Daily Business Report-March 25, 2020
The Academy of Our Lady of Peace. (Photo courtesy of OLP)
Academy of Our Lady of Peace
launches whole school virtual
learning — a model for others
The Academy of Our Lady of Peace (OLP), the only all-girls’ and oldest high school in San Diego, successfully launched virtual learning for the entire school this week.
Because of early planning and preparation during this COVID-19 situation, the school was able to seamlessly transition all 750 students and 80-plus faculty and staff members to virtual learning and work.
“Providing stability and continuity of learning for our students are our main priorities during this difficult time,” said Dr. Lauren Lek, Head of School at the Academy of Our Lady of Peace. “Once we made the decision to close campus for the safety of our community, we immediately were ready to launch our online learning platform, which has been a tremendous success. Beyond just the delivery of instruction, we have intentionally woven into each day opportunities for community building with all 850 of us! I never thought it would be possible virtually until we were forced to do it. We are one giant virtual Brady Bunch.”
Using their learning management system, Blackbaud, and video conferencing tools like Google Meet and Zoom Pro, classes have continued and learning has been uninterrupted. The school has even been able to host virtual all-school assemblies with more than 900 participants at once. The school was able to make this transition easily because of early planning by their Technology Department, which moved the school to fully cloud- and web-based tools years ago.
“We’ve received incredible feedback from parents, students and even the greater community who have heard how successful this has been,” said Dr. Lek.
In addition to maintaining online learning, parent-teacher conferences will be hosted virtually and the school continues to offer counseling services on a regular basis as well.
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COVID-19 taking major toll
on San Diego nonprofits
Nonprofit organizations working on the front lines to meet critical needs across the San Diego region are facing unprecedented disruptions of their efforts due to the unfolding COVID-19 crisis.
According to survey findings released Tuesday by The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego, many local charities are experiencing increased demands for food, shelter and other basic necessities, yet nonprofits have been hindered or completely cut off from responding due to issues of cash flow, managing volunteers, and technological barriers.
“Nonprofit organizations are our community safety net, touching millions of lives every day,” said Dr. Emily Young, The Nonprofit Institute’s executive director. “Yet, the unfolding public health and economic crisis is taking a major toll on the capacity of these organizations to help others. They need immediate economic assistance from government, philanthropy, and the community at large. We encourage everyone to do their part in donating to the organizations they hold dear.”
Nonprofit leaders at 428 organizations reported they face immediate, critical challenges. More than three-quarters (80 percent) of respondents reported a reduction of normal services or programs related to school closures, stay at home orders, and social distancing.
Twenty percent of respondents reported they were unable to offer any programs at this time. If conditions do not improve, more than half report they are “very unlikely” or “somewhat unlikely” to be able to provide ongoing services eight weeks from now.
In an effort to continue offering services, many nonprofits are considering moving programs to online formats. However, technology access and moving programs online present challenges for nonprofits staff and their clients.
Among a list of growing concerns, nonprofit leaders rated the following as the most urgent challenges facing their organizations:
- Decline in donations
- Loss of fee for service revenue
- Having to lay off employees
- Delayed grant processing for program and/or general operating support
- Government grant contracts that cannot be reimbursed
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SBA implements automatic deferments
of existing disaster loans
U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza announced changes to help borrowers still paying back SBA loans from previous disasters. By making this change, deferments through Dec. 31, 2020, will be automatic. Now, borrowers of home and business disaster loans do not have to contact SBA to request deferment.
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More than 60 percent of county
restaurants have completely closed
An estimated 60 percent of restaurants in San Diego County have chosen to close completely during the COVID19 crisis, instead of continuing operations focused on take-out and deliveries, the California Restaurant Association said.
To help affected employees of local eateries, the restaurant association has launched a “Restaurants Care” program that is accepting donations, including an initial $100,000 from the owners of Skrewball Whiskey in Ocean Beach.
Meanwhile, restaurants in South County are eligible for 50 loans of $5,000 each under a new program announced Monday by the South County Economic Development Council.
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PG&E pleads guilty to 84
counts of involuntary manslaughter
Pacific Gas & Electric pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with California’s 2018 Camp wildfire and will pay $3.5 million in fines and penalties, The Los Angeles Times reported. It also pleaded guilty to one count of causing a fire in violation of the state penal code. The settlement, reached between PG&E and the Butte County District Attorney’s Office on March 17, includes an agreement that no more criminal charges will be filed against the utility. The Camp wildfire killed 85 people and destroyed more than 13,000 homes, ravaging the city of Paradise.
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Medical marijuana investment firm
completes acquisition of Sapphire Biotech
San Diego-based Medical Marijuana Inc.announced that its investment company AXIM Biotechnologies Inc. has completed the acquisition of leading oncology research and development company Sapphire Biotech Inc..
As part of the acquisition, AXIM has acquired 100 percent of the capital stock of Sapphire and will operate Sapphire as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Sapphire will continue to be led by Catalina Valencia as chief executive officer. Valencia has stewarded Sapphire in the development of its patent-pending pipeline.
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LumenVox partners with OneVault to deliver
biometrics solutions to African market
LumenVox, a privately held speech recognition software company based in San Diego,
has partnered with South African industry leader OneVault to deliver state-of-the-art Voice Biometrics solutions.
“OneVault and LumenVox bring a world of experience and insight into the biometrics field. Together I am confident we can fill a major gap within the biometrics market, specifically when it comes to tailored integration. OneVault has a proven track record of successful rollouts and meticulous tuning. Our technology combined with their conscientious team of experts will result in exciting development,” said Edward Miller, CEO of LumenVox.
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Port of San Diego establishes procedures
for cruise ships arriving March 26-30
To minimize community spread of and exposure to Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), the Port of San Diego is working with its cruise line partners to conclude sailings that were underway when the cruise lines suspended operations on March 13 until mid-April.
Holland America Line has contacted the Port to request to berth and disembark approximately 834 passengers aboard the Maasdam. It’s currently scheduled to arrive on March 26, and to disembark on March 27 and 28.
The Port, San Diego County Health & Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the U.S. Coast Guard, and Customs and Border Protection, has accepted the request with the following conditions:
Holland America must immediately inform the Port, San Diego County Health & Human Services, the CDC, the Coast Guard, and Customs and Border Protection if any passengers or crew members begin to display symptoms of any illness, including COVID-19. At the time of this release, Holland America says there are no reports of illnesses on board.
Holland America must report how many crew signoffs it will have, that is, how many crew member contracts will be ending, and therefore will be disembarking with the passengers.
Holland America will not grant shore leave to crew members who remain under contract.
Additionally, if cleared to come into port by the relevant agencies and medical authorities, the Celebrity Eclipse is scheduled to arrive on March 30 and disembark approximately 2,500 passengers on March 30 and March 31 and remain in port until April 1. Celebrity must adhere to the same conditions listed for Holland America. After disembarking in San Diego, the Eclipse will go to Puerto Vallarta to disembark approximately 175 passengers who don’t have passports or Visas to allow entry into the U.S. The Eclipse will then return to San Diego during the first week of April for fuel and supplies before heading back out to sea.
