Newsroom

On Tuesday, September 27, the Partnership’s Director of Public Policy, Nayiri Baghdassarian, testified before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in support of Lennar Homes Project on the Glenelder School Campus and urged the Board to deny the appeal that would prevent the project from moving forward. The project will result in the construction of 85 new homes within LA County which has critical housing needs. The appeal of the project failed and the project is set to continue to move forward.

The 2022 June Primary Elections are over, and votes are being counted!

While the CA Secretary of State has 38 days to certify election results and the mail-in ballots are still being counted, we can still have a good idea of who is going to make it to the November ballot. For our state-level and state-wide positions, the top two candidates will move forward to the November General Election. Below is a snapshot of the recent updates (as of 6/9/22) for our San Gabriel Valley elections.

The Partnership joined Orange County Business Council in a coalition letter supporting AB 2893, which will improve the Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment (SRIA) so that state agencies include the Department of Finance’s comments on all analysis of major regulations. The SRIA directs agencies to conduct a robust cost-benefit analysis based on a major regulation’s potential to add or eliminate jobs and businesses, create competitive advantages or disadvantages for businesses, increase or decrease investment, establish incentives for innovation and provide benefits for health, safety, and welfare of Californians.

However, the SRIA currently does not require agencies to follow best practices. AB 2893 allows for more accountability and transparency for agencies to act on the given analysis and recommendations.

The San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership has written to urge our elected officials' support of the budget appropriation request of $748,000,000 to complete the shovel-ready, zero-emission Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Glendora to Montclair. The Foothill Gold Line is a project that will serve not only the San Gabriel Valley, but also the Southern California region by expanding transit opportunities for residents, workers, students and visitors of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties; extending light rail service through one of the most congested and smoggiest corridors in the nation.

At this time, the westernmost 9.1-mile, four-station segment of the project is under construction and is on track to be completed in early 2025. The current appropriations request represents the funding needed to complete the entire 12.3-mile, six-station project by 2028. This project is environmentally cleared, has completed extensive design, and is ready to go into construction if the funding shortfall is secured. It is truly shovel-ready.

The Foothill Gold Line light rail project has strong support at every level (community, local, state and federal) and its benefits to the region are significant. However, completing the currently unfunded final three-mile, two-station project segment to Claremont and Montclair is critical to realizing the majority of environmental and mobility benefits of the project overall:

• Completing the two final stations at Claremont and Montclair is expected to generate more than half of the six-stations’ ridership projections; eliminating 53% of the car trips and nearly 60% of the vehicle miles traveled expected overall.
• Extending the line to Claremont and Montclair is expected to add 7,700 boardings each weekday to the LA County Metro transit system in 2028; eliminating 14,900 car trips each day opening year.
• Trips from these two stations alone are projected to reduce 26.7 million vehicle miles traveled annually; eliminating an estimated 1.75 million MTCO2e over the life of the project.
• The public investment in the Foothill Gold Line continues to be a catalyst for private investment and much-needed housing within walking distance to transit:
• To date, more than $13 billion in private investment in residential and commercial development has occurred within 1⁄2-mile of a current and future station; with an estimated $9 billion in additional investment planned.
• Since 2003, 19,200 housing units have already been built around Foothill Gold Line stations, with an estimated 17,000 more housing units planned - more than 10,000 of the planned units are near the Claremont and Montclair Stations.
• Completing the Foothill Gold Line to Claremont and Montclair creates important direct connections:
• At Montclair, riders will have more than a dozen direct bus connections to destinations throughout the Inland Empire - and soon to outside of the region, with a new Amtrak stop.
• In Claremont, the station will connect thousands of students, faculty and staff traveling to and from the city’s 10 colleges.

The entire project to Montclair can be completed by 2028 if this funding request is approved during this budget cycle. This would allow light rail service to be extended to the fastest growing cities in the San Gabriel Valley and provide a sustainable and reliable alternative for the nearly three million trips being made each day within and through the Foothill Gold Line corridor cities - only 3 percent of which are currently made by transit.

