Daily Business Report: Friday, May 21, 2021
Wage theft is common for low-level workers,
and officials are starting to take notice
By Jesse Marx and Maya Srikrishnan | Voice of San Diego
A series of proposals under consideration by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors aim to rein in workplace abuses that disproportionately impact immigrant workers in many of the same industries identified during the pandemic as essential.
Elected officials directed county staff in March to come up with an ordinance that requires subcontractors on development projects approved by the county to publicly disclose more information, including proof that they have workers’ compensation insurance. In May, Chairman Nathan Fletcher also recommended the creation of a new Office of Labor Standards and Enforcementto “correct patterns we see over and over again” in workplaces.
Labor leaders and workers told Voice of San Diego they’ve seen or experienced exploitation that includes not being paid for all the hours they worked and not being allowed to take days off when sick or injured.
The task of documenting such abuses has typically fallen on advocacy groups and unions, not law enforcement. With both proposals, though, the county is signaling that it’s taking workplace violations more seriously and trying to serve as a bridge between prosecutors and workers who often feel they can’t come forward because it might get them fired or even deported.
PHOTO courtesy of Spencer Davis
Viasat and National Basketball Association to make
NBA League Pass available to air passengers
Carlsbad-based Viasat Inc. and the National Basketball announced a groundbreaking multi-year partnership to make NBA League Pass, the league’s premium live game subscription service, available to millions of airline passengers while in flight.
The partnership will provide a streaming experience in the sky, enabling airline passengers to access live and on-demand NBA games and content on their personal electronic devices at no extra cost when they register for NBA League Pass in-flight. JetBlue will be one of the first airlines to offer NBA League Pass on Viasat-equipped aircraft, with additional airlines expected to be announced.
Available during the 2021 NBA Playoffs, which will tip off Saturday, May 22, Viasat will enable access to the premium version of NBA League Pass — featuring every NBA game live and on-demand — to passengers onboard aircraft with Viasat In-flight connectivity.
Willing to help but nowhere to go: State’s
recruitment of COVID-19 volunteers falls short
CalMatters
More than 251,000 Californians signed up to volunteer at vaccination clinics using the state’s MyTurn system — but only 379 people, or 0.001 percent, were actually able to book shifts, CalMatters’ Barbara Feder Ostrov reports in a new investigation.
The eye-popping numbers are just the latest PR nightmare for the beleaguered $50 million website, which Barbara recently found accounted for only about 27 percent of the vaccinations given each day across California. And it’s yet another setback for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration when it comes to recruiting Californians’ aid amid the pandemic: less than 1 percent of the 93,000 retired, part-time or student medical workers who signed up for Newsom’s California Health Corps were available to help as the state faced a massive surge in coronavirus hospitalizations in December.
Kyra Kazantzis, CEO of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits: “You have to figure out how to turn the spigot. You turn it too much, you’re stuck with having too many volunteers. It’s not cool to get people all jazzed up and then they’re sitting waiting for an assignment. They get frustrated.”
San Diego breweries named in wave of sexual
harassment claims; Modern Times CEO steps down
The founder and chief executive of well-known San Diego craft brewery Modern Times is stepping down amid continuing fallout from viral social media posts alleging rampant discrimination, sexual harassment and toxic work environments for women in the brewery/bar industry.
Jacob McKean, who founded Modern Times in 2013, apologized for any incidents of harassment at the 300-plus employee brewery, according to a statement posted Wednesday on the company’s website.
An Instagram account sparked a #MeToo-like avalanche of posts about toxic work environment for women in craft beer and bar industry nationwide.
Crew members from Holland America’s Koningsdam
receive COVID-19 vaccinations at Port of San Diego
Holland America Line crew members from Koningsdam received their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination on Wednesday at the Port of San Diego. Arranged in partnership with Sharp HealthCare, a not-for-profit regional health care group, 118 crew came ashore to be vaccinated.
