Daily Business Report: Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021
California bullet train funds stalemated
Costs are rising and Newsom is having trouble
getting money from Legislature
By Dan Walters | CalMatters
While Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 770 bills passed by the Legislature this year, he couldn’t approve a big one that he wanted badly — a $4.2 billion appropriation to shore up the state’s much-delayed, increasingly expensive and obviously mismanaged bullet train project.
He couldn’t sign it because the Legislature, controlled by his fellow Democrats, won’t send it to him. Legislative leaders, especially Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, are disenchanted with the project and want the money to be spent, instead, on improving local commuter rail service.
The $4.2 billion is the last bit of a $9.95 billion bond issue approved by voters 13 years ago on the promise that it would attract enough other financing for a $33 billion high-speed rail link between San Francisco and Los Angeles with future extensions to San Diego and Sacramento.
For political reasons, it was decided that an initial segment would be built in the San Joaquin Valley but the starter line has never really gotten started. There’s been some construction, most notably some sections of viaduct in and around Fresno, but it’s years behind schedule and has only a fraction of the money needed to cover its ever-rising costs.
Los Angeles Times journalist Ralph Vartabedian, who’s been a one-man truth squad on the project’s managerial and financial woes, reported last week that two of the San Joaquin Valley line’s major contractors want an extra $1 billion-plus for unforeseen costs. That would raise it to nearly $23 billion or two thirds of what the entire 800-mile system was originally supposed to cost.
PHOTO: A conceptual illustration of California’s bullet train. (Image by NC3D via Flickr)
Amazon warehouse plans fall apart
as county considers worker protections
Amazon has abandoned its plans for a new warehouse in El Cajon. Motherboard broke the news Tuesday and reported that the developer behind the project blamed a proposal that would require employers on county-owned land to pay workers more and offer them stronger protections.
That proposal is not yet law — the Union-Tribune reported last week that it’s still in the early stages — but the mere mention of increased labor costs was enough for Amazon, one of the biggest companies in the world and one of the most anti-union, to back out.
An Amazon spokeswoman, however, told Motherboard that it will “continue to assess opportunities to invest and grow across the region.”
— Voice of San Diego
Chamber reacts favorably to U.S. lifting
of land port of entry travel restrictions
The U.S. government next month will lift pandemic-era travel limits along the Canadian and Mexican borders for travelers who are vaccinated against the coronavirus, allowing them to enter the U.S. for non-essential activities, like tourism and family visits, for the first time since March 2020.
The announcement was greeted favorably by Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, who said the travel restrictions for over 18 months directly impacted the region’s economy, tourism, retail, small businesses and cross-border workforce.
“The Chamber acknowledges the efforts of business organizations and government officials in the region who joined us in advocating for the border community and the lifting of land travel restrictions,” said Sanders. “This includes efforts to promote vaccination on both sides of the border and the cross-border vaccination program led by the Mexican Consulate and San Diego Board of County Supervisors—which allowed over 26,000 workers in Tijuana to be vaccinated.”
Starting in early November, the Department of Homeland Security will exempt travelers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 from the non-essential travel restrictions in place along both U.S. land borders, senior Biden administration officials told reporters during a call Tuesday.
David and Lucile Packard Foundation awards
$25 million for Hispanic COVID-19 support
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation awarded the U.S.–Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership (BPP) $2.5 million to significantly increase COVID-19 support for Hispanic and undocumented communities in the United States.
The partnership between the Foundation, the BPP, the Ventanilla de Salud health and wellness outreach program of the Mexican consular offices in the United States, and 51 nonprofit agencies will drastically increase COVID-19 testing and vaccinations and allow for trusted, safe, and effective delivery of coronavirus information.
This program will address multiple access barriers in the Hispanic and undocumented community, including fear and vaccine hesitancy, bias and discrimination, lack of health insurance, limited English language proficiency, and concern for loss of employment.
(W)right On Communications hires new team
members, moves to new Downtown offices
(W)right On Communications has added three new team members, a new Downtown San Diego address for its head office and joined the International Public Relations Network (IPRN), a global network of more than 50 independently owned and managed communications and public relations agencies in over 40 countries.
Newly appointed Director of Creative Services Felicia Watson draws on more than 20 years of diverse creative experience to lead all agency creative capabilities.
Senior Communications Strategist Parker Little brings more than a decade of agency experience and is focused on client partners in the luxury hospitality, senior living and education sectors.
