Daily Business Report: January 29, 2024
Why the Cheesecake Factory wage
theft case matters for California
By Jeanne Kuang | CalMatters
National restaurant chain The Cheesecake Factory and some of its contractors have paid $1 million to settle a major California wage theft case, in which state labor officials accused the companies of stiffing hundreds of janitors of overtime pay and breaks.
Janitors at eight Cheesecake Factory restaurants in Orange and San Diego counties were forced to work as many as 10 extra hours a week without being paid overtime, the state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office said in a 2018 citation.
“My coworkers and I had to work long nights cleaning the kitchen and dining room of the restaurant,” said Naxhili Perez, who cleaned a San Diego Cheesecake Factory from 2016 to 2018. “We worked until morning, all without proper meal and rest breaks.”
The state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office formally announced the settlement and handed out checks to former workers at an event in San Diego. The office is now hoping to get the attention of other ex-employees who may qualify for a payout for unpaid work they did between 2014 and 2017.
Top photo: The Cheesecake Factory restaurant at the Los Cerritos shopping center mall on Nov. 26, 2020. (Photo by Kirby Lee via AP Photo)
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City of San Diego completes work needed
to restore railroad Quiet Zone Downtown
The City of San Diego has completed the required work and submitted documentation to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for the improvements at 12 Downtown intersections in order to reinstate the Quiet Zone. Without the Quiet Zone designation, trains have been required to sound their horns when approaching highway-rail grade crossings through Downtown.
As of Friday, the city created and installed more than 120 railroad crossing signs and completed all required improvements to road markings at Laurel Street, Grape Street, Cedar Street, Beech Street, Ash Street, Broadway, Kettner and G streets, Hawthorn Street, Market Street, Front Street, First Avenue and Fifth Avenue crossings. Field inspections of the improvements were completed by the FRA.
The city also completed the required traffic survey, or Average Daily Trip Count, to determine the number of vehicles entering the crossings daily. These data and other required documentation were part of the response that was submitted to the FRA for review.
In order for the Quiet Zone to be restored, the FRA must review and approve the improvements completed by the city and provide a notice of the reinstatement. City staff are communicating with FRA about timelines and will provide updates as they become available.
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City of San Diego offers emergency grants for
storm-impacted small businesses and nonprofits
In an effort to support local businesses impacted by the recent record storm, the City of San Diego will launch an emergency response grant to provide funds for up to 100 small businesses and nonprofits. The Business Emergency Response & Resilience Grant will make financial assistance available with up to $2,500 per business and up to $5,000 for businesses and nonprofits in the federally designated Promise Zone and Low-Moderate Income Census tract areas.
The application period will open in mid-February. The city is encouraging business owners to track any expenses related to storm recovery.
Eligible expenses for the grant funds include supplies and labor for storm cleanup efforts; repairs and equipment replacement not covered by insurance; employee wages; and insurance deductibles. The current budget for this program is $370,000 through the City’s Small Business Enhancement Program.
For more information, visit SanDiego.gov/storm.
Scripps clinical director wins award for advancing palliative care
A clinical director of palliative medicine and leader in the growth of palliative care in San Diego has been named the 2023 recipient of the Doris A. Howell Award for Advancing Palliative Care, presented annually by the CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care.
MaryCarol Reeder, the palliative care integrations director for Scripps Health in La Jolla, is this year’s Howell honoree, the Cal State San Marcos-based institute announced. Starting as an emergency room nurse at Scripps Encinitas, Reeder worked her way up through various leadership positions and now drives the growth of outpatient palliative care in the Scripps health care system.
A $25,000 gift in Howell’s honor from philanthropist Darlene Marcos Shiley accompanies the annual award and is bestowed on a local health care organization with ties to the selected recipient. This year’s beneficiary organization is the Pathways Program at Hospice of the North Coast. Pathways is a grant-funded palliative home-based service that provides personalized care.
Voter information pamphlets go out
to voters for March Presidential Primary
Voter information pamphlets are on their way to the County’s 1.9 million registered voters for the March 5 presidential primary election.
When you receive your pamphlet, check the back for your party registration. Your political party preference determines which presidential primary candidates will appear on your primary election ballot.
The Registrar urgers voters to review each political party’s rules if you plan to vote in the presidential primary contest.
Starting this election, you’ll see the Registrar’s voter information pamphlets will look a little different. They will provide the same important information but will be larger in size, similar to the Secretary of State’s Voter Information Guide.
Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, General Atomics,
others secure $100 million in new Navy contracts
The U.S. Navy recently awarded local defense leaders Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, and General Atomics contracts amounting to more than $100 million. Funds will support the modification of Northrop’s MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Air Systems, GA’s production and delivery of two Advanced Arresting Gear water twisters and 140 Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System Position Senor Blocks, and BAE System’s software development and maintenance of various air traffic control and landing systems for the Navy.
Sharp Rees-Stealy Otay Ranch Medical Center
begins phase two of $86 million expansion
Nearly doubling its size to serve the needs of the community, Sharp Rees-Stealy Otay Ranch Medical Center, part of Sharp HealthCare, is set to add 60,000 square feet of space in South County. Expected to open in early 2025, the $86 million transformation will consist of an urgent care center, radiology services, and specialty departments including oncology, dermatology, audiology, and physical therapy for adults and children.
Lassen Therapeutics lands $85 million Series B
Led by exising investor Frazier Life Sciences and new investor Longitude Capital, San Diego biotech Lassen Therapeutics closed an oversubscribed $85 million Series B. Funds from the financing round will go toward clinicasl trials for a thyroid eye diseasse therapeutic and continued development of potential treatment for cancer that targets the interleukin-18 binding protein.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite brings
more AI power to your next PC
Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon X Elite for personal computers, billed as “an AI supercharged platform to revolutionize the PC.” The chip is expected to be released in the middle of 2024. The chip maker called the Snapdragon X Elite the “most powerful computing processor it has ever created for the PC.” The processor represents “a leap forward” in AI processing by the personal computers that we rely upon for communication, work, entertainment, and education, the company said.
Radionetics Oncology secures $52.5 million in Series A funding
Radionetics Oncology, a clinical stage radiopharmaceutical company, successfully secured a $52.5 million Series A financing round, led by Frazier Life Sciences, 5AM Ventures, and DCVC Bio, along with participation from GordonMD and Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, bringing its total raised capital to $82.5 million.
Illumina and the San Diego Zoo are sequencing
koala genomes to investigate disease
The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and DNA-sequencing giant Illumina are examining the genetic information of nearly 100 koalas spanning 30 years to get a better understanding of koala retrovirus, or KoRV. Scientists suspect through growing evidence that certain variants of koala retrovirus — all koalas carry some form of it — are associated with common diseases and health issues they have, such as leukemia, lymphoma and deadly fungal infections. Read more
Nucleus Biologics and Core Biogenesis announce collaboration
Nucleus Biologics, a leading provider of custom cell culture media solutions for the cell and gene therapy industry, has signed a manufacturing, distribution, and collaboration agreement with Core Biogenesis, an innovator in the field of recombinant human proteins expressed in plants. The agreement makes Nucleus Biologics the GMP manufacturer for Core Biogenesis’ recombinant proteins and a distributor for the cell and gene therapy market.
Brain Corp announces unprecedented scale
for autonomous mobile robots in 2023
Brain Corp, an autonomous technology company creating transformative solutions in robotics and AI, announced a series of significant milestones achieved in autonomous robotics during 2023. Through the BrainOS Robotics Platform, which powers the largest global fleet of the Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) in operation in commercial public spaces, Brain Corp delivers insightful and efficient automated solutions in both commercial floor cleaning and inventory management.
National Funding celebrates its 25th anniversary
National Funding, one of the largest U.S. specialty financing companies serving small- and medium-sized businesses celebrates its 25th anniversary on Jan. 27. It has provided over $4.5 billion in working capital and equipment leasing for SMBs nationwide. David Gilbert, a USC Marshall School of Business graduate, founded National Funding in 1999 to make a difference in how SMBs obtain funds. CEO Gilbert set out to be the champion of American small business owners and bridge the gap left by traditional lenders.
Ryan Bonner joins Bespoke Partners as partner
Bespoke Partners, the largest retained executive search and leadership advisory service firm for software companies, announced that Ryan Bonner has joined the firm as a partner in its Go-to-Market (GTM) Practice, leading the company’s recruiting of chief marketing officers for clients. With almost 30 years of experience in leading teams as an operator, talent management consulting and recruiting top-tier executives, Bonner will work with software and SaaS companies to bring them marketing leaders who excel at driving growth and executing on value creation plans.
