Column: California Inc.: Primary voters will tackle pocketbook issues

Welcome to California Inc., the weekly newsletter of the L.A. Times Business Section.

I’m Business columnist David Lazarus, and here’s a rundown of upcoming stories this week and the highlights of last week.

Investors had little to cheer Friday after it was reported that job growth ground nearly to a halt in May, with the U.S. labor market having its worst performance in more than five years. The economy added just 38,000 net new jobs last month, a steep drop from April’s 123,000 and well below analysts’ forecasts.

LOOKING AHEAD

Shut the faucet: Changes to Los Angeles’ Green Building Code aimed at reducing water use go into effect Monday. The changes will require that new buildings, additions or alterations valued at more than $200,000 incorporate water-conservation measures that have the effect of cutting indoor use by 20%. New multifamily dwellings and commercial buildings over 50,000 square feet will be required to install sub-meters, giving each occupant an incentive to save water.

Viacom battle: The latest episode in the high-level fight for control of media companies CBS and Viacom will play out Tuesday in a Massachusetts courtroom. Viacom Inc. Chief Executive Philippe Dauman and board member George Abrams are suing to block their dismissal from a seven-member trust that oversees Sumner Redstone’s controlling stakes in the two companies. Redstone, 92, moved to oust Dauman and Abrams on May 20. Dauman and Abrams allege Redstone is mentally incapacitated and is being unduly influenced by his daughter Shari Redstone, vice chairwoman of the media companies.

Decision time: Tuesday is election day and the focus is on the Democratic presidential primary, but down-ballot, several California cities will be considering serious pocketbook issues. In San Diego, voters will decide whether to increase the city’s minimum wage to $11.50 an hour. Long Beach voters will weigh in on whether to raise the sales tax 1 percentage point to hire police, fix streets and pay for water-system updates. In Glendale, voters may rescind the utility users tax, which delivers more than 15% of the city’s general fund revenue.

Physician-assisted suicide: A new era in California healthcare begins Thursday when the state’s End of Life Option Act goes into effect. The law will allow terminally ill Californians to request prescriptions from physicians for medication that would end their lives. A patient must be deemed terminally ill and mentally competent by two physicians to receive a prescription. California joins four other states — Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana — in allowing physician-assisted suicide.

Smoking limits: Despite resistance from the tobacco industry, new California laws that restrict smoking will go into effect Thursday. The laws raise the smoking age statewide to 21 from 18, restrict the use of electronic cigarettes in public places and expand no-smoking areas at public schools. The changes were backed by a coalition of medical groups including the American Heart Assn., the American Lung Assn., the American Cancer Society and the California Medical Assn.

THE AGENDA

Monday’s Business section asks the question: Why does the economy feel so weak even after an 84-month recovery, the fourth longest since World War II? Among the reasons are subpar job creation, highlighted by May’s dismal numbers; disappointing wage growth; high housing costs; and a troubled global economy. “We’ve come a long way from the bottom of 2009,” said David Shulman, senior economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast. “But compared to the historical growth track, we’re so far below it that it’s staggering, and that’s the unease the public feels.”

STORY LINES

Here are some of the other stories that ran in the Times Business section in recent days that we’re continuing to follow:

New jobs: Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created in L.A. County over the next four years, most of them low-paying, according to a report from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. Most of the jobs added in the county by 2020 will pay below the median wage, the group said. Office administration and food services will add the most positions to their ranks through 2020, combining for about 93,000 new jobs, according to projections. The county will gain only about 19,000 jobs in engineering and manufacturing and machine operation.

Scopes deaths: Pasadena’s Huntington Hospital broke state law by not quickly reporting a suspected deadly outbreak last year, according to a letter by city officials. The hospital released the letter last week, as well as the results of the city’s investigation into the outbreak caused by dirty scopes, which sickened 16 patients, including 11 who died. City health officials did not investigate the cause of the patients’ deaths, many of whom were seriously ill. The officials noted in the report that only one patient’s death certificate listed as a cause the dangerous drug-resistant bacteria that contaminated the scopes and sickened the patients.

Drug delay: More than a decade ago, researchers at Gilead Sciences thought they had a breakthrough: a new version of the Foster City company’s key HIV medicine that was less toxic to kidneys and bones. In 2004, Gilead executives stopped the research. More than six years later, though, in 2010, Gilead restarted patient trials. The new version of the drug, which the company says is safer, was approved in November under the brand name Genvoya. That has stirred criticism that the new, less harmful form of the drug could have been developed sooner — and wasn’t because the company wanted to extend its patent-protected profits.

Final frontier: Now that SpaceX has made rocket landings somewhat routine, the next step is to prepare the recovered rockets for reuse to launch commercial satellites. Some of the technical hurdles it must clear also have financial implications. In the next two weeks, the Hawthorne space company will brief domestic and international insurance underwriters on its progress. As part of that regular annual review, they will discuss upgrades to the company’s Falcon 9 rockets, as well as its plans to reuse them. SpaceX will need to determine how many launches it can get out of each reusable rocket as well as the costs of refurbishing them.

Cecil Hotel: The Cecil Hotel in downtown L.A. is set to undergo a $100-million renovation by a New York City developer, which aims to transform the former den of prostitution and drugs into a hip boutique hotel and micro rental units. The plan for the hotel is yet another example of the development boom sweeping downtown, where old buildings are being revamped and new hotel and condo towers erected. The Cecil, a 600-room tourist and residential hotel, has been the subject of litigation in recent years as housing advocates looked to preserve cheap residential hotel units in an increasingly gentrifying downtown.

WHAT WE’RE READING

And some recent stories from other publications that caught our eye:

Healthcare marriage: The International Business Times delves into the wheeling and dealing that goes into huge companies tying the knot. “Cigna and Anthem are spending big to push regulators to approve a giant merger — one that could drive premiums up and limit treatment and coverage options.”

Learning curve: Does it pay to attend a for-profit college? Maybe not. A new report, says the Atlantic, finds that “students pursuing bachelor’s and associate’s degrees at for-profit colleges saw their earnings drop, compared to before they started the program.”

You’ve got funding: AOL has raised the bar on tech-industry perks. According to Quartz, employees and potential hires “will create business plans and pitch them to AOL executives and the venture capitalists the company backs. The winners will be given funding and up to six months to develop their projects.”

Bad vibes: Donald Trump focuses on what America has lost — and it’s turned into a winning strategy. As the New Yorker puts it, “Trump is playing to one of the most powerful emotions in our economic life — what behavioral economists call loss aversion. The basic idea ... is that people feel the pain of losses much more than they feel the pleasure of gains.”

Restless tech: Sleep is a hot topic these days — and a business opportunity for makers of sleep-related technology. But as Fast Company reports, data from sleep trackers can’t solve deeper problems. At least not yet.

SPARE CHANGE

Speaking of a good night’s rest, let us pause to appreciate the genre of bad mattress commercials — a consumer product that routinely brings out the worst in TV pitchmen. Such as this one from Mattress Ranch in Alaska. Or this Austin Powers-themed effort from Trent Bedding in Kentucky. Or this “Star Trek” mattress mind meld from Dodd’s Furniture in Canada.

For the latest money news, go to www.latimes.com/business. Until next time, I’ll see you in the Business section.

David Lazarus’ column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.