Daily Business Report/Dec. 19, 2016
Holding the welcome sign are Mikey Knab, business operations manager at Ponce’s Mexican Restaurant on Adams Avenue (left) and Gloire Bora, manager of Pappelecco Italian restaurant on Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jennifer Coburn)
‘Hate Has No Business Here’
Local shops spread message of inclusion through storefront posters
By Jennifer Coburn
Walking down Adams Avenue, you might notice something new in storefront windows — small posters letting people know that everyone is welcome and “hate has no business” in their shop.
The message is translated into 10 languages and features a heart with the colors of the LGBT Pride flag.
Participating in a nationwide campaign, the Main Street Alliance of San Diego is spearheading the outreach project with three local businesses taking the lead. In City Heights, it’s Super Cocina; Meshuga Shack’s got Mission Hills covered. And here on Adam’s Avenue, longtime favorite Ponce’s Mexican Restaurant is leading the effort to plaster the community with a message of inclusion.
“We want to make sure people know that everyone is welcome,” says Mikey Knab, business operations manager at Ponce’s. “It’s an important time for guests, the community, and our team members to know that we offer an environment of safety and inclusion for all people.”
An important time because of the election of Donald Trump? Not necessarily, says Knab. “This is a simple message that is not reactionary. Businesses in this community feel this way all the time, and we’re being proactive with that message.”
Despite Knab’s assurances that the national Main Street Alliance did not design this campaign in response to the election of Donald J. Trump, he acknowledges that some Americans are feeling “more animated” expressing inclusion these days. And perhaps, for some, seeing the welcome message will be received at a time they need it most.
On Adams Avenue, a generally progressive stretch of the city, the signs mainly serve as a reminder of the values of the community. “Our dishwasher saw me on the news last night talking about the signs, and he said he was proud to work here,” says Knab. “For me, that’s what it’s all about.” Knab says guests at Ponce’s also supported hanging the signs in storefront windows. “We’re getting really supportive feedback from the community,” he says.
To launch the campaign, Knab walked door to door on Adams Avenue, asking shop owners to hang the signs in their front windows. Dr. Joe Merlo at Good Vibrations Chiropractic, Lauren Passero Brooks, co-owner of the Kensington Café, and Gloire Bora, manager of Pappelecco Italian restaurant, agreed immediately. “We are happy to be in the food business, but most importantly, we love,” says Bora. “We’re like a Tuscan home and when you come, everyone is welcome. When you go home, no one asks ‘Why you look like that, why you act like that?’” the recent immigrant from Uganda says with a shrug. “We are just happy to love.”
“In a time when messages of hate and labels of ‘outsider’ are dominating the national media, it’s crucial that small business owners counter that message in our own neighborhoods,” says Juan Pablo Sanchez, owner of Super Cocina in City Heights. “To our customers, employees, neighbors and friends: you are all welcome here.”
The effort is part of a fast-growing movement of small businesses in San Diego working together to advance social values of small business and support a stronger local economy. Under the organization of Main Street Alliance, efforts in San Diego are bringing together small businesses to advocate for issues like a living wage, mandatory paid sick time off, investments in the local community and ending corporate tax loopholes.
“Small businesses communicate the values of a neighborhood. We play an essential role in shaping San Diego’s culture,” says John Bertsch, owner of Meshuggah Shack in Mission Hills and East Village. “We want everyone to know that racism, misogyny and bigotry don’t belong in San Diego.”
Jennifer Coburn is a San Diego freelance writer and author (‘We’ll Always Have Paris’)
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New Plant Species Named After
Famed Rock Legend Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix may have died more than 45 years ago, but his botanical legacy will live forever. In a new study, a team of researchers, including San Diego State University plant biologist Michael Simpson, identified a new and rare species of succulent and dubbed it Dudleya hendrixii, or “Hendrix’s liveforever,” in honor of the guitar virtuoso.
The plant is found only on a tiny sliver of Baja California, Mexico, called the Colonet peninsula. One of the study’s coauthors, Mark Dodero—now a senior biologist at San Diego environmental consulting firm RECON Environmental—discovered it while he was a graduate student at SDSU. It’s a thin, stalky plant less than a foot tall with succulent leaves and brilliant pinkish white flowers. It dies in the summer and then re-sprouts again in the fall.
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NYT: Vets help make San Diego a startup hub
Home to the highest concentration of military assets in the world, San Diego’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is booming with current and former service members. The New York Times spotlighted the region’s veteran-founded startups, including Fuse Integration, Planck Aerosystems, War Foodie and more. Read it here.
