Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "sacramento metro chamber"

Sacramento leaders learn from New Orleans tour

2011-10-12T00:52:54Z

A delegation of Sacramento business and political leaders returned from a four-day tour of New Orleans with fresh insight into what it takes for a city to recover and thrive after a disaster, including improving transportation methods, sustainable housing and flood protections.

“New Orleans had a unique opportunity to reinvent itself because of all the investments made there after Katrina,” City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. “We need to look at how we can reinvent ourselves here, too.”

On Tuesday, Council Members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty and Mayor Kevin Johnson shared the lessons learned from the people in New Orleans about methods of recovery the city has used to rebuild itself after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.

“(New Orleans) Mayor (Mitch) Landrieu is a vibrant, energetic mayor,” Johnson said, “and he is an excellent example of the focus it takes to turn things around after a disaster. We went (there) to learn from the work they have done in New Orleans.”

Johnson, Ashby, Cohn, McCarty and 85 other delegates joined Maggie Townsley, public policy vice chairwoman for the Sacramento Metro Chamber, for the chamber‘s 13th annual study mission in Louisiana last week.

The study mission is a program the Metro Chamber develops every year to provide a learning experience for delegates about the challenges faced by other regions and how they successfully manage those challenges for long-term regional prosperity, according to the chamber website.

“We represent about 170,000 employees in the Sacramento region,” Townsley said. “One of the key things we do is partner with government and nonprofit organizations to further specific objectives for the region.”

Some of the objectives highlighted on this year’s study mission include improving city transportation, public housing and flood control.

Delegates on the tour had the opportunity to meet with Landrieu and other civic leaders and came away with ideas for improving Sacramento and the region.

“It’s been six years since New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina,” Ashby said Tuesday, “but the devastation from that event was widespread, and you can still see it.”

Ashby said that one thing that struck her was that the flood waters during the hurricane reached nearly 20 feet in height.

“Should our levees break in Natomas,” Ashby said, “we could be as deep as 33 feet. We can’t let that happen.”

Ashby said it is necessary to improving flood protection for the region, including having the levees in her district certified by the federal government for improvement funding.

One thing McCarty said he found fascinating in New Orleans was how they are rebuilding their public housing.

“One in five kids lives in poverty,” McCarty said, “and many times those families are isolated in neighborhoods divided from economic development and grocery stores and other public investments that improve the neighborhood.”

McCarty said one thing that the city of New Orleans has done to “reinvent” the city’s public housing is taking down old units and rebuilding them as mixed-income units.

“They are making sure they have (an economic) blend to bring in development opportunities,” McCarty said. “That is something we are going to look at for some of our neighborhoods here in Sacramento.

McCarty said that neighborhood housing and development, especially for low-income populations, should be a priority for Sacramento.

Representatives from the Sacramento Metro Chamber are preparing a report about the study mission and said they expect it to be completed sometime next week.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Metro PAC supports Mayor Johnson’s re-election bid

2011-09-16T18:53:09Z

Metro PAC, the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s political action committee, is supporting Mayor Kevin Johnson’s re-election bid as mayor of Sacramento.

Several weeks ago, Metro PAC gathered together more than 50 business leaders for a Coffee & Conversation in support of the mayor where chamber members could have a candid conversation about the city’s business climate.

“We believe Mayor Johnson is the right choice for Sacramento as we did in 2008,” said Metro PAC Chair Ardie Zahedani. “The mayor has the right idea of making Sacramento more business-friendly. This town was founded as a crossroads of commerce, and we need elected leaders like the mayor who understand that when businesses are able to prosper, the community is better for it.”

Zahedani noted that while the business community might hold a different opinion from the mayor on occasion, he has raised the national and international profile of Sacramento, which is vital to the city’s business attraction and retention efforts.

“Mayor Johnson is a champion for Sacramento—he is a champion for businesses and pro-business policies. Electing him in 2012 will be another opportunity for citizens to raise the profile of the city on a global stage,” Zahedani said.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber

Next Economy: Region launches new effort to create jobs, capital investment

2011-08-26T22:18:00Z

Responding to the region’s sluggish economy, a collaborative effort to reignite the region’s business climate was launched at today’s State of the Region Forum produced by the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

A broad and diverse slate of stakeholders has joined together to begin formulating the Capital Region Prosperity Plan to take the Sacramento region to the “Next Economy.” This initiative is being organized by the Metro Chamber, the Sacramento Area Commerce & Trade Organization, the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance and Valley Vision in partnership with a cross section of regional community and business leaders to pursue economic revitalization that improves the lives of the 2.1 million residents of the capital region.

“Next Economy is the capital region’s response for the economic rejuvenation of our community,” said Martha Clark Lofgren, Metro Chamber interim president & CEO. “The plan will focus on new job creation and capital investment activities.”

In November 2010, the Metro Chamber identified as a strategic imperative the completion of a regionwide industry sector analysis and launch of a collaborative-based regional economic development strategy to grow jobs and business to be included in its 2011 Business Plan.

“Board members and the regional leaders attending our annual strategic planning session believed strongly in this kind of project and worked hard to get us to this point,” said 2011 Metro Chamber Board Chair Gregory Eldridge of CH2MHILL.

Over the next few months, a comprehensive economic analysis of the region’s economic sectors will be conducted by the Center for Economic Research. Results will help identify catalyzing strategies to grow jobs and investment.

“The urgency of the current economy compels us to focus on immediate actions that can be taken to help bring about economic prosperity across the capital region as quickly as possible,” Lofgren said.

Indeed, the market value of goods and services in the Sacramento region fell by nearly 4 percent between 2005 and 2010, and total employment was down 10.6 percent for the same period.

The study of the region’s industry sectors will re-examine our competitive position and evaluate our economic strengths and weaknesses both by functions and by sectors. It will take an in-depth look at the more regional economy by industry and by cluster to identify what we do well, what we do better than others, what our best areas of specialization are and where the greatest opportunities for job and cluster growth are. The research phase will be swift and thorough, with a bias toward action.

“Our region has a successful track record on uniting together and meeting challenges—be they flood protection, building a new Folsom bridge or addressing clean air issues. Next Economy builds on that cooperation but on a much larger scale,” Lofgren said. “It’s a bold way of re-juvenating our economy and will result in effective strategies and joint actions over the next 12 months to drive new job creation, investment and innovation.”

As a collaborative effort, Next Economy will work much like the Partnership for Prosperity (PFP) efforts that began six years ago and helped identify the emerging clean technology and green energy industries and coalesced stakeholders support to nurture that sector. That collaborative planning helped focus regional efforts especially during programs like Capitol-to-Capitol Program that helped regional stakeholders win a $127.5 million federal grant for the Smart Grid Center at Sacramento State University.

While similar in the collective approach to planning and joint implementation, unlike PFP, Next Economy will take swift and decisive action toward one clear and purposeful objective: Create jobs.

Next Economy is predominately industry-sector focused and the plan will: (1) encourage innovation, new business creation, capital formation and the scaling up of key industry sectors in our region, linking us through enhanced trade to the outside world; (2) remove unnecessary impediments that slow business investment and job creation; and (3) ensure that our regional workforce acquires the education and skills needed for the jobs that will be in demand in the Next Economy.

Next Economy is a broad and diverse slate of regional stakeholders who have joined together to forge new joint ventures and strategies with measurable outcomes. The effort will be led by a 10-member Leadership Group who will direct both the process and the outcomes of the effort. The group will be assisted by a Strategy Committee, a group of 40-50 business and community leaders representing the geography, industry and economic interests of the region.

“Sacramento business leadership recognized that it’s time to step in and identify steps to enhance our economy,” Eldridge said. “Economic recovery will require concerted action from business leadership, leaders at all levels of government, and our nonprofit community as well. Our economic models will be different and we need to be prepared to lead the Next Economy and not operate under ‘business as usual’ models for economic growth.”

Results of the research efforts are expected by the end of the year.

For more information about the Next Economy—the Capital Region Prosperity Plan, visit nexteconomycapitalregion.org or contact Valley Vision CEO and Managing Partner Bill Mueller at 916-325-1630 or bill.mueller@valleyvision.org.

Regional collaborative to grow economy to be announced at Friday forum

2011-08-25T16:55:38Z

What will be the driving forces of the region’s next economy?

That question will be explored during the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s annual State of the Region Forum, set for Friday, Aug. 26. In addition, a new regional collaboration in a shared economic prosperity plan will be announced.

Speakers will take a look at opportunity industries and examine strategies to rebuild the region’s economy—those likely sectors that will help lead our businesses and be job growth areas over the next decade. The event is presented by UC Davis and UC Davis Health System.

“Our experts will look at how an economic recovery plan can be crafted that makes the most of current and emerging industry sectors that will lead the region’s economy,” said Martha Clark Lofgren, interim president & CEO of the Metro Chamber.

The keynote speaker, Lenny Mendonca, is a nationwide expert on economic cluster analysis. He is senior partner and director of the McKinsey & Co. San Francisco office. Mendonca has helped dozens of corporate, government and nonprofit clients solve their most difficult problems. He is an expert on globalization, corporate social responsibility, economic development, energy policy, health care and financial services, among others.

An industry panel will look at identified key industry sectors that can lead the way in the economic recovery. Panel members describing these sectors will be Trish Rodriguez of Kaiser Permanente on health care; President Alex Gonzalez of Sacramento State on higher education; Ashil Abhat of Bank of America on financial services; and Meg Arnold, SARTA of on clean tech and biosciences.

Guiding the panel discussion is formidable researcher Dean Steve Currall of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. Currall is an oft-quoted source in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and The Economist on such topics as innovation and emerging technologies.

Providing a demographic profile of the region and reporting on economic and job trends over the last five years will be SACTO’s Executive Director Barbara Hayes. Rounding out the speakers are Metro Chamber board chair Gregory Eldridge of CH2MHILL and Five Star Bank CEO and Valley Vision Board Chair James Beckwith, with a look at the region’s economic planning efforts.

The event will be held 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency, 1209 L St., Sacramento. For event information, contact Chantal LeFevre at clefevre@metrochamber.org or 916-319-4260.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber

Business walk to survey Arden Arcade economy on Thursday

2011-08-23T17:19:53Z

The region’s international award-winning Business Walk program arrives in Arden Arcade on Aug. 25, when volunteers will canvass local businesses to find out what’s happening with the economy and how conditions can be improved.

The Arden Arcade Business Walk is presented by the Arden Arcade Business Council, Fulton Avenue Association and Sacramento County, in partnership with the Sacramento Metro Chamber and supported by the region’s Metro Pulse partnership. The business walks have won acclaim from international economic developers and most recently as an outstanding chamber program for strengthening local economies.

“The County of Sacramento is dedicated to supporting the local businesses in the Arden Arcade area,” said Troy Givans, of the Sacramento County Office of Economic Development. “With more than 2,000 businesses that employ 40,000 people, this business walk is a great opportunity for us to hear the current challenges and needs within the business community and offer the appropriate resources.

The business walk program helps initiate contacts with businesses in the region and is the start of an ongoing conversation to help get businesses the resources they need to succeed. Volunteers who are business people or agency staff will visit storefronts and businesses, asking owners and managers three questions: How’s business, what do you like about doing business in Arden Arcade district and how can business be improved?

“Few ever ask the owner of a small business their opinion on anything,” Tim Cahill, of Charles C. Bell, Inc. “Yet small business is the backbone of our community and communities across this country. For the eighth annual business walk in Arden Arcade, we plan to go to the source—the small business owners in the Arden Arcade area—to get their opinion on the business environment and what we can do to make their business life a little bit easier.”

The business walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion. So far in 2011, the Metro Chamber and its partners have conducted six business walks, contacting more than 1,270 businesses. In all, as many as a dozen are planned for this year.

Businesspeople who would like to volunteer to be a business walker can register online here. The business walk event, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., includes a breakfast and orientation, three hours of business visits, a lunch and roundup session. This event is free. It will take place at Hampton Inn & Suites, 2230 Auburn Blvd., Sacramento.

“In 2010, the Sacramento region’s international award-winning Metro Pulse Program facilitated nearly 4,200 business visits—building public-private relationships with and making resource connections for local companies. At its core is the business walk model, which allows community leaders to meet with lots of companies in a short time; and, do so in a personal, one-on-one fashion,” said Matt Yancey, Metro Chamber director of business and economic development.

For more information, contact Kennedy Cullen at 916-319-4277 or kcullen@metrochamber.org.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Metro Chamber announces selection of Pat Fong Kushida as new chief

2011-08-18T20:57:02Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber is pleased to announce that Pat Fong Kushida has been named President & CEO of the 2,000-member organization that serves businesses in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties.

Fong Kushida comes to the Metro Chamber from the Sacramento Asian-Pacific Chamber of Commerce where she has served as President & CEO since 1993. She also serves as President & CEO of the California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, which she formed in 2006.

“Pat clearly has the vision, experience and energy to lead our chamber,” said Greg Eldridge, chairman of the Metro Chamber Board. “Her deep knowledge and commitment to our region as well as her entrepreneurial spirit will strongly move us forward.”

She was selected from a national field of more than 70 applicants. The nine-member Search Committee unanimously and enthusiastically recommended her for the Metro Chamber’s most prominent leadership role after interviewing a highly competitive pool of candidates. She is a respected regional leader, having received the American Leadership Forum Exemplary Leadership Award in 2009, the Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award in 2004 and the Outstanding Women Leaders Award by the National Association of Women Business Owners, Sacramento Valley Chapter in 2004.

Fong Kushida will speak at the upcoming State of the Region Forum on Friday, Aug. 26, where she will be introduced to more than 300 Metro Chamber members, business and civic leaders. The forum will take a look at opportunity industries and examine strategies to rebuild the region’s economy.

“We have an aggressive agenda,” Eldridge said. “And Pat will hit the ground running.”

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director at the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

The search is on for new CEO of Sacramento Metro Chamber

2011-08-04T02:08:09Z

As the Sacramento Metro Chamber prepares for its 16th annual State of the Region Forum in August, a nationwide search is working on the state of the organization’s leadership.

The chamber has been conducting a nationwide search for a new president and CEO since Matt Mahood left the position in June to take a lead position at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“We are attracting some great talent,” said Greg Eldridge, vice president and area manager at CH2M Hill and chairman of the Metro Chamber board.

According to its website, the Metro Chamber represents nearly 2,000 member businesses and business organizations in the six-county Sacramento region on issues affecting business, economic development and quality of life.

Martha Clark Lofgren, former Folsom city manager, signed on as interim president and CEO in June on a temporary contract basis while the chamber conducted the search, according to a chamber press release in May.

“We couldn’t have found a better interim than (Lofgren),” Eldridge said. “She’s not interested in the position permanently, but as an upcoming chairperson of the board, she has shown a real commitment to the organization, and we’ve been lucky to have (her) for this period of time.”

The chamber formed a nine-member selection committee in June – made up of current and former board members – to work in conjunction with executive search firm Wilcox Miller Nelson to find “just the right person for the job,” Eldridge said.

“We wanted to cast as broad a net as we could,” Eldridge said. “We’re very specific about the type of person we’re looking for, but we didn’t want to geographically limit ourselves.”

Some of the qualities Eldridge said the chamber is looking for in candidates include a “deep experience in public community affairs leadership,” executive-level experience running a business, and a strong, high-level executive presence.

“We represent business,” Eldridge said. “Understanding the issues our members deal with is important.”

Eldridge also said that, although it is not required, it would be a plus to find someone who has an existing network in the Sacramento region or California.

“It would be ideal if someone was ‘plug-n-play’ without having to start from scratch developing relationships,” Eldridge said. “But it’s not mandatory. We will expect whoever we select to develop those relationships quickly if they are not already in place.”

After nearly two months of advertising the position, the Chamber received approximately 70 applications before last Friday’s application closing deadline.

Hal Silliman, director of communication for the Metro Chamber, said, “Forty percent of the applications received came from within the (Sacramento) region, and 60 percent came from out of the region.”

The applicant pool, as Eldridge sees it, is very promising.

“We have great candidates to choose from,” Eldridge said. “We’re going to have a challenging time selecting one from among them.”

Eldridge said that, now that the application review process has begun, the selection committee expects to have narrowed down the list of eligible candidates by mid-August, when interviews will take place.

“This is a great chance for us to find a new visionary for our organization,” Eldridge said.

Chamber representatives expected to have a new CEO in place by early fall.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Former Secty. of Defense Gates rounds out Perspectives lineup

2011-08-03T23:40:50Z

Secretary of defense 2006-11, CIA director, university president and a historian: Dr. Robert M. Gates has spent a lifetime as a student of history in the intelligence and defense arenas, serving eight U.S. presidents and earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

Gates will round out the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s 17th Perspectives set for Friday, Sept. 23 at the Sacramento Convention Center. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Olympian Dara Torres will also speak at the event, which has a new half-day format.

Gates began his government service in 1966 when he joined the Central Intelligence Agency and then spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional. During that period, he spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council, The White House, serving four presidents of both political parties. He is the only career officer in CIA’s history to rise from entry-level employee to director.

Appointed by President George W. Bush as the 22nd Secretary of Defense in 2006, he continued until this year—achieving the record as the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly-elected President.

Before becoming Secretary of Defense, Gates was the president of Texas A&M University. He is the author of the memoir, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insiders Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, published in 1996. A native of Kansas, Gates received his bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary, his master’s degree in history from Indiana University and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. He also served in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence officer.

Since its founding in 1995, Perspectives has hosted speakers like Gates—in all more than 90 of the world’s most influential individuals who share their personal views on world affairs and current events. Past speakers include Condoleezza Rice, Mikhail Gorbachev, Guy Kawasaki, John Glenn, Margaret Thatcher, Sugar Ray Leonard and Elizabeth Dole.

Perspectives continues to offer exclusive opportunities for hosting prospects, clients and employees in a VIP setting. Sponsor packages start at $2,500 and some include a pre-event networking reception attended by Perspective speakers and a VIP breakfast the day of the event. Individual tickets start at $99.

For more details and purchase tickets, visit metrochamber.org/perspectives or call 916-444-1919.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Metro Chamber applauds Lt. Gov. Newsom's new plan to grow business

2011-07-29T18:50:31Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber applauds the much-needed economic growth plan for the state of California released today by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. The plan incorporates principles for state regulatory reform long-espoused by the Metro Chamber and supports the chamber’s long-practiced strategy of regional economic collaboration to promote business growth.

In February, business and government representatives from across the state gathered at the Metro Chamber to discuss reform of the state’s regulatory system and permitting process. Later that month during the chamber’s State Legislative Summit, Newsom told chamber members that their legislative agenda provided a long-needed list of specific reforms.

“Our extensive efforts to reach out and partner with state officials this year focused on simplifying, aligning and eliminating redundant permitting and regulatory processes statewide,” said Vice Chair of Public Policy Maggie Townsley of ICF International. “Newsom rightly calls for the state to streamline the regulatory system and make it easier to navigate: Speed and agility are needed to compete in the global economy.”

One of the hallmarks of Newsom’s plan is its recognition that the state’s role must be anchored in regional economies that are the engines for growth and aligned to build on regional strengths. Moreover, Newsom noted that “model practices” from different regions can be scaled to state level.

“Much of what the plan calls for is already part of the Sacramento region’s collaborative DNA,” Townsley added. “Take for instance his call to build on industrial strengths. To do this, the Metro Chamber has been working to enhance how the region’s powerhouse sectors contribute to the six-county economy. Over the last two years, its Health Care & Biosciences Impact Report and Education Impact Report have documented the $33.5 billion and $9.6 billion contributions, respectively, that these sectors contribute to our region’s economy.”

Another example of the collaboration and use of regional best practices that Newsom outlines will be found at the chamber’s Aug. 26 State of the Region Forum. There, a roadmap to a regional industry sector plan will be released. Further details of the event can be found at metrochamber.org/events.

The Newsom plan also calls out Sacramento region’s No. 3 status among the top 100 metro areas in the nation for its share of clean economy jobs in 2010.

“Getting to that top spot has been a multi-year effort of regional partners like the Metro Chamber, Valley Vision and the Green Capital Alliance,” Townsley said. “Here again is an example of what Newsom is talking about: Letting regions focus on finding their sweet spots in jobs and business growth and having the state support business by streamlining permitting, reducing regulations and providing new incentives.”

Other examples of regional best practices are the chamber’s Metro Pulse program of 18 public and private sector partners across the six-county region and popular activities like the business walks, Townsley noted. “These are new ways of working that Newsom is talking about. To become competitive again, we have to collaborate and focus what works for our regional economies.”

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Olympic swimmer Dara Torres to take Perspectives platform

2011-07-28T23:34:30Z

Perspectives 2011 will feature five-time Olympian swimmer Dara Torres who has proven that age doesn’t limit your dreams. At age 41, Torres, then a new mother, returned to compete in the 2008 Beijing games, winning three silver medals. In all, she has competed in five Olympics—a feat unprecedented for an American female swimmer.

Torres joins Twitter co-founder Biz Stone on stage during the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Perspectives, set for Friday, Sept. 23 at the Sacramento Convention Center. The event returns for its 17th year in an all-new half-day format that will run 8 a.m. to noon. The final speaker will be announced Aug. 4.

In 2007, at the age of 40, Torres twice broke her own American record, 26 years after she first set the record at just 15 years old. Torres has been named one of the Top Female Athletes of the decade by Sports Illustrated magazine.

Age and experience are advantages, Torres says, “Use them to achieve your goals.”

Outside of swimming, Torres works as a TV commentator and a print model. She was a feature correspondent for Good Morning America, worked on-air for ESPN, TNT and Fox News Channel including stints on NHL Cool Shots and Fox Sports Sunday.

Her memoir, Age is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams At Any Stage in Your Life, was published in April 2009 and was listed as a best-selling business book. Her second book, Gold Medal Fitness, was released in May 2010 and was a New York Times best-seller.

Since its founding in 1995, Perspectives has hosted more than 90 of the world’s most influential individuals who share their personal views on world affairs and current events. Past speakers include Condoleezza Rice, Mikhail Gorbachev, Guy Kawasaki, John Glenn, Margaret Thatcher, Sugar Ray Leonard and Elizabeth Dole.

For more details and purchase tickets, visit metrochamber.org/perspectives or call 916-444-1919.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Business, civic leaders to examine New Orleans' remarkable recovery

2011-07-25T23:00:19Z

Named as one of the country’s best sites to relocate a business and called the “coolest place” to start a business, New Orleans’ economic recovery six years after disaster struck has been called a miracle by many.

Driving New Orleans’ comeback are the connections and new economic ecosystems created by business, community leaders and nonprofits. This is what the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s annual Study Mission, Oct. 4-7, will explore for means to grow the Sacramento region’s battered economy and for lessons in flood protection and disaster preparedness.

This year, Site Selection magazine, a journal targeting economic development professionals who choose where businesses are established, named the greater New Orleans region to its Top 10 Metros list for Corporate Facility Location. Inc. magazine called New Orleans the “coolest start-up city in America,” noting that each year from 2007 to 2009, 450 out of every 100,000 adults started up businesses in the New Orleans metro area—well above the national average of 320 and more than double the number six year ago.

Because of active incentives and tax credits developed in collaboration with state and local governments, film companies have flocked to New Orleans, and the New Orleans region is now host of more motion picture productions than any place in the country outside of Los Angeles and New York City.

“The story we are going to investigate in New Orleans is how leaders coalesced to create a new economic ecosystem,” said Martha Clark Lofgren, Metro Chamber interim president & CEO. “Similar collaborative efforts can help Sacramento rebound from economic adversity and also teach us how to avoid the economic consequences of natural disasters. The Study Mission will have a first-hand look at these proactive strategies.”

Helping lead the 2011 Study Mission to get a first-hand look themselves at New Orleans’ recovery and reinvention will be Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

“For those of us living in California’s ‘River City,’ at the confluence of two great rivers and near the fragile Delta, the New Orleans tragedy certainly served as a wake-up call,” said Sen. Steinberg. “The Metro Chamber’s Study Mission to New Orleans will give us an on-the-ground look at the lessons learned there. The result will help us improve our disaster preparedness and gain valuable information on how to best meet the challenges of recovering in the event of natural disaster.”

Noting that the people in the city of New Orleans have practically had to start over, Johnson commented, “New Orleans has taken a catastrophe and turned it into an opportunity. The prospect of learning how their government, business and community leaders collaborated—and in the process forged a new entrepreneurism—compels me to help lead this year’s Study Mission.”

Over the last 13 years, Study Missions have visited other cities like Austin, Texas; Atlanta, Ga; Charlotte, N.C.; Denver, Colo; Indianapolis, Indiana; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego and Seattle, Wash. For more information, visit metrochamber.org/study mission or contact Susan Harris at 916-321-9144 or sharris@metrochamber.org.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Twitter co-founder to help introduce Perspectives’ new format

2011-07-22T00:03:19Z

A speaker lineup to include Twitter co-founder Biz Stone kicks off the new format for Perspectives 2011, offering more businesspeople the opportunity to attend the region’s premier annual speakers forum.

“As with so many things these days, it’s not business as usual,” said Sacramento Metro Chamber Vice Chair of Events and Sponsorships Kathy McKim of AT&T. “We wiped the slate clean and started over—re-designing a program from the ground up that will meet the needs of more businesspeople and provide a greater networking and educational experience. We are especially thrilled to have Biz Stone in our lineup this year for this reason.”

Over the last decade, Stone has been instrumental in crafting the new world of social media. Best known as co-founder of Twitter, Stone started off as an Internet entrepreneur, went on to work for Google and is now an advisor on AOL’s philanthropic strategy.

Named one of the “Most Influential People in the World” by TIME and “Entrepreneur of the Decade” by Inc., Stone has now co-founded The Obvious Corporation with long-time collaborators Evan Williams and Jason Goldman to focus on building systems to help people work together to improve the world. The next Perspectives speaker will be announced July 28.

Produced by the Metro Chamber, Perspectives is set for Friday, Sept 23 at the Sacramento Convention Center. The event will run 8 a.m. to noon, immediately following the VIP sponsor breakfast. Power Lunch opportunities at participating member restaurants will be available to all attendees following the program.

“Responding to members’ requests, we’ve compressed the event to a half-day, with three speakers in the lineup,” McKim explained. “This way, individuals don’t have to lose an entire day out of the office. In addition, a new pricing structure brings the cost of attending down.” Individual Perspectives tickets start at just $99.

Perspectives continues to offer exclusive opportunities for hosting prospects, clients and employees in a VIP setting. Sponsor packages start at $2,500 and can include a pre-event networking reception attended by Perspective speakers and a day-of VIP breakfast. “Businesses who need networking and hosting opportunities will find a Perspectives sponsorship level to fit their needs,” McKim said.

For more details and purchase tickets, visit metrochamber.org/perspectives or call 916-444-1919.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Metro Chamber welcomes Lt. Gov. as chair of Olympics bid committee

2011-06-24T21:20:04Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber welcomes the California Winter Games Committee naming Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom as chair in its bid to hold the next available Winter Olympic Games in the Tahoe area. The announcement was made on “Olympics Day,” celebrated at the State Capitol on June 23.

The Metro Chamber board voted to support the winter games effort, recognizing that pursuing an Olympic bid offers an opportunity to highlight regional assets and strengths on the world stage. The games would provide a significant economic impact for the region and for all of California. The infrastructure investments, job creation, tourism and business development can create significant benefits for countless California communities.

“Indeed, our Study Mission to Vancouver in 2009 affirmed the job-creation, tourism and infrastructure benefits the Olympics provides,” said Martha Lofgren, Metro Chamber Interim president & CEO. “We saw how the Vancouver committee relied on outlying venues over 70 miles apart. We realized that games in the Tahoe area could include other venues in our region. The Metro Chamber looks forward to working with the California Winter Games Committee as it organizes for this bid.”

Having an Olympics in Northern California would create a large influx of media, corporate and tourist business beyond the actual game venues themselves. Months before the games, media outlets and corporate sponsors arrive to spin up their business operations. Tourists attending the games often spend extra time visiting nearby destinations.

“During our Vancouver Study Mission, we learned the Olympics brought in $800 million in direct impacts to Vancouver and accelerated hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure projects,” Lofgren said. “So, bidding on an Olympics in our area is well worth the effort.”

