Representatives of the Border Trade Alliance led by Chamber VP Paola Avila as the Board Chair were in DC last week urging lawmakers from both parties to support modernized trade agreements. The current state of impasse in the three-nation negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement has brought much uncertainty to future trade relations. […]
Read MoreOn June 14, more than 700 business, community and civic leaders attended the 16th annual Visionary Awards, Southern California’s premier leadership recognition event. The evening’s honorees included Peter Seidler and Dan Shea, the Ronald Kendrick Memorial Award for Regional Collaboration; Blanca Uribe Diaz, the Charles Nathanson Memorial Award for Cross-Border Region Building; Jay Flatley, the […]
Read MoreAs part of the federal tax reform bill, states had the opportunity to identify “Opportunity Zones” for local economic development opportunity. The program allows investors to utilize incentives including capital gains tax breaks by investing in a designated Opportunity Zone. The U.S. Department of Treasury recently certified the California Opportunity Zone map, which can be […]
Read MoreIn a letter signed by over 100 local businesses, the Chamber asked the Mayors throughout San Diego County to approve more housing in their jurisdictions. Citing the impacts to employee retention and attraction, as well as the role housing plays in reaching climate goals and reducing commute times, employers are increasingly beginning to join the […]
Read MoreIn May, the Port of San Diego and the City of Chula Vista approved a public-private partnership deal for the design and development of the $1.1 billion Chula Vista Bayfront hotel and convention center. The Chamber Public Policy Committee heard from Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas about the expansion. She emphasized the potential the project has for job creation […]
Read MoreState legislators had proposed a law that would have taxed residents on the most basic need of water in order to fund the cleaning of toxic wells. Instead of pursuing this legislation, leaders agreed to spend $5 million from the general fund to crackdown on lead in drinking water at child care centers and to allocate $23.5 million […]
Read MoreAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, San Diego County’s unemployment rate was 2.9 percent in May 2018, which was significantly lower than California’s unemployment rate of 3.7 percent. In San Diego County between April 2018 and May 2018, the California Employment Development Department reported total employment increased from 1,489,200 to 1,494,900, an increase of 5,700 jobs in one month. “Leisure & […]
Read MoreOn June 5, voters in San Diego spoke decisively with their vote for District Attorney, Summer Stephan, who has advocated for decreasing human trafficking and domestic violence among other priorities. Sheriff Bill Gore also had a strong victory. Chamber-supported Scott Peters, Bonnie Dumanis, Jim Desmond, Lorie Zapf, and Chris Cate will all advance to the November ballot. Statewide, Chamber-supported propositions 68, […]
Read MoreThe San Diego City Council and the Board of Port Commissioners voted on June 12th in support of a three-party settlement agreement to secure long-term control of the land needed to expand and modernize the San Diego Convention Center using voter-approved funding. The agreement would allow the City to gain control of the site if […]
Read MoreOn June 8th, SANDAG’s Board of Directors demonstrated leadership in addressing the region’s housing crisis. The SANDAG Board voted to accept the state’s determination of housing need at 171,000 units to be built from 2021 through 2029 throughout the County. This vote reversed a previous vote in which the SANDAG Board asked the state to accept a lower goal of 116,000 units. .
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