Blogs of the LA Area Chamber
Time To Show We Are Serious About Fixing Our Housing Crisis
Gary Toebben on February 27, 2018 at 9:00:00 am
Posted in The Business Perspective
Last week, the coalition that successfully supported Proposition HHH in November 2016 reconvened to announce that every Council district in the City of Los Angeles was pledging to support a minimum of 222 new units of permanent supportive housing by July 2020. Six members of the City Council, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the LA/OC Building Trades committed to supporting and creating these 3,330 citywide units in the next three years.
CA WaterFix - New Plan, Same Essential Goal
Gary Toebben on February 20, 2018 at 9:00:00 am
Posted in The Business Perspective
With a month left before winter turns to spring, California once again finds itself in a familiar situation - a dry winter, marked by heat and fires and a return to drought conversations. Today, the State Water Board is expected to permanently adopt regulations to reinstate water conservation practices that were allowed to expire in 2017 after plentiful rain and snow last winter.
Taking a Large Megaphone to D.C.
Gary Toebben on February 13, 2018 at 9:00:00 am
Posted in The Business Perspective
It has never been more important for Los Angeles County and Southern California to raise its collective voice in Washington, D.C. One month from today, 150 business, civic and elected leaders will head east for Access Washington, D.C., the region's largest annual advocacy trip. This is the only time during the year when multiple business organizations, public agencies, non-profits and elected officials travel together and speak with one voice on issues that are important to the L.A. area economy and quality of life.
Looming Immigration Deadline Threatens L.A. Workforce
Gary Toebben on February 6, 2018 at 9:00:00 am
Posted in The Business Perspective
Last year, I joined with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti at a press conference to highlight the economic contributions of immigrants in Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles. The event marked the release of a New American Economy (NAE) report on Los Angeles.
The report found that foreign-born residents comprise 43 percent of the employed labor force in L.A. County and they contributed more than $232 billion to L.A. County's GDP in 2014. This contribution represented 35 percent of the County's total GDP.