Currently, six Metro Chamber members serve on the California Winter Games board of directors. They are James Beckwith of Five Star Bank; Chris Delfino of Downey Brand; Sotiris Kolokotronis of SKK Developments; Ed Manning of KP Public Affairs; David Taylor of David Taylor Interests, Inc. and Angelo K. Tsakopoulos of AKT Development. In addition, Metro Chamber Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Economic Development Michael Faust, who is also CEO of the Northern California World Trade Center, is president of the California Winter Games Committee board.

For more information on the California Winter Games, visit calwintergames.com.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is the communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Business Walk to survey Natomas economic conditions on June 15

2011-06-13T18:17:31Z

The region’s international award-winning Business Walk program arrives in Natomas on June 15, when volunteers will canvass local businesses to find out what’s happening with the economy and how conditions can be improved.

The Natomas Business Walk is presented by the city of Sacramento and Natomas Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Sacramento Metro Chamber and supported by the region’s Metro Pulse partnership. The business walks have won acclaim from international economic developers and most recently as a chamber outstanding program for strengthening local economies.

The business walks help initiate contacts with businesses in the region and is the start of an ongoing conversation to help get businesses the resources they need to succeed. Volunteers who are business people or agency staff will visit storefronts and businesses, asking owners and managers three questions: How’s business, what do you like about doing business in Natomas and how can business be improved?

“As a city councilmember I am dedicated to doing everything possible to support local businesses,” said Sacramento City’s Angelique Ashby. “This joint effort between the city and chambers of commerce is an opportunity to reach out and have conversations about current challenges as well as provide available resources to support the business community.”

The Business Walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion. In 2011, the Metro Chamber and its partners are planning a dozen events across the region.

“The Natomas Chamber is taking a proactive approach to help support businesses in Natomas,” said Ed Koop, board president of the Natomas Chamber. “The chamber and city are going to walk the streets not only to figure out what businesses need but also to let businesses know we care and are here to help.”

Businesspeople who would like to volunteer to be a business walker can register online at metrochamber.org. The business walk event, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., includes a breakfast and orientation, three hours of business visits, a lunch and roundup session, this event is free. The event will take place at Four Points - Sheraton, 4900 Duckhorn Drive Sacramento. Register online here.

For more information, contact Kennedy Cullen at 916-319-4277 or kcullen@metrochamber.org.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Sacramento, Let's Play Ball!

2011-05-18T23:09:25Z

Dodgeball and volleyball, that is. And for a good cause!

Metro EDGE , Sacramento’s leading network of 40-and-under young professionals, is excited to announce its second annual “A Day on the EDGE” fundraiser. The event will feature two dodgeball and volleyball tournaments complete with great music, food, and drinks – all to benefit Junior Achievement of Sacramento.

Metro EDGE, a program of the Sacramento Metro Chamber, identifies and supports a local nonprofit organization through volunteerism and philanthropic giving every year. For 2011, the group has chosen to support Junior Achievement of Sacramento, an educational organization that teaches financial literacy, entrepreneurship, workforce readiness, and other life skills to students in grades K-12.

Metro EDGE is hoping to raise $10,000 from the event to help support the 10,000 young people Junior Achievement plans to serve in 2011.

“We are thrilled to be the beneficiary of A Day on the EDGE and to be partnering with such an exciting group of young business leaders. It is a perfect fit for Junior Achievement, an organization dedicated to educating and inspiring our next generation of business leaders,” said Susan Vicchio, President of Junior Achievement of Sacramento.

Alexis Fitzpatrick, Chair of Metro EDGE, echoed Vicchio’s enthusiasm: “We are extremely excited to partner with such a fantastic organization. To be able to support a program designed to provide kids with hands-on economic and business education programs could not be more fitting.” In fact, the graduates of Junior Achievement may very well become future members of Metro EDGE. Fitzpatrick continued, “Opportunities of this kind are what will enable these young children to succeed in the business world, and I can only hope to one day see them thrive.”

A Day on the EDGE expects to attract more than 300 players competing for victory as well as the prize for best team costume. The fun and games will begin at 10 am on Saturday, June 18, 2011, at the Boys & Girls Club, 5212 Lemon Hill Avenue, Sacramento, 95824. There will be delicious food donated by Chipotle, beer donated by Pyramid Brewery and Two Rivers Cider , and great music to top off what will be a great event.

If you’re interested in forming or playing on a dodgeball or volleyball team, click here to register and to obtain more information about the event. No prior experience is necessary, but you must be 21+. But ACT FAST, because the deadline for registration is June 1st, which is in two weeks. The cost is $250 per dodgeball team (max 10 players) or $200 per volleyball team (max 8 players).

So if you want to duck, dodge, dive, bump, and spike your way to help support Junior Achievement of Sacramento, organize your teams today!

Chamber leader's legacy may be collaborative region

2011-05-18T00:41:20Z

Sacramento Metro Chamber President and CEO Matt Mahood leaves behind a more unified business community as he moves on to take over the helm of the San Jose chamber this summer, colleagues and associates said Tuesday.

Mahood, 45, has a reputation for being upbeat and optimistic, even as he's guided the chamber through the recession. He served as a dynamic leader for the organization and a spokesman for the region on local, state and national level s.

At 6 feet 7 inches, he towers over many of those he works with in business and politics. He's known for being thoughtful and having an even-handed way for approaching issues in the job he's held for nine years.

His most lasting legacy in Sacramento may be his work as a collaboration builder garnering support for crucial policy decisions and economic development efforts.

Mahood became a prominent leader in the effort to stop the Sacramento Kings from leaving and to rally regional support for a new arena. He led a push that gathered more than $10 million in financial support for the Kings from regional businesses if the team stayed another year.

"Matt was a force of nature," said PRIDE Industries President Mike Ziegler, who chaired the chamber's board when they hired Mahood in 2002. "He became a driving force to make this region a better place to live, work and play."

The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce board voted Friday to hire Mahood as president and CEO of that organization. He will remain with the Sacramento Metro Chamber until at least the Fourth of July weekend.

An interim CEO will be chosen to guide the Sacramento Metro Chamber during the search for a new top executive.

As a 36-year-old hired by the chamber in 2002, Mahood didn't have any experience working at a chamber of commerce. But that was seen as an advantage by the chamber's search committee, Ziegler said.

Mahood had worked previously as vice president and general manager of grocery business Webvan.com and district manager at the shipping company BAX Global, as well as with UPS and FedEx.

He lived in Carmichael for four years as a child but mostly grew up in Pleasanton in the East Bay. Mahood is taking the job in San Jose partly so he can live closer to his mother, who just turned 80, and his three sisters. He said he'll miss taking his ski boat and wakeboard out on Folsom Lake with friends and family on hot summer days.

However, Mahood said he also wants to pursue fresh opportunities.

"Nine years is a long time to be in one place, especially at a chamber of commerce," he said. "I am ready for some new challenges in a new community."

Mahood was a champion for the region's economic development. He was instrumental in forging a good working relationship between the chamber, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership and the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau, as well as area businesses and other business organizations, and then collaborating on mutually identified priorities, DSP Executive Director Michael Ault said.

"Matt did a tremendous job of not only managing and growing the chamber, but really building a coalition amongst area business organizations," Ault said.

Mahood will help launch the search process for his replacement. He said he's proud of the Metro Chamber's hard-working staff and volunteer leaders and their ability to reach the chamber's goals each year.

Although he'll be leaving, he said he'd like to see the Metro Chamber and its partners build a stronger, more positive "sense of self" and brand for the region after its image has been pummeled by being included on Forbes' list of "most miserable cities" and from stories about high foreclosure rates, unemployment and other government problems.

Mahood said he thinks cities and counties and some nonprofit organizations should collaborate more and even consider consolidating functions to become more efficient and bring taxpayers and other funders more return on investments. He said he'd also like to see the Metro Chamber and partners finalize and put out a regional economic development strategy based on good data, followed by an action plan that will create jobs.

"Housing and construction are not coming back anytime soon, and the state budget mess will continue to hit this region hard," he said.

Many people expressed sadness at Mahood's departure. Mayor Kevin Johnson described Mahood as a "champion" for the business community during the worst economy since the Depression.

"It's worth noting that his final achievement was playing a lead role in organizing the corporate and business community in the successful drive to keep the Kings and NBA in Sacramento," Johnson said in an emailed statement Tuesday. "Our community would not have been able to over-deliver on support and sponsorships without Matt's work, and we will surely miss his leadership."

The San Jose chamber is eagerly awaiting the new opportunities and direction a new president will bring, said the chamber's current president, Pat Dando.

"We also think Matt will bring strong leadership to the chamber – just looking at what his time with the Sacramento chamber produced," she said. "He seems to have a real knack for achieving a collaborative effort in the business community toward the common good."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Metro Chamber to support RoundRock 3-on-3 street basketball tourney

2011-05-17T21:43:09Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber is pleased to join The Downtown Sacramento Partnership and The Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau as supporters of RoundRock 3on3 for the first annual three-on-three basketball tournament to be played June 11-12 on the city streets of downtown and Old Sacramento.

RoundRock 3on3 will feature players and teams from throughout Northern California, playing on up to 40 blocks throughout Old Sacramento, Downtown and Midtown. The designated streets, including Capitol Mall, will be sectioned off and organized into a series of half-courts, where the various divisions will play their games. The city of Sacramento has approved the street closures.

“This is a basketball tournament for players of all skill levels, from third grade to 100 years old,” said John Wardlaw, CEO of RoundRock 3on3. “It doesn’t matter if you play every day, or if you haven’t played in 30 years. We really want this to be an event the whole family can come enjoy as we highlight not only basketball, but also the great museums, restaurants, parks and places to see in downtown and Old Sacramento. There will be plenty to do for kids of all ages, kind of like a ‘state fair’ for basketball. We hope to bring the whole community together for fun, friendly competition, and to give back to those who need it most.”

RoundRock 3on3 has identified Shriners Hospital for Children and March of Dimes as primary beneficiaries of this event, with additional charities to be named. During the weekend of the event, Capitol Mall will be named “Charity Drive” and will feature other charities and groups hosting basketball-related contests to raise funds for their organizations. In addition to benefiting local charities, RoundRock’s mission is to identify several areas of continuing need such as park rehabilitation, constructing and building basketball courts for youth activities, and assisting sports organizations that promote health and activity among the area’s youth.

“We have seen recently with the public and business outpouring of support for the Sacramento Kings that our region really enjoys the game of basketball, so the RoundRock 3on3 tourney is a perfect match for fans in the region,” said Metro Chamber President & CEO Matthew Mahood. “We challenge the local business community to get involved on any level from signing up your business as a team or joining the Metro Chamber as a sponsor of the event. This is a chance for everyone in the region to get out with their friends and families to participate and help support our local charities.”

KCRA 3, KQCA My58, Salem Communications and Entercom Communications are the premier media sponsors for this event. The Sacramento Metro Chamber joins California Family Fitness, SureWest Communications, Safe Credit Union and Quick Quack Carwash as tournament level sponsors. For more information, visit www.roundrock3on3.com.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metr Chamber.

Celebrate Small Business Week at May 19 Metro Expo trade show

2011-05-17T16:22:52Z

In celebration of Small Business Week, businesspeople from the six-county region gather Thursday, May 19, for Metro Expo at the Sacramento Convention Center, the business-to-business showcase for resource finding and network building.

Produced by the Sacramento Metro Chamber, the trade show is the largest in Northern California, with nearly a thousand businesses across the region expected to participate.

“In a half day, you can make hundreds of important connections,” said Matthew Mahood, president and CEO. “Workshops will help attendees learn how to become certified with local and statewide agencies. And on the trade show floor, you can meet area businesses that are offering cost-saving products and services.”

Metro Expo is held in conjunction with the State Department of General Services and also offers businesses a one-stop way of developing procurement connections with state agencies. A special feature this year will be the special opportunity to meet private entities in the education sector looking for vendors.

The event begins at 12:30 p.m. with opening ceremonies. Trade show hours are 12:30-5 p.m. A networking reception will be held 5-7 p.m. at Cafeteria 15L at 15th and L streets.

Registration $20 onsite for the trade show plus $10 for the reception. For event information, visit metrochamber.org/expo.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

U.S. Health Secty Sebelius: Reducing hospital-acquired infections, re-admissions will save lives, money

2011-05-09T21:31:17Z

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told 265 delegates of the Sacramento Metro Chamber's Cap-to-Cap program that Medicare and Medicaid will evolve into a "value purchaser" to protect federal dollars by lowering costs and improving outcomes by reducing hospital injuries and readmissions.

Sebelius addressed the delegation at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., Monday, May 9, as the group began three days of extensive promotion of the region, with 244 appointments set up with Congress, the Senate, the Administration and other federal officials and agencies.

The Secretary was introduced by Congresswoman Doris Matsui of Sacramento, who Sebelius credited with taking a leading role in improving health care in America.

Both Sebelius and Matsui took notice of the effort being made by Cap-to-Cap delegates during the five-day event, saying that the dialogue created by the delegates is a "critical part of democracy."

"I can't tell you how important it is to have folks on the ground who run a business, schools, cities and nonprofits to come to the capital and inform those lawmakers on how the (policy) discussions impact the real world," Sebelius said.

Spending most of her time talking about reforms to Medicare and Medicaid, Sebelius said there was "no question," of the need to look at the rising costs of the two federal health care programs whose costs are rising at a faster rate than inflation—but slower than the private market. Her speech then described the difference between a Republican proposal and the Obama Administration's newly launched initiative, where "doing it right costs less than doing it wrong."

She described the Republican party's proposal as one that would cut and shift costs to lower the federal bill. Individuals would get a voucher to purchase health care insurance from private providers.

But the problem with that, she noted, is that in the first year of the GOP plan, the Congressional Budget Office estimates citizens 65 years or older will pay $6,500 out-of-pocket for their insurance. Fairly quickly, Medicare patients would be covering 75 percent of the tab.

The Obama Administration, however, seeks to drive down costs by improving the quality of health care coverage—and, she said, this is already happening in areas across the country.

"What we need to do is create a platform so Medicare will be a value purchaser...this will provide an immense platform to lower costs and improve outcomes."

How the Administration is proposing doing that is through a newly launched program called Partnership for Patients, which Sebelius said will address the problem that a third to a sixth of all patients admitted to hospitals are harmed by what happens there.

Sebelieus rolled out startling statistics: About 100,000 patients die every year because of hospital care and hundreds of thousands spend extra money and time in hospitals because of the care.

Two ambitious goals of Partnership for Patients are to reduce hospital-acquired infections by 40 percent and cutting readmissions by 20 percent, she said.

"Both of those should be zero...to do no harm is the ultimate goal," Sebelius said. "If we achieve the two goals, we can prevent harm to three million people, save 60,000 lives and end up spending $50 billion less...Those are huge numbers and it gives you some idea of the impact."

Already, 2,500 partners and 1,200 hospitals have signed up, she said. "They are committed to achieving the goal. It's not hypothetical now. It's going on now."

Sebelius touched on several other initiatives to lower health care costs and improve outcomes, including sharing of Medicare data with private entrepreneurs to bring to market new applications to improve patient care and as well to help individuals stay healthier by making better choices and taking a role in their own health care.

The Cap-to-Cap program continues through Wednesday. On Tuesday, delegates will hear from former Congressional Budget Officer Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin. On Wednesday, a special Policy Briefing will be held on the Rural-Urban Connection Strategy, with White House Domestic Policy Council Senior Advisor Doug McKalip and U.S. Department of Agriculture Senior Advisor Doug O'Brien, plus a panel of Sacramento region elected officials.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Cap-to-Cap delegates arrive in D.C.: U.S. Health Secretary to speak to chamber group

2011-05-08T17:43:38Z

Nearly 270 Cap-to-Cap delegates arrived in Washington, D.C. this weekend for the Sacramento Metro Chamber's 41st annual advocacy program, May 7-11.

Kicking off the program on Monday will be keynote speaker U.S. Secretary of Human and Health Services Kathleen Sebelius. Health care reform and the Sacramento region's groundbreaking community development issues are topics on the agenda.

Secretary Sebelius will speak for about 15 minutes and then do a hefty 15 minutes of direct questions from the chamber's delegation. Considering the immense role that health care plays in our region's economy, Sebelius' appearance is a rare opportunity for the region's business and civic leaders to hear directly from one of the national leaders on a topic that is consuming so much attention.

On Tuesday, the delegation will hear from former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who will speak during the Cap-to-Cap program's Leadership Luncheon on the Hill. As chief economist of the President's Council of Economic Advisers for President George H. Bush, Holtz-Eakin is an expert on federal budget issues.

More than 240 appointments have been set with elected and administrative officials to promote the region's pressing need for more jobs and infrastructure improvement.

"Our priority again is jobs," said Matthew Mahood, president & CEO. "That's framed out in our hundreds of appointments where we'll lobby for how the federal government can accelerate the rate of innovation and technology development and provide the private sector with regulatory relief."

Local coverage of the program and interviews with delegates are being reported by NewsTalk 1530 KFBK morning anchor Ed Crane. He will report at 5:18 and 7:18 a.m. PDT and other times during the morning. Visit http://bit.ly/KFBKCAP for details.

Program details and 70 Cap-to-Cap issue papers can be found at metrochamber.org/captocap.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Cap-to-Cap Delegates message to D.C.: Accelerate innovation, create jobs

2011-04-27T21:42:22Z

With Sacramento region’s jobless rate above 12 percent, delegates for the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s annual four-day Capitol-to-Capitol to Washington, D.C., will advocate for specific ways how the federal government can accelerate the rate of innovation and technology development, provide the private sector with regulatory relief and create much-needed jobs.

“Innovation is critical to the health and well-being of this country and it’s the cornerstone to our region’s economy,” said 2011 Cap-to-Cap Chair Tim Murphy 2011 of GenCorp. “Innovation drives ideas and business opportunities that attract investment and create jobs. These new jobs, in turn, generate tax revenue and grow the economy.”

Nearly three hundred delegates—including the region’s elected officials—will visit the nation’s capital on May 7-11 during the Metro Chamber’s 41st Cap-to-Cap program.

“The Metro Chamber believes that solving the federal budget crisis will take shared responsibility among the public and private sector,” Murphy add. “It is incumbent on the federal government to jump start the innovation economy by providing real regulatory relief and implementing real federal government reforms.”

Over the course of four days, Metro Chamber delegates will present dozens of policy papers from 14 teams to members of Congress, the Obama Administration and other federal officials. Other top regional priorities are securing immediate funding to provide flood protection, highway and transit projects in the six-county region.”

In addition, delegates will discuss policy issues with two dozen think tanks such as the Alliance for Excellent Education, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Metro Chamber President & CEO Matthew Mahood, in fact, will be a panelist during a Brookings Institute presentation on sustainable communities strategies. The meetings with the think tanks and other groups represent a new strategy in advocacy that the Cap-to-Cap program is using to promote the region’s needs.

“Because we have nearly 300 participating delegates from across the region—in both the private and public sector—we have an amazing degree of unity to get our region’s economy moving faster. Our ability to collaborate for action at the local level like the recent outpouring of support for the Sacramento Kings is reflected as well at the national level in our Cap-to-Cap work,” Mahood said. “Our 14 teams will promote an amazing array of projects that will benefit this region and create more jobs.” Here’s a sampling of those projects:

• $30 million for the development of the Sacramento campus of the Public Safety Command Training Centers.

• $11 million to repair levees protecting Knights Landing, Verona, Nicolas and 93,000 acres of high-value farmland.

• $7 million in additional funds to modify the Folsom Dam.

• $1 million to evaluate levees protecting West Sacramento.

• $5 million on second phase repairs of the Marysville Ring Levee protecting 12,700 residents.

• Additional federal help for fixing Natomas levees that protect 80,000 people, $8 billion in property, the Sacramento International Airport, Union Pacific Railroad and Interstates 5 and 80 and other highways.

• Full funding for the Emergency Food & Shelter Program, which in 2010 served 197,000 meals and provided shelter, hotel vouchers, utility assistance and rent/mortgage assistance.

• $4 million for adding two lanes to the Lincoln Bypass in Placer County.

• $25 million for the 15-mile-long Placer Parkway in Placer County to connect State Route 65 to State Routes 70 and 99.

• $10 million to widen Douglas Road and White Rock Road in Rancho Cordova.

• $3 million to add an extra lane east and westbound on Highway 50 between Bradshaw Boulevard and Mather Field Road.

• $5 million to widen Hazel Avenue in Sacramento County.

• $5 million for improving congested interchanges near Placerville.

• $13.3 million for the Silva Valley Interchange in El Dorado County.

• $20 million for phase two of the Sacramento Valley Station improvements, including renovation of the historic Union Pacific depot.

• $45 million for expansion of the Light Rail South Line 4.2 miles to Cosumnes River College.

• $32 million to improve safety and increase speeds on the Capitol Corridor train to the Bay Area.

• Streamline permitting by federal agencies for alternative energy projects—wind, solar, biomass—in California.

• Congressional support for creating a joint green energy project between the Defense Department’s Renewable Energy Testing Center in Sacramento and the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Cabazon Resource Recovery Project that contains a biomass electric plan, a tire recycling plant, a soil recycling plant and a biomass gasification plant. Research completed at the RETC in Sacramento would be put into operation at a commercial scale for demonstration at the Cabazon facility.

• Preservation of 2012 Farm Bill resources for food safety, organic food access, and research to scale-up organic food farming methods.

• Funding for Los Rios Colleges to train an additional 75 individuals to be certified home energy auditors.

“We are still registering delegates for Cap-to-Cap,” Mahood said. “We invite the business community and civic leaders to join us and help us bring back our fair share of federal tax dollars for the Sacramento region.”

For more information and to view the entire policy agenda and issue papers, visit metrochamber.org/captocap.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Sacramento awaits word on Kings

2011-04-27T01:23:12Z

Sacramento Kings fans, officials and business leaders are waiting to hear in the next few days whether the team will stay here for at least a year after businesses ponied up deposits on more than $10.2 million in financial support Tuesday.

The National Basketball Association's Relocation Committee, chaired by Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett, will meet between now and Monday to make a decision. Sacramento officials have asked to learn sooner than May 2, if possible, whether the Kings will remain in Sacramento rather than move to Anaheim.

May 2 is the deadline for the Kings' owners, the Maloofs, to file a relocation request.

There has been little public discussion of the impact an Anaheim signature collection drive has had in blocking a Kings move for at least a year – forcing the NBA and the Maloofs to keep the team here.

Arno Political Consultants, working on behalf of the Committee to Save the Kings and organizers Rob Stutzman, a Sacramento political consultant, and Robbie Waters, a former city councilman, said Monday they've gathered 11,000 - 12,000 signatures.

While the signatures must still be certified, there are more than enough to block Anaheim from issuing $75 million in bonds to help the Kings move unless that's approved by voters in June 2012 or in a special election.

Tuesday morning, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson distanced himself from the signature drive. In the bid to keep the Kings, Johnson promised NBA officials Sacramento leaders would concentrate on doing what they could to prove the region is a viable NBA market.

"We have focused on what we can control here in Sacramento. That has been our commitment from day one. We knew if we stepped up from the corporate community, we'd be in the ball game. That was our offensive play," he said in a press conference outside Golden One Credit Union, 845 Cal Center Drive. "What's happening in Anaheim – that's somebody else's fight.... We weren't involved in that."

Representatives from 30 businesses made deposits on more than $10.2 million in pledges in a meeting with seven staff members from the NBA's Team Marketing and Business Operations department at Golden One, said Johnson, who named businesses and later released a list of those who have pledged financial support.

Johnson had asked Sacramento Metro Chamber President Matt Mahood; political strategist Darius Anderson; special events planner Sharon Gerber, who owns Six Degreez; and Warren Smith, who helped bring the River Cats to West Sacramento; to gather support from the business community to pledge money to buy corporate sponsorships, Kings tickets and luxury suites.

Anderson, a San Francisco investor, and billionaire Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle emerged two weeks ago as possible investors willing to buy the Kings or bring another team here if the Kings left.

Bennett and an NBA attorney were in town last week for the first set of NBA meetings with local elected officials and business leaders. Their visit was set up following Johnson’s appearance before Bennett’s NBA committee and the NBA’s finance committee April 14.

On Friday, an NBA official confirmed the league had no plans to send anyone to Anaheim for a similar fact-finding mission.

NBA staff members met with the mayor at the end of the day Monday and told him they'd need deposits on those pledges, Johnson said.

"Today, they have put their money where their mouth is – demonstrated to the NBA that we are for real and we're here to support the NBA, support the Kings – not just this year, but for many years go come," Mahood said during the press conference.

Six people from the Sacramento groups Blackramento Cali Africans (BCA) and All Things Are Possible (ATAP) stood on Golden One's palm tree-filled plaza to protest during the NBA meeting and press conference. The group held signs reading, "We need education, not recreation" and "Invest your money in the youth of tomorrow."

They questioned why the public wasn't informed in advance of Tuesday's NBA meeting and others the NBA and mayor's office have set up in Sacramento in the last week.

"There shouldn't be secret meetings," ATAP Chief Executive Officer Olatunji Richards said. "It seems to be going through the back door."

They said they would like to see more money spent on school programs, job training and job creation rather than keeping the Kings.

"They're finding millions of dollars out there to save the Kings," BCA President Keon Johnson said. "The conditions in my community don't reflect the millions that (should) trickle down from the Kings."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

NBA group rolls into Sacramento this week

2011-04-18T23:00:45Z

A National Basketball Association committee will arrive in Sacramento this week to study the possibility of keeping the Kings here.

Reports surfaced Monday that a group of six would be coming here Tuesday to get more information about new financial support for the Kings. On Friday at the NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York, NBA Commissioner David Stern said team owners agreed to learn more about corporate sponsorships and other money that may be available to help the Kings make more money in Sacramento.

The only information that could be confirmed was that Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett, who chairs the board's Relocation Committee, and NBA Executive Counsel Harvey Benjamin will be here Thursday and Friday, according to Tim Frank, the NBA's senior vice president of basketball communications.

An agenda has not been set yet, he said.

The Maloof family, which owns or controls a majority share of the Sacramento Kings, has been exploring a possible move to Anaheim. Last week, the NBA Board of Governors agreed to a second deadline extension for the Maloofs to seek permission to move – from April 18 to May 2.

Mayor Kevin Johnson's office is still working out meeting logistics with the NBA.

"We're putting together the details for the upcoming meetings," mayoral spokesman Joaquin McPeek said.

At least $7 million in commitments for corporate sponsorships and suite revenues were made to Johnson and business leaders including Sacramento Metro Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Mahood shortly before the NBA Board of Governors meeting, which was held last Thursday and Friday.

The money was raised as Kings fans, Sacramento business leaders and Johnson and other city officials rally around various efforts to stop the Kings from going to Anaheim. A drive to collect about 10,000 Anaheim resident signatures and possibly block more than $75 million in bonds to help the Kings to move is going "very well" and is more than half way to its goal, said Kellen Arno of Arno Political Consultants in Carlsbad.

On Thursday, Johnson also told the NBA billionaire Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle and San Francisco investor Darius Anderson would like to buy the Kings or help the city draw another pro basketball team if the Kings move.

Mahood and others with the Metro Chamber continue to search for new corporate sponsors and suite holders to bring the Kings new revenue.

“The Sacramento Metro Chamber is currently working with the mayor’s office in the ongoing effort to demonstrate that Sacramento has been and will continue to be a viable NBA market for the Sacramento Kings," Mahood said in a prepared statement Monday.

Staff reporter Brandon Darnell contributed to this report. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for the Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

NBA takes more time to study Kings move

2011-04-15T23:53:49Z

Sacramento Kings fans will have to keep holding their breath over a possible team move after a National Basketball Association official on Friday said the league needs time to learn more about the unfolding deal in Anaheim and the viability of keeping the team in the capital.

The NBA Board of Governors agreed to extend the deadline for the Maloofs’ request to move until May 2.

On Thursday, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and San Francisco investor Darius Anderson told NBA team owners that billionaire Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle is leading a plan to buy the Kings or help bring another pro basketball team here if the Kings leave.

Johnson also said he and business leaders have raised commitments for at least $7 million in corporate sponsorships and suite revenues in the last week to create "significant immediate additional revenues" for the Kings, according to the mayor's office.

NBA team owners want to know more about the money available to help the Kings "better compete" and improve economic performance next year in Sacramento if the team stays, NBA Commissioner David Stern said at a press conference in New York Friday.

"Mayor Johnson came in and said ... there will be lots of additional dollars available that would improve the Kings’ performance, the Kings’ economic performance, in Sacramento, if they stay, and that the community had recently been mobilized, and was in a position to (help keep) them there for the coming season," Stern said. "The other things were to find out what the mayor was referring to with respect to additional revenue opportunities that would allow the team to better compete next year and be economically feasible."

