Daily Business Report: Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021
Saving a rare Southern California butterfly
under the Endangered Species Act
After nearly 30 years of petitions and lawsuits by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday protected one of Southern California’s rarest butterflies, the Hermes copper butterfly, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
The agency also designated 35,000 acres of protected critical habitat in San Diego County. The habitat consists of three units: Lopez Canyon, which includes acreage within Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve; Miramar/Santee; and Southern San Diego.
“Without Endangered Species Act protection, the Hermes copper butterfly would surely be pushed into extinction by Southern California’s rampant development, wildfires driven by climate change and invasive plants,” said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the center. “I’m relieved to finally see this beautiful little butterfly and its habitat protected.”
The small, bright yellow-orange, spotted Hermes copper inhabits coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitats only in San Diego County and northern Baja. Its survival depends on dwindling patches of its host plant, the spiny redberry. Increasingly frequent and severe wildfires also ravage the butterfly’s primary source of nectar, the California buckwheat. Drought and development have also destroyed dozens of historic populations.
The Hermes copper occupied many San Diego coastal areas prior to urbanization, and still persists in some foothill and mountain areas up to 45 miles from the ocean. The butterfly declined from at least 57 historical populations to only 26 populations in a survey this year.
TOP PHOTO: Hermes copper butterfly. (Photo by John Martin, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Researchers worry that low-income Californians
may have trouble repaying jobless benefits
By Jesse Bedayn | CalMatters
A new state policy may require nearly 900,000 Californians to return their unemployment benefits because they may not have been working or looking for work. But some researchers worry the clawback campaign could force low-income individuals to pay back thousands of dollars they no longer have.
The state Economic Development Department began issuing notifications of the proof-of-work requirement last month to one-third of California’s 2.9 million Pandemic Unemployment Assistance recipients. The federal program, which ran from March 2020 and ended in September, was aimed at helping people who don’t usually qualify for unemployment benefits because they are freelancers or small-business owners.
The state is asking them to prove, retroactively, that they were working, or planning to work, prior to filing their unemployment claim. If they can’t provide documentation, they would be ineligible and asked to give the benefits back.
A full repayment could be over $32,000 if a recipient received full benefits throughout the program. In addition, if a claimant offered false information, the state could impose a 30 percent penalty. Some experts are now suggesting giving recipients a pass even if they can’t prove their eligibility.
Viasat announces new contracts with Navy
for network services in Guam and Poland
Viasat, a global communications company in Carlsbad,announced two new contracts with the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) to deliver triple-play services (Wi-Fi, voice and TV) in Guam, and managed Wi-Fi in Poland.
Under the first agreement, Viasat will deploy a new fiber network backbone to support Naval Station Guam and Andersen Air Force Base, as well as upgrade the buildings at these facilities with new Wi-Fi and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) equipment.
In a separate contract, Viasat will support the Navy at its new Naval Support Facility (NSF) Redzikowo in Poland by providing reliable, resilient connectivity. Specifically, the facility received a new Wi-Fi network and management support system, which are similar to the Wi-Fi services that Viasat already provides to more than 100 Navy installations around the world.
Will Rhatigan named advocacy
manager for San Diego Bike Coalition
The San Diego Bike Coalition has named Will Rhatigan as its newest advocacy manager.
Rhatigan will lead the development of strategies to track bicycle infrastructure projects, policies and plans to ensure that cyclist safety is prioritized in the region’s planning.
His main focus will be to work with local government officials and communities to make cycling more accessible and equitable.
While traveling through Europe as a writer for Let’s Go Travel Guides during one of his summer breaks, Rhatigan observed how effective bicycle transportation infrastructure could revolutionize a city’s quality of life.
He then became committed to helping build a multimodal transportation network back in the United States.
A lifelong cyclist, Rhatigan is committed to building sustainable communities that run on bicycles.
He is a graduate of Harvard College.
Sanford Burnham Prebys adds
3 to its leadership team
Sanford Burnham Prebys announced new appointments to its executive leadership team, fortifying the Institute’s position as a world leader in nonprofit biomedical research.
The new team members include Amar Duvvur as chief financial officer, Christine Dittmer as chief development officer, and Sonali Fonseca as vice president of strategic initiatives.
Duvvur will oversee the financial health of the institute and guide the overall financial strategy. Duvvur comes to Sanford Burnham Prebys after nine years at AbbVie.
