California’s life science industry

generates $414.2 billion annually

Biocom California, the association representing the California life science industry, released a new report Monday showing California’s life science industry directly provides more than 465,000 jobs in the state and generates $414.2 billion in total business output. Biocom California’s 2024 Economic Impact Report outlines these and other key findings about the state’s life science industry, including information on economic, demographic, investment, and industry performance data. The full report analysis and regional fact sheets are available on the Biocom California website.

Key facts from the report include the following

• In aggregate, the industry supported approximately 1.24 million jobs in 2023, including direct, indirect, and induced employment.
• Public research funding to life science in organizations in California remains robust, with researchers in the state receiving a total of $6.02 billion in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2023.
• In 2023, the life science industry in California experienced a modest 0.6% contraction in employment, influenced by nationwide workforce reductions by major biopharmaceutical companies.
• More than $840 million in investments in biotechnology manufacturing and R&D infrastructure across all California life science clusters ensures that facilities are available to meet the industry’s growing needs.

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Amid big deficit, latest state budget cuts funding for UC and Cal State systems

By Mikhail Zinshteyn | CalMatters

Chalk it up to California dreaming: Not even three years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom promised California’s public universities five years of annual growth in state support totaling more than $2 billion.

But the governor’s updated budget plan for next year instead aims to cut the University of California and California State University by a combined $200 million in response to the state’s project multi-billion-dollar budget deficit.

The five-year compact is at risk of turning into a humbler two-year vow, underscoring the difficulty of projecting multiple years of support for California’s top generators of bachelor’s degree recipients — a state particularly at the mercy of large revenue swings.
The UC would see a $125 million base funding cut in 2024-25, with plans to restore that dip in 2025-26. For Cal State, the governor’s May budget revision includes a $75 million cut that’ll be restored in 2025-26.

The numbers were shared with CalMatters after it sought more detail from the California Department of Finance about its higher-education plans that are part of the annual May Revise process. It’s an update to the governor’s initial January proposal and sets the stage for intense budget negotiations with the Legislature to finalize a state budget by late June. The 2024-25 budget year begins July 1.

Read more

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Sacramento Report: big cuts to state homelessness dollars

Voice of San Diego

As California faces a large budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing big cuts to homeless spending. Advocates warn that could set back years-long efforts to get people into housing.

They’re particularly incensed about his plan to eliminate the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Grant Program, which contributed $1 billion per year to shelters, safe parking and outreach programs for the past five years.

Last year the city of San Diego got nearly $30 million from the program, which covered more than 1,000 shelter beds. Officials say they will face “tough choices” if those funds are cut.

Also on the homeless front, some state lawmakers are reconsidering sober housing options, after years of rejecting that in favor of a housing first policy.

Read the Sacramento Report here. 

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Fifth and Penn mixed-use property in Hillcrest sells for $1.7 million

Fifth and Penn, a 2,867-square-foot mixed-use property in Hillcrest, has sold for $1.7 million. The buyer was Daniel Heimler of DAH Penn LLC. The seller was Tom Fine of TJF Fifth Ave. LLC.

Located at 441—43 Pennsylvania Ave., the property consists of a ground floor restaurant, one apartment unit and a creative offic space on the second floor. The restaurant and office tenants will remain in the building and the buyer plans on livint in the apartment unit in the rear of the property.

Sanchez and Nick Totah, senior vice president investments for The Totah Group of Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller.

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Detecting odors on the edge: Researchers

decipher how insects smell more with less

By Mario Aguilero | UC San Diego

Whether it’s the wafting aroma of our favorite meal or the dangerous fumes seeping from a toxic chemical, the human sense of smell has evolved into a sophisticated system that processes scents through several intricate stages. The brains of mammals have billions of neurons at their disposal to recognize odors they are exposed to, from pleasant to pungent.

Insects such as fruit flies, on the other hand, have a mere 100,000 neurons to work with. Yet their survival is dependent upon their ability to decipher the meaning of complex odor mixtures around them to locate food, seek potential mates and avoid predators. Scientists have pondered how insects are able to smell, or extract information from odors , with a much smaller olfactory sensory system compared with mammals.

Scientists at the University of California San Diego believe they have an answer to this puzzling question. Palka Puri, a physics Ph.D. student, together with Postdoctoral Scholar Shiuan-Tze Wu, Associate Professor Chih-Ying Su and Assistant Professor Johnatan Aljadeff (all in the Department of Neurobiology) have uncovered how fruit flies use a simple, efficient system to recognize odors.

Read more:

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Del Mar high school student wins $50,000 in science and engineering awards

Krish Pai, 17, of Del Mar, received the second Regeneron Young Scientist Award of $50,000 from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Society for Science for his machine-learning research to identify microbial genetic sequences that can be modified to biodegrade plastic. His new software, called Microby, scans databases of microorganisms and determines which ones can be changed genetically to biodegrade plastics. In tests, he identified two microorganisms that can be genetically modified to degrade plastic at a cost he believes would be ten times less than traditional recycling.