While Burkle has a "good reputation," Stern said the sale of the Kings or drawing another team to Sacramento wasn't high on the league's list of priorities.

The key to keeping the NBA in Sacramento is a new arena. Power Balance Pavilion is so inadequate the National Collegiate Athletic Association won't bring its basketball tournament back there, he said.

"The issue first and foremost in Sacramento is whether there's the will and the ability to build a new arena for an NBA team and the other events...." Stern said. "The mayor's vision is for a downtown arena as part of a major redevelopment of 230 acres. You know, we don't know if that's real or a pie in the sky. We don't know whether we can find that out in a couple of weeks, but we are going to knock ourselves out to do it."

A team led by Colorado arena builder ICON Venue Group President Tim Romani and Sacramento developer David Taylor are expected to complete an arena feasibility study in early May.

Stern indicated Johnson's "business-like approach" and thorough presentation about Sacramento's strengths as an NBA market and the current effort to build a new arena were instrumental in getting the league to ask for more time to study the two locations.

Members of the NBA Board of Governors Relocation and Finance Advisory committees are expected to meet with Johnson and Sacramento business leaders to get more concrete information.

Several efforts to keep the Kings or the NBA in Sacramento and to fund a new arena are under way, with new developments still taking place, Sacramento Metro Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Mahood said Friday.

“The Sacramento region’s business community has demonstrated substantial interest in stepping up to ensure we remain viable as an NBA market, with or without the Sacramento Kings," Mahood said in a prepared statement. "Over the course of the next few weeks, we look forward to further defining the business community’s support and commitments."

The idea to extend the relocation request deadline a second time came from NBA Board of Governors Chairman Glen Taylor, who owns the Minnesota Timberwolves; Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett, who chairs the board's Relocation Committee; and the Maloofs.

In a teleconference late Friday afternoon, Johnson said the extension signals the game isn't over in Sacramento yet.

"I'm encouraged by the delay. I'm also encouraged by the fact that the NBA is going to send a team out to investigate the potential of Sacramento," he said. "I'm not declaring victory by any means."

Members of the two committees also want more time to look into the proposed deal between the Kings and Anaheim, especially after the terms of the deal were revised over the last few days. They need more information about loans and investments, television revenue and construction plans that could help increase expected revenue at Anaheim's Honda Center. They also would need to determine the Kings' relocation fee, Stern said.

Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait issued a statement Friday afternoon saying his community is "primed and ready" to welcome a basketball team.

“We understand that the relocation committee is balancing a variety of issues as they make this decision and have decided to take a little more time," he said. "We remain hopeful and optimistic that the NBA will have a franchise playing at Anaheim’s Honda Center in the near future."

The Kings have enough time to move even after the relocation request deadline was extended. The committees’ members are likely to believe Southern California can support three NBA teams, Stern said during the press conference.

"The committee thought that it would be a good idea to do a little bit more fact-finding and determine how this will ultimately play out," Stern said. "There's no agenda here – just to make sure that something as important to all parties as the transfer of a team to another city and the attempts of that city to keep that team was fully understood, fully briefed."

The NBA has declined requests for more information about the relocation vote process.

Neither Anderson nor Burkle could be reached Friday to comment further on plans to buy the Kings or another basketball team. The Maloofs and billionaire Henry Samueli, who owns Anaheim Arena Management, which operates Anaheim's Honda Center, would not comment Friday.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Region's $9.6 billion education cluster threatened by 'all cuts' state budget

2011-04-15T00:14:34Z

A state budget that makes $25 billion in cuts will drastically impact the Sacramento region—especially the $9.6 billion education industry in six counties.

“The education industry is critical to our region’s economic prosperity,” said Matthew Mahood, Sacramento Metro Chamber president & CEO. “Not only for the work the sector does to educate our residents—but also for the huge injection of dollars into the region. Education institutions employ thousands of people who make consumer purchases throughout the region.”

A newly released Education Industry Cluster Economic Impact Report, commissioned by the Metro Chamber, analyzes everything from elementary schools and universities to private technical colleges. The report pegs the impact on the economy at $9.6 billion—generated by $5.1 billion in direct impacts, $3.1 billion in employee spending and $1.4 billion in industry purchases. The study analyzed data from 2008.

In fact, payroll for the education cluster employees totaled $4.2 billion in 2008. The largest sector, of course, is public education whose institutions employ 79,000 people in the region. Private sector schools account for 19,000 jobs.

Most visible are the region’s nationally and world-ranked institutions of higher education: UC Davis, Sacramento State and the Los Rios community colleges. These schools and others contributed $3.2 billion—or one-third of public education’s impact—on the region’s economy.

“Higher education is a huge economic engine for this region in so many ways,” said Los Rios Chancellor Brice Harris. “From the thousands of students we move into the workforce, to the millions of dollars we pour into goods and services, and the millions of dollars more spent in the region by our employees.”

Between 2004 and 2008, the education sector stood out as one of the region’s leading industries in terms of growth, racking up double-digit advances in terms of dollar value contributed to the economy. The annual dollar impact grew by 19.2 percent.

Gains made since 2004, however, are threatened if the state Legislature ultimately opts for the “all-cuts” budget. Statewide, the California State University and University of California systems will see about $1.1 billion cut, according to the S.F. Examiner. The community college system will lose $585 million and K-12 education will lose $5 billion.

“With a $73 million budget shortfall that could occur, UC Davis is projecting staff cuts of at least 450 to 500 employees,” Mahood said. “If this were a private company announcing they were shutting down or laying off 500 employees—there would be an uproar. These are employees who pay mortgages, buy cars, groceries, shoes, clothes and spend money across all sectors.”

“The report demonstrates the positive economic impact that education has all around in our region,” Mahood said. “Our region is known for its innovation driven by our institutions of higher education. It’s what keeps us competitive with other regions across the nation—and world. Strong schools mean a skilled workforce—and that’s something that business must have to create jobs. Our schools have an impact that ripples through the generations. These proposed massive cuts in the state’s education spending will be likewise: all around, everywhere and down through the generations. It’s very concerning.”

To download a copy of the complete report, visit http://bit.ly/SMCCEducationReport.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Vina transfers pressures with budget, unions to council

2011-03-28T02:09:57Z

The clock is ticking for the Sacramento City Council.

Sacramento Interim City Manager Gus Vina’s resignation on Friday morning means that the City Council must take immediate actions that will impact the city budget and labor negotiations with municipal unions.

Council members must find a new top city official one month before the city’s proposed budget is due. Vina’s resignation also means that the city’s labor unions will take up budget negotiations with a new city leader.

“We don’t have time to grieve,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said in an interview Friday.

Cohn was one of four council members who supported Vina’s earlier effort to become Sacramento’s next permanent city manager. In a split 5-4 vote on Jan. 25, the City Council decided not to promote Vina to the permanent city manager position. The five council members who voted to hold a national search for a new city manager were Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell.

Though the council did not promote him on Jan. 25, Vina said in February that he planned to compete in the national search.

But that plan came to a halt Friday, when Vina gave his resignation letter to the City Council and Mayor Kevin Johnson. He gave two weeks’ notice and will leave his post April 8.

“I need to move on and pursue other opportunities because I feel that for a city manager to be effective, you really have to have the confidence of the entire council,” Vina told The Sacramento Press on Friday. “I don’t feel that’s the case right now.”

Like Cohn, Councilwoman Angelique Ashby also commented on the need for the City Council to move rapidly.

“For me, he was the front-runner to be the next city manager for the city of Sacramento,” Ashby said. “Now, I think we have a pretty big challenge on our hands. We need to make some quick decisions. We need to come together as a council and really look at the future of our city.”

“And (we need to) find ways to be successful coming out of this situation,” she added.

Johnson’s office had not released a statement on Vina’s resignation by press time, even though spokesman Joaquin McPeek said a statement would be issued on Friday. Johnson supported Vina’s bid to become permanent city manager, saying in January that he hoped Vina would apply for the job in the national search.

The five council members who voted against promoting Vina in January did not return phone calls seeking comment on Friday. The Sacramento Press left phone messages with McCarty, Darrell Fong, Rob Fong, Sheedy’s office, Sheedy’s District Director Joann Cummins and Pannell’s office.

Turnover for the city manager position has been high lately. The City Council selected Vina for the interim post one year ago. Former City Manager Ray Kerridge resigned in February 2010.

New leader must grapple with city budget, union negotiations

The city’s government structure empowers the city manager to develop the city budget. While the City Council makes all final decisions on the budget, the city manager is responsible for preparing the proposed budget document.

Budget preparation at Sacramento City Hall is a weighty responsibility, especially in light of the city’s $35-40 million budget gap.

While the city is in the midst of a major budget shortfall, Cohn and Vina both expressed confidence that Vina’s departure would not delay the budget.

Cohn said Vina told him that the draft budget is on track and should be available to the public by the May 1 deadline. Cohn also said the city has experienced staffers working on the budget.

Vina said Friday that he is carrying out his budget responsibilities.

“We are very close to finishing the proposed budget,” Vina said. “It will be ready to meet the May 1 deadline.... I committed to council that I would get the budget done, and I will.”

But Councilman Jay Schenirer indicated that Vina’s departure will make the budget process more challenging.

“I think it’s a difficult time for the city right now,” Schenirer said. The budget process “was certainly a place where Gus was very strong,” he added.

While Cohn said he was confident that the budget work will get done on time, he expressed concern about labor negotiations, which are often a key part of balancing the budget.

The city manager’s responsibility as leader of labor negotiations for the city is critical, he said, especially when the city is asking the unions to make concessions.

“The bigger problem I see down the line is labor negotiations,” Cohn said.

Mark Tyndale, vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said his union was already talking to Vina about issues that would affect the city’s budget. Vina’s resignation interrupts that process, Tyndale said.

“These relationships are really important for us,” Tyndale said, noting that SPOA was able to communicate well with Vina, even when the union disagreed with him.

“With Gus departing ... it takes us back to square one,” Tyndale said.

However, another major city union may prefer Vina’s replacement over Vina.

Joan Bryant, director of public employees for Stationary Engineers Local 39, said on Friday that she strongly opposed Vina’s recent decision to award raises to Finance Director Leyne Milstein, Human Resources Director Geri Hamby, Community Development Director Max Fernandez and Police Chief Rick Braziel.

Local 39 represents city workers in the areas of solid waste, code enforcement and animal care, Bryant said. The union represented 1,600 full-time city employees, according to statistics provided by Bryant last September.

“I think he was rewarding his loyalists,” Bryant said.

The amount of money in raises that went to top officials could have paid the salary of a parks worker, she said.

Vina raised Hamby’s salary from $151,402 to $162,000. Fernandez’ salary jumped from $164,445 to $172,667. Milstein’s salary rose from $131,270 to $150,304.

Braziel received an 8 percent raise in June, four days before he told the public he would not leave the city of Sacramento for a potential police chief position in Seattle.

Maurice Chaney, acting city spokesman for the city, responded to questions about the raises on Vina’s behalf in February.

“Two of the three salary changes (Community Development director and the HR director) were envisioned as the next planned step of last fiscal year's consolidation process, which occurred last July and resulted in a cost savings of more than $4 million,” Chaney wrote in an e-mail to The Sacramento Press. “Salary adjustments specific to these positions were considered because of the associated increases in departmental duties that resulted with these mergers.”

Chaney also commented on the raise for Milstein.

“The finance director has played a crucial role during the last four years in assisting with a budget deficit that has affected all city employees,” he wrote.

On the topic of Braziel’s raise, city spokeswoman Amy Williams said in September that he deserved the money because he had voluntarily taken a pay cut in 2008 with the understanding that it would be restored later.

Is Sacramento an unstable city?

In the view of city employee Cindy Bates, Vina’s resignation will not destabilize the city government.

“He’s left competent leaders behind to take care of the ship,” said Bates, a program analyst in the transportation department.

But Sacramento Metro Chamber President Matt Mahood said Vina’s resignation is bad for business.

The business community must work with the city government, he said, giving the example of the requirement for businesses to receive city permits. An unstable city government discourages businesses within the region and those looking to bring business to the city, he said.

“There’s a lot of instability in the city of Sacramento, and that does not help foster a positive business environment,” he said Friday.

Mahood said the council members should change the way they interact if the city manager feels like he has to resign because he doesn’t have their support.

The council members need to align more with each other, he said, “and figure out a way to work together.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

West Sac Business Walk on March 30 to survey local economic conditions

2011-03-23T19:06:34Z

The region’s international award-winning Business Walk program arrives in West Sacramento on Wednesday, March 30, when volunteers will canvass local businesses to find out what’s happening with the economy and how conditions can be improved.

The West Sacramento Business Walk is presented by the city of West Sacramento and West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, produced by the Sacramento Metro Chamber and supported by the region’s Metro Pulse partnership. The business walks have won acclaim from international economic developers and most recently as a chamber outstanding program for strengthening local economies.

The business walks help initiate contacts with businesses in the region and is the start of an ongoing conversation to help get businesses the resources they need to succeed. Volunteers who are business people or agency staff will visit storefronts and businesses, asking owners and managers three questions: How’s business, what do you like about doing business in West Sacramento and how can business be improved?

The city of West Sacramento wants to hear what the local business community is thinking, and this is the first step,” said Christopher Cabaldon, mayor of West Sacramento. “Not only will we be able to talk face-to-face with many business owners, we will let them know the city is here to help them succeed.”

The Business Walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion. In 2011, the Metro Chamber and its partners are planning a dozen events across the region.

Businesspeople who would like to volunteer to be a business walker can register online here. The business walk event, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., includes a breakfast and orientation, three hours of business visits, a lunch and roundup session.

“In 2010, the Sacramento region’s international award-winning Metro Pulse program facilitated nearly 4,200 business visits—building public-private relationships with and making resource connections for local companies. At its core is the business walk model, which allows community leaders to meet with lots of companies in a short time; and, do so in a personal, one-on-one fashion,” said Matt Yancey, Metro Chamber director of business and economic development.

To register for the event, visit metrochamber.org/events or contact Kennedy Cullen at 916-319-4277 or kcullen@metrochamber.org.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Lt. Gov. Newsom to headline Metro Chamber's legislative day Feb. 22

2011-02-18T22:15:03Z

In Northern California's largest chamber-led lobbying effort, business and civic leaders from the Sacramento region head to the State Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 22, to ask legislators to reform the state budget, provide businesses with regulatory relief and advocate for shared responsibility during the current budget crisis.

Organized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber, this year’s State Legislative Summit offers one of the best opportunities for the leading voice of business to be heard, and business leaders are cautiously optimistic that real reform can happen.

“2011 must be the year of allowing businesses to do what they do best—create jobs—and not wade through senseless paperwork,” said Matthew Mahood, president & CEO. “The state’s onerous regulations run 28,000 pages long and many, many duplicate each other. We all know how tough it is to do our federal state tax returns—businesspeople face that kind of hassle every day from burdensome and redundant state regulations—not to mention those of local and other jurisdictions.”

Earlier this year, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg asked the Metro Chamber for examples of how the state could reform itself by providing regulatory relief. The Metro Chamber provided very focused feedback.

Because of this specific and substantive input, Sen. Steinberg is partnering with the chamber on a series of meetings over seven weeks to discuss how to reduce state regulations and provide relief to businesses so they can put people back to work and begin expanding again. One proposed bill, SB 366, authored by Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, and Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Santa Monica, was announced by Sen. Steinberg during a press conference Feb. 16 at the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

“We are both grateful and encouraged to have the opportunity to review our business regulatory concerns with Sen. Steinberg,” Mahood said. “This process creates an on-going dialogue where we can candidly address the most significant burdens to business and actively look for solutions to improve our regulatory environment and business climate. Our members will bring a complete pro-jobs agenda to legislators during our State Legislative Summit on Feb. 22.” The position paper is available here.

Summit topics include air quality, civic amenities, green technology, flood protection, health care and biosciences, jobs and business growth, resources, state budget, transportation, and workforce and education.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Steinberg will address the Metro Chamber State Legislative Summit delegation during the luncheon at The Citizen Hotel, 926 J. St., Sacramento. The half-day event runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The program concludes with the Capital Region Legislators Welcome Reception, beginning at 5 p.m. at The Citizen Hotel to honor the newly elected state constitutional officers and locally elected leaders from Sacramento’s capital region. The reception is co-hosted by Sen. Steinberg and newly elected Assemblyman Roger Dickinson. The Metro Chamber welcomes the region’s new public servants in partnership with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership and the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber

Sen. Steinberg, Metro Chamber announce start of regulation reform

2011-02-17T02:04:27Z

Media, business, conservationist and government representatives from across the state gathered at the Sacramento Metro Chamber on Wednesday, Feb. 16, to launch reform of the state’s regulatory system and permitting process.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Metro Chamber President & CEO Matthew Mahood detailed the proposed legislation, SB 366, and how the Metro Chamber helped initiate political action that will provide a business perspective on overhauling regulations and streamlining the processes people must follow to start and run their businesses.

And to make the point why overhaul is needed, all 28,000 pages of the state’s code of regulations where wheeled in on a dolly and carried two at a time by chamber staff members—some 34 binders that weigh 270 pounds.

The proposed bill SB 366 is authored by Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, and Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Santa Monica, who along with Tom Adams of the California League of Conservation Voters presented an outline of the bill at the press conference.

With the binders as an omnipresent reminder of why the work needs to be done, Sen. Steinberg said that “government needs to be more nimble and responsive. The processes to get a permit take too long. The forces of government should help businesses comply with the laws.”

Over the past several weeks, the Metro Chamber has been meeting with the senator’s staff at his invitation to provide specific examples of ways the state can reform and provide regulatory relief.

“We have brought in our member businesses who are subject matter experts in their particular industries to inform the senator on those regulatory hurdles that are most inhibiting to jobs and business growth,” Mahood said. “The process has created an ongoing dialogue where we can candidly discuss our concerns and encourages solutions.”

Among those solutions to improving the state budget, Mahood said, is to “get people back to work.”

“When people work—everyone’s cash register rings—even the state’s treasury with increased tax revenues,” he said. “The state’s budget crisis is the most important issue facing our region’s economy and the Metro Chamber is particularly concerned about the impact that deep cuts will have in the areas of economic development, health care and higher education.”

SB 366 directs state agencies to do a top-to-bottom review of regulations to indentify duplicative, inconsistent or outdated provisions. The agencies would be required to hold public hearings as a guide to weed out those problem regulations and would be mandated to complete the task within 180 days.

A second provision of SB 366 would eliminate red-tape that hampers state development projects and allow any business to request a “one-stop shop” process.

The announcement of the bill, which the Metro Chamber helped shape, comes days before the chamber’s State Legislative Summit when business and civic leaders from the Sacramento region head to the State Capitol to talk to legislators about state budget reform, regulatory relief and shared responsibility during the current budget crisis.

Summit topics include air quality, civic amenities, green technology, flood protection and water, health care and biosciences, jobs and business growth, resources, transportation, and workforce and education.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom will address the Metro Chamber State Legislative Summit delegation, speaking during the luncheon at the Citizens Hotel, 926 J. St., Sacramento. The half-day event runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The program concludes with the Capital Region Legislators Welcome Reception, beginning at 5 p.m. at the Citizen Hotel, to honor the newly elected state constitutional officers and locally elected leaders from Sacramento’s capital region. The reception is co-hosted by Sen. Steinberg and newly elected Assemblyman Roger Dickinson. The Metro Chamber welcomes the region’s new public servants in partnership with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership and the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Sen. Steinberg to announce legislation to streamline regulations

2011-02-16T00:02:17Z

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg will announce on Wednesday, Feb. 16, the introduction of legislation reforming California’s duplicative and burdensome business regulations. Sen. Steinberg will be joined by authors of the proposed bill, Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, and Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Santa Monica.

The news conference will be held 10:30 a.m. at the Sacramento Metro Chamber offices, One Capitol Mall Suite 300, Sacramento.

The announcement comes after three weeks of meetings that Metro Chamber members held with Sen. Steinberg at his invitation to discover how state offices and departments can reduce duplicative regulations and streamline the regulatory process. Further meetings are scheduled over the next few weeks.

“We are both grateful and encouraged to have the opportunity to review our business regulatory concerns with Sen. Steinberg,” said Matthew Mahood, president & CEO. “This process has created an on-going dialogue where we can candidly address the most significant burdens to business and actively look for solutions to improve our regulatory environment and business climate.”

Metro Chamber members have launched the Reform-Relief-Responsibility initiative to make recommendations to elected leaders on how the state can solve its budget crisis while helping business create more jobs and increase business activity.

“Our members will bring a complete pro-jobs agenda to legislators during our State Legislative Summit next week, Feb. 22,” Mahood said. An overview of these proposals can be seen here.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is Communictions Director for Sacramento Metro Chamber

Metro Chamber members fill gap in funding shortfall for shelter

2011-02-11T01:38:45Z

Lately, Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna has been working behind the scenes to find shelter for people living out-of-doors along the American River Parkway during the winter.

Working with the Salvation Army and Volunteers of America, Supervisor Serna raised more than $41,000 for keeping the winter shelters open until the end of March. But the funding was shy of the goal, and that’s when he turned to the business community, asking on Tuesday Sacramento Metro Chamber members to contribute.

In less than 24 hours Metro Chamber member businesses opened up their pocketbooks. A shortfall of $8,500 was made up alone by the Bank of America, but many other donations came in quickly as well.

“Despite a time when our local member businesses are still coping with the recession, they have once again stepped up to support our community and residents who are struggling,” said Matthew Mahood, president & CEO.

The donors include Bank of America, AT&T, Comcast, Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank, Folsom South Area Group Landowners, Gordon & Rees LLP, KP Public Affairs, Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard, Lionakis, MBK Engineers, Sacramento Regional Foundation, SAFE Credit Union, Stantec, The Johnson Group and Van Vleck Ranch.

Donations will open up 32 beds at the Salvation Army and a winter sanctuary program at other local organization will provide shelter and meals through March 31.

Offers of donations continue to come in. Businesses and individuals interested in making a donation to support winter shelter programs in Sacramento County, can send checks to the North State Building Industry Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization set up to collect funds for this purpose. Contributions will be directed to either the Salvation Army or the Winter Sanctuary Program. Make checks payable to NSBIF, 1536 Eureka Road, Roseville, CA 95661, Tax ID #26-0772414; reference: Sacramento Shelter Program For more information, contact Maria Monsanto, chief financial officer, (916) 677-5717.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Metro Chamber sweeps western chamber association awards

2011-02-10T00:52:21Z

Coming off one of the most active membership years in the last decade, two Sacramento Metro Chamber staff members and three programs were recognized for professional excellence by fellow chamber executives from 14 western states.

The 720-member Western Association of Chamber Executives recognized Metro Chamber President & CEO Matthew Mahood as Executive of the Year, Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Economic Development Michael Faust as the Hathaway Staff Person of the Year, the annual Business Walks for helping support the local economy, the Power Lunches for excellence in business-to-business networking and the Metro Business Quarterly publication for communications excellence. W.A.C.E. is the largest regional association of chamber executives in the United States.

Chamber Executive of the Year: Matthew Mahood
Citing his “courageous leadership in support of business financial acuity and leadership skills,” W.A.C.E. said that under Matthew Mahood’s nine years of steady leadership, “the Metro Chamber has redoubled efforts to serve businesses and the communities in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties.”

“We all know how bad the economy has been—decimating businesses, nonprofits and consumers,” said 2010 Metro Chamber Board Chair Randy Sater, president, StoneBridge Properties. “But despite the worst economy in the last half century, I’m proud to say, the Sacramento Metro Chamber has not retrenched, but stepped out confidently and forcefully.” W.A.C.E., in particular, called attention to the chamber’s solid financial position, launch of new programs to benefit members and savvy political stances to benefit the region.

Hathaway Staff Person of the Year: Michael Faust
In recognizing Michael Faust as Staff Person of the Year, W.A.C.E. noted that “with his deep passion in public policy, government affairs and economic development, he developed a strategic and tactical plan that has made the Metro Chamber more engaged and relevant throughout the greater Sacramento region.”

“Michael has taken the chamber to a whole new level in the six-county region,” said Matthew Mahood, president & CEO. “Our advocacy work at the State Capitol is being recognized by legislators for its high level of expertise; our Cap-to-Cap to Washington, D.C., has resulted in our region gaining significant federal support and funding for many important and vital regional initiatives. In addition, our Metro Pulse partnership to improve the region’s businesses has expanded and is now internationally recognized for its high impact; and our Northern California World Trade Center has established the new Gateway California international trade show that is bringing our local export market extensive interest from multiple international service providers. All of this—and more—was the result of Michael’s dedication and commitment to our business community.

Outstanding Core Competency in Creating a Strong Local Economy: Business Walks
W.A.C.E. recognized the Metro Chamber’s annual Business Walk program for their competency in supporting a strong local economy. The program began in 2004 as a result of members identifying business retention and expansion as the chamber’s core economic development competency. Businesses are visited by volunteers including local government officials, economic development experts and chamber members who ask: “How is business? What do you like about doing business here? What do you believe must be done to improve local business conditions?” The first walk in 2004 visited just over 100 businesses. More Business Walks were added at request of local chambers and agencies as success grew. In 2010, 10 were conducted, with over 3,000 businesses visited. On Sept. 30, a “super” Business Walk was conducted, involving seven different partners, more than 300 volunteers and 3,000+ businesses visited.

As a result, signage, security, graffiti, street clean-up and other issues have been addressed. The program received the Business Retention & Expansion International Project/Program Impact Award in 2010 for its direct and real impact helping small businesses survive in the economy.

Outstanding Core Competency in Networking: Power Lunches
W.A.C.E. recognized the Metro Chamber’s Power Lunches for their excellence in business people with convenient ways to make new connections while promoting local restaurants. The Power Lunches were conceived to help member restaurants hard hit by the state’s Friday furloughs. Attendance in this program increased 15 percent in 2010, and new regional restaurants signed up to participate in the program.

Communications Excellence: Metro Business Quarterly
The chamber executives also recognized the Metro Chamber’s four-color Metro Business Quarterly with an honorable mention, calling it “an attractive, well-written publication, with a nice open design that successfully carries out its goal of capturing the entrepreneurial spirit of Sacramento Metro Chamber members.”

“The Metro Business Quarterly is distributed to nearly 8,000 business people in the region, and we’re very proud that W.A.C.E. recognizes the professional product that our team publishes on a regular basis that communicates the value and action of our members,” said Dion Dwyer, vice president of membership.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Faith, business groups to advise sheriff

2011-02-08T01:29:52Z

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said Monday that he will ask faith and business groups to advise him on public safety issues. At a briefing with reporters at the Sheriff’s Department building downtown, Jones said he will create two new advisory boards with representatives from religious, community and business groups within the next three months.

Jones had pitched his plan to establish the two new advisory groups during his political campaign for sheriff last fall. These groups will help the department connect with youth and improve the county’s business climate, he said.

Jones has not yet named anyone to the new advisory groups, according to the Sheriff’s Department press office. The department already receives feedback from one group, the Sheriff’s Outreach Community Advisory Board.

The faith and community-based board will be “a mechanism to recruit and retain good, quality volunteers,” he said. “But also to reach the young people, which we have to do a better job of.”

Mindi Russell, executive director of the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy of Sacramento, said a faith-based group advising the Sheriff’s Department would help combat gangs and drug use because faith leaders deal with those problems “within their own house of worship,” she said.

Sacramento Metro Chamber President Matthew Mahood praised Jones on the idea of a business advisory group.

“It is something we applaud, and we appreciate his outreach to the business community,” Mahood said. “We encourage other elected officials to be as inclusive as possible with the employer community as we work together to improve the economic climate.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

CH2MHILL’s Eldridge to chair 2011 Sacramento Metro Chamber Board

2011-02-03T23:29:22Z

Greg Eldridge, vice president and area manager for CH2MHILL of Sacramento, will lead the Sacramento Metro Chamber as its 2011 Chairman of the Board.

Eldridge will be inducted Friday, Feb. 4, during the Metro Chamber’s 116th Annual Dinner & Business Awards at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

John Frisch, regional manger for the Sacramento real estate firm Cornish & Carey Newmark Knight Frank, will serve as the First Vice Chair. Martha Clark Lofgren, partner with the Sacramento law firm Brewer Lofgren LLP, will be the 2011 Second Vice Chair.

The three will lead a 79-member (voting) board of directors of the Metro Chamber and a 19-member Executive Committee.

