MediterraneanGrocery Wholesalers in San Diego, CA

An essential ramen shop that consistently draws crowds in both Los Angeles and the Bay Area has finally made its way to San Diego where it’s scheduled to emerge on Tuesday, August 8 at Westfield UTC in the space next to Raised by Wolves. This is just the fifth location in the U.S. for Ramen Nagi, which was founded in Japan in 2004 and operates multiple outposts in Tokyo, including in Shinjuku’s legendary Golden Gai district.

Master ramen chef Satoshi Ikuta, who will be in San Diego for the opening, trained at several acclaimed hakata-style ramen shops before launching Ramen Nagi as an itinerant pop-up; the brand now has nearly 40 restaurants that are mostly located in Asia.

Open daily for lunch and dinner, its menu offers five ramen flavors that range from classics to the untraditional. Pork-based tonkotsu broth — the calling card of the hakata style — is the basis for the Original King, which showcases the shop’s handmade noodles and pork chashu. The Red King features miso minced pork and a base spiced with garlic, chili oil, and cayenne pepper, while the Black King is enriched with black garlic and squid ink. The Green King adds fresh basil, parmesan, and olive oil to the tonkotsu broth and the Veggie King is a vegan version made with mushroom and cauliflower soup and topped with hashed potato “chashu,” shiitake mushrooms, and spinach.

Each bowl can be customized with diner preferences: choose from thin or thick noodles and how you like them cooked, from extra soft to extra firm, and specify everything from concentration of salt to broth richness.

The restaurant is also known for its Limited King, or special edition ramen. Available only for the first week of the San Diego shop’s tenure will be the La Jolla King, a chef Ikuta-created bowl that incorporates tonkotsu broth, chili con carne, and yuzu hot sauce and garnishes with bell peppers, onions, and cheese.

In addition, the UTC store will have appetizers and sides like gyoza, karaage, edamame, and chashu rice.

Ramen Nagi Menu

Ramen Nagi. 4545 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego. Monday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is laying off 106 San Diego employees in the fifth round of local layoffs at the life science company this year.

The global biotechnology company filed Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) with the state that outline the job cuts. Thermo Fisher’s WARN notices say the company “is reorganizing and will be engaging in a reduction in force of its employees,” but does not provide further details about the decision.

The biggest reductions — 98 employees — hit Thermo Fisher’s facilities in Carlsbad at 5823 Newton Drive, 5781 Van Allen Way and 5791 Van Allen Way. These separations may continue through Aug. 27, the company said, and impact a variety of roles from data analysts to staff scientists and marketing managers.

Not all employees at the Carlsbad campus are affected, according to the WARN notice.

Additionally, the company reported that eight positions will be eliminated at its Kearny Villa Road, Carroll Park Drive and Cornerstone Court San Diego facilities. In April, Thermo Fisher confirmed that it was closing these three locations, which primarily produced diagnostic products and COVID-19 tests.

April 27, 2023

At the time, the company cited the sharp decline in demand for COVID-19 testing products and the uncertain economic environment for the closures. The company also announced in April that it laid off 218 people.

The winding down of these diagnostic-focused facilities meant that the company’s only remaining offices in San Diego County would be in Carlsbad. In July 2021, Thermo Fisher expanded and opened a 67,000-square-foot DNA manufacturing facility near its existing Carlsbad campus.

The global life science company is based in Waltham, Mass., and has approximately 130,000 employees globally, as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to its annual financial filing. The company’s website says its Carlsbad site has more than 2,200 employees.

However, that number has declined as the company has laid off a total of 796 people in San Diego this year.

In mid-June, the company reported to the state that it laid off 88 workers at its Carlsbad facilities. Thermo Fisher shed 154 workers in March and 230 people in February — the largest company’s reduction this year.

Thermo Fisher did not respond to the Union-Tribune’s request for comment.

In the company’s second-quarter earnings call last week, Thermo Fisher’s chief financial officer, Stephen Williamson, responded to an analyst’s question about how the company is adapting its business strategy and forecasts in response to the uncertain economic environment.

“We’re appropriately reducing headcount where that makes sense across the business,” Williamson said. “And so all of that wraps up into $450 million of benefit this year. And those actions have pretty much all been actioned right now in terms of the — there’s nothing significant to come. It’s more they’ve taken the appropriate actions given the environment that we see.”

Thermo Fisher reported second-quarter revenue of $10.69 billion, down 2.58 percent compared to this time last year. Profits were $1.36 billion also down about 18.21 percent year over year.

Two longtime major league pitchers have officially walked off the mound for the final time.

The Padres announced Friday that Cole Hamels and Craig Stammen have retired. Both of the 39-year-old pitchers were rehabilitating shoulder injuries.

Hamels, a Rancho Bernardo High School alumnus who signed a minor-league deal with the Padres in spring training, was more actively attempting a comeback. The left-hander had not pitched in the major leagues since 2020 an had a series of surgeries in the interim. The most significant of those procedures was a rotator cuff repair in his throwing shoulder, which involves an arduous recovery. Hamels had spent the past five months working in Arizona but had yet to make it into a game.

