L.A. BUSINESS THIS WEEK
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Weekly Newsletter
|
|
|
Chamber President & CEO meets Prime Minister of Canada
Chamber President & CEO Gary Toebben attended a private reception last week to welcome Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to Southern California. The reception was hosted by the Canadian Consulate and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. During his speech, Prime Minister Trudeau noted, "We have the longest, most peaceful, and mutually beneficial relationship of any two countries in the history of the world. Simply put, if trade between Canada and the United States is a bad idea, then there are no good ideas." The visit comes on the heels of the sixth round of NAFTA negotiations in Montreal last month. Chamber Center for Global Trade & Foreign Investment President Carlos Valderrama traveled to Montreal during that time to sign a joint Declaration of Metropolitan Chambers of Commerce, expressing a common desire to maintain free trade in North America. California sells $25.4 billion in goods and services to Canada and 1.2 million California jobs depend on trade and investment with our northern neighbor. LEARN MORE.
|
|
|
|
Metrolink & Ontario International Airport provide regional transportation update
Tuesday, the Chamber's Transportation & Goods Movement Council received an update from Metrolink CEO Art Leahy and Ontario International Airport (ONT) CEO Mark Thorpe on plans to enhance air and rail travel in the L.A. region. Leahy shared Metrolink's Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion (SCORE) proposal with the Council. The program includes service improvements to increase train frequency and decrease travel delays system-wide. Thorpe reviewed planned updates to ONT's facilities, including terminal improvements and expanded customs services. Thorpe also discussed plans to increase business travel with Asia. SEE THE PHOTOS.
LAX Automated People Mover developer announced
Thursday, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) announced their Board of Commissioner's recommendation of LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS) to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the automated people mover (APM) at LAX. LAWA will present a 30-year contract valued at $4.5 billion to the Board of Commissioners and L.A. City Council for approval. The train provider has built APM systems for eight out of 10 busiest airports in the U.S. LEARN MORE.
Chamber supports legislation to build more housing along transit routes
The Chamber's Executive Board voted to support Senator Scott Wiener's SB 827 - Zoning Near High-Quality Transit. If passed, this bill exempts development projects near high-quality transit from local zoning laws and is designed to encourage transit-oriented, high-density housing development. SB 827 is a step in the right direction in cutting red-tape to create more housing in the state.
Chamber testifies in support of housing ordinances
The Chamber testified in support of the Permanent Supportive Housing Ordinance (PSH) and the Interim Motel Conversion Ordinance at the L.A. City Council Planning and Land Use Management Committee this week. The PSH ordinance creates a streamlined process that removes unnecessary barriers and red tape to build housing with supportive services. The Interim Motel Conversion Ordinance is a strategy to convert our existing resources to house our homeless community as permanent housing is built. Both of these ordinances will return to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee and to the Homelessness and Poverty Committee for final votes before proceeding to L.A. City Council.
Learn more about SB 940 and show your support for California's foster youth
This week, the Chamber participated in a webinar with John Burton Advocates for Youth to share information with stakeholders on SB 940 (Beall). Co-sponsored by the Chamber, SB940 would expand Cal Grant access for California foster youth. Only 9 percent of foster youth enrolled across California's community colleges succeed in accessing Cal Grant funding, the largest source of state funded financial aid. View the full webinar HERE and sign-on to the SB 940 budgetary request letter HERE.
|
|
|
|
Today's champion of tomorrow's workforce
Chamber Member Kaiser Permanente has been a valuable partner of the Chamber's L.A. Youth at Work program, giving real work experience to high school students through internships and jobs at their facilities. Kaiser Permanente employee Kathleen McIntire has lead the company's efforts in working with the Chamber for the past twelve years and has placed more than 800 students in summer internships where they are mentored by Kaiser Permanente professionals. This week, she was honored with the Linked Learning Alliance Employer Champion Award for her work. Congratulations Kathleen! And thank you to Kaiser Permanente for championing our future workforce! LEARN MORE.
|
|
 |
Save up to 55% on office supplies with your Chamber membership
As a Chamber member, you are eligible to save up to 55 percent on office supplies from Office Depot. Through the Chamber's Office Depot Chamber Member Discount Program, you receive exclusive, monthly specials, as well as free, next-business day shipping on qualifying orders, monthly reporting to monitor your expenses, and convenient ordering by fax, phone or web. To get started with your free store discount purchasing card, visit LAChamber.com/OfficeDepot or text "LASPC" to 555-888. Simply show your card to the cashier at checkout or order through our online portal to start saving today!
|
|
 |
Chamber commends LAUSD for support of immigrant students, family and staff
Wednesday, the Chamber spoke in support of a
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board resolution to declare March as Immigrant Student, Family, and District Staff Month. This resolution recommits LAUSD to informing District immigrant students, families and staff about their rights and directs the Superintendent to continue providing and improving upon available resources.
LAUSD's We are One L.A. Unified website provides resources to support immigrant families with college planning. This is one proactive way the District is alerting students and families about resources like the California Dream Act application, which has a filing deadline of March 2. The Chamber is proud to partner with LAUSD and its Immigration Collaborative to increase awareness about the California Dream Act and provide direct assistance to students and families through our L.A. Cash for College program.
|
|
|
|
|
The Action
Chamber President & CEO meets Prime Minister of Canada
Metrolink & Ontario International Airport provide regional transportation update
LAX Automated People Mover developer announced
Chamber supports legislation to build more housing along transit routes
Chamber testifies in support of housing ordinances
Learn more about SB 940 and show your support for California's foster youth
The Member
Today's champion of tomorrow's workforce
The Opportunity
Save up to 55% on office supplies with your Chamber membership
Other News
Chamber commends LAUSD for support of immigrant students, family and staff
|
Tuesday, Feb. 20
Wednesday, Feb. 21
Thursday, Feb. 22
Friday, Feb. 23
Monday, Feb. 26
Monday, Feb. 26
Tuesday, Feb. 27
Wednesday, Feb. 28
|
|
 |
|