Since embarking on the Foothill Gold Line, LA County taxpayers have invested more than $3 billion in this light rail system. This appropriation request would close the final funding gap and enable this important infrastructure system to be completed to its planned terminus, realizing its full environmental and mobility benefits for the region.

Signers on the letter of support include:

• Luis Portillo, President and CEO, San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership
• Randy Lopez, Executive Director, Claremont Chamber of Commerce
• Paul Little, President and CEO, Pasadena Chamber of Commerce
• Joe Cina, President and CEO, Glendora Chamber of Commerce
• Shoshana Puccia, Executive Director and CEO, Duarte Chamber of Commerce
• Monique Manzanares, President and CEO, Pomona Chamber of Commerce
• Andrew Cooper, CEO, Arcadia Association of Realtors
• Steven A. Castro, CEO, Azusa Chamber Of Commerce
• Dawn Nelson, President and CEO, Covina Chamber of Commerce
• Bill Ruh, Government Affairs Director, Citrus Valley Association of Realtors
• Joanne McClaskey, Executive Director, Industry Business Council
• Silvia Melendez, CEO, San Dimas Chamber of Commerce
• Valarie R. Gomez, CEO, YMCA of West San Gabriel Valley
• Karen L Mac Nair, CEO, Arcadia Chamber of Commerce

From new variants to public health policy changes, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep us on our toes, and there are a lot of things to consider. With the correct information and tools, we hope to reach and motivate workers and employers to protect themselves, their workplace, and their community.

We encourage you to review the California Safer at Work website at www.saferatwork.ca.gov.

If you have any questions regarding the California Safer at Work program or any other business challenges, please contact Bob Machuca at 23-595-5965 or bob.machuca@laedc.org

Resources for Business

CAEATFA Full Sales & Use Tax Exclusion 

Apply now. This program historically becomes rapidly oversubscribed. December 20th, 2021 – January 7th, 2022. $100M Available. Full Sales and use tax exclusion for advanced manufacturers, advanced transportation technologies, alternative source, and recycled feedstock companies (examples have included microelectronics, semiconductors, aerospace and defense, advanced materials, sustainable technologies, additive manufacturing, industrial biotechnology). See here. Definitions on eligibility on page six here.

• Emerging Industry: Includes new Emerging Industry category including Lithium Valley here.
• Small Projects: Includes $20m set aside for “Small Project Pool” available only to applicants requesting $2m or less in STE

California Competes Tax Credit & Grant

January 3rd, 2022 – January 24th, 2022, California Competes Tax Credit ($140M) & California Competes Grant ($120M): The next round of California Competes begins January 3rd with $140m available for California Competes Tax Credit and $120m available for the newly available California Competes Grant. CalCompetes has posted three upcoming webinar opportunities:

• January 5, 2022 , 9:30 am-10:30 am PST 
• January 13, 2022 4:00 pm-5:00 pm PST 
• January 18, 2022 11:00 am-12:00 pm PST 

Zero-Emission Vehicle and Vehicle-Related Manufacturing Grants

$118,750,000 in first round, $250m total projected: Budget includes initial round of grant incentives for in-state manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), ZEV-related manufacturing including ZEV parts, components, batteries, and fueling infrastructure equipment.

• View the Presentation by the Energy Commission on eligibility and other elements here

Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF)

• The CERF team has posted the final regions and the planning phase draft guidelines which can be found here.
• They have also invited public comment on due by January 28th on the Planning Phase Draft Guidelines which can be found here.
• CERF is hosting a listening-style webinar on January 6, from 2-4PM, register here.
• Register for ALL CERF email updates here.

Legislative Considerations

Capital Investment Incentive Program (CIIP): January 1st, 2022. An update to California’s property tax incentive program for projects in excess of $150m investment. This past year, the Governor signed AB-726 expanding CIIP to also now include businesses “engaged in the manufacturing of fuels, electrical parts, or components used in the field of clean transportation or the production of alternative fuel vehicles or electric vehicles.”

