KPBS Midday Edition

Chamber Discusses Resources For San Diego Small Businesses During The COVID-19 Virus Crisis

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Brooke Ruth / Senior Producer, Radio News

Published April 6, 2020 at 11:24 AM PDT

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

A closed sign at the Currant American Brasserie in downtown San Diego on March 26, 2020. The cafe is one of many businesses that had to close down because of the COVD-19 pandemic.

Chamber Discusses Resources For Small Businesses In San Diego

Many of San Diego’s small businesses are completely closed, with employees out of work and owners struggling to figure out if their businesses will be able to make it through this crisis. San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce's Stefanie Benvenuto joins Midday Edition on Monday to discuss federal, state and local programs small businesses can apply for.

Businesses deemed essential, like gas stations and restaurants that offer food for take-out, are doing their best to stay afloat during the shut-down caused by the new coronavirus.

But, many of San Diego’s small businesses are completely closed, with employees out of work and owners struggling to figure out if their businesses will be able to make it through this crisis.

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Federal, state and local programs are now in place to help small businesses recover — but will they be enough?

On Monday's Midday Edition, Stefanie Benvenuto, vice president of public affairs for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, joins Midday Edition to discuss some of the resources available to small businesses.

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KPBS Midday Edition Business COVID-19

Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Brooke Ruth

Brooke Ruth is the senior producer for KPBS Radio News. She previously served as a producer for "KPBS Midday Edition" and a web producer. Before joining KPBS, Brooke was a web editor for four newspapers and a local television station. She began her career in news at the Imperial Valley Press. She has also been part of the web teams at the Napa Valley Register, North County Times, and U-T San Diego. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at UCLA in psychology, she worked on the student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

See stories by Brooke Ruth