Blogs of the LA Area Chamber

Last week's announcement that a new federal courthouse for Los Angeles has finally been authorized and funded is the result of a 10-year effort to replace a woefully outdated facility in downtown Los Angeles. We applaud Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and the other members of the Los Angeles Congressional delegation for their persistence on this important project for our judicial system and the Los Angeles economy.

This success points out the importance of the Annual ACCESS Washington, D.C. trip the Chamber, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, other elected officials and partnering business organizations take to Washington, D.C. to advocate on behalf of important projects and legislation to benefit the citizens and economy of our region. This year’s trip is March 5-7, and all members of the Chamber and our partnering organizations are invited to join us in walking the halls of Congress and our nation’s capitol.

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For Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Council President Herb Wesson and the members of the Los Angeles City Council, the number one priority for this week should be to rally Speaker John Perez and the other members of the Los Angeles Legislative Delegation to mobilize statewide support for Senator Alex Padilla’s bill SB 659 which would extend the life of Redevelopment Agencies (RDA’s) from Feb. 1 to April 15. Padilla’s bill is not about whether to end RDA’s, that issue has already been decided and the State won.

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Yesterday, the California Community College Board of Governors took a monumental step to improve student success across the state community college system by voting unanimously to support a task force report that will make significant changes in the system.

More than 70 percent of all undergraduate college students in California are in the community college system. Yet only about 25 percent of the students seeking degrees, certificate or transfers complete their work. Two years ago the L.A. Area Chamber sponsored a bill — SB 1143, authored by Sen. Carol Liu, which called for the California Community College Board of Governors to establish a task force on how to dramatically improve student success. David Rattray, the Chamber’s senior vice president of Education & Workforce Development, served on that task force.

 

 

 

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I am upbeat about the growth of the local economy in 2012. The roots are growing for major job creating projects that could put thousands of family members back to work in large and small businesses across the southland. Fruit trees have been planted to yield an economic recovery that will benefit all Angelenos. Here are some exciting examples.

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