Good morning, Bay Area. Twitter’s site went down briefly Thursday morning, something the company acknowledged after tens of thousands of users noted the outage on Downdetector. So far, no explanation has been provided as to the cause. In the East Bay, developers will have to reserve at least 13% of their new housing projects for affordable homes — up 3% — under a new rule the Brentwood City Council approved this week. And in crypto news, TechCrunch reports that San Francisco fintech Plaid is adding support for thousands of crypto exchanges to its data network — an indication that the company views crypto as important to its growth. Here’s what else is making waves this morning.
Blackstone subsidiary Link Logistics Real Estate has put up for sale eight fully leased warehouses comprising nearly 1 million square feet in Benicia and Fairfield. The portfolio accounts for 8% of the currently available industrial space in the Bay Area, according to CBRE, which has the listing. The eight buildings total 943,000 square feet and have 13 tenants, with average remaining lease terms of 3.6 years. Link Logistics cited a value of approximately $190 million in a release from CBRE. The locations of the properties include 363-437 Industrial Way, 20269-20281 Mack St., and 3919 Oregon St. in Benicia and 5160 Fulton Dr. in Fairfield. (The Real Deal)
San Francisco exercise-equipment company Tonal is cutting its staff by 35%, a move that will affect corporate functions at all levels. The company claims to employ just under 700 workers on its LinkedIn page. The fitness startup, whose main product is a wall-mounted touch screen with digital weights and a suite of workouts, has garnered celebrity endorsements and financial backing from Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Serena Williams and was valued at $1.6 billion last year. (Wall Street Journal)
The U.S. District Court of Northern California has ruled a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a local union and two longstanding city employees can move forward against San Francisco for an alleged “systematic campaign” of harassment, discrimination, and intimidation against union members for exposing corruption. The ruling allows Laborers Union Local 261 of S.F. to move forward with complaints against the city after it had filed the lawsuit in February, alleging it retaliated against the union for exposing corrupt practices by former Public Works Director Mohammad Nuru, SFPUC Executive Director Harlan Kelly, former SFPUC Assistant Manager Juliet Ellis and other officials. Claims brought by individual plaintiffs and city employees Theresa Foglio-Ramirez and Juan Rivera will also move forward.
Between May 2019 and May 2021 the Bay Area lost 800 tech jobs, though the region’s 378,870 tech workers remained the highest number of any region, followed by the New York metro area’s 344,520 worker, according to a new report from real estate brokerage CBRE (NYSE: CBRE). However, the region is still losing jobs to remote listings as well as cities like Toronto, Seattle and Austin, the report stated.
Los Gatos-based Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) has selected Microsoft Corp. as technology and sales partner for its planned ad-supported subscription offering, as the streaming giant looks to plug slowing subscriber growth by rolling out a cheaper plan. (Reuters)
The Port of Oakland has chosen Chamber President to lead its governing board. At their latest board meeting, Port commissioners unanimously selected Barbara Leslie as their new president, succeeding former Commissioner Andreas Cluver, who steps down after two years as board president. The board also elected architect Yui Hay Lee as first vice president, and former board President Ces Butner was elected second vice president. All three officers assume their new positions later in July.
Oakland-based fintech Marqeta has hired Simon Khalaf as its new chief product officer. He joins the company from Twilio, where he was the senior vice president of that firm’s core communication products. (News release)
Compass Development Marketing Group’s Western Region has brought on Jason Koverchuk to lead sales from Compass’ flagship San Francisco office. Koverchuk comes to Compass (NYSE: COMP) from S&P and Pendry. He will oversee the sales teams at all of the brokerage’s Western developments including 181 Fremont, Yerba Buena Island and The Oak.
S.F.-based private equity firm Carrick Capital Partners is committing $75 million to Tempe, Arizona-based cybersecurity services provider Bishop Fox Inc. as part of a final investment from its $380 million third fund. (Wall Street Journal)
Pulley, a Mountain View-based equity management software startup, raised $40 million in Series B funding. Founders Fund led, and was joined by Stripe and Elad Gil. (Axios)
You think you’ve seen a lot in your life? Try comparing it to Mila Mangold, a longtime Berkeley resident who held the title of California’s oldest person at the age of 114. She just passed away this month, her son confirmed on Wednesday. Over a century ago in Nebraska, she lived amid another pandemic as the 1918 Great Influenza outbreak spread across the globe.
This inspiring event will honor the Top Bay Area Corporate Philanthropists, and share the stories of those who do it best.
Nominate your company for the Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area 2022 awards, which recognizes extraordinary businesses that have shown tremendous growth.
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