• GO-Biz’s last report on CIIP can be found here.

Local Financing, Public Investment Authorities (EIFDs, CRIAs): January 1st, 2022. An update to California’s post-Redevelopment financing district tools for housing, transit, economic development and business support in SB-780 takes effect

Comeback Guide

GoBiz recently posted the California Business Comeback Guide, an index of all current and forecasted state incentive programs for businesses both for recovery and for success.

Legislative Updates

Here are a few of the headline stories this week from the federal and state legislatures:

California Eviction Protection is On Course to Expire September 30th

• The California Legislature is signaling it will let the current eviction protections expire at the end of this month. Barring the Governor calling for a special legislative session to address this (or the issuance of an executive order), these protective measures will effectively sunset later this month.

Read the Full Story 

Unemployment Benefits are Expiring

• The Federal Government is ending unemployment benefits under the CARES Act as of September 4th. This affects the four programs enacted in response to COVID-19: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Pandemic Additional Compensation (PAC), and Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC). This is set to affect approximately 2.2 million to 3 million Californians. Despite “leading the nation in job creation,” California is also leading the nation with the “second-highest unemployment rate.”

Read the Full Story 

Governor Newsom Seeks to Refurbish Old Buildings to House Homeless

• The Governor is declaring his intention to rehabilitate older and vacant building with the purpose of housing homeless Californians with a price tag of $2.75 billion dollars. Previous efforts sought to purchase or rent hotels and motels rather than working with existing building owners to refurbish them. Funding for this initiative stems from the state’s $12 billion dollar effort directed towards addressing homelessness. This latest effort would also provide support services to tenants, like access to mental health professionals, access to counseling, and access to workforce development.

Read the Full Story 

Before starting their virtual internships at City of Hope this summer, none of the San Gabriel Valley teenagers who had signed up were quite sure what bioscience research really was. “Now 80% of the interns plan to continue towards the biotech/healthcare trajectory,” says Amy Foell, Consultant for Workforce Development at the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership. Foell coordinates a project which connects City of Hope to local high schools to bolster local students’ professional skills, while giving them a glimpse of the world of scientific research.

City of Hope – a world-class treatment and research center for cancer and diabetes headquartered in Duarte – joined forces with the K12 Foothill Consortium, which arranges training experiences for students in northeastern Los Angeles County, and the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership (SGVEP), an economic development group aimed at improving the business culture and quality of life across the San Gabriel Valley.

The program included mentoring in professional skills and explaining bioscience research. It culminated in intern teams producing Public Service Announcements about a variety of crucial topics: Gestational Diabetes, COVID-19 Facts, and Stem Cell Research. This tested not only their knowledge and soft skills, but their organizational and technological abilities as well.

Students were mentored by Ph.D. students from the Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences at City of Hope through its graduate student outreach committee. The graduate students were eager to pay forward what they had received from their own mentors.

“Participating in these events is very important to me as a first-generation Mexicana-Americana in STEM,” said Diana Esparza, a City of Hope Ph.D. candidate studying early diagnostic tools for type 2 diabetes. “Programs like this one helps grow confidence and awareness in the next generation of scientists, letting them know that they CAN make it. Therefore, it was a tremendous pleasure to share my cultural experiences and the plethora of resources that were provided to me by my own compassionate mentors.”

Her fellow mentor Alicia Davis, a City of Hope Ph.D. candidate studying novel therapeutics for COVID-19 and lung cancer, agrees. “Having enthusiastic and supportive role models during such a pivotal time such as high school is essential,” she said. Particularly in a year when high school students were bereft of regular interactions, the support received from enthusiastic mentors made quite a difference.

Megan Orellana (Charter Oak High School, Class of 2022) for example, was thrilled to connect personally with her mentor, Heather Zook, at a personal level. “I have had several meetings with Heather outside of the internship,” Orellana says, “and we have discussed more about college and different careers. Her background is very similar to mine in a way that makes it very comforting to chat with her. I’d say my perspective on not only the medical field but also the people in the medical field has definitely grown and changed in a positive way.”

