, you can’t simply get from elephants in the wild,” Burtis says.

One of the two entrances to Elephant Valley is outfitted with bee boxes; bees are known to be a natural elephant deterrent and can help in preventing the animals from disrupting crops or communities. To encourage more natural behavior, the plane is outfitted with timed feeders in an attempt to encourage movement throughout the acreage and establish a level of real-life unpredictability in hunting for resources. Water areas have been redesigned with ramps and steps to make it easier for the elephants to navigate.

With Elephant Valley, Forjindam says the goal was to allow visitors to “observe safely in luxury — whatever that is — but not from a position of power, more as a cohabitor of the Earth, with as much natural elements as possible. It’s not to impose dominance. Ultimately, it needed to feel natural. It couldn’t feel like a man-made structure, which is an antiquated approach to any sort of safari experience where animals are the product, a prize. In this experience, this is the elephant’s home.”

And the resulting feel of Elephant Valley is that we, the paying customers, are simply their house guests.

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