Daily Business Report-April 23, 2021
California’s ‘My Turn’ website bypassed
for most vaccine appointments
For months, Alyssa Jenkins logged countless hours on MyTurn, California’s COVID vaccine registration site as she searched for precious appointment slots for her fellow teachers.
“I’d become obsessed,” said Jenkins, who teaches high school English in Pacifica. “I was living in the system.”
When MyTurn debuted in mid-January, it was supposed to be a one-stop shop, a place where every Californian could register to be notified when they became eligible for the COVID vaccine and eventually make an appointment for their shot.
Instead, it’s become a lightning rod for many Californians frustrated by their inability to get vaccinated quickly and return to a normal life.
Appointments booked on MyTurn — an average of about 100,000 each day — account for only about 27 percent of the vaccinations given each day across the state, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
MyTurn isn’t just an appointment clearinghouse. It has other critical functions: It tracks vaccine orders and distribution, collects reams of vaccination data and helps organize volunteers statewide. It can also transmit data to California’s immunization registry, which maintains confidential vaccination records.
But it is the public side of MyTurn that has drawn the most criticism.
PHOTO: Alyssa Jenkins uses the state’s MyTurn website to try to book a vaccination appointment for someone on April 19, 2021. Z(Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters)
San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative
at USD celebrates 10 years of research
The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, housed at The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego, is celebrating its 10 year anniversary with the launch of a report that looks at the impact of the Collaborative’s efforts, over a decade, to keep the local San Diego environment green.
The Collaborative includes a network of 28 different organizations, including 17 of the 19 local jurisdictions in the San Diego region, who work behind-the-scenes to advance climate change solutions that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the effects of a changing climate in the San Diego region.
In the past 10 years, some highlights of the work of the Collaborative include:
• Developing and implementing the region’s first Climate Action Plans.
• Creating the first regional greenhouse gas inventory.
• Developing the first sea level rise adaptation strategy for the San Diego Bay.
Peter Maharaj named director of information technology
services at San Diego Community College District
The San Diego Community CollegeDistrict (SDCCD) has hired Peter Maharaj as its new director of Information Technology Services.
Maharaj comes to the SDCCD from Cypress College in Orange County,where he served as manager of technology services and academic computing.Maharaj has more than two decades of information technology and business-related experience and has a strong background in project management, business development, data center management, telecommunications, and process improvement.
While working as an applications developer as a student at Long Beach City College, Maharaj created an online orientation program that was among the first of its kind in the California Community Colleges. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he returned as a technical manager at Long Beach City College, where he developed, implemented and managed a student email and wireless network, making it among the first community colleges in the state with a student email and wireless system.Maharaj’s hiring completes a new leadership team for the Information Technology Services Department. The SDCCD recently hired assistant directors Jill O’Dea and Antoine Andari.
Single-payer health care proposal tabled until next year
CalMatters
A proposal to create single-payer health care in California has been tabled until next year — freeing Gov. Gavin Newsom from having to take a stance in a heated intra-party debate as he faces an almost-certain recall election. The bill’s lead author, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, said that he chose to delay consideration of the bill until January 2022 in response to “many of my colleagues” raising “concerns that the funding mechanism for the bill had not been identified.”
Kalra: “I believe that we will benefit from more time to evaluate still evolving conversations on funding options while the bill remains alive. Otherwise, pursuing the bill in its current form … would have certainly led to it dying at the committee level.”
The news comes a week after a controversial bill that would have banned fracking and other oil extraction methods died in a nine-member Democratic-majority committee — erasing Newsom’s other main political headache as he works to shore up party support ahead of the likely recall. Still, single-payer health care was one of Newsom’s biggest campaign promises — suggesting that some progressive voters may not let him off the hook that easily.
SBA announces technology initiative
for Restaurant Revitalization Fund
The U.S. Small Business Administration cannounced the first round of technology partners participating in a new initiative for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) — a program that will allow eligible restaurants and other food establishments to access the RRF application or data they need to fill out the application through their point-of-sale service providers.
The SBA partnerships are with Clover, NCR Corporation, Square, and Toast in this effort to provide a customer-centric approach to the delivery of relief funds.
“The SBA is partnering with point-of-sale providers to leverage technology to better reach the smallest businesses that need our help the most. This collaboration is just one example of the many innovative and creative ways we’re connecting with entrepreneurs in the hardest-hit and underserved communities,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.“The SBA must be as entrepreneurial as the entrepreneurs we serve. These partnerships enable us to meet small businesses where they are, instead of waiting for them to come to us.”
Will the sun set on Ocean Beach Pier?
Report says it’s reached the end of its service life
By Dave Schwab | sdnews.com
The end may be near for the Ocean Beach Pier.