Locally-trained bioscience researchers are keenly needed for the continued health of the San Gabriel Valley economy. The region is home to a growing technology corridor hosting numerous companies working in photonics, biotechnology, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing. The significant growth potential for these industries is limited only by the lack of a suitably qualified workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

“Supporting and encouraging our San Gabriel Valley high school interns is a true passion of mine,” attests Robin Clayton, Director of Talent Acquisition at City of Hope. “We must start encouraging and exposing students at a young age about the diverse careers in health care. Our hope is that once the interns complete their education, they consider returning to City of Hope to begin their professional journey and continue remembering the importance of our mission and values.”

The hard work of the mentors, interns, and supporting institutions appears to be taking root. “I have always assumed research was boring, but in reality it’s so fascinating,” enthuses Sonia Pena, Gladstone High School (Class of 2022). “The things you discover are amazing. You really never know about something until you dive deep into it.”

Hopefully in the near future, these high schoolers will all dive deep into their chosen fields and pay forward the knowledge gained from City of Hope to the generation after them.

The Long Road Forward: The Partnership Looks Ahead on Key Political Issues in 2021

On March 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated to serve a second term as President of the United States. Lincoln's election as president in 1860 started a devastating civil war. Lincoln's commitment to stop the expansion of slavery into federal territories alarmed Southern slave-holding states to risk civil war rather than tolerate an anti-slavery Republican administration. After four bloody years of war,  Union troops now held much of the South and the remaining Confederate Armies were soon to be defeated. Lincoln was re-elected in a landslide in 1864, and now, in the early spring of 1865, he delivered his Second Inaugural Address, looking ahead to the difficult process of reconciliation between a victorious North and a vanquished South. Lincoln said:

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan ~ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."  

With the Biden Administration to be inaugurated today, in a ritual of transferring power peacefully dating back to George Washington, Americans stand at a crossroads. A global pandemic that has halted significant portions of our economy and largely curtailed personal meetings and travel has only exacerbated simmering tensions between the two major political parties, following a difficult summer of racial discord and a contested presidential election in November. A protest by some of President Trump's supporters turned into a riot which stormed the U.S. Capitol building, shocking the country and resulting in five deaths.

For 30 years, the Partnership has worked with elected officials serving on city councils, school boards, and water boards, as community college trustees and as members of the County Board of Supervisors. It has had strong working relationships with lawmakers in the State Legislature and in Congress from both parties. These officials were elected by the people of their districts, and despite any disagreements on particular legislation or policy, we share a love for our country, our state, our communities and homes here in the San Gabriel Valley, and the principles of the Constitution. 

The Partnership strongly condemns any and all political acts of violence and expresses our extreme concern for the rising hatred, suspicion, and disharmony among Americans of opposing political views. The rights guaranteed in the Constitution allow for peaceful assembly, petitioning of the government and freedom of the press. Protest is a time-honored tradition for Americans, to physically gather and peacefully voice their dissatisfaction. Violence, destruction of property, and the endangerment of our neighbors and fellow citizens are unacceptable and should not be tolerated, condoned, dismissed, diminished or justified.

It is our hope that extreme partisanship and this era of bad feelings between Republicans and Democrats, and among all Americans, will begin to recede, that the country will redirect its political energies to focus on what unites us as Americans rather than on what divides us as individuals, and that statesmanship from officials in both parties, at all levels of government, will throttle back the extremist rhetoric and strive to uplift, elevate and direct us toward, in Lincoln's words, "the better angels of our nature."

There is much common ground that Congress and the Biden Administration can work on over the next four years, such as:

• Ensuring a safe rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines and making sure that all residents have access to it
• Leading a revival of our small businesses, hotels, and restaurants once the pandemic abates
  
• Providing financial aid to our schools so they can safely reopen and provide in-person instruction to students
• Exploring financing options for a national transportation bill that focuses on freight and goods movement
• Reviving American-based manufacturing, to allow those who are not college-educated to be properly trained to become effective employees in this important sector
• Addressing over-regulation or outdated regulation by federal agencies that act as a drag on the economy and American companies
• Continuing to explore advantageous trade arrangements with friendly nations around the world
• Leading the American people to see the good in one another, that their political adversaries are not their mortal enemies

The Partnership looks forward to working with a new Congress and Biden Administration in the years ahead and expresses our heartfelt wishes for a renewal of our civic harmony and brotherhood.

