SDG&E reporting 13,000 outages because of heat wave
By GARY ROBBINS and ROB NIKOLEWSKI | The San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego Gas & Electric reported power outages affecting about 13,000 customers across the region on Sunday, many which appear to have been caused by the heat wave, now in its fifth day. The utility says it is dealing with problems related to the weather.
At 3:30 p.m. Sunday, an SDG&E spokesman said 10,519 customers in the Spring Valley, La Presa and Rancho San Diego area were without electricity due to an outage at the company’s Jamacha substation located near Highway 94. Crews are heading to the scene and hope to restore power by early evening, the spokesman said.
The company’s outage map late Sunday afternoon showed other scattered outages in areas that included neighborhoods in San Diego such as University Heights, North Park and Normal Heights.
Escondido, which has been experiencing some of the highest temperatures during the heat wave, and Vista are also reporting outages.
Sunday’s heat again soared above 100 degrees in more than a dozen communities, mostly east of Interstate 15. But problems also have developed at and near the coast. Forecasters say that overnight winds arriving from the east flowed to beach cities, causing temperatures to rise rapidly early Sunday. San Diego International Airport hit 94 degrees before noon. That’s 16 degrees above normal.
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Excessive heat warnings continue today and into Tuesday
Cooler Temperature Expected in San Diego County This Week
What Caused the Chemical Smell in Oceanside & Carlsbad on Friday?
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California governor vetoes bill to help undocumented immigrants buy homes
Sept 6 (Reuters) - California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill on Friday that would have allowed undocumented immigrants access to state funds in helping buy a home, citing "finite funding."
"Given the finite funding available for (California Housing Finance Agency) programs, expanding program eligibility must be carefully considered within the broader context of the annual state budget to ensure we manage our resources effectively," Newsom said in a statement. "For this reason, I am unable to sign this bill."
The state legislature approved the bill and sent it to the governor's desk last week.
The bill was authored by California lawmaker Joaquin Arambula, a Democrat representing Fresno.
"AB 1840 is about providing an opportunity to hard-working, responsible people who dream of owning a home and passing that legacy to their children," Arambula has said about the bill. "And, that includes undocumented immigrants who have lived here for decades and pay their taxes."
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Google's antitrust trial over online advertising set to begin
Sept 9 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google will face U.S. antitrust prosecutors on Monday in Alexandria, Va., where the Justice Department will seek to show the company stifled competition in online advertising technology, in the search giant's second recent showdown with the Justice Department.
Prosecutors say Google has largely dominated the technological infrastructure that funds the flow of news and information on websites through more than 150,000 online ad sales every second.
The case is an important one for efforts by U.S. antitrust enforcers to challenge alleged Big Tech monopolies, which have spanned the administrations of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Prosecutors say Google engaged in a complex scheme to dominate website advertising tools, through acquisitions, restrictions on how customers can use its tools and alleged manipulation of ad auctions.
Google denies the allegations, saying they misconstrue lawful efforts to develop its technology and serve its own customers. Prosecutors overlook how the digital advertising market has shifted to apps and connected TV, where Google faces stiff competition, the company has said.
If U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema finds that Google broke the law, she would later consider prosecutors' request to make Google sell off, at minimum, Google Ad Manager, a platform that includes Google's publisher ad server and its ad exchange.
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Apple's iPhone 16 will put AI features in focus
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL) on Monday is set to unveil its iPhone 16 lineup, focusing on how its flagship device's features have been infused with artificial intelligence, rather than its usual emphasis on hardware upgrades.
The event at the tech giant's Apple Park headquarters at 10 a.m. PDT (1700 GMT) follows its developer conference in June during which the company unveiled Apple Intelligence, its take on generative AI that can conjure text, images and other content on command.
It had also showed off an improved version of voice assistant Siri, featuring an integration with ChatGPT, the chatbot developed by Microsoft-backed (MSFT)
OpenAI.
The refresh comes as iPhones face stiff competition from Huawei (HWT.UL) in China, where consumers are hankering for more AI features and are willing to pay for them. Huawei itself has scheduled its own product announcement mere hours after Apple's event.
