Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) Friday announced the North American regional winner of its 2012 QPrize venture investment competition.

Recognizing that it is the city’s responsibility to encourage the private sector to grow in Murrieta, the Murrieta City Council took action in February 2012 to approve the creation of the Murrieta Regional Technology Innovation Center at the former City Hall, located at 26442 Beckman Court, Murrieta. The 13,000-square-foot Murrieta Tech Center provides low-cost space to stimulate the growth of new startup high-technology companies in Murrieta and Southwest Riverside County.

The EDC of Southwest California, the Murrieta office of Stifel Nicolaus, and the cities of Murrieta and Temecula are hosting the return of Dr. Stephen Wood, Ph.D., to give the keynote address at the EDC’s inaugural Annual Signature Awards Presentation.

The city of Murrieta has joined with private sector industry leaders to promote the growth of technology innovation in the Murrieta/Temecula Twin Cities area.

Consistent with the Murrieta City Council’s designation of economic development as the city’s No. 1 priority, Murrieta continues to focus on encouraging the growth of technology and advanced manufacturing businesses in the community.

The Murrieta City Council has identified economic development as the city’s key priority and is the key focus of the city’s new General Plan, which designated land along Interstate 15 and Interstate 215 for the development of technology parks.

Temecula and Murrieta, the “Twin Cities of Southern California,” has established a joint economic development marketing partnership. The Twin Cities found themselves addressing many interests that affect both communities pertaining to economic development, including attracting/expanding more businesses that offer high-paying jobs, attracting additional higher education institutions including vocational/technical schools, improving and expanding health care options and implementing new infrastructure projects.

On July 24, 2012, the Temecula City Council approved plans for the Temecula Valley Entrepreneur’s Exchange (TVE²). Temecula is excited to be able to repurpose the city’s former City Hall building for the small business incubator and regional resource center. The city will be renovating a portion of the building to create a unique office environment fostering collaborative work space, where startup companies can rent space and are provided with resources, advisors and mentors to help them grow their business.

Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM), the largest seller of mobile-phone semiconductors, is hiring Chris Borroni-Bird, who left General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) where he developed futuristic vehicles, said a person familiar with the decision.

San Diego-based Watershot Inc., maker of underwater camera housings in the motion picture industry, introduced the purpose-built underwater camera housing for the iPhone - designed and developed for the extreme demands of water sports.

Solana Beach-based Best Rank, an SEO company, named Andrew Germer director of social media.

Legend3D expects to hire more than 150 employees in San Diego over the next three months to transform some of Hollywood’s biggest upcoming blockbusters into 3-D.

Pulse Electronics Corp. (NYSE: PULS), a San Diego-based provider of electronic components, introduced Thursday a near-field communications (NFC) antenna that enables mobile phones to read data from a distance of up to 40mm.

Cubic Defense Applications, the defense systems business of Cubic Corp. (NYSE: CUB), has been awarded a contract potentially worth $18.7 million to develop communications technology for the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR).

Callaway Golf Co. (NYSE: ELY) announced Thursday that the X Utility Prototype irons, available only to PGA Tour professionals up to this point, will be released commercially in the United States and available at select retailers as of Dec. 1.

Mobile phone carrier Cricket is making its unlimited music service, Muve Music, an exclusive feature of its higher-end phones.

A slew of Motorola Mobility employees in San Diego just got pink slips as part of a move to shed 4,000 jobs worldwide at the struggling smartphone maker.

Mad Catz Interactive Inc. (NYSE: MCZ) announced Wednesday the Tritton 720+ 7.1 Surround Headset, the upgrade to the company’s Tritton AX 720 Headset.

Overland Storage (Nasdaq: OVRL), a San Diego-based provider of data management and data protection solutions, Wednesday announced that Randy Gast has joined the company as senior vice president of strategic alliances and client services.

San Diego-based Accelrys Inc. (Nasdaq: ACCL) has announced that the latest release of the company's enterprise electronic laboratory notebook (ELN), Symyx Notebook by Accelrys, offers a new multidimensional scientific spreadsheet for use in planning, executing and tracking a range of biological experiments.