Daily Business Report-April 15, 2020
Big Tech
What is Big Tech
Contributing to Help
Fight COVID-19?
So far, the Big Five tech companies have committed $1.25 billion to fight the pandemic, and help those affected.
Here’s how the money breaks down.
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City and major companies launch
new fund for small businesses
sdnews.com
Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Council President Pro Tem Barbara Bry announced over $300,000 in private donations to kick start a new partnership that will expand the city’s Small Business Relief Fund and encourage more community support for small businesses as the demand for economic relief rises.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy, and these businesses need our support more than ever,” Faulconer said. “With the help of generous corporate partners and San Diegans alike, we are expanding our Small Business Relief Fund to keep more businesses afloat during these turbulent times.”
Cal Coast Credit Union, GoFundMe and Qualcomm have each contributed $100,000 to launch a new initiative between the city, Cal Coast Cares Foundation and San Diego Grantmakers to encourage corporate partners and individual San Diegans to donate to the Small Business Relief Fund. The fund was created at Faulconer’s urging to provide grants and microloans to small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Biosero collaborates with Scripps Research
to hasten COVID-19 drug therapy candidates
Biosero has designed and implemented an automated lab workflow for Scripps Research Institute so researchers can accelerate the screening of COVID-19 drug therapy candidates. The research team is using a custom automation platform operated by Green Button Go Automation Scheduling and Data Integration Software to screen 14,000 compounds that have already been approved by the FDA for therapeutic potential against COVID-19.
“The world is in a race to save lives,” said Biosero CEO Tom Gilman. “I expect that pairing the expertise of Scripps Institute researchers with Biosero’s state-of-the-art lab automation will double the speed at which Scripps scientists can process drug therapy candidates.”
Green Button Go software from Biosero is a device-agnostic platform that fully automates lab equipment into a cohesive automation ecosystem and captures critical data that labs can use to make informed decisions rapidly. In the Scripps lab, the software has integrated and automated more than 25 scientific instruments from different manufacturers and is capturing data from the workflow in real-time.
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Conrad Prebys Foundation awards $350,000
grant to support UC San Diego pandemic efforts
San Diego-based Conrad Prebys Foundation has awarded a $350,000 challenge grant to support the University of California San Diego in its COVID-19 efforts. The purpose of the foundation’s match opportunity is to raise funds specifically for frontline health care in the region.UC San Diego launched its COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund March 17 to allow the university to address the greatest needs in this evolving pandemic situation, and move forward with research and health care efforts to better understand and respond to COVID-19. The challenge grant will double the fundraising impact: for every dollar given to the fund, a dollar will be matched by the grant, up to $350,000.
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Carlsbad desalination plant rotates crews
to ensure continued production of water supply
As the COVID-19 pandemic and statewide Stay at Home order continue, a second team of 10 operations and maintenance employees has voluntarily locked in at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant in Carlsbad to ensure uninterrupted production and delivery of safe and reliable water for San Diego County.
As the largest desalination plant in the United States, the plant normally operates with a staff of approximately 40 employees working full time. The decision to have mission-critical employees shelter in place at the Carlsbad Plant was made in March, after public health orders necessitated that no more than 10 people congregate in one place. Acting quickly, plant manager Poseidon Water and plant operator IDE Americas Inc., along with public partner the San Diego County Water Authority, took the extraordinary step of having employees shelter in place at the plant for 21 days to ensure operational continuity. With the COVID-19 public health crisis persisting, the first team was relieved by a second crew on April 9. The new crew of 10 employees will remain at the plant until April 30.
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Abby Silverman joins JAMs
JAMS, private provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services, announces the addition of Abby Silverman to its panel. Silverman specializes in discrimination, retaliation, employment agreement, wrongful termination, founder/company, competition, corporate governance, and trade secret and confidential information controversies.
Based in the San Diego Resolution Center, Silverman will serve as an arbitrator and mediator, handling employment matters.
Prior to JAMS, Silverman had a long, successful litigation career at an international law firm, where her practice spanned a variety of industries, including life sciences, technology, staffing, hospitality, retail and real estate. She has worked over a decade as a full-time ADR professional, resolving by arbitration or mediation a full range of employment and related business disputes.
Silverman received her B.A. from Wellesley College, and her J.D. from University of San Diego School of Law.
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Navy authorizes retiring officers
to stay until December
The Navy is offering active-duty and full-time support officers, currently on active duty who are slated to retire on or before Dec. 1, 2020, to remain on active duty but in a retired status until the end of the year.
The offer is part of the Navy’s plans to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, while helping the service maintain operational, Sailor and family readiness.
According to NAVADMIN 105/20, released April 9, officers in the rank of captain or below, who must retire due to statutory requirements between now and Dec. 1, can submit a request to serve longer under a provision known as “retire/retain.”
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Lawyers Club of San Diego reschedules
Annual Dinner to July 29
The Lawyers Club of San Diego announces a new July date for the 2020 Annual Dinner,
which will feature former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams as the keynote speaker.
The theme for this year’s dinner, “Driving Change,” is inspired by a combination of it being the 150th anniversary of ratification of the 15th Amendment and 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.
The Annual Dinner will take place on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, 333 W. Harbor Drive, Downtown San Diego. Check-in begins at 5:30 p.m., and the program begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are now on sale for both Lawyers Club members and the general public; pre-registration is required.
