Event planner Mike Kociela laments, “The rest of the country is gobbling up all the bands.”
Mike Kociela’s old band, New World Spirits, got signed to Universal Records in the mid-90s. They were chewed up and spit out by the label a couple of years later. By 1997, he had formed his own production company and was blazing a new trail in the events industry. Since then, he has been producing large-scale events that range from 1000 to 500,000 attendees.
One might think that getting dumped by a major-label would be his career low-point, but covid-19 has taken over that spot. His entire industry has been shut down since last March, and all he can do is hope that everything gets going again sooner than later.
San Diegans hopeful economy will rebound this summer
and last updated 2021-04-06 20:44:41-04
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) â With California aiming to fully reopen the economy in June, San Diegans are getting ready for businesses to finally rebound this summer.
As long as California meets the criteria laid out by Governor Gavin Newsom, the state will drop its tier system, and businesses will be able to return to pre-pandemic operations on June 15.
âItâs a huge win for restaurants and businesses,â said Benjamin Nicholls, the Hillcrest Businesses Association executive director. âA lot of restaurants, especially in Hillcrest, have really struggled to do the right thing, preserve social distancing, follow all the rules, and now theyâre being rewarded with what seems to be an early return to normalcy.â
According to the San Diego Association of Governments, the meeting and special events industry brought 2.7 million visitors and $3.5 billion in spending to San Diego in 2019. As the restrictions on events are relaxed, the event industry deserves some financial help, Fletcher continued. I am introducing a policy to waive county fees as venues, producers and vendors build back their businesses and help put them in a better position to bring back the festivals, live shows and family friendly events so many San Diegans and visitors love.
If passed by the board, the policy will waive permit fees for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 from the Department of Environmental Health and Quality, Department of Parks and Recreation, the San Diego County Sheriff s Department and the San Diego County Fire Authority.
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The San Diego County Board of Supervisors will discuss a proposal at its meeting Tuesday to provide financial relief to the events industry planners, venues and vendors as event restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic loosen.
Board of Supervisors’ Chair Nathan Fletcher has worked with the San Diego Event Coalition to develop the policy he will propose Tuesday that will waive Fiscal Year 2021-2022 permit fees for the event industry if it passes.
“The event industry was dealt a tremendous economic blow by the pandemic,” Fletcher said. “Unlike other sectors who were able to operate at limited capacity and bring in some revenue, they could not because of the protections around large gatherings.”
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