At VICA's Leaders Forum with Mayoral Candidate Rick Caruso, VICA members gathered to hear from and speak with one of the leading candidate in Los Angeles' mayoral race.

Rick spoke at length about Los Angeles' homelessness crisis and shared his plan to appoint a deputy mayor to focus on services for people experiencing homelessness. "We've got a city of tents on our streets," he said. One of his top priorities as Mayor will be to help fix the crisis. "We need to get people back to living lives that they and we can be proud of," Rick said.

Rick also answered questions relating to housing policies, like Measure H, Measure HHH, and the United to House LA proposed ordinance. He emphasized that tax dollars should be spent intentionally, with clear goals. "If we need the money [to fund an initiative], let's see if we can find the money [that already exists," he said. "We have an $11 billion budget in LA. Let's start asking [if we already have the money] before we make people pay more taxes."

He also addressed the relationship between the City Attorney and the Mayor. Rick expressed that the City Attorney should report to the Mayor and that they should collaborate to serve Angelenos. He shared his frustration at how hard it has been to reach previous mayors of Los Angeles and that, as Mayor, he will pick up the phone when Angelenos call.

VICA thanks our Presenting Sponsors Amazon, Los Angeles Police Protective League, Mesa Pacific, and Onni Group. VICA also thanks Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP, Mission Community Hospital, and Sunhill Properties/Hilton Universal City for co-sponsoring VICA's Leaders Forum with Rick Caruso.

Measure BB: This amendment to the City Charter will add "City of Los Angeles" to the definition of "local," expanding opportunities for the City of Los Angeles to award bid preferences to business located in Los Angeles.

VICA officially supports Measure BB because it would level the playing field for businesses located in the City of Los Angeles by allowing the City to provide an additional scoring preference for those businesses located in the City of Los Angeles. This means that businesses in the City of Los Angeles - paying City of LA wages, rents, insurance, and business tax - receive the same point reference on contracting bids as a business operating in Alhambra, Lancaster, Santa Clarita or Torrance. In advance of large regional and global events like the World Cup and 2028 Olympics, this will help bring local businesses into regional supply chains and create much needed economic growth and jobs.

VICA strongly opposes the LA City Council Proposal Package: Fair Access for Renters, which would prohibit screening prospective tenants based on their criminal, eviction, or credit histories. Nobody will ever rent out their apartments if they cannot check on something like whether somebody has a history of evictions. It is a security threat, especially for those in the surrounding community.

Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang

More than 350 VICA members attended VICA’s annual State Officeholders Dinner at Stage 29 at Universal Studios Hollywood. Guests enjoyed an evening reception walking through the park, taking photos with Minions and Trolls, and then dinner with elected officials. VICA thanks each of our sponsors, including our Presenting Sponsors Amazon and Comcast NBCUniversal, and the elected officials who were able to join us.

To check out the full event report, please click here.

VICA, in partnership with the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce, invite you to an exclusive two-day Sacramento advocacy trip.

For more information or to register, please email Cathy@vica.com or call 818.817.0545.

The Los Angeles City Council is threatening to bring the so-called "Fair Work Week" Ordinance back to the Economic Development and Jobs Committee, which will restrict employee schedules and increase business payroll expenses. Though we do not have an exact date for when this will be revived, we are urging our members to call committee members and express opposition, as they gave less than 48 hours notice when the ordinance was brought forward in February.

The Ordinance would require Los Angeles employers to provide employees with more stable and foreseeable hours. However, this ordinance is actually restrictive scheduling, imposing a one-size-fits-all system that threatens the flexibility of employees and employers.

Although the proposal currently lacks detail, we understand that the proposed ordinance would require retail employers to provide two weeks' advanced notice of employees' schedules, and be penalized for any changes made after the schedule is posted. The proposal is applicable to retail businesses with over 300 employees worldwide.

Many employers already provide schedules in advance, but we remain concerned at the possibility of harsh penalties when unforeseen circumstances come up, such as employees calling out sick or a sudden business need for additional employees. Harsh penalties hurt employees, too: studies have found that most employees value the flexibility that employers are currently able to provide so they can pursue their studies or creative opportunities.

213-473-7009

Councilmember.Price@lacity.org

213-473-7002

paul.krekorian@lacity.org

213-4737003

Councilmember.Blumenfield@lacity.org

213-473-7004

contactCD4@lacity.org

213-473-7008

Councilmember.Harris-Dawson@lacity.org

Sponsored by the Verdugo Hills Council Boy Scouts of America

Sponsored by Hospital Association of Southern California & Heritage Sierra

Hosted by The Garland

Hosted at The Garland

CityWatch | May 5

Courthouse News Service | May 6

Newsbreak | May 7

VICA congratulates Granada Hills Charter School in their National Championship in the 2022 National Academic Decathlon. This marks the school's 9th win in the last 12 years. Granada Hills Charter School is one of the few schools in the nation to have secured so many victories. Congratulations, Granada Hills Charter School!

CVS and Walgreens are among the retailers limiting sales of baby formula amid the ongoing, nationwide shortage.

Parents around the U.S. hoping to buy baby formula are being met with empty shelves due to the shortage, which only got worse in February when a major baby food manufacturer, Abbott Nutrition, recalled powdered baby formula products manufactured at a Michigan plant. The recall, which affected the Similac, Alimentum and EleCare brands, was issued after four babies were hospitalized with bacterial infections, and two died after taking powdered baby formula, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The recall exacerbated already existing baby formula supply issues caused by pandemic-snarled supply chains and shortages of ingredients.

California’s minimum wage for all employers will rise to $15.50 an hour in January, advisors to Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, the first time that rising inflation has triggered a provision of a 6-year-old state law governing automatic pay increases. The announcement came one day before Newsom unveils a revised state budget plan, a new spending proposal for state government that relies on an updated economic forecast and one that will offer rental assistance and cash rebates to struggling Californians.

Keely Martin Bosler, the governor’s budget director, said the wage increase will help low-income families struggling with the rapid rise in prices for a wide variety of items. “They have a huge impact to those families that are living off of those lower wages and their ability to cover the cost of goods,” she said. The state’s minimum wage for large employers is currently $15 an hour, with employers that have fewer than 26 workers paying $14 an hour.

Though stronger than expected, the rate of inflation in April slowed for the first time in eight months, but experts still aren’t sure how long it will take for prices to return to normal levels—even if the worst has finally passed. Overall prices rose 0.3% from March—higher than the 0.2% economists were expecting but much lower than the previous month’s increase of 1.2%, according to data released by the Labor Department on Wednesday.

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.