Matthew Mahood begins his 10th year as President & CEO. As the leading voice of business in the region, the 2,000-member chamber represents nearly 200,000 employees and covers El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties.

The event will also provide a review of the Metro Chamber’s 2010 accomplishments by 2010 Board Chair Randy Sater of StoneBridge Properties.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Four Metro Chamber members are finalists for Inspire Giving award to nonprofits

2011-02-02T20:17:25Z

Four local nonprofit members of the Sacramento Metro Chamber are finalists for the first Inspire Giving award—a $10,000 grant—to be given during the 116th Annual Dinner & Business Awards on Friday, Feb. 4, at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

The Inspire Giving program is part of the Metro Chamber’s recently launched Project Inspire that promotes leadership, volunteerism and philanthropy in the community.

Finalists are the Outbound program of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Sacramento, the Kinnections Initiative of Lilliput Children’s Services, the Transitioned Aged Youth Program of Lutheran Social Services and the Rebuild initiative of River City Food Bank.

“This first award represents a milestone for our Inspire Giving Fund,” said 2010 Metro Chamber Board Chair Randy Sater, president of StoneBridge Properties. “Currently, we are building the fund to a goal of $1 million, but in the meantime, thanks to the generosity of Sutter Health and Teichert, the Inspire Giving Fund is able to make the initial $10,000 award.”

Project Inspire’s Giving Circle is made up of businesspeople in the six-county region. Individuals who make a minimum contribution may vote at the end of each investment cycle to determine the distribution of the award.

“The idea behind Project Inspire is ‘a little is enough, if enough people do it,’” said Sater, who chairs the Inspire Giving program. “Project Inspire offers people who want to give back to the community a convenient way to do so, through the monthly Volunteer Power Hours and the Inspire Giving fund. We vet the nonprofits we work with to make sure that the volunteers’ time and money will have the greatest impact.”

As finalists, the nonprofits were invited to meet with Giving Circle members and present their projects for consideration. The four finalists were then voted on by ballot.

The winner will be announced during the awards ceremony, which will also recognize Los Rios Community College District Chancellor Brice Harris, Ph.D., as the Sacramentan of the Year, and volunteer awards: The Al Geiger Memorial Award to Michele Steeb of St. John's Shelter Program for Women & Children; the Peter McCuen Award for Civic Entrepreneurs to Thomas W. Stallard of Rose Colored Glass Company the Volunteers of the Year to Michael Smith, A. of Teichert & Son and Keri Thomas of Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region; and the Ambassador of the Year to Kristi Beard of TelePacific Communications.

Details about the Inspire Giving Fund finalists are below.

Outbound program of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Sacramento
The Outbound Fund will supplement programs by providing youth members, aged 6-18, with the opportunity to extend their learning beyond the walls of the Boys & Girls Club to experience “hands on” and service-learning in conjunction with their regular club programs, activities, curricula and to explore all that the community, region and state have to offer.

Kinnections Initiative of Lilliput Children’s Services
The Kinnections Emergency Support Fund fills vital emergency needs for families served within the Kinnections Initiative project. The KI project places children—who have been removed from their birth parents due to abuse or neglect—with other family members, also known as “kin.”

Transitioned Aged Youth Program of Lutheran Social Services
The Lutheran Social Services Transitioned Aged Youth Program provides permanent and safe transitional housing, as well as pathways to self-sufficiency to gain employment, job skills training and career planning to transition aged youth, 18-24 years who “age out” or “emancipate” from the foster care system and are at high risk of homelessness and a life of poverty.

River City Food Bank Rebuild
The River City Food Bank—the only area food bank that open every weekday to anyone experiencing hunger—is currently buying a new building after its previous site was destroyed in an October 2010 arson fire.

Any community member can participate in the Inspire Giving Fund, which is managed by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation. More information about Inspire Giving Fund and Project Inspire is available at metrochamber.org/inspire or contact Susan Harris at 916-321-9144 or sharris@metrochamber.org

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber

Metro Chamber to honor Brice Harris as Sacramentan of the Year

2011-01-29T00:19:03Z

Accomplished Los Rios Community College District Chancellor Brice Harris is the 2010 Sacramentan of the Year, with the recognition set for the Sacramento Metro Chamber ’s 116th Annual Dinner & Business Awards on Friday, Feb. 4.

The Metro Chamber will also announce that Western Health Advantage President & CEO Garry Maisel is Businessman of the Year and UC Davis Health Center CEO and UC Davis School of Medicine Dean Claire Pomeroy, M.D., M.B.A., is Businesswoman of the Year.

“It’s notable that our top three honorees are in charge of the region’s top-tier nonprofit organizations,” said Matt Mahood, president & CEO. “Our regional economy is fortunate to be undergirded by a nonprofit sector that adds billions of dollars each year to local payrolls. Brice, Garry and Claire are true business leaders and their skills at advancing their institutions have benefitted our economy and community many times over.”

Nearly a thousand businesspeople are expected to attend the event that will also highlight the Small Business of the Year and local businesses that have been inducted into the Business Hall of Fame.

Here is a complete list of the award winners:

Brice Harris—2010 Sacramentan of the Year
A lifetime community award given annually to a person who has made a significant contribution to the well being of our region over a long period of service

Chancellor Brice Harris is a champion of educational access for all students, an educator who has seriously engaged the business community and a visionary chancellor who has significantly increased the scope and standing of the Los Rios Community College District.

Over the last 15 years under Brice’s leadership, the colleges lept out of traditional boundaries. New satellite campuses were located to attract students who normally wouldn’t attend. The GreenForce Initiative created programs to prepare students for new jobs in the emerging green tech and clean energy fields. Most recently, construction completed on a regional performing arts center at Folsom Lake College will expand the school’s role, creating an arts venue for students, a training center for performance and stagecraft, and a facility to attract professional touring companies.

Perhaps Dr. Harris’ greatest achievement and legacy is the significant impact he has had on improved access for students attending community colleges. Under his tenure, the district has seen an increase in student enrollments of over 65% in twelve short years. Now, nearly one out of every ten adults in the region is attending one of the Los Rios colleges.

Noted by many for his warmth, wit and—a voice that should be bottled and sold—Brice has engaged with business and community leaders on many fronts that benefit the region, people and the economy.

Garry Maisel—Businessman of the Year
Given annually to a businessman to recognize contributions to the growth of their enterprise and community service over a five-year period

As founding president, Garry Maisel has shepherded Western Health Advantage from its start up 13 years ago to a nonprofit organization with $300 million in annual revenue, serving 4,000 local businesses and almost 80,000 employees and their families in the Sacramento region.

Despite the economy, WHA’s growth has accelerated and the organization is positioned well if health care reform is implemented. Garry is currently engaged in advocating for how new insurance exchanges are set up and is focusing on access to those for business owners.

But that’s only half the story. WHA is recognized as a quality provider of health care by the people it serves, again being rated California's No. 1 health plan for member satisfaction in the most recent survey conducted by the state's Office of the Patient Advocate.

Garry’s active work in the community extends to the arts, community development and professional nonprofits, including Mercy Foundation, Hope Productions and the California Association of Health Plans.

Claire Pomeroy, M.D., M.B.A.—Businesswoman of the Year
Given annually to a businesswoman to recognize contributions to the growth of their enterprise and community service over a five-year period

Claire Pomeroy is an infectious disease expert who leads the $1.5 billion UC Davis Health System, is dean of the School of Medicine, CEO of the UC Davis Health System and is credited with guiding major progress in health care.

With nearly 10,000 employees, over 750 students, $200 million in outside research funding and 900,000 outpatient visits each year, UC Davis Health System is a major contributor to the health care industry and economy of the Sacramento region.

Among major advancements, she has integrated the operations of the medical school and teaching hospital, advocated for advancing scientific discoveries to the marketplace and preparing physicians to practice in underserved rural communities. Claire leads an active research team studying viral infections and is a long-time advocate for patients with HIV/AIDS. She has a special interest in healthcare policy, and has guided efforts to advance electronic health records to improve health care. Active in the national arena, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Academic Health Centers, the Administrative Board of the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges and on many other boards.

Other awards to be given are:
• Al Geiger Memorial Award—Michele Steeb, St. John's Shelter Program for Women & Children
• Peter McCuen Award for Civic Entrepreneurs—Thomas W. Stallard, Rose Colored Glass Company
• Small Business of the Year—Lester Consulting Group
• Centennial Business Hall of Fame—North Sacramento Land Company
• Business Hall of Fame —The Firehouse Restaurant, Pacific Coast Building Products and Roebbelen Contracting, Inc.
• Volunteers of the Year—Michael Smith, A. Teichert & Son and Keri Thomas, Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region
• Ambassador of the Year—Kristi Beard, TelePacific Communications

For sponsorship information, contact Susan Harris at 916-321-9144 or sharris@metrochamber.org. To register online for the Annual Dinner, click here or contact Chantal LeFevre at 916-319-4260 or clefevre@metrochamber.org.

Sacramento Metro Chamber opposes city "crash tax" proposal

2011-01-25T21:30:47Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber opposes the adoption and implementation of accident/emergency response fees, otherwise known as the “crash tax” currently under consideration by the Sacramento City Council.

"The crash tax would assess nonresidents and residents differently, exceed the cost-based recovery of the actual services delivered or duplicate recovery already levied in taxes for those specific services," said Matthew Mahood, president & CEO.

There are many significant issues with these fees, not the least of which include:

• Insurance policies may not cover what a municipality charges
• Increased claim costs could lead to higher premiums
• The uninsured are given a free ride
• They create an incentive for municipalities to weight fault based on insurers’ claims practices
• They create an incentive to inflate billing
• They unfairly punish non-residents
• Potential for negative impacts to regional commerce

The current economic climate and state budget have led California’s cities, counties, and other municipalities to look enhanced revenue streams to cover the costs of emergency response. This is not a challenge unique to California but one faced by municipalities around the United States.

Various billing-service vendors have taken this opportunity to propose a solution: Enact an ordinance allowing for the billing of accident/emergency response fees. The fees are then billed through the liable parties’ insurance provider. These fees are typically focused on auto collisions, but sometimes include such incidents as structure fires and hazardous materials spills. In certain instances, the ordinance stipulates that the fee will only be charged to nonresidents.

Representing nearly 2,000 member businesses and business organizations in the six-county Sacramento region, the Metro Chamber serves as the region’s leading voice of business and is the leading proponent of regional cooperation on issues affecting business, economic development and quality of life.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Johnson presents agenda at State of the City

2011-01-21T02:24:41Z

In addition to breaking the news that former Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee would base her education group in Sacramento at Thursday’s State of the City address, Mayor Kevin Johnson also laid out his agenda for the environment, education and downtown development.

Johnson’s speech was the key draw of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s 19th annual event, held at the Sacramento Convention Center. The chamber’s communications director, Hal Silliman, said this year’s turnout of about 950 people set a record.

In remarks before Johnson’s speech, Metro Chamber Board Chair Gregory Eldridge commented on the poor economic environment in Sacramento, saying “many of our members continue to struggle.”

The economy was also central to Johnson’s comments on “Greenwise,” the regional environmental initiative he started last year. The initiative will focus on five objectives.

The first is a goal of bringing twice as many green jobs to the region by the year 2020, doubling the current 14,000 green jobs.

“Our signature projects, in my opinion, when it comes to the green sector, are game changers for our community,” Johnson said.

The mayor’s second goal is to remodel school buildings in an environmentally friendly manner in the next 10 years. Greenwise aims to refurbish 15 million square feet of existing school buildings in the region.

A third element of the plan is to encourage people to buy local food. The fourth priority is to advance energy innovations.

Johnson’s fifth environmental goal is for the region to launch a biofuels manufacturing sector.

“With all of the waste that we produce in our region, particularly around agriculture, we have a tremendous amount of raw material in which we can create biofuels,” he said.

“Everything we need is right here. So on the flip side of it, if every garbage truck, if every bus, if every vehicle, if every city, county and state fleet, runs on biofuel, we can create a market and satisfy it with just our purchasing power by us becoming consumers here in our community.”

On the education front, Johnson set a goal to bring all Sacramento third graders in the city up to grade level in reading.

“We are announcing an initiative today that we want to be the first city in the country that ensures that every child is reading on grade level by the third grade,” Johnson said.

The mayor also discussed his development agenda. He mentioned his desire to revitalize downtown and bring a new sports and entertainment arena there.

A task force studying four current proposals is likely to make an analysis public on Friday.

“I don’t want us to just limp through this (economic) crisis,” Johnson said. “I think if we look back to the history of our community, we know that we have a strong core in this community and we can do a lot of things to get our mojo back.”

Read the complete text of the Greenwise plan here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Mayor to make State of City address to 900+ business leaders

2011-01-20T01:59:54Z

How the Greenwise Sacramento initiative will further advance our leadership in the green economy; as well as Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's vision for how the city will overcome its many challenges while creating jobs and revitalizing the central core: That's what's on board at the Sacramento Metro Chamber's 19th Annual State of the City Address, Thursday, Jan. 20 at the Sacramento Convention Center.

“The City of Sacramento is focusing on creating momentum within the Green Economy,” said Matt Mahood, Metro Chamber president & CEO. “In many ways our region can showcase success in this industry as we continue to lead the way for other cities statewide. It’s the entrepreneurial spirit of business people that will continue to create a growing Green Economy and we look for local government to continue to support these efforts. Business and government must pull together to make smart fiscal choices that will create a solid economic position for 2011.”

Tickets for this event are sold out, but you can watch it streamed live on the internet thanks to sponsor KCRA Channel 3. Click here to view.

This event is presented by Umpqua Bank.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Local gov't. should join forces in operating, providing public services

2011-01-05T23:22:49Z

Citrus Heights Police Chief Christopher Boyd has suggested the region’s police and sheriff’s departments should share resources, and the Sacramento Bee agreed, editorializing that it should be a top priority among all of the six-county law enforcement bodies—and their locally elected officials.

Not only do I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment, I say: Why stop there?

The recent admission by the city of Sacramento that it will face a $90 million cashflow problem in the first half of 2011 should set off alarms across the region and open the dialogue among all interested jurisdictions to share services, facilities and personnel. In short, I’m talking about functional consolidation of city and county governments where appropriate.

What can be consolidated? It’s a question rich with investigatory possibilities for a special commission made up of business and public officials. By laying this kind of groundwork, it can help provide elected officials the cover and the will to call for functional consolidation. Indeed, we are waiting for at least the City of Sacramento and County of Sacramento to form a blue ribbon commission to explore where they can join forces to reduce the cost of services while improving them.

This idea came out of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s 2009 State of the Region forum. A whole year has passed, and while there are conversations among the city and county to join together their Animal Services department, nothing else has been announced.

And we don’t mean political consolidation or annexation or carving out new cities. It takes too long and conditions aren’t right for this kind of massive action. Functional consolidation can be done quickly—and without a campaign or necessary and expensive elections.

Our elected leaders should take notes from the business playbook. In the last three years, corporations and family businesses have cut back, changed their business models, found new places to partner up and learned to do more with less. They have in short become more competent and more competitive. Now, it’s government’s turn.

Matt Mahood is president & CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Police union revives strong mayor debate

2011-01-04T02:40:55Z

The local police union is reviving an effort to create a “strong mayor” form of government in the city, according to Det. Mark Tyndale, vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association.

Tyndale said in an interview on Monday that SPOA is “actively talking” to other groups on how to move an effort forward. SPOA is in discussions with the Sacramento Metro Chamber, Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 and the Sacramento 60, a group of powerful business leaders, Tyndale said.

Sacramento 60 and the Sacramento Metro Chamber backed last summer’s strong mayor proposal.

The City Council and interest groups for and against a strong mayor government fought bitterly over previous campaigns for a strong mayor system last year and in 2009. The city currently uses a city manager/city council form of government. A strong mayor system would move many of the city manager’s responsibilities to the mayor.

SPOA backs the July 2010 strong mayor plan, which is the most recent in a series of proposals.

Tyndale said he hopes the City Council will agree to place the strong mayor issue on the November 2011 ballot, if special elections for other issues are also taking place then. He explained that it is more cost-effective for the city to put it on the ballot with other election issues.

“What we want is real accountability,” Tyndale said, adding that a strong mayor system would make one person – the mayor – more responsible for his or her actions.

He also emphasized that the proposed government system would affect future mayors.

“This is way beyond Kevin Johnson,” he said.

If a new system is put into effect, it would probably affect Johnson in 2012, the final year of his current term, Tyndale said.

Tyndale pointed out that the strong mayor system proposed in July 2010 would have included a City Council president. If a strong mayor government were put into effect, Tyndale said he would want the City Council president to be new City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby.

Tyndale said the police union will try to persuade the City Council to put the July 2010 proposal on the November 2011 ballot. The July draft of the strong mayor proposal was written by third-party attorneys after the City Council blocked City Attorney Eileen Teichert from writing a draft in June 2010.

SPOA and other supporters will aim to advance the proposal through the City Council, Tyndale said, rather than through an initiative without the council’s support. However, he said SPOA and other strong mayor supporters would discuss the option of advancing the initiative without the City Council if that is the only option and if it can be accomplished legally.

Johnson and his supporters failed with the initiative approach last year. Bill Camp, executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, sued over the issue in December 2009 and stopped the proposal from advancing. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster decided in January 2010 that the initiative did not follow state law.

Johnson, who had led the strong mayor campaign in 2009 and 2010, abandoned it in July.

“There’s not enough appetite for council to put this on the ballot,” Johnson told reporters in July 2010. “I got that. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to quit fighting for reform.”

This time around, Johnson said he will not take a leading role in a campaign. “What I realize is, I don’t want this to be a distraction for all 2011,” he said at his weekly press conference on Dec. 28.

Meanwhile, Camp said Monday that voters need to decide if they want a council in which the mayor does not have a seat, he said. “People need to think it through,” he said.

Camp said that a new discussion of a strong mayor system needs to account for the need to change the number of City Council seats. The city would have to carve out nine new council districts under the strong mayor proposal. But the city already has to go through a redistricting process for its eight council districts this year, he said. This means there would be a second redistricting process if the strong mayor proposal goes into effect.

A second redistricting process would cost money, he said.

Tyndale acknowledged that the redistricting issue “does complicate things a little bit.”

However, Tyndale said that perhaps there could be a system set up for a couple years that consists of a strong mayor and eight council seats, instead of nine.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy was unavailable for comment on SPOA’s plans Monday afternoon.

Read a timeline of strong mayor events in 2009 and 2010.

Read the July 2010 proposal of the strong mayor plan here.

Photo of Det. Mark Tyndale by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Innovate: Connect to the new economy created by smart grid, sustainability

2010-11-16T01:43:27Z

Sacramento is one of the nation’s leaders in green technology innovation, clean technology application and sustainable community strategies. Where these sectors converge in our region will be explored at a new Sacramento Metro Chamber forum, Innovate 2010, set for Friday, Nov. 19 at the Hyatt Regency.

Innovate is designed to “connect the dots” between previously separate industries—from energy and telecom to home construction and consumer products. With new technologies emerging, the Sacramento region is uniquely positioned to leverage this convergence of industries to create jobs, advance sustainability and create an economic competitive advantage.

“We can no longer look to the public sector or to the construction industry to pull us out of this economic malaise,” said Matt Mahood, president & CEO. “In the new economy, technology and innovation combined with entrepreneurship and financial investment will nurture and grow this new convergence of ideas—creating new links among industry sectors for our region and in it, creating new jobs for our residents.”

Featured Speakers are Professor Andrew Hargadon, faculty director, UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship; and Jonathan Spalter, chairman, Mobile Futures. See video here of Hargadon speaking about four capital sources needed for innovation.

A panel on the “Business Case for Quality of Life—Health, Education, Housing and More” will include Sandy Kirschenmann, vice chancellor for resource planning with the Los Rios Community College District; Randall Lewis, sustainable communities expert for the Lewis Group of Companies and Mark Wilhelm of GE.

Innovate will be held 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., starting with a buffet lunch and followed by the featured speakers and the panel discussion. Register online here or contact Lindsey Ono at 916-319-4262 or lono@metrochamber.org.

The event will be preceded by a Greenwise Sacramento forum that will feature activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To register, call 916-808-7952.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Up at Tahoe, South Shore businesses are 'cautiously optimistic'

2010-11-10T17:26:25Z

Businesses expressed cautious optimism in the South Shore Lake Tahoe economy during a sampling conducted Nov. 4, in conjunction with various local organizations and jurisdictions

More than 130 businesses were visited by 41 participants during the South Shore Business Walk. The event was produced by the Sacramento Metro Chamber, El Dorado County Office of Economic Development, City of South Lake Tahoe and TahoeChamber.org,

“Overall, businesspeople reported business was holding strong, and the community is committed to capitalizing on future growth opportunities,” said Eugene Palazzo, Director of Redevelopment and Housing, city of South Lake Tahoe.

Three questions were asked: How’s business, what do you like about doing business on the South Shore, and what can be done to make business even better.

“Of course, what businesspeople like about being in South Lake Tahoe is the lifestyle,” said “B” Gorman, president and CEO of TahoeChamber.org. While a number of businesses commented on how much of their business was derived outside of the Basin and visitors, all commented on the sense of community and the benefits of being a part of this small community. There was a recognition and appreciation for the clients they serve on a daily basis as an advantage to having a business on the South Shore.”

To improve economic conditions, the business walk survey respondents stated that more new families are needed to move to the area, fewer restrictions on signage and fewer permits are all desirable, Gorman said. “Business people also addressed the need for improved promotion of the South Shore and transportation options for visitors and residents to move around the area.”

Survey results will be compiled in a report that will be available at metrochamber.org/businesswalks. The results will be reviewed by City and Tahochamber.org staff for follow-up here in the local community. For more information on business walks, contact Kennedy Cullen, business walk coordinator at 916-319-4277. For more information on local business resources please contact the City Economic Development department at 530-542-6000 or Tahoechamber.org at 775-588-1728.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber

State of Sacramento County event looks at global airline industry, airport

2010-11-09T00:47:32Z

Changes are coming to the commercial airline industry that will affect the region’s businesses. One of the nation’s leading commercial airline industry economic analysts, Bill Swelbar, is the featured speaker at the State of the Sacramento County event, hosted by the Sacramento Metro Chamber on Wednesday, Nov. 10.

Swelbar, a research engineer who advised Congress on the recent merger of Continental and United Airlines, will talk about the global airline industry and its impact on businesses and the Sacramento region.

Also speaking will be Chair of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors Roger Dickinson, Interim Sacramento County Executive Steven Szalay and Sacramento County Airport System Director Hardy Acree. The event will be held 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at the SacJet Hangar at Sacramento International Airport, 5885 Flightline Circle, Sacramento.

For more information, click here.

Photo: Artist's rendering of concessions at the new Terminal B, Sacramento International Airport.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Mayor to discuss Arden Arcade annexation

2010-11-04T23:28:04Z

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said Thursday that he wants to start discussing two controversial ideas in 2011: merging the city and county, and the city incorporating the community of Arden Arcade.

Johnson made his comments two days after voters rejected Measure D, a ballot measure to form a city of Arden Arcade.

Johnson said he did not know whether Arden Arcade residents would like to stay in the unincorporated county or join the city of Sacramento. But he added that he “would like to have a conversation with them.”

He mentioned that he did not support cityhood for Arden Arcade. “I think there’s a lot of reasons why being part of the city of Sacramento is a good thing,” Johnson said. He said he would explain his position next week.

Johnson also floated the idea of the city merging with the county to form a single government. In his comments, he indicated that a unified city and county government could better address issues such as unemployment and local government deficits.

“Are there things that (the city and county) can be doing better together?” he said. “I can’t tell you what that answer is. But why would we not, in earnest, have those conversations?”

The idea of merging the local governments is already generating controversy: A few hours after Johnson made his statements, the Sacramento Metro Chamber sent out a press release saying that it opposed a united city and county political body.

The Metro Chamber said it backs the idea of merging city and county functions, but not their political entities.

The chamber advocated for a united city and county in the early 1990s, the chamber statement said. But now, it supports linking city and county services and opposes the idea of a single political body, according to the news release.

Photo of Johnson by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Metro Chamber supports functional, not political consolidation of city, county services

2010-11-04T23:20:08Z

As the City and County of Sacramento continue to struggle to balance their budgets, and at the same time look for creative solutions to continue providing essential services, the Sacramento Metro Chamber remains supportive of the concept of functional consolidation of many services currently provided by both entities.

In 2007, on the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Study Mission to Charlotte, N.C., attendees saw firsthand how the City of Charlotte and the County of Mecklenburg successfully consolidated services 20 years ago. They were able to effectively do this without eliminating either city council or county commissioners.

Their services were divided between the two sets of political leadership. Then duplicative departments were consolidated along functional areas to maximize resources, better manage and eliminate costs and develop refined management expertise without duplicative administrative cost.

“Hard economic realities demand that businesses get lean, merge and consolidate to survive,” said Matt Mahood, president and CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber. “Just like the average citizen and employer has become creative to make it through the down economy, taxpayers should expect the same from local government during these tough economic times.”

In the early 1990s, the Metro Chamber spearheaded an unsuccessful effort to have political and functional consolidation of the city and county.

“Our efforts in the 1990s failed because politicians were able to stop the cost-containment efforts by the business community by protecting their political turf,” Mahood said. “In our vision—the vision we have been talking about since returning from Charlotte—cost-savings for local government comes from the consolidation of duplicative efforts and eliminating all wasted and duplicative money as soon as possible.”

The Metro Chamber looks forward to working with all stakeholders as it continues to search for a way to ensure the city and county can continue to provide essential services without wasting taxpayer dollars by having two sets of everything when one functionally consolidated set of services can serve the community.

Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Johnson backs school board candidates

2010-10-13T20:59:52Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced his picks for school board races on Wednesday.

He endorsed Andrea Corso for the Area 2 seat, which includes the Meadowview neighborhood; Shane Singh for Area 6, which includes the Pocket neighborhood; and Paige Powell for the Area 1 neighborhoods, which include Land Park.

Johnson praised the candidates at a press conference held at the Robbie Waters Pocket Greenhaven Library.

These candidates for the board of the Sacramento City Unified School District “understand that everything isn’t OK,” Johnson said. “And they don’t want business as usual.”

Corso is the deputy director of Stand Up, Johnson’s education non-profit. The group formed four years ago, but Johnson made it one of his priorities in 2009. Stand Up’s website says the group presses to improve troubled schools in the Sacramento area.

Johnson said that education efforts may not be in the job description for mayors, but education should be a top priority for them.

Singh, Corso and Powell believe that teachers should be evaluated with data and the education system should include charter schools, Johnson said.

Representatives from various groups, including the city’s police union and the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s political action committee, stood with Johnson at the press conference. Johnson said the groups were part of a coalition that supports the candidates for school board seats.

The entire slate of candidates for the three seats follows:

Area 1: David Ross, Paige Powell, Ellyne Bell

Area 2: Andrea Corso, Jeff Cuneo, Matthew Easley, Mary Hernandez

Area 6: Darrel Woo, Sharon Owens Thomas, Rob Gunn, Shane Singh, Robert Bartron

Read about the SCUSD forum held Tuesday here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Metro PAC endorses SCUSD candidates with vision for change

2010-10-13T20:04:08Z

Metro PAC, the Sacramento Metro Chamber political action committee, was joined by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson on Oct . 13 to announce the PAC’s support for candidates in the November 2 General Election for Sacramento City Unified School District Board seats.

Metro PAC is endorsing Paige Powell (Area 1), Andie Curso (Area 2) and Shalend Singh (Area 6).

“The Sacramento Metro Chamber has long held an interest in reforming SCUSD schools,” said Metro PAC Vice Chair Frank Washington of Crossings KBTV - Comcast Channel 238. “Our local businesses need qualified, skilled employees for the many jobs available to students after graduation from high school. And we need to send more of our local students on to community colleges and universities for training in the emerging technical fields to supply innovation industries.”

In particular, Washington said school reform is critically needed in grade schools because California school test scores show only 39 percent of third-grade students are reading at grade level in SCUSD schools.

“Compare that to Roseville, where 66 percent of their third-graders are reading at or above their grade level,” he said. “We have a desperate situation here in Sacramento. The candidates who Metro PAC has endorsed—Paige Powell, Andie Curso and Shalend Singh—we believe will provide the quality guidance the SCUSD school board needs right to help our children succeed in school now and in the workplace years later.”

