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VICA WEEKLY: CD 4 Candidates Talk Business at VICA Debate
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January 30, 2015
IN THIS ISSUE: Business Tax Update
In This Issue
Calendar
Hot Issues
L.A. Council District 4 Candidates Talk
Business at Newsmaker Connection
"Just because
the city can't
balance its own
budget doesn't
mean we should
steal from you."
- David Ryu,
Candidate for L.A.
City Council District 4
Members
Thanks to our
renewing
members
President's Circle
Platinum Members
Bronze Members
Jim Clarke (Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles), Candidate Steve Veres,
VICA Board Member Tom McCarty (The McCarty Company), Candidates Joan Pelico,
Carolyn Ramsay, David Ryu and Tara Bannister, VICA Chair Coby King (High Point
Strategies), and Candidate Wally Knox
On Friday, candidates for L.A. City Council District 4 Tara Bannister, Wally
Knox, Joan Pelico, Carolyn Ramsay, David Ryu and Steve Veres debated
in front of a packed room of VICA members. The district includes the
neighborhoods of Sherman Oaks and Toluca Lake and several other L.A.
communities. The candidates answered questions on topics like the
elimination of the city's business tax, recent efforts to raise the minimum
wage, and transportation and infrastructure issues. When asked what their
top priorities were for the Valley, the general consensus was that the
Valley has been shortchanged when it comes to light rail, and that the
area's transportation system needs an immediate upgrade in order to
alleviate its critical traffic problems. "I will not support another Measure R
unless light rail comes to the San Fernando Valley," said Wally Knox.
Among the candidates' other chief concerns was bureaucratic red tape,
and all agreed that the permitting process for new projects needs to be
streamlined. The Newsmaker Connection was presented by the
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles and State
Farm Insurance, with the McCarty Company as a co-sponsor.
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VICA WEEKLY: CD 4 Candidates Talk Business at VICA Debate
Thank you to all who attended.
Click here to learn more about upcoming VICA events.
Association of
Independent
Commercial
Producers
Beauty Bus
Foundation
Bessolo Haworth &
Vogel
Enterprise Holdings
First 5 LA
Greer Dailey
John W. Bradley,
Attorney at Law
Lainer Investments
MP Printing & Mailing
Spectrolab
Calendar
The Week Ahead
L.A. City Council
Meeting
Friday, Feb. 6, 10 a.m.
Van Nuys City Hall
14410 Sylvan St.
Van Nuys
Click here for more
information
VICA Returns from Its Fourth Annual
Destination: Sundance Trip
Every year, VICA staff and members
travel to Park City, Utah for the
Sundance Film Festival. From Jan.
22-26, attendees watched dozens of
films, heard from actors, directors
and other industry professionals and
visited with old and new friends.
"VICA coordinates a seamless
experience for those who take the
trip. From travel to lodging to dining
and film-watching, the whole
package is golden! I highly recommend the Sundance trip to anyone
interested in film and the industry," said Sue Carleo, a past board member
who has joined VICA for every one of its Sundance trips to date. As for
the films, there were some obvious winners and losers. "My favorite movie
was How to Dance in Ohio," said first-time attendee Dwight Turner. "This
amazing documentary about high school kids with autism pulled at my
heart strings. This was the only film at Sundance that made me cry."
There were some mixed feelings on the film Tangerine, a "gritty and
graphic film about transgender prostitutes in L.A.," according to VICA
board member and past chair Fred Gaines (Gaines & Stacey). But
while Gaines did not care for the film, his wife Jill felt differently. "While
Tangerine was my least favorite film, I did like it. It depicted a very
realistic picture of what transgender sex workers face in their lives," she
said. There was a consensus among VICA festival-goers about the movie
Entertainment, which attendee Rachel Garrison summed up succinctly: "I
felt it was extremely boring and pointless." When asked what her favorite
part of the trip is, Nicole Kuklok-Waldman (Armbruster, Goldsmith &
Delvac) said, "Seeing old friends and new friends and getting to talk
about our experiences at the festival. Also, the free water bottles.