Apple Intelligence must be approved by Beijing in order to be released in the Chinese market. In July, OpenAI blocked access to ChatGPT in China, a move that could impact the chatbot's integration into Siri.
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Munich Re says damage inflation well above CPI rate
FRANKFURT, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Munich Re said on Sunday that it will push for higher reinsurance rates to take into account the fact that costs for insured damages are rising much faster than overall consumer prices.
"Damage inflation is significantly higher (than overall inflation) in many reinsurance segments," management board member Thomas Blunck said in a statement on the 'Rendez-Vous de Septembre' industry meeting in Monte Carlo.
He cited higher U.S. legal claims for damages, costly new medical treatments as well as shortages in construction materials and qualified workers, among other factors driving inflation of insured damages.
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Navy officer demoted after sneaking a satellite dish onto a warship to get the internet
By NBC News San Diego
A U.S. Navy chief who wanted the internet so she and other enlisted officers could scroll social media, check sports scores and watch movies while deployed had an unauthorized Starlink satellite dish installed on a warship and lied to her commanding officer to keep it secret, according to investigators.
Internet access is restricted while a ship is underway to maintain bandwidth for military operations and to protect against cybersecurity threats.
The Navy quietly relieved Grisel Marrero, a command senior chief of the littoral combat ship USS Manchester, in August or September 2023, and released information on parts of the investigation this week.
The Navy Times was first to report on the details.
Marrero, a former information systems technician, and senior leaders paid $2,800 for the Starlink High Performance Kit and had it installed in April 2023 prior to deployment of the San Diego-based Manchester, according to the investigation.
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Wynn Las Vegas forfeits record $130M in non-prosecution deal with San Diego prosecutors
By ALEX RIGGINS | The San Diego Union-Tribune
The casino Wynn Las Vegas agreed Friday to forfeit a record $130.1 million to settle criminal allegations brought by federal prosecutors in San Diego that the casino conspired with unlicensed money transmitting businesses around the globe to circumvent U.S. laws and financial regulations.
“Today’s settlement is believed to be the largest forfeiture by a casino based on admissions of criminal wrongdoing,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego said in a statement announcing a non-prosecution agreement with the casino.
Federal prosecutors in San Diego handled the case because a key bank account controlled by Wynn Las Vegas for one of the alleged criminal schemes was located here. Foreign gamblers and debtors, many of them from Latin America, placed funds into the local account through unlicensed money transmitting businesses. Those funds were then transferred to the Wynn’s cage, where casino employees, with the knowledge of their supervisors, eventually moved the funds into the gamblers’ individual accounts at the casino.
“The convoluted transactions enabled foreign gamblers at (Wynn Las Vegas) to evade foreign and U.S. laws governing monetary transfer and reporting,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in its statement.
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by Deborah Brennan • CalMatters & Times of San Diego
California is poised to set new rules for warehouse locations and truck routes with a last-minute bill to curtail air pollution and traffic from distribution centers.
But local government groups oppose the legislation, and business groups warn that it would place onerous requirements on warehouse developments and cities, threatening trade and jobs. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of the month to sign or veto the bill.
Assembly Bill 98 passed in the final hours before the Legislature adjourned Saturday, after lawmakers swapped out language from an agricultural bill for the new warehouse restrictions.
The bill would tighten building standards for new warehouses; ban heavy-duty diesel truck traffic next to sensitive sites including homes, schools, parks and nursing homes; and require local governments to update truck routes to avoid residential streets, said Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes, a San Bernardino Democrat who co-authored the bill.
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MarketInk: Latino Group Criticizes Green Energy in Digital Advertising Campaign
by Rick Griffin, Times of San Diego
A Latino activist group has launched a digital advertising campaign critical of California’s green energy push for electric vehicles and bans on gas-powered landscape equipment, including leaf blowers and lawn mowers.
The group, called Levanta Tu Voz (“raise your voice”), is claiming the state’s energy mandates are hurting Latino small-business owners, day laborers and agriculture and manufacturing workers.
A Levanta Tu Voz spokesman told Times of San Diego that its campaign, titled “Sustainability Matters,” features ads appearing on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, broadcast television, streaming TV and radio. A dollar amount for media expenditures was not disclosed. The campaign began Sept. 3 and will conclude Dec. 31, the spokesperson said.