For more information on Metro PAC, click here.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is the Communictions Director for Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Hot business walk: More than 1,200 visits made

2010-10-01T19:12:13Z

Billed as the largest Business Walk in the nation, nearly 300 business people along with representatives of local chambers of commerce and public agencies, Sept. 30, swarmed out across 105 commercial corridors to ask a simple question: How’s business?

The answers given were upbeat and positive about the future.

In heat that felt like summer, more than 1,200 businesses had been visited, according to Matt Yancey, director of development for the Sacramento Metro Chamber. An official tally will be made soon, along with a report of the Business Walk findings, but several officials called it “the largest in the nation.”

Of course, how business is depends on the business doing the talking. Barbara Moore, co-owner of the family run Vannelli Foods in Placer County’s Sunset industrial park, is looking to hire dozen new workers to meet the demands of new deals to supply grocery chains with the company’s high-quality raviolis. What the company needs, Moore said, is additional electric power, plant space and working capital.

Just across the street from the ravioli plant, is Extra Innings, a franchise sports facility in the Sunset industrial park, where business has been slower than usual—but during the winter—it’s reservations only and baseball fans are turned away, said Barbara Bonnin, an employee.

“When it rains, we’re packed,” Bonnin said.

Taking notes on all this were business walkers Placer County associate planner Alex Fisch and area newcomer and jobseeker herself former project manager Michelle Thomas. They made up one of nearly 100 teams of two and three people for the day representing—in the words of Placer County Economic Development Director Dave Snyder, “an unprecedented partnership and collaboration on a grand scale.” That grand scale included representatives from Granite Bay area, city of Rocklin, Rocklin Area Chamber of Commerce, city of Lincoln, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, city of Roseville, Roseville Chamber of Commerce, Placer County and the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

The Business Walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion. Since 2007, this international award-winning strategy—called Metro Pulse—has logged face-to-face contacts of more than 5,000 businesses. In 2009, the Metro Chamber assisted its partners on five Business Walks, and currently the 2010 schedule will double that figure.

Snyder addressed the 300 who joined up in the morning at William Jessup University, telling them their volunteer work “trumpets a powerful message to potential and existing businesses alike—South Placer County is open for business.”

Or as Rocklin Mayor Scott Yuill said, “For those of who say government doesn’t work for you—your work today proves them all wrong.”

Called the fundamental outreach strategy at the core of the region’s efforts to support existing businesses, the Metro Pulse partnership is made up of 16 economic development agencies and partners in the six-county region. During the visitation, three questions are asked: how’s business, what do you like about doing business here, and how can business be improved.

The afternoon wrap-up session—when all 300 participants regrouped at Thunder Valley Casino to go over their findings—found that “although in most cases, businesses was down to varying degree, to a business, they all said they were positive and upbeat about the future,” reported Snyder.

Indeed, no matter the locale—Granite Bay, Rocklin, Roseville, Lincoln or the Sunset industrial pocket—businesses reported being very happy with their location, happier with the fact that most people worked near where they live and impressed by the friendliness of customer and their loyalty.

Hal Silliman is the Communictions Director for Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Arden Arcade business conditions get surveyed tomorrow

2010-09-23T20:53:09Z

Businesses in Arden Arcade will be surveyed Friday, Sept. 24, during the annual Arden Arcade Business Walk to check on local economic conditions.

The Business Walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion. Since 2007, this international award-winning strategy—called Metro Pulse—has logged face-to-face contacts of nearly 5,000 businesses. In 2009, the Metro Chamber assisted its partners on five Business Walks, and currently the 2010 schedule will double that figure.

More than 40 participants are scheduled to visit more than 100 businesses along nine commercial corridors in the Arden Arcade district. Joining together to conduct the walk are the Arden Arcade Business Council, Fulton Avenue Association, Sacramento Metro Chamber and the county of Sacramento.

Participants go into businesses of all kinds—retail, office, industrial, commercial—and ask three questions: how’s business, what do you like about doing business here and what needs to be improved. What they hear immediately gets to economic development staff that can help with issues that arise.

The Business Walk begins with a 7:30 a.m. orientation session and breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express/Cal Expo, 2224 Auburn Blvd, Sacramento. The walk commences at 9 a.m. and concludes with a wrap-up session and lunch back at the hotel.

Business people are encouraged to participate to gain relationships and contacts in the area. For event day information, contact Matt Yancey, Metro Chamber director of economic development, at 916-317-3748.

Hal Silliman is director of communications for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Upcoming So. Placer Business Walk: One day, 1000+ businesses

2010-09-16T23:19:31Z

South Placer County leaders are inviting businesspeople and others to attempt an amazing feat: In one day, help visit more than 1,000 businesses during a massive Business Walk on Thursday, Sept. 30, to check on local business conditions.

The Business Walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion. Since 2007, this international award-winning strategy—called Metro Pulse—has logged face-to-face contacts of more than 5,000 businesses. In 2009, the Sacramento Metro Chamber assisted its partners on five Business Walks, and currently the 2010 schedule will double that figure.

More than 200 participants will visit five different locales, joining others from the Granite Bay area, city of Rocklin , Rocklin Area Chamber of Commerce, city of Lincoln , Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, city of Roseville , Roseville Chamber of Commerce and Placer County , in partnership with the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

“Business Walks help us to keep our finger on the pulse of the business community throughout Placer County ,” said Dave Snyder, Placer County director of economic development. “We’re always looking for ways to improve the business climate and this kind of outreach is an important opportunity to learn how we can help employers to better succeed in the marketplace.”

The day begins at 9:30 a.m. with an orientation session at William Jessup University, 333 Sunset Blvd., Rocklin, participants break into teams and spend three hours visiting businesses. A wrap-up session with refreshments where teams report their findings concludes the day at Thunder Valley Casino, 1200 Athens Ave., Lincoln.

Business people are encouraged to participate to gain relationships and contacts in the area. There is no charge to participate. Register online here.

Disclosure Note: Hal Silliman is the Communictions Director for Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Metro Chamber study mission to mine Seattle for ideas

2010-09-14T20:34:35Z

Sixty business and civic leaders are looking to Seattle for ideas from how to fix up the waterfront, more readily turn academic research into new local businesses and become a greener city, during the annual Sacramento Metro Chamber Study Mission, Sept. 15-17.

This is the second Study Mission to Seattle. The Metro Chamber’s first Study Mission 12 years ago visited the Pacific Northwest city, looking for ideas on downtown core renaissance, transportation and art and cultural amenities. Over the last dozen years, Study Missions have visited other cities like Atlanta, Ga; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Denver, Colo; Cincinnati, Ohio; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Antonio, Texas; and San Diego.

Seattle is at the forefront of all things green. During the past two years, Seattle has ranked among the best U.S. cities for the size of its carbon footprint by the Brookings Institution and has been called one of the country's cleanest cities by Forbes magazine.

“With extended, rapid, consistent and quality growth, the Seattle region has one of the strongest local economies in the nation,” said Matt Mahood, president and CEO. “The 2010 Study Mission explores how sectors of this economic powerhouse have been nurtured and developed by formidable public-private cooperation.”

Study topics also include affordable regional health care programs, creating a strong downtown core, building and supporting entertainment and sports amenities, economic development, farm-to-table, sustainable social services and more.

“The city of Seattle and the greater region have capitalized on their location and quality-of-life to attract a strong, creative workforce,” Mahood said. “This has resulted in Seattle having an unparalleled sense of place and amazing innovation. We are looking forward to bringing back their best practices for the opportunities that face us here in Sacramento.”

For more information, visit www.metrochamber.org/studymission.

Survey finds Metro Chamber businesses sustain themselves in current economy

2010-09-09T16:45:40Z

A survey of Sacramento Metro Chamber members for the first half of 2010 shows that the region’s businesspeople are sustaining themselves and believe that economic conditions will improve next year.

Two-thirds of the survey respondents cited the perception of a weak business climate and the state’s ongoing budget crisis as the key issues impacting the economy right now.

“The uncertain business climate created by negative headlines and the lack of a state budget make it hard for businesses to plan for the future,” said Matt Mahood, president & CEO.

With more than 10 percent of members responding, the Metro Chamber’s survey on the economy found that businesses seem to be sustaining themselves by making wise decisions that keep their doors open while eliminating risk, Mahood said.

Five key findings were:

• There was about a 50-50 split between those business whose profits were static or up and those whose profits had declined in the first half of the year.
• Two-thirds were planning on maintaining their current employment levels over the next six months.
• More than half said business conditions were “fair.”
• Fewer businesses than last year were planning on delaying capital expenditures.
• Nearly two-thirds saw no change in business conditions, but nearly half said they would improve next year.

An added question for the 2010 survey asked members about their own personal finances. Nearly two-thirds reported delaying purchases of durable goods (excluding autos) while 30 percent said they delayed purchasing an auto.

“The upside of these reports on delays in purchases means that there is a growing future demand for goods in our economy,” Mahood said.

Metro Chamber announces statewide ballot proposition endorsements

2010-09-08T23:35:46Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber announces recommendations on eight important statewide ballot propositions appearing on the Nov. 2 ballot, with decisions framed by each initiative’s impact on how they will create a consistent and stable business environment for building jobs and prosperity.

These positions were developed after research and investigation by a special chamber Task Force. Its recommendations were forwarded to the chamber’s Executive Committee for vote and then to the entire 76-member board for ultimate adoption.

“We have carefully considered each proposition, making sure that our stance is consistent with our declared Guiding Principles and previous positions,” said Matt Mahood, president & CEO. “We don’t rubber stamp proposed legislation. Our positions are developed and sustained over many years and take into account our active state legislative positions and our federal policies adopted during our annual Capitol-to-Capitol Program.”

Support
• Proposition 20 - Redistricting of Congressional Districts. Initiative Constitutional Amendment

This measure is consistent with previous Metro Chamber positions, specifically Proposition 11 in 2008, and expanding the scope of work of the Citizens Redistricting Commission to include Congressional Districts is appropriate. By doing so, it will help ensure the most competitive districts feasible.

• Proposition 22 - Prohibits the State from Taking Funds Used for Transportation or Local Government Projects and Services. Initiative Constitutional Amendment

It is important to protect local government funding (including transportation funds) from raids by the legislature. This measure will ensure the nexus from which state funds are raised to how they will be spent in the outlined measures for state transportation bonds, state fuel tax revenues, redevelopment agency property taxes and vehicle license fee (VLF).

Oppose
• Proposition 19 - Regulate Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010: Changes California Law to Legalize Marijuana and Allow It to Be Regulated and Taxed. Initiative Statute

This measure is not in the business communities’ best interest for either public safety or workplace safety, and in many work environments it could degrade operational safety.
• Proposition 23 - Suspends Air Pollution Control Laws Requiring Major Polluters to Report and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions That Cause Global Warming Until Unemployment Drops Below Specified Level for Full Year. Initiative Statute

The Metro Chamber is on the record, for the past three years, supporting the general concepts represented in AB 32. Additionally, our continued advocacy for a balanced approach and implementation of AB 32 is more in line with our stated Capitol-to-Capitol Program polices in the areas of air quality and climate change.

• Proposition 24 - Repeals Recent Legislation That Would Allow Businesses to Carry Back Losses, Share Tax Credits, and Use a Sales-Based Income Calculation to Lower Taxable Income. Initiative Statute

Opposition to this measure is important in an effort to retain and recruit employers to the state of California. To do this, it will remain important for employers to be able to deduct losses in one year against income in more situations, and rather than making this option more restrictive, we must continue to allow most multistate businesses the ability to choose to have their California income determined based only on a single sales factor and provide the flexibility for a business to be able to share its tax credits with related businesses.

• Proposition 25 - Changes Legislative Vote Requirement to Pass a Budget from Two Thirds to a Simple Majority. Retains Two-Thirds Vote Requirement for Taxes. Initiative Constitutional Amendment

It is important that the Legislature’s vote requirement to send an annual budget bill to the Governor remain unchanged. The Metro Chamber believes that given the current make-up of the Legislature, this requirement is needed to provide a business-friendly budget.

• Proposition 27 - Eliminates State Commission on Redistricting. Consolidates Authority for Redistricting With Elected Representatives. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute

This measure is inconsistent with past Metro Chamber positions (Proposition 11 in 2008, which the Metro Chamber supported). The responsibility to determine district boundaries of State and Congressional districts (see Prop. 20 above) should remain with the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission established in 2008. By keeping the authority with the Commission, it will help ensure the most competitive districts feasible and will ensure that voters in “communities of interest,” as defined in Proposition 11, are fairly represented.

No Position
• Proposition 21 - California Proposition 21, Vehicle License Fee for Parks (2010)

There’s not a legitimate nexus between the VLF fee and funding of parks and wildlife conservation. The state parks and wildlife conservation programs should continue to be funded through existing state and local funding sources. Patrons accessing state parks should continue to be charged admission and parking fees as they enter state parks. The erosion of nexus between tax collection and use has contributed to the current state of fiscal imbalance and voter frustration. Additionally, there are no protections that these funds, once established, could not be raided by the State Legislature for other purposes.

Rep. Lungren to meet Arden Arcade business leaders Sept. 9

2010-09-07T22:39:13Z

Third District Congressman Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, will brief Arden Arcade business and civic leaders Thursday, Sept. 9, on issues and pending legislation that will impact the business community.

Rep. Lungren will attend the monthly Arden Arcade Meet & Greet/Arden Arcade Business Council meeting, set for 8-9:30 a.m. at the Sacramento Metro Chamber office, One Capitol Mall, Suite 300, Sacramento.

“We are pleased that Congressman Lungren will share his insights with our member businesses,” said Dion Dwyer, vice president of membership. “This is one of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s signature functions: To provide an opportunity for businesspeople to share with elected officials what they need to grow jobs and their businesses.”

The monthly AABC meetings are open to all who do business or have interest in the Arden Arcade district. The AABC is a committee of the Sacramento Metro Chamber. In upcoming months, Assemblymember Roger Niello and Sacramento County Supervisor Susan Peters will speak to the council about needs in the Arden Arcade business community.

To attend the meeting, register online here or contact Robert Welton at 916-319-4268 or rwelton@metrochamber.org.

Leadership Sacramento program to receive ‘Business Hero’ award

2010-09-01T17:23:43Z

For the second time this year, the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Leadership Sacramento program will be honored for its positive impact on the community.

Lilliput Children’s Services will name Leadership Sacramento the organization’s “Business Hero” during its 30th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Sept. 11, at the California Museum.

“This outstanding recognition befits Leadership Sacramento’s mission of cultivating well-informed, compassionate leaders who are not only in touch with the needs of the community, but who also understand the impact that can be made when businesses collaborate to benefit a common cause,” said 2010 Leadership Sacramento Chair Michael Smith of Teichert.

Founded in 1985, Leadership Sacramento is a program of the Sacramento Metro Chamber that develops community-minded business and civic leadership. This year-long interactive program provides a behind-the-scenes view of the issues that impact the region’s economic prosperity, quality of life and culminates in the completion of a community project. Currently, there are more than 900 alumni of the program.

The 2008 Leadership Sacramento Class project benefitted Lilliput Children’s Services, with the class raising more than $200,000 in cash and in-kind support for the nonprofit organization’s Kinship Support Services Program.

Leadership Sacramento earned the “People Helping People Award” from the Community Services Planning Council earlier this year for the 2009 Class Project that benefitted Big Brothers Big Sisters of Sacramento, including support of the SPORTS BIGS program. This program provides special opportunities for adults to help build mentoring friendships through the use of sporting events that may have otherwise been out of reach for the child.

The 2011 Leadership Sacramento class marks the 25th year of the program. Applications are currently open and available at metrochamber.org/leadershipsacramento. Contact Shirley Kwan Smith for more details at 916-321-1946 or ssmith@metrochamber.org.

Local leaders discuss regional sustainability

2010-08-28T01:06:35Z

Local leaders in the fields of politics, business and environmentalism gathered in Sacramento on Friday to brainstorm how the region could advance its efforts to become more economically and environmentally sustainable.

The Sacramento Metro Chamber’s “State of the Region” event focused on sustainability in the area’s communities.

Chamber spokesman Hal Silliman said more than 300 people attended the event, which was held at the Hyatt hotel downtown and included a panel of local leaders and a presentation from an Environmental Protection Agency analyst. Elected officials from around the region — including Davis, Sacramento, Folsom and Citrus Heights — listened to the panel.

Matthew Dalbey, a senior policy analyst with the EPA, told the audience the Sacramento area is renowned for its “Blueprint,” which serves as a guide on sustainable regional planning.

The “blueprint” was approved in 2004 by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.

“You all know that the ‘blueprint’ is looked on as a model for communities across the country,” Dalbey said.

Still, Dalbey urged regional leaders to ramp up their efforts.

“In order to keep on keeping on, you’re going to have to do things better,” he said.

Specifically, Dalbey asked the region to consider how its sustainable planning process can improve the economic, environmental and public health situation of rural communities and small towns.

In the discussion that followed Dalbey’s comments, panelist and West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon countered Dalbey’s statement that the region should do a better job.

Cabaldon said he becomes frustrated with the federal government agencies working on sustainability efforts “because it seems like they’re so slow.”

He said the area’s leaders should press the federal government to move more quickly to fund the region’s sustainable projects.

Scott Syphax, another speaker on the five-member panel, said the banking industry needs to lend money to sustainable projects.

“The banking spigot is still fairly closed,” he said. To put Sacramento and the region back to work, "we’ve got to turn that back on.”

Syphax is the chief executive of the Nehemiah Corporation of America, a community group based in Sacramento. The group launched in 1994 “for the purpose of promoting homeownership and economic development for under-served populations and communities,” according to its website.

Meanwhile, City Councilman Kevin McCarty noted that the city of Sacramento earlier this month joined an effort with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the county and Valley Vision to apply for $1.85 million in grant money through the federal Sustainable Communities Initiative.

Photo of Syphax and Cabaldon by Tia Gemmell

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

State of the Region Forum to examine strategy to reconnect our communities

2010-08-20T16:09:39Z

Since the end of World War II, our fast-growing population led us to implement “modern” land use planning that included sprawling new suburban neighborhoods, super commutes by automobile and ultimately disjointed communities—miles from where we work, live, shop or play.

The challenge in the 21st century of reconnecting our neighborhoods will be assisted by the new federal Sustainable Communities Initiative, or SCI. Before dismissing it as some bureaucratic scheme, I mention that it’s based upon grassroots work that started in communities all across America. One of the most successful and widely respected efforts began in our own backyard and has become a national model.

In 2001, the Sacramento Metro Chamber called for an “over-arching strategy that promotes quality of growth,” asking, “What legacy do we leave our grandchildren?” Chamber leaders voiced what many business leaders felt—that a process was needed “to engage people in the hands-on task of deciding where business, homes and offices should be...”

This was the business community’s initiation of the successful Blueprint land use planning process. Like others across the nation—Sustainable Minnesota and Envision Utah—Blueprint brought together residents, politicians and business people into a process of deciding how they want their communities to look.

Now these successful local strategies have been adopted by federal housing, transportation and environmental protection agencies, which have created a grant program to foster “sustainable communities.” And because our region has been out front nationally, we are well positioned to compete for federal grants to help integrate where people live, how they get to work and all aspects of life—business, education, health, recreation and more. SCI holds many opportunities for the region—given our recognized status as one of the nation’s leaders in land use and transportation planning and regional collaboration.

The State of the Region Forum on Friday, August 27, at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento will explore how we can successfully implement sustainable strategies throughout the region to improve our economy and quality of life. By attending, you can understand SCI and how to better position yourself and your business to be more competitive in the future. Register here.

Metro Pulse receives international award for high impact to region's businesses

2010-08-17T16:51:47Z

The region’s Metro Pulse program, managed by the Sacramento Metro Chamber, today received international acclaim for its impact in promoting success and growth of Sacramento’s region’s businesses.

At the Business Retention & Expansion International Conference being held in New Orleans, Metro Pulse was given the BR&E Project/Program Impact Award, in part for its high-volume outreach effort.

Over the last three years, Metro Pulse has conducted nearly 5,000 business visits and business walks where economic development and business officials meet directly with owners and managers of retail, commercial, service and manufacturing businesses of all sizes.

In the award citation, Metro Pulse program was recognized for being “truly innovative,” with significant impacts that include follow-up information for each visited businesses; a high level of knowledge mobilization and implementation of successful strategies across local government boundaries; and the new partnerships formed and developed resulting in increased efficiencies, cost reductions, and service increases.

“Metro Pulse is a unique private-public partnership,” said Michael Faust, Sacramento Metro Chamber senior vice president of public policy and economic development while accepting the award on behalf of the program’s strategic partners. “High impact is achieved by bringing together business people and public sector officials. Metro Pulse helps identify and solve business challenges, helps them overcome those challenges, thus contributing to the region’s prosperity.”

As managing partner, the Sacramento Metro Chamber provides support and operations for Metro Pulse’s strategic partners, made up of economic development agencies, organizations and sponsors in the six-county region. They include Applied Development Economics, City of Folsom, City of Lincoln, City of Rancho Cordova, City of Roseville, City of Sacramento, City of West Sacramento, Sacramento County, El Dorado County, Los Rios Community College District, PG&E, Placer County, SETA, SMUD and Yolo County.

“PG&E recognizes the importance of supporting regional efforts such as Metro Pulse, and appreciates the added value it has had on the overall experience of our customers,” said Clay Schmidt, PG&E energy solutions and service manager, Sacramento region.

Among successes counted by program include a Metro Pulse professional discovering that a local metal fabricating company being charged the wrong utility rate, working with the utility to correct the error and identify other cost savings; assisting a printing company with hiring and developing a business plan; informing an equipment company that it was in an enterprise zone and help it qualify for EZ tax credits; and helping a tools company work through the maze of pending permits in an area soon to be annexed.

“The power of Metro Pulse is the face-to-face contact,” Faust said. “Most business owners or managers don’t get the chance to deal with permitting issues or utility concerns in a face-to-face meeting. Metro Pulse solves this challenge—and dilemma—by having the economic development professional walk into their business. That professional then becomes a quarterback for the business.”

Metro Pulse also helped the region quantify the impact on the local economy of the health care and biosciences industry. In 2009, Metro Pulse reported that health care and biosciences industry cluster had a $33.5 billion economic impact in the Sacramento metro area, supporting 240,000 employees whose salaries are 20 percent of the region’s payroll—based upon 2007 statistics.

Organized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber in 2007, Metro Pulse embodies the belief by the chamber that business and public agencies can work together for the good of all. One of the most visible activities of Metro Pulse are the annual Business Walks conducted in neighborhoods, districts, cities and county locales. Volunteer business people teamed up with public sector officials visit businesses to survey business conditions and where improvements can be made. In the last two years, visits have been made to Arden Arcade, Broadway area (city of Sacramento), El Dorado Hills, Power Inn Road area, Placerville, Rancho Cordova Rocklin, Shingle Springs/Cameron Park, West Sacramento and Woodland.

“Business Walks are a valuable benefit to Sacramento County,” said Jim Pardun, a manager in the Department of Economic Development. “The county doesn’t have a business retention program per se, but through Metro Pulse and the Business Walks, we hear directly from businesses about their needs. For instance, we heard that the big shopping areas in Arden Arcade needed expanded sheriff’s patrols during the holidays, so we added the “Grinch Patrol” to reduce thefts, auto burglaries and pan-handling.”

Added Ted Gaebler, city manager for Rancho Cordova, “The city of Rancho Cordova understands that one of the strengths of our community is the diverse and thriving job base. One of the best ways to build relationships and introduce ourselves to the business community is through the Metro Pulse Business Walk model.”

For more information on Metro Pulse, contact Michael Faust at 916-321-9115.

Photo: Business Walk participants visit Edible Arrangements in Arden Arcade during the 2009 event; the next Business Walk in Arden Arcade is Sept. 24. A large, multi-jurisdiction Business Walk in South Placer County will be held Sept. 30. Participants are wanted and can register online here.

Some city leaders oppose measure to halt global warming law

2010-08-14T00:33:33Z

Some Sacramento City Council members say the city could be harmed if voters halt California’s global warming law in November.

A handful of council members have publicly opposed Proposition 23, a ballot measure that would block state regulations relating to global warming.

Backers of Prop. 23 want to freeze AB 32, the state’s global warming law, arguing that it hurts businesses in California. When the state’s unemployment rate drops to 5.5 percent or lower over four continuous quarters, AB 32 would go into effect again, the ballot measure states. The title of the measure is the “California Jobs Initiative.”

The state’s unemployment rate was 12.3 percent in June, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

AB 32 is a 2006 law aimed at cutting greenhouse gases in the state. The authors of the law were Former Assembly Fabian Nunez and Fran Pavley, an assemblywoman in 2006 who is now a state senator.

City Councilman Steve Cohn is strongly opposed to Prop. 23.

The economic development strategies at the city and regional levels are focused on green jobs, Cohn said. And the city benefits from being the capital of a state that is a leader in environmental regulation and values green jobs, he added.

“In Sacramento, in particular, we’re very well-positioned to take advantage of growth in that sector,” Cohn said.

The City Council will take a position on Prop. 23 at an upcoming meeting, Cohn said.

But supporters of Prop. 23 take an opposite view, arguing that complying with AB 32’s rules will be too expensive for businesses.

Texas oil companies Valero and Tesoro are two of the measure’s key financial backers. Other contributors to the Yes on 23 campaign include the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a committee of the California Trucking Association and a Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association committee.

Hal Silliman, spokesman for the Sacramento Metro Chamber, said the chamber has not yet taken a position on Prop. 23.

The Sacramento County Taxpayers League is supporting the measure. Craig Powell, a vice president with the group, said AB 32 will result in higher energy costs for businesses and rising electricity bills for residents.

“It’s the worst thing we can do right now for our local economy and local recovery,” he said.

The Yes on 23 campaign contends that billions of dollars in extra costs will come from AB 32 regulations.

Meanwhile, the city’s Law and Legislation Committee, which makes recommendations to the City Council, agreed earlier this month to ask the council to oppose Prop. 23. Cohn and council members Sandy Sheedy, Robbie Waters and Lauren Hammond sit on the committee. Waters, Sheedy and Cohn made their recommendation to the full City Council; Hammond was absent from the Aug. 5 Law and Legislation meeting.

Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilman Kevin McCarty have also said they oppose the measure. Johnson is leading a regional environmental effort dubbed “Greenwise Sacramento.”

Learn more about AB 32 here. Read about the position of the Yes on Prop. 23 campaign here.

Photo of Councilman Steve Cohn by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Local transportation projects winning fed grants are Cap-to-Cap priorities

2010-08-03T17:51:33Z

Two local transportation projects that were part of the Sacramento Metro Chamber 2010 Capitol-to-Capitol advocacy program have received Congressional funding.

The city of Sacramento will receive $500,000 for improvements to the Sacramento Valley Station. The funds will help construct access for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists for the Amtrak, Capitol Corridor, light rail and bus station.

The county of Sacramento will receive $400,000 to upgrade the Highway 50 interchange at Watt Avenue, where the initial segment of a bus rapid transit system will be installed, linking it with light rail and making the congested area safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. The announcements were made by Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento.

“Beyond the jobs the actual construction projects create, these improvements will increase mobility by connecting many different transportation modes and, in the long run, help to improve the quality of life in our region,” said Michael Faust, Metro Chamber senior vice president for public policy and economic development. “These two projects have been part of the Metro Chamber’s ongoing Capitol-to-Capitol advocacy efforts. The federal grant process is increasingly competitive, and our region’s success is due to efforts of project specialists and the efforts of more than 300 business and government leaders each year who participate in the Cap-to-Cap program.”

The Sacramento Valley Station and the Highway 50/Watt Avenue interchange projects were identified by the Cap-to-Cap transportation team delegation as the region’s highest federal funding priorities, and their inclusion in the House-approved fiscal year 2011 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Bill reflects the Cap-to-Cap program’s success in fostering regional collaboration to secure federal funds for Sacramento’s six-county, 22-city region.

View the Metro Chamber’s advocacy papers on 2010 Cap-to-Cap transportation issues here.

Arizona: Groups continue to protest Sac City Council

2010-08-03T03:05:01Z

Two local groups continue to protest the Sacramento City Council more than one month after the council decided to boycott Arizona companies.

One of the groups, Boycott Sacramento, is intentionally avoiding local businesses in response to the council’s sanctions on Arizona businesses.

Another group, Recall Sacramento, is saying it will attempt to remove certain council members from office. However, Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said the group has not yet officially started the recall process.

