Blogs of the LA Area Chamber

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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Last Friday, shortly before noon, a long line snaked its way around the intersection of Colorado Avenue and 4th Street in Santa Monica. Parents with young kids, cyclists, a chanting group of L.A. Football Club fans plus hundreds more were waiting patiently for the chance to ride one of the first Expo trains leaving Santa Monica for downtown. For the first time since 1953, it's now possible to take transit from the "skyline to the shoreline," as Mayor Eric Garcetti pronounced during the opening celebration. Metro Chairman, Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, carried a surfboard to the celebration, and within the first four hours, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 passengers boarded the Expo Line.

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Recently, Florida Governor Rick Scott made waves when he traveled to California to poach businesses to leave the state. California Governor Brown quickly shot back that, "We're competing with nations like Brazil and France, not states like Florida." With the largest economy in the country and the 8th largest in the world according to a 2015 World Bank report, California is an ATM for political candidates and a breadbasket of great companies for governors to poach.

Readers of the “Business Perspective” know that our companies, both large and small, face major challenges with California’s business environment, including many burdensome and costly regulations and expensive housing for employees.

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Health Insurance Rules Changing In 2016 For Businesses Considered Large; Those With 100 or Fewer Employees Could Still See Big Advantages.

When it comes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, many employers have to determine if their business is big enough, where they must offer health insurance to their employees under the law.

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Last week, the L.A. City Council voted unanimously to finally move forward with construction of a Target store on Sunset and Western.  This project, which has broad neighborhood support, has been stalled for two years due to lawsuits. The Chamber applauds this long overdue decision.

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Last week, more than 170 business and civic leaders spent two and half days in our nation’s capital, advocating for issues vital to the economic vitality and quality of life in the Los Angeles region. On the Chamber’s annual ACCESS Washington, D.C. trip, the delegation was joined by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti; L.A. City Councilmembers Joe Buscaino, Mitch Englander, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, and Nury Martinez; elected officials from the cities of Glendale, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and West Hollywood; LAUSD Superintendent Michelle King; LAUSD Board President Steve Zimmer; and members of the Redondo Beach School Board.

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