A statement from Levanta Tu Voz, which is affiliated with the Western States Petroleum Association, said California’s ambitious energy mandates addressing climate change and the state’s transition to electrification, are unfairly targeting Latinos.
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Two-Tenant El Cajon Shopping Center Sells for $1.5 Million
By Times of San Diego
A 2,870-square-foot retail property in El Cajon has been sold for $1.5 million, according to a real estate brokerage.
“With the steady growth in consumer spending and the resilience of brick-and-mortar retail, demand for multi-tenant retail investment properties continues to surge as investors seek stable, long-term returns in today’s market.,” said Ross Sanchez, senior associate for the Totah Group in Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego Downtown office.
Two tenants occupy the site, Final Touch Nails, Hair & Spa and Subway, which has operated at the location since 1985 under the ownership of one of the nation’s largest Subway franchisees.
Sanchez and Nick Totah, senior vice president, represented the seller, Two Squared, LLC.
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CALPERS Bought Lucid Stock, and Sold Nvidia, IBM, and Walmart
By Ed Lin, Barron's
The largest U.S. public pension by assets recently made major changes in some of its biggest investments.
In the second quarter, California Public Employees’ Retirement System slashed stakes in artificial-intelligence chip maker Nvidia, software firm International Business Machines, and retailer Walmart, while buying more shares of electric-vehicle maker LucidGroup. Calpers, as the pension is known, disclosed the stock trades, among others, in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In response to a request for comment on the investment changes, the pension emailed the statement, “Calpers’ global public equities are largely managed using quantitative and systematic investment approaches and, as such, we do not comment on our individual holdings or trades or discuss investment strategy.”
The pension has assets of more than $520 billion, making it the largest public pension in the country.
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San Diego Mourns the Loss of Procopio Managing Partner John D. Alessio
The Alessio family and everyone with Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP mourns the loss of Procopio Managing Partner John D. Alessio. John passed on September 3, 2024, at the age of 55 after a five-year journey with cancer.
First elected Procopio Managing Partner in the fall of 2017 and reelected twice, John guided the law firm through an unprecedented period of growth and success, navigating the firm through a global pandemic and a rapidly evolving legal marketplace. Under his leadership Procopio has grown both in revenue and geography, opening offices in Orange County, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., for a total of seven locations. During his leadership tenure Procopio secured numerous recognitions from Chambers and Partners and other peer-based awards programs, with its practice recognitions from Best Lawyers-Best Law Firms tripling.
A fourth-generation San Diegan, John demonstrated his commitment to community in many ways. Active in professional associations including Entrepreneurs Organization and PEERS San Diego, John also dedicated time to serving the broader local cross-border community. Most recently he served as a Director for the World Design Capital San Diego-Tijuana. He was also a founder of Red Autismo, a nonprofit in Los Cabos providing specialized attention to children with autism. For the last seven years John had been recognized by the San Diego Business Journal on its SD 500 list of Most Influential Business Leaders in San Diego, and in 2020 the magazine named him to its SD 50 list of Leaders Making a Difference.
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Workers vs. The Robots: Minimum Wage and California’s Fast-Food Offering
By Douglas Page, San Diego Metro Magazine
California’s new minimum wage for fast-food restaurant workers – upped April 1st to $20 an hour – impacts the Golden State’s most vulnerable workers, leaving effects that could last well beyond just a missing paycheck.
“The kids are the canaries in the coal mine,” Los Angeles-based economist Christopher Thornberg told SD METRO, referring to teenagers seeking or working summer jobs. “They’re the first to lose their jobs and not have the opportunities in part, because not only are they suffering the impact of reduced labor demand at these higher costs, but of course, equivalently, they’re replaced by adults.
“At $20 an hour, you want an adult,” he continued, because they’re not leaving to return to school or seek another employer that’s more fun, like Disneyland.
Thornberg runs Beacon Economics, a consultancy.
In a 41-page report, he and another economist, Niree Kodaverdian, write that “the increase in unemployment is almost exclusively a young person phenomenon.
“Of the nearly 130,000 newly unemployed people in the last two years, over 90% were under the age of 35. And within this age group, the hardest hit subgroup has been teenagers,” they wrote in their report, released in June.
