Daily Business Report: Friday, April 7, 2023
What stands between you and a four-day work week?
By Grace Gedye | CalMatters
It’s Thursday evening. You pack up your things at work and hit the road. Maybe you’re thinking about a lunch plan you’ve got with a friend or a show you plan to binge. But you’re not thinking about clocking in tomorrow: You’ve got a three-day weekend.
All your weekends, in fact, are three-day weekends.
It’s a utopian vision for some. The standard work week in the U.S. has been stuck at 40 hours for almost a century, even as workers have become dramatically more productive. Evidence from pilot programs suggests that shifting to 32-hour weeks without reducing pay is better for workers and doesn’t hurt revenues. Companies that try it largely stick with it.
But opponents of the idea say most businesses would incur increased costs they couldn’t bear as a result.
California lawmakers have considered — however briefly — legislation that would allow workers to propose alternate 40 hour weeks, such as four, 10-hour days, more than a dozen times since 2005. While business groups oppose the idea of paying workers the same rate for eight fewer working hours per week, they do support giving individual workers the option to propose alternate 40-hour schedules. Labor groups, however, oppose that idea.
Employees at Pinterest work at their desks in San Francisco on Nov. 13, 2014. (Photo by Jeff Chiu, AP Photo, via CalMatters)
County supervisors approve anti-tobacco grant
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the acceptance of more than $1.6 million from the California Department of Justice Tobacco Grant Program to ensure that
businesses the incorporated area follow the proper protocols required to maintain their license to sell tobacco products.
The funds will be distributed over three years, ultimately reducing the opportunity for kids to illegally purchase tobacco products. The money will allow more staff to conduct decoy operations to test tobacco retailers, ensuring they do not sell to youth or sell flavored tobacco products. It will also provide educational outreach to businesses.
Group pitches long-shot proposal to build
$2.5 billion sports complex on Chula Vista bayfront
An investor group that is said to have long eyed ownership of a Major League Soccer franchise is pursuing a long-shot venture to build the nation’s largest, soccer-specific stadium with up to 50,000 seats and two attached hotels on a 136-acre portion of the Chula Vista Bayfront formerly occupied by a power plant.
The proposal is being floated by Petra Development Group, a limited liability company formed solely to secure a Major League Soccer team to play at a future facility on the currently vacant site in San Diego’s South Bay.
San Diego Tourism Authority and Tripadvisor
launch unique immersive mural art project
The San Diego Tourism Authority has partnered with Tripadvisor to attract visitors to San Diego through an innovative art installation and augmented reality filter. Running now through April 30, “The Sunny Side of Things,” a first-of-its-kind immersive mural art campaign, will appear in three of the largest U.S. cities: New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Created by Wanderlab, Tripadvisor’s in-house creative and content studio for the SDTA, the street murals were hand-painted by local San Diego artists Channin Fulton (New York Mural), Hanna Gundrum (Los Angeles Mural) and Phoebe Cornog (Chicago Mural).
Former Navy pilot Dennis DuBard takes
command of the San Diego Bowl Game Association
The San Diego Bowl Game Association’s board of directors has elected Dennis DuBard president of the nonprofit effort in 2023. He succeeds Cherry Park. DuBard is a 30-year U.S. Navy veteran, retiring in 2007 at the rank of captain.
He accumulated over 3,000 hours flying helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.
Following his service in the Navy, he worked in the defense industry for over 14 years.
First as an analyst at Whitney Bradley & Brown, Inc., and 12 years with General Dynamics NASSCO as a communications and government relations executive.
He retired from NASSCO in December 2021.
The association has overseen the annual Holiday Bowl football game since 1978. In February of 2022, the organization announced it also has assumed the role as the region’s sports commission – Sports San Diego. In February of this year, it added an early season college basketball tournament to its portfolio – the Rady Children’s Invitational, which tips off this Thanksgiving.
SDSU VP receives San Diego County’s
Public Health Champion Award
The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) has named Hala Madanat a Director’s 2023 Live Well San Diego22nd Public Health Champion in recognition of how the initiatives she has spearheaded have benefited the health of San Diego residents.
As San Diego State University’s vice president for research and innovation, Madanat stewards the university’s expansive research enterprise and leads the development of the SDSU Mission Valley Innovation District.
Last fall, Madanat and SDSU School of Public Health Director Eyal Oren led the effort for
the first national Academic Health and Human Services Department, a joint venture between SDSU and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services. This collaboration established the Live Well Center for Innovation and Leadership to address the need for a diverse workforce pipeline and the health disparities pervasive in our community today.
Escondido industrial building sold for $3.99 million
ESCONDIDO — A 17,760-square-foot, concrete block industrial building in Escondido has been acquired by Eleven45 Industrial LLC at a price of $3.99 million. The building consists of 10 units leased to nine small businesses and tenants. The buyer intends to rehab the units and lease any vacancies at market rent. The seller, Larraburu Trust, was represented by Trent France of Lee & Associates – NSDC. The buyer was represented by Inland Pacific.
