Four months into an ordeal where their building was flooded (twice!), replacement hotel accommodations were abruptly canceled, and contractors apparently pilfered a number of their possessions, more than 50 tenants of the beleaguered SoMa high-rise 33 Tehama are suing the property manager Hines.

It was on June 3 of this year when 38-story South of Market luxury apartment complex 33 Tehama had a top-floor water main break that caused about 20,000 gallons of water to flood the building, forcing the evacuation of all 383 occupied units. The building’s property manager Hines looked the good guy by offering tenants hotel rooms for the duration of repairs, but it took all of a few days for that offer to look more short-term, as tenants told SFist their hotel reservations were being rescinded by the hotels because there was a conference in town.

Other deals with tenants may have been struck since then, but it’s clear that many remain disgruntled.

The timeline for the tenants’ return has been extended again and again, and now they can’t get back into their apartments until “early 2023,” according to the management company. Add to this the frustration that hotel assistance has now been cut off entirely, the place flooded again in August, and residents complained that contractors were seen on video stealing items from their vacated homes.  

Now this is all ending up where you might have guessed it would have, in court. The San Francisco Superior Court, that is, as the SF Business Times reported Sunday, and the Chronicle quickly confirmed, more than 50 residents of 33 Tehama are suing property manager Hines over the whole runaround.

HAPPENING NOW: Residents of 33 Tehama in #SF have filed a lawsuit against the building’s owner after burst pipes in June forced tenants out of their homes for months. They’re claiming chronic mismanagement. Story at 5 & 6 @abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/2KONwCZ76k

— Tim Johns (@tim_johns_) October 10, 2022

“The tenants were promised this magnificent building and instead they found themselves in a total nightmare,” the plaintiffs’ attorney Nazy Fahimi said in an interview with the Chronicle. “It truly took a toll on these individuals.”

The lawsuit alleges that Hines knew of the plumbing problems long before the June 3 flooding, and has failed to come through on promises of reimbursement for hotel expenses. Financial damages are not specified in the suit, but that’s clearly what the plaintiffs are after here.  

While we do describe the building as “luxury apartments,” nearly 140 of the residents were below-market-rate tenants.

Hines spokesperson Marisa Monte told the Chronicle, “We deny the allegations pled in this complaint, and we believe that during the course of pretrial discovery the court and the public will understand the true extent of our efforts to help those that had to leave their homes during these unfortunate and unforeseen events.”

The district’s supervisor Matt Dorsey chimed in with a statement that “The flooding incident at 33 Tehama in June was only the start of a cascading fiasco that continues to cause hardships and uncertainty for residents. I think civil litigation is the appropriate next step to right the wrongs that emerged from this debacle, and I’m confident the San Francisco Superior Court will ensure that justice is done.”  

The 33 Tehama website still has a “Lease Now” button, as if everything were fine at this location, though there is a message at the top of the site saying there’s a “24/7 hotline” to get “the latest updates.”

While Hines is the property manager, the building was designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica. That same firm is designing a proposed tower with the floating cube top that was all over the news last week, so the current structural mess at 33 Tehama could potentially impact the approval process for that structure.

Related: Flooded SoMa High-Rise Cutting Off Tenants’ Hotel Reimbursement, as They Learn They Can’t Return for Months [SFist]

Image: SFist, Courtesy 33 Tehama tenants

The post Nonetheless-Flooded Out 33 Tehama Residents Sue Property Supervisor, Alleging Mismanagement and Dishonesty appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Greg’s hospitality career spans 25 years, beginning at the ripe age of 17, when he accepted his first job in the hotel industry as a waiter at the Courtyard by Marriott in Brentwood, TN. Since then, Greg has held positions at five brands under the Marriott umbrella, including The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco Marriott Marquis, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn and, most recently, the Residence Inn by Marriott in San Diego, where he served as General Manager. Greg is particularly excited to take on his role at the new waterfront AC Hotel at Oyster Point.Greg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from San Jose State University, and is a certified life coach through Marriott.

General ManagementSan FranciscoCaliforniaUnited States

The post Greg Schmidt has been appointed Basic Supervisor at AC Lodge San Francisco Airport/Oyster Level Waterfront appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

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Chayne Hampton is the manager at Santa Cruz Plumbing Inc., operating the company’s residential plumbing department.

Plumbing was prominent in Hampton’s life growing up in Santa Cruz. His father has been working for the UA Local 38 Plumbers & Pipefitters union in San Francisco since Hampton was born. Around age 20, Hampton began to work alongside his father. But that soon ended because of what Hampton calls “bad life choices.” Hampton struggled with a drug addiction that ultimately led him in 2016 to serve three years at San Quentin State Prison for burglary. After his release in 2019, he entered rehab and sought employment. He reached out to Santa Cruz Plumbing owner Jason Allison, who gave Hampton a chance. He started out as a shop hand, eventually working his way up to manager.

