Rep. Davis, Sara Jacobs visit Jackie’s Jams

Retiring Congresswoman Susan Davis, right, and incoming Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, third from right, toured Jackie’s Jams in El Cajon to learn how the pandemic has affected small businesses.
December 18, 2020

Other items in today’s column include:
*Shirley Weber says she will run for election when term as Secretary of State is up
*ADL Center on Extremism Links Proud Boys to AntiSemitism
*Tijuana, San Diego Mayors Pledge Cooperation, Urge People to Stay Home During Pandemic
*National Security Awards Conferred Upon Americans Who Aided the Abraham Accords

(Names in Boldface type in this column are those of known members of the Jewish community)

By Donald H. Harrison

Donald H. Harrison
David and Risa Baron, circa 2019, pre-pandemic

EL CAJON, California — After spending nearly 10 years in a shared commercial kitchen, David Baron decided to take the plunge and move Jackie’s Jams into its own fully owned commercial kitchen at 1444 Pioneer Way.  He took out an Small  Business Administration loan last January and his move-in date was March 15th of this year.

Very unfortunately, that was about the time the Covid pandemic hit.  Baron found himself not only making 32 flavors of jams; he was suddenly in a financial jam.  Restaurants and hotels, which were an important segment of his business, stopped ordering.  Glassware in which to pack and ship the jams and jellies suddenly were in short supply.  In consultation with his wife, Risa, who is a public relations officer for the San Diego County Water Authority, Baron feared that he might have to shut the co-owned family business down.  But with the help of the East County Economic Development Corporation, and with relief grants from federal, county and city governments, Baron was able to keep the business open and his four regular employees working.

Even though his orders had fallen off substantially from hotels and restaurants, they increased from such grocery chains as Whole Foods, and Sprouts as well as with the provisioning company, Specialty Produce.  Furthermore, Jackie’s Jams, purchased a decade ago from founder Jackie Anderson, was able to develop its online retail business.   Today Baron expresses confidence that his business will survive and continue to grow.

On Wednesday, December 23, outgoing Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) and her soon to be sworn-in Democratic successor, Sara Jacobs, toured the facility, watching Baron and staff fill a couple hundred 8-ounce jars with either nectarine jam or pineapple strawberry jam.  They also discussed what recommendations the Barons and East County EDC President/ CEO Jo Marie Diamond  might have for how the federal government can help small businesses of all types during the pandemic.

Their answer was direct:  Increase the amount of money available to small businesses in the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and streamline the application process, so that small businesses don’t have to wait five months before relief starts flowing in.

While not committing herself on that score, Jacobs later stated in a news release: “While the COVID relief package is still in flux, I was glad Congresswoman Davis and I could spend the afternoon with the East County Economic Development Council at Jackie’s Jams hearing their firsthand experiences with the pandemic; the effects on businesses, employers, and customers; and what more the federal government can do to help our small businesses survive.”

The Barons shared with me how David got into the business.  They used to buy jams from Jackie Anderson at a farmers’ markets that they attended.  Their son, Jonah, was a big fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and today at 19, he still is.  When Jonah was approximately  5 years old, Risa made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that he wouldn’t eat, saying whatever store-bought jelly she used simply didn’t compare with Jackie’s Jams.  The Barons became Jackie’s regular customers thereafter.

David, who had worked as a legislative aide to former Assemblyman Mike Gotch (D-San Diego), had always loved to cook.  Daughter Hannah, 21, said that such specialties as his grilled steaks and chili were always so popular with her friends, that they all wanted to eat at the Barons’ home, rather than go out to restaurants.  When David decided to leave the political world,  Jackie Anderson was thinking of retiring.  David received permission to volunteer and observe Jackie’s operation first-hand for two months before purchasing it almost 11 years ago.  At first, they worked out of a shared kitchen, in which the hours they could prepare the jams and jellies were restricted.  Today the Barons have not only their own kitchen but also a large warehouse.

Developing the online portion of the business was a challenge, Risa confided.  “I am north of 50, and social media is not  big part of my life, so we hired a young woman who was really good at doing this.  I had no idea how to put together a Facebook ad, and she did all that for me, and it was money well spent.”

The online marketing paid off during the Christmas season as many people wanted to purchase specialty gifts and at the same time support small businesses, Risa said.

*
Shirley Weber says she will run for election when term as Secretary of State is up

California Secretary of State-designate Shirley Weber says she will be running for a full term of her own in 2022.  The 80th District Assemblywoman was appointed on Wednesday to fill the unexpired term of Alex Padilla, who was named by Gov. Gavin Newsom to take over the U.S. Senate seat Kamala Harris will vacate to become the nation’s vice president on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.  Other Democratic politicians previously had announced their intentions to run for the Secretary of State position, most notably Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, whose 79th Assembly District neighbors the one Weber will give up.  Newsom soon will set the date for a special election to fill Weber’s Assembly District, and there is speculation that Weber’s daughter, La Mesa City Councilwoman Akila Weber, will seek to succeed her mom.  The Webers, Newsom, Harris, and Gonzalez are all Democrats.

*
ADL Center on Extremism Links Proud Boys to Antisemitism

The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism on Thursday published a photograph of a Covid-masked man standing with Proud Boy protesters at a December 12th pro-Trump rally in Washington D.C.  The man wore a black and yellow T-shirt emblazoned with the text 6MWE, which, horrifyingly, is code for “6 Million Wasn’t Enough,” a not-so-veiled reference to the genocide of Jews during the Holocaust.   Furthermore, according to an ADL news release from Jake Hyman, “The man, who has not yet been identified, also wore a Proud Boys baseball hat and the skull face mask popular among — but not exclusive to — right-wing subcultures like accelerationists and boogaloo bois. The t-shirt featured the Proud Boys’ black-and-yellow color scheme and a black-and-yellow flag design, as well as the letters “RWDS”- which stands for “Right Wing Death Squad.” Given the ubiquity of these symbols and words within the Proud Boys organization, it is extremely likely that the man is a member of the group.”

*
Tijuana, San Diego Mayors Pledge Cooperation, Urge People to Stay Home During Pandemic

Mayors Todd Gloria of San Diego and Arturo Gonzalez Cruz of Tijuana, Mexico, jointly urged residents of their neighbor cities to forego traditional Christmas and New Year’s visits to friends and relatives across the international border because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We understand that during the holidays, people are inclined to gather with family and loved ones, but we are encouraging them not to do so,” Mayor González Cruz said. “The best way people can show their love and gratitude right now is by staying home and staying safe. This pandemic has been long and hard, and while there are loved ones who are living apart on both sides of the border, we are asking them to remain positive and know they’ll be reunited with their families soon enough. Create memories through Zoom and phone calls.”

Mayor Gloria said, ““The health of San Diego is directly tied to the health of Tijuana. Families and businesses alike have deep roots in both cities, which makes it more important than ever for the leadership of our two cities to work together through these challenging times, just like we have when tackling major issues such as immigration, cross-border commerce or reducing the sewage from the Tijuana River Valley.”

*

National Security Awards Conferred Upon Americans Who Aided the Abraham Accords

Jewish Insider and Reuters report President Trump conferred national security awards on members of his administration who helped broker the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and four Arab countries: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

Receiving the medals were U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates John Rakolta.

The White House distributed a statement in which Trump commented: ““Thanks to the efforts of these individuals, the region will never be the same as it finally moves beyond the conflicts of the past.”

*
Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com