Communications Coordinator Jen Moynihan supports the (W)right On team and a wide variety of client partner programs with an emphasis on media relations, social media campaigns and other project coordination.
The agency has also moved its headquarters from La Jolla to Downtown San Diego offices, taking the circular 27th floor near the top of the iconic Emerald Plaza towers complex at 402 W. Broadway.
Synergy Health Partners names Daniel Siegal
as its new chief executive officer
Synergy Health Partners, a San Diego hospital services company, announced the hiring of Daniel G. Siegel as chief executive officer.
“Mr. Siegel, with his relentless focus on client satisfaction and company culture, is an exciting choice to lead this team forward,” said William Sanger, board chairman. “His versatile background includes building the fastest growing IntraOperative Neuromonitoring company in the country, selling to a $3 billion public company, then leading their 650-person Global Services team covering 100,000 annual surgeries at 1,000 hospitals nationwide. Mr. Siegel understands service at scale.”
Synergy Health Partners serves hospitals in need of physician leaders and call coverage compensation solutions by delivering custom provider teams and services designed to bolster overall performance.
Cognitive Medical Systems and Thornhill
Medical receive $853,668 Army award
Cognitive Medical Systems and Thornhill Medical have been selected by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) to receive $853,668 from the U.S. Department of Defense to advance medical device interoperability and remote control to address pandemic conditions and a growing need to support military prolonged emergency field care.
The award is part of USAMRDC’s efforts to improve military field care, keep personnel healthy and combat ready. The treatment of mass casualties, whether on the battlefield or at home has historically been predicated on the availability of well-equipped specially trained medical staff and the ability to rapidly evacuate patients.
Mitchell, Genex and Coventry unite
under a single, new brand — Enlyte
Mitchell, Genex and Coventry formally announced the creation of their new parent brand, Enlyte. The three businesses have been moving towards this unification since the merger of Mitchell and Genex in 2018, followed by the acquisition of Coventry in 2020.
This combination under the new Enlyte brand creates a one-of-a-kind organization in the Property & Casualty industry with technology innovation, clinical services and network solutions, all backed by an unrivaled collection of expertise across the entire claims continuum, the companies said.
The Mitchell, Genex and Coventry brands will continue to operate as solution providers, making the entire collection of the companies’ trusted products and services available to all Enlyte customers.
Cellibre closes an $11.5 million USD Series A funding
Cellibre Inc., a manufacturing technology company, announced the close of an oversubscribed and upsized Series A financing. The round was led by Merida Capital Holdings with participation from Cellibre company founders as well as Scott Gordon, Flatiron Venture Partners, L2V, Entourage Effect Capital, and Delta Emerald Ventures.
In a recent paper published in Nature Sustainability, it was estimated that the current greenhouse gas footprint of U.S. cannabis production was equivalent to the annual emissions from over 15 million vehicles.
Cellibre’s patented technology could reduce the resources required to make cannabinoid-based products by as much as 100-fold.
Cellibre’s lead investor, Merida Capital Holdings, is considered a top institutional investor in the broader cannabinoid market with a deep understanding of the sector’s ecosystem.
Qualcomm announces new $10 billion
stock repurchase authorization
Qualcomm Inc. announced that its board of directors has approved a new $10 billion stock repurchase authorization. The new stock repurchase authorization is in addition to the company’s stock repurchase program announced in July 2018, which has $0.9 billion of repurchase authority remaining.
The new stock repurchase program has no expiration date. The timing of stock repurchases and the number of shares of common stock to be repurchased will depend upon prevailing market conditions and other factors.
Repurchases under this program will be made using the company’s cash resources and may be commenced or suspended from time-to-time at the company’s discretion without prior notice. Repurchases may be made in the open market, through 10b5-1 programs, through accelerated share repurchase programs, in privately negotiated transactions or through the use of derivative instruments.
Two San Diego programs named to Casting
Workbooks’ top 20 acting schools in the U.S.
The Old Globe and University of San Diego Graduate Program and the UC San Diego Department of Theatre & Dance have been named among the top 20 acting schools in the United States by Casting Workbook.
Providing essential learning and educational content for both aspiring and professional actors has been one of Casting Workbook’s core objectives. Beginning later in October 2021, Casting Workbook members will be able to audit a free virtual acting class or workshop experience from one of the top listed schools each month, and access previous months’ classes as part of their membership.
The selection process was thorough and comprehensive — schools were selected based on an extensive review of their curriculum information, public ratings and surveys, media analysis and private industry-expert consultation.
