DEBATE OVER THE PROPOSED MINIMUM WAGE HIKE SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING
Today, Chamber President & CEO Gary Toebben debated the proposed mimimum wage hike with Rusty Hicks of the L.A. County Federation of Labor. The minimum wage effort started in September of last year when Mayor Eric Garcetti announced his plan to raise the minimum wage to $13.25 an hour by 2017. City Council asked for a study of its potential impact on businesses and non-profits. Three studies have been done - one commissioned by the city, another from the L.A. Chamber, and another from the Labor Federation. The Chamber had Beacon Ecomonics prepare its independent report, which was released in March. Today, Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of Beacon Economics, again reiterated to the Government & Fiscal Affairs council that the current minimum wage proposal would hurt, not help, the City. He added, "We can all agree that we have a working poor problem, but the solution is not the current, proposed minimum wage hike." Contact Ruben Gonzalez, 213.580.7568.

SR-710 North solutions debated
The Transportation and Goods Movement Council met Tuesday to discuss the recently released SR-710 North Study Draft Environmental Impact Report that evaluates five options for mitigating traffic impacts of the 710 freeway gap in the areas of the western San Gabriel Valley and northeast Los Angeles. The report was released by Caltrans and L.A. County Metro last month and public comments on the proposed alternatives are being accepted until July 6. L.A. Metro Board Directors John Fasana and Ara Najarian were also on hand to debate their preferred solutions. Contact Frank Lopez, 213.580.7573.

Chamber holds discussion on NAFTA
Chamber members and representatives of local trade organizations held a private roundtable with Kenneth Smith, head of the Trade and NAFTA Office of the Ministry of the Economy of Mexico in Washington D.C., last Friday. Smith provided an update on NAFTA and recent developments. To demonstrate how effective the agreement has been so far, Smith noted, "Forty nine U.S. states significantly increased their exports to Mexico and forty seven states have at least doubled their exports since NAFTA." Smith emphasized the importance of continued, high-level, economic dialogue between Mexico and the United states and the importance of eliminating non-tariff trade barriers. For more information contact Carlos Valderrama, 213.580.7570.

Learn more about Leadership Southern California through webinar
The Southern California Leadership Network is now accepting applications for its Leadership Southern California Class of 2015-16. If you want to learn more about this experience, you can join a webinar May 28 at 2 p.m. Through classroom and experiential learning, this eight-month fellowship provides deep exposure to regional issues across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Class launches Aug. 27. Because fellows are accepted on a rolling basis, early applications are encouraged. To join the webinar, contact Blanca Zarate, 213.580.7547.

KITA Representatives meet with Chamber
Several members of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Washington D.C. office met with Senior VP of Global Initiatives, L.A. Area Chamber, Carlos Valderrama, today to strengthen ties between the two organizations. In 2010, the Chamber signed a Memorandum of Understanding with KITA to promote trade and investment between the two regions during a trade mission to Seoul with former Governor Schwarzenegger. "The MOU serves to promote trade between the L.A. region and Seoul,” said Valderrama. “In order to create jobs and improve our economy in Los Angeles, we must embrace all international trade opportunities such as this one.” This partnership with KITA serves as another important addition to the Chamber's strategic alliances, which also includes the Nagoya Chamber of Commerce, AmCham Chile, AmCham Peru, AmCham Korea, the High Council of Chambers of Commerce of Spain, KITA U.S. and the Consejo Empresarial Mexicano. KITA is one of the largest and most influential professional organizations in Korea with 72,000 member companies. For more information contact Carlos Valderrama, 213.580.7570.

Photo L to R: KITA General Manager Yong Seok Cho; Carlos Valderrama, SVP Global Initiatives L.A. Area Chamber; KITA President YoungHwa Sung; KITA Manager Brian Han

Member begins a downtown transformation Greenland USA, worldwide developer of residential and commercial properties, opened its first U.S. Sales and Marketing Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The Center will showcase their current and future landmark properties and is outfitted with a gallery and model residence of Metropolis, a more than $1 billion mixed-use development set to enhance Los Angeles' skyline, streetscape and lifestyle. For full details and to read the press release, click here. Photo L to R: Lee Ligons, Senior VP Sales and Business Development, L.A. Area Chamber; I-Fei Chang, CEO, Greenland USA; Gary Toebben, President & CEO, L.A. Area Chamber Renewable energy project capable of delivering power to nearly 25,000 L.A. area homes Republic Services, Inc. announced today a new landfill gas-to-energy project located at Sunshine Canyon Landfill near Los Angeles. The 20-megawatt renewable energy project is capable of generating enough electricity to power nearly 25,000 area homes. Read the press release. Creating tomorrow's workforce today This week, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center presented a student showcase in which more than 50 students from Fairfax High School shared their experiences in Cedars- Sinai's Youth Employment and Development Program (YEP). This program introduces high school juniors and seniors to careers in healthcare through experiential learning, job skills training, mentorships, job shadowing and real job assignments. If your company is interested in investing in our future workforce, you can find out more about the Chamber's summer youth employment campaign. Contact Maria Dolores Nieto, 213.580.7599. Click here to submit your member news.