The groups formed after the City Council decided June 15 to dispute Arizona’s new immigration laws by boycotting that state’s companies. The council passed the boycott in a 6-1 vote, with council members Steve Cohn and Lauren Hammond absent, and Robbie Waters voting in opposition.

The City Council stepped outside the court system when it decided to boycott Arizona, said Gerald Klaas, organizer of Boycott Sacramento.

“It’s a step toward mob rule,” Klaas said.

Arizona’s new law states that police officers must investigate a person’s immigration status if they think he or she is an undocumented immigrant. Officers must examine immigration status during “enforcement of any law or ordinance of a county, city or town” in Arizona, the law also states.

But a new federal court ruling on Arizona’s law could complicate the Sacramento City Council’s protest. Parts of Arizona’s law were stalled last week by a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton, who deemed them to be unconstitutional, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The implications of the ruling on Sacramento’s boycott of Arizona are unclear at this point. Matt Ruyak, a supervising deputy city attorney in Sacramento, said the city attorney’s office is now analyzing Bolton’s ruling.

At the same time, city staff is still assessing the dollar amount of the business it does with Arizona companies, said city spokeswoman Amy Williams.

Meanwhile, Klaas, a Sacramento County resident, said he estimates that Boycott Sacramento has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost business to companies within the city limits. He said he based his estimate on e-mails from people who said they did not buy large-ticket items in Sacramento because of the city’s boycott of Arizona.

The Boycott Sacramento Facebook page has 3,474 fans, but groups of three and four people showed up at July protests at City Hall, according to the Meetup.com website.

Klaas said he and his wife estimate they are not spending about $400 per month at Sacramento businesses.

Boycott Sacramento is not related to Recall Sacramento, a group organized by Republican congressional candidate Paul Smith.

The Sacramento City Council is not “pro-business, pro-jobs in any stretch of the imagination,” Smith said. “When they elected to sanction another state, it was none of their business to do that considering the mess the city’s in.”

Asked if his effort was a self-serving move for his congressional campaign, Smith said it is “imperative” that he show the community in his district that he is concerned about Sacramento businesses.

“I don’t want to take over a district in December that’s all boarded-up downtown because all the business was driven out,” he said.

Smith said the group aims to recall council members Rob Fong and Steve Cohn first, but that his group may also try to kick out Mayor Kevin Johnson and council members Bonnie Pannell, Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty. Supporters of an effort to recall the Sacramento City Council are upset with Fong and Cohn more than the other members, Smith said. Fong is ignoring voters, Smith claimed, and Cohn did not vote on the Arizona issue.

The group will not try to recall council members Ray Tretheway, Lauren Hammond or Robbie Waters because they are leaving office, he said.

Mark Williams, the Tea Party Express’ former controversial spokesman, made remarks at a recent Recall Sacramento protest, Smith said, but Williams has “baggage,” and the group does not consider him to be a member. Williams’ statements on a July blog drew widespread media attention.

Smith said about 2,000 people have signed up on the Recall Sacramento website.

Cohn said Smith’s Recall Sacramento group was a publicity campaign. “In my case, he can’t do it legally until next June,” Cohn said. “It’s a waste of time to even talk about it.”

RE Graswich, Johnson’s spokesman, said there is nothing to comment on until the group provides documentation of its recall.

Councilman Rob Fong did not return phone calls Monday afternoon.

Mizuno said Recall Sacramento’s campaign has not begun the recall process. “Right now, there’s a lot of talk, but no one seems to be doing anything,” Mizuno said.

The Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce opposed the boycott of Arizona companies. In a June 1 letter to Mayor Kevin Johnson, Chamber President Matt Mahood raised concerns that a boycott on Sacramento businesses could take place if the City Council boycotts Arizona. Read the Chamber’s letter here.

Photo of Paul Smith by Kathleen Haley. Photos of Sacramento City Council members by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Metro Chamber applauds member Intel for health care venture with GE

2010-08-03T00:12:26Z

The announcement this week that Intel Corp. and General Electric Co. will create a joint venture health care company in the Sacramento area further confirms a Sacramento Metro Chamber study that found existing health care industries in the region will serve as a catalyst for new business development.

By uniting Intel’s Digital health Group and GE Healthcare’s Home Health division, the two companies will be innovating by creating new models of care delivery that promote healthy, independent living at home and in assisted living communities around the world, focusing on three major segments: chronic disease management, independent living and assistive technologies. Intel Corp has been a Metro Chamber member since 1984.

In initially employing 100 people, the join Intel-GE venture will contribute to a health care and biosciences cluster that supports more than 240,000 employees in the region, according to the Metro Chamber Health Care & Biosciences Economic Impact Report of 2009.

The impact report found that in 2007, the health care and biosciences industry cluster had a $33.5 billion economic impact in the Sacramento metro area. Businesses in this cluster directly employ more than 120,000 people and industry purchases and employee spending supports an additional 121,000 additional jobs.

“One out of five payroll dollars in the metro area is related to the health care and biosciences sector,” said Michael Faust, Sacramento Metro Chamber senior vice president for public policy and economic development. “With Intel and GE combining forces, the health care and biosciences sector is continuing to show strength and grow as it meets the needs of an aging population. We welcome this new venture to the region.”

Visit Health Care Impact Report PDF to view complete details of the Metro Chamber study.

Strengths guru Marcus Buckingham and Chef Jeff Henderson added to Metro Chamber's Perspectives lineup

2010-07-23T16:31:15Z

Two acclaimed speakers set for Perspectives 2010 approach career excellence from diametrically opposed start points: Marcus Buckingham believes you should find your strengths and manage your weaknesses while Chef Jeff Henderson says passion and hard work are needed for success.

In its 16th year, Sacramento’s premier speakers forum will also feature former Governors Howard Dean and Sarah Palin. The Sacramento Metro Chamber brings Perspectives to the Sacramento Convention Center on Friday, Oct. 15, with presenting sponsor Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

Marcus Buckingham
Co-author of the best-selling book series on managing workplace strengths, Marcus Buckingham is an internationally acclaimed researcher and speaker on how to build lasting personal success.

The stunningly simple message that Buckingham brings to workplace audiences worldwide is: Find what your strengths are and manage around your weaknesses. On this concept, Buckingham has devoted his life to “the strengths revolution”—helping other people decide what to devote their lives to—and is one of the business world's most in-demand management gurus.

A former senior consultant for the Gallup Organization, Buckingham spent a decade helping clients such as Toyota, Coca-Cola, Master Foods, Wells Fargo, Microsoft and Disney find and motivate their most talented employees. Supported by the largest study of its kind—nearly 80,000 interviews—he advocates for practices that oppose conventional wisdom when it comes to successful managerial behavior.

Buckingham inspires audiences to think outside of established boundaries to rethink traditional organizational structures that can transform the lives of employees—and the life of the business. His goal is for people to build lasting personal success.

As an evangelist on managing personal strengths, Buckingham is co-author of enormous business best sellers: First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently and Now, Discover Your Strengths and author of The Truth About You: Your Secret to Success and Go Put Your Strengths to Work: Six Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance.

Chef Jeff Henderson
Television’s Food Network host and executive chef Jeff Henderson turned his life around in prison, discovering the transformative power of passion and hard work. Told in a New York Times best-seller autobiography, Henderson’s remarkable story is an antidote for today’s headlines about failing schools and prisons as his resolve underscores the value of educational opportunities, literacy, vocational school and job training.

Raised in a struggling single-parent household, Henderson’s success at age 19 came exclusively from a $35,000 a week drug business. Busted at 24, he spent the next 10 years of his life in prison. There, as a dishwasher, Henderson discovered a passion for cooking and committed himself to becoming a chef.

With persistence, dedication and a can-do attitude, this self-taught culinary expert eventually became the first African American executive chef at Caesar’s Palace and the Bellagio in Las Vegas, a story told in his memoir, Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, from Cocaine to Foie Gras.

As host of the reality-based Chef Jeff Project on the Food Network, Henderson has found a second calling as mentor and motivator to at-risk youth and motivational speaker to business audiences across the nation.

The Chef Jeff Project takes six at-risk young adults and commits them to turning their lives around by putting them to work for his catering company. For all audiences, Henderson gives effective and simple ways to implement strategies to inspire and take charge of their lives and become a driver on the freeway towards their dreams.

Previous Perspectives have included unique presentations by Karl Rove, Sen. Bob Dole, Sen. Tom Daschle, Sen. John Edwards, Secretary Madeleine Albright, Gen. Henry H. Shelton, Secretary William Bennett, Gov. Ann Richards, as well as other notables including U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, President George H.W. Bush, Gen. Colin Powell, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Secretary Condoleezza Rice and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Tickets for the all-day event are $195 for Metro Chamber members and $275 for nonmembers and are available online at metrochamber.org/perspectives or by calling 916-444-1919.

Photos: Marcus Buckingham, 1, Cheff Jeff Henderson, 2.

Business Walk set for Rancho Cordova on July 23

2010-07-21T17:52:16Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Business Walk heads to Rancho Cordova on July 23.

Partnering with the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce and the city of Rancho Cordova, the Metro Chamber will visit more than 120 businesses, asking three simple questions: How’s business, what do you like about doing business here and what can be improved?

The Business Walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion. Over the last two years, that strategy—called Metro Pulse—has logged visitations of more than 2,300 businesses. In 2009, the Metro Chamber and its partners held five Business Walks, and currently the 2010 schedule will double that figure.

“The City of Rancho Cordova understands that one of the strengths of our community is the diverse and thriving job base. One of the best ways to build relationships and introduce ourselves to the business community is through the business walk model,” said Micah Runner, city of Rancho Cordova.

The Business Walks help initiate contacts with businesses in the region and is the start of an ongoing conversation to assists businesses with the resources they need to succeed. Volunteers, who include business people and city staff, will visit all types of businesses in the Rancho Cordova area.

Business people are encouraged to participate to gain relationships and contacts in the area. There is no charge to participate. Register online here.

The Business Walk will begin at Hotel Sierra, 11260 Point East Drive, in Rancho Cordova with a breakfast and orientation session. The event runs 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Photo: The 2009 Rancho Cordova Business Walk visited nearly 180 businesses.

Broadway business walk

2010-06-11T02:56:02Z

The pros and cons of doing business on Broadway were brought into focus Thursday during the Greater Broadway Business Walk.

More than 100 businesses were polled to get a pulse on the area's current business environment, part of an effort to retain and expand business.

Vagrants and panhandling are regular headaches for Broadway business owners, civic and business leaders learned. At the same time, business owners said they appreciate edgy, urban Broadway's central location, freeway access, supportive neighborhoods, diversity and recent decrease in crime.

Nearly 40 people fanned out along the commercial corridor, visiting 117 businesses Thursday morning. Their goals were to find out how business is going, see what's working and learn about the problems facing business owners. The event was organized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber, Greater Broadway Partnership and the city's Economic Development Department.

"This really is about building and furthering a relationship with these businesses, because we're all in this together," said Matt Yancey, the chamber's director of business and economic development. He explained the process and goals during a breakfast at Beatnik Studios, 2421 17th St.

The group included Broadway business owners, Economic Development staff Lorrie Lowry and Dean Peckham, and City Councilman Rob Fong, who grew up in the neighborhood.

Ethnically and economically diverse Broadway supports a mix of businesses — most of them family-owned. Some, like Setzer Products, Ruhkala Monuments and Saccani Distributing Co., have been in families for generations, said Teresa Rocha, executive director of the Greater Broadway Partnership.

"Most of the businesses on Broadway are not small — they're micro," Rocha said. "A lot of them are working really hard to end up each day with a good living."

Sacramento's landmark Tower Theater, with its Art Deco architecture and historic neon sign, help define Broadway at its center.

The street contains a high concentration of ethnic restaurants, as well as banks, national chains like Target, auto-parts stores, gas stations, a bait and gun store, and a fish market. KXTV Channel 10, the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery and warehouses anchor the west end of Broadway, while state agencies and fast-food restaurants anchor the east, known as Upper Broadway. Liquor stores, money lenders and a porn shop also make their homes on the street.

Artsy endeavors such as Beatnik Studios, a photo studio and gallery, have opened more recently.

Most business owners seemed to say that business was down since last year, anywhere from 10 to 50 percent. But some reported business was about the same or even getting better.

Hands down, problems such as aggressive panhandling and people camping behind businesses seemed to plague proprietors from one end of Broadway to the other. On Thursday, people slept in the shade of bus stops while one panhandled on the sidewalk, yelling at those who did not give him money.

"We have issues with panhandling," Cherie Prasad, store manager of the Walgreens at 1401 Broadway, told Fong's group, which included Lowry, business owner Royce Ann Ruhkala Burks and Fong's staffer, Lisa Nava. "That's my biggest customer complaint: panhandlers."

There are also problems with people relieving themselves on the property — sometimes within view of customers and staff — or suffering from mental instability or drug and alcohol problems, several said.

"Most of them are harmless. They hang out and panhandle. So we go (to nearby businesses) in groups," said Bea Franchetto, business manager of the Sacramento Business Journal. "But once in awhile, we get someone who is ranting."

The problem with vagrancy is no different on Broadway than other parts of the city, Rocha said.

"We have a lot of people walking around in this district," she said. "We don't have the robberies, burglaries and violent crimes other places may be experiencing."

The Greater Broadway Partnership hired security guards for the corridor, but it was expensive and didn't solve the problem. Homeless people were just pushed from one area to another. The business improvement district will continue to work with the city to find a better solution, Ruhkala said.

Business owners were encouraged to report problems to 311, but vagrancy and panhandling should be reported to police non-emergency at 264-5471, according to city staff.

Speeding, lack of parking and reduced business due to furlough Fridays also were reported, especially on Broadway's eastern end. While proprietors up and down the corridor said crime had decreased, a few reported serious crimes including blatant drug dealing near the Broadway light-rail station, illegal businesses in backroom shops and a recent armed robbery inside a fast-food restaurant.

Business owners said they appreciated the five-day-a-week street cleaning, graffiti cleanup and the security guards paid for with their dues to the Greater Broadway Partnership. They said they would like to see the area become safer for pedestrians and cyclists, with the addition of bike lanes and 25 mph speed limit enforcement.

Others suggested promoting the street's unique and diverse businesses and creating a trolley system between downtown and Broadway.

The information gathered during the event will be used by the business community and the city to help Broadway's businesses.

Outside Chinatown Buffet — one of the many ethnic restaurants giving Broadway its identity today — Fong said he wants to help transform the one-time transportation corridor into a walkable main street, with businesses serving nearby neighborhoods, but without an attempt to copy successful Midtown.

"I think it'll sort of define its own way," he said.

Photo by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Broadway district to see Business Walk tomorrow, June 10

2010-06-09T18:30:10Z

On Broadway—that’s where the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Business Walk heads on Thursday, June 10.

Partnering with the Greater Broadway Partnership and the city of Sacramento, the Metro Chamber intends to visit all of the businesses in the Broadway District, asking three simple questions: How’s business, what do you like about doing business here and what can be improved?

The Business Walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion. Over the last two years, that strategy—called Metro Pulse—has logged visitations of more than 2,300 businesses. In 2009, the Metro Chamber and its partners held five Business Walks, and currently the 2010 schedule will double that figure.

“During the Business Walk, we are looking forward to the opportunity to listen to the businesses and to learn from them what they believe is important, especially in this difficult economic time,” said Teresa Rocha, executive director for the Greater Broadway Partnership.

The Business Walks help initiate contacts of businesses in the region and is the start of an ongoing conversation to assists businesses with the resources they need to succeed. Volunteers, who include business people and agency staff, will visit all types of businesses in the Broadway district. More than 50 Business Walkers are signed up to participate and the goal is to visit the nearly 200 businesses in the district.

“The city of Sacramento is committed to keeping the Greater Broadway District business community safe and prosperous,” said Councilmember Robert Fong, who represents the Broadway area. “The Walk will allow community civic leaders to pinpoint concerns and provide businesses with resources necessary to help them succeed.”

Businesspeople are encouraged to participate to gain relationships and contacts in the district. There is no charge to participate. Register online at metrochamber.org/events.

The Business Walk will begin at Beatnik Studios, 2421 17th St., with a breakfast and orientation session. The event runs 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Founded in 1895, the Sacramento Metro Chamber is the largest, oldest and most prominent voice of business in the greater Sacramento area. Representing nearly 2,200 member businesses and business organizations in the six-county Sacramento region, the Metro Chamber has for 115 years served as the region’s leading proponent of regional cooperation and primary advocate on issues affecting business, economic development and quality of life.

Doors open today at 12:30 for biz-to-biz trade show Metro Expo

2010-05-25T16:22:55Z

Doors open at 12:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, May 25, for Metro Expo, the Sacramento Metro Chamber's annual business-to-business trade show. The event will be held on the Third Floor at the Sacramento Convention Center.

Seven free workshops will help business learn how to connect with more profits. The workshops run 1-5 p.m. (See list below). A networking reception 5-7 p.m. will conclude the day of networking. Tickets are $35 for Metro Chamber members and $45 for nonmembers. Get more details at metrochamber.org/expo.

METRO EXPO WORKSHOPS

CONTRACTING WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
Learn about different small business programs and requirements from a panel of government agencies. Find out if your business is eligible for bid preferences when contracting with these government agencies and where to find different bidding and contracting opportunities.

IS YOUR WEB SITE MAKING YOU MONEY,SAVING YOU MONEY...OR JUST COSTING YOU MONEY?
This innovative program on web marketing is designed to help your business stand out when compared to the competition, to build your brand recognition, develop your reputation and -- most important -- increase sales. Special attention is paid to web development, web maintenance, web optimization and web marketing. If you have a web site, now is the time to come to this seminar and learn about how you can improve traffic and results. And if you don't, now is the time to come to learn what works best in the interactive space.

I'M CERTIFIED, NOW WHAT?
Take your small business and disabled veteran business enterprise certification to the next level. Everything from marketing your business to state agencies to making the best use of the SB/DVBE option is covered.

EMAIL MARKETING: KEYS TO SUCCESS
Whether you are new to email marketing or have been doing it awhile, it doesn't have to be complicated. When done right, it's surprisingly easy and effective. This session gives an overview of how to use email marketing to get the results you want, complete with how to avoid being "canned as SPAM" and how to create the perfect email.

ACCESSING BANKING CAPITAL IN TODAY'S ECONOMY
Are you worried about the cost of business going up in the near future? Take advantage of this unique panel discussion that has some of the region's banking experts discussing capital opportunities and banking techniques that every small business owner should be aware of in the current economic environment. Bring your questions and engage in the conversation.

FEDERAL STIMULUS OPPORTUNITIES
California has been awarded the most American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding of any state -- estimated at $85 billion dollars. The ARRA money and California's economic recovery is tied directly to the success of our business community, particularly our small businesses and disabled veteran-owned firms. In three easy steps, learn how to get the most of your certification, find ARRA-funded projects as well as contact information for the state, federal and local government.

HOW TO USE EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO GET REAL RESULTS
Email marketing is still a powerful marketing tool in this era of burgeoning social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. In fact, it substantially increases the overall effectiveness of social marketing campaigns. This session will cover why strategically integrating email marketing with social media can maximize your marketing efforts to deliver real results.

May 25 Metro Expo: One day, thousands of contacts, seven great workshops

2010-05-20T23:37:12Z

Tuesday, May 25, is your chance to connect with more than 1,000 business people in just one afternoon at the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s annual trade show Metro Expo at the Sacramento Convention Center.

This business-to-business trade show features more than 150 exhibitors, a slate of state and government agencies eager to do business with small business and seven workshops that will help business improving their bottom lines.

Metro Expo doors open at noon. A 5-7 p.m. networking reception will top off the day.

Two-for-one tickets are available until 5 p.m. Friday, May 21; after that time, tickets available on-site are $35 for members and $45 for nonmembers. Get details at metrochamber.org/expo. Contact Lindsey Ono at 916-319-4276 for event information.

FREE METRO EXPO WORKSHOP SERIES

CONTRACTING WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
Learn about different small business programs and requirements from a panel of government agencies. Find out if your business is eligible for bid preferences when contracting with these government agencies and where to find different bidding and contracting opportunities.

IS YOUR WEB SITE MAKING YOU MONEY,SAVING YOU MONEY...OR JUST COSTING YOU MONEY?
This innovative program on web marketing is designed to help your business stand out when compared to the competition, to build your brand recognition, develop your reputation and -- most important -- increase sales. Special attention is paid to web development, web maintenance, web optimization and web marketing. If you have a web site, now is the time to come to this seminar and learn about how you can improve traffic and results. And if you don't, now is the time to come to learn what works best in the interactive space.

I'M CERTIFIED, NOW WHAT?
Take your small business and disabled veteran business enterprise certification to the next level. Everything from marketing your business to state agencies to making the best use of the SB/DVBE option is covered.

EMAIL MARKETING: KEYS TO SUCCESS
Whether you are new to email marketing or have been doing it awhile, it doesn't have to be complicated. When done right, it's surprisingly easy and effective. This session gives an overview of how to use email marketing to get the results you want, complete with how to avoid being "canned as SPAM" and how to create the perfect email.

ACCESSING BANKING CAPITAL IN TODAY'S ECONOMY
Are you worried about the cost of business going up in the near future? Take advantage of this unique panel discussion that has some of the region's banking experts discussing capital opportunities and banking techniques that every small business owner should be aware of in the current economic environment. Bring your questions and engage in the conversation.

FEDERAL STIMULUS OPPORTUNITIES
California has been awarded the most American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding of any state -- estimated at $85 billion dollars. The ARRA money and California's economic recovery is tied directly to the success of our business community, particularly our small businesses and disabled veteran-owned firms. In three easy steps, learn how to get the most of your certification, find ARRA-funded projects as well as contact information for the state, federal and local government.

HOW TO USE EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO GET REAL RESULTS
Email marketing is still a powerful marketing tool in this era of burgeoning social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. In fact, it substantially increases the overall effectiveness of social marketing campaigns. This session will cover why strategically integrating email marketing with social media can maximize your marketing efforts to deliver real results.

Metro Chamber's biz-to-biz trade show part of Gov.'s Collaboration series

2010-05-11T18:04:01Z

More than a thousand businesses from across the region will gather Tuesday, May 25, at the Sacramento Convention Center to discover new contacts, exchange leads and obtain useful management skills and information on the latest products and services.

Metro Expo is part of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Collaboration Conference, which is an ongoing effort to connect small business with contracting opportunities and certification information. Metro Expo features city, state and federal agencies (below) seeking small- and medium-sized vendors for bid opportunities.

The annual business-to-business trade show hosted by the Sacramento Metro Chamber will also include more than 120 top service and product vendors. The half-day expo will also feature business seminars by local experts. Attendees can get their small businesses certified to do business with local, state or federal agencies. The day ends with a networking reception.

Tickets are available on a two-for-one basis—or $30 for a pair. Exhibit Hall hours are 1-5 p.m.; networking is 5-7 p.m.

Government Agencies Exhibiting and Looking for Small Business Vendors
• CA State University
• California Highway Patrol
• California Taxpayer Advocates (EDD, FTB, BOE, IRS)
• Consumer Affairs
• DDS
• Department of General Services (DGS)
• DMV
• DTSC
• Employment Development
• Fish and Game
• Food and Agriculture
• Franchise Tax Board
• Health Care Services
• Rehabilitation
• Resources, Recycling & Recovery (Calrecycle)
• Resources, Forestry and Fire Protection
• State Board of Equalization - Taxpayer's Rights
• Veteran's Affairs
• Water Resources

To register, visit metrochamber.org/expo or contact Lindsey Ono at 916-319-4262. Take a video tour of Metro Expohere.

Govs. Dean and Palin to speak at Metro Chamber's Perspectives

2010-04-28T22:28:20Z

Two former governors will headline the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Perspectives 2010 line-up: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. They will appear Friday, Oct. 15, at the Sacramento Convention Center.

“We are pleased once again to bring dynamic speakers whose current contribution to our nation’s political dialogue will captivate the Perspectives audience,” said Matt Mahood, president & CEO. Other speakers for this 16th annual event will be announced shortly.

Dean, a physician, served for six terms as governor of Vermont. He is the former Democratic National Committee chairman, a 2008 presidential candidate and founder of Democracy for America.

Palin burst onto the national scene in 2008 when she was chosen by Sen. John McCain to be his vice presidential running mate in his presidential campaign. She was then serving as the first female governor of Alaska.

The choice of both Dean and Palin continues the Metro Chamber’s long-standing goal to present differing political points of view for what has become Northern California’s premier public affairs forum and top drawer networking event for 3,000 of the region’s business leaders.

“We have great pride in how we balance our speaker line-up,” Mahood said. “The goal of Perspectives is to offer just that—points-of-view on major themes echoing through the world’s headlines.”

Previous Perspectives have included unique presentations by Karl Rove, Sen. Bob Dole, Sen. Tom Daschle, Sen. John Edwards, Secretary Madeleine Albright, Gen. Henry H. Shelton, Secretary William Bennett, Gov. Ann Richards, as well as other notables including U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, President George H.W. Bush, Gen. Colin Powell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Condoleezza Rice and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Tickets for the all-day event are $195 for Metro Chamber members and $275 for nonmembers and are available online with full speaker biographies at metrochamber.org/perspectives or by calling 916-444-1919.

Energy Secty tells Cap-to-Cappers: Region's unity brings home stimulus funds

2010-04-21T12:21:31Z

WASHINGTON D.C.—U.S. Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu told Sacramento Metro Chamber Cap-to-Cap delegation that the region’s collaborative efforts have been “instrumental” to the success of leveraging $200 million in stimulus funds for clean energy projects and $127 million for the Sacramento smart grid project—“one of the largest awards of its kind in the country.”

Speaking in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill, Chu addressed the delegation of 300 from the Sacramento region, currently here in the nation’s capital on the annual advocacy program, working together to lobby for the six-county region’s top priorities.

Introducing his remarks, Chu said the Obama administration is currently creating policy to provide the nation with energy security and taking steps to turn the country into a clean energy leader—to position it ahead of countries like China that are now scrambling to do the same.

Quoting President Obama, Chu said “the future of our economy and nation’s security are inextricably linked to one challenge—energy.”

Calling clean technology and green energy the “next industrial revolution,” Chu said, “We will not give up leadership. We will be exporting these technologies and not importing them.”

“Ultimately, wind and solar will be powering our country by the next century,” he said, with power both stored locally in new batteries and also dispatched over long distances. Needed, however, are development of new liquid metal batteries that can be as small as a laptop battery or as large as a swimming pool. Also, a new power grid distribution system needs building.

He strongly advocates for retaining the making of solar panels and other new technology in the United States. “If the U.S. doesn’t pay attention to nuture manufacturing in the U.S., we will continue to lose the technology lead and prosperity.

Chu detailed other impending technologies—biomass, biofuels, the smart grid—all which are sectors where the Sacramento region is currently leading and developing.

Over the course of the four-day program, Cap-to-Cap delegates held nearly 250 meetings with elected and agency officials. Of those, nearly two dozen were held to promote efforts to make the Sacramento region the Green Capital of the U.S.

In welcoming delegates, Rep. Doris Matsui—who hosted the meeting with Chu—noted that delegation “is advocating for the right issues,” that “clean technology and green energy” are now a national priority and that Sacramento has the building blocks to be a national leader and needs to “seize the moment.”

U.S. Energy Secty. Steven Chu makes remarks to 300 Cap-to-Cap delegates in the Cannon House Building on Capitol Hill. Photo by Rudy Meyers

CIA Director tells Cap-to-Cap delegates: Cyber attack could be next “Pearl Harbor”

2010-04-20T14:16:55Z

WASHINGTON D.C.—Central Intelligence Agency director Leon Panetta told 300 Sacramento Metro Chamber Cap-to-Cap delegates that the next “Pearl Harbor” is likely to be an attack on the United States’ power, financial, military and other Internet systems.

Panetta addressed the Sacramento delegation that includes 43 elected officials and hundreds of business and civic leaders who are in Washington D.C. for the annual program that advocates for the region’s most pressing policy issues. He spoke on Monday, April 19, during the Cap-to-Cap opening breakfast.

“Cyber terrorism” is a new area of concern for the CIA, Panetta said. The United States faces thousands of cyber attacks daily on its Internet networks. The attacks are originating in Russia, China, Iran and from even hackers.

“The next Pearl Harbor is likely to be a cyber attacking going after our grid…and that can literally cripple this country,” Panetta said. “This is a whole new area of threat.”

