Blogs of the LA Area Chamber
Axe the Gross Receipts Tax to Create Jobs and New Tax Revenue
Gary Toebben on July 26, 2011 at 12:00:00 am
Posted in The Business Perspective
The City of Los Angeles has the highest gross receipts tax rate of all 88 cities in L.A. County — a distinction that also puts it among the highest of any major city in the United States. This, coupled with the fact that technology now allows businesses to locate almost anywhere, has left the City struggling to attract and retain businesses, jobs and tax revenue.
Releasing the Brake to Move America Fast Forward
Gary Toebben on July 19, 2011 at 12:00:00 am
Posted in The Business Perspective
Congratulations to Caltrans and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority on their success this weekend in taking down half of the Mulholland Drive bridge over the 405 Freeway in 17 fewer hours than originally scheduled. The engineers and construction crews in charge of this project made national news, earned our respect and saved the taxpayers' money. Now it's time to focus our collective attention on another big job, securing national support for dozens of other badly needed highway and transit projects in Los Angeles County.
Hijacking the Public Good
Gary Toebben on July 12, 2011 at 12:00:00 am
Posted in The Business Perspective
Carmaggedon isn’t a Hollywood movie, but it is sure to be this summer’s blockbuster – literally. Block by block, streets all over the Westside will be jammed this ...
Improvements Taking Off at LAX
Gary Toebben on July 5, 2011 at 12:00:00 am
Posted in The Business Perspective
The new Tom Bradley International Terminal was a source of pride for Los
Angeles as we welcomed the world to the 1984 Olympics. That was 27
years ago — enough time for 1 billion passengers to fly in and out of
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Time also extracted a major
toll on the facilities, so did delays caused by lawsuits and a lack of
commitment by elected officials. Some observers were convinced that the
politics of Los Angeles would doom LAX to third world status forever.