Transitioning from incarceration to the workforce is no easy feat. Hampton says people “have to learn how to operate in a world that’s not the world that you’ve been in.” Many will pass judgment, he says, but if someone is a hard worker their past shouldn’t hold them back. Hampton relishes the simplicities of life, having gone through losing his freedom while in prison. He prides himself on maintaining a job long term, something he struggled with in the past. He enjoys what he describes as “normal-people stuff,” like traveling, working out and spending time with his wife.

Hampton also shared stories on the “Ear Hustle” podcast, as well as narrating parts of the audio version of the book “This is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life” by Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods. He hopes to be able to progress in his career, either growing the residential plumbing sector or working for himself and beginning a family business.

Education:

• San Lorenzo Valley High School
• Cabrillo College: construction estimating, plumbing code, blueprint reading

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Lookout: Can you walk me through how you became involved in the plumbing industry?

Chayne Hampton: My dad’s a plumber and he works for the [plumbing] union in San Francisco, and he’s worked there since before I was born. When I turned 20-something, I tried to join the union and I ended up getting in. I was commuting over the hill with my dad and that commute was just kind of a nightmare. I can see it now in retrospect how draining that drive is and just working in the city in general. They would pay you a lot but it’s a lot of time off your life. But that’s not why I left the union — I made some bad life choices that ended my career there.

I went to jail two times before I went to prison. Just little six-month stint[s]. I thought that would be the end of it, they would never send me away because I was such a petty criminal. The judge looked at what I was doing and saw that it was gradually getting worse and worse. I was taking bigger and bigger risks and that got me a prison sentence. I ended up going to prison for a little bit and when I got out I was in a rehab, New Life on the Westside.

I turned in an application [to] Anne Keating, who’s our HR person [at Santa Cruz Plumbing]; [she] got my application, showed it to [company owner] Jason [Allison]. One of my past employment [experiences] was at San Quentin, [at] the waste management plant. I was trying to make it look pretty without saying I’d been to prison. Jason, not being an idiot, put it together and gave me a call and he said, “I’m very empathetic to a guy in your position. Where are you at? I’m going to come talk to you.” So he came to where I was at. He was like, “All right dude, we’re going to start you at this [wage],” which in retrospect was exactly how much money I needed to make at that time. Now I make twice that.

I had minimal experience, at that point I think I was a [shop hand]. [Jason said,] “All right, we’ll get you digging some holes.” So that’s where I started, digging a little bit [and] organizing the truck, nothing too complicated because, I mean, I was like a baby. After a while, slowly more responsibilities [were] put on my lap. Jason is pretty hands-on and he saw where I had some strength, which was mostly relatability with people, deescalating situations [with] customers [or] other contractors, just general customer-service skills. My employment took a bit of a shift to more management, so I have guys working under me. I’ve been doing this now for about a year.

Lookout: What does a typical day look like for you?

Hampton: For me, I just started checking my emails. [But] whenever I get started I get parts [and] lay [it out for the] guys, like, “This is the job we’re doing today.” Then I’ll go to the job with them and get a material list for them so that they don’t have to drive back and forth to the supply house, kind of streamline things. [I’ll] check in with the customer to make sure they’re doing OK, no one is making a mess, everyone is parking where they should be parking, let them know if the water is going [to] be off. From there, I head back to the office [to] follow up on quotes that I had written and then from time to time I [find] myself in the field tying up loose ends, [like if] a customer needs to be walked through how their new tankless water heater works, then that’s the last thing I’ll do in the day.

Lookout: What was the experience of transitioning from prison back to the workforce?

Hampton: I mean, I didn’t think I had a snowball’s chance in hell. I’ve got tattoos. Even before going to prison I lived in a prison of my own making. Through lifestyle choices I created a very small world for myself, [it was] very limiting. I [could] never be too far away from the action. My life was confined to six or seven blocks in each direction. I was crippled by drugs and addiction, mentally and physically.

I didn’t have any proper skills. But Jason, once again, I [have] to give this guy all the props in the world. I don’t know what he saw in me, maybe he thought I’d only last a week or a year. I’ve never done anything [for work] for five years [and now] someone just took a shot on me. I have buddies who are in the same situation as me, and [it’s] “I can’t find work” and this and that. It’s not easy for a lot of dudes with tattoos on their face and a rough background or a record, but it’s not impossible. I also have a ton of friends who brought themselves into unions. You’ve just got to be willing to start from the bottom. I was trying to be very humble about it: You want me to dig holes? I’ll dig holes.

Lookout: What was it like working in the sewage treatment plant at San Quentin?

