News & Updates

Tax Reform

Policy

December 7, 2017

The House and Senate have both passed tax reform legislation. Neither proposal meets the principles of tax reform supported by the San Diego Regional Chamber Board of Directors. The legislation is now in Conference Committee, where they will attempt to sort out the differences between the two bills before a single bill goes to President Trump’s desk for signature. Among the key differences are that the Senate bill repeals the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate (the Chamber has supported the individual mandate and opposed repealing the ACA without a simultaneous replacement). In addition, the House bill has a disproportionate impact on San Diego due to capping the mortgage interest deduction on new home purchases valued over $500,000, and reducing the deduction for State and Local Taxes. The Senate bill eliminates the deduction for State and Local Taxes.

 

2018 Sacramento Delegation Trip Registration Open

Policy

December 7, 2017

The Chamber team is proud to present another Sacramento delegation trip to bring San Diego’s unique business voice and perspective to our leaders in Sacramento. The dates for the 2018 trip are February 27th and 28th. This is the beginning of the second year in the two-year legislative cycle, when many of the high-priority bills from 2017 are revived and brought back. We will kick off the trip with the Moderate Caucus’ Leader, Assemblyman Jim Cooper for lunch, meet with leadership from the Senate and Assembly, and enjoy a full day of robust, relevant meetings on February 28th. Register now to take advantage of discounted early-bird pricing. Prices go up February 1.

2018 Policy Committees to be Announced

Policy

December 7, 2017

The Chamber relies on its robust policy committees to consider emerging issues, ratify Chamber policy positions, and inform and educate Chamber members on issues critical to the business community.  Every year, over 200 Chamber members take part in this process by serving on the Chamber Public Policy Committee or one of the six industry-specific Chamber public policy sub-committees. Last month, Chamber members were given the opportunity to communicate their interest in serving on a 2018 committee. Committee Chairs will approve the slate of 2018 committee members and members will be notified prior to the end of the year.

Member Spotlight: Yummie Fountains

Member Spotlight

December 4, 2017

Having been part of many special events I started a full service and fountain rental business. Yummie Fountains wants to celebrate all the milestones you, your family and friends have reached and want to share that experience of being able to have fun with your food and enjoy tasting it too! The aroma of your choice of sauce will welcome your guests as they stroll into your event. Your guest’s eyes will be drawn to the glistening sauce cascading down the high-quality fountain, embellished with a variety of decorative and delicious dippings of your choice.  Yummie Fountains has been part of and service all different events including Corporate, Weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Private Events, Birthday, Fundraisers and much more.

Our niche is providing “Yummie Fountains”, and we bring the best! Entertain your guests with a variety of savory sauce cascading from our different sizes of professional fountains that range from 16” to 44”.  For a divine dessert bar, choose between the traditional Gluten Free and Kosher Belgian White, Milk, Dark Chocolate or Organic Chocolate (USDA Organic); accompanying the chocolate choose from a variety of delicious dippings for your guests to enjoy. We don’t add oil to our chocolate. Also, have your guests snack on fun finger foods like carrots and celery sticks to dip in our savory ranch sauce; or indulge in mouthwatering wings smothered with barbecue sauce. Get creative with our cheese and chamoy sauce fountains choices too!

Yummie Fountains is proud to announce of being a new member of San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, and has been a member of BESA San Diego and Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. Rita Lavasanipour is a first generation of Mexican-American, wife of 14 years and mother of 3. A California native and raised in Encinitas CA with a Bachelor of Science from UC Riverside. Yummie Fountains is a start-up business since 2015 and is part of other organizations such as in MANA De North County, and (SDCLS) San Diego County Latino Association. Yummie Fountains has been a continuous sponsored for CSUSM Taste for Success event and Women’s Resource Center. Yummie Fountains is a government certified business as a Small Business and Women Minority Business Entity. Rita looks forward to meeting and building a long lasting relationship.

Happy Dippings,

Rita

 

Rita Lavasanipour
Owner
Yummie Fountains
www.yummiefountains.com
760 676-YUMM (9866)

Member Spotlight: Sixt Rent-a-Car

Member Spotlight

November 21, 2017

An Unforgettable Luxury Car Rental Experience Awaits You in San Diego, and It’s so Affordable, You’ll Have to Pinch Yourself

We’ve been in the affordable luxury business in Europe and around the globe for more than 100 years, and now we’re thrilled to be open at the San Diego airport.

Sixt Rent-a-Car rolled out the orange carpet for San Diego customers in late 2017, and had the high honor of launching our new location alongside your Chamber President, Jerry Sanders. We’re proud to be active members of the San Diego Regional Chamber. You’ve created a booming, $10.4 billion dollar tourism industry here, and our goal is to work with you to realize more growth and reach even greater heights. To show you we’re serious, we’re offering a private, members-only discount available anytime you’re looking for an affordable, world-class luxury experience.