Stammen, who missed time in 2022 with a torn capsule and strained subscapula in his right (throwing) shoulder, suffered a setback in spring training and all but announced his retirement then. He had been working out at Petco Park, but there was little expectation by him or the team that he would return.

Hamels was drafted 17th overall by the Phillies in 2002 and was the World Series MVP for them in 2008. The four-time All-Star also pitched for the Rangers Cubs and Braves. He finishes his career with a 163-122 record in 422 starts.

Stammen, who debuted with the Nationals as a starter in 2009, signed with the Padres as a minor league free agent in 2017 after a year spent rehabbing from flexor tendon surgery. He went on to throw more innings (394?) than any major league reliever from 2017 to ’22. He also became a mentor to Padres pitchers and position players alike. Stammen will long be remembered in San Diego for starting Game 3 of the 2020 National League wild-card series. The first of nine pitchers used by the Padres that day, Stamment threw 1? innings in a 4-0 victory over the Cardinals that gave the Padres their first postseason series victory in 22 years.

“He’s been a core guy for us, definitely a very underrated part of what we’ve done here the last few years,” Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller said. “... Just a tremendous influence in the clubhouse, can take the ball (in) all different roles, somebody the manager and coaching staff could rely on and honestly a lot to do with the development of some of our players — veterans, young players.”

It would not be surprising to see Stammen remain a part of the organization in a front office role.

Supporters of the plan say SDG&E’s business model hurts working families who would be better served with a not-for-profit system

San Diego received a report recently from a consultant group that said creating a municipal utility within city limits to replace San Diego Gas & Electric is financially feasible — but the report had plenty of caveats.

In a low-cost scenario, the consultants projected that customers could save as much as 14 percent on the electric delivery portion of their bills within 10 years. But if replacing SDG&E’s transmission and distribution assets costs significantly more, the report said a municipal utility could lose millions in its first decade, with zero percent in savings on electric delivery.

The consultants plan to deliver a more precise financial estimate to the city in two years.

Supporters say SDG&E’s business model hurts working families who would be better served with a not-for-profit system. Critics question San Diego’s prowess in running its own power company.

Q: Should San Diego create its own municipal power company?

Kelly Cunningham, San Diego Institute for Economic Research

NO: The prospect for a municipally owned utility being run more efficiently or less expensively is not likely when all costs are considered. Projected savings of 14 percent will disappear considering the billions in value of transmission lines and equipment needing to be purchased from SDG&E. Savings would only apply to the “electric delivery” portion of billing which is about 20 percent of the total, therefore the variable in savings is likely to be 3 percent in best-case scenario.

Lynn Reaser, economist

NO: The purchase price is likely to come in at the high end of the city consultant’s estimate — implying losses and no savings. It would be difficult to extract just the electrical part of the business from the total. The city would show its lack of experience in the complex requirements of maintaining and upgrading the system. In the interim during the lengthy transfer of ownership, there would be little incentive to invest in the distribution system.

Haney Hong, San Diego County Taxpayers Assoc.

Not participating this week.

Phil Blair, Manpower

NO: Not without lots of thought and planning. The private sector, without the weight of public and political intrusion, is much better at managing large projects and providing quality, cost-effective services. Government is about governing, not trash pickup, not construction and certainly not about running huge electric companies. All levels of government should be looking at outsourcing services to the best provider, not bringing them in-house.

Gary London, London Moeder Advisors

Not participating this week.

Alan Gin, University of San Diego

NO: The idea is good in theory. San Diegans pay the highest electricity rates in the country. Having a municipal electric company without the need to make a profit would help reduce those costs. But aside from the cost of buying SDG&E’s infrastructure, the biggest problem would be whether the operation could be run effectively. While many current employees would stay, others might leave for more lucrative opportunities in the private sector. That may be why recent attempts at municipalization have fallen through.

Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates

NO: Like most cities and bureaucracies, San Diego is ill-suited to develop and manage an entity of any kind. SDG&E has supported the entire San Diego business community and is a donor to San Diego’s humanitarian causes. The risk and liability vs. reward are way out of balance; any go vs. no-go question should receive a resounding no! We can’t deal with City Hall and homelessness, now we are going to develop a utility?

James Hamilton, UC San Diego

NO: So now the folks who brought you 101 Ash Street are going to lower your electricity bill? The city does not have the expertise, experience, or incentives to provide better service at a lower cost. More political control of sources and pricing of energy is not going to help consumers. Keeping the lights on is not just a local challenge, but requires big investments in transmission infrastructure outside the city limits.

Austin Neudecker, Weave Growth

NO: A municipal utility solution may seem directionally correct to own transmission infrastructure and enable production competition, but ultimately, extremely cumbersome for an uncertain gain. I’m no fan of SDG&E. I am not sure the city can negotiate a deal, manage competing interests, and maintain the grid successfully. However, the route to a cleaner, cheaper energy future requires incentives and regulation. The city must take action to loosen the transmission stranglehold and enable alternative producers to compete.

Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Health

NO: The city has enough challenges to deal with right now — aging infrastructure, homelessness, insufficient housing, staffing shortages in public safety and on and on. I don’t think this is the time to replace an experienced public utility, a function the city has no current expertise in. It especially does not make sense given projections of little to no savings in a very long time, if ever.

Norm Miller, University of San Diego

NO: There are merits in having local governments manage utility services in that most private utilities resist more efficiency and self-production as these might lower investment returns. However, SDG&E is now charging for infrastructure support, so perhaps this is less of a problem. Having said that, I do not have that much faith in local government to efficiently maintain and manage utility systems and generally prefer we privatize as many services as possible.

Jamie Moraga, Franklin Revere

NO: There would be a significant risk with the amount of financing required and taxpayers would be ultimately responsible. The city doesn’t have the expertise or infrastructure to effectively manage a power company. Governments should focus on their main charter — running the city. Public safety, infrastructure, homelessness, pension obligations, and road repair should take higher priority. Leave running a power company to the experts.

David Ely, San Diego State University

NO: The consultant’s projections for a municipal power company vary greatly depending on the underlying scenarios so there is a significant degree of risk that the project will ultimately leave residents worse off. The transition will involve issuing debt, acquiring assets, and establishing an organizational structure, which will be costly and time-consuming. The consultant’s update in two years should contain a more optimistic forecast if the city is to move forward with this plan.

Ray Major, SANDAG

YES: Unfortunately, because the public utility company seems to be forcing San Diego region residents to pay exorbitant amounts for energy, it might be time to consider alternatives, even if the option is city-run. The public utility company has not been able to successfully manage cost increases, so without another choice, the region will continue to see significant price increases for the foreseeable future.

Caroline Freund, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy

Not participating this week.

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Options include Grupo Firme at Baja Beach Fest, Leon Bridges at Bleached San Diego at Waterfront Park, and Adama Bilorou Dembele and his band at the all-ages Dizzy’s

Baja Beach Fest

For fans of reggaeton and Latin trap music, the fifth annual edition of Baja Beach Fest next weekend should be extra celebratory.

Yet, while the big draws include Puerto Rico’s Ozuna, Don Omar and Wisin y Yandel, Colombian vocal star Feid and Los Angeles-bred singer Becky G, I suspect none will create as big a buzz as what is being billed as the “special Sunday set” by Grupo Firme.

The brassy Tijuana band last year became the first regional Mexican banda music group to headline a full-stadium concert at Petco Park.

That pales compared to Grupo Firme’s March residency at the the Foro Sol stadium in Mexico City, where the band sold out for seven nights and drew a cumulative audience of 455,000. For the record, that’s not quite twice as many as the 280,000 fans the brassy Grupo Firme attracted to its free concert at Mexico City’s Zócalo last September.

By comparison, next Sunday’s performance at Baja Beach Fest — which sold out in 2021 with daily attendance of 35,000 — might almost qualify as an intimate gig in comparison.

The festival debuted in 2018 and returned in 2019. It was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 shutdown, then resumed in 2021, expanding from one three-day weekend to two.

It sold-out that year, with daily attendance of 35,000. Last year’s edition also took place over two consecutive weekends, while this year’s has been streamlined back to one. Either way, Grupo Firme is likely to make the biggest splash.

Next Friday through Sunday. Rosarito Beach. $169 per day and $369 for three days (general admission), $349 per day and $799 for three days (VIP), plus service fees. Must be 18 or older to attend. bajabeachfest.com

Bleached San Diego, featuring Leon Bridges, Joji, Omar Apollo and more

Waterfront Park has become the go-to venue for a growing number of music festivals.

The newest addition, Bleached San Diego, will debut Saturday and Sunday with 32 acts performing over two days. A majority of them are under-the-radar of mainstream music acts, so it will be interesting to see if their cool quotient is sufficient to draw a sizable audience.

Grammy Award-winner Leon Bridges, the Saturday headliner, is an impassioned singer who puts a fresh spin on vintage soul and R&B.

Joji, the Sunday headliner, is a Japanese-born YouTube comedian-turned-lo-fi-singer and songwriter.

The lineup also includes such rising young artists as Ethel Cain and Caroline Polachek who are worth arriving early to hear.

Noon Saturday and Sunday. 6 San Diego Waterfront Park, 1500 Pacific Highway, downtown. $95 (one day pass), $175-$195 (two-day pass). Must be 18 or older to attend.showclix.com/event/tight-knit-presents-bleached

Adama Bilorou Dembele

Originally from Burkina Faso, Adama Bilorou Dembele counts everyone from Manu Dibango and Marcus Miller to Salif Keita and Trilok Gurtu among his past collaborators.

He is a triple instrumental threat on the marimba-like balofon, the 21-string kora, and the djembe, cq a West African hand drum. Dembele and his four-piece band mix styles from his native continent with various Western genres.

8 p.m. Saturday. 5 Dizzy’s at Arias Hall (behind the Musician’s Association building), 1717 Morena Boulevard, Bay Park. $25 (all ages). dizzysjazz.com