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Boeing says it has a deal to avoid a strike by more than 30,000 machinists
By The Associated Press
Boeing and its largest union said Sunday they reached agreement on a new contract that, if ratified, will avoid a strike that threatened to shut down aircraft production by the end of the coming week.
Boeing said 33,000 workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers would get pay raises of 25% over the four-year contract, with average wages rising 33% due to seniority step increases. That is less than the 40% the union had demanded during negotiations.
But the company agreed with a key union demand to build its next plane in Washington state, presumably by union members.
Workers also would get $3,000 lump sum payments and a lower share of health care costs, Boeing said. The company would make new 401(k) contributions of up to $4,160 per employee, but the union would not achieve its demand to restore a defined-benefit pension plan that was eliminated in 2014.
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Jamba ventures into blended coffee; Urban Plates adds seasonal, wallet-friendly surf and turf combo
By ROXANA POPESCU | The San Diego Union-Tribune
Back in the ’90s, if you wanted a trendy blended caffeine drink, you went to Starbucks. If you wanted a trendy blended smoothie, you went to Jamba Juice.
These days, Starbucks sells smoothies. And starting next week, Jamba — as Jamba Juice has been named since 2019 — will start selling two blended coffee-based drinks.
Jamba’s Sunrise Smoothies are made with coffee and a choice of milk (2 percent dairy or three non-dairy milks), plus optional boosts (like soy protein, zinc and whey protein).
The company describes one drink, Coffee Dream Machine, “as a creamy blended frozen coffee delivering sweet vanilla flavors to boost your day.” The second, Buzzin’ Mocha Moo’d, has “a jolt of coffee and rich chocolate blended to creamy, sweet perfection.”
To launch the drinks, Jamba, which has 36 stores in the San Diego area, is hosting a pop-up from 5:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday at Mission Point Park, at 2600 Bayside Lane, with yoga and blended coffee drinks. The company will hold similar events in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Five years ago, Jamba dropped the “juice” from its name, as a way to help customers understand it sells plant-based food and drinks, not just juices and sweet smoothies.
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Midway Rising gets another year to finalize deal for San Diego’s sports arena site
By JENNIFER VAN GROVE | The San Diego Union-Tribune
The city of San Diego has pushed back the deadline to finalize a deal with the development team selected two years ago to remake the city’s 48-acre sports arena site in the Midway District.
The parties, tied together in an exclusive negotiation agreement that was set to expire on Dec. 5, now have through Dec. 5, 2025, to negotiate a long-term ground lease and complete the environmental review of the Midway Rising project.
The Midway Rising project calls for 4,250 residential units, a 16,000-seat replacement arena and 130,000 square feet of commercial space alongside an unspecified number of acres of parks, plazas and public space.
“We have agreed to administratively extend (the ENA) for one year, at (the development team’s) request,” Christina Bibler, who oversees the city’s real estate division, told the Union-Tribune. “There are delays on both sides in terms of going through our various processes. Ours was procurement and contracting for getting our consultant on board (to analyze the Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District). And theirs was finalizing their specific plan and going through development services for certainty as to the development footprint.”
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Minority enrollment holds steady at top U.S. law schools, early data indicates
Sept 9 (Reuters) - Early data from a handful of top U.S. law schools shows the percentage of nonwhite students enrolling this year has remained mostly unchanged following the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring colleges and universities from considering race in admissions.
Six of the top 20 U.S. law schools—as ranked by U.S. News & World Report—have disclosed some racial diversity data on their websites or provided it directly to Reuters as of Sept. 5. Of those, five reported that the percentage of first-year students of color this fall increased or remained steady this year. One said that figure declined.
The five that reported either no change or increases in the percentage of minorities in their entering classes were the University of Virginia School of Law; the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law; Cornell Law School; Vanderbilt University Law School; and the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. Minority enrollment for first-year classes at those five law schools averaged 44%.
The University of California, Berkeley School of Law was the sole law school of the six to post a year-over-year decline—falling to 50% students of color from 57% last year. A Berkeley Law spokesperson said the California school, which has been under a state-imposed affirmative action ban since 1996, did not change its admissions process and that the makeup of its class fluctuates every year.
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