Home Care In Camarillo, CA

Employees of a Camarillo-based company that designs biodegradable food containers were notified Tuesday that the factory was winding down operations.

Zume Inc. CEO Annette Groenink said in an email the company has yet to set a date for the closure.

“We’ve made great strides on our mission to enable a future free from single-use plastics, and we’ll continue to work with our partners to see through on this mission,” she wrote.

The decision follows a November announcement that the company would be laying off 62 of its 140 employees by the end of January to restructure the business.

As of Wednesday, there were 31 employees left at the Camarillo factory, Groenink said.

Tom Ridderbush, a senior mechanical engineer who was laid off earlier this month, said potential investors have toured the facility since the November layoffs were announced.

"I could see the writing on the wall," Ridderbush said. "I could see the place was going under."

Founded in 2015, Zume got its start delivering pizzas made by robots in Silicon Valley. The company, then based in Mountain View, raised about $423 million in venture capital, according to a 2019 story in Crunchbase News, which tracks such investments.

Zume later acquired Camarillo-based Pivot Packaging in 2019, Crunchbase reported. Then in 2020, the company stopped making pizzas to focus on sustainable food packaging shortly after acquiring Pivot Packaging. The Camarillo-based business was creating compostable food containers made from sugar cane fibers.

With the closure of Zume Pizza, the company's workforce was reduced by about 53%, Crunchbase reported at the time.

Another local company, Thousand Oaks-based Amgen, announced its own round of layoffs, the second this year.

In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, commonly called a WARN noticed, the biotech giant said it is laying off 425 employees effective May 26.

Less than 5% of the layoffs are in Thousand Oaks, the company said in a statement.

In January, the company announced about 300 people would be laid off.

With about 5,500 local employees, Amgen is Ventura County's largest private employer.

-- Staff writer Tony Biasotti contributed to this story.

Brian J. Varela covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo. He can be reached at [email protected] or 805-477-8014. You can also find him on Twitter @BrianVarela805.

Residents have until Aug. 8 to submit more feedback on a proposed housing development on the Camarillo Springs Golf Course.

The city is circulating a second draft of the environmental report for the Greens at Camarillo Springs project after changes were made to the original document. The new draft revises the master drainage plan, floodplain analysis and tentative tract map. Comments are limited to the revised sections of the report. The general public as well as agencies and organizations can submit feedback.

Many Camarillo Springs residents have previously expressed concerns about the development.

The project would shorten the 18-hole golf course to 12 holes to make room for 248 single-family homes for residents 55 and older. The project also includes improvements throughout the golf course.

Developer New Urban West Inc. submitted paperwork to the city in 2017 to redesignate 31 acres of the 182-acre golf course as low-density residential. The initial draft of the environmental impact report, often called the draft EIR, went out for public comment in fall 2020.

The general plan amendment, which is needed to redesignate the land, went before the council for a status update in April 2022. At the meeting, Councilman Tony Trembley and members of the public expressed concerns over parts of the report.

A number of the comments addressed drainage and flooding concerns.

Brian Morris, founder of the grassroots group Oppose Camarillo Springs Building, said the new draft report doesn’t do enough to address the community's concerns.

One issue, Morris said, is the lack of an emergency spillway for the small lake on the golf course. During heavy rainfall, a spillway would prevent lake water from spilling over into the golf course and neighborhood.

He was also worried about continued use of a flap gate system on pipes that can get jammed open, causing flooding.

The developer hadn't responded to a request for comment as of Friday afternoon.

Comments submitted before the Aug. 8 deadline will be addressed in the final environmental report, said city spokesperson Michelle Glueckert D’Anna in an email. The report will combine new comments on the revised sections of the document with feedback from the original version's unchanged sections.

A date has not been set for the final document to go before the council.

Comments can be emailed to Planning Manager Jaclyn Lee at [email protected] or sent to her by mail at 601 Carmen Drive, Camarillo, CA 93010.

The draft report is posted on the city’s website under its "pending projects" page.

Brian J. Varela covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo. He can be reached at [email protected] or 805-477-8014. You can also find him on Twitter @BrianVarela805.

Astronomy enthusiasts across the West Coast and Southwest are preparing for an annular solar eclipse that will likely be visible in the sky on Saturday.

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An annular solar eclipse — not to be confused with an annual eclipse — occurs when Earth’s moon covers up most of the sun. If you’re in the right spot at the right time, you’ll see just a circle of light around the moon, also called a “ring of fire.” (An “annulus” in mathematics is the name for the space between two concentric circles.)