Hampton: So my sewage treatment job, when I first got it, I was like, “Cool, sewage treatment, I’m going [to have] a breaker and some chemicals, maybe some goggles.” Yeah, I had goggles, but my tools were a pitchfork and a hose. I would go into this thing they called the pit where all the sewage travels through it. I would have to unclog these drains with the pitchfork and the hose. When you make food in prison you make it in a spread bag [a plastic bag] and when you’re done with it guys will just tie it and then flush it. So when I’d be in there spraying off sewage, sometimes I’d hit one of those bags, it’d ricochet into my face. That’s why I was going to have the goggles and that’s when I stopped having a beard.

They tell you this is your job then you show up for it and if you [try] to refuse it, it’s going to be bad. There’s this weird illusion of free will [that] people think is so necessary, but after being incarcerated, I’ll tell you what, I miss sometimes having someone tell me when to do things. Like, sure, you’re free, but at the same time, that’s a lot of thinking, decision-making, responsibility [and] accountability.

When I applied for the job [at Santa Cruz Plumbing], of course with Jason I was all-in. I was in the union but I don’t necessarily want to tell this guy I’ve been to prison. I’m just going to be honest, but also say, I worked in the sewage treatment plant in San Quentin. San Quentin is not just a prison, I’m pretty sure it’s a town. He took one look at that and was like, “mm-hmm.” So he figured it out.

Lookout: What do you love most about your job?

Hampton: I like interacting with people. I like getting people set up and stoked. Maybe changing the narrative a little bit that you can’t trust your mechanic, you can’t trust your plumber. Everybody is trying to sell you something extra. It’s like no, man, I’m really not. You just have this active water leak I’m trying to get taken care of. My wife called me from the mechanic and she’s just, “Oh, they’re trying to sell me this fluid. I don’t know if I need it.” I was like, “Maybe you need it.” Everyone’s so scared and I get it. One of the things I like doing is [to] just surprise people by giving them what they want and maybe telling them what they need.

I’ve been able to hire guys too, Jason has allowed me to have that responsibility. There’s been guys that were like me, I’m like, “Let’s give you a chance.” Not all of them have worked out but like one of them did, [and] that’s great. Who doesn’t like a comeback story?

Lookout: What have been your biggest challenges in your career?

Hampton: Realizing what a lack of proper education I had going into this, whether it’s spelling, mathematics, writing an email properly, talking to people [professionally]. Those are these huge hurdles I’m working on every day. Those are things I’ve had to adapt to. Also being kind of a self-starter, my days aren’t always laid out for me. I’ve got to keep myself busy and productive.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Lookout: What advice would you give to someone who is interested in this type of career?

Hampton: Just be humble and ready to show up. I mean, just because you got paid $25 an hour under the table by Jimmy Jams Plumbing in Boulder Creek doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to get that somewhere else. And that’s OK, then you go and you learn. I’ve taken classes at Cabrillo that correlate with my career: construction estimating, plumbing code, blueprint reading. Those weren’t things I asked my boss to pay for, either. It’s not his responsibility, it’s your responsibility. If you want to get paid more, be worth more. I know that’s a tough thing. The trades are riddled with guys that have problems showing up on time or attitudes. Just be stoked you got a job, show up a little early, stay a little late. Don’t look [at] your time clock, [or write] every email like, “I actually [finished] work at 3:05, [so] I should get paid for those five minutes.” You should get paid for those five minutes but my dad always told me, “If you got to stay a little late to fix your mistake, don’t make Jason pay for it.”

Lookout: Who is the best person suited for the job?

Hampton: I mean, anybody. Man, women, [or] whoever, a worker [is] a worker. Maybe you’re working with a guy who doesn’t speak any English, but plumbing’s like a universal language, like mathematics. You watch YouTube videos on silent on how to cook things, you could watch a plumbing tutorial in Spanish while you only speak English and still learn something. Just bust ass, move fast and don’t make too big of a mess.

You have to be able to work with dispatch, guys who are ordering parts and you have to have some degree of communication skills and traveling up on your own. It’s a team effort.

Lookout: What can someone expect to be paid when they’re going into this career field?

Hampton: I don’t know, maybe $20-ish if you have a license? You’re not only getting a job but you’re also getting hands-on training that translates to other places. You could probably get a job for more starting at a restaurant, for example. It’s like, what’s your intention?

If you’re really good you can make like $75 an hour. If you’re doing your own thing you could charge $125 an hour, you could charge whatever you feel like you’re worth, as long as you’re being fair with the customer and honest. If you’re new to a company but you’ve done plumbing for 15 years, they may start you off at a certain dollar amount and then once you’re able to prove yourself then your price will go up.

Lookout: What’s the difference between a union and non-union plumbing?

Hampton: A lot, it’s a big question. [In a] union, there’s guaranteed work. It’s hard to say, because some people prefer the union, but you have to pay dues to the union. You’re not allowed to really strike out on your own, like your knowledge is essentially theirs. Prevailing wages, some projects are only union, like this is a union plumber job and it’s prevailing wage. That could be upwards of $75 an hour, but that prevailing wage job doesn’t necessarily last forever.

