Daily Business Report: Friday, July 30, 2021
Recall money wars:
What do Newsom’s million-dollar donors want?
By Ben Christopher | CalMatters
Gov. Gavin Newsom may be fighting for his political life amid a fourth wave of COVID, a drought without modern precedent, another horrific fire season, a spiking murder rate and an increasingly credible-seeming recall.
But at least he has a lot of really rich political allies.
At last count, the main committee tasked with defending the governor against the Sept. 14 recall has raised some $39 million. Another allied committee and Newsom’s own 2022 campaign account, which state law allows him to draw upon this year, add another $4 million to that war chest.
That’s more than double all the cash raised by the committees campaigning for his ouster and the 46 candidates hoping to replace him, combined.
It also represents the generosity — or perhaps the strategic expenditure — of a broad coalition of some unlikely allies.
They include California’s largest teachers union and its most vocal charter school advocates; nurses and the hospitals they sometimes clash with; Realtors, developers, building trades unions and corporate landlords who have differing views on the housing crisis; defense contractors at Lockheed Martin; abortion rights advocates; new car dealers; and the financier-turned-liberal-megadonor George Soros. All have found common cause in keeping Newsom in his job.
ILLUSTRATION: Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters; Shae Hammond, CalMatters; iStock
Everytable expands its meals subscription
service to San Diego County
Everytable, a company that operates a meals subscription service, has expanded into San Diego County. San Diego is Everytable’s first market beyond Los Angeles and comes on the heels of a $16 million Series B funding round Everytable closed in late 2020. Everytable started in 2016 as a grab-and-go restaurant concept with made-from-scratch meals priced according to what a specific neighborhood can afford.
Today the company is a multi-channel food business, fueled by a central kitchen, that specializes in individually packaged, chef-prepared meals ranging from $5 to $9.
In San Diego, Everytable will serve roughly 3 million people throughout 82 ZIP codes. Utilizing their central kitchen in Los Angeles, Everytable trucks will deliver individually packaged, made-from-scratch meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Meals are priced according to the median household income of the neighborhood. For example, in National City a meal from Everytable can cost as low as $6, whereas the same meal in Del Mar would cost $9, the highest price for an Everytable meal in San Diego.
Area residents can now place their orders at everytable.com/subscribe.
Air Canada resumes nonstop flights to
Vanouver from San Diego International Airport
Air Canada will resume service between Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada via Vancouver International and San Diego International Airport, beginning Aug. 1.
The year-round nonstop flights operate once daily. The resumption comes after Air Canada suspended service in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Air Canada began operations in San Diego in December 2005, providing up to three flights daily to Vancouver before the suspension. Now that the Canadian government is opening the border on Aug. 9 to fully vaccinated travelers, Air Canada is the first airline to resume flights between Canada and San Diego.
Subject to limited exceptions, all travelers must use ArriveCAN (app or web portal) to submit their travel information. If they are eligible to enter Canada and meet specific criteria, fully vaccinated travelers will not have to quarantine upon arrival in Canada. All travelers coming into Canada, regardless of vaccine status, will need a negative PCR or molecular test within 72 hours of requesting entry. For more information on Canadian travel requirements visit, travel.gc.ca/travel-covid.
Kay Faulconer Boger named interim president
of San Diego College of Continuing Education
Kay Faulconer Boger, the mother of former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, will serve as the interim president of the San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE). She beginsher appointment starting Aug. 1.
Boger, former acting vice president of instruction at the College of Continuing Education, followsCarlos O. Turner Cortez, who became chancellor of the San Diego Community College District.
The safe return to campus and advancement of the SDCCE’s Seven Pillars are among Boger’s primary responsibilities as interim president. The pillars address basic needs barriers that adult noncredit students face including employment security, food security,housing security, transportation security, financial literacy, textbook and course material affordability, and intellectual and emotional security.
Boger has more than 30 years of higher education and business consulting experience. Prior to leading SDCCE, she worked as the dean of Ventura College, acting vice president of Instruction at Oxnard College, and was the manager of America’s Job Centers.
SBA announces opening of Paycheck
Protection Program direct foregiveness portal
The U.S. Small Business Administration is launching a streamlined application portal to allow borrowers with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)loans $150,000 or less through participating lenders to apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA.
“The SBA’s new streamlined application portal will simplify forgiveness for millions of our smallest businesses — including many sole proprietors — who used funds from our Paycheck Protection Program loans to survive the pandemic,” said Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman. “The vast majority of businesses waiting for forgiveness have loans under $150,000. These entrepreneurs are busy running their businesses and are challenged by an overly complicated forgiveness process. We need to deliver forgiveness more efficiently so they can get back to enlivening our Main Streets, sustaining our neighborhoods and fueling our nation’s economy.”
The new forgiveness platform will begin accepting applications from borrowers on Aug. 4. Lenders are required to opt-in to this program.
Cross Border Xpress announces expansion of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing area
In response to its ongoing growth, Cross Border Xpress (CBX), the enclosed pedestrian skybridge connecting San Diego directly to the Tijuana International Airport, is carrying out a substantial expansion of the processing area for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBX also launched a CBX app to facilitate the completion of necessary travel documents and further expedite border crossings.
According to Jorge Goytortua, chief executive officer at CBX, work is now underway to add 6,945 square feet of space to CBP’s processing area within the CBX-San Diego terminal. “The expansion allows us to streamline operations and provides a more comfortable passenger experience with four additional double stacked booths that will enable up to 16 officers to simultaneously process passengers during peak demand.”
