Daily Business Report-May 22, 2020

The USS Theodore Roosevelt operates in the Philippine Sea on Thursday following an extended visit to Guam in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kaylianna Genier)

USS Theodore Roosevelt returns to sea

Aircraft carrier departs Guam after extended stay complicated by coronavirus pandemic

The San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is underway for the first time since arriving in Guam March 27. The ship left Naval Base Guam and entered the Philippine Sea on Thursday to conduct carrier qualification flights for the embarked Carrier Air Wing 11.

“It feels great to be back at sea,” said Rear Adm. Stu Baker, commander of Carrier Strike Group 9. “Getting Theodore Roosevelt and Carrier Air Wing 11 one step closer to returning to their mission in the Indo-Pacific is a great achievement for the crew.”

Theodore Roosevelt is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. It moored in Guam after some members of the crew displayed symptoms and later tested positive for COVID-19. After moving nearly 4,000 crewmembers off ship and cleaning the entire ship from bow to stern, the appropriate number of crewmembers to operate the ship underway have returned from quarantine after passing rigorous return-to-work criteria.

Scaled manning allows the ship to bring on board the right makeup of personnel required to safely operate and complete a particular mission requirement.

“We are scaling our manning on board based on our mission requirement,” said Capt. Carlos Sardiello, Theodore Roosevelt’s commanding officer. “Carrier qualification requires fewer personnel than other missions, and bringing fewer Sailors on board will enable enhanced social distancing while underway.”

In addition to social distancing, Theodore Roosevelt Sailors will execute Navy COVID prevention and mitigation policies, including all required lessons learned from a safety stand down last week and a simulated underway earlier this week. During the simulated underway, the crew walked through routine and emergency procedures while executing COVID-19 mitigation measures, including wearing masks, medical surveillance of 100 percent of the crew, adjusted meal hours, minimizing in-person meetings, sanitizing spaces and a simulated medevac.

Theodore Roosevelt is the nation’s fourth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier with a crew of nearly 5,000 sailors who support and conduct air operations at sea. Theodore Roosevelt departed San Diego for a scheduled Indo-Pacific deployment on Jan. 17.

—From USS Theodore Roosevelt Public Affairs

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Curbside San Diego initiative proposed to boost

recovery of Downtown San Diego business interests

Restaurants and retail in Downtown’s diverse neighborhoods could see a boost to their recovery upon reopening with the implementation of a Curbside San Diego initiative, a proposal by the Downtown San Diego Partnership and supported by several other organizations active Downtown.

The recommendations for the initiative – submitted by letter to the city of San Diego on May 20 – encourage creative and flexible use of the public right-of-way and private spaces to allow for sustainable business activity, physical distancing and greater walkability within designated zones in Downtown San Diego.

With more than 35,000 residents and a workforce of essential and returning employees as we begin to safely and gradually reopen businesses in Downtown’s neighborhoods, Curbside San Diego will provide enhanced dining and active public space that maintains appropriate physical distancing, drives economic recovery in commercial zones, and supports jobs hard hit by COVID-19, the proponents say.

The initiative is supported by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, California Restaurant Association’s San Diego Chapter, San Diego County Lodging Association, Gaslamp Quarter Association, East Village Association, Cortez Hill Active Residents Group, City Center Business Improvement District, Columbia Community Foundation and Little Italy Association.

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Face coverings to be required

when restaurants, stores open

As the county awaits a response from the state on its plan to allow in-person dining and shopping, health officials want people to know that face coverings and physical distancing will be required when entering these businesses. In restaurants, the coverings will be needed until the customers are seated.

Face coverings “disrupt the trajectory of a cough, sneeze or breath” preventing droplets carrying the virus from traveling between people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Two recent studies have estimated that between 12,000 and 15,000 local lives were saved because of the preventive measures.

“Had we not practiced physical distancing and respected the stay-at-home order, many thousands more individuals, including our elderly, would have died from COVID-19,” said County Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten.

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City of San Diego begins work on

first of six Downtown promenades

In an effort to create more green spaces in urban areas, the city of San Diego this week began work on the first of six promenades planned throughout Downtown. The 14th Street Promenade will run 11 city blocks, from C Street to Commercial Street.

