In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology and life science news:
- The Research Triangle Foundation has bought 69 acres of land from Fidelity Investments
- Lyft strikes a deal with LAX – but Uber hasn’t yet
- Hello Kitty data breach reportedly fixed
- Nevada awards $335 million in incentives to electric car maker
- ISIS Pharmaceuticals changes its name
The details:
- Research Triangle Foundation-Fidelity deal
David Bracken of The News and Observer reports that The research Triangle Foundation has bought 69 acres of land in RTP from Fidelity Investments.
Citing property records, Bracken said the Foundation paid just over $12 million for the land.
Fidelity Investments has sold 69 acres in Research Triangle Park back to the not-for-profit that runs the park.
Fidelity has some 3,500 workers in the area, the majority of whom are based at a campus once operated by bankrupt Nortel Networks.
Read more at:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article51271195.html#storylink=cpy
- Ride-hailing company Lyft to start making LA airport pickups
Lyft is now allowed at Los Angeles International Airport.
Mayor Eric Garcetti says beginning today, the ride-hailing service will be permitted to make airport pickups. Previously, it could only drop people off.
The company will pay the airport $4 per trip.
In a statement, Lyft executive Bakari Brock says the move is a big step forward for consumers and comes just in time for the holiday season.
A competitor, Uber, won’t be allowed to make pickups until it completes the approval process for a permit.
The City Council voted earlier this year to grant ride-hailing companies the same airport access as taxis, shuttles and limousines.
- Hello Kitty owner Sanrio says fan site security leak fixed
The Japanese company that owns the Hello Kitty brand says it has fixed a security leak in an online fan site for the famous character that compromised the personal information of 3.3 million users.
Sanrio’s digital arm said Tuesday that it has “corrected” a security vulnerability on the SanrioTown.com website and is carrying out an investigation.
The leak was revealed by a security researcher on Dec. 19.
Sanrio Digital said the leak gave access to personal information such as names and birthdates but not credit card or other payment details. It added that no information was stolen.
Earlier this month kids’ technology maker VTech reported a data breach that exposed the personal information of more than 6 million children around the world.
- Lawmakers approve $335M electric car maker deal
Nevada lawmakers have approved a $335 million incentive package to attract upstart electric car maker Faraday Future’s billion-dollar factory to a Las Vegas suburb.
The state Legislature voted overwhelmingly in favor of the deal Saturday, after a four-day special session in Carson City.
Nevada triumphed over California, Louisiana and Georgia in the bid to land the factory, which is expected to employ 4,500 people and spur another 9,000 indirect jobs.
The state will offer $215 million in tax credits and abatements, and publicly finance $120 million in infrastructure at a North Las Vegas industrial park.
Faraday officials revealed last week that a billionaire Chinese investor is backing the company, which employs former Tesla Motors executives but hasn’t yet unveiled a concept car.
- Isis Pharmaceuticals changes name to Ionis
Isis Pharmaceuticals, which shares a name with the Islamic State extremist group, has changed its name to Ionis Pharmaceuticals after resisting to do so for some time.
The drug developer says its old name was a distraction since it was associated with the Islamic State, which is commonly known by its acronym ISIS. The group has claimed responsibility for several violent attacks around the world, including the gun and bomb massacres in Paris last month.
When it was founded 27 years ago, the drugmaker was named after Egyptian healing goddess Isis. The company, based in Carlsbad, California, develops drugs for rare diseases.
Next week, it will also change its ticker symbol to “IONS” from “ISIS.”
