During the Covid lockdowns, Gov. Newsom granted McKinsey a no-bid contract to push out vaccines
According to an August 3, 2023 article in The Fresno Bee, “House Speaker Kevin McCarthy joined other local politicians in sounding alarms about the ties between China and a secret lab that was shut down earlier this year in Reedley, talking with reporters Thursday in Clovis.
News of the lab – run by company Prestige Biotech Inc., whose owners reside in China – broke last week along with concerns about vials of exotic contagions the lab had been illegally storing. A slew of state and federal agencies are investigating, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI.
The Bakersfield Republican, who met with the media at his newly opened office in Clovis, said he’d spoken to local officials earlier that day about the “disturbing” discoveries out of Reedley. He pledged to take these concerns back to the select committee on China he convened shortly after becoming Speaker of the House this January.
“My concern is to get to the bottom of what happened here,” he said, “but also … where’s this happening in other parts of this country?”
The Speaker also alleged that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration provided the lab with state funding.
“Now we’re finding out that the governor of California provided them with $360,000 in this process,” he said.
A spokesperson from the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) told The Bee in an email that Universal Meditech, Inc., the predecessor of Prestige Biotech, received a $360,000 tax credit through the office’s California Competes program in April 2019, but the credit was ultimately revoked.
“(Universal Meditech, Inc.) did not achieve any of its milestones and was not approved to claim any of the tax credits. GO-Biz recaptured the entire credit and voided the Agreement with UMI,” the spokesperson said.
The office also said that Prestige Biotech never received any California Competes funding and that it was “never a party” to the agreement.
McCarthy said he plans to follow up with the FBI in light of his discussions Thursday.
“There’s a lot more questions that need to be answered,” he said.
According to a May 2022 press release from The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) “part of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), today announced the formation and leadership team of the 2022 Entrepreneurship & Economic Mobility Task Force (EEMTF), formed to propel inclusive entrepreneurship and to ensure that all California small businesses have access to the resources they need to grow and scale.
“As a business owner and technical assistance provider before my current role, I know all too well the challenges small businesses face. This Task Force will focus on addressing current challenges that include workforce and capital access constraints to support a continued sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis as well as look forward to opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship on a broad scale,” said Tara Lynn Gray, Director of CalOSBA.
Lenny Mendonca, owner of the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, has accepted the Chairmanship of the 2022 EEMTF. Serving alongside Mendonca as Task Force Vice Chairs are Gurinder S. Ahluwalia, Member of the Board of Hightower Advisors and InspereX and Maria S. Salinas, President & CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.
Mendonca is the former Chief Economic and Business Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom. He is also a Senior Partner Emeritus of McKinsey & Company, a lecturer on inequality at the Stanford Business School, and Founding Chair of the Coastside News Group. Over the course of his career, he has helped dozens of governments, corporate, and nonprofit clients meet their most difficult management challenges.
Mr. Mendonca stated, “I’m excited about the goals of this Task Force! And I know that with the assistance and experience of our Vice Chairs Ahluwalia and Salinas, we will work together to improve the success rates of California’s entrepreneurs and improve economic mobility in California.”
Mendonca is the former Chief Economic and Business Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom. He is also a Senior Partner Emeritus of McKinsey & Company, a lecturer on inequality at the Stanford Business School, and Founding Chair of the Coastside News Group. Over the course of his career, he has helped dozens of governments, corporate, and nonprofit clients meet their most difficult management challenges.
Mr. Mendonca stated, “I’m excited about the goals of this Task Force! And I know that with the assistance and experience of our Vice Chairs Ahluwalia and Salinas, we will work together to improve the success rates of California’s entrepreneurs and improve economic mobility in California.”
Mr. Mendonca formerly held the title of Chair Director, Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development as referenced within the California Competes Tax Credit Program Committee Meeting agenda dated Thursday, April 11, 2019. On this date, the Committee approved a tax credit for Universal Meditech, Inc.
GO-Biz’s spokesperson ultimately stated to the Fresno Bee and the Globe that the credit to UMI was revoked, however the revocation did not take place until June 15, 2023, more than 6 months after the Reedley Bio Lab was shut down.