During a brief ceremony, Captain Henk Draper, master of Koningsdam, remarked how the crew vaccinations were a welcome step as the ship waits to resume cruising. Also on hand were Rafael Castellanos, commissioner of the Port of San Diego, and Brett McClain, executive vice president and COO of Sharp HealthCare.
“Today is an incredible day, not only for our team members on Koningsdam, but for our entire organization as we continue to take the necessary steps to get back to cruising,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “We extend our deepest gratitude to Sharp HealthCare for vaccinating our crew, and to everyone at Port of San Diego for offering the terminal and allowing us to make this process safe and smooth.”
San Diego Community College District to offer
more in-person classes and vaccine requirement
San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) will increase its on-campus and hybrid classes to at least 22 percent this fall, with the remainder being online, as the district begins to transition back to a full reopening in spring 2022. In addition, all students and employees who are on-site this fall will be required to be vaccinated — assuming the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully authorizes one or more of the vaccines. Exceptions may be granted on medical and religious grounds.
SDCCD campuses have been closed since March 2020 to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Starting July 1, the district will begin a gradual reopening. Chancellor Carroll says that by fall, the goal is to have many more classes and operations provided in-person and, by spring, to have the entire district reopened for in-person instruction and operations.
Fall classes begin Aug. 23 at San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges and Sept.7 at the San Diego College of Continuing Education.
Paula Danker honored as a 2021 Woman of Influence
Kidder Mathews’ Paula Danker has been honored as a 2021 Woman of Influence by GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum and was ranked third nationally in the Broker-Investment Sales category. GlobeSt. recognized commercial real estate agents in this category based on their high level of integrity, discipline, drive, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion for the art of the deal.
Danker is a senior vice president with Kidder Mathews in the firm’s San Diego office, specializing in net leased investments. She has over 30 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry and has been directly involved in over $800 million worth of sales and lease transactions. She is a top-producing broker in the firm, and in 2020, ranked number four for the Southwest region.
Band camps begin for young rock stars
Kids can cultivate their inner rock stars during weeklong summer band camps organized by The Rockademy in Solana Beach.
The series of nine, one-week sessions begins June 14. The final session begins Aug. 9.
Designed for musicians of ages 7 through 17, the camps meet from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday at The Rockademy studios at 524 Stevens Ave., Solana Beach. Each session concludes with a public performance from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Saturday immediately following the camp. Performances are held at the Tower 13 restaurant in Cardiff.
“Preparing for gigs gives kids a reason to practice,” said Rockademy owner James Couzens, “and the shows at Tower 13 give families and friends a chance to see the young rockers in action.”
Participants must have basic proficiency on their instruments. To prepare musicians for band camps, The Rockademy offers individual lessons.
The Rockademy opened in 2013.
Rates for one-week band camps are $395 for new students and $375 for existing students.
For more information, visit www.therockademy.comor call 858-254-0805.
Kilroy Realty’s office development
earns LEED Platinum certification
Kilroy Realty Corporation announced that its new 160,000-square-foot San Diego office development, 9455 Towne Centre Drive, has earned LEED Platinum certification under the Core & Shell rating system created by the US Green Building Council.
The project exhibits forward-thinking, environmentally-focused design with sustainable elements incorporated into all aspects of the building. It is fully leased to a Fortune 50 publicly-traded technology company and was completed and added to the company’s stabilized portfolio in January 2021. 9455 Towne Centre Drive is located in the University Towne Centre technology and life science hub of San Diego.
Keep your business thriving: An Employee
Ownership Workshop on June 17
San Diego Workplace Partnership, in partnership with Project Equity, will host a June 17 Employee Ownership Workshop to discuss how locally-owned businesses can thrive with employee ownership. The workshop also will cover available financing to help offset costs of transitioning to an employee ownership model.
Workshop hours are from 10 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom. There is no cost.
Registration is required: click here
Genetic tools help identify
cellular culprit for Type 1 diabetes
By mapping its genetic underpinnings, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified a predictive causal role for specific cell types in type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects more than 1.6 million Americans.
The findings are published in the May 19, 2021 online issue of Nature.
