July 7, 2023

• VICA PAC Endorsed Imelda Padilla Appointed to City Council
• VICA Supports Senate Bill 76 - Promoting Local Business
• VICA Opposes Assembly Bill 50 - Eliminating Unrealistic Requirements
• VICA Members Join City Commissions

Quick Jump - Register to Attend!

• Local Officeholders Luncheon 8/10

“The 6th District is ready to have a voting member, to have someone advocate for things. Let’s get to work."

Councilmember Imelda Padilla

Statement on her Appointment to LA City Council

VICA PAC Endorsed Candidate Imelda Padilla Appointed to LA City Council

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council voted to install Imelda Padilla - the VICA PAC Endorsed candidate who won last week's Council District 6 special election - as a temporary voting member of the council. Although the election results have not yet been certified and declared, the City Council wanted to install Padilla before their three-week break began this week. The county registrar is expected to certify Padilla's victory by the end of the day.

Council District 6 includes the neighborhoods of Lake Balboa, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta, North Hills, North Hollywood, and Sun Valley. The special election was prompted by City Council President Nury Martinez's resignation last year.

We congratulate Councilmember Imelda Padilla on her appointment, and look forward to working with her on promoting greater economic opportunities and development in Council District 6 and the greater Los Angeles region.

VICA Supports SB 76 - Supporting Local Restaurants and Bars

VICA supports Senate Bill 76 (Wiener) which would allow local governments to designate an entertainment zone where restaurants and bars would be able to sell to-go alcoholic beverages for consumption within these zones.

This type of program would provide an important new source of revenue to help restaurants and bars pay off debts accrued during the pandemic. For years, local governments have petitioned the state legislature for greater authority to directly regulate local establishments that sell alcohol in their respective communities. SB 76 would grant these local bodies more control in their cities, allowing for more flexibility relating to alcohol sale and consumption.

Similar programs to create outdoor refreshment areas have proven successful in supporting small business and downtown districts in several other states, including Michigan, Ohio, and North Carolina. It is time to bring pro-business policies like these to California.

VICA Opposes AB 50 - Unrealistic Energization Timelines

VICA opposes Assembly Bill 50 (Wood) which would establish temporary timelines for large electrical corporations, like PG&E, to provide customer energization. This bill would also require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to determine criteria for timely service for electric customers by January 1, 2025 that may replace or revise the temporary timelines.

Energization refers to when a customer load, such as a house or other building, is connected to the electrical grid and begins to receive electrical service from it. Recently, backlogs for utilities to fulfill requests for energization have grown due to increased demand and supply shortages brought on by the pandemic.

AB 50 attempts to solve this problem by imposing unrealistic requirements onto large electrical corporations. Opponents have raised concerns with the interim timelines included in the bill, citing them as unrealistic.

The bill also fails to consider that each project is unique. Utility employees and electrical workers have raised concerns about worker safety due to the bill imposing arbitrary, rushed timeframes on all projects regardless of size or complexity.

It is important to work to eliminate electrification delays, but setting unachievable goals like those outlined in this bill will only set providers and consumers up for failure.

VICA Members Appointed to LA City Commissions

VICA is proud to share that several VICA members have been appointed as LA City Commissioners. We will continue to highlight them in the coming weeks.

VICA is proud to announce the appointment of Elnie Vannatim to the Board of Zoo Commissioners. The Board of Zoo Commissioners was created in 1997 when the Los Angeles Zoo became its own Department. The Commission serves in an advisory capacity and is comprised of five members.

Elnie Vannatim is the Associate Director of Government & Industry Relations for Cedars-Sinai.

Elnie also serves on the boards of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, the Century City Chamber of Commerce, and the Westside Neighborhood Council.

Members

VICA Thanks Our New and Renewing Members!

Bronze Member:

• Trammell Crow Company (2008) - 15 Year VICA Member

Renewing Members:

• Boys & Girls Club of the West Valley (2007)
• Bicker, Castillo & Fairbanks (2007)
• City of Calabasas (2008) - 15 Year VICA Member

New Member:

• Community Foundation of the Valleys

Events

LIMITED SPONSORSHIPS STILL AVAILABLE:

Local Officeholders Luncheon

August 10 | 11:30 AM

Sheraton Universal Hotel

Local Officeholders representing Los Angeles County, the City of Los Angeles, and other Valley cities join VICA and its members to discuss the pertinent issues facing businesses during the annual Local Officeholders event. Attendees have the opportunity to formally ask questions on a wide range of topics.

The Week Ahead 

Transportation Committee

Tuesday, July 11

8:30 - 10:30 AM

Hosted by The Garland

RSVP

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

Thursday, July 13

Noon - 1:30 PM

At the VICA Office

RSVP

Ambassador Committee

Wednesday, July 12

9:00 - 10:30 AM

At the VICA Office

RSVP

Save the Date 

Aviation Committee

Tuesday, July 18

Noon - 1:30 PM

Hosted by the Aerolease Group

RSVP

Government Affairs Committee

Wednesday, July 19

Noon - 2:00 PM

At the VICA Office

RSVP

Hot News

The Hottest Day on Record

Researchers this week announced that Monday might have been the hottest day recorded on Earth, and then that record was unofficially broken on Tuesday and temperatures remained high on Wednesday. Although scientists still need to verify global average temperature figures to officially cement this week’s sweltering milestones, experts say the data reflects the continued effects of climate change, and may not be the last records set this year given the return of El Niño.

Employment Growth Slowed in June

Employment growth eased in June, taking some steam out of what had been a stunningly strong labor market. Non-farm payrolls increased 209,000 in June and the unemployment rate was 3.6%, the Labor Department reported Friday. That compared to the Dow Jones consensus estimates for growth of 240,000 and a jobless level of 3.6%.

Hotel Workers on Strike

Thousands of workers at hotels across Southern California walked off the job Sunday, demanding higher pay and better benefits and beginning what could be the largest US strike for the industry in recent memory. The strike affects roughly 15,000 cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen and front-desk agents at hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties, including the JW Marriott in the LA Live entertainment district and luxury destinations like the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica.

Copper Wire Theft Cause Metro Delays

A section of Los Angeles’ Metro rail system that extends from Norwalk to the South Bay was delayed this week because of the theft of copper wires used to power the rail cars. The incident marks the latest in a surge of thefts of valuable copper wiring, which has caused disruptions for the rail system, which serves more than 5 million riders a month.

Member Messages

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 yoko@vica.com or call (818) 817-0545.