Daily Business Report-Jan. 12, 2021
Illustration by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters; iStock
Gov. Newsom’s $227 billion budget
proposal is the largest in state history
CalMatters
Here’s a closer look at Newsom’s proposed 2021-22 budget, which at $227 billion is the largest in state history. This is primarily due to the gains posted by the state’s top earners amid the pandemic, which were so high that the state could issue taxpayer rebates of about $1.70 per person next year. But it’s a one-time surplus, meaning it will be difficult for Newsom or the Legislature to introduce permanent new programs or expand existing ones without raising taxes on the wealthy — something Newsom said is “not part of the conversation.”
In addition to the early-action proposals above and Newsom’s $4.5 billion economic recovery plan, the budget includes:
- Around $90 billion for schools — the most in state history.
- $34 billion in budget reserves.
- $1.75 billion to expand Project Homekey, Newsom’s effort to permanently house homeless Californians in motels.
- $1 billion for wildfire and forest resilience.
- $786 million for the University of California and California State University, with plans to keep tuition and fees flat in 2021-22.
- $500 million for low-income housing tax credits.
- $372 million to accelerate vaccine distribution.
- $300 million to clean up toxic sites.
Notably absent from the budget: a proposal to expand Medi-Cal to undocumented seniors and increased investment in child care.
Gafcon and economist Alan Nevin team up to offer
financial assessments on aged housing complexes
Southern California is dotted with mid-20th century-era garden-style, multifamily housing complexes that are not only showing their age, but can also be out of compliance with safety regulations. Gafcon Inc. and real estate economist Alan Nevin are teaming up to help property owners realize the financial potential these complexes hold through a unique renovation process that weighs risk and gains before the first wall is knocked down or hammer is lifted.
This soup-to-nuts approach to multifamily housing renovation begins with Gafcon and Nevin, a well-known leader in multifamily market analysis and economics, providing a no cost initial financial and physical assessment of the complex. In addition to rough order of magnitude cost estimates on anything from out-of-code balconies and railings to kitchen upgrades, this analysis also predicts market return on the renovation investment. This critical information, missing from most major-scale renovation projects, will help property owners determine which upgrades and repairs will yield a return on investment in the form of rent increases, lower tenant turnover, reduced maintenance costs, lower utility costs for tenants and more.
“This service takes existing C and B-level multifamily properties, with about 75 to 250 units, and improves them to a class level that achieves an optimal return on investment without substantial structural modifcations or renovations,” said Gafcon Vice President of Project Operations Ron Takaki.
Bosa completes $30 million renovation of Paladion
Bosa Development has completed a $30 million renovation of Paladion, a four-story, 162,000-square-foot office development at 770 First Ave. in Downtown San Diego.
The building includes a state-of-the-art fitness center with shower and locker facilities and an outdoor atrium in the center.
Youth using e-cigarettes three times as likely
to become daily cigarette smokers
Starting tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, before the age of 18 is a major risk factor for people becoming dailyu cigarette smokers. That’s according to an analysis of a large nationally representative longitudinal study by University of California San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science.
Reporting in the Jan. 11, 2021 online edition of Pediatrics, researchers found that in 2014 people age 12 to 24 who used e-cigarettes were three times as likely to become daily cigarette smokers in the future. Among those who reported using a tobacco product, daily use increased with age through age 28. Daily cigarette smoking nearly doubled between 18 to 21 year olds (12 percent) and 25 to 28 year olds (21 percent).
“This is the first paper that actually looks at progression to dependent cigarette smoking among young adults. In these data, e-cigarettes are a gateway for those who become daily cigarette smokers,” said the study’s first author, John P. Pierce, professor emeritus at Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. “The start product has changed from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, but the end product has stayed the same. When users become dependent on nicotine, they are converting to cigarette smoking.”
Researchers identify natural products with
potential to disrupt spread of viruses
Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California San Diego have broken down the genomic and life history traits of three classes of viruses that have caused endemic and global pandemics in the past and identify natural products — compounds produced in nature — with the potential to disrupt their spread.
In a review appearing in the Journal of Natural Products, marine chemists Mitchell Christy, Yoshinori Uekusa, and William Gerwick, and immunologist Lena Gerwick describe the basic biology of three families of RNA viruses and how they infect human cells. These viruses use RNA instead of DNA to store their genetic information, a trait that helps them to evolve quickly. The team then describes the natural products that have been shown to have capabilities to inhibit them, highlighting possible treatment strategies.
New Laws & Industry Outlook virtual meeting is Jan. 14
The New Laws & Industry Outlook, an annual event hosted by the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR), will go virtual this year with a free online meeting Thursday, Jan. 14, from noon to 2:30 p.m. The event aims to educate San Diego area real estate professionals about the laws, legislative proposals and issues shaping the industry in 2021 and beyond.
New Laws & Industry Outlook features the region’s top policymakers, along with representatives from the National Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors, who will present updates on economy in perspective with the pandemic, as well as new laws, risk management topics, and key issues shaping federal, state and local real estate in 2021 and beyond.
Zoom Registration link: http://www.sdar.com/newlaws
Parada Ornelas elevated to partner
at Wilson Turner Kosmo law firm
The San Diego‐based firm of Wilson Turner Kosmo, one the largest certified women‐owned law firms in California, has elevated Parada Ornelas to partner. A civil litigator in WTK’s Product Liability and Warranty group, Ornelas began her new leadership role Jan. 1.
Ornelas represents manufacturers in warranty claims brought under the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act and Magnuson-Moss Act. She also represents companies in high-stakes product liability, personal injury and wrongful death matters in federal and state courts. Since joining WTK in 2017, Parada has effectively achieved over 150 case resolutions on behalf of large-scale manufacturers and national clients.
Outside of her legal practice, Ornelas serves as the chair of the Scholarship Committee for the Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego and Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego. Previously, she served on the PALSD Board of Directors. Ornelas is also is involved in the California Minority Counsel Program, which promotes diversity in the legal profession. Notably, she dedicates her time to mentoring students from diverse backgrounds. She mentors high school students through the Crawford High School Academy of Law & Justice and law students through the PALSD Mentorship Program. She also mentors WTK’s fellows through the San Diego County Bar Association and Association of Corporate Counsel’s Diversity Fellowship Program.