Lookout: What is something that most people misunderstand about your job?

Hampton: There’s a lot more to it than you think. It’s not just unclogging toilets, it’s also opening up walls, installing new plumbing systems [and] knowing how hot water works. I understand it’s just water, but [it’s] temperatures, also gas and gas pressure. Like what size should your gas line be if it’s servicing these three different fixtures? I’ve got to find out what’s on the fixtures and this degree of math to size something correctly because it’s going to go underground. I don’t think it’s a trade you would see depicted in a movie. Like I’m Mario and Luigi and we just got these plungers. There’s a lot to it. There’s a complement of electrical and HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems]. They all culminate into one.

Lookout: What kind of jobs do you think there will be out there in the plumbing field?

Hampton: I think the technology around plumbing is always changing, new applications, making it so jobs can be done quicker. There’s all kinds of routes that you want to take [because] plumbing is not just water and poop. It’s also gas [appliances]. There’s new water heaters that are electric — in California, we’re trying to go in that electric direction. That means your old gas water heaters have to go, and your new electric ones have to go in.

Lookout: What does the trajectory of your job look like?

Hampton: For me, I would like to grow [into] the service department and have more guys. Jason, the owner, is responsible for over 100 guys. If I could have my little department where I’m doing that in my own way, that’s the goal. Maybe one day be competent enough to do something on my own or have my dad involved and keep it in the family. Jason started his company from the ground up, out of his garage. I do more residential stuff at people’s houses, if I were able to grow that. Right now we have five guys. When we have 10 guys, we’d really have a thriving service department along with [a] thriving construction side.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Lookout: What would be your advice to someone who is getting out of jail or in a position where they ask, “What’s my next step?”

Hampton: Apply, apply, apply. Just apply and be forthcoming. I genuinely believe there are business owners out there [who] want to be that person that gave that dude [a] chance and he just crushed it. Understand though, too, other guys have come before you and they let people down. Understand that people are going to pass judgment. Don’t lie, be forthcoming. The bottom line is, none of that [stuff] will matter if you’re a really good plumber or you’re a really good hand [or] worker.

Lookout: What motivates you every single day to continue on considering all the hurdles you’ve gone through?

Hampton: Personally, it’s the security of having something to do every day. I know that idle hands [are] like the devil’s playground. Too much idle time, either you’re just on social media or you’re distracting yourself in one shape or form. At least this way, I’m driving around on this side of the hill. That’s the great part. I could be on the Westside, in Aptos or Felton all in the same day and that just keeps me busy. I also have a wife now, she works here cleaning vacation rentals. We’re a DINK [couple], dual income, no kids. So we like to go out to dinner, travel or whatever and those things cost money.

Lookout: What does the future look like for you?

Hampton: I would like to get a dog. Me and my wife want to go to Italy. It’s a lot of normal-people stuff that maybe to the average person is like, “Yeah, that [stuff] is cool.” But understand I came from a place where, like I said, I’ve never done anything for five years. I don’t know how else to describe it, I’ve had a job for five years, like I’ve been fired from everywhere I ever worked. The second I got off drugs and started trying, I was able to keep things. I think that was a pretty big constant in my life before, I was always losing things. Whether it was something as simple as losing the money I had in my pocket for the drugs, losing this and losing that, and losing my freedom. Now I try, and I genuinely put in the effort. It’s just my belief that when you put in the effort you get gifts.

The post How I Received My Job: After spending time in jail, plumbing supervisor Chayne Hampton discovered goal in a profession within the trades appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal jury today convicted Harlan Kelly, the former General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of charges that he accepted bribes and gifts from a local businessman in a scheme to provide confidential information about the city public bidding process and steer city contracts to that person’s businesses, announced First Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Robbins, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge Darren Lian. The verdict follows a two-week trial before United States Chief District Judge Richard Seeborg.

Kelly, 61, of San Francisco, was arrested on a criminal complaint in November 2020, and he was tried on charges contained in a May 31, 2022, superseding indictment that included charges of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and honest services wire fraud. The superseding indictment also included charges of false statements to a bank, conspiracy to make false statements to a bank, bank fraud, and bank fraud conspiracy, related to a scheme to defraud Quicken Loans in connection with a $1.3 million mortgage refinance loan obtained by Kelly.

Kelly was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, one count of honest services wire fraud, and all four counts related to the bank fraud scheme. The jury found Kelly not guilty of two honest services wire fraud counts.

The charges against, and prosecution of, Kelly grew out of a years-long investigation into bribery and public corruption in San Francisco city government, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and IRS-CI. To date, 13 individuals have been charged in connection that larger set of investigations, including Mohammed Nuru, former director of the San Francisco Public Works department, and multiple city contractors and other facilitators of bribes and corruption.

