Valley Industry & Commerce Association |
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LAST CHANCE: Not-For-Profit Matchmaking - Your Opportunity to Join a Board
- VICA Opposes Cost Increase for Packaging
- VICA Advocates for Responsible Development
- VICA in the News
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“It’s a groundbreaking effort to reduce plastic pollution that has brought environmental and business groups together. This is what the voters asked us to do — solve these problems together.”
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State Senator Ben Allen
Statement on SB 54, which was passed to replace the 2022 plastic ballot measure initiative.
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LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER: VICA to Host Over 15 Non-Profits - Your Chance to Serve
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Have you, or do you have co-workers, who have thought about a way to give back in a substantive way? Well, this is your chance! VICA's Not-For-Profit Committee is hosting an After Dark Matchmaking event. Details as follows:
Wednesday, July 13 | 5:30 - 7:30 PM
Hosted at New Horizons
15725 Parthenia St., North Hills, CA 91343
You may ask what rewards and opportunities you can expect from joining a nonprofit board. Here's a glimpse of what you can expect:
Maximize Your Impact
For most, although they would enjoy teaching computer skills to an elderly person or reading skills to a young child, the truth is that the unique skills they bring to their work on a nonprofit board, in areas such as creating a strategic plan or reorganizing their nonprofit’s marketing or finances, are the grease that oils the nonprofit’s engines.
Develop New Leadership Skills
There are invaluable skills you’ll acquire serving on a board. In fact, companies send their professionals for board matching because they believe board service is a powerful leadership training tool for their employees. Sitting on any board can teach you a tremendous amount.
Help Build a Business
Nonprofits have management, marketing, public relations/communications, financial, strategic planning, tech, human resources and governance issues. Diving into any of these areas – understanding the concerns and making decisions that will impact a nonprofit – offers you a chance to have a very different role than you may have in your professional life. It’s a chance to develop new capabilities and to grow.
Grow Your Network
Serving on a board is also a wonderful way to meet people and expand your network. Whether it’s making new friends or meeting new clients – board service exposes you to other high impact professionals who want to help the nonprofit community.
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Come & Meet These Amazing Not-For-Profit Organizations |
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Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley
Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley
Boys and Girls Club of the West Valley
Child Care Resource Center
Chrysalis
El Centro De Amistad
Homes 4 Families
Many Mansions
Meet Each Need with Dignity
New Horizons
San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center
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ONEgeneration
San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission
The Adult Skills Center
Valley InterCommunity Council
Valley Village
Verdugo Hills Council, Boy Scouts of America
Western Los Angeles County Council, Boy Scouts
of America
YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles
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VICA Opposes Cost Increase on Packaging Materials |
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The VICA Board has voted to oppose Assembly Bill 2026 (Friedman), which would prohibit online retailers from using single-use plastic packaging in the state.
The At-Store Recycling Program, which sunset on January 1, 2020, required operators of stores to establish an at-store recycling program.
Under the program, plastic bags provided by the store were required to include a label encouraging customers to return the bag to the store for recycling. It required stores to provide clearly labeled and easily accessible recycling bins for plastic bags. Also, it required that all plastic bags collected must be recycled in a manner consistent with the local jurisdiction’s source reduction and recycling element (SRRE).Lastly, it required a store to maintain records relating to the program for at least three years and to make the records available to the local jurisdiction or CalRecycle upon request. Assembly Bill 2026 will restore the At-Store Recycling Program and seeks to eliminate specified single-use plastics in the shipping of consumer products.
AB 2026 creates blanket prohibitions on certain packaging materials, with notable exemptions, that do not fully consider the unintended impacts such as increased waste because of product breakage, unintended consequences of increasing greenhouse gases from less efficient packaging or banning vital packaging that lack a viable substitute. For example, expanded polystyrene plays a critical role in the shipment of large, high value products such as televisions, monitors, and appliances for which no viable alternative currently exists that provides adequate product protection. A ban on EPS for many durable goods would result in increased environmental impacts from damaged products.
Further, freight costs would spike as heavier materials would be required to protect shipments. This, in turn, would cause a major increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while adding to delivery costs of damaged products being returned because of inferior packaging. The plastics industry is aware of the profligate consumption and errant disposal of single-use plastics. But it needs time to create, innovate, and strategize how best to address the problem, and then get ahead of it.
Single-use plastics are too important in today’s world to be restricted by a regressive tax that will accomplish little except line the pockets of those whose commitment to the expansion of taxation is unparalleled while further burdening those who can least afford it.
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VICA Advocates for Responsible Development |
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The VICA Board has voted to oppose Assembly 2840 (Reyes), which would prohibit the development of qualifying logistics use projects within 1,000 feet of a sensitive receptor and would require public agencies to require all other logistics use projects to employ a skilled and trained work force and to dedicate a set percentage of jobs created by the project to local residents.
Specifically, AB 2840 would prohibit a public agency from approving the development or expansion of any qualifying logistics use within 1,000 feet of sensitive receptors, measured from property line to property line using a straight line. AB 2840 would also require public agencies to require a project applicant seeking to develop a qualifying logistics use to develop a written construction careers agreement that specifies both of the following: all construction work, repairs, and renovations for the qualifying logistics use project will be performed by a skilled and trained workforce, as defined in the Public Contracts Code; and set percentage of jobs created by projects will go to local residents.
AB 2840 casts aside CEQA, one of the most protective environmental laws in the nation, and all other environmental laws and regulations in California that ensure responsible development, in favor of a wholesale development ban. Existing laws and regulations already require qualifying logistics use projects and warehouses to comply with a plethora of applicable local, state, and federal environmental laws, such as the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, CARB, and Regional AQMD rules and regulations, uniform building codes, fire codes, and of course CEQA, which ensures any potential impacts like increased traffic, noise, or air impacts are fully disclosed and mitigated. Existing law already forces new projects or the expansion of an existing facility to undergo the most rigorous environmental analysis and mitigation measures in the country.