Saturday’s eclipse should be visible for around three hours, although that perfect ring-of-fire moment lasts for only about five minutes. You’ll need to be within 125 miles of the path of annularity. In the map below, you can see that path in orange, first appearing in Oregon before moving along the northeast tip of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas. No other U.S. states will get the full ring-of-fire effect, although places farther away can still expect to see a partial eclipse. Most of California will see a partial eclipse, assuming weather permits.

The eclipse should start to be visible on the Oregon coast around 8 a.m. Saturday. In short order, it will likely spread farther south toward California. If you want to check the time the eclipse begins where you are, there’s a map available here. For a more detailed Google map of the path of annularity, the Exploratorium recommends this interactive map.

If you want the best view of the ring of fire, you’ll need to drive up to Modoc County. Hotels and campsites are already pretty well booked, and the sparsely populated corner of Northern California is expecting a surge in tourists this weekend. Assuming you can’t make it up to Modoc County, there are livestreams available that you can watch. The Exploratorium is hosting several livestreams from different locations on its website.

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It looks like it’s time to add “fake unions” to the long list of problems facing California’s multibillion-dollar legal pot industry.

Some of the biggest legal cannabis companies in California appear to be violating state law by working with organizations that claim to be labor groups but are accused of not actually attempting to fight for workers’ rights.

California law requires any pot company with more than 20 employees to sign a labor peace agreement with a “bona fide” labor union. The law is intended to provide workers with easier access to labor organizations that can petition the company for better wages and working conditions.

However, at least three of the biggest pot companies in the state have been caught working with a “fake union” called Professional Technical Union Local 33, or Pro-Tech, according to MJBizDaily. Last month, the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board determined that Pro-Tech was “not a bona fide labor organization” because they made no discernible effort to organize or represent any employees in the cannabis industry and even failed to have a physical presence in California.

The board ultimately determined that Pro-Tech and the companies it contracted with had entered into a “sham relationship” in order to skirt the state law.

The list of companies working with Pro-Tech includes: Nabis, one of the biggest distribution companies in the state; Herbl, a major distributor that recently went out of business; and Glass House Brands, one of the biggest pot farming companies in the state, according to MJBizDaily.

The complaint against Pro-Tech was filed by the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters, a union that represents more than a million workers in North America. Peter Finn, a vice president at the Teamsters, told SFGATE in a phone interview that these sham unions hurt the rights of California’s cannabis industry workers.

“This is not just about a labor peace agreement, this is about a worker’s ability to form a union to improve their wages, benefits and working conditions,” Finn said. “These fake unions and employers that engage with them are undermining the law and the will of the people.”

Last month, the Teamsters filed a second complaint, alleging that a union called the National Agricultural Workers Union was also “not a bona fide labor organization.” According to the Teamsters, the National Agricultural Workers Union has agreements with Caliva, a cannabis company owned by The Parent Company since 2021, an SEC filing shows. Rapper Jay-Z is an investor in The Parent Company.

Anthony P. Raimondo, an attorney representing the National Agricultural Workers Union, said the Teamsters’ allegations were “flatly untrue” and described the group as a “startup union” with no paid staff that has slowly been working to organize workers.

“A lot of what happened with this organization became stalled during COVID because there were limited opportunities to organize and do face-to-face activity,” Raimondo said in a phone interview with SFGATE.

Companies have 180 days to enter into a new labor peace agreement if they are found to be working with an entity that is not a bona fide labor organization, Department of Cannabis Control spokesperson David Hafner told SFGATE.

So far, most of the implicated companies are staying silent. Nabis declined to comment when reached by SFGATE, and both Caliva and The Parent Company did not return requests for comment.

A spokesperson for Glass House Brands said in an emailed statement to SFGATE that the company is working to find a replacement union to sign an agreement with. “We are in the process of complying with this change of status, and expect to make the adjustment within the time frame requested by the State,” the statement said.

Labor peace agreements are contracts between a company and a labor organization where the union agrees not to picket or boycott the business and the business agrees not to disrupt efforts by the union to organize workers and petition for better working conditions and pay. While they’re not specific to the cannabis industry, pot companies increasingly need to strike these deals as more states with legal weed mandate them thanks to heavy labor lobbying.

Beginning in July 2024, the requirement for a labor peace agreement will apply to all companies with 10 or more employees, down from 20.

Hafner said in an email to SFGATE that the California cannabis regulator does not actively investigate unions that enter into labor peace agreements with pot companies, instead relying on a “complaint-driven” system.

“DCC is actively working on efforts to increase transparency into licensees’ labor peace agreements, so that we can strengthen labor organizations’ and workers’ ability to file effective complaints,” Hafner said.

California has the largest number of legal cannabis industry workers in America, according to a 2022 report, with more than 83,000 people employed in the industry in 2021.