###

Trump, Biden wait on close counts in key battleground states; No on Prop 15 leading by 400,000 votes in California

IRWINDALE, CA - It was a long election night across America as the contest for president stretched into the early morning as the country awaited results from a handful of extremely close battleground states in the Mid West, South and Southwest. While the press has called Wisconsin and Michigan for Vice President Biden and Maine's 2nd District for President Trump, vote tabulations are ongoing with the presidency in the balance and the possibility of recounts or legal action possible.

In the House of Representatives, Republicans did surprisingly well, avoiding the defeat of any incumbent so far with a projected pick up of 5 seats, although many races remain undecided as yet. In the U.S. Senate, Democrats defeated GOP incumbents in Arizona and Colorado while Republicans picked up a Democratic seat in Alabama. Republican incumbents held off their challengers in close races in Montana, Maine and North Carolina. The Michigan Senate race between Democratic incumbent Gary Peters and Republican challenger John James remains extremely close, with Peters ahead by roughly 5,000 votes. Two Senate seats in Georgia will head to run-off elections in January.

Here in California, several controversial state ballot measures remain close although several others appear to be settled. Proposition 15, which asked voters if they wished to remove property tax protections on commercial and industrial properties worth over $3 million and dramatically increase taxes on those properties, is now behind with nearly 6 million votes opposing the measure - some 400,000 more than those in favor. Proposition 21, which would have expanded cities' ability to enact rent control, was soundly defeated with 59.8% of the current vote opposing the measure.

CLICK HERE FOR PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURES.

In the San Gabriel Valley races for Congress and the State Legislature, most incumbents were re-elected by healthy margins, although we had several close, interesting races. In the 39th House District, covering Diamond Bar, Industry, Walnut and Rowland Heights, as well as portions of Orange and San Bernardino Counties, Republican Young Kim is leading the Democratic incumbent Gil Cisneros by 1,293 votes. More votes are forthcoming but expect this race to remain close. In the 29th Senate race, which overlaps with the 39th House District, Republican incumbent Ling Ling Chang is trailing former Democratic State Senator Josh Newman by roughly 10,000 votes. In the 55th Assembly seat, Republican incumbent Philip Chen leads his Democratic challenger Andrew Rodriguez by nearly 16,000 votes. And in the open 57th Assembly seat, Democrat Lisa Calderon has 60.5% of the current vote and appears likely headed to Sacramento.

CLICK HERE FOR PRELIMINARY SAN GABRIEL VALLEY CONGRESSIONAL AND STATE LEGISLATIVE ELECTION RESULTS.

Several city council races in the San Gabriel Valley yielded surprising results, with key incumbents trailing their challengers. In Pasadena, Councilman Victor Gordo leads Mayor Terry Tornek by 4,400 votes. In El Monte, Councilwoman Jessica Ancona leads Mayor Andre Quintero by nearly 1,500 votes. In Baldwin Park, Mayor Manuel Lozano trails his opponent Emmanuel Estrada by 659 votes. In Pomona, Mayor Tim Sandoval won 63.3% of the vote and appears headed towards re-election. Incumbent Councilmembers Robert Torres and Elizabeth Oliveros-Cole are both ahead by solid margins while in the 1st District, former Councilman John Nolte leads his challenger by only 75 votes.

CLICK HERE FOR PRELIMINARY SAN GABRIEL VALLEY CITY COUNCIL ELECTION RESULTS

There are many other races to report on - look for more results for San Gabriel Valley school districts, community college trustees, and water districts tomorrow. More votes will be coming in for several days, so watch the close races to see how the vote totals change.

###