The evidence at trial showed that Kelly, appointed in 2012 as General Manager of the San Francisco PUC, had access to confidential information about city contract bidding processes, and the ability to influence the awarding of some city contracts. Documents and testimony showed that Kelly had a close personal and professional relationship with San Francisco business owner and contractor Walter Wong, and that during the time Wong both conducted business with the city and sought additional lucrative contracts to supply the PUC with LED streetlights. While he was doing business with the city and seeking contracts, Wong provided numerous gifts, benefits, and bribes to Kelly. These bribes including discounted construction work on Kelly’s personal residence and a lavish international trip hosted by and in part paid for by Wong. Evidence showed that Wong paid travel and personal expenses for Kelly and his family during a March 2016 Kelly family vacation to Hong Kong, Macau, and China, and that Wong paid for hotel expenses and incidentals such as meals and luxury excursions. Wong has previously pleaded guilty to charges that he engaged in an honest services fraud conspiracy in connection with his interactions with Kelly and others.

The evidence at trial showed that as part of the bribery conspiracy, Kelly provided confidential information and documents about the details of bids submitted by other contractors, including proprietary pricing and cost information, and information and documents with internal notes about how city employees in the PUC were evaluating and rating the bidders. The evidence showed that Kelly delivered these documents to Wong and his associates in violation of Kelly’s fiduciary obligations to the city and its residents, and that the confidential information assisted Wong and his company in improving Wong’s chances to obtain the contract award.

Trial evidence also showed that Kelly defrauded Quicken Loans, a financial institution, in a $1.3 million dollar real estate mortgage loan provided to Kelly. The evidence at trial showed that Kelly worked with an associate, prominent city businessman and property manager Victor Makras, to mislead the bank. According to the evidence, in the application for the loan Kelly falsely represented that he had a $915,000 mortgage and concealed the true nature of his debts from Quicken. According to the trial evidence, these misrepresentations were material to the bank’s evaluation of the borrower and the loan. The outstanding debts that Kelly concealed from Quicken included a construction debt owed to the contractor, Walter Wong that amounted to about $89,000. Another debt concealed from the company was a $70,000 unsecured personal loan made by Makras to Kelly, a result of Makras directly paying Kelly’s credit card debt in order to conceal the fact that Kelly received this loan from Makras.

Co-defendant Makras, 64 of San Francisco, was also charged in the May 31, 2022 superseding indictment, and was convicted of making false statements to a bank and bank fraud at a separate trial in August 2022.

The federal jury today convicted Kelly of the following:

•    One count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343, 1346, and 1349, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or the greater of twice the gross gain or gross loss
•    One count of honest services wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1346, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or the greater of twice the gross gain or gross loss
•    One count of making false statements to a bank in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine
•    One count of conspiracy to make false statements to a bank in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000
•    One count of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344(1),(2), which carries a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000, or not more than the greater of twice the gross gain or gross loss
•    One count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344(1),(2) and 1349, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000, or not more than the greater of twice the gross gain or gross loss

As part of any sentence, the court also may order the defendant to serve an additional period of supervised release to begin after any prison term, to pay additional penalties, and to pay restitution, if appropriate. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553. Defendant Kelly remains out of custody pending sentencing. No future date has yet been set.

The case is being prosecuted by the Corporate and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ward and Kristina Green prosecuted the case at trial with the assistance of Tina Rosenbaum. The case is being investigated by the FBI and the IRS-CI.

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Architectural Resources Group is a full-service architectural practice with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Portland, OR. ARG provides a wide range of specialized architectural, material conservation, and planning services for rehabilitation, adaptive re-use, and new design of culturally sensitive properties. 

ARG seeks an experienced Billing Manager for a full-time, exempt position. The Billing Manager will work closely with Project Managers to enter consultant invoices and issue client invoices monthly. They will communicate with clients regularly by sending invoices to clients, answering client questions or providing additional requested documentation, and contacting clients regarding unpaid or skipped invoices. Our ideal candidate will have strong communication skills and experience in monthly invoicing and collections. Reporting to the Controller, this is a crucial role in a small team of three people that handles all accounting and most HR requests for all three offices. This is a fast-moving position with many moving parts; this role includes client communications via phone and email. Therefore, the applicant should be a problem-solver, have an immense attention to detail, ability to think critically, and communicate clearly and professionally. The ability to work proactively, learn quickly, and ask questions is essential in this position.

