CalChamber President and CEO Jennifer Barrera opens the Capitol Summit on May 8 by calling attention to the important role of local chambers of commerce and small businesses in advocacy. Two seats on the CalChamber Board are reserved for local chamber CEOs. The CalChamber also has established a Small Business Policy Council and Small Business Policy Center and works regularly with the Big City Chamber Coalition on issues of mutual concern.
Panelists Underscore Ways to Empower Small Businesses
A focus on small business as the “heartbeat of California’s economy” is the theme for a Capitol Summit panel on May 8 with Tara Lynn Gray, director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA); Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine); Maria Salinas, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce; and moderator Nick Ortiz, CalChamber vice president of small business advocacy. Points raised include the role of the CalOSBA in helping small business owners find sources of capital and “connect the dots” about available resources; technical assistance available from the LA Area Chamber on dealing with contracts and other matters; and making certain the voice of small business is heard in the halls of the State Capitol.
Multiple Efforts to Tackle Retail Theft Get Attention at Capitol Summit
Speakers with many years of experience working on public safety and curbing retail theft come together at a CalChamber Capitol Summit session on May 8 to comment on the problem and potential solutions. Moderator Jonathan Feldman, partner, Arc Strategies, poses questions to panelists Assemblymember Juan Alanis (R-Modesto), Senator Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) and Rachel Michelin, president, California Retailers Association. The discussion ranged from local enforcement and prosecutors to helpful provisions in pending legislation co-authored by Zbur and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) and an initiative sponsored by district attorneys that may qualify for the statewide ballot this year. Examples of successful partnerships that make a difference include a San Joaquin County app that enables local law enforcement and businesses to share information to protect assets and the California Organized Retail Crime Association (Cal-ORCA) through which law enforcement and loss prevention professionals share best practices and training to fight organized retail crime.
Industry in Transition Still Adapting to Keep News Stories Flowing
The closing panel discussion at the CalChamber Capitol Summit on May 8 takes listeners behind the headlines to explain how the changing finances of a news industry in transition is affecting coverage of California politics and issues. Weighing in with answers to questions posed by moderator Cassandra Pye, president, Lucas Public Affairs, are reporters Melanie Mason of Politico (an entirely digital news source), Taryn Luna of the Los Angeles Times (offering both print and digital coverage) and Eytan Wallace, a multimedia journalist who covers state politics for nine news stations affiliated with NexStar Media. The reporters describe the challenges of balancing the push to get stories quickly with being the first to get the story right; adapting to social media; and choosing the subjects to follow when time and available news staff are limited.
Economist: Good Policy Starts with Right Narrative
Economist Christopher Thornberg, Ph.D., founding partner of Beacon Economics, urges listeners at the CalChamber Capitol Summit on May 8 to look beyond the headlines to data and to help define the social narrative that affects policy development. False narratives, he declares, lead to bad policies and the inability of differing parties to compromise, and crisis management modes that prevent the pursuit of good policies. In the space where social narratives and economic reality overlap comes the opportunity to effect policy change, he says.
Photos by bryanpatrickphoto.com
