• UCI’s Chancellor Emeritus, Dr. Michael V. Drake is the first Black President of the UC system. Drake is a distinguished leader in higher education and recently served as the president of Ohio State University. Congratulations President Drake!

• Downtown Disney reopens today, with an enhanced health and safety experience. Dining and shopping will feature mobile wait lists, outdoor dining, grab and go orders, and single-use or digital menus. Welcome back Downtown Disney!

• The Governor’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery new website and campaign, Calling All Californians: #ShopSafeShopLocal asks the public to support small businesses across the state.

• COVID-19 cases in OC are surging. Don't miss a panel of industry leaders, moderated by OCBC CEO Lucy Dunn, discussing their combined efforts to fight COVID-19 and save our economy. RSVP today!

• Honda Center will host a series of summer blood drives. Donors register online for an appointment and will receive Anaheim Ducks swag. Register today!

• SAUSD will adopt a hybrid learning approach with student cohorts on campus at designated times and locations. SAUSD’s reopen plans target quality education while ensuring the health and safety of its students & facility.   

• Orange County musical powerhouses, Pacific Chorale, American Feel Young Chorus and Pacific Symphony dedicate a virtual rendition of America the Beautiful to Orange County front line workers.

• Latino Health Equity Initiative provides lower income neighborhoods affected by COVID-19 with mobile testing clinics, free hotel rooms for people who can’t self-isolate at home, and a multilingual call center to assist residents established to help reduce OC hot spots.

• Orange County Health Care Agency tip sheet has information on how to effectively communicate with deaf and hard of hearing people while wearing a mask.

• A major portion of the U.S. workforce has children at home. Researchers estimate schools and day care centers remaining closed will result in a 10% reduction in economic recovery. Continue reading.

• United Way needs help securing school supplies for OC's youth. Shop the Amazon wish list for elementary & high school supplies and view a complete list of supplies needed!

• Free testing in OC: How to access.
• COVID Testing 101: How is the test administered? Find out here.
• COVID-19 FAQ: Provided by HCA.
• DO IT! Where to get tested in OC: Find a testing site near you. 
• Public & private sector testing: Contact your provider today.
• COVID-19 Hotline: For general questions & information call: (714)-834-2000.
• Could It Be COVID? Social media graphics and copy.
• OC Health Care Agency: Data Dashboard featuring confirmed COVID-19 cases.

• OCBC is proud to support AB 3107, a bill that will increase the affordability and availability of housing. Housing developments that include at 20 percent of units for lower-income households would be allowed on any site zoned for commercial purposes. Creative land use strategies and incentives are vital for solving the housing crisis, especially in dense areas perceived as “built-out”. Search your state Senator here so you can ask them to support this much needed bill. Read OCBC’s letter HERE.

• Support for small business through legislation and USMCA were top of mind for Congressman Lou Correa, and U.S. Chamber’s Vartan Djihanian at OCBC's Government Affairs Committee meeting on July 7. Rep. Correa is focused on making sure small businesses have the support they need to survive the pandemic and asked the business community to share ideas for legislation to get small businesses back on track, reach out here. He introduced the bipartisan H.R. 7059, the Coronavirus Provider Protection Act, to safeguard doctors and nurses on the frontlines of the pandemic from frivolous litigation. Mr. Djihanian presented Rep. Correa with the U.S. Chamber’s prestigious Spirit of Enterprise Award, which commends legislators who vote to advance economic growth and job creation, and updated the committee on USMCA officially taking effect this month.

• The Hospital Association of Southern California workforce job portal features daily health care job openings in Orange County and neighboring counties to connect underemployed or unemployed qualified individuals with workforce shortages. 

• Join experts, Lucy Dunn, CEO & President of OCBC; Steve PonTell, CEO & President of National CORE; and Jennifer Hernandez, Partner at Holland & Knight LLP in discussion with Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky’s research brief - Beyond Feudalism: A Strategy To Restore CA’s Middle Class on Tuesday, July 14 at 1:00 p.m. Join here.

• The County of Orange and OC One-Stop in Garden Grove offer job seekers free access to apply for jobs. OC One-Stop will provide free loaner laptops and internet in addition to hiring services such as career transition services and employment services to businesses. 

• Join the Orange County Department of Education on July 9 at 9:00 a.m. to learn about how early childhood education providers can create a thorough plan to reopen in order to protect children so families and providers feel assured children are in safe, healthy, and nurturing environments. Register here.

• OCBC supports Orange County Development Board by helping job seekers land jobs. OCBC will create a custom job flyer for your open positions that is then circulated across the county. To view a previous flyer, click here. If your business is hiring, contact Jesse Ben-Ron, OCBC VP of Workforce and Economic Development.

• Small Business Development Center
• SBDC Resources for Small Businesses
• Go-BIZ FAQ for Small Businesses

• Clean Energy’s movement to reduce emissions with the Adopt-A-Port initiative is supported by Chevron. This initiative aims to improve air quality, fight climate change, and provide Los Angeles and Long Beach based truck operators with renewable natural gas. Chevron’s partnership will fund the subsidized cost of purchasing new RNG-powered trucks for truck operators. 

• Metrolink announces new online tool, How Full is my Train? That allows riders to view a train’s ridership capacity with the option to select another train with lower capacity. These social distancing efforts follow Metrolink’s Clean Care Crew that provides routine sanitation with hospital-grade disinfectant. 

• Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County is taking an unprecedented approach to addressing the hunger crisis affecting the most vulnerable and the newly vulnerable who have been economically impacted in a challenging climate compounded by a statewide unemployment rate of up to 20 percent. In partnership with Alegría Fresh, a pioneer in regenerative organic, zero-waste urban farming, and through a collaboration with Bank of America, Second Harvest is implementing an innovative food security and community resilience initiative that is self-sustaining. Second Harvest offers weekly FarmBoxxes filled with an assortment of healthy greens, herbs and edible flowers locally grown by Alegría Fresh for Harvest-to-Home delivery. Income generated by these sales will multiply Second Harvest’s ability to bulk purchase more produce to distribute to the growing number of food-insecure households in Orange County. Order your box today!