Daily Business Report-June 14, 2019
Rideshare rivals joined to combat Assembly Bill 5.
Uber and Lyft form alliance
Fight over AB 5 to be one of the most
consequential of the 2019-20 legislative session
Rival rideshare companies Uber and Lyft are joining forces to kill legislation that would turn drivers and many other gig workers into employees, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The companies intend to mobilize 100,000-plus drivers into sending emails imploring legislators to reject Assembly Bill 5, a measure that would make clear that many gig workers must become employees.
The bill, which awaits a Senate vote, would put into statute a 2018 California Supreme Court decision, Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, that says many gig workers must be classified as employees.
The decision and legislation threaten the business model of Uber, Lyft and many other companies that depend on independent contractors. Organized labor views the issue as key to unions’ future and one that will define work in the years to come.
San Diego Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the bill’s author and a labor ally: “Uber and Lyft haven’t presented a reason why they can’t treat workers like employees.”
Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi, Lyft CEO Logan Green and Lyft President John Zimmer wrote in a Chronicle op-ed:
“Speak with drivers, and they will tell you they are attracted to the work because of the flexibility it affords. Very few jobs allow you to start or stop working whenever, wherever, as often as you want.”
What’s ahead: The fight over AB 5 will be one of the most consequential of the 2019-20 legislative session.
— Dan Morain, CALmatters
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Airport Innovation Lab seeking
third group of innovators
The Airport Innovation Lab at San Diego International Airport is recruiting applicants for its third group of innovators to go through a 16-week accelerator program as the second group works its way through the program.
This new group will participate in one of two opportunity areas. One is an Interactive Children’s Entertainment Solution, and the other is termed a “wild card.” The former could be mobile, pop-up and/or temporary entertainment that could be sited next to food-and-beverage concessions. Successful ideas will provide engagement, entertainment and movement to add fun to children’s airport experiences. The latter is more wide open to welcome ideas that may not previously have been thought of, but that are viable solutions.
At the end of the program, successful innovators have the potential to win a contract from the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, the airport’s owner and operator, and/or gain entrée to other airports and analogous businesses including other transportation hubs, convention centers, shopping malls and other large venues such as ball parks, theme parks and hotels.
Innovators for the third group have until July 5 to apply, with the accelerator program starting in August. Ideal applicants will have an existing prototype that can be tested in a real-life airport environment, and ideas that are new to U.S. airports or an extension of an existing service or product to be tested at SAN.
For more information and to apply, go to www.innovate.san.org
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Viruses found to use intricate ‘treadmill’
to move cargo across bacterial cells
By Mario Aguilera | UC San Diego
Countless textbooks have characterized bacteria as simple, disorganized blobs of molecules. Now, using advanced technologies to explore the inner workings of bacteria in unprecedented detail, biologists at the University of California San Diego have discovered that in fact bacteria have more in common with sophisticated human cells than previously known.
Publishing their work June 13 in the journal Cell, UC San Diego researchers working in Professor Joe Pogliano’s and Assistant Professor Elizabeth Villa’s laboratories have provided the first example of cargo within bacterial cells transiting along treadmill-like structures in a process similar to that occurring in our own cells.
“It’s not that bacteria are boring, but previously we did not have a very good ability to look at them in detail,” said Villa, one of the paper’s corresponding authors. “With new technologies we can start to understand the amazing inner life of bacteria and look at all of their very sophisticated organizational principles.”
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City of San Diego recognized
for excellence in financial reporting
For the fifth consecutive year, the city of San Diego has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Financial Officers Association – the highest form of recognition in accounting and financial reporting for public agencies.
A panel of judges determined the city’s preparation of 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) went beyond the minimum industry standards for transparency and for making financial disclosures easy for users to read and understand. The annual report is a detailed account of the city’s financial condition, its activities and balances for the fiscal year.
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La Playa Trail Association awarded SOHO’s
prestigious ‘Keeper of the Flame’ award
By Karen Scanlon
At a time of commercialization, waning protection of city spaces, and maximized building in San Diego, president Klonie Kunzel and board members of La Playa Trail Association are recognized for historic preservation efforts.
LPTA members received the prestigious “Keeper of the Flame” award at a recent Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) ceremony in the gardens of the historic Marston House.
SOHO is San Diego’s leader in preserving and promoting architectural, cultural, and historical landmarks that contribute to the community’s identity.
Point Loma’s La Playa Trail Association was founded in 2005 to carry on the work of earlier trailblazers who identified historic sites along the oldest commercial route in the western United States.
Today these civic-minded members continue to refurbish, rededicate, and construct new commemorative markers along La Playa Trail. The historic trail runs from Ballast Point, weaves along Rosecrans Street, and reaches to Mission San Diego de Alcala. Parts of the original trail, however, are either built upon today, or are sunken in bay water at La Playa.
LPTA is also noted for presenting its popular bi-monthly history lecture series at Point Loma Assembly.
As you shop, work, and wander along Rosecrans Street, keep an eye out for those trail markers that are gifted to the community by La Playa Trail Association.
This article originally appeared in sdnews.com.
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Local pet stores cited for violation
of California’s AB485 law
San Diego Humane Society’s Humane Law Enforcement discovered three local pet stores were in violation of AB485, California’s ban on the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits. During a sweep of the pet stores within San Diego Humane Society’s jurisdiction on Wednesday. June 12, humane officers found violations of the cooperative agreement and issued a total of 102 citations. The cooperative agreement calls for pet stores to only sell dogs, cats and rabbits from an animal shelter or a rescue organization.
Results of Compliance Inspections:
- Broadway Puppies on 840 N. Broadway, Escondido was issued 39 violations for failure to prove valid cooperative agreement with a public or private shelter.
- Bark Avenue on 200 E. Via Rancho Parkway, Escondido was issued 38 violations for failure to prove valid cooperative agreement with a public or private shelter.
- Pups & Pets on 50 Town Center Parkway, Santee was issued 25 violations for improper signage of kennel fronts.
Buyers should be aware that some of the animals in these pet stores still come from out-of-state puppy (or kitten) mills. They’re born from overbred mothers kept in intolerably inhumane conditions. As a result, the animals are often unhealthy, leading to heartbreaking discoveries once in the home.
San Diego Humane Society is the enforcement entity in the areas we provide animal services. To report concerns about violations of the pet retail ban law, you can call our Humane Law Enforcement Department at 619-299-7012.
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Sean Dlal joins Bank of Southern California
Bank of Southern California, N.A., a community business bank headquartered in San Diego, announced that Sean Dlal has joined the company as managing director of business banking in Del Mar. He will be responsible for expanding Bank of Southern California’s client base by actively seeking new business opportunities in the San Diego region.
Dlal is a 12-year banking veteran with a wealth of in-market knowledge and a commitment to helping local businesses grow and succeed. Prior to joining Bank of Southern California, he served as a top-ranked business relationship manager with JP Morgan Chase in San Diego. Dlal holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from San Diego State University.