The main responsibilities of this position will be:

• Enter consultant invoices in preparation of client billing
• Work with Project Managers to accurately prepare and finalize invoices (~150 invoices/month)
• Prepare and send invoices to clients:
  • Prepare and include required documentation, reports, and/or back-up
  • Send invoices via mail, email, or upload via various required websites
• Client communications:
  • Sending client invoices and answering questions/providing additional information
  • Monthly collections calls – contact clients regarding unpaid invoices
• Extensive work within accounting software, Ajera, to set-up projects and run various reports
• WIP management
• Project profitability analysis with Project Managers
• Month-end journal entries and reconciliations

Additional responsibilities include, but not limited to:

·         Prepare WIP evaluations against contracts for each project

·         Manage and obtain Certificates of Insurance

·         Assist and prepare client and consultant contracts

·         Assist with month-end and year-end close

·         Assist with various other accounting, HR, and administrative tasks as needed

·         Offer coverage of other accounting staff while on vacation

Qualifications:

·         5+ years experience as a Billing Manger, Accounting Manager, or Project Accountant

·         Extensive knowledge of Excel

·         Strong technology skills including MS Office Suite

·         Ability to work with .pdfs, preferably using Bluebeam

·         Project accounting experience is essential, preferably for an architectural or engineering firm

·         Accounting/project management software experience, preferably with Deltek Ajera

·         Accounts receivable and accounts payable experience

·         Ability to work independently and be self-managing

·         Must have excellent attention to details, be dependable, conscientious, focused, and organized

·         Bachelor’s degree required, Accounting degree preferred

·         Must pass credit-check

Compensation: Compensation will depend on experience, qualifications, location, and education. The annual pay range for this position for a Bay Area-based applicant is between $80,000 to $85,000.

Applicants must be a US citizen or hold a US work visa. ARG is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Qualified candidates should submit a letter of interest and detailed resume to [email protected] (include “ARG SF Employment” in the subject line). No calls please.

[email protected]

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By Jamie Chisholm

Critical information for the U.S. trading days

Wall Street is undecided about trying for another rally on Friday, according to early trading in futures. That’s in keeping with the struggle it has been of late, with the S&P 500 SPX down six of the last eight sessions amid August’s bearish tendencies.

Some technical factors are causing concern. The Nasdaq 100 NDX is in danger of decisively falling back below its 50-day moving average support trend. Apple (AAPL) did so a week ago, and now its relative strength index, a gauge of momentum, has swiftly dropped to 30, signaling the stock may soon enter short-term oversold territory.

Over the same short period, the yield on the 10-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD10Y has twitched within a range of roughly 4% to 4.2% as investors try to get a handle on varying inflation and economic growth readings.

So, what’s an investor to do amid such uncertainty? Well, buy the companies that help traders to trade it, reckons VGI Partners, the Australia-based fund manager. In it’s semi-annual investor letter, covering performance to the end of June, VGI highlighted the top ten long investments in its Global Investments fund , three of which provide, to varying degrees, what may be termed the plumbing of the financial markets.

With a weighting of 7% is the London Stock Exchange , which VGI is keen to point out has transformed from a traditional exchange into a data and analytics group. After its purchase of data group Refinitiv in 2021, the LSE now generates only 3% of revenues from its legacy cash equities exchange.

Deutsche Börse represents about 8% of the portfolio and is deemed atractive says VGI because it provides trading, clearing, pre/post-trading and data and analytic services in four key operating segments: Trading & Clearing, Fund Services, Security Services and Data & Analytics.

DB is a “well-diversified exchange group whose activities touch on most aspects of European capital markets, offering a blend of transactional and non-transactional revenue exposure,” VGI adds.

But top holding is CME Group (CME), with a 9% weighting. CME operates futures and derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, and the Dow Jones Index Services.

VGI particularly likes CME’s “effective monopoly” of trading in interest rate derivatives. “Demand for interest rate derivatives is driven by volatility in interest rate markets, whose effect is compounded by the number of bonds held by those looking to manage interest rate risk and, by extension, market liquidity,” the fund manger notes. And the chart below illustrates this strong relationship.

VGI expects the growth in the size of the U.S. Treasury market, particularly in relation to privately held US treasuries as the Fed undergoes a balance sheet unwind, to provide important support to a CME’s interest rate derivatives business. CME should also benefit — as are other exchanges — from a boost to net interest income from the collateral balances it holds.

“We believe that CME’s assets are critical pieces of market infrastructure and will be recognized as such in the future,” VGI concludes.

Markets

U.S. stock-index futures , , are little changed as benchmark Treasury yields BX:TMUBMUSD10Y dip. The dollar DXY is lower, while oil prices slip and gold gains.

Try your hand at the Barron’s crossword puzzle and sudoku games, now running daily along with a weekly digital jigsaw based on the week’s cover story. To see all puzzles, click here.

The buzz

Economic data on Friday, include the July producer price index report, due at 8:30 a.m., and the August consumer sentiment reading at 10 a.m.. Both times Eastern.

UBS Group (UBS) has terminated a 9 billion Swiss franc ($10.27 billion) loss-protection agreement and a CHF100 billion public-liquidity backstop guaranteed by the Swiss government that were put in place at the time of its takeover of troubled rival Credit Suisse.

The pound rose back above $1.27 after data showed the U.K. economy grew 0.5% in June, more than twice the 0.2% expected.

