Daily Business Report: Monday, June 5, 2023
Welfare: As U.S. tightens work rules,
California considers loosening them
By Jeanne Kuang | CalMatters
Just as Republicans in Congress are moving to beef up work requirements for people who receive welfare, California lawmakers are moving to do the opposite.
Included in a recent state Assembly budget proposal, and in a bill the Assembly past last week, is a plan to remake CalWORKs, the state’s federally funded cash welfare program that requires recipients to work or search for jobs using a list of approved activities.
Under the proposed state changes, recipients would gain greater flexibility to participate in activities such as going to school, domestic violence counseling, addiction treatment or mental health care. The proposal, estimated to cost $100 million, also would lessen financial penalties if recipients violate work rules.
That would make it likely that fewer recipients would get jobs and more likely California would miss a key federal work standard, for which it could be fined.
The goals of the proposed changes are to address practical barriers to employment that CalWORKs recipients – some 340,000 of the poorest families in California – experience, and make it easier for more families to qualify for cash assistance. And, to prod California’s 58 county social service agencies to carry out the plan, the proposal also would shield counties from potential federal fines.
The efforts come at a fraught moment in a decades-old national debate: Should welfare be a flexible source of emergency aid for families in financial crisis, or an engine to push low-wage single parents to join the workforce?
Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters; iStock
State awards $16 million in grants
to support farmworker homeownership
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the awarding of $16 million in grants to increase homeownership for farmworkers in California. The grants will support five programs statewide to build or purchase homes for lower-income farmworkers and advance programs that help farmworkers become or remain homeowners through mortgage assistance.
The Department of Housing and Community Development awarded the grants through the Joe Serna, Jr. Housing Grant program to advance homeownership development projects, self-help technical assistance projects, mortgage assistance programs, and programs for the acquisition of manufactured housing for agricultural workers.
Protesters want Pete Wilson statue
removed from Downtown San Diego
Community advocates calling for the removal of a downtown San Diego statue of former mayor and Gov. Pete Wilson have garnered the support of labor leader Dolores Huerta.
But the statue’s owners are insistent that it won’t budge. “He was not very nice to the Latino community, to put it mildly,” she said of Wilson. “He instigated a lot of hatred against undocumented people and against Hispanics in general.”
Racial justice and gay rights groups have been calling for the statue’s removal since 2020, saying Wilson — the chief champion of a 1994 ballot measure that denied undocumented immigrants access to public education, health care and social services — had used his influence to “demonize and dehumanize” Latino and gay communities.
County of San Diego opens Cool Zone Program
With summer just around the corner, the County of San Diego opened its annual Cool Zones program Thursday to give people free, safe, air-conditioned sanctuaries to escape extreme heat. The county created the Cool Zone Program two decades ago to give older adults, people with disabilities and those with health concerns that could be complicated by the effects of extreme heat.
The program will run from June 1 through Oct. 31; sites include the County’s 33 branch libraries, community centers and other locations across the county.
A complete list of Cool Zone sites, their hours and locations is located online.
The site includes a map feature where people can type in their address to find locations near them. People can also call 2-1-1 to find a location, or, if they cannot get to a Cool Zone, ask for help with free transportation.
California public transit pleads for state aid
By Sameea Kamal | CalMatters
California is grappling with a $31.5 billion budget deficit. Gov. Gavin Newsom denied public transit agencies a lifeline in his latest spending plan, and time is running out.
But transit officials and their supporters in the Legislature aren’t giving up hope yet that the state will offer at least some aid. And on May 19, the California Transit Association delivered a plan for how individual agencies should ask for money — and how they would be held accountable for how they spend it.
Transit agencies are seeking $5.15 billion in operating funds over the next five years — warning that without substantial cash, they’ll fall deep into a financial pit caused by a continued decline in ridership since the pandemic and the drying up of federal funds.
Measurabl lands $93 million in latest round of VC
SAN DIEGO — San Diego software startup Measurabl has raised $93 million in a fourth round of venture capital funding, bringing its total VC raised to $170 million. The company’s software assists in measuring and managing the carbon footprint of properties seeking to mitigat climate risk, improve access to capital, and decarbonize its real estate portfolios.
