Chamber Weekly | News & Events

February 9, 2023

Out & About with Donna

Mary Simun, South Bay LGBTQ Center

Donna Visits the South Bay LGBTQ Center

As I walked into the LGBTQ Center, I was greeted by Mary Simun, Education Coordinator. It was evident that Mary was extremely passionate about her role and the Center. As I toured, I learned the mission of the LGBTQ Center is to create spaces where all LGBTQ people can thrive through cultural awareness, community building, community service, and learning opportunities. “We hope to foster greater inclusion as well as understanding of our LGBTQ+ and other intersecting communities in the South Bay area,” shared Mary.

The history of the Center was clearly defined in 1989 when community need and interests were discussed, and various committees formed to implement a formal organization, the ‘South Bay Lesbian and Gay Community Organization, Inc.’ As the group searched for a facility, activities were planned and held in private homes, rented public places, and out-of-doors. Read More...

News

Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the

C Line (Green) Extension to Torrance

Metro has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) to describe the three alignments under study and evaluate the potential environmental impacts per California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The DEIR is available for public review from January 26 through March 27, 2023. During the review period, the public will have an opportunity to comment on the Draft EIR and attend virtual and in-person public hearings. Read More...

Cal/OSHA COVID Regulation Transitions into "Non-Emergency"

Form as State Emergency Ends

After years of rapid change – the potentially final form of California’s COVID-19 regulation has been filed with the Secretary of State and goes into effect February 3, 2023.

On December 15, 2022, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board voted to transition the state’s COVID-19 regulation from a short-term, “emergency” regulation (also known as an “ETS”) to a non-emergency, 2-year regulation. The final approved text (available here: https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/COVID-19-Prevention-Non-Emergency-txtbrdconsider.pdf) made various changes to the regulation, and had a sunset of December 31, 2024 for most provisions. Read More...

California Law Helping Workers File Labor Claims Needs Reform

Eight billion dollars. That’s the amount of money trial attorneys have leveraged from California employers over the last six years in Private Attorneys General Act settlements.

Employees rarely see that money, though. They generally take home a minimum amount while attorneys keep hundreds of thousands of dollars for themselves. Read More...

Steve Lewis to be Recognized at Black History Celebration

The Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce has been presenting the Black History Celebration for over two decades, honoring the contributions of the many African Americans who space our nation’s past, present, and future.

This year, the Chamber will recognize Steve Lewis with the Professional Spirit Award. Lewis was a member of both the 1988 and 1992 U.S. Olympic track & field teams that competed in Seoul Korea and Barcelona, Spain. In 2004, Steve was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame and in 2019 he was inducted into the United States track & field Hall of Fame. In his free time, Steve develops exercise and fitness programs for kids, weekend warriors and professional athletes.

Budget: CalChamber Backs COVID Sick Leave Grants

The California Chamber of Commerce is supporting the Governor’s budget proposal to allocate $250 million for relief grants to help small businesses and nonprofits offset the costs of providing COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave.

Since early 2020, California businesses have been shouldering a tremendous amount of the costs of COVID-19 and have spent billions of dollars to ensure their employees are safe during the pandemic. Read More...

Duperron Provides Remarks at Southern California Association of Governments at Regional Council Meeting

Donna Duperron, President & CEO, provided comments at last weeks Southern California Association,of Governments (SCAG) Regional Council meeting.

SCAG is in the process of developing an innovative online regional mapping tool known as the SoCal Greenprint. This will be a strategic conservation mapping tool that highlights the benefits of natural lands, waters, and agricultural lands, including access to parks and trails, habitat protection and connectivity, clean water, clean air, food production, and increased resilience to climate change. Duperron thanked the RAMP-ATG members and SCAG staff for taking the time necessary to seek additional stakeholder input.

Welcome to the new and prospective members who attended Chamber 101 this week! Thank you to David Fuller representing Kinecta Federal Credit Union, Chamber 101 sponsor. And thank you to Mistee Ruiz for facilitating this meeting.

California's Double-Barreled 'Tort Wars' Conflict Heats Up

Nothing is more pervasive in California’s Capitol than what have been dubbed “tort wars” – skirmishes over rules governing personal injury lawsuits.

No session of the Legislature is complete without at least one clash over who can sue whom for what act and collect damages that can potentially reach hundreds of millions of dollars. Read More...

Alllan Zaremberg, Former CalChamber President and CEO

Passes Away; Tributes Pour in from California Business

and Political Leaders

Allan Zaremberg, CalChamber President and CEO from 1998–2021, passed away on February 4 after dealing with a series of recent health challenges.

Zaremberg served in the role of president and CEO of CalChamber for 23 years beginning in 1998 after six years as executive vice president and head of CalChamber’s legislative advocacy program. Before joining CalChamber, Zaremberg served as chief legislative advisor to and advocate for Governors George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson. He also served as a captain and flight navigator on a KC-135 jet air refueling tanker while in the U.S. Air Force from 1970 to 1975. Read More...