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VICA Thanks Our Renewing Member |
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Newsmaker Connection with Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson
Tuesday, July 26 | 11:30 AM
VICA Office
City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson proudly represents the Eighth District of Los Angeles and chairs the city’s Planning Land Use and Management committee. He has introduced policies that combat homelessness, create quality jobs, clean streets, and encourage community policing. Within his first 18 months as a Councilmember, he authored Proposition HHH and has authorized more affordable housing in district 8.
VICA thanks our Presenting Sponsor, Amgen, Cedars-Sinai, and State Farm Insurance.
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Leaders Forum with Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins
New Date
Friday, July 29 | 8:30 AM
Burbank Airport Marriott
Stephanie Wiggins, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), most recently served as Executive Director of Vendor/Contract Management for Metro. She has more than 20 years of experience working for transportation agencies.
VICA thanks our Presenting Sponsors, Bechtel, Comcast NBCUniversal, EKA, and Flatiron Construction.
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Local Officeholders Luncheon
Get Your Sponsorship Before it's too Late!
Thursday, August 18 | 11:30 AM
Burbank Airport Marriott
Don't miss our Annual Local Officeholders Luncheon! Come and hear from our local elected officials and enjoy lunch and networking with fellow business leaders.
VICA thanks our Presenting Sponsors, Amazon, Comcast NBCUniversal, LADWP, SoCalGas, and Wells Fargo.
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VICA After Dark: LAFD Chief Kristen Crowley
Wednesday, August 31 | 5:30 PM
FIVE on the Hill at Hilton Universal City
VICA After Dark is a regular evening reception designed to give VICA members and guests the opportunity to hear updates about policies impacting the business community from a featured opinion leader and network with other prominent business leaders from the community.
VICA thanks our Presenting Sponsors, Five on the Hill, Medtrans, and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.
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Transportation Committee Meeting
Tuesday, July 12
8:30 - 10:30 AM
Hosted at The Garland
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Not-For-Profit Matchmaking
Wednesday, July 13
5:30 - 7:30 PM
Hosted at New Horizons
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Government Affairs Committee Meeting
Wednesday, July 20
12:00 - 2:00 PM
VICA Office
Sponsored by Dolphin Group
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Energy, Environment, Manufacturing & Utilities Committee Meeting
Wednesday, August 10
12:00 - 1:30 PM
VICA Office
Sponsored by Metropolitan Water District
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Gas Tax
A gas tax break would have been nice as Californians hit the road over the July 4th weekend. Instead, they were smacked with a tax increase. The gas tax hike that landed Friday was only about 3 cents per gallon — minuscule compared with the statewide average pump price of $6.25, but it was in the wrong direction. The little bump represented an automatic annual increase that “indexes” the tax to inflation. The total per-gallon excise tax rose from roughly 51 cents to about 54 cents.
LA County BOS Election
With the votes from the June primary now certified, the race for the District 3 open seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, encompassing L.A.’s Westside and the San Fernando Valley, is between two Democrats with many similarities but also distinct differences.
State Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, who captured 105,923 votes (31.08%), will face Lindsey Horvath, a West Hollywood City Council member, who came in second with 94,528 (27.74%). In what is predicted to be a close race, voters will decide between the two in the general election on Nov. 8.
Insurance Commissioner Race
Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) on Wednesday conceded defeat in the race for state insurance commissioner, sparing incumbent Ricardo Lara from what was expected to be a bruising campaign against a fellow Democrat. Lara instead will face off against Republican Robert Howell, a cybersecurity equipment manufacturer, in the November election. Howell beat Levine by roughly 5,000 votes to finish second in the June election. Under California’s “top-two” primary system, that was enough to advance to the general election. Lara topped the field of nine insurance candidates in the primary, but only secured 36% of the vote.
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Aviation
Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach Airport will receive grants as part of a $1 billion national program funding 85 airports nationwide under President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the White House announced on Thursday, July 7. The grants are to be used to expand airport terminals, increase energy efficiency, promote competition and provide greater accessibility for individuals with disabilities, according to a release from the White House Press Office.
Metro
A host of local officials will break ground Wednesday on an ambitious project to create a scenic bike and pedestrian path stretching from Inglewood through South Los Angeles, connecting a pair of light rail lines and a rapid transit bus corridor on the 110 Freeway. The Rail to Rail Active Transportation Project will stretch 5.5 miles, reaching from the Metro A Line station at Slauson Avenue to the future Fairview Heights station on the Metro K rail line on Florence Avenue in Inglewood. Along the way, the path will connect with the Metro Silver Line rapid bus station at the 110 Freeway and Slauson Avenue.
High Speed Rail
The new investigative position is intended to intensify oversight and improve performance of the $105 billion railroad project. Enthusiasm for the change is high, but whether it will fix everything is uncertain, even among state leaders. In 2012, the Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended against an appropriation to start construction, arguing the California High-Speed Rail Authority wasn’t prepared.
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Are you interested in a Membership Spotlight?
Answer the below questions, send responses and a professional photo,
and we'll ensure your in the line up for 2022!
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MUST BE A CURRENT VICA MEMBER TO BE FEATURED!
Please keep each question response to 2-4 sentences maximum.
- Please share a bit about your background and a fun fact that people would love to learn, ie: scrapbooking is your favorite hobby, you were in a band, you have traveled around the world…
- What has been your organization’s largest accomplishment or efforts made over the past year?
- Please share how VICA has supported your business strategy or expanded your footprint with the business community?
Send responses and headshot to Peter Warda
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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 cathy@vica.com or call (818) 817-0545.
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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.
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