Daily Business Report-Jan. 15, 2021
The future USNS John Lewis launched by NASSCO. (Photos courtesy of NASSCO)
General Dynamics NASSCO launches first ship
in the T-AO fleet oiler program for the Navy
General Dynamics NASSCO launched the future USNS John Lewis on Tuesday, the first of six vessels in the John Lewis-class fleet oiler program designed to support the U.S. Navy.
Construction of the future USNS John Lewis began in fall 2018 and utilized more than 18, 575 tons of steel to complete. The 742- foot long vessel is designed to transfer fuel to U.S. Navy carrier strike group ships operating at sea, the oilers will feature the capacity to carry 157,000 barrels of oil, a significant dry cargo capacity, aviation capability and up to a speed of 20 knots.
“NASSCO is immensely honored to be a part of this historic day launching the future John Lewis,” said Dave Carver, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. “This ship reaffirms our nation’s stability and represents the same strength, values and honor that her namesake, the Honorable John Lewis, stood for. The shipbuilders of NASSCO are proud to ensure his legacy will live on in this majestic vessel.”
NASSCO started construction on the future USNS Earl Warren, the third vessel in the program, late last year.
The christening of the future USNS John Lewis will be celebrated later in 2021 with the ship’s sponsor following tradition of breaking a champagne bottle on the ship’s hull.
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County to seek additional $12 million
for No Place Like Home program
The County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to apply for $12 million in additional state funding for the No Place Like Home program. No Place Like Home provides funding for the creation of affordable housing units for those with serious mental illness who are experiencing or are at-risk of homelessness.
Tuesday’s authorization also provides county behavioral health supportive services for tenants in No Place Like Home units for a period of 20 years.
The state started the NPLH program in 2018 and offers two funding categories, the Noncompetitive Program allocation and the Competitive Alternative Process County allocation.
The County has already received a one-time $12.7 million Noncompetitive Program allocation and an additional $68 million in the first and second rounds of Competitive Alternative Process County allocations.
Tuesday’s Board action allows the county to seek an additional $12 million for the third round. In all, the county could qualify for a total of $117 million through the end of 2024.
San Diego Employers Association to hold
41st annual Employment Law Update
The San Diego Employers Association will hold its 41st annual Employment Law Update
via Zoom on Wednesday, Jan. 20 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., and Thursday, Jan. 21, from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The cost is $150 for members, $175 for nonmembers. For information, contact SDEA at sdeahr.org or 858-505-0024
Speakers will include Chris Olmstead, shareholder at Ogletree Deakins; Lonny Zilberman, partner at Wilson Turner Kosmo, and Daniel Eaton, shareholder at Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek. Keynote speaker will be Paul Falcone of the Motion Picture & Television Fund.
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Thank billionaires for governor’s
$227 billion state budget proposal
CalMatters
Billionaires are the main reason why Gov. Gavin Newsom was able to propose a record-high $227 billion budget last week. Thanks to the state’s progressive tax structure, California is so flush with money that it may be forced to issue tiny taxpayer rebates next year, even as millions of residents lose their jobs and housing security.
Ironically, California’s growing wealth gap is what makes possible the state’s increased spending on safety net programs, as illustrated by five charts put together by CalMatters’ Jackie Botts.
Here’s a look at some other funding proposals Newsom and lawmakers have floated in recent days:
Newsom wants to commit $15 million to develop college majors with free textbooks. As CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn reports, the state spent $5 million on a similar program a few years ago, but didn’t track whether it was effective.
A group of Democratic lawmakers, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf want $2.4 billion in ongoing funding for homelessness.
San Francisco Sen. Scott Wiener wants to permit Medi-Cal to pay for contingency management, a controversial practice that incentivizes people to curb their methamphetamine use with rewards like gift cards and cash.
San Diego native Kirby Brady appointed
city’s first chief innovation officer
Mayor Todd Gloria has appointed San Diego native Kirby Brady to be the city’s first chief innovation officer. As a Black woman, Brady is one of the few women or people of color to be named CIO of a major American city.
“I couldn’t be prouder to have Kirby Brady as San Diego’s first chief innovation officer,” Gloria said. “Kirby’s unique experiences coupled with her creativity, drive, and passion for civic innovation are going to help our city harness the data and technology we need to stretch taxpayer dollars while providing world-class service for people in every neighborhood.”