Everybody loves the free water bottles." Thank you to everyone who made
the trip to Park City this year. Click here to see more photos from the Destination: Sundance trip.
Save the Date
Healthcare
Committee Meeting
Monday, Feb. 9, noon1:30 p.m.
Valley Presbyterian
Hospital
15107 Vanowen St.
Van Nuys
Contact Katie Norris for
more information
Land Use Committee
Meeting
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 8-10
a.m.
The Garland
4222 Vineland Ave.
VICA POLL:
Do you think community college should
be free?
Respond here.
L.A. City Council to Vote on Business
Tax Reduction Next Week
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VICA WEEKLY: CD 4 Candidates Talk Business at VICA Debate
North Hollywood
Contact Katie Norris for
more information
An Exclusive Evening
with Jane Pauley
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 6-9:30
p.m.
Thousand Oaks Civic
Arts Plaza
2100 E. Thousand Oaks
Blvd.
Thousand Oaks
Click here for more
information
Aviation Committee
Meeting
Wednesday, Feb. 11,
noon-1:30 p.m.
Aerolease
7943 Woodley Ave.
Van Nuys
Contact Katie Norris for
more information
Education Committee
Meeting
Thursday, Feb. 12, 8:3010 a.m.
VICA Office
5121 Van Nuys Blvd., 2nd
Floor
Sherman Oaks
Contact Katie Norris for
more information
The elimination of the business
tax, otherwise known as the
gross receipts tax, has been a
long-time top VICA priority.
When L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti
was elected to office, he made
a crucial first step in relieving
L.A. businesses of the
burdensome tax by proposing a three-year decrease in the tax rate, set to
begin in 2016. Now, the L.A. City Council Budget Committee, headed by
Councilmember Paul Krekorian, has approved the reduction and sent it to
the full council for a vote, which will take place on Tuesday next week. If
approved, the tax rate would go from $5.07 per $1,000 of gross receipts to
$4.75 per $1,000 of gross receipts in 2016. The rate would then drop by
$0.25 per $1,000 in gross receipts every year thereafter. While VICA
certainly applauds the Mayor's and council's initiative in getting rid of the
business tax, we urge the council to expedite the process - especially now
that the city is considering a significant hike in the minimum wage. High
taxes are a huge part of why companies have taken their business
elsewhere, and the city needs to come up with short- and long-term plans
for making our city more business-friendly. VICA encourages members to
engage with the L.A. City Council on its actions regarding the business
tax.
Click here to learn more about VICA's campaign to Ax the Tax.
VICA Makes Its First Sacramento
Advocacy Trip of the Year
Sacramento
Advocacy Day
Tuesday, Feb. 17
State Capitol
Contact Katie Norris for
more information
L.A. Fast Track: The
Outlook for
Downtown's Growth
and the Future of
Transit
Thursday, Feb. 19, 7:30
a.m.-1:30 p.m.
The L.A. Hotel
Downtown
333 South Figueroa St.
Los Angeles
Click here for more
information
LACI@CSUN CEO
Speaker Series
Thursday, Feb. 19, 3:30
p.m.
CSUN - Thousand Oaks
Room
18111 Nordhoff St.,
Northridge
Click here for more
information
On Wednesday, VICA traveled to the State Capitol for the first
Sacramento Advocacy Trip of 2015. Every month, leadership and
members visit the Capitol to meet with legislators about issues important
to the business community. On this week's trip, VICA met with
Assemblymembers Rob Bonta, Cheryl Brown, Matt Dababneh, Eduardo
Garcia and Miguel Santiago, as well as staff from the offices of
Assemblymembers Katcho Achadjian and Devon Mathis. The delegation
discussed VICA-opposed AB 11 (Gonzalez), which would require in-home
supportive service employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who
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VICA WEEKLY: CD 4 Candidates Talk Business at VICA Debate
State Officeholders
Dinner
Friday, Feb. 20, 5:30-8:30
p.m.
