Daily Business Report-Feb. 16, 2018
The California Nurses Association leads a rally for the single-payer health care bill at the Capitol in June 2017. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Advocates for Single-Payer Health Care
Play the Long Game in California
By Laurel Rosenhall | CALmatters
By many measures the rambunctious campaign for a single-payer health care system in California appears to be floundering. A bill that would replace the existing health care system with a new one run by a single payer —specifically, the state government — and paid for with taxpayer money remains parked in the Assembly, with no sign of moving ahead.
An effort by activists to recall Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon for shelving the bill has gone dormant. And an initiative that would lay the financial groundwork for a future single-payer system has little funding, undercutting its chances to qualify for the ballot.
But even if single payer is a lost cause in the short term, advocates are playing a long game. For now, it may well be less a realistic policy blueprint than an organizing tool. And by that metric, advocates are making gains. Riding a wave of enthusiasm from progressive Democrats, supporters of single payer have effectively made it a front-and-center issue in California’s 2018 elections. It’s been discussed in virtually every forum with the candidates running for governor, emerged as a point of contention in some legislative races, and will likely be a rallying cry at the upcoming California Democratic Party convention.
“This issue is not going away,” said Garry South, a Democratic political consultant who has worked with the California Nurses Association, which sponsored the stalled single-payer bill. “The progressive elements who are supportive of the single-payer concept know that it’s not going to happen now, it’s not going to happen tomorrow. It’s a long-term process and Jerry Brown is gone as of January 2019.”
The governor has not had to stake a position on the bill because it skidded to a stop in the Assembly last summer without reaching his desk. But state Sen. Toni Atkins, a San Diego Democrat who co-authored Senate Bill 562, said Brown was not receptive. Analyses peg the cost of a statewide single-payer system at between $330 billion and $400 billion — far exceeding the state’s entire budget. That made it an anathema to Brown’s record of prioritizing fiscal stability for state government.
“When the governor saw that we introduced that bill… all he could look at me and do is shake his head and say, ‘$400 billion dollars.’ And I kept trying to say, ‘Can we back up and talk about what you’ve got to do to get (there)?’” Atkins said in an interview. “He wasn’t letting it go.”
Atkins, who will take over as Senate leader next month, said she’s not giving up on the goal of single-payer but does not expect it to happen this year. “People are polarized on this issue in a way that’s not good for coming together to get it done,” she said.
Led by the nurses association — a labor union that embraces firebrand activism — supporters of single-payer have targeted Rendon after he shelved the bill last summer, saying it lacked critical information on how to pay for a massive overhaul of the health care system. They peppered social media with images that not only portrayed the bill fight as a boxing match between Rendon and the nurses, but also depicted a knife labeled “Rendon” back-stabbing the bear symbol of California. The nurses were not involved in the campaign to recall Rendon, said recall organizer Stephen Elzie, who has since dropped the effort and is now helping Democrat Maria Estrada challenge Rendon’s re-election bid.
Assemblyman Jim Wood, a Healdsburg Democrat who chaired the panel, called the single-payer bill “aspirational” and said he’s considering legislation that could help more Californians get health care without requiring permission from the federal government. One idea: extending subsidized health plans to adults who are undocumented immigrants. “I believe we can actually get to single payer, once we go through a lot of study and a lot of work,” Wood said. “But this feels, at times, more like a litmus test.”
CALmatters.orgis a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
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Meals on Wheels San Diego County Awarded
$100,000 from S. Mark Taper Foundation
Meals on Wheels San Diego County has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the S. Mark Taper Foundation to provide critical services to homebound seniors throughout San Diego County. Services include the daily delivery of up to two fresh meals a day to the home accompanied by a safety check and social visit.
The grant comes at a crucial time as the population of seniors continues to double in San Diego County and more and more seniors are turning to Meals on Wheels San Diego County to help support their physical and emotional health as they age at home.
The critical San Diego social service agency has been serving meals to seniors in the community for 58 years but, according to President/CEO, Debbie Case, “the current uncertainty with the changing national and state budgets in addition to the increased cost of living has created a bleak situation for many of our seniors. 54 percent of San Diego seniors served are living on less than $19,100 annually and do not have enough income to meet their basic needs. We are facing a senior crisis that includes hunger and isolation and is becoming a silent epidemic.”
