California’s relatively quiet 2019 fire season ended in October, with serious wildfires in both Northern and Southern California. There are many things Californians can do to prepare for these blazes, but one option – taking out wildfire insurance – is out of reach for many of them. For example, after massive fires in 2018, an estimated 350,000 Californians could no longer get property and casualty…
Gov. Gavin Newsom wrapped up his bill-signing marathon Sunday, Oct.13, 2019, capping the end of a legislative session that will have a big impact on Californians’ health care and coverage. Some of the most high-profile — and contentious — measures of the year were health care-related: Who hasn’t heard of the bill that spawned raucous protests at the Capitol by anti-vaccine activists? After some hesitation,…
Imagine a scene from the near-future: You get dropped off downtown by a driverless car. You slam the door and head into your office or appointment. But then where does the autonomous vehicle go? It’s a question that cities would be wise to consider now. Self-driving cars may be on the roads within the next decade or two. Automakers and specialized startups alike are aggressively…
Why does e-cigarette maker Juul advertise its product on TV when cigarette ads are banned? The short answer: Because it can. For nearly 50 years, cigarette advertising has been banned from TV and radio. But electronic cigarettes — those battery-operated devices that often resemble oversized USB flash drives with flavored nicotine “pods” that clip in on the end — aren’t addressed in the law. Since…
Foreign-born Ph.D. graduates with science and engineering degrees from American universities apply to and receive offers for technology startup jobs at the same rate as U.S. citizens, but are only half as likely to actually work at fledgling companies, finds a study co-authored by researchers at Cornell University and the University of California San Diego. Instead, they choose to work at large technology companies with…
A new Cal State University San Marcos (CSUSM) report released Tuesday reveals that San Diego County’s independent craft brewers produced an economic impact of approximately $1.2 billion in 2018, driving a total industry revenue of $848 million. To read the full report, visit here. In 2018, San Diego County saw its craft brewing family grow to a total of 155 independent craft brewers, bringing the…
A few others grow herbs and spices in Southern California, but none grow as many as Cindy and Mark Pearson, whose Pearson’s Gardens & Herb Farm features close to 700 varieties. “They have the largest, and most diverse, selection of herbs in San Diego County,” said Nina Fox, president of the San Diego County Herb Society. “Cindy Pearson is extremely knowledgeable about the herbs botanically,…
California’s largest operator of recycling redemption centers abruptly shut down Monday and laid off 750 employees. RePlanet pulled the plug on all 284 of its centers, and company president David Lawrence said the decision was driven by increased business costs and falling prices of recycled aluminum and PET plastic. The recycling center, generally operated by one or two employees in kiosks at shopping centers anchored…
Fallbrook-based Del Rey Avocado Co., expanded its operations this year by opening up a new facility in nearby Vista that added 43,000 square feet of cold storage and ripening room space to its existing footprint in San Diego County. Since 1969, Del Rey Avocado Co. has operated from the same facilities in Fallbrook, California (northern San Diego County). For the last several years, the company knew…
Three of San Diego County’s Top 10 Crops reached their highest total values in the past decade in the annual Crop Report released by the County this week, while total agriculture values dipped slightly after two straight years of increase. The total value of all agricultural crops and commodities slipped by one-quarter of 1% in the new report, which covers the 2018 growing season, decreasing…