Port to install EV charging stations at Convention Center
SAN DIEGO — The Port of San Diego has partnered with KIGT Inc., a minority-owned, manufacturer and services provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, to install 10 public EV charging stations in the San Diego Convention Center parking garage. The recent addition of the EV charging stations brings the total amount of stations along the San Diego Bay waterfront to 62, of which 36 are public and 26 are Port staff parking stalls.
AVRP Studios wins two Grand Awards
SAN DIEGO — AVRP Studios, an architecture and design firm, received two Grand Awards at the Pacific Coast Builders’ Conference Gold Nugget Awards. AVRP won in two separate projects: Best Rehabilitation Project-Red Door Interactive; and Best On-the-Boards Custom/Spec Home – The Wilson Residence. The awards recognize excellence and innovation in architecture.
Cetera a finalist for record six ‘Wealthies’ Awards
SAN DIEGO — Cetera Financial Group has been recognized as a finalist for a record of six 2023 Wealth Management Industry Awards. Cetera is tied for the second-most finalists from a field of more than 1,000 entries by 414 companies. It earned finalist recognition for thought leadership, transition support, practice management, corporate responsibility and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives.
Invivoscribe partners with Complete Genomics
SAN DIEGO — Invivoscribe and Complete Genomics announced that they had entered a partnership to develop and commercialize biomarker tests on Complete Genomics’ NGS platforms. The territory is worldwide, and the field is oncology and cancer research. Under the terms of the deal, Invivoscribe will be responsible for the development of biomarker tests, including test controls and associated bioinformatics software.
Mirati Therapeutics to participate
at Global Healthcare Conference
SAN DIEGO — Mirati Therapeutics Inc., a commercial stage biotechnology company, will participate at the Goldman Sachs 44th Annual Global Healthcare Conference 2023 on June 15 at 8:40 a.m. P.T. David Meek, chief executive officer, will represent the company in a fireside chat at the conference. Investors and the general public are invited to listen to a live webcast of the session through the “Investors and Media” section on Mirati.com. A replay of the webcast will be made available following the event.
Illumina unveils AI software to predict
disease-causing genetic mutations
SAN DIEGO — Illumina Inc., a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, announced the new PrimateAI-3D, an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that predicts with unprecedented accuracy disease-causing genetic mutations in patients. The results are published in two papers in the June 2 issue of Science (issue 6648), detailing the training of the algorithm and its application to half a million genomes in the UK Biobank cohort. Two accompanying papers on the primate evolution research that informed the development of PrimateAI-3D are also published in the journal.
Dog attacks on postal carriers in
San Diego among highest in U.S.
Dog attacks on postal carriers in the San Diego area totaled 39 in 2022, putting the area fifth on a list of dog attacks in 36 cities across the country. Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas and Cleveland topped San Diego on the number of attacks. The United States Postal Service figures were released as part of its National Dog Bite Awareness Week campaign June 4-10.
More than 5,300 Postal Service employees were attacked nationally last year.
David M. Urso installed as president
and CEO of MEI Pharma Inc.
SAN DIEGO — MEI Pharma Inc.’s Board of Directors has installed David M. Urso as president and chief executive officer, succeeding Daniel P. Gold. Urso, who joined the company in 2014 and has been serving as the company’s chief operating officer since 2018, will also join the board of directors. Gold will remain on MEI’s board, where he will continue to share his extensive knowledge and experience with the company. MEI Pharma is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on advancing new therapies for cancer.
Kleinfelder Group completes acquisition
of Texas-based Doucet & Associates
SAN DIEGO — The Kleinfelder Group Inc., a San Diego engineering, design, and construction management services firm, has acquired Doucet & Associates Inc. The transaction, which closed on May 31, 2023, fortifies Kleinfelder’s commitment to strategic growth and strengthens an already robust client and service portfolio in the growing Texas market. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Doucet provides civil engineering, environmental permitting, surveying, and construction management services to clients throughout Texas.
