Latest news with #Concord-based
Axios
3 days ago
- Health
- Axios
Gates Foundation pledges $2.5 billion for women's health research through 2030
The Gates Foundation is committing $2.5 billion to fund women's health research over the next five years. Why it matters: These projects, including several in the Boston area, aim to reduce the centuries-old gap in research to treat conditions that primarily affect women. Driving the news: Boston-area hospitals, universities and startups are getting funding, many in the millions, to advance women's health research. Tufts University will get funding to support maternal nutrition. Fenway Health will use its funding for data and advocacy around STIs. Several Harvard schools will use the funds to focus on maternal and vaginal microbiome, contraceptive technology and preeclampsia research. Zoom in: Comanche, a Concord-based biopharma startup, previously received funding from the Gates Foundation to help develop an RNA-based medicine for pre-term preeclampsia. Now the company is getting $3 million from the Gates Foundation to continue its research, says Rasa Izadnegahdar, the foundation's director of maternal, newborn, child nutrition & health. The foundation will help Comanche fund its work and expand its research outside the U.S., says Scott Johnson, Comanche's CEO and co-founder. Reality check: The Gates Foundation's funding may help get certain products to market faster or advance underrepresented areas of research, but much more support is needed to close the gender gap in medical research. What they're saying: "I don't think it even starts to scratch the surface of that," Izadnegahdar, tells Axios.
Business Journals
23-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Daily Digest: OpenAI says it's poised to buy Google Chrome, DeNova Homes CEO charged with bribery
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is charting a new direction when it comes to chain store policy in the city. Good morning, Bay Area. Starting the day with national news, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he plans to be 'very nice' to China in any trade talks and that tariffs will diminish if the two countries can reach a deal. On Wall Street, markets responded Wednesday as the Dow Jones ticked up 2.5%, the S&P 500 rose 3% and the Nasdaq went up 4%. In other news, San Francisco is moving to establish a tax increment financing district for office-to-residential conversions in its downtown. Mayor Daniel Lurie and Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman introduced legislation Tuesday to create the financing district. Reporter Sarah Klearman has the details. In labor, Amazon is facing pressure from federal labor officials after refusing to negotiate with a group of unionized warehouse workers in San Francisco. The Chronicle reports that on Monday, the National Labor Relations Board filed a legal complaint alleging that Amazon violated labor law by not recognizing the Teamsters union at its DCK6 facility, even after a majority of workers signed union authorization cards in the fall. And finally, South San Francisco payments processing company Stripe plans to open a new office in the fall — just not in the Bay Area. Here's what else is moving and shaking at midweek. OpenAI says it's willing to buy Chrome browser if Google is forced to sell OpenAI would be interested in buying Chrome if Google is compelled to sell the browser as a remedy to its antitrust violations, OpenAI's head of product said yesterday in court, Bloomberg reports. 'Yes, we would, as would many other parties,' Nick Turley, OpenAI's ChatGPT chief said in response to a question about whether the company would seek to buy Google's browser. Turley was called by the Justice Department to testify as part of a trial aimed at enumerating what changes Google must make to its business after a federal judge found last year that the company monopolized the search market. CEO, VP of Concord-based DeNova Homes charged in scheme to bribe Antioch city councilmember The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday unsealed a two-count indictment charging property developers David and Trent Sanson with conspiracy and bribery in connection with offering to pay an Antioch City Councilmember $10,000, and later giving the Councilmember a company travel mug with $5,000 in cash in exchange for favorable treatment for one of their development projects. The Councilmember reported the alleged bribe to the FBI. Both defendants made their initial appearances in federal court this week. According to the indictment filed April 3, David Sanson, 60, is the owner and CEO of Concord-based DeNova Homes and his son, Trent Sanson, 33, is the vice president. The development company has a number of projects in Antioch and neighboring areas, including the Aviano project, a multi-phase 533-unit residential development project. Meanwhile, David Sanson's attorney, Winston Y. Chan, told the Bay Area News Group that his client is innocent and was unfairly targeted. Supes turn over new leaf for chain stores in San Francisco The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved changes to reduce regulations for potential chain stores on Van Ness between Redwood Street and Broadway in a unanimous vote. Retailers that now want to open stores along that stretch of Van Ness will no longer need a special permit that often takes between a year and a year and a half to get. Instead, a chain store will get immediate approval as long as it meets all other planning code requirements. International tourism takes hit in the city San Francisco saw its international tourism come back by 2024 and there were high hopes for this year, but as the SF Standard reports, data from 2025 shows that S.F.'s draw of foreign visitors has hit a rough patch since President Trump has taken office. In February, the number of visitors arriving in the city from Western Europe dropped by more than 6% compared to the previous year, according to preliminary data from the International Trade Administration. Meanwhile, the number of visitors arriving in San Francisco from Asia in February dropped by 5.5%. Overall, overseas visitors coming to San Francisco have dropped nearly 5%. Sign up for the Business Times' free morning and afternoon daily newsletters to receive the latest business news driving change in San Francisco. Download the free San Francisco Business Times app for breaking news alerts on your phone. M&A Watch Mountain View-based Intuit (Nasdaq: INTU) agreed to acquire GoCo, a provider of HR and benefits solutions that's raised $27 million from firms like ATX Venture Partners. Terms weren't disclosed. People on the Move Tax firm Andersen has added five industry veterans in San Francisco to its C-suite: Bill Deckelman, chief legal officer; Paul Ernst, chief technology officer; Neal Livingston, chief financial officer; Ed Prokop, head of strategic acquisitions; and Gregory Vistica, head of investor relations. Funding Watch Endor Labs, a Palo Alto software supply chain security company, raised $93 million in Series B funding. DFJ Growth led, joined by Salesforce Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue, Dell Technologies Capital, Section 32 and Citi Ventures. Final thought … A San Mateo County beach with au naturel history dating back to the '60s is being preserved in a $10 million deal, the Mercury News reports. The nude beach San Gregorio Ranch, located at Highway 1 and Highway 84, has been snapped up by nonprofit Palo Alto environmental group the Peninsula Open Space Trust from the family of Walter Bridge, a former dairy farmer who owned it until his death in 2005. And just in time for summer! DOWNLOAD the free SFBT app for breaking news alerts on your phone. The Bay Area's Largest Accounting Firms Bay Area client service professionals Rank Prior Rank Business name/Prior rank 1 1 Deloitte 2 2 Ernst & Young LLP dba EY 3 3 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC dba PwC US View this list