“These promenades will create a more welcoming, open and walkable Downtown while planning for the population to more than double there over the next 20 years,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “Providing more mobility options and access to parks and green space helps us achieve our climate action goals and supports the economic vitality of this prominent neighborhood and our entire city.”

Construction on the 14th Street Promenade will begin between G and Market streets to extend the existing sidewalk by removing a vehicle travel lane and eight parking spaces on the east side. Additional improvements include better lighting, a double row of trees and landscaping to create a safety buffer between pedestrians and vehicle traffic. The Promenade will feature industrial artifacts donated by the family of late East Village pioneer Bob Sinclair and panels showing historical images of the iconic San Diego neighborhood.

The loss of existing on-street parking will be offset by the creation of additional angled spaces replacing parallel parking on several streets. A 185-space underground parking garage is also planned for the future East Village Green park.

Additional portions of the 14th Street Promenade are currently being designed. Construction between F Street and Island Avenue is anticipated to be completed by 2022. The next phase of work will begin on the blocks between K and L streets and Imperial Avenue to Commercial Street.

 

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BLT Enterprises sells three-building office

property in Sorrento Mesa for $39 million

BLT Enterprises, a real estate investment company based in Santa Monica, has sold the Sorrento Tech campus, comprised of three creative office/R&D buildings totaling more than 93,480 square feet, in the Sorrento Mesa area of San Diego, to Longfellow Real Estate Partners for $39 million.

BLT Enterprises’ renovations to the campus included transforming a 35,000-square-foot raw industrial space into innovative creative office product, offering an open floor plan, complete with three executive offices, a large conference room, an upgraded kitchen, and outdoor patio.

The campus is currently 100 percent leased to CV Sciences, TorreyCove Capital Partners, L3 Technologies, and Ron’s Pharmacy.

The buildings are located at 10070, 10140, and 10180 Barnes Canyon Road. Ron Jacobson of SD Realty Partners, along with Rick Reeder and Brad Tecca of Cushman & Wakefield, completed the transaction on behalf of both the buyer and the seller.

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General Atomics announces integration

of nuclear tech division ito EMS Group

Govcon Wire

General Atomics has integrated its nuclear technologies and materials division into its electromagnetic systems group to advance collaboration on critical programs and come up with new market opportunities in energy, space and advanced materials.

Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS, said the integration will allow EMS to leverage and combine NTM’s experience in reactor development with its space systems technologies to develop energy platforms for use on land and in space.

“In particular, we are focusing on growing DoD and NASA opportunities for in-space propulsion and power systems,” Forney said.

NTM advances innovation in engineered materials for non-nuclear and nuclear applications. The division has facilitated the development of 66 Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics research reactors, also known as TRIGA, since its establishment in 1956. It has also developed a ceramic composite, called SiGA, which enables nuclear fuel rods to operate at extremely high temperatures.

General Atomics’ EMS group designs and produces electric power generation and electromagnetic systems for use in space, missile defense, power and energy applications in support of industrial, critical defense and commercial clients worldwide.

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Hotel industry, on brink of collapse,

releases ‘Roadmap to Recovery’

With new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing staggering job loss to the hospitality and leisure industry, the American Hotel & Lodging Association released  a “Roadmap to Recovery,” calling on Congress to prioritize relief for hotel workers and small businesses in the next stimulus package.

The April Jobs Report showed the hospitality and leisure industry was the hardest hit, losing 7.7 million jobs—nearly as many jobs as the next four sectors combined.

AHLA is urging Congress to provide immediate assistance in these four areas:

• Help hotels retain and rehire employees by extending the Paycheck Protection Program, offering employees direct tuition assistance or tax credits, and expanding the Employee Retention Credit.
  • Protect employees and guests through tax credits for cleaning equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE).
  •  Keep hotel doors open by providing relief for hotel commercial mortgages and increasing the size and flexibility of PPP loans.
  • Incentivize Americans to travel again when it’s safe with a new, temporary travel tax credit and restoring the entertainment business expense deduction.