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San Diego County Jobless
Rate Drops to 4.3 Percent
Nonfarm employment up by 12,100 jobs
over the month, 30,900 over the year
The unemployment rate in San Diego County dropped to 4.3 percent in November — down from 4.7 percent in October and below the year-ago estimate of 5.0 percent, the state Employment Development Department reported on Friday.
California’s jobless rate for the same month was 5.0 percent and the nation’s was 4.4 percent.
“I am thrilled that 12,100 more jobs are available for San Diegans and to see unemployment go from 5.8 percent two years ago to 5 percent one year ago to 4.3 percent today,” said Phil Blair, executive officer of Manpower Staffing/San Diego. “Retail is healthy because of a strong holiday season and there is growth in education jobs in local and state government. With that said, on my mind is how the new administration can change things drastically. The next quarter’s hiring trends will be very telling.”
Between October and November:
- Total nonfarm employment increased from 1,433,000 to 1,445,100, a gain of 12,100 jobs. Agricultural employment decreased by 400 jobs, or 4.5 percent.
- The largest over the month increase was reported in trade, transportation, and utilities (up 6,000 jobs). Employment growth was bolstered in large part by seasonal gains in retail trade (up 5,200 jobs), and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (up 1,100 jobs). Wholesale decreased over the month by 300 jobs.
- Government added 2,100 jobs, led by advances in local government (up 1,400 jobs), and state government (up 700 jobs).
- Other industries reporting payroll employment growth included leisure and hospitality (up 1,700 jobs), financial activities (up 700 jobs), professional and business services (up 700 jobs), other services (up 600 jobs), educational and health services (up 200 jobs), and construction (up 100 jobs).
- Information, manufacturing, and mining and logging reported no change over the month.
Between November 2015 and November 2016:
- Total nonfarm employment increased by 30,900 jobs, or 2.2 percent. Agricultural employment decreased by 400 jobs, or 4.5 percent.
- Leisure and hospitality recorded the largest year-over gain with the addition of 7,300 jobs. Accommodation and food services accounted for 90 percent of the increase (up 6,600 jobs), while arts, entertainment, and recreation contributed 700 jobs to the growth.
- Government employment grew by 6,500 jobs, led by advances in local government (up 4,300 jobs).
- Other super sectors with over-the-year job gains included educational and health services (up 5,200 jobs), professional and business services (up 4,600 jobs), financial activities (up 2,500 jobs), other services (up 2,000), trade, transportation, and utilities (up 1,900 jobs), construction (up 1,500 jobs), and information (up 300 jobs).
- Manufacturing decreased by 900 jobs over the year. Mining and logging recorded no growth.
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General Dynamics NASSCO
Christens ECO Class Tanker Liberty
General Dynamics NASSCO christened the Liberty, the third ECO Class tanker under contract with customer SEA-Vista LLC, on Saturday at the San Diego shipyard.
Debora Denning, wife of SEACOR vice president Tom Denning, christened the ship with the traditional break of a champagne bottle on the side of the ship.
Designed for improved fuel efficiency, the 610-foot-long, 50,000 ton, LNG-conversion-ready ECO Class tanker symbolizes the emerging direction of the shipping industry in the U.S. toward cleaner modes of transporting product. The ship’s advanced “ECO” design achieves 33 percent increased fuel efficiency through several features, including a G-series MAN ME slow-speed main engine and an optimized hull form.
As part of an eight tanker program for two separate customers, the construction and operation of the new ECO Class tankers are aligned with the Jones Act, requiring that ships carrying cargo between U.S. ports be built in U.S. shipyards. The Jones Act is responsible for more than 500,000 good-paying jobs countrywide and supports American shipyards, such as NASSCO.
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Workshop for Warriors Graduates 36
Veterans From Fall Training School
Thirty-six armed services veterans were graduated Friday from Workshop for Warriors, a nonprofit school providing veterans with free training and industry credentials in programming, machining and welding. Graduation ceremonies were at the Woodbury University School of Architecture in San Diego.
“We’re extremely proud of these men and women not for only what they did to serve our country, but for having the passion, drive and dedication to move forward and obtain the education needed to pursue a new career in the manufacturing space,” said Hernàn Luis y Prado, founder of Workshops for Warriors. “Our country needs their new skills now more than ever, and we’re honored to have played a role in giving Veterans the professional opportunities they deserve and our country the skilled workforce that it so greatly needs.”
Each semester runs 16 weeks and offers students credentials from top industry organizations such as the National Institute for Metalworking Skills, Mastercam University (computer-aided manufacturing), SolidWorks (computer-aided design) and the American Welding Society.
Spring classes begin in January. For additional information, visit https://workshopsforwarriors.org.