And speaking of experience, that’s our singular focus at Sixt. We want every customer to feel special from the minute you book a car with us to the minute you drop it off. At every stage, we remain engaged with you to ensure you have an outstanding luxury car and your journey is smooth and seamless. We can help you if you want a special night out on the town, want to impress your clients as you take them around the area, or simply feel like spoiling your friends, family, or colleagues coming into town so they can fully appreciate all that San Diego has to offer.

In a city of high sophistication, with so much in the way of luxury–from cruises, to hotels, restaurants, shopping, and one-of-a-kind destinations–Sixt is the way to get you there and back in appropriate style.

To book a rental using your members-only discount, go to this link http://sixt.info/SanDiego15 and you will receive your exclusive discount.

2017 Legislative Lounge Award Winners

News

November 16, 2017

Our 5th annual Legislative Lounge, an informal, lighthearted and humorous reception and awards ceremony to honor San Diego’s elected officials and their staff.

This year’s winners:

“Super Tweeter”: MASON HERRON, Office of Assemblymember Randy Voepel

“Bridge Builder”: YOLANDA APALATEGUI, Office of Senator Ben Hueso

“Elected Who Gets $#!t Done”: Imperial Beach Mayor SERGE DEDINA

“Staffer Who Gets $#!t Done”: JONATHAN HERRERA, City of San Diego

“Newcomer Award”: SARAH JARMAN, Office of Councilmember Scott Sherman

“People’s Choice”: CONGRESSMAN SCOTT PETERS, 52nd Congressional District of California

NEWCITY Medical Plaza Wins Global Medical Tourism Award in London

International

November 13, 2017

NEWCITY Medical Plaza was recognized as the Most Outstanding Medical Tourism Service in the World by The Globals Awards, which took place November 9th, 2017, in London. The Globals recognizes the rapid growth of the medical tourism in the world, and how individuals and organizations develop projects in order to enhance the quality standards of medical services in their countries, regions, and the world.     

 

The NEWCITY Medical Plaza aims to provide its patients the most innovative treatments available in Mexico in a safe and compassionate environment, less than a mile away from the U.S. border. The project satisfies the needs from both patients and doctors, and includes a neurological center; clinical, pathology, and radiology laboratories; ambulatory care; recovery boutique hotel; certified surgery suits with intermediate care; a shopping mall; and restaurants with Baja Med cuisine.

 

Visit NEWCITY’s website

 

Watch Video

Meeting with Assistant Secretary of State

International

November 13, 2017

Chamber President and CEO Jerry Sanders, and Paola Avila, VP of International Business Affairs, met with Assistant Secretary Palmieri from the Department of State to discuss different issues that affect the Cali-Baja region. The meeting served as a follow-up opportunity after the Chamber’s advocacy trip to Washington D.C. in September.

Among the discussion topics, the Chamber continued its advocacy efforts for a rail port of entry at Tecate with a pre-inspection facility, support for NAFTA, advancing planning and construction of the Otay Mesa East port of entry, and a work plan between the U.S. and Mexican governments to mitigate pollution in the Tijuana River Valley.

Annual Delegation Trip to Mexico City

International

November 13, 2017

Please save the date for next year’s Chamber Delegation Trip to Mexico City, taking place April 15th to 18th, 2018. We are happy to announce our continued partnership with the Four Seasons Hotel who will provide a discounted rate for our delegation.

This year’s Mexico City Trip was a great success thanks to the support of our delegates. With over 90 business and community leaders as well as elected officials from San Diego and Baja California, Mexico, the focus of our visit was to reaffirm our region’s commitment to binational collaboration, strengthen diplomatic and economic ties, and advance the policies that benefit both economies.

Below, you will find links to our recap and photos from this year’s trip to Mexico City.

For information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact:
Sherman D. Stocker
Corporate Relations Manager
San Diego Regional
Chamber of Commerce
p: 619.544.1354
sstocker@sdchamber.org

Correcting Misperceptions of the Border

International

November 13, 2017

The Chamber and business leaders from Tijuana met with members of The San Diego Union-Tribune including Publisher and Editor-In-Chief Jeff Light, Editorial & Opinion Director Matt Hall, and editorial cartoonist Steve Breen to encourage a constructive dialogue on how to overcome misconceptions in our binational region.

The meeting was prompted by a political cartoon in The San Diego Union-Tribune addressing record violence in Tijuana. That cartoon drew emotional responses from Baja including Mexican officials from Tijuana and the state level as well as a cartoon in response from Tijuana’s El Mexicano newspaper.

During the meeting the group heard updates from Tijuana business organizations on their efforts related to cross-border commerce and discussed how to more actively share regional perspectives for future opinion pieces.