But cyber terrorism is just one of four primary missions for Panetta, who took over directing the CIA last year after appointment by President Obama. The CIA is also focusing on counter-terrorism, reducing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and fighting narcotics trafficking.

Al Qaeda is becoming a viscous target, and as CIA and military operations tamp it down in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, the terrorist elements are moving to places like Somalia, Yemen and North Africa—as well changing its tactics, he said.

“The president’s direction…is we must dismantle and destroy Al Qaeda and its known elements,” he said. “It’s a fundamental mission….The primary effort takes place in Pakistan and tribal areas. We are now focused on Afghanistan and have increased our presence there.”

Meanwhile, CIA is working to help Iraqis fight Al Qaeda. “Even as our military draws down in Iraq, we’ll keep our presence there…to provide intelligence to the Iraqis so they can secure their own country.”

Worrisome, he added, is how Al Qaeda is “coming at us in other ways.” These include using individuals who have clean records and are not being tracked; individuals who are already in the U.S.A. and in contact with Al Qaeda; and individuals who decided to “self-radicalize” and are easily and quickly recruited as terrorists.

Previously, Panetta served as a congressional representative from the Monterey area, rising to the House Budget committee chair, and then latter as President Clinton’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

“I’ve spent most of my life on budget issues,” he said, noting the “work we did eventually produced a balanced budget for the country.” When he’s asked why he took on the job at the CIA, he told the group, “Because considering the size of the federal deficit, I’d rather fight Al Qaeda.”

Photo: Leon Panetta addresses 300 Cap-to-Cap delegates Monday in Washington D.C. Photo by Rudy Meyers

Cap-to-Cap to celebrate Earth Day with carbon offsets

2010-04-19T10:48:51Z

With Earth Day’s 40th celebration just days away, the Sacramento Metro Chamber proudly announces that 300 delegates travel for the Capitol-to-Capitol advocacy program is “green.”

Metro Chamber member Sacramento Municipal Utility District has once again provided carbon offsets for the official travel portion of each Cap-to-Cap delegate. This is the third year in a row that SMUD has sponsored reduction of the delegation’s carbon footprint.

“SMUD’s carbon offset program is retiring 295 tonnes of greenhouse gas offsets on behalf of our delegation,” said Metro Chamber President & CEO Matt Mahood. “For each delegate, that would be .93 tons of CO2 for a roundtrip flight Sacramento to Washington D.C. The Metro Chamber appreciates this gesture by SMUD.”

The carbon offsets are third-party verified and registered with the Climate Action Reserve.

“Our delegation is here in the nation’s capital working on priorities to reasonably address global warming issues,” Mahood said. “From a typical chamber’s perspective, we have taken a progressive policy position on climate change. Additionally, we have made adoption of clean technology and energy efficiency policies as an opportunity to create jobs and business growth in our region. Sacramento is uniquely positioned to lead the state in this new and emerging industry sector.”

Interestingly, both the Metro Chamber’s Cap-to-Cap and Earth Day were both founded in 1970, Mahood noted, but the chamber has a long history of working on environmental issues. “In the 1980s, we advocated for improving air quality. In 2003, we vigorously advocated to get SMOG Check II implemented in the Bay Area to improve our air quality—that was a Cap-to-Cap success.”

The Metro Chamber delegation is in D.C. until April 21; and the 300 participants will hold nearly 250 meetings with elected and administration officials. Of those meetings, 23 are dedicated to appointments advocating for the Sacramento region’s clean energy and green technology priorities. A few of the key projects throughout the region are:

• Zero-emission power plant research in Rancho Cordova
• Solar-powered processing at Sacramento county wastewater treatment plant
• Increased biogas production from wastewater treatment to generate electric power
• Roseville-based processing station to turn restaurant waste into electric power

Monday, the delegation will meet with U.S. Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu, former chief of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

Dr. Chu is charged with helping implement President Obama’s ambitious agenda to invest in clean and renewable energy, end reliance on foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs. To that end, he is expected to comment during his address to the Cap-to-Cap delegation on the Sacramento region’s bold strategy to be the Green Capital of California

A top Cap-to-Cap priority is supporting the Lawrence Berkeley Lab-led proposal to establish in Northern California a cluster of institutions and organizations developing and getting to market energy efficient building systems. These would include UC Davis, the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA), the Los Rios Community College District, PG&E, SMUD and Sacramento State University.

The Department of Energy has $127 million available for this proposal called the Energy Efficiency Building Systems Regional Innovation Cluster, E-RIC.

“Our region’s commitment to leadership in clean and green energy has provided us a strong foundation to be an active partner in the important E-RIC opportunity, which will be a game changer,” said Meg Arnold, SARTA CEO.

The Northern California proposal brings unmatched assets to the challenge of developing new energy efficiency technologies, commercializing them, and developing new business and jobs to bring new technologies to market, including:

• Applied Research: UC Davis’ Energy Efficiency Center has a core focus on building systems and is already testing new energy efficient technologies in real world applications.

• Policy Leadership: California leads the nation in establishing policy goals and regulatory standards to improve energy efficiency so much that California’s per capita energy use is about what it was 30 years ago, despite expansion of energy using technologies throughout homes and businesses

• Technology Transfer/Business Development: Northern California leads the world in venture capitalists who invest in new technologies, business development organizations such as SARTA which facilitate commercialization of innovation emerging out of research institutions and the Los Rios Community College Small Business Development Center which supports the viability of small businesses

• Jobs/Technical Training: Community colleges, Workforce Investment Boards, and apprentice-training programs have all created green job training programs which are already producing the workers needed in all aspects of energy efficient building, new construction and retrofits.

• Utilities: The major utilities in Northern California, PG&E, SMUD, and Roseville Electric are leaders in early adoption and deployment of efficiency measures and offer both investor-owned and municipal business models to demonstrate integration of energy efficiency in a variety of utility governance. Already, SMUD is partnering with Sacramento State University on one of the nation’s largest deployments of “smart grid” technology.

• Business climate: California’s leadership role in policy and standards has created a market for energy efficiency that is attracting new business investment from throughout the world from companies who want to be at the center of the policy action and who want to leverage the resulting market demand into tangible businesses and jobs.

Business and labor groups back District 5 City Council candidate

2010-04-18T19:16:10Z

Lawyer Patrick Kennedy described himself as a rare City Council candidate because local business and labor groups are backing his campaign. Kennedy is endorsed by the Sacramento Central Labor Council and the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

“Both (organizations) have worked with me,” Kennedy said. “They see that I’m fair.”

The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June 8 election.

Kennedy, 42, is running against four candidates for District 5, the seat held by Lauren Hammond. She is running for Assemblyman Dave Jones' seat.

Oak Park, Curtis Park, Colonial Heights and Tahoe Park West are among the neighborhoods in District 5.

Kennedy, a fourth-generation Sacramentan, lives in Hollywood Park.

Kennedy has received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from plumbers and pipefitters unions in the state. In response to a question about those contributions, Kennedy noted that as a lawyer who represents management and labor, he has "the trust of organizations throughout the state.”

If elected to the City Council, he said he wants to focus funding on police, fire and youth programs.

“During these budget times, we’ve got to look at core missions, core values and core goals of what the city and local government is,” Kennedy said. Public safety is one of the city’s core missions, he said.

Youth programs are another priority for Kennedy. He said that youth programs are necessary to improve public safety. “We have to continue to find ways that we can do a better job of partnering with our school district,” he said.

Kennedy said he wants to boost the profile and potential of major boulevards in District 5. He said he wants neighborhoods adjacent to boulevards such as Broadway and Franklin — to work with the businesspeople to promote the thoroughfares. If neighbors and businesspeople work together to invigorate the boulevards, the neighborhoods and cooridors will flourish, Kennedy said.

"You can't just look at boulevards and neighborhoods (separately)," Kennedy said. "The two of them feed off each other and their success is interdependent."

Kennedy is on the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Trustees and was on the city Planning Commission for 11 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in government from California State University, Sacramento, and a law degree from Lincoln Law School of Sacramento.

Kennedy has raised the most money in the District 5 race, $109,684, according to campaign records filed in March. Jay Schenirer has $82,712 in campaign funds, Terrence Johnson $9,430.

Leticia Hilbert has raised less than $1,000, said Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno.

Henry Harry has raised $808.

District 1:
A story on candidate Angelique Ashby can be read here.
Learn about candidate Efren Guttierrez here.

District 3:
Read an article on candidate Shawn Eldredge here.
Candidate Chris Little’s plans are outlined here.

District 5:
Candidate Terrence Johnson’s campaign is explained here.
Read about candidate Jay Schenirer’s goals here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

AECOM move good for city

2010-04-08T05:57:16Z

A Fortune 500 company is consolidating its regional office in Sacramento's central city.

Although moving only two blocks, AECOM's choice to remain here and bring more workers to the city's core is cause for some celebration after many regional and divisional offices shrunk in the last two years, local business leaders said.

"This is an indication that we're heading in the right direction," said Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.

AECOM, headquartered in Los Angeles, merged with the environmental, planning and design firm EDAW in 2006. AECOM added construction, engineering, architecture and high-level project management, as well as a global force of 45,000, to the mix.

The regional office was rebranded in November. Now AECOM has decided to consolidate three local offices, creating its main Sacramento office at a new location at 2020 L St. The building recently got a new lobby, bathrooms and elevators. Refurbishment is also under way on the exterior.

AECOM considered buildings in Midtown, East Sacramento and other areas, including Natomas. The company picked the new Midtown site at a mostly vacant building to practice sustainability and to benefit clients and staff, said Steve Heipel, Sacramento office principal.

"The location provides better opportunities for employees to get to work on foot, by bicycle, or public transportation; is conveniently located relative to many of our local clients; and is close to many amenities, such as restaurants," he said. "The recent redevelopment activities in the vicinity, including refurbishment of the 2020 L St. facility, helped assure us that the Midtown location was a good long-term choice."

About 50 people working at offices in Campus Commons and Gold River will join about 115 employees who will move from EDAW's longtime location at 2022 J St.

While cities like Sacramento are working to attract national companies, the recruitment of regional and divisional offices — as well as their retainment and expansion — is also vital to the city's economic growth, and more likely at this stage and in this economy, said Matt Mahood, president and CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

"It would be great if, every year, we could recruit a Fortune 100 or 500 or 1,000 company. The odds of that happening are very slim," he said. "And we would be competing with virtually every other mature metropolitan area in the country."

The growth of businesses like AECOM is critical so the region can catch up to all the housing and retail that already exists here. Housing construction alone clearly can't support the economy or the development of more amenities such as restaurants, culture and entertainment currently being discussed, Ault said.

"It's a good indication when you see a business like that, that clearly has options outside the core, that they're choosing to stay in the central city," Ault said. "We have heard very clearly from employers that are looking at siting facilities within the downtown core — one of the benefits is being close to the amenities and providing a better life for their employees."

As a large national company, AECOM's decision shows confidence in the region's bounce-back ability and the company's prospects for growth here, Mahood added.

"Sacramento's economy has taken a beating in the last two years," he said. "But we are positioning ourselves for recovery."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter covering business and development for The Sacramento Press.

Metro Chamber announces business-to-business trade show

2010-03-30T18:47:40Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber announces that the 2010 Metro Expo trade show will be held Tuesday, May 25, at the Sacramento Convention Center. It will offer hundreds of opportunities for small businesses from around the region to meet other small business owners.

In a post-event survey, 49 responding businesses who exhibited in the 2009 Metro Expo reported inking deals worth more than $1 million. That’s more than $20,000 for each surveyed business. Last year’s trade show attracted more than 1,500 participants.

Case in point: Sue Peppers of Peppers TV, a Mather-based video production company. “From that event, we signed a $22,000 contract,” Peppers wrote in a thank-you letter.

Metro Expo offers another opportunity to improve your business’s revenues: Sell to a state agency. Despite budget troubles, the state still needs products and services. Their agencies attend Metro Expo to make connections with small firms. In fact, Metro Expo is part of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s initiative for state’s agencies to do business with small businesses and is part of the Collaboration Conference series. At Metro Expo, certifications are offered for qualifying small business, women/minority owned business enterprises and disabled veterans business enterprises.

For exhibitor and attendee details, visit www.metrochamber.org/expo. Contact Lindsey Ono, lono@metrochamber.org or 916-319-4262 for more event details.

Schedule at a Glance
10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Exhibitor Set Up
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Opening Ceremonies
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Hours
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Workshops
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Networking Reception
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Closes; Tear Down Begins
* Schedule subject to change

Friday Metro Chamber event looks at regional transit; recognizes awardees

2010-03-17T18:51:13Z

The expert on the state's transit industry and financing, Joshua Shaw of Shaw/Yoder, Inc. will be the featured speaker at the State of RT Breakfast, Friday, March 19. Shaw is executive director of the California Transit Association.

Mike Wiley, RT General Manager/CEO, will also address the transit service priorities of the Sacramento region. This breakfast event will focus on TransitAction, RT’s new transit vision that will shape the future of transportation over the next 25 years.

The event, hosted by the Sacramento Metro Chamber and the Sacramento Regional Transit District, also includes the annual TransitAction awards, given to organizations and individuals promoting public transit.

2010 TransitAction Award Recipients

Business of the Year
The Alliance for Business and Community
The Alliance, representing the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce and Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, was selected for promoting transit as a beneficial business and economic opportunity for their collective memberships.

Organization/Agency of the Year
City of Sacramento
The City of Sacramento was selected for adopting its 2030 General Plan that endorses sustainable, mixed-use development, which encourages walking, biking and the use of public transit to create a "Healthy City" by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.

Transit Oriented Development of the Year
Historic Folsom Station
The Historic Folsom Station project was selected for its creative pedestrian and transit-friendly design, which blends the rich history of the Sacramento Valley Railroad from the Gold Rush era with a more contemporary mixed-use development served by light rail.

Individual/Transit Advocate of the Year
Mary Brill
Mary Brill is being recognized posthumously for her adamant, unyielding and admirable efforts to promote and enhance public transit, smart growth and mobility in the Sacramento region. Her dedication and commitment to advocate on behalf of many Sacramentans is an inspiration.

Elected Official of the Year
Sen. Darrell Steinberg
Sen. Darrell Steinberg was selected for his efforts to address the current public transit funding issues in the Legislature including landmark legislation to alleviate greenhouse gas emissions integrating smart land use, housing and transportation (SB 375) and a pilot transit passenger safety and exclusion act (SB 1561).

The event is set for 7:30-9:30 a.m., Friday, March 19, at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento, 1230 J St. Sacramento. For event information, contact Chantal LeFevre at 916-319-4260 or clefevre@metrochamber.org. Register online here.

A lot to talk about: Metro Chamber to hold State of City event Feb. 25

2010-02-18T17:24:56Z

Curious about the region’s newly proposed entertainment and sports facility and what else is happening in the city of Sacramento?

Members of the Sacramento First Citizen’s Task Force will review the proposed projects and the process for consideration at this year’s State of the City Address, hosted by the Sacramento Metro Chamber on Thursday, Feb. 25. And in the tradition of this 18th annual event, the Mayor of Sacramento will also speak. More than 700 business and civic leaders have already confirmed attendance at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento for the 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. luncheon. The event is presented by Drexel University and Umpqua Bank.

“If you want to get an insider’s scoop on the task force—you don’t want to miss this year’s State of the City Address,” said Matthew Mahood, Metro Chamber president & CEO. “This kind of facility has long been of interest to the chamber, and we have studied other cities’ entertainment and sports complexes during our annual Study Missions. With such a big decision looming for the region, business people should take the time to learn about the project and the beneficial economic impacts it will create.”

Assembled for discussion of the entertainment and sports facility are Sacramento First task force members former city of Sacramento treasurer/finance director Tom Friery, McClellan Business Park developer Larry Kelley and public relations expert and chair of the task force Christopher Lehane. Moderating the panel will be Drexel University Sacramento’s Dean Carl “Tobey” Oxholm III.

In addition, Mayor Kevin Johnson will review his first year in office and look at the opportunities and challenges facing the city of Sacramento in 2010.

Register online here. A sold-out crowd is expected, so early registration is encouraged. For event information, contact Lindsey Ono at 916-319-4262 or lono@metrochamber.org.

xxx

Metro Chamber to honor region’s leading business people tonight at annual awards

2010-02-05T22:36:47Z

A thousand business people and civic leaders will gather at the Sacramento Metro Chamber's 115th Annual Dinner & Business Awards tonight at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento. The event is sold out.

During the evening, 2010 Metro Chamber Board Chair Randy Sater of StoneBridge Properties will be inducted, and the Metro Chamber will recognize business leaders for their entrepreneurial and civic accomplishments.

SACRAMENTAN OF THE YEAR—David M. Higgins Sr., Retired President of Harbison-Mahony-Higgins Builders Inc.
AS THE FORMER CEO OF HARBISON-MAHONY-HIGGINS BUILDERS INC., MR HIGGINS IS A TRUE ICON IN OUR REGION’S COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS. HIS WORK – INCLUDING THE OUTSTANDING RESTORATION OF THE CATHEDRAL OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT – IS A TESTAMENT TO HIS ONGOING COMMITMENT TO PROMOTING THE QUALITY GROWTH OF SACRAMENTO. HE HAS DEDICATED HIS LIFE’S WORK AND PHILANTHROPY TO OUR REGION.

BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR— Ron J. Mittelstaedt, Chairman & CEO of Waste Connections, Inc.
MR. MITTELSTAEDT HAS ESTABLISHED A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LEADER IN THE SOLID WASTE INDUSTRY, WITH STEWARDSHIP OF THE COMPANY BASED UPON THE INTEGRITY TO “DO THE RIGHT THING, AT THE RIGHT TIME, FOR THE RIGHT REASON.” THE METRO CHAMBER APPLAUDS HIS BUSINESS ETHIC AS A MODEL FOR ALL COMPANIES IN THE REGION.

BUSINESSWOMAN OF THE YEAR—Jonna Ward, CEO of VIP – Visionary Integration Professionals
JONNA WARD FOUNDED ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING TECHNOLOGY CONSULTING COMPANIES IN THE NATION FROM A SPARE BEDROOM, AND WHOSE CONTINUED SUCCESS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY AN ORGANIZATIONAL ETHIC THAT MOTIVATES EMPLOYEES TO “ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH CLIENT PARTNERS TO DELIVER THE BEST VALUE POSSIBLE.”

AL GEIGER MEMORIAL AWARD—Robert V. Tobin, MPA, President & CEO, Cottage Housing Inc.
HONORS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS UNIQUELY SERVED AS A ROLE MODEL FOR BUSINESS, REACHING OUT TO MINORITY OR DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.

COTTAGE HOUSING INC WAS FORMED IN 1994 BY A COALITION OF CIVIC LEADERS SEEKING INNOVATIVE ALTERNATIVES TO SHORT-TERM, CRISIS ORIENTED RESPONSE TO THE HOMELESS DILEMMA. LEADING THIS NONPROFIT THAT HAS BEEN NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FOR ITS FOCUS ON RESILIENCY IS ROBERT TOBIN–WHOSE PASSION FOR HIS WORK IS ONLY OUTDONE BY HIS FIRM GROUNDING IN THE PRINCIPLES THAT BUSINESS PEOPLE UPHOLD: SELF-RELIANCE, PERSONAL FREEDOM AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

PETER McCUEN AWARD FOR CIVIC ENTREPRENEURS—Rick Fowler, President & CEO, The Community College Foundation
ESTABLISHED IN 2000, THIS AWARD RECOGNIZES A BUSINESSPERSON WHO HAS BECOME EXTENSIVELY INVOLVED IN PROMOTING CIVIC AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, AND WHO BRINGS BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS TO THEIR PERSONAL INTERESTS AND COMMITMENTS.

FORMER AIR FORCE COMMAND PILOT, PENTAGON OFFICIAL AND SENIOR USAA CORPORATON EXECUTIVE, RICK FOWLER LEADS A NONPROFIT WITH A MISSION TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR FOSTER YOUTH, K-12 STUDENTS AND COLLEGE STUDENTS.

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR—Mulvaney’s B&L
THIS YEAR’S RECIPIENT HAS NOT ONLY SUCCEEDED AT BUILDING A FLOURISHING BUSINESS IN A VERY DIFFICULT CLIMATE, PATRICK MULVANEY REMAINS CONSTANTLY AWARE OF SUSTAINABILITY, PRIDING HIMSELF ON USING LOCALLY SOURCED MEATS AND PRODUCE IN HIS WORK–ALL WHILE GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND ENRICHING THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
—Centennial Inductee: Lionakis
—Hall of Fame Inductees: Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard, Owen-Dunn Insurance Services, SAFE Credit Union and Western Contract

METRO CHAMBER VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR—Martha Clark Lofgren, Partner, Brewer Lofgren LLP

AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR —Steve Raymond, Advisor, 20/20 Financial Advisers

Poizner tells region’s business leaders his plan to make state a leader again

2010-01-27T22:24:43Z

Before a hundred-plus of the region’s business leaders, State Insurance Commissioner and GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner set down his 10-10-10 plan for putting California back into a leadership position. Poizner was a guest of the Sacramento Metro Chamber at its annual State Legislative Summit.

The annual State Legislative Summit brings the region’s business leaders to the State Capitol to advocate on issues that will build jobs and business prosperity. Issues run the gamut from the very specific—tax credits for angel investments in qualified small business stocks—to the general—fast track of regulatory changes to enhance competition with other states. View the complete list here.

Poizner, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, was elected four years ago as one of only two Republicans voted into statewide office. Since then he has cut the budget of the State Insurance Commission by 15 percent.

“I am definitely not a career politician,” Poizner told the audience. “I’ve been in the trenches like you making payroll.”

If elected, Poizner’s plan is to overhaul the tax and regulatory system to make California again “the innovation capital of the world.”

In describing his 10-10-10 plan, Poizner first said he would cut sales, personal and corporate taxes by 10 percent and capital gains tax by 50 percent.

“How can we afford tax cuts? We cannot afford not to,” he said, noting California has one of the highest sales and income tax and vehicle license fees in the country and residents are leaving because of high tax rates, drawn to places like Nevada where there’s no personal or corporate taxes.

Second, Poizner would cut government spending by 10 percent. This would not be an across the board cut, but one “done the right way.” He would get rid of nonperforming programs and increase funding in others, like he did for the Insurance Commission, where he increased spending on fraud investigators. “There are 400 departments that haven’t been overhauled or modernized,” he said.

Third, the candidate by the end of his first term would put $10 billion into a state rainy day account, with funds coming from savings from budget cuts and increased revenues as people and jobs return to the state.

After Poizner's speech, the group business leaders teamed up in a dozen-plus groups and headed to the State Capitol to hold meetings with state legislators and their staffs.

“This is the beginning of the Metro Chamber’s advocacy efforts, not the end,” said summit event chair Martha Lofgren of Brewer Lofgren law firm.

Lofgren said the Metro Chamber will have a key theme this year of building sustainable growth, programs and products for the region, as set by 2010 Metro Chamber Board Chair Randy Sater, who will be inaugurated on Feb. 5 at the Metro Chamber's 115th Annual Dinner & Business Awards.

Next up in the Metro Chamber’s work to represent the interests of business to government, is the annual Capitol-to-Capitol event in Washington, D.C., set for April 17-21. Nearly 300 delegates are expected to participate, making the event the largest of its kind in the nation.

Chamber View: Innovation & sustainability can build long-lasting jobs

2010-01-27T01:44:37Z

For the next wave of economic recovery, it’s imperative that the Sacramento Metro Chamber collaboratively identify indicators and driving forces that capitalize on local innovation, intellect and influence. Additionally, we must use up-to-date technology and advances to develop a healthy, more sustainable economy that we believe will ultimately improve our region’s competitiveness.

Our old consumer-based economy was obviously unsustainable. Built on easy access to money and lax lending standards, the housing and financial markets over-bloated other parts of the economy. Downstream job growth swelled, and when the housing market shriveled, other sectors followed.

We await signs that our economy is coming back to life—for our unemployment rate to drop. The sector that can add jobs the quickest—retail—is not one we should rely on for recovery. New jobs must be built on what our region needs long-term for the good of all: jobs in health care, jobs in manufacturing, jobs in infrastructure construction, jobs in building green, LEED-certified buildings.

In other words, we need jobs that feed back to what our economy needs and can support, long-term. We need sustainable jobs. Once these kind of jobs move into the economy, other supporting jobs that come back will be more resilient, based more upon needs of citizens who have real dollars to spend, not borrowed from home equity.

And how do we get to a sustainable economy? By taking action in the here and now—with a concern for future and remote consequences to our region’s economy and quality of life. Our actions, solutions and planning, both internal and external, should be comprehensive and integrative—requiring a regional, collaborative approach to a wide range of business-related issues.

This will be the way the Metro Chamber filters its work in 2010: How can we use innovation, intellect and influence to build a sustainable economy and create long-lasting jobs. This powerful approach is energizing our volunteer leadership, and I hope you will join us.

View other Chamber Views here.

Sacramento Metro Chamber to talk job recovery issues with legislators

2010-01-21T00:06:08Z

Having set dozens of appointments with state assembly members and senators, the Sacramento Metro Chamber calls for the region’s business and civic leaders to join up for the annual State Legislative Summit, Wednesday, Jan. 27, as the Metro Chamber will lead a regional advocacy effort focused on increasing jobs in the region by advocating for policies that will help employers and workforce expand in the coming years.

“All business—every sector and every size—needs access to our State House,” said Matthew Mahood, president & CEO. “We encourage business to take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity. The Metro Chamber is advocating for critical issues important to jobs and business in our region, and we need business people with a reputation for getting things done to join us at the State Legislative Summit.”

If you are concerned about jobs and business growth, if you are concerned about the rising costs of businesses, unsure how adopting clean energy technology solutions will change your business, if Broadband innovation seems like it will assist your business growth—then you should join the Metro Chamber volunteers as they step into the legislators’ offices and get down to business on these and other important matters, Mahood said.

The following issues were brought forward by a volunteer committee and have been determined to be the focus during the day, which begins with a lunchtime address by state Insurance Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner. An issues orientation precedes the advocacy appointments. The day ends with a reception with legislators at the Elks Tower Ballroom.

2010 Sacramento Metro Chamber State Legislative Summit Issues

• CALIFORNIA STATE BUDGET
• JOBS AND BUSINESS GROWTH
• TRANSPORTATION
• FLOOD PROTECTION
• WATER/DELTA
• CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY
• TELECOMMUNICATIONS
• BROADBAND INNOVATION
• WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION
• SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES
• LAND USE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
• ENERGY
• AIR QUALITY

For more information or to register, visit the State Legislative Summit page or contact Chantal LeFevre at 916-319-4260 or clefevre@metrochamber.org.

Metro Chamber: Arena report confirms economic benefits of a new facility

2010-01-07T18:22:40Z

An initial economic analysis of building a new entertainment and sports complex in Sacramento confirms the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s long-standing belief: A properly located arena will create thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in economic benefits for the entire region.

“The Metro Chamber has long-held that a new entertainment and sports facility will be a huge job generator for our region,” said Matt Mahood, Metro Chamber president & CEO. “The Sacramento First Task Force’s “Threshold” report shows how—at a time when unemployment is so high—building and running the complex will create 4,095 new jobs. I say let’s get it started!” The report was released Jan. 7.

Residents in similar sized cities across the county currently enjoy the benefits of successful entertainment and sports complexes, Mahood said. “Our study missions to Charlotte, Indianapolis and Denver found arenas can be located where they serve as catalytic economic development projects. They create not only thousands of jobs, but millions of dollars in economic benefits. And over time, additional investment and positive economic impact follows.”

“Closer to home, you only have to go as far as San Jose to see how the HP Pavilion, that opened 15years ago, was constructed on a site specifically selected to help boost the downtown area,” Mahood added. “The report shows that HP Pavilion annually provides the city of San Jose with direct fiscal benefits of $5.4 million and about 5,000 full-time equivalent jobs.” Mahood encourages the Sacramento First Task Force and others to visit San Jose to see for themselves how that area—a once blighted, neglected neighborhood—is now hustling and bustling each and every day.

“Sacramentans deserve and need an entertainment and sports complex. This kind of civic amenity also offers many unquantifiable benefits that contribute to and stimulate regional economic vitality. It will make our region an attractive business center, increase property values and generate money through tourism. What’s not to like about that?”

Mahood concluded, saying, “I think the report’s findings are significant and that it should make Sacramento residents more comfortable with supporting the construction of a new facility.”