Country Garden shares fell nearly 6% to below HK$1 for the first time as China’s biggest homebuilder warned of a loss and suffered another ratings downgrade of its debt.

Shares of Cano Health Inc. (CANO) are down more than 50% in Friday’s premarket after the primary-care provider and health-management platform said there was “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating.

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The chart

Just a reminder from Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, of why some investors are getting twitchy about the recent rally in oil pries because of how it may clobber the happy narrative that major central banks can soon stop raising interest rates.

“The correlation between the Brent crude oil price and the five-year forward inflation expectation rate has been 0.88 since 2011,” says Wood. “This is potentially an awkward development in the context of the prevailing narrative that both the Federal Reserve and the ECB are all but done in this tightening cycle even if the official mantra in both cases remains ‘data dependent’.”

Top tickers

Here were the most active stock-market tickers on MarketWatch as of 6 a.m. Eastern.

Ticker Security name
TSLA Tesla
MULN Mullen Automotive
AMC AMC Entertainment
NIO Nio
WE WeWork
NVDA Nvidia
GME GameStop
TTOO T2 Biosystems
AAPL Apple
NKLA Nikola

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The post If America’s debt spiral will get worse, this is the inventory which will profit, says fund supervisor appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Leslie Arroyo

Leslie Arroyo has been named as the city’s new deputy city manager after serving as the South San Francisco’s communication director since 2015.

“Leslie is an integral part of our executive management team and has consistently taken on increasingly more important and complex tasks and roles over her eight years with the City” South San Francisco City Manager Mike Futrell said in a press release. “She is a leader who has earned the respect of her peers and the City Council and will excel as the new deputy city manager.”

As communications director, Arroyo lead all efforts to modernize and expand the city’s communication efforts, including social media on all platforms along with written and video outreach efforts, facilitating continued transparency and openness. As deputy city manager, Arroyo will have responsibility over the city’s equity and social justice initiatives, including management of the new Equity and Public Safety Commission, as well as leading community outreach efforts and multi-departmental initiatives, while continue her role leading communication efforts in the city.

Arroyo has more than 25 years of combined private and public sector experience, including as a consultant for Accenture, a television news reporter and anchor and in public relations.

Arroyo has a Bachelor of Science degree in management, with an emphasis in marketing and communications from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and a master’s degree in business administration from San Francisco State University.

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Today the San Ramon City Council announced the election of Steven Spedowfski as the next San Ramon City Manager. Spedowfski, who has worked for the city for more than 20 years and served as San Ramon’s interim city manager, was selected after a thorough and transparent vetting process that included a statewide search, community survey and employee survey.

Spedowfski has worked for the City of San Ramon since 2001, initially as a transportation specialist; then as an analyst, then as senior analyst in the Public Works Department, where he oversaw the city’s special county finances, stormwater program, geographic information system, and departmental communications. In 2019, Spedowfski was promoted to deputy city manager, serving as director of economic development, public information officer, and liaison to the Legislature.

Spedowfski succeeds former city manager Joe Gorton (who retired in January 2023) and served as interim city manager of San Ramon during the hiring period.

“The recruitment consultant did an excellent job and placed many good candidates with us; We learned a lot from our interviews. But in the end we realized that what we had was exactly what we wanted; That was the decision we all came to,” said Mayor David E. Hudson, who introduced Spedowfski as a new staffer in 2001. “Steven has been involved with the San Ramon community for more than 20 years and brings a wealth of knowledge to the role. We trust in his leadership as our next city manager.”

“It’s a great honor to be chosen as San Ramon’s next city manager,” said Spedowfski. “This is a wonderful community and I look forward to continuing to serve the residents of San Ramon in this new capacity.”

Spedowfski joined the City of San Ramon in 2001 as a transportation specialist, where he restructured the city’s residential traffic calming program and Safe Routes to School program. He also acted as a liaison with County Connection and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority.

From 2004 to 2009, he worked as an Analyst in San Ramon’s Engineering Division, managing finances for the Citywide Landscape and Lighting District and the Geologic Hazard Abatement District (GHAD). In that capacity, he developed the 40-year GHAD Reserve Fund study that recently funded a $5 million landslide repair. He also conducted district assessment reviews, generating an additional $1.5 million in revenue for the city.

In 2009, he was promoted to senior analyst and oversaw the city’s stormwater program, geographic information system (GIS) and the district’s special finances. During his tenure as senior analyst, he led communications efforts and assisted in the education process for the San Ramon county election. He led negotiations for two regional stormwater permits issued by the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board. He has also served as city representative for the Contra Costa Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (including serving as Chair 2010–2018) and the Contra Costa Clean Water Program (Chair 2008 and 2011).

