Matt and Pat Cullen Honored by the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce as 2021 City Bank Entrepreneur of the Year
Last month, long-time CFCA icons, Matt and Pat Cullen of Amber Resources were named 2021 City Bank Entrepreneur of the Year by the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. Pat was honored posthumously during the ceremony. This marks the 24th time the Chamber has bestowed this award.
“This is such a tremendous tribute for my late father and me,” Cullen said in the announcement. “Our company is committed to the Long Beach community and it’s important for us to display that entrepreneurial spirit in all that we do to make our city a better place to work and live.”
CFCA could not be more proud to have such amazing folks in our organization. The Cullens are truly an example for our industry and the amazing work our members do every day. While we continue to mourn Pat, this continued celebration of his achievement is a reminder of his legacy and the work Matt and the rest of the Amber Resources team continues to do.
A huge congratulations to Matt and Pat from the CFCA family!
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CFCA Visits the Brand New H&S Wholesale!
Last week, CFCA had the opportunity to visit our member H&S Wholesale’s new facility in Woodland, California. H&S Wholesale has recently opened seeking to meet the needs of convenience and small grocery retailers. H & S Wholesale is aiming to bring a higher level of products selection to your stores.
With expert-driven offerings, delivery services, and a full suite cash and carry, H&S Wholesale has leveraged themselves to be able to provide what you need, in the quantities you need, when you need it. As any small operator can attest, it can be difficult to keep your shelves stocked with the items your customers want. H&S Wholesale was established to help store owners solve exactly that problem. They even have a fully-stocked showroom to help you make the most informed decisions you can when stocking your shelves. H&S is committed to helping to turn convenience stores into true neighborhood markets, with fresh foods and other grocery items, taking the convenience industry to the next level.
CFCA is extremely delighted to have been invited to visit the new facility and hear about the amazing services H&S Wholesale is ready to provide for businesses across California. CFCA is always proud to see members doing big things and moving the industry forward. A huge thank you to the team at H&S for having us out and showing us around!
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Congratulations to Tooley Oil on the Opening of Their Newest Station!
Congratulations to Tooley Oil for the grand opening of their newest station in Elk Grove.
The station brings state of the art touch screen pumps, electric vehicle charging stations, and a brand new car wash. Inside offerings include a walk-in beer cave, local craft beer, pizza, Thrifty Ice Cream, and a Krispy Krunchy Chicken (which we are particularly excited about)!
We are always proud to see our members businesses grow and see them offer the best services possible for their communities. As the convenience industry continues to advance, we are thrilled to see CFCA members leading the charge!
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Big things happening at your business? Tell us about them! We want to hear about it and show off what our members are doing! Your success is our success! |
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SoundPayments Has a Special Offer for California Stations that Still Need to Upgrade to EMV
Sound Payments is a proud member of the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance. Sound Payments cost-effectively enables EMV at the pump with Sound Easy Pump™, a retrofit, semi-integrated payment solution that supports contactless via card tap or NFC, QR code scanning, PIN-on-glass, MSR, and EMV chip and PIN. Sound Easy Pump™ is easy to install with only one power cord and eliminates the need to purchase new pumps and close stations for installation. The platform is flexible so it can easily support future innovations.
Contact us today and mention EMV4CA for a special discount of 10% off hardware between now and June 30, 2021.
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Fuel Theft on the Rise at Stations
CFCA has received reports of fuel theft from multiple fueling sites from across the state.
These thieves use skimmed cards to acquire massive amounts of fuel from both retail gas stations and cardlocks. Station owners are advised to keep an eye out for suspicious activity and to monitor your stations closely.
A few things to watch for:
- Customers spending unusually long times at the pump
- Transactions where the customer runs more than one card
- Fueling into an abnormal location on the vehicle
- Any of the above in combination with a larger vehicle, like box trucks, passenger vans, and pick up trucks
CFCA is working with law enforcement to best counteract this theft. If you encounter fuel theft at one of your stations, please contact local law enforcement immediately and inform CFCA of the incident by contacting Sam Bayless at bayless@cfca.energy.
Please remember to stay vigilant and protect your stations.