At least, that’s what a recently released report commissioned by the City on the beach community’s iconic pier suggests about the 55-year-old promenade that’s become increasingly prone to structural damage – and closure – due to seasonal winter storms.
Excerpts from the report done by Moffatt & Nichol conclude that: “The Ocean Beach Fishing Pier has reached the end of its service life. The pier was inspected above and below water and concrete cores were taken for analysis. Corrosion in the reinforcing steel has initiated and the structure will continue to degrade unless corrective action is taken.
“To ensure the continued use of the structure, deficiencies must be addressed. Three options for remediation are repair of the structure, rehabilitation, and replacement. There are economic, environmental, and historical issues associated with each option.
UC San Diego named No. 4 best value public college
The University of California San Diego has been ranked fourth among the nation’s top public colleges for students seeking an outstanding education at an affordable price, according to The Princeton Review’s Best Value Colleges for 2021.
The guide profiles 200 colleges that received the company’s highest ROI (Return on Investment) ratings. The ROI ratings are determined from over 40 data points, covering topics ranging from academic offerings and financial aid to graduation rates and alumni salaries.
UC San Diego was selected from more than 650 institutions considered and surveyed for the final 200 universities profiled in the Best Value Colleges for 2021 list
Seqster raises $12 million in Series A round
of venture capital financing
Seqster PDM Inc., a San Diego-based healthcare technology company, has raised $12 million in a Series A round of venture capital financing. The funding round was led by OmniHealth Holdings LLC, with additional investment from Takeda Digital Ventures and 23andMe’s CEO and Founder Anne Wojcicki. This investment fuels Seqster’s ability to grow and evolve its technology to meet the demand for its multi-dimensional health care data platform.
Seqster provides patient engagement with proprietary technology to access secure, longitudinal, and comprehensive health care data in real time, both at the patient level and at scale. This includes electronic health records, pharmacy data, lab data, genomic data, fitness wearables data, and social determinants of health.
General Atomics further expands mission capability
of its MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft
The U.S. Air Force, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. and L3Harris Technologies have collaborated to further expand the mission capabilities of the U.S. Air Force’s versatile MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft.
For the first time, crews from the Air Force’s 26th Weapons Squadron flew an MQ-9 equipped with the Reaper Defense Electronic Support System (RDESS). The flights were conducted in parallel with the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) demonstrations recently in Europe.
RDESS is a broad spectrum, passive Electronic Support Measure payload designed to collect and locate signals of interest from standoff ranges. With it, the Reaper becomes an even more versatile surveillance aircraft given its ability to conduct electronic sensing well enough to provide high-quality intelligence but also keep safely away in friendly or international airspace.
The flights were accomplished via remote split operations that allowed the 26th WPS to both fly the aircraft and control the RDESS payload from within the United States while the MQ-9 flew in Europe
Living Coast Discovery Center to reopen on May 1
The Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista will reopen to the public on Saturday, May 1, following a 13-month closure due to COVID-19.
The center will be open to visitors on Saturdays and Sundays only, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations or advance tickets are not required. Private tours will be available to book Monday through Friday for small groups to enjoy a private two-hour tour and animal encounter. Living Coast members are invited to visit during a sneak preview day on Friday, April 30. More information is available here.
CDC-recommended safety protocols will be enforced, including masks (for ages two and up), social distancing, verbal health screenings, reduced-contact payments, hand-washing stations, and enhanced cleaning protocols.
SDSU again named ‘Best Value’ college
San Diego State University ranks No. 38 in the nation for the “Return on Investment” it offers as a public university, according to the latest evaluation from The Princeton Review.
The 2021 edition of the publication’s annual “Best Value Colleges” was released online Apr. 20. It marks the third straight year SDSU has been identified by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s top 200 colleges as measured by a combination of academic excellence, affordability and career prospects, among other factors.
The 200 public and private undergraduate institutions selected are listed alphabetically, with the top 50 public schools ranked separately for best “return on investment.”
KLM introduces Viasat in-flight Wi-Fi on European flights
Carlsbad-based Viasat Inc. and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will bring connectivity to 18 of the airline’s Boeing 737-800 fleet and 21 of its Embraer E195 aircraft.
The 737-800s are expected to be outfitted with Viasat’s latest in-flight connectivity (IFC) equipment by the end of 2021, and in service by early 2022, and specifics around the Embraer E195 fleet will be announced at a later time. Both fleets will operate European flight routes only.
Viasat’s IFC equipment is currently installed on two KLM narrow-body Boeing aircraft. During the first week of service KLM will encourage passengers to trial the service free-of-charge and provide insights to further optimize the onboard Wi-Fi experience.
