Blogs of the LA Area Chamber

Obamacare exchange premiums in California will go up an average of 13.2 percent next year, although almost 80 percent of consumers could pay less or see a premium increase of no more than 5 percent if they shop around.

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Yesterday, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges (CCC) announced the appointment of Eloy Ortiz Oakley as the next Chancellor of the 113-college system.

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Last week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Don Knabe kicked off this summer’s HIRE-LA’s Youth campaign by thanking Los Angeles County businesses for the summer youth employment and internship opportunities they provide. The Chamber has been a partner with the City and County of L.A. for a decade in championing youth employment and internships opportunities because we recognize the powerful economic impact on individual families and the prosperity of our region.   

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Last week Governor Brown signed a $171 billion California budget for the fiscal year that began on July 1 and the legislature adjourned for summer recess. The budget included major wins for the Chamber's cradle-to-career education priorities to prepare California's 21st century workforce. 

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Last week, President Obama and the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $70 million grant for a Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Institute (CESMII) to be headquartered in Los Angeles. More than 200 partners from academia, industry and non-profits, including the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, formed the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC) and worked with UCLA and LA n Sync to successfully bring the headquarters of this project to Southern Californi

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The $122.5 billion state budget approved last week by California lawmakers will fund a variety of health-related efforts, including training of primary care physicians, dental care for school children and medical interpreters for Medi-Cal, the government-funded insurance program for people with low incomes.

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Investing in housing is critical to California's long-term quality of life and economic competitiveness. That's why the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the proposal Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled last month to streamline affordable housing and help ease the housing crunch that is devastating the state.

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Area graduation ceremonies for 2016 have been completed and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce applauds the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for its progress preparing youth for success. High school graduation rates have increased sharply over the past five years to a record 72 percent (from 62 percent), and dropouts declined by one-third (from 25 percent to 17 percent). While unacceptable disparities still exist, LAUSD has made significant progress in closing the gap for lower income and minority students.

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This June marks the 75th anniversary of water flowing 240 miles west from the Colorado River to Southern California through a system of tunnels, pumps and aqueducts that remains an engineering marvel. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which the state Legislature created in 1928 to advance this mission, is celebrating this milestone with a series of events that will pay testament to the visionary leaders whose investments in a modern water system now benefits 19 million Southern Californians.

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This election season marks a historic change on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Due to term limits, two long-time Supervisors will be stepping down this December, ushering in a major shake-up on the non-partisan five member board. With a $28-billion budget and management of the country's largest jail and foster care system and second-largest public health system, it is vital that those seats go to individuals with a clear vision for the County, the ideas to make that vision a reality, and the fiscal restraint to keep County services stable no matter our economic future. The L.A. Jobs PAC interviewed the candidates for both Supervisorial Districts 4 and 5 and strongly endorsed Steve Napolitano and L.A. City Councilman Mitch Englander.

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