To accommodate the expansion and passenger growth, CBX funded a 32 percent CBP staffing increase effective as of last week.
Hector Rodela named regional vice president
in Sunrise Management San Diego headquarters
Sunrise Management announced the addition of Hector Rodela as the new regional vice president in its San Diego headquarters.
Rodela takes charge of overseeing all property management functions – including capital improvements on existing properties, new construction, lease-ups, renovations and value add acquisitions – as well as expanding the company’s portfolio in the Southern California region.
Rodela was previously a senior regional portfolio manager of San Diego operations at ConAm Management Corp. where he worked for more than 10 years and was ultimately in charge of over 100 on-site associates, six corporate associates, 25 properties and more than 3,600 units.
Rodela holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in organizational and corporate communications from the University of Texas at El Paso. Additionally, he studied business management and tourism in Spain and culture development in France.
He volunteered as a community developer for underdeveloped communities in Tecate, Mexico for Capaz, a nonprofit organization, and has also volunteered for Community Housing Works and Price Philanthropies.
David Balfour and Carol Salmacia join Buchalter law firm
David Balfour and Carol Salmacia have joined Buchalter as members of the law firm’s Health Care practice.
Balfour brings over two decades of experience, representing clients in the health care sector on a wide range of issues including medical staff peer review proceedings, licensing proceedings, writ proceedings, state and federal court civil litigation, and related appellate proceedings. He represents hospitals, health systems, medical staff, medical groups, and individual health care providers regarding litigation risks and best practices to avoid litigation exposure.
Salmacia has handled thousands of litigated cases involving medical malpractice, legal malpractice, products liability, wrongful death, fraud, breach of contract, and business disputes. She has tried to conclusion over 80 jury trials in California, Nevada and Illinois state courts, and is an experienced neutral arbitrator, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).
Petco Sustainability Vendor Summit to support
expansion of sustainable pet products
Petco Health and Wellness Company Inc. will host its first-ever Sustainability Vendor Summit on Sept. 22, 2021 as part of the company’s public commitment to increase its assortment of sustainable pet products to 50 percent by the end of 2025.
The virtual event, hosted in partnership with ECRM and RangeMe, will connect suppliers of sustainable pet products directly with Petco’s merchandising team.
“We look forward to hosting vendors that share our commitment to preserving the health and wellness of pets, people and the planet we share,” said Petco Chief Merchandising Officer Nick Konat. “As a health and wellness company, we’re acutely aware of our collective impact on our planet’s natural resources, and committed to actively driving positive change within our business and industry. Petco’s Sustainability Vendor Summit will help us accelerate efforts to increase our assortment of sustainable products in close partnership with brands and manufacturers who are also passionate about improving lives.”
SOCi acquires Brandify, accelerates rank
as largest localized marketing platform
SOCi, a marketing platform built for multi-location marketers, announced it has acquired Brandify, an industry-leading provider of location-based digital marketing solutions with nearly 25 years of experience.
The acquisition brings additional functionality to the SOCi platform and market-leading search expertise to the SOCi team. With the combination, SOCi solidifies its position as the largest localized marketing platform globally, with more than 3 million locations under management.
The deal also strengthens SOCi’s relationship with key partners like Google, Facebook, Apple, Yelp and others. The combined business will operate under the SOCi brand.
The transaction comes on the heels of SOCi raising $80 million from JMI Equity, a growth equity firm focused on investing in leading software companies. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. To find out more information about SOCi and its industry-leading central command platform, please visit meetsoci.com.
Election workers still needed for Sept.14 recall election
The Registrar of Voters still needs temporary election workers for the California Gubernatorial Recall Election on Tuesday, Sept. 14. Election workers can earn up to $20 an hour.
There is a particular need for election workers to manage the operations of mail ballot drop-off locations and site managers for in-person voting locations around the county.
The mail ballot drop-off locations will be open for nearly a month and in-person voting locations will be open for four days instead of one. The Registrar’s office will hire election workers rather than use volunteer poll workers because training is more extensive for the expanded time period.
English speakers who are bilingual in Spanish, Filipino, Vietnamese or Chinese are also needed. Persons fluent in one of these languages should indicate it on their application.
Applications are available online.
MTS Board approves contract for Inter-Con Security
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Board of Directors approved a new five-year, $66 million contract with Inter-Con Security to provide security services on Trolleys, buses, and on MTS properties. The contract is for three base years with an option to extend for an additional two years and will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.
At the same meeting, the MTS Board also extended its Fare Evasion Diversion Program for another year.
“This is an important day for the future of MTS passenger safety and security,” said Monica Montgomery Steppe, MTS Boardmember and chair of the agency’s Public Security Committee. “We look forward to Inter-Con joining our efforts to reshape the way MTS manages passenger security.”
Inter-Con employs a diverse workforce of over 30,000 employees across North and South America, Africa, and Europe, with sustained operational growth. Inter-Con provides tailored security services to Fortune 500 companies; public utilities; high net worth individuals; non-profit organizations; as well as federal, state, and local governments around the world.
At MTS, Inter-Con will provide support by employing 190 public safety officers to patrol the system. The MTS service area covers 570 square miles, 62 stations, 53 miles of double-tracked railway. Officers are responsible for conducting fare inspections, acting as system ambassadors, supporting bus and rail operations and other employees in need, helping with lost and found, and much more.