In 2019, Spedowfski began serving as San Ramon’s assistant city manager and created a COVID Response Business Assistance Program that helped local businesses secure $4.8 million in state and federal grants. He led renewal efforts for the San Ramon Valley Tourism Business Improvement District, successfully secured a $2 million federal grant for the Iron Horse Trail Overcrossing at Crow Canyon Road, developed the city’s communications strategy for information on COVID-19 and the redistribution process for the district elections. He also acted as a liaison with Discover San Ramon and the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce.

He currently serves on the board of directors for the San Ramon Regional Medical Center.

Spedowfski also served in an elected position as a City Councilor for the City of Livermore from 2014 to 2018 (Vice Mayor 2017), where he played a key role in the passage of the Livermore Downtown Plan, and was a founding board member of the Valley Link Regional Rail System and a founding member of the East Bay Community Choice Energy program. He also served as Livermore Planning Commissioner from 2011 to 2014 (Chairman 2013).

Spedowfski holds a master’s degree in public administration from California State University, Hayward, and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration. He also holds a Masters Certificate in Leadership from the ICMA High Performance Leadership Academy.

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Roger Craig, a veteran pitcher who later led the San Francisco Giants to the 1989 World Series, died Sunday. He was 93.

Craig, whose catchphrase “Humm Baby” embodied his positive behavior as he encouraged his pitching batons over the years, died after a short illness, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Craig, a right-handed pitcher who won a World Series game with the Brooklyn Dodgers in his 1955 rookie season, led the 1962 National League with 24 losses at the original New York Mets. As manager, he popularized the Giants in the 1980s, winning two division titles and earning a place in the World Series. The 1989 roster secured San Francisco’s first World Series berth since 1962.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, in addition to helping the Dodgers win the World Series in 1955, Craig was on the team’s championship roster in Los Angeles in 1959 and played for the St. Louis Cardinals when they won the 1964 World Series .

Craig started the Mets opening day of the inaugural season with a 15-46 record in two years. He lost 18 straight decisions en route to a record 5:22 in 1963, leading coach Casey Stengel to say, “You have to be good to lose that many.”

According to Baseball-Reference.com, he ended his 12-year major league career with a record of 74-98.

“We have lost a legendary member of our Giants family,” Giants CEO Larry Baer said in a statement. “Roger was popular with players, coaches, front office staff and fans. He was a father figure to many, and his optimism and wisdom led to some of the most memorable seasons in our history.”

Craig’s 586 victories as San Francisco manager is the sixth-most in Giants history and the third-most since the team moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, KRON-TV reported. Only Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker have more wins.

According to MLB.com, Craig became synonymous with the split-fingered fastball he taught as a pitching coach. One of his top students was Jack Morris, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.

Craig was the first pitching coach when the San Diego Padres entered the National League and was the team’s manager in 1978. He led the team to a record of 152-171 in 1978 and 1979.

Craig moved to Detroit, became the Tigers’ pitching coach, and helped Detroit win the World Series under Hall of Famer Manager Sparky Anderson, according to MLB.com.

In 1989, the Giants lost the World Series in four games to the Oakland Athletics, a postseason series best known for a massive earthquake that shook the Bay Area and delayed the postseason series by ten days, according to the Chronicle.

“The best manager I’ve ever had. One of the best men I’ve ever met,” Giants broadcaster and former pitcher Mike Krukow, whose last season as a player was with the Giants in 1989, told the newspaper. “He made us all better. He taught us how to win. What more precious gift can you give an athlete? It’s funny, he was the man at the top in September 1985, but he was an incredibly positive influence on me and made me a better person, a better man, an incredible influence on all of our lives, which he taught us over and over again has field. He was our GOAT.”

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Sharon Ranals

The South San Francisco City Council has appointed Sharon Ranals as the city’s permanent manager, having served as an interim member since late December 2022.

She previously served as the city’s director of parks and recreation. The only other woman to hold a similar post in the city was Patricia-Eve Martel, who was deputy city manager in the 1990s and served as acting city manager from February 1993 to December 1994.

“What an exciting time for our city and how appropriate that we announce the permanent hiring of a female city manager during Women’s History Month,” South San Francisco Mayor Flor Nicolas said in a press release. “Having been in town for more than 40 years, she brings a wealth of institutional knowledge to the position and inspires future generations of women leaders.”

Ranals secured grants and undertook several significant projects and programs, including the construction of the Centennial Way and the Joseph Fernekes Recreation Building in Orange Memorial Park. As Parks and Recreation Director, Sharon led an award-winning team of more than 400 full- and part-time city employees responsible for park maintenance and operations, recreational programs, services for seniors including senior center operations, pre-K and after-school programs at six school campuses and Building maintenance for all municipal facilities.

Ranals will show their involvement in the planning of the new Community Civic Campus, the implementation of ballfield and park improvements, the general plan update, renovations at the Oyster Point Marina, city beautification and efforts to combat graffiti and illegal dumping, among a host of others problems continue.

Ranals holds a bachelor’s degree from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and a master’s degree in public administration from San Francisco State University.

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