The Globe Theater at
Universal Studios
100 Universal Studios
Plaza
Universal City
Contact Katie Norris for
more information
work as little as 30 days per year; AB 15 (Holden), SB 3 (Leno) and other
proposals to enact a living wage or raise the state minimum wage; and an
extension of the Proposition 30 sales and income tax. The group pushed
for support of AB 12 (Cooley), AB 19 (Chang) and other proposals that
require state entities to review all regulations for necessity, redundancy
and impact on businesses. VICA also shared its 2015 Legislative Priorities
with lawmakers. The next Sacramento Advocacy Day is on Tuesday, Feb.
17. Cost for the trips is $50, which includes lunch and group
transportation to and from the airport. Flights are at the cost of the
attendee. Secure your spot now!
Environmental
Justice for All: A
Conversation with
the Community
Friday, Feb. 27, 8:30 a.m.4 p.m.
The Center at Cathedral
Plaza
555 West Temple St.
Los Angeles
Click here to register
Click here to learn more about VICA's advocacy trips to Sacramento.
Media
Highlights
Council election
funding varies,
Burbank Leader, 1/23
VICA is on Scoop It, a
website where VICA staff
post interesting articles
related to our advocacy
efforts or where VICA is
mentioned or interviewed.
Our daily round-up will
keep you updated on
important local, state and
federal business policy
news.
Hot Issues
Elections
Two out of three
candidates for the L.A.
Unified School District
board failed to show up to
a debate at the Goodwill
Community Enrichment
Center in Northeast Los
Angeles, leaving one
candidate, Ref Rodriguez,
with the stage to himself.
Board Member Profile: Brad Hertz,
Sutton Law Firm
VICA is excited to get down to business in 2015 with its
new board of directors. For the next several weeks, we
will be featuring a profile of a new board member in
VICA Weekly. Brad Hertz is a partner at the Sutton
Law Firm, which specializes in political and election
law, representing businesses, individuals, candidates,
ballot measures, PACs and nonprofit organizations.
Hertz has handled numerous high-profile litigation
matters over the last 25 years, in state and federal trial
and appellate courts. He has represented clients in
Federal Election Commission and Fair Political Practices Commission
local enforcement agency actions. He earned his degrees from Brown
University and Georgetown University Law Center. He teaches Election
Law as an adjunct professor at Chapman University.
Click here to view the full bio.
Member Messages:
Get Your Message in VICA Weekly!
VICA members can promote their business, events and news in VICA
Weekly. Member messages are available for $50 per week or $175 for
four weeks. Messages are text-based and may not contain more than 70
words. A logo may be added for an additional $5 per week. For more
information or to schedule your member message,
contact [email protected] or call (818) 817-0545.
Elections
Gov. Jerry Brown ended
the year with $24 million
for unspecified future
campaigns after spending
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VICA WEEKLY: CD 4 Candidates Talk Business at VICA Debate
less than $6 million on his
own. During his campaign
for reelection, Brown said
that he would put the
leftover money toward
future ballot measures.
Healthcare
California Senator Ed
Hernandez has introduced
Senate Bill 151, which
would raise the legal
smoking age in the state
from 18 to 21 in an effort
to prevent teenagers from
having access to
cigarettes.
Homelessness
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti
has announced that $13
million awarded to the city
by the Department of
Housing and Urban
Development would be
used to create 1,300
homes with counseling,
drug treatment and other
services for homeless
veterans. City leaders
have promised to get all
veterans off the streets by
the end of the year.
Jobs
Government employment
has not recovered in
California since the Great
Recession, and an
analysis by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics shows
that jobs in the
government sector are up
in Texas - more than 14
percent of working Texans
now work in government.
ABOUT VICA Presenting the business perspective on behalf of employers in the San Fernando Valley cities of Los Angeles, Burbank,
Glendale, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, San Fernando and Santa Clarita.
Read more about VICA at vica.com or read our Guiding Principles (PDF). Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA)
San Fernando Valley, California
5121 Van Nuys Blvd. Ste. 208 Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Tel (818) 817-0545 * Fax (818) 907-7934 * www.vica.com
Stay connected to VICA
Copyright © 2014. All Rights Reserved.
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VICA WEEKLY: CD 4 Candidates Talk Business at VICA Debate
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