There are likely other cannabis companies that have signed agreements with Pro-Tech. An attorney for the organization told the state’s labor relations board that they had entered into 64 labor agreements with businesses in California’s cannabis industry.

Bummed to have missed out on last weekend's hard-rockin' heavy metal shenanigans in Indio? Well, here’s some good news: This weekend brings a fresh chance to take in another mind-blowing, profound, maybe even spiritually transcendent spectacle.

Ok, fine, it’s not quite an AC/DC reunion – but a local astronomy professor says the solar eclipse that will be visible from the Coachella Valley on Saturday morning should still make for quite a scene.

“Anytime the moon blocks the sun or the sun blocks the moon it’s a pretty amazing sight,” said Michael Gariety, a professor of physics and astronomy at College of the Desert. “Even though the eclipse happens every six months somewhere on Earth, it's exciting when it happens close to you.”

It’s the latter sight that people across the Western Hemisphere (including us) will be treated to on Saturday morning as the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun, temporarily blocking out the sun’s light. Those within a narrow arc of land extending from Oregon through Texas in the U.S. and into Central and South America will have the best view: They’ll be treated to the sight of the unique “ring of fire” effect that occurs when the moon covers all but the outer portion of the sun.

While the Coachella Valley will join most of the country in missing out on that peculiarity, residents who look to the east Saturday morning still will be treated to a partial solar eclipse with just under 80% of the sun blocked out by the moon at the eclipse’s peak.

Here is what you need to know about catching the eclipse – and how to stay safe if you choose to tune in to it.

When is the solar eclipse?

Timeanddate.com, which tracks solar eclipses, says the eclipse will begin at 8:08 a.m., with the moon gradually covering more and more of the sun until it covers about 79.7% of the sun’s visible surface at around 9:26 a.m. The portion of the sun then visible will increase until 10:53 a.m. when the sun will be fully visible again, ending the eclipse.

Solar eclipse glasses recommended for safety

Remember those eclipse glasses that became all the rage ahead of the 2017 solar eclipse? Well, you may want to go rummaging for them in the basement. That’s because it’s not safe to look at the eclipse with the naked eye, Gariety said. If you can’t find glasses but own a welder’s helmet or a telescope with a solar filter on the end, you can also use those.

Places to watch the eclipse in the Palm Springs area

Assuming you can get your hands on protective eyewear, Gariety said really anywhere with a clear view to the east should provide a good view. He said some people like to pick a spot where they can take a photo with trees, mountains or something else visible in the foreground to juxtapose with the eclipse which he said should work as long as whatever is being juxtaposed doesn’t block the view of the actual eclipse.

Looking to amp up your experience? The Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory is holding a free eclipse viewing event Saturday that will offer a chance to view the eclipse through solar filter-equipped telescopes. Attendees also will be able to make their own pinhole projection viewer that projects the eclipse onto a piece of paper allowing it to safely be viewed. Best of all? Free eclipse glasses will be distributed at the event while supplies last.

The event will take place from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Rancho Mirage Community Park, which is located at 71-560 San Jacinto Drive.

Where to get solar eclipse glasses

Lost your pair from 2017? Your best bet is to probably look to Amazon. As of Tuesday, several brands of eclipses glasses were available on the mega retail site with several available to be sent via two-day shipping (so don’t delay). Wondering if your glasses are legit? Look for glasses that advertise an ISO of 12312-2 (sometimes written as 12312:2015). In addition to distributing free eclipse glasses at the viewing event, Rancho Mirage Library cardholders can also pick up glasses at the library this week.

Will it get darker during the eclipse?

Gariety said that while the eclipse will cause a dimming effect in the Coachella Valley, it likely won’t be too noticeable to most people because of how much of the sun is still visible.

Why won't the sun be fully blocked out?

Saturday’s eclipse is an annular eclipse, which is an eclipse that occurs when the sun is far enough from Earth that it appears smaller than the sun and does not completely block it out (that is why even those in the direct path will still see the ring of fire). The Coachella is also outside the path of the shadow's cast by the moon that will block out all but the outermost portion of the sun, creating the ring.

How is the forecast shaping up for the eclipse?

As of Tuesday, NWS San Diego is forecasting clear and sunny skies on Saturday. That forecast should make for good eclipse viewing if it holds.

When will I get another chance if I miss this solar eclipse?

While eclipses occur every six months and can always be seen from somewhere on Earth, being able to actually see one in the Coachella Valley is considerably rarer. In a unique coincidence, another solar eclipse will be visible in the Coachella Valley on April 8. That eclipse will cover about 14% of the sun less at its height than Saturday’s. Miss that one too? The US won’t have another visible solar eclipse until 2045, Gariety said.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the city of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at [email protected].