Morning Report: City Needs Startups, Startups Need Money
Many small startup businesses want to grow and add jobs, and to do that, they need money.
The money invested in those startups often comes in the form of venture capital. Silicon Valley, and its strong startup culture, is synonymous with venture capital firms, which in turn attract more small businesses.
Lisa Halverstadt found that while San Diego has a lot of startups, we don’t have anywhere near the level of venture capital waiting in the wings to grow those businesses. That’s a problem, Halverstadt says, because local startups that can’t find investment funds will either grow at a snail’s pace, or just leave town to go find investors.
What’s Up With Escondido’s Prop. H
Local ballot measures can result in strange political bedfellows, and to that point Escondido’s Proposition H is a doozy. You’ve got Democrats siding with their conservative sparring partners, the Lincoln Club, in support of a big developer who wants to build hundreds of home on 110 acres of open space. The League of Conservation Voters, an environmental group, wants it done, too.
With so many disparate groups politically aligned, who’s left to make for a bitter opposition? The Democractic candidate for mayor in Escondido, Olga Diaz. Lyle Moran reports that while Diaz originally voted to keep the space open, she has since switched her position to support development, and has made some bitter enemies as a result. “That’s an unforgivable leap for Prop. H opponents and UFCW Local 135, which is one of the largest unions around,” Moran writes.
Minds Met, Singers Sang
You never know what you’re going to get when you come to one of our Meeting of the Minds events. Maybe the venue will be unusual, like on top of a parking garage or in an old bakery. Or maybe opera singers will emerge from the crowd from an impromptu performance, which is what happened at our most recent in San Ysidro this week. We wanted to hear from people who make their lives and work on both sides of the border, so we took the show south. While you can catch up on all the speakers and topics through Bianca Bruno’s wrap-up, what you’ll be missing is the delicious lamb tacos that were served.
Climate Plan Coming: San Diego Explained
San Diego’s Climate Action Plan isn’t a done deal yet, but mounting consensus on the plan means that some big changes will likely be coming to San Diego. We’ve got a lot of heavy lifting to do on transportation and converting our energy sources to renewable-only, for example. Andrew Keatts joined NBC 7′s Catherine Garcia and dove in to some of the details of what the new plan might mean for San Diegans in our most recent San Diego Explained.
Election Heat Roundup
Observers of the 52nd District race this week witnessed either an epic political meltdown or a masterful high-tech conspiracy, depending on who you believe. Scott Lewis laid out earlier this week what he said was the most bizarre political scandal he has seen in town. The AP played up San Diego’s circus-like political tendencies, and ABC News took its own shot at putting together a timeline of events. The San Diego Reader noted how the events this week set the NBC7 San Diego news team against U-T San Diego.
Email, whether it was or wasn’t sent, and who it may have been sent by, continues to play an abnormally large role in this scandal. On Thursday, NBC 7 aired new allegations by DeMaio’s campaign that claimed former staffer Todd Bosnich, who has accused DeMaio of sexual harassment, sent an email taking responsibility for the plagiarism that had previously landed DeMaio in hot water. The DeMaio camp maintains that Bosnich was fired for the plagiarism. But Bosnich denied ever having sent that email.
• With the House race dominating headlines, you’d be forgiven for forgetting there’s a hotly contested race going on for City Council’s District 6 seat. KPBS notes that, while the seat is technically non-partisan, the winner of the seat will likely make-or-break the Council Democrats’ veto-proof majority. We put candidate Chris Cate on the spot last week on several of his positions, and we’ll have more from Carol Kim later thisweek.
• The race for California’s top schools administrator is also heating up, with a newcomer trying to unseat an incumbent. (U-T)
News Nibbles
• Mayors throughout the region met on Thursday to discuss environmental plans, transportation issues and the possibility of a new stadium. (U-T)
• While Ebola continues to scare the nation, other diseases are actually having an impact in San Diego. (NBC 7)
• San Diego clarified a rule about marijuana dispensaries, which will help some shops that are waiting to open. Meanwhile, the city shut down four unauthorized pot shops. (U-T)
• “Who votes is public record,” says a billboard on El Cajon Boulevard. “Only 17% of this neighorhood voted in the last election.” The Center for Policy Initiatives is hoping the billboards inspire higher voter turnout. (U-T)
• Police said a previously unsolved case from 1984 where a San Diego teen was killed at Torrey Pines has now been solved. The suspect? A 20-year employee SDPD crime lab worker who committed suicide this week as police closed in on an arrest. (U-T)
To Drink Heartily, With Gusto
San Diego is known for its beer partially because of its thriving homebrewing community, San Diego Magazine reports. Homebrewers, who buy just enough equipment and ingredients to make their own batch of beer in their kitchens, are teaming up with local established breweries to get big beer projects done. Some have gone on to start their own breweries, which keeps the cycle going and new talent always coming up.
Our city is host to one of the nation’s largest homebrewing groups, called the Quality Ale and Fermentation Fraternity, or QUAFF.
Seth Hall is a local writer and technologist. You can email him at voice@s3th.com or follow him on Twitter: @loteck.