Brady has been the director of the city’s Performance and Analytics Department for the past year and will continue to lead the department in her new role. Her experience has provided her with a deep understanding of the City’s robust datasets and a strong relationship with department leadership across the City to help them work more efficiently and effectively.
Mayor Gloria shifted the Performance and Analytics Department to report directly to the mayor’s office and created the CIO role to support his efforts to use data to solve complex problems.
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Hanna and Mark Gleiberman donate $1 million
toward construction of all-inclusive playground
Hanna and Mark Gleiberman of San Diego have donated $1 million to the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center Jacobs Family Campus to seed construction of the first fully accessible and inclusive playground in the city of San Diego. Mark is the founder and CEO of San Diego-based real estate investment firm MG Properties Group.
The state-of-the-art play space, to be located at the City of San Diego’s Mandell Weiss Eastgate Park, will meet critical child development milestones by offering a wide variety of activities that support a child’s physical, cognitive, social, and sensory needs. It also will allow adults with disabilities to play with their own children in a fully accessible way.
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Team Kolker adds Heather Wendlandt as
real estate agent, promotes Danielle Balestra
Team Kolker, a San Diego-based Realtor/attorney team, announced the hiring of Heather Wendlandt as real estate agent and investment specialist, and the promotion of Danielle Balestra from marketing manager to buyer’s agent.
In Wendlandt’s new role, she is responsible for guiding buyers and sellers in the purchasing and selling processes, assisting with everything from determining clients’ needs to negotiating deals and getting the best price for her clients. As a buyer’s agent, Balestra is responsible for showing homes to prospective buyers, writing and submitting offers, negotiating and ultimately matching her clients with their best home and community in San Diego.
With over 20 years of experience working in the market research industry, Wendlandt brings an analytical approach to real estate and connects with clients that are highly numbers driven. Additionally, Wendlandt has over a decade of experience investing in real estate in San Diego and because of that she’s able to advise clients on investment properties.
Balestra has been with Team Kolker since 2015, primarily as a marketing manager while also earning her real estate license in 2016. After years of growing the voice of Team Kolker, her passion for helping clients transitioned into the role of agent.
Wendlandt and Balestra are based in the company’s One Paseo office, located at 12860 El Camino Real, Suite 100.
Mark Brose appointed chief
technology officer for Palomar Holdings
Palomar Holdings Inc. announced that Mark Brose has been appointed chief technology officer. Brose will report directly to his predecessor, Chief Operating Officer Britt Morries.
Brose most recently served as vice president of engineering at Agosto Inc., a cloud services and development company. Previously, he served as chief technology officer at Gravie, a health insurance marketplace that helps consumers select, purchase, and manage health care plans and expenses.
Prior to joining Gravie, Brose was a solutions architect at Best Buy, where he designed integration and architecture for external partners and internal enterprise systems.
Brose received a Masters of Planning, Technology Policy from the University of Minnesota and holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and German from the University of Minnesota.
“Mark brings over 25 years of creating and, more importantly, leading high-performing software engineering and technical operation teams,” said Mac Armstrong, chairman and CEO.
Petco announces pricing of Initial public offering
Petco Health and Wellness Company Inc. announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 48,000,000 shares of Class A common stock at a price to the public of $18 per share. In addition, Petco has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 7,200,000 shares of its Class A common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
The Class A common stock is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “WOOF” on Jan. 14, 2021, and the offering is expected to close on Jan. 19, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Petco expects to receive net proceeds of approximately $816.5 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares.
Drata raises $3.2 million
Drata, a next-generation compliance and security automation company, announced $3.2 million in seed funding led by Cowboy Ventures and participation from Leaders Fund, and SV Angel. The round also includes several strategic angel investors. Drata helps companies streamline their System and Organization Controls
compliance through continuous, automated control monitoring and evidence collection, resulting in lower costs and time spent preparing for annual audits.
Turquoise Health launches
consumer database
On the heels of price transparency regulation requiring hospitals to disclose traditionally secret negotiated rates, Turquoise Health has launched the first hospital comparison engine for consumers to make cost-effective care decisions based on their insurance.
On the Turquoise Health platform, users can easily view hospital quality information, prices specific to their insurance plan, and how their local hospital compares to the market. This service requires no sign up or payment.
“It’s difficult to find price transparency information on a hospital’s website. Just as we don’t go to every hotel website when we research a trip, we don’t want to go to every individual hospital site to compare prices,” says Turquoise Health CEO Chris Severn. “This gives patients a familiar shopping experience while allowing providers to connect to a broader audience.”