Information on how to volunteer to Meals on Wheels can be found at www.meals-on-wheels.org or call (800) 5-SENIOR.
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Scripps Research Institute Gets $15 Million
to Study Viral Outbreak Survivors
With a new $15 million grant, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) are gearing up for an in-depth study of survivors of viral outbreaks. The grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will support the efforts of the TSRI-led Center for Viral Systems Biology to fight Ebola and Lassa viruses.
“Our goal is to help eradicate these diseases by building better diagnostics, designing new drugs and informing vaccine design,” says principal investigator Kristian Anderson, assistant professor at TSRI and director of Infectious Disease Genomics at the Scripps Translational Science Institute. Andersen is co-director of the Center for Viral Systems Biology with Tulane University Professor Robert F. Garry.
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County Library to Add E-Books;
Will Put Card Signups Online in April
Borrow a book and never even set foot inside a library. You’ll soon be able to go online, get a County Library card and an e-book at the same time.
At its Tuesday meeting, the county Board of Supervisors approved the plan to expand digital access to reading materials.
The County Library contracts with the company Overdrive to provide e-books. The digital media’s increasing popularity prompted the County Library to ask the board to approve an additional $200,000 on Overdrive materials and services.
If you’re using Google to look for book titles in the county’s service area, the search results will now show e-books available through Overdrive. Library cardholders can click through and download the book.
The new funding includes an added feature: If you don’t already have a county library card, you can instantly get one online, on the spot, for the Overdrive books. From there, you proceed to checkout for the library e-book. This new card feature has allowed other libraries to gain 1,000 additional cardholders a month.
Overdrive is expected to deliver the library card service online in April.
Readers can also access County Library e-books through Overdrive’s app. E-books are so popular right now the County Library expects to see more than 1 million downloads this fiscal year. The number places the County Library on the list of 52 North American libraries with an annual circulation topping 1 million.
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SDSU West Initiative Qualifies for Ballot
Sponsors of the SDSU West initiative for developing land containing the Mission Valley stadium have qualified the measure for the ballot this year.
More than 106,000 signatures were submitted to the San Diego City Clerk in support of the initiative.
“We are incredibly proud that the City Clerk has cleared the way for SDSU West to be placed before voters this year,” said Friends of SDSU steering committee member Fred Pierce. “This important milestone moves us one step closer to making SDSU West a reality for San Diego State University and our city as a whole.”
The City Clerk will present the certified initiative to the City Council, who may then approve placing the initiative before voters on an upcoming ballot.
“SDSU West is critical to provide the university the ability to grow for years to come,” said community leader Laurie Black. “Together, we can help ensure the next generation of San Diego business and community leaders are not turned away for a lack of space.“
Launched by an independent group of alumni, community and business leaders, the Friends of SDSU launched SDSU West in late 2017 to provide a needed alternative for the existing stadium site.
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Fortune Names Scripps Health to National
Best Companies List for 11th Straight Year
For the 11th consecutive year, Scripps Health has been named among the top employers in the nation by Fortune magazine. Fortune’s 21st annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For ranked Scripps at No. 41. For the third consecutive year, Scripps is the only San Diego-based company to make the list.
Scripps is recognized for creating a high-performing, diverse workforce by accommodating the needs of its employees at the beginning, middle and later stages of their careers.
“Once again, we are honored to be on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list, and to be recognized as an inclusive, career-destination organization that works to create an environment where employees feel appreciated and empowered to deliver the best patient care in San Diego,” said Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder.
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Climate Action Plan Adopted
by Board of Supervisors
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt a new County Climate Action Plan Wednesday. The plan is designed to cut greenhouse gases in the county’s unincorporated communities and county facilities and properties to meet state greenhouse gas reduction targets in 2020 and 2030. The county is on track to meet the 2020 targets.
The adopted plan includes 11 strategies and 26 measures to cut greenhouse gases. Examples of measures that reduce the most greenhouse gas include: encouraging the installation of solar photovoltaic panels on existing homes to generate electricity, increasing renewable energy overall, diverting more trash away from landfills, and developing a Local Direct Investment Program.