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Public Availability of Modified Text and Availability of an Additional Document for the Proposed Amendments to the Enhanced Vapor Recovery Regulations for Gasoline Dispensing Facilities - Deadline May 19th, 2021
At its December 10, 2020, public hearing, the California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) approved for adoption the proposed amendments to sections 94010, 94011, 94016, and 94017, Title 17 California Code of Regulations, which incorporate by reference amendments to Certification Procedures, Definitions, and, Test Procedures for Vapor Recovery Systems at Gasoline Dispensing Facilities (Enhanced Vapor Recovery Regulations). The amendments were intended to refine the Enhanced Vapor Recovery Regulations to improve their practicality and efficiency. These improvements included the following:
- Replacing ineffective in-station diagnostic (ISD) overpressure alarm criteria with improved pressure summary reports and data storage to make stored information more useful in identifying potential issues;
- Allowing use of modern communication ports for ISD system consoles;
- Amending test procedures to accommodate remote fill Phase I system configurations;
- Making nozzle spillage standards more stringent;
- Requiring an archive of vapor recovery equipment samples; and
- Making several administrative changes to improve clarity and enforceability.
The Board directed the Executive Officer to determine if additional conforming modifications to the regulation were appropriate and to make any proposed modified regulatory language available for public comment, with any additional supporting documents and information, for a period of at least 15 days as required by Government Code section 11346.8. The Board further directed the Executive Officer to consider written comments submitted during the public review period and make any further modifications that are appropriate available for public comment for at least 15 days and present the regulation to the Board for further consideration if warranted or take final action to adopt the regulation after addressing all appropriate modifications.
A summary of the newly proposed modifications can be found in the 15-Day Notice.
Written Comment Period & Comment Submittal
Written comments will only be accepted on the modifications identified in the Notice. Comments may be submitted by postal mail or by electronic submittal no later than the due date to the following:
Clerks' Office, California Air Resources Board
1001 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814
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Attendee Registration for the 2021 Pacific Fuels + Convenience Summit is now open! Don't miss the first live, and in-person industry event in California since the pandemic began!
On April 6, 2021, the State of California announced the official re-opening of all economic and social activity on June 15th, 2021. This re-opening is contingent upon continued high-vaccination and low-hospitalization rates.
The Pacific Fuels and Convenience Summit had been anticipating such an announcement, and this marks the official confirmation from the State that our conference will be live and in-person this September. PFCS will be following all state and local health and safety guidelines during the conference. Guidelines and expectations of vendors and attendees will be made available as it released by state and local jurisdictions.
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Day at the Capitol Registration is Officially Closed!
Registration for our 2021 Day at the Capitol closed yesterday. With our Day at the Capitol event going virtual, there is significantly more back-end work necessary for this event to run smoothly and efficiently.
Due to this, we will be unable to take any last-minute registrations.
We thank all who have registered, and sincerely appreciate your help in representing our industry. With more bills than ever aimed at your business, now is truly the time we need as many people as we can standing up for our industry.
We will report back on the event, when it concludes next week.
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Fully Vaccinated People Can Stop Wearing Masks Indoors And Outdoors, CDC Says
May 13, 2021
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that fully vaccinated adults can safely resume activities indoors or outdoors without masks or distancing, in gatherings large or small. The announcement marks a major milestone in the effort to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced the new guidance Thursday.
"You can do things you stopped doing because of the pandemic," Walensky said.
The new policy is based on recent real-world studies from Israel and the U.S. in people who've been vaccinated, she said.
In response to a question, Walensky said the federal mask requirement in public transportation remains in force for everyone, vaccinated or not – including on buses, trains, airplanes and in stations and airports.
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No, California, You Don’t Need to Stock Up on Gasoline
May 12, 2021
California motorists have seen an uptick at the pump, but fuel analysts say the state has plenty of fuel — and there’s no reason for drivers to make a run to gas stations to fill up, as seen in the Southeast in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack.
“Colonial has got nothing to do with California,” said David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates, a transportation energy consulting company in Irvine. “There’s plenty of gas out here in California.”
Inventories for gasoline in the western region that includes California are down compared with this time last year, but that is to be expected because of the early days of 2020’s stay-at-home orders that led to empty freeways and a dramatic drop in gas consumption as millions stopped commuting to work and school.
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Open the California Capitol ASAP, Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Tells Newsom, Top Democrats
May 12, 2021
A bipartisan group of California lawmakers is urging the Legislature’s leadership to open the Capitol for greater public access by May 19 in accordance with COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.
The coalition of five Democrats, four Republicans and one independent wrote in a letter to Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, and Gov. Gavin Newsom that California’s low coronavirus positivity and hospitalization rates and strong vaccination campaign have made it possible to safely reopen the building to more people.
They pointed to businesses beginning to operate more traditionally as evidence of the “terrific progress” California has made in recent months toward defeating the virus and being able to return to a “semblance of pre-pandemic normalcy.”
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