Dittmer will lead the institute in its strategic fundraising initiatives. She joins Sanford Burnham Prebys after three years as national vice president, major gifts, for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Fonseca will lead the implementation of new programs to help the institute better achieve its mission of finding cures for human disease. Prior to joining Sanford Burnham Prebys, she led the commercial strategy and execution for Elsevier’s ClinicalPath business.
New strike begins for more than 250
Republic Services workers in San Diego
More than 250 workers at Republic Services in San Diego – members of Teamsters Local 542 – went on strike to demand the company meet at the bargaining table and negotiate a fair contract. The dispute in San Diego is one of several other contracts that the Teamsters are currently negotiating across the country.
Republic Services is the second-largest trash collection, disposal and landfill corporation in America, with facilities in over 40 states. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 7,000 Republic workers nationwide. Teamster members who work for Republic Services are currently in negotiations for new contracts with the company in eight locations: San Diego, San Francisco, Stockton, San Jose and Richmond, Calif.; Seattle; Pittsburgh; and New Orleans.
Pathfinder Partners completes
$29.5 million sale of The Harrison Apartments
Pathfinder Partners, a San Diego-based private equity firm specializing in multifamily real estate investments, announced the sale of The Harrison Apartments, a 119-unit multifamily community in Aurora, Colo., for $29.5 million.
The Harrison, a 119-unit property located at 12000 East Kansas Drive, offers 1- and 2-bedroom units. Since their purchase in 2018, Pathfinder repositioned and rebranded the community, which underwent comprehensive interior renovations, including new flooring, fixtures, finishes and countertops, stainless steel appliances, and fresh paint.
SkySafe raises $30 million Series B
funding to accelerate company growth
SkySafe, an airspace security and management technology company in San Diego, announced a $30 million Series B investment led by Kingfisher Investment Advisors with participation from new investors Gaingels, and MIT alumni investment fund Castor Ventures Previous investor Andreessen Horowitz, who led the seed and Series A investments, also joined the round. To date, SkySafe has raised $45 million in total financing. The fresh capital will help further accelerate the company’s growth through strategic hiring, R&D, and expanded production of its airspace security system for commercial adoption.
SkySafe’s technology applies advanced radio technology, reverse engineering, and deep threat analysis to provide the infrastructure needed for the commercial drone industry.
Multifamily Utility Co. in partnership
with Nutiliti to modernize utility management
Multifamily Utility Co. (MUC), al San Diego-based utility submetering and billing company, is partnering with Nutiliti, a provider of cloud-based utility management technology solutions to the real estate industry, to bring a comprehensive set of utility billing solutions to multifamily operators across the United States.
The partnership will allow Nutiliti to extend its reach to additional markets in North America, providing them with regulatory and operational capabilities in all states in which MUC currently operates, and will allow MUC to provide customers, including multifamily property management companies, with a frictionless electronic bill presentment and payment solution.
“MUC is delighted to partner with Nutiliti to provide a new suite of offerings to customers,” said Brian Stone, CEO of Multifamily Utility Company. “We believe this is a natural product extension for both of our businesses and leverages our respective core competencies.”
California American Water introduces
new online customer portal
California American Water has updated its online customer portal, MyWater, allowing customers to quickly view bill details, review service alerts in their area, sign-up online for payment assistance and more.
The new interface and self-service features will improve customer experience for both customers and the customer service team.
“This enhanced version includes a series of improvements including automation of state-specific rules and guides for our Customer Care Agents, allowing representatives to focus more on serving our customers,” said California American Water President Kevin Tilden. “These enhancements will enable customer to benefit from the intuitive, easy-to-use interface with expanded self-service capabilities and 24/7 access to do business with us the way they want to.”
Cubic Defence Australia awarded contract
to support Australian Army
Cubic Defence Australia has been awarded up to 14-year contract to support the Australian Army’s Combat Training Centre Live Instrumentation Simulation, Range Instrumentation, and Information System (CTC-LIS).
The Combat Training Centre enables the Australian military’s largest, most advanced, and potent teams to enhance their competitive advantage by empowering them to reach their potential; and the CTC-LIS provides the technology basis to achieve this mission.
The system is based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville and deploys regularly around the country to training events, including in some of the most remote training areas in Australia.