Realty Income announces common stock dividend increase of 2.1 percent

Realty Income Corporation announced it has declared an increase in the company’s common stock monthly cash dividend to $0.2625 per share from $0.2570 per share. The dividend is payable on June 14, 2024, to stockholders of record as of June 3, 2024. This is the 125th dividend increase since Realty Income’s listing on the NYSE in 1994. The new monthly dividend represents an annualized dividend amount of $3.150 per share as compared to the prior annualized dividend amount of $3.084 per share.

Semper Fi & America’s Fund celebrates 20-year anniversary

Semper Fi & America’s Fund, a San Diego-based national veteran nonprofit organization that provides lifetime support to critically wounded, ill, and injured service members, veterans and military families, celebrated its 20th anniversary on May 17. Since 2004, The Fund has provided holistic support to over 33,000 service members, veterans, and military families. It offers personalized case management, meaningful connections, and lifelong assistance to individuals from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Chosen Foods earns acclaimed B Corp Certification

Chosen Foods, America’s #1 Avocado Oil and one of few on shelves that is guaranteed to be 100 percent pure, announced that it is now certified as a B Corporation. This accomplishment reinforces the brand’s commitment to a range of sustainable practices encompassing environmental performance, business standards, governance, community involvement, and customer engagement. To achieve B Corp Certification, companies must undergo a rigorous assessment process and meet a B Impact Assessment score of at least 80.

 Nature Communications publishes results of vaccine

Global biotechnology leader  and San Diego-based Arcturus Therapeutics  announce Nature Communications has published results from an integrated phase 1/2/3a/3b study evaluating the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of ARCT-154, a novel self-amplifying COVID-19 vaccine and the world’s first approved sa-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The results demonstrate that two 5 μg doses of ARCT-154, sa-mRNA vaccine, were well-tolerated, immunogenic and provided significant protection against multiple strains of COVID-19.

Endeavor BioMedicines announce results of clinical trial on lung medicine

Endeavor BioMedicines, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing medicines with the potential to deliver transformational clinical benefits to patients with life-threatening diseases, announced results from a completed Phase 2a clinical trial that demonstrate the company’s lead investigational candidate, ENV-101, improved lung function and reversed key measures of lung fibrosis in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) over a 12-week period.

MAIA Biotechnology to present at BIO International Convention in San Diego

MAIA Biotechnology Inc., a clinical stage company developing telomere-targeting immunotherapies for cancer, announced its participation in the upcoming BIO International Convention taking place June 3-6, 2024, in the San Diego Convention Center. The BIO International Convention is the largest and most comprehensive event for biotechnology, representing the full ecosystem of biotech with over 20,000 industry leaders from across the globe. MAIA Chairman and CEO Vlad Vitoc, M.D. will deliver a presentation.

Construction employment increases in 39 states, including California

Construction employment increased in 39 states in April from a year earlier, while 29 states added construction jobs between March and April, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned that new tariffs on construction materials and unworkable rules for certifying the origin of materials could slow projects and hiring in many states. Between April 2023 and April 2024, California added 15,100 construction jobs.

City of San Diego wins 2024 Ivory Prize for housing affordability

Recognizing progress toward its goal of creating homes that all San Diegans can afford, the City of San Diego has been named a winner of Ivory Innovations’ annual national Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability in its Public Policy and Regulatory Reform category. The Ivory Prize aims to recognize ambitious, feasible and scalable solutions to housing affordability throughout the nation. The city’s Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Bonus Program, which allows additional ADUs to be built on a property when those ADUs are designated and guaranteed as affordable housing, was recognized as a top housing innovation in the country.

Gianni Buonomo Vintners leaving Ocean Beach for Midway

It’s a bittersweet move for owner/winemaker and OB resident Keith Rolle. “It took a couple of years for people to realize that world-class wine could be made in our little neighborhood. Since then, the Peninsula community has embraced us as their own. We’re eternally grateful for their tremendous support and are sad to leave OB. ”Over the years the winery has become more of a social hub than just a place to enjoy a great glass of wine. It has played host to special events for the Point Loma Music Boosters, Ocean Beach Woman’s Club, Naval Submarine League, and Point Loma Optimists as well as numerous private parties and fundraisers.

LA MESA, CA — A wrong-way driver was fatally struck after running from a head-on crash on the freeway in San Diego’s East County, authorities said.

The crash happened at 11:38 p.m. Saturday when a man was driving a Toyota Tundra westbound on an eastbound lane on Interstate 8, just east of 70th Street in La Mesa, according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver of the truck, a 24-year-old man from National City, collided head on with a Honda Civic that was traveling eastbound on I-8.

After the crash, the driver of the truck left his vehicle, fled on foot from the eastbound lanes, and ran across westbound I-8, where he was struck by a Ford F-150, CHP Officer Jared Grieshaber said.

The driver of the Toyota, whose identity was not released, died at the scene, Grieshaber said. The driver of the Honda, a 33-year-old man from Montebello, suffered major injuries and was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital. The driver and passenger of the Ford were not injured.

“This is an ongoing investigation,” Grieshaber said. “At this time, it is unknown if alcohol and/or drugs were a factor in this crash for the deceased. Alcohol and/or drugs were not a factor in this crash for the two other drivers.”