Oceanside’s Belching Beaver brewery starts
distribution in Pittsburgh and Alleghey County
OCEANSIDE — Belching Beaver, a brewery headquartered in Oceanside, has started distribution in Pittsburgh and throughout Allegheny County via wholesale distributor Wilson-McGinley. Pennsylvania becomes the 13th state outside of California, and the farthest east, to carry the brewery’s beer. Seven different beers, including two on draft, are now available at restaurants, bars, and retail locations throughout the Steel City and surrounding areas. There is one 12-pack variety pack and one 19.2-ounce “stovepipe” can being sold at retail as well.
Encinitas’ Thomas L. Brown elected senior
VP of Associated General Contractors of America
ENCINITAS — Thomas L. Brown of Encinitas-based Sierra Pacific West has been elected senior vice president of the Associated General Contractors of America. Jackson, Miss.-based Todd Roberts of ERS will serve as vice president, and Shea De Lutis of Clark Construction Group will serve as treasurer. The officers were elected by the association’s membership. Their one-year terms began at the conclusion of AGC’s annual convention earlier this month in Las Vegas.
Girl Scouts to volunteer at Feeding San Diego
center to earn their Climate Controller patch
SAN DIEGO — Fifty San Diego-area Girl Scouts will be at Feeding San Diego’s volunteer center in Sorrento Valley on Saturday to sort, glean and pack food to be distributed to San Diegans facing hunger. By doing this, each will earn a Climate Controller patch created by Feeding San Diego’s corporate partner SOLV Energy in partnership with Girl Scouts San Diego. The volunteer center is at 9477 Waples St., Suite 100. The event will last from 9 to 11 a.m.
Classy announces finalists
for 10th annual Classy Awards
Classy, a giving platform that enables nonprofits to connect supporters with the causes they care about, announced the finalists for its 10th annual Classy Awards. Due to the amount of impressive nominations, Classy expanded the finalist pool to 54 for the first time. The full list of finalists is available here. Since its inception in 2009, the Classy Awards have grown to become the premier awards for the social sector. This year’s finalists span grassroots organizations and nationally-recognized leaders that work across the nation and world towards real change in causes such as mental health, food insecurity, human rights, and education.
Aermetric deploys maintenance
software to Alaska Airlines
SAN DIEGO — Aerospace and defense startup Aermetric is deploying its maintenance software to leading commercial carrier Alaska Airlines. The Aermetric Maintenance Platform is a SaaS maintenance and logistics hub that enables near-real-time analytics and smart fleet management for enterprise assets. According to Aermetric, its proprietary technology increases aircraft availability while providing substantial savings from unplanned maintenance. Aermetric has offices in San Diego and San Francisco.
CRISPR QC co-founder Kiana Aran
makes Inc.’s 2023 Female Founders list
SAN DIEGO — CRISPR QC co-founder Kiana Aran has been recognized by Inc. magazine as a top 200 Female Founder. This prestigious list highlights women entrepreneurs who are making a significant impact in their respective industries and driving change. Aran is a world-renowned bioengineer and innovator. She co-founded CRISPR QC with the mission to provide cutting-edge tools and technologies for CRISPR research and development. Aran is the inventor of the CRISPR-Chip, a groundbreaking technology that enables real-time, direct measurements of CRISPR activity that can advance sustainable agriculture and gene therapy development.
Former Go Electric CEO joins Xendee
Corporation’s board of advisors
SAN DIEGO — The Xendee Corporation, a leading DER and EV charging infrastructure design and operation software provider, announced that Lisa Laughner has joined its board of advisors. With 30 years of international experience innovating the aerospace industry and then leading meter renewable energy solutions to enable facilities, communities, and military bases to be energy-resilient and sustainable, Laughner brings a wealth of relevant expertise and knowledge to the Xendee team. Laughner is a former executive of Go Electric Inc. and Rolls Royce.
Toby Carrington appointed chief
business officer at Seismic
SAN DIEGO— Seismic, the global leader in enablement, announced it has appointed Toby Carrington to chief business officer, effective immediately. In his new role, he will be responsible for leading all strategic and operational aspects of Seismic with a focus on igniting growth across the organization. Carrington’s promotion bolsters Seismic’s executive leadership team and furthers the company’s position as a mature global software leader. Across his four-year tenure at Seismic, Carrington has served as executive vice president, global operations, and senior vice president, revenue operations prior to that.
Sunrise Management adds 2 California
multifamily projects to its portfolio
SAN DIEGO — San Diego-based Sunrise Management has taken over day-to-day management of Arte West, a 228-unit, four-story luxury community in Santa Ana, and Arte, a high-end 182-unit apartment community on 4.4 acres in Rancho Cucamonga. Completed in 2019, Arte is a class A development located at 10130 Foothill Blvd. in Rancho Cucamonga – consisting of six, four-story buildings with one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Arte West at 3630 Westminster Ave. is a one-building development.
