Daily Business Report: June 17, 2024
California’s small business
owners fight to save state aid
Governor wants to slash vital business program’s funds by more than half
By Levi Sumagaysay | CalMatters
Lina Mills recalls how she came to this country from Colombia at age 16 having never worked a day in her life.
Once she arrived, she found work in restaurants. “I had to provide for myself,” Mills told CalMatters recently. “I basically ran from home.”
She knew some English, learned more, and worked her way up to catering manager. Now, 36 years later, she owns two businesses in San Francisco.
She employed a dozen workers at Creative Ideas Catering and Creative Ideas Cafe but “had to send everybody home” during COVID lockdowns and the subsequent slowdown. She has since been able to rehire some — she is now back up to 10 workers and hopes to hire more. “I want to not just offer jobs to people who used to work for me — I’m trying to create more jobs.”
Mills has relied on programs that help small business owners with financing, marketing, accounting and social media skills, which enabled her to participate in pop-ups for food takeout during the pandemic’s height. Acknowledging the free aid she received from a Small Business Development Center and the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, she said “I have no idea what I’d do without them.”
Now Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to slash the program’s budget by 56 percent, or $13 million.
Top Photo: Owner Lina Mills speaks with customers outside of Creative Ideas Catering in San Francisco. (Photo by Juliana Yamada for CalMatters)
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Ocean Beach Woman’s Club celebrates 100 years with new brew
By Dave Schwab | sdnews.com
Marking its centennial this year, Ocean Beach Woman’s Club has something special to help its celebration along with its milestone brew.
Bill DeWitt of California Wild Ales, and Jim Millea, head brewer of OB Brewing have collaborated to craft “Making Waves Blonde,” a centennial-hops ale made especially for OBWC’s centennial anniversary. The new brew will officially be dedicated on the summer solstice from OB Brewery’s rooftop bar.
15.02 percent of all commemorative brew sales will benefit the work of the Woman’s Club Philanthropy and Social Justice Committee.
Photo:
Bill DeWitt (California Wild Ales), Jim Millea (OB Brewery), and Susan Winkie (Ocean Beach Woman’s Club) taste the in-progress product. (Contributed photo)
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Commentary
Supreme Court could weaken California
environmental law used in local housing conflicts
By Dan Walters | CalMatters
For years housing advocates have complained about CEQA’s misuse, and the state’s political leaders have only paid lip service to reforming it. Former Gov. Jerry Brown once termed an overhaul of CEQA as “the Lord’s work” but declined to take on environmental and union groups that invoke it. By happenstance, however, a new state Supreme Court ruling on a highly controversial housing project in Berkeley may move the needle on CEQA reform. That decision ended a three-year battle over a 1,200-unit student housing complex that the University of California wants to build on People’s Park, the legendary site of civil rights and antiwar demonstrations in the 1960s.
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Water Authority wins $19.4 million federal grant for Desalination plant intake
The U.S. Department of the Interior has awarded the San Diego County Water Authority $19.4 million for permanent upgrades to the seawater intake at the Claude “Bud”
Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In total, Interior announced $142 million in grants for large-scale water recycling and
desalination projects that will create additional water supply, increasing resilience and water security across the West. Another local project – the City of Oceanside’s Mission Basin Groundwater Purification Facility Well Expansion and Brine Minimization – was awarded $5.3 million.
Flor de Caña rum honored with ‘Environmental Initiatives Award’
Flor de Caña, the renowned premium rum brand celebrated for its exceptional quality and unwavering commitment to sustainability, is proud to announce that it has been honored with the “Environmental Initiatives Award” from the prestigious SEAL Awards in the United States. This recognition highlights Flor de Caña’s leadership in championing environmental stewardship and fostering a greener and more sustainable future. The SEAL Awards is a global, multi-industry platform that showcases trailblazing companies that demonstrate measurable contributions to sustainability and spearhead innovative initiatives with positive environmental impacts.