San Francisco Chronicle
23-04-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay Area housing developers charged with bribery of elected official
The owners of a Bay Area housing development firm have been charged with offering a $10,000 bribe to an Antioch City Council member to try to win approval for a residential project. In an indictment unsealed Tuesday, David Sanson, 60, of Philipsburg, Mont., and his son, Trent Sanson, 33, of Walnut Creek, were accused of bribing the unnamed council member in June after a planning agency in the East Bay community opposed approval of the 533-unit Aviano housing development. The pair owned DeNova Homes, a Concord-based company with a 35-year history of building housing developments in cities across the Bay Area. Staff members of Antioch's Engineering and Development Services Division said the Sansons' company had not completed infrastructure work needed for the project. According to the indictment, the Sansons disagreed with that assessment and, after failing to convince the agency, contacted the council member. Prosecutors said Trent Sanson met with the council member on June 12 and said his father was willing to pay $10,000 to put the project on the council's agenda and win approval. According to the indictment, Trent Sanson told the council member on that day: 'You're not going to see anything directly, but Dave will be doing something for you.' He then told the council member that his father would likely give them $5,000 in cash and another $5,000 as a donation to a political action committee or as an independent expenditure, such as a campaign flyer. On June 20, David Sanson met with the council member and handed over a coffee mug that bore DeNova's insignia and contained $5,000 in cash, the indictment said. But before both meetings, the indictment said, the council member had contacted the FBI, which recorded the meetings on video. The Sansons have been charged with bribery and conspiracy, both felonies, and made their first appearances in federal court on Tuesday. 'Attempting to bribe a public official is a blatant attack on the integrity of our government and the trust of the communities we serve,' Sanjay Virmani, the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation, said in a statement announcing the indictment. In response, David Sanson's lawyer, Winston Chan, said, 'We are confident the facts will show that Dave is innocent, and that he was unfairly targeted without cause to be dragged out of near retirement from out-of-state, to be trapped into a web of deceit manufactured to 'take down' Dave and his family.' DeNova Homes said it was not implicated in the case and that David Sanson is no longer involved in the company's 'leadership or daily operations.' 'DeNova remains financially sound and fully focused on delivering for our customers, partners, and communities without disruption,' said its chief legal officer, Dana Tsubota. DeNova lists ongoing projects in Martinez, Livermore, Sonoma, Oakley, Rio Vista and Davis. The property developers also say that there are new communities of homes coming soon to Calistoga and Morgan Hill. DeNova Homes has previous projects across California, including in Santa Clara, Alameda, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Calaveras counties, as well as down the central coast and south into Orange County. The company has had the most projects in Contra Costa County, with 13 communities built there, including four in Antioch. The council members who served in June — then Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe, Monica Wilson, Tamisha Torres-Walker, Michael Barbanica and Lori Ogorchock — could not immediately be reached for comment. Only Wilson and Torres-Walker are still on the council.
CBS News
23-04-2025
- CBS News
Bay Area property developers charged with trying to bribe a city councilmember
A pair of East Bay property developers are charged with trying to bribe an Antioch city councilmember for favorable treatment on a residential project, the Department of Justice said. David Sanson, 60, of Philipsburg, Montana, and Trent Sanson, 33, of Walnut Creek, face conspiracy and bribery charges, the DOJ said. David Sanson is the CEO of the Concord-based company, and his son is the vice president. They are accused of offering the councilmember $10,000 in one attempt and giving him a company travel mug filled with $5,000 in another attempt, the DOJ said. The bribery attempts were reported to the FBI by the councilmember. According to the DOJ, they were trying to get favorable treatment for one of their development projects, a 533-unit residential development named the Aviano project. Those attempts were made after the Antioch Engineering and Development Services Division notified them that its public infrastructure improvement requirements were not completed, the DOJ said. The Department of Justice said two property developers stashed $5,000 in a travel mug in a bribery attempt. Department of Justice It led to the city not approving the release of bonds meant for the Aviano project. The DOJ said on May 29, 2024, Trent Sanson allegedly sent an iMessage to the councilmember saying he wanted to talk about issues the company was having with the city's "Engineering department." During a June 12, 2024, video-recorded call, Trent Sanson allegedly told the councilmember that his father was "willing to pay the councilmember $10,000" for them to vote in favor of releasing the bonds for phase 3 at Aviano, the DOJ said. During a second video-recorded meeting, David Sanson allegedly gave the councilmember $5,000 hidden in a travel coffee mug that had the company's logo on it. "Attempting to bribe a public official is a blatant attack on the integrity of our government and the trust of the communities we serve," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani. "The allegations in this case reflect a clear attempt to manipulate the system for personal gain. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate and hold accountable anyone who seeks to corrupt public institutions through bribery or abuse of power." They face charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. They will have a status conference in district court on June 12, 2025.