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Economist to Offer Housing Forecast
The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), a trade group for San Diego-area Realtors, will present its “2018 Housing Market Overview” with economist Jordan Levine, California Association of Realtors, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 20, at PSAR’s South County Service Center, 880 Canarios Court, Chula Vista. Levine will discuss the future of California’s housing market, including the latest research in urban economics and demographic trends, as well trends in housing supply, distressed sales, housing tax policy and housing affordability. Cost to attend is $10 for members, $20 for nonmembers. Lunch will be served. For more information, call PSAR at (619) 421-7811 or visit www.psar.org/marketoverview.
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USD Honors Irwin and Joan Jacobs
The University of San Diego’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES) announced that its Institute for Entrepreneurship in Education has been renamed the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education (Jacobs Institute) in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Irwin Jacobs.
Since their founding contribution in 2011, Dr. and Mrs. Jacobs have contributed nearly $10 million to the Jacobs Institute.
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Personnel Announcements
Robin Lewis Joins Presidio Residential Capital
Robin Lewis, a real estate industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience and a strong background in financial management, has joined Presidio Residential Capital.
In her new role, Lewis will perform a number of financial duties, both internally and in conjunction with Presidio’s builder partners. She will provide financial oversight for projects with joint venture partners and lenders and act as a liaison between Presidio’s asset managers and principals.
Before she joined Presidio, Lewis spent 16 years with The Corky McMillin Companies. As senior vice president of finance, she focused on the development and implementation of corporate financial strategies and communicated with McMillin’s business partners and lenders. Before that, Lewis was a manager at KPMG in Phoenix, where she worked primarily with real estate and public company clients.
A certified public accountant, Lewis graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in both finance and accounting.
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Devin Mahoney Named General Manager of Kimpton Solamar Hotel
Kimpton Solamar Hotel has appointed Devin Mahoney as general manager, responsible for day-to-day hotel operations, guest relations and business development for San Diego’s 235-room boutique hotel.
A seasoned hospitality industry leader, Mahoney comes to Kimpton Solamar Hotel from Kimpton Amara Resort and Spa in Phoenix, where he spent nearly two years as general manager and received Kimpton’s ‘Freshman of the Year’ award for high performance amongst new company general managers. Prior to that, he served as assistant general manager at Hotel Palomar, Phoenix.
“Devin’s extensive knowledge of the Kimpton brand coupled with his award-winning leadership at the property in Phoenix make him a great asset to Kimpton Solamar,” said Kate Connor, director of sales and marketing.
Mahoney holds a bachelor’s degree in fine and studio arts from Arizona State University.
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Mina Miserlis Joins Tyson & Mendes as Equity Partner
Civil defense firm Tyson & Mendes LLP has announced Mina Miserlis as the firm’s third equity partner. Miserlis joins founding partners Robert Tyson and Patrick Mendes, with her addition marking the firm’s first new equity partner since its inception in 2002.
Based out of Tyson & Mendes’ San Diego office, Miserlis has more than 20 years of litigation and trial experience, leading the firm’s multi-attorney complex trial team with a focus on personal injury matters. Over the course of her career, Miserlis has successfully tried several cases throughout California, including alleged traumatic brain injuries and multi-million dollar claims.
Miserlis, along with Tyson, obtained a verdict of $26,000 less than one percent of the plaintiff’s demand in a personal injury matter in which the plaintiff sought over $30 million in damages. She also obtained a full defense verdict on behalf of the premises owner in a personal injury matter, where the plaintiff sought over $1 million in damages.
Miserlis earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, graduating summa cum laude, and her law degree from Loyola Law School. She is a member of the San Diego Defense Lawyers, an organization of attorneys engaged in the defense of civil litigants.
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Michael Slawson Joins BWE Inc. as Director of Civil Engineering
Local industry veteran Michael Slawson has joined BWE Inc. as the new director of civil engineering. Slawson will immediately make an impact at BWE with his leadership and project management experience. He brings over 27 years of diverse experience having owned his own firm and served as a principal, vice president or project manager for several civil and environmental engineering firms.
Slawson’s management experience encompasses firms ranging in size from an 8(a) design-build federal contractor to an ENR top 100 firm.
Prior to joining BWE, Slawson was contracted to provide project management at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority working on various infrastructure improvement projects. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona at Tucson with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, a licensed professional engineer in California and Arizona and a licensed P\professional land surveyor in California.
He has successfully managed over $3 billion in projects for his clients which include Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, the city of San Diego, the county of San Diego, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, the University of California, San Diego and dozens of private industry clients.