Arthrosi presents positive clinical data on gout
Arthrosi Therapeutics Inc., a late-stage biotechnology company developing a potentially best-in-class, highly potent and selective next generation URAT1 inhibitor to reduce serum urate levels, flares and tophi in patients with gout, announced new positive clinical data from its phase 2 AR882-203 study in patients with tophaceous gout. These data are being presented as poster presentations at the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) 2024 European Congress of Rheumatology, being held June 12-15 in Vienna, Austria.
Avidity Biosciences announces pricing of public offering of common stock
Avidity Biosciences Inc., a biopharmaceutical company committed to delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates, announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 10,550,000 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $38 per share. All of the shares to be sold in the offering are to be sold by Avidity. The gross proceeds to Avidity from the offering, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, are expected to be $400.9 million. The offering is expected to close on or about June 17, 2024.
UNIGRID Battery announces $12 million Series A round
UNIGRID Battery, a San Diego-based startup developing advanced sodium-ion batteries, announced a successful close of an oversubscribed $12 Million Series A funding round. The financing was co-led by Transition VC and Ritz Venture Capital and joined by new investor Union Square Ventures and existing investor Foothill Ventures. The investment will accelerate and scale-up UNIGRID’s battery production to fulfill MWh-scale customer orders in the electric mobility and stationary storage markets.
County partners with Junior Achievement on youth workforce development program
County Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas has launched thd Youth Empowerment Workforce Initiative, an expansion to Junior Achievement of San Diego County’s existing workforce training program. The program aims to provide students from historically underinvested communities with access to career paths through JA’s financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness training. A key facet of the region’s inclusive growth, the program is supported by Cox Communications, Deloitte, Illumina, and Carrier Johnson.
Carlsbad-based Allez Health secures $60 million in Series A funding
Local medtech startup Allez Health, which develops lower cost biosensors for real-time glucose monitoring, has raised $60 million led by Korean diagnostic company Osang Healthcare Co. The Carlsbad company will use the Series A financing to expand its workforce, run more clinical trials, and construct a factory with an additional investment from Osang.
Scripps Clinic celebrates skin cancer fellowship 40th graduating class
A medical-surgical fellowship program at Scripps Clinic that trains doctors in a specialized surgery technique for skin cancer marks its 40th graduating class in June. Hubert (Hugh) Greenway, MD, has led the Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology Fellowship every year since he established the program. Since that time, 68 physicians have successfully completed the one-year medical education program, many of whom still practice throughout the world in clinical and academic settings.
U.S. 3rd Fleet change of command ceremony
Vice Adm. John Wade assumed command of U.S. 3rd Fleet during a change of command ceremony on Naval Base Point Loma on June 7. He relieved Vice Adm. Michael “Fonz” Boyle, who took command in June 2022. Adm. Stephen Koehler, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet and presiding officer of the change of command, opened the ceremony by welcoming Wade and praising Boyle for his leadership during his time as commander. “Fonz has embodied professionalism at 3rd Fleet and achieved success across every mission set he encountered,” said Koehler. “Most important has been his relentless drive for rehearsal.”
Airport receives federal funds for Terminal 1 reconstruction
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration has awarded San Diego International Airport (SAN) $23.5 million in discretionary grant funds as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Airport Infrastructure Grants (AIG) program. This amount is the second largest grant awarded by the FAA in this round of funding. The grant dollars will help fund the construction of a modern and efficient New Terminal 1, which includes 30 gates and will replace the current Terminal.
County airs human trafficking awareness program
County leaders have begun a human-trafficking public awareness campaign that will run through the summer to provide information on how the public can protect themselves and others. The campaign will feature radio announcements, outdoor billboards and digital media, with the effort focused on informing children, youth and their peers. It was announced at a news conference by San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Nora Vargas, Supervisor Jim Desmond and San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan. The FBI reports San Diego is one of the nation’s 13 hotspots for human trafficking.
