by The Editors on July 24, 2008
We were so excited about our favorite Carlsbad-based life sciences company the last time we mentioned Invitrogen that we bought a couple shares. Lucky us, because yesterday they announced that second quarter profits were up 30 percent
The Carlsbad, California-based company posted net income of $53.2 million, or 55 cents per share, compared with a profit of $40.9 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier. . . The results topped analyst expectations by a whopping 11 cents, according to Reuters Estimates, and Invitrogen shares jumped nearly 5 percent in premarket trading.
Knowing nothing about the life sciences business or the stock market in general, we’re feeling pretty good about Invitrogen’s future as well. Not that it matters.
[Link: Forbes.com]
by The Editors on July 23, 2008
Carlsbad’s three-wheeled electric motorcycle company Aptera Motors has received $2.75 million from RechargeIT, a company run by Google’s philanthropic arm, according to VentureBeat.
The 230+ miles-per-gallon Aptera has received plenty of attention over the past few months, and a post here on VentureBeat asking whether readers would drive the odd-looking vehicle continues to get responses indicating that yes, quite a few people are interested in the $30,000 car.
Every little bit helps, huh?
[Link: VentureBeat]
by The Editors on July 18, 2008
The Crossings at Carlsbad, the City’s $63 million dollar (or so) golf course may “fall short” of it’s projected revenue for the first year according to a Richard Riehl column in the North County Times.
Carlsbad’s Director of Finance Lisa Irvine, told me the course had expected green fees to generate $1.6 million in revenue in the first five months of this year. It fell $300,000 short of that projection. . . . The Canyons Restaurant did much better, bringing in $829,000, 33 percent higher than the $624,000 projected return. But the loss in golf course revenue alone resulted in city plans to subsidize The Crossings at Carlsbad to the tune of $400,000 in 2008 and an additional $900,000 in 2009.
We can totally understand. We’ve eaten breakfast at Canyons Restaurant numerous times and have yet to play a round of golf. Maybe it should be marketed as a $63 million dollar restaurant, with a really nice yard. . .
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on July 17, 2008
As much as we hate chain restaurants, there is something about PF Chang’s China Bistro that forces us to drive to Fashion Valley at least once a month for hot and sour soup and vegetarian lettuce wraps.
That’s why we’re shamelessly excited by the fact that the Carlsbad planning commission has approved “a P.F. Chang’s Chinese bistro, a second yet-to-be-determined restaurant and a two-story, 44,400-square-foot complex of upscale shops,” on Paseo del norte next to King’s Fish House across from the Premium Outlet Mall.
Developers had planned to put a hotel on the 7-acre site along Paseo del Norte, but reconsidered because of height and parking limitations, said Peter Aylward, president of the company that owns the land. . . . “Architecturally, I think it’s a good thing for Carlsbad,” Aylward said as he described how the project would look from the east on Paseo del Norte and from the west on Interstate 5.
The project still needs the approval of the City Council, but then, they seem to love taking empty land and filling it with stuff.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on July 14, 2008
We’ve always thought of them as pelican perches, but those floats in the Agua Hedionda lagoon are actually part of Carlsbad Aquafarm’s growing “multimillion-dollar” investment which now include abalone tanks, according to recent Associated Press story.
In a process that has taken years to complete, microscopic abalone larvae have finally grown into fist-sized mollusks that can fetch $30 a pound from top-shelf restaurants and other buyers.
“It’s very slow, growing abalone. You spend two or three years of work until you have something large enough to sell,” said Matt Steinke, a manager at Carlsbad Aquafarm.
We’re glad to know the business is working. And if The French Laundry is cooking them, they must be good.
[Link: Associated Press]
by The Editors on July 12, 2008
Apparently the new Carlsbad Apple Store at The Forum is no longer a surprise. One thing we can say is that the iPhone lines at this location were considerably shorter than they were at UTC yesterday on iPhone Friday.
For how that went, check out this post from a blogger who lives in Carlsbadistan.
by The Editors on July 11, 2008
Customers of the AT&T store in Carlsbad’s Plaza Camino Real Mall bought up Apple’s new iPhone 3G as quickly as workers could activate them this moring on day one of the product’s roll-out. By 11:45 AM, much to the chagrin of the 30 some people still waiting in line, the store had sold out entirely.
“When I got here a little before 8 AM there were already about 15 people in line,” said one AT&T employee. “But the line has been about this size for most of the morning.
The line, which held steady at about 30 people all morning, snaked most of the way around the Westfield Playtown in front of Sears at the mall’s west end. At about 10:30 AT&T employees began letting people at the back of the line know that the chances of them getting a phone were not good, but that they would be able to pay for the phone a “direct fulfillment process” and then be called to come into the store to pick them up when the phone arrived.
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by The Editors on July 10, 2008
The City of Carlsbad has filed a lawsuit against Carlsbadistan’s Prince Reza Shah claiming “numerous improper acts and (an) overall scheme to effectively hijack and unlawfully profit upon the name “The Crossings at Carlsbad,” according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The city’s lawsuit says Shah applied for the trademark two months after the city registered the Internet domain name “thecrossingsatcarlsbad.com.” . . . It accuses Shah of “cybersquatting” by laying claim to names that incorporate “The Crossings at Carlsbad” name, but for which he has no “bona fide commercial use.”
Shah’s rather shoddy looking godaddy.com site-holder website, TheCrossingsAtCarlsbad.net features ads for several .mobi domains (VisitCarlsbad.mobi) along with an email address.
Shah apparently feels that he is completely justified with his trademarks and according to a fax quoted in the Union-Tribune is sending a letter “to the city’s golf course operator, KemperSports, accusing it of trademark infringement and threatening a $10 million lawsuit.”
This should be interesting.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on July 10, 2008
In their efforts to do anything it takes to turn our lagoon into a desalination plant, Poseidon Resources has submitted to more “plans” to the California Coastal Commission on Wednesday, according to a story in the North County Times.
One plan is to reduce the desalination plant’s effect on ocean life. The second is to reduce the energy needed by the plant, which would in turn reduce generation of greenhouse gases. . . The plans were requested by the commission as a condition of approving the project, said Scott Maloni, a Poseidon vice president. . . . The Coastal Commission plans to meet sometime in early August in Oceanside to vote on the plan.
Nice to see Poseidon moving in the right direction.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on July 9, 2008
Steve & Barry’s LLC, the 276-store Port Washington, NY-based clothing chain with a retail outlet in Carlsbad’s Westfield Plaza Camino Real, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today according to a story on NBCSanDiego.com.
“The generally poor environment for apparel retailers has reduced funding to our suppliers, landlords and to our company,” Steve Shore and Barry Prevor, co-founders and co-CEOs, said in a statement. “It has become increasingly difficult for us to continue operating normally under these circumstances.”
Good-bye big box chain store, have a nice day.
[Link: NBCSanDiego.com]
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