Daily Business Report: Dec. 13, 2024
Gambling companies spend big to defeat three California lawmakers
California’s card rooms lost a costly legislative fight this year as they sought to kill a bill that would allow their competitors, tribal casinos, to sue them. But that didn’t stop the gambling halls from punishing a handful of lawmakers for their votes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the gambling bill into law. In an extraordinary display of political retribution, California’s card room industry spent more than $3 million in the lead up to the November election to oppose four lawmakers who played key roles in the bill’s passage. Three of the candidates targeted by the card rooms ended up losing, including the rare defeat of an incumbent Democratic senator.
— Ryan Sabalow, CalMatters
Top Photo: Card room at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles County. (Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters)
ICE looking for a new detention center in California
Federal immigration authorities are looking for a potential new detention center in Northern California, an effort that alarms advocates and some Democratic state lawmakers as President-elect Donald Trump gears up to unleash his mass deportation plan.
In August, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a request for information to identify additional detention bed space in the state as other federal agencies intensified border enforcement. The effort began in the wake of the Biden administration’s sweeping asylum ban, implemented in June, for migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border outside designated entry points. Under the ban, border agents can deport such migrants within hours or days without considering their asylum claims.
Advocates say an expansion of detention space would give Trump a runway to carry out more mass deportations in California. Immigrants in counties with more detention space are more likely to be arrested and detained, according to research by advocacy groups. — Wendy Fry, CalMatters
California AG charges construction firm
with felony wage theft and tax evasion
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed 31 felony charges of wage theft and tax evasion against a construction company that he said cost the state and the company’s workers $2.6 million, he announced today.
Bonta filed the criminal complaint on Aug. 26 alleging that US Framing West dodged more than $2.5 million in state payroll taxes and underpaid workers on a public housing project in Cathedral City, in Riverside County. The company, which builds wood framing for such projects as hotels, apartments and housing developments, shorted workers at least $40,000 when it failed to pay the prevailing wage, Bonta said.
“For some reason US Framing West seems to think it can operate outside the prevailing wage laws of California,” Bonta said in a press conference in Los Angeles today. “I’m here with a simple message: They cannot. No company can.”
— Deborah Brennan, Cal Matters
Porter Airlines celebrates inaugural flight
from San Diego to Toronto, Canada
Porter Airlines celebrated the departure of its first nonstop flight from San Diego International Airport (SAN) to Toronto-Pearson International Airport (YYZ) during an inaugural celebration on Dec. 10. Porter Airlines is the 18th airline to offer service from San Diego. This inaugural flight marks the beginning of four-weekly nonstop flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and further expands service from San Diego to Toronto and other Canadian destinations. Passengers can also enjoy seamless connections to Europe with Porter’s airline partner, Air Transat through connections at Toronto-Pearson airport.
All nonstop SAN-YYZ flights are operated with the new Embraer E195-E2 that features 132-seats in a two-by-two seating configuration per row –which means no middle seat– and is equipped with free Wi-Fi for all passengers.
Porter Airlines’ Embraer E195-E2 aircraft with two-seat configuration.
GSA awards Viasat a $568.7 million contract
to support tech modernization of U.S. forces
The General Services Administration has awarded a $568.7 million contract to Carlsbad-based Viasat to support the continued migration of the command, control, communications, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities from special forces to general purpose forces. The communications company will identify, purchase and integrate emerging technologies in line with C5ISR requirements under the contract. The five-year contract is expected to not only drive innovation in critical military communications but also inject significant economic activity into North County.
San Diego County GDP rises to $261.7 billion,
bigger than half of the U.S. states
San Diego County last year saw its GDP rise 1.4% to $261.7 billion — bigger than half the states in America. In data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. gross domestic product grew 2.9% to $22.7 trillion — by far the largest in the world. Slower GDP growth was common across the U.S. in 2023 in the bureau’s delayed data, but followed major gains during and after the pandemic. For instance, San Diego’s GDP rose 7.3% in 2021 and 3.1% in 2022. GDP is the value of goods and services produced by the county’s economy less the value of goods and services used up in production. The bureau uses real values, which takes into account inflation and is part of the reason it takes longer to calculate data. San Diego County had the 10th-largest GDP in the nation.
County awarded grant to waive permit
fees for home cooking program
The County’s Department of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ) received a grant from the state to waive permit fees for those who want to operate a Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO). MEHKOs are home kitchens that operate as mini restaurants. The opportunity to run a business without the overhead costs and infrastructure required of a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant facility is a game-changer for the existing MEHKOs participants.
“There are so many people that have been able to enter the food industry and fulfill lifelong dreams about business ownership and provide food to the community that previously were unable to,” said Executive Director of the COOK Alliance Roya Bagheri, Esq. All existing MEHKO permits at the start of the program were provided a fee waiver for their next health permit renewal. All remaining funding will be put toward offsetting new MEHKO permit fees. Visit the Home Kitchen Operations webpage to learn more.
Two-unit apartment property in San Diego sells for $1.2 million
Marcus & Millichap announced the sale of a two-unit apartment property, 3739-41 Jewell St. in San Diego for $1.2 million. The buyer ws a limited liability company. The seller was an individual/personal trust. Built in 1953, the property features a unit mix of two one-bedroom/one-bath units that feature granite countertops, hardwood floors, large side yards for tenants and an additional non-conforming living area in the garages. The property is located only one block from Mission Bay and Crown Point Park. The property is located only one block from Mission Bay and Crown Point Park.
Cole Silverman amd Carson Trujillo of Marcus & Millichap had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller..
CSUSM Board of Trustees OK designs for new
Integrated Science and Engineering Building
Cal State San Marcos is set to break ground on its first state-supported academic building in over a decade. Th Integrated Science and Engineering Building, approved by CSU Board of Trustees, will open in fall 2027.
New golf card sized machine will test
for treatable diseases in record time
A one-of-a-kind machine that works twice as fast as current practices when testing for diseases is heading for the County of San Diego’s new Public Health Lab, allowing epidemiologists to more effectively fight the spread of diseases. The County Board of Supervisors approved the spending of $240,000 to acquire a Diasorin Liaison XL and supporting supplies and equipment. The golf cart sized piece of equipment can test for tuberculosis, chickenpox, shingles, measles, mumps and rubella. The faster testing is particularly important for tuberculosis (TB) where local cases are trending up.
The machine’s automation features reduce staff hands-on time by 75 percent. The Diasorin Liaison XL will be ready for use when the new county Public Health Lab opens in late spring 2025.