Photo: San Jose's HP Pavilion cost $162.5 million ($132.5 million funded by the City of San Jose; $30 million funded by HP Pavilion at San Jose Management). The completion of the building was an important milestone in San Jose's emergence as a destination city.

Metro Chamber urges new arena task force to be creative and courageous

2009-12-18T18:29:57Z

As promoting the region is high on the Metro Chamber's agenda, President & CEO Matt Mahood called for creativity and courage in planning for a new regional entertainment and sports facility that would be a world-class venue.

"I honestly believe that if the right people get to the table, use best practices that have worked in other regions, and are creative and courageous, then there is no reason a deal can’t get done," Mahood said. "This is a critical issue to the business community in the Sacramento region."

Since November 2000, the Metro Chamber has engaged dialogue on a new arena for the region. Among the points the chamber considers vital:

• A modern sports and entrainment facility is a key piece of the region’s economic and civic infrastructure (just like a convention center or community theater).

• Sacramento needs the ability to host world-class entertainment and sporting events--as it brings new outside money into the local economy. Thus creating jobs.

• Having a major league franchise like the Sacramento Kings is a catalyst for raising the awareness and civic pride of Sacramento region, which enhances our brand as a great place to live, work and raise a family--especially in front of nationally televised audience.

• A significant competitive advantage is lost by not having a world-class facility.

In 2004, the Metro Chamber convened business and civic leaders who formed an Arena Task Force. The group found that:

• ARCO is quickly becoming obsolete and needs to be replaced

• A sports and entertainment facility is a civic amenity--and the public has a role in its financing, but to what degree is always debatable.

• We should take this opportunity to not just build an arena but to create a place for people to gather…one that fosters a greater sense of community pride.

• The current Arco Arena was rapidly approaching the end of its useful life and that the Sacramento region will need a new sports and entertainment center in approximately five years. (That was five years ago.)

• Public participation in the financing for the development and construction of a new sports and entertainment center is appropriate. However, in 2006, the voters did not approve Measures Q & R, indicating no interest in a large public subsidy.

• A broader, regional dialogue among potential participants in any financing plan (from both the public and private sector) would facilitate the necessary discussion about the most feasible and appropriate sources of both public and private financing for such a project. In other words, we should try to develop a regional solution, if possible.

The chamber's arena task force recommended that the following factors be considered when determining the correct site:

• The site should be a catalyst for complementary development or redevelopment.

• The site should promote city and regional goals of smart growth, transit orientation and urban revitalization.

• It should be accessible by multiple forms of transportation, including walking, mass transit and light rail while still convenient to major thoroughfares by automobile.

• It should create a long-term synergistic entertainment benefit and have the maximum ability to draw attendance from the broader region.

• It must be financially feasible and minimize the potential risk of construction cost overruns and further delays.

"Previous efforts over the course of the last nine years have failed," Mahood said. "We need to learn from those mistakes."

Moreover, Mahood urged members of the new task force not to worry about criticism likely to occur--no matter what they decided."

"From our experience traveling to other cities (Denver, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, Charlotte, San Diego, Phoenix, San Jose), Mahood said, these deals require a public/private partnership--and strong courageous leadership to see the deal through. Be courageous!"

Sacramento Metro Chamber assists Salvation Army to solve toy shortage problem

2009-12-16T00:18:18Z

Facing a dramatic toy shortage,The Salvation Army of Sacramento has announced a partnership with the Sacramento Metro Chamber for an eleventh-hour push to receive new, unwrapped toys this week. The Metro Chamber reached out to many of its members to help donate to the Salvation Army Toy Drive or to host a donation bin at their business location. A couple of member businesses responded in a big way: Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

Bank of America has agreed to participate as a toy drop-off site in eight bank locations throughout the Sacramento region, through Friday, Dec. 18. Further, Wells Fargo Northern California Foundation is making a donation of $5,000 to The Salvation Army to help supplement the cost for any purchase of toys this Christmas.

Currently, only 9,000 toys have been collected, which is far short of The Salvation Army's goal of 18,000.

"This is a major uphill battle that we are facing," said David Bentley, Salvation Army Sacramento County coordinator. "It's not a pretty picture. The Salvation Army is simply facing a situation where there are not enough toys for all of the families we have committed to assist this Christmas. We appreciate what the Sacramento Metro Chamber and its members, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, have done to help us meet our goals this Christmas."

More than 5,000 families from Sacramento County have applied and have qualified to receive assistance this Christmas from The Salvation Army.

All of the toys will need to be collected before this weekend, because The Salvation Army intends to use every one of the donated toys for the Dec. 19 Christmas Distribution at Cal Expo. For more information, contact Syd Fong at 916-563-3731.

Recently Added Bank of America Locations for Salvation Army Toy drop-off locations:

Arden-Morse: 3101 Arden Way, Sacramento
Cordova Village: 10607 Folsom Blvd, Rancho Cordova
Folsom: 403 East Bidwell St., Folsom
North Natomas: 2861 Del Paso Road, Sacramento
Sunrise Center: 7850 Kingswood Drive, Citrus Heights
Elk Grove: 8959 Elk Grove Blvd, Elk Grove
Roseville: Creekside Banking Center, 1188 Galleria Blvd., Roseville
Capitol Mall: Sacramento Main, 555 Capitol Mall, Sacramento

Photo: Metro Chamber staff members recently helped bag up toys for more than 700 families for the Salvation Army Toy Drive.

West Sacramento Business Walk: Entrepreneurs find opportunity, good locale

2009-12-01T19:29:18Z

   A chilly morning brought out three dozen civic-minded business people Tuesday, Dec. 1, to West Sacramento for the annual Business Walk to gauge local business conditions, and early visits are finding folks upbeat and generally pleased with doing business in the city.
   “West Sacramento is getting better,” said Discount Cigarette store owner Suni Malhi. “It’s way better than the last five years. There’s more police patrols.”
   Malhi was visited by the Business Walk team of Juliet Romanishin of NorCal Wealth Management & Insurance Services, and Andy Wallace of Wallace Kuhl & Associates, who asked the three big questions of the day: How’s business, what do you like about doing business in West Sacramento and what can be done to improve conditions.
   The Business Walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion, according to Michael Faust, senior vice president for public policy and advocacy at the Sacramento Metro Chamber, one of the hosts of Business Walk, along with the West Sacramento Chamber and the city of West Sacramento. Over the last two years, the strategy called Metro Pulse, has logged visitations of more than 2,100 businesses.
   The Business Walks help initiate contacts with businesses in the region and is the start of “an ongoing conversation” to help get businesses the resources they need to succeed, Faust added.
   Malhi, who had previously managed the store, purchased the business last year. He likes the location on West Capitol Avenue because of the surrounding industrial businesses, which provide a good customer base. He does report business “a little bit slower” than last year, as some people who used to buy in bulk are now just purchasing single packs of cigarettes. But he’s riding out the storm, happy with the “friendly people” of West Sacramento and improving conditions in the city.
   Next door, Koren Foxx of Labor Ready, a temporary employment agency, said though winter time is a bit slower, she still placed 20 clients that morning in jobs.
   Labor Ready provides temporary employees to businesses in Sacramento and Yolo counties. Placements currently include in hotels, retail, housekeeping—and surprisingly—construction. Foxx (center in photo) regularly gets calls from contractors who are building nearby hotels.
   “We don’t believe in a bad economy,” Foxx said. “There is always somebody doing business. We remain positive.”
   One truly upbeat crew is at the newly opened The Sandwich Spot restaurant, 3021 West Capitol Ave., in the Country West Shopping Center. It’s located in the former Mr. Pickles location and is one of six cafes part of a new franchise launched by founder Tom Heally. Other locations are San Francisco and Santa Monica.
   The Sandwich Spot is co-owned by Aaron Ellis. “We just opened three weeks ago,” he said. “And we already got repeat customers!”
   Ellis and Heally were most excited about their newest feature to debut on Wednesdays: barbecue tri-tip sandwiches, with the barbecue happening right in front of the shop.
   They see the down economy as a plus, since lease rates are less and this allows them to get established. “It’s a good opportunity,” Heally said.
   The West Sacramento Business Walk was also sponsored by Hampton Inn & Suites and Ramda Plaza Harbor Conference Center. A report on findings and results of the West Sacramento Business Walk will be made available after it’s compiled. Previous Business Walk reports are available online here.

Metro Chamber applaudes arena task force make-up

2009-11-20T18:07:23Z

With announcement of Sacramento First Entertainment and Sports Complex Task Force, Nov. 19, by Mayor Kevin Johson, the Sacramento Metro Chamber issued this statement by President & CEO Matthew Mahood:

We are pleased that Mayor Johnson is taking a strong leadership role in solving this ongoing regional issue on how to finance and construct an entertainment and sports complex. We hope the task force can find a viable solution to building a world-class facility here that will attract quality entertainment for our residents.

The issue is complex and needs focused attention. We applaud the combination of task force members who have subject-matter expertise and civic interest in finding a solution.

In the past, the Metro Chamber, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership and the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau have studied the matter diligently. Our own 2004 Arena Task Force’s findings still hold true:

The current ARCO Arena is obsolete and needs to be replaced.
A regional dialogue should be employed to determine the most feasible and appropriate sources of both public and private financing for such a project.
Location of the facility in The Railyards is appropriate. But any location chosen should create a catalyst for complementary development or redevelopment.
The site should have the ability to promote city and regional development goals of smart growth, transit orientation and urban revitalization.

The Metro Chamber looks forward to working with Mayor Johnson and the Task Force as needed in order to help move this complex issue to a successful conclusion.

State of the Airports event today: Sacramento as bolder crossroads for commerce

2009-11-12T17:07:40Z

Transportation experts will gather today, Nov. 12, at Sacramento International Airport to review trends and specific projects that can make the Sacramento region a new international crossroads for goods movement to the Pacific Rim while providing new job and business opportunities for our region.

An update on The Big Build expansion project at Sacramento International Airport will show how Sacramento will be well positioned to serve both passengers and goods needed for the projected increase of 14 million in the state’s population by 2035. The event is hosted by the Northern California World Trade Center, an affiliate of the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

“If we think big and act boldly, the Sacramento region can become a goods movement hot spot for the West Coast and over time become a gateway to the Pacific Rim and beyond,” said Northern California World Trade Center President & CEO Michael Faust. “We have the airports, and we are growing the water port capacity, highways and railroads that make us a true crossroads for commerce. As other regions like the Bay Area reach their people-moving capacity, their goods movement capacity will be adversely affected. If we think big, act strategically and pursue bold projects, we will become a goods movement leader on the West Coast.”

Speakers include: Aviation Economist Fred Davis, Sabre Solutions, who will provide a forecast on the aviation industry, and Director Hardy Acree, Sacramento County Airport System, who will provide an update on The Big Build.

A Region Goods Movement Overview Panel will be moderated by Dan Throgmorton, associate vice chancellor of Workforce and Economic Development, Los Rios Community College District.

The panelists are Fred Davis, Sabre Solutions; Hardy Acree, Sacramento County Airport System; Mike Luken, Port of West Sacramento; and Rob Leonard, assistant county executive for economic development, Sacramento County.

The event will be held 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., today, at the SACjet Hangar, Sacramento International Airport. Contact 916-519-1218 for more event information.

Metro Chamber: Nestle plant followed rules--Council must let business go forward

2009-10-27T19:26:39Z

By Linda Cutler, Chair, Sacramento Metro Chamber Board of Directors

The discussion about the new Nestle Waters bottling facility is actually about Sacramento’s commitment to job creation and the process and rules by which businesses come to our city.

The Sacramento City Council will consider, Tuesday, Oct. 27, a measure related to this plant that will have a serious and far-reaching impact on the jobs and business climate in Sacramento.

We have a set of rules that govern how companies coming to our community must conduct business. These rules come in the form of zoning, building permits, utility fees, water use and the like. These are rules that are determined through a very open and public process and they are rules that every business must follow.

The city also has a plan that includes taking into account water needs for residential, government and industrial uses. Nearly every business, whether it is a bottled beverage company, a car wash, a restaurant or a widget manufacturer, uses water to produce its product or service. That plan includes water availability for new businesses to purchase without impacting the water already flowing to other businesses and homes.

So how does Nestle Waters’ new plant fit into this? First, the company followed all the rules, and it did not get any special treatment with respect to the rates it will pay the city for water. Nestle leased existing space from a local property owner and applied to the city for the permits and utilities needed. In short, the company has followed the process just as the many other beverage bottlers such as 7-up and Coca Cola did when they came here.

Now, some members of the Sacramento City Council are working to change those rules mid-stream by tossing aside the council’s entire review process in an effort to force a new law that would either delay or completely stop this plant from moving forward. That should be a frightening proposition to anyone interested in job creation and business development in our community. The signal it would send to other businesses is: Come to Sacramento at your own risk. The city council, at the prompting of special interests, may decide it does not want your business here even after you have leased a building, put millions into retrofitting it and begun to hire people.

And, this decision could have a major impact on the availability of capital for new projects. Why would a bank lend money to a business when the political winds could derail the project mid-way through construction?

Nestle has received more than 2,200 job applications in just in just two months. The company has already hired 11 people and has a local contractor and his crew working to retrofit the building it leased. And Nestle has invested more than $3 million into this facility already, with another $11 million to follow.

So if the city council takes action to stop this plant from moving forward, council members will have to explain not only to those 11 people and the contractor why they will be laid off, but also explain to the other 2,200 people who are looking for work why they are closing off an opportunity to bring jobs to this community.

By making the process of opening a business a political one, the city council is saying that it will pick and choose businesses and jobs depending on its political whims. This is a precedent our community simply cannot afford to set unless the council is ready to take responsibility for hanging that closed sign on the Tower Bridge.

It’s Business Walk Day in Rancho Cordova: Metro Chamber, others finding out how’s business

2009-10-22T18:18:24Z

Nearly three dozen business people, chamber and city officials are on the streets of Rancho Cordova today, Thursday, Oct. 22, finding out how business is doing and collecting comments on how things can be improved.

The Rancho Cordova Business Walk is part of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s year-long series in partnership with local chambers and cities and counties to improve the local economy. Business Walk participants ask three basic questions: How’s business, what do you like about doing business here and how can things be improved.

Says Rancho Cordova Chamber Chair Brandon Ivie: “The Business Walk lets the local business community know we care.”

This is the second Rancho Cordova Business Walk. The first was held last year, and a report of its findings is available online here.

The annual Business Walk series is part of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Metro Pulse economic development program to retain and build businesses in the region.

“Metro Pulse is a strategy to stretch economic development dollars and have greater impact,” said Matt Yancey, director of economic development for the Metro Chamber, which manages the program for 15 regional partners.

The Rancho Cordova Business Walk is a partnership of the city of Rancho Cordova, Rancho Cordova Chamber and the Metro Chamber, with sponsors Volt Information Services and Hotel Sierra. The walk was underwritten by a grant from SETA Sacramento Works, Inc. After findings are tabulated, a report on the Rancho Cordova Business Walk will be available online here.

One business visited, the UPS Store on Olson Drive, reported a year that was a “rollercoaster,” beginning slow but now picking up.

Co-owner Tom Nguyen said his business is influenced by the pace of retail sales. “If Macy’s is not doing well—if they don’t buy it—they’re not going to ship it.”

He sees the economy having “bottomed out.”

As to the location of the store, Nguyen said it is very strategic, with a good mixture of business and residences and people.

Rancho Cordova Economic Development Director Curt Haven said to participants that he was amazed at the level of satisfaction of business owners and managers.

“It’s not all doom and gloom in Rancho Cordova,” Haven said. “When you talk to business owners, they are satisfied. They know they have to correct for the downturn and are now turning to planning for the future.”

Businesses visited are also able to report to city officials like Haven situations that impede doing business—such as traffic and security issues. With this direct kind of input, problems can be solved quickly.

As UPS store co-owner Tom Nguyen said, “Thanks for asking—this is way refreshing!”

Perspectives 09: A day of controversial views

2009-10-10T00:52:33Z

It was a day of speeches, but it was anything but dull. At the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Perspectives 2009 event, no topic was too controversial. Really. One of the speakers even quoted Chairman Mao Tse-Tung.

Five heavy-hitters in a variety of fields, including Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, took the stage at the Sacramento Convention Center Friday and delivered speeches that were decidedly energetic and provocative.

The high-profile speakers spoke to about 2,000 people during the chamber’s event, which was titled “An American Experience.” Rice shared the spotlight with entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, finance expert Jane Bryant Quinn, author James Bradley and creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson.

Rice praised the private-sector, saying it should lead economic growth. The private sector is “creative, innovative and risk-taking,” she said. By contrast, Washington, D.C., cannot be described with those three words, she said.

Private sector-led growth is crucial to global economic growth, she said, adding that if the U.S. “does not stand for free trade, no one will stand for free trade.”

Quinn’s speech provided a sharp contrast to Rice’s remarks. Quinn said the nation’s recession is coming to a close “almost entirely” because of the billions of dollars President Barack Obama’s administration put into the economy. “Sometimes the government is the solution, not the problem,” she said.

Kawasaki turned the typical power-point presentation upside down with plenty of controversial statements. He promoted the concept of revolution as he gave pointers to the audience on producing innovative work. When you’re creating something new and different, you’re allowed to have a first version that’s simultaneously revolutionary and flawed, he said. “Don’t worry, be crappy,” he advised.

In another example, he urged innovators to not get hung up on marketing to one particular audience. He quoted Mao to illustrate his point: “Let 100 flowers blossom.” You don’t know which kinds of people are going to embrace your product, he said, so don’t think about your market narrowly.

Also on Friday morning, about eight demonstrators gathered outside the convention center, holding signs opposing Rice's policies. One sign referred to Rice as a “Bloody War Monger.”

Asked to comment on the presence of protesters, Metro Chamber President Matt Mahood said: “It’s great. It’s what freedom of speech is all about.”

Inside the building, audience members chatted with each other during lunch. Tiffany Stokes, a student ambassador for Cosumnes River College, attended the event with other student leaders in the Los Rios Community College system. She said she found Kawasaki’s presentation helpful and plans to use his points in a presentation to fellow students.

Kawasaki was also popular with attendee Mike Motroni, the chief financial officer of Nor-Cal Beverage Company. Motroni described Kawasaki’s presentation as “dynamic” and “enjoyable,” and also said he was looking forward to hearing Rice’s perspectives on international affairs.

The aim of Perspectives is to “bring world-class figures to Sacramento, so business and civic leaders can hear their points of view,” Hal Silliman, communications director of the Sacramento Metro Chamber, said. Another goal is to familiarize the leaders with Sacramento, he said.

The event also provides attendees with an opportunity to network and host customers and clients, Mahood said.

Businesses, civic leaders and elected officials attend Perspectives, Mahood said, describing the attendees as the “who’s who in the business community.”

Metro Chamber officials said the poor economy affected this year’s turnout. Silliman estimated about 2,000 people turned out for Friday’s event. About 2,400 people attended the event last year, said Mahood, noting that the best year for Perspectives was 2006 with an attendance of 3,500 people.

Mahood declined to release figures for the amount of revenue the event generated through ticket sales this year. He noted that the chamber’s budget is about $5 million per year.

The revenue from the event goes toward the chamber’s work and advocacy throughout the year, he said, adding that the group’s work includes policy advocacy, economic development efforts and promotion of the Sacramento region.

Photos by Kati Garner.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Sacramento Press contributor Kati Garner contributed to this report.

Perspectives 2009 welcomes VIPs

2009-10-09T04:33:32Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber office has been buzzing this week as Chief Executive Officer Matt Mahood and the rest of the staff finished last-minute details for their big annual event.

One of the most important things they've done to prepare for Friday's "Perspectives 2009: An American Experience" is to work closely with each of the nationally recognized guest speakers.

Surrounded by signed and framed programs from past Perspectives, Mahood talked earlier this week by phone with speakers preparing for their presentations.

The work continued Thursday when speakers started flying in from around the country and Metro Chamber staff became chaperones for the VIPs. Such behind-the-scenes work does more than ensure all the speakers enjoy their time in California's capital. It also has won the city good PR from very high-profile people, from former secretaries of state Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright to boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien.

"Every time we have a speaker come here and they have a great experience, they go back and they tell people about Sacramento," Mahood said. "We dot all the i's and cross all the t's and make sure there's icing on the cake, so when they leave, they can say, 'Wow, Sacramento's really cool ... and they really know how to treat people well there.' "

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will headline at the 15th annual Perspectives, which runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J St. The lineup also includes "Flags of Our Fathers" author James Bradley, venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki, personal finance guru Jane Bryant Quinn and creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson. Their presentations will share the theme of turning challenge and adversity into opportunity and even success.

Roughly 3,500 people have turned out for the forum in peak years, but the Metro Chamber expects only about 2,000 Friday due to the recession.

In the last 15 years, the event has brought many sought-after speakers to Sacramento. In 1995, its inaugural year, President George H.W. Bush and Dick Cheney, who would become vice president under Bush's son, shared their views. Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke in 2001, before he entered politics, and former U.S. Senator Bob Dole came here in 2006.

Speaker fees range from $10,000 for unknown guests to $200,000 plus expenses for former presidents and heads of state, who are flown in on private aircraft.

Metro Chamber staff greet guests at the airport and check them into luxury hotels. They will escort the speakers to the convention center for the event Friday, as well as to other VIP events and elsewhere around town.

Lawrence Summers, President Clinton's secretary of the treasury, was one of the guests who had positive things to say after his experience in Sacramento.

"He goes, 'Man, you guys should be doing this all over the country. This is such a great event,' " Mahood said. "I laughed, knowing how hard it is to do one."

Volunteers help at the event, but logistics are handled only by the Metro Chamber's staff of 25.

"The entire chamber staff is all hands on deck," said Mahood, who also serves as the organization's president.

The public affairs speakers forum was launched to mark the Metro Chamber's 100th anniversary. Since then, Perspectives has become the chamber's signature event, Mahood said. Speakers' rosters that included motivational speakers and people representatives from both of the two major political parties have grown to include entertainers and intellectuals.

Rice is returning for the second time. She first spoke at the event in 2000, before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and before she became President George W. Bush's national security advisor and later, secretary of state. At that time, Rice was a political science professor at Stanford University and Bush was running for president.

Now, she brings significant political experience and a high-level understanding of complex international and security issues, Mahood said.

"I think she comes back eight years later with a whole new perspective," he said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Metro EDGE launches tonight

2009-09-09T03:41:19Z

Metro EDGE kicks off with a Wednesday night launch party.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, developer Mike Heller Jr. and KCRA anchor Adrienne Bankert will speak at the event, which will be held from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at L Wine Lounge, 1801 L St.

The Sacramento Metro Chamber formed the group to promote Sacramento's vitality and growth by stemming an exodus of talented people leaving for major cities.

The goal is to hold onto young energy and ideas that help build cultural, social and business opportunities rivaling other major cities, said Metro EDGE's chairwoman, Autumn Heacox of Sierra View General Contractor.

Metro EDGE and the chamber intend to develop business and civic leaders among Generation X and Generation Y creatives, professionals, entrepreneurs and college grads.

The group will offer professional development, networking events and organized activities involving such issues as transportation, development, job growth, arts and culture, green technology and sustainable living. The program also will create a forum for these generations to discuss regional issues.

The group was initiated to complement the chamber's Leadership Sacramento program, started in 1985 to promote leaders who want to serve the community.

Hammond wants bid preferences for local companies

2009-08-06T04:04:59Z

Local small businesses may be able to gain an advantage when bidding for contracts with the city of Sacramento if a new proposal by City Councilwoman Lauren Hammond is eventually approved by the City Council.

Hammond is proposing a program in which local small businesses would be eligible for a 5 percent bid preference with the city. The purpose of the 5 percent discount would be to give local businesses a boost in the city's bidding process.

Hammond told The Sacramento Press she would like to create the program because "there aren't enough companies getting contracts with the city of Sacramento." The city's other efforts to bring in more local companies have not worked because city staffers have not reached out of their "comfort zone," she said.

City staffers usually choose the lowest bid for contracts, Hammond said. The 5 percent bid preference would lower a local company's bid, which would make the local company more likely to be selected by the city, she noted.

Under Hammond's proposal, the city would decrease by 5 percent a local company's quote when the company competes for a contract, according to Trevor Walton, a program manager with the city's Economic Development Department.

Right now, Walton is crafting Hammond's proposal. An idea being discussed right now is to use the 5 percent bid preference for bids under $100,000, according to Walton. He expects that the city's Law and Legislation Committee will weigh in on the proposal in September.

The plan will need to be approved by the City Council before it can be established. A date for the City Council to consider the proposal has not yet been selected, Walton said.

The city currently provides a 5 percent bid evaluation preference now to small businesses located in the state, Walton explained. A small business that is also a local business could possibly be eligible for a bid discount of up to 10 percent, but those details have not yet [been] decided, he said.

The city has had bid evaluation preferences for many years, Walton said, noting that the City Council is "very supportive of small businesses." Bid preferences are used in various cities, he noted.

Ingrid Foster, vice president of communications for the Sacramento Metro Chamber, said the chamber had no comment on Hammond's proposal at this point. The Chamber's chief executive Matthew Mahood, as well as a Chamber spokesperson, were not available for comment Wednesday afternoon, Foster said.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Perspectives 2009: An American experience to present Silicon Valley guru Guy Kawasaki

2009-08-05T18:12:59Z

SACRAMENTO–Perspectives 2009: An American Experience brings to Sacramento author and entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki—international technology guru, among America’s best business speakers and by Forbes’ calculation, the most influential Twitterer in the world.
Known as one of the top 50 bloggers with the web column: How to Change the World, Kawasaki’s expertise is grounded in the early days of the PC revolution in Silicon Valley, where as an Apple employee, he helped market the Macintosh in 1984 by creating passionate user-advocates for the brand.

“Business people attending Perspectives will enjoy not only a dynamic, out-spoken commentator but one who possesses keen insight into current day business practices,” said Matt Mahood, Metro Chamber president & CEO. “With Sacramento working on becoming a green and clean tech center, we can learn much from him.”
A venture capitalist, Kawasaki currently is managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, a seed-stage and early-stage venture capital fund. Other business ventures include Fog City Software that created an email and list server products and Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web made successful by social networking tools such as Twitter.
Sharing his vision with irreverent wit, Kawasaki’s passion at mentoring entrepreneurs is another example of an American Experience that will be on display Oct. 9 at Perspectives. Like many of the other top Twitters, Kawasaki also ranks prominently—ninth place—on Forbes’ annual listing of the Internet’s most famous people. Although he’s been called a business legend, Kawasaki says that being a legend shouldn’t be a goal. “What you should do is create a great product or service—the goal is to change the world—if you do that, maybe you’ll be a legend.”
Guy Kawasaki’s newest book, Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition is an all-in-one guide for starting and operating great organizations that ignore passing fads in business theory. He is also the author of nine books including The Art of the Start, which has become a highly acclaimed book for small business.
Since 1995, the Metro Chamber has introduced the region’s business people to some of the world’s most influential and world-renowned leaders including President George H.W. Bush, Gen. Colin Powell, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Gov. Ann Richards, President Gerald Ford, Capt. Jim Lovell, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Perspectives was launched in celebration of the Metro Chamber’s 100th anniversary and century-long service to the community. Annually drawing an audience of nearly 2,500 people, the day-long program is informative and creates first-class networking opportunities for business and civic leaders.

The complete speakers lineup for Perspectives 2009: An American Experience comprises Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, NFL Hall of Famer/Fox Sports Analyst, Howie Long, Personal Finance Expert/TV Host Jane Bryant Quinn, Flags of Our Fathers Author James Bradley, Author/Entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki and returning emcee, Fox News Radio Host Tom Sullivan.

Perspectives will be held 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 in the Sacramento Convention Center. Tickets are $195 for Metro Chamber members and $245 for the public. Tables of 10 are $1,950/$2,450. Tickets can be purchased online at the Perspectives website or via the events hotline at 916-444-1919.

xxx

The Sacramento Metro Chamber is the largest, oldest and most prominent voice of business in the greater Sacramento area. Representing nearly 2,200 member businesses and business organizations in the six-county Sacramento region, the Metro Chamber serves as the region’s leading proponent of regional cooperation and primary advocate on issues affecting business, economic development and quality of life.

When citing the organization, please use our preferred name:
Sacramento Metro Chamber on first reference and Metro Chamber on second reference.

Flags of Our Fathers Author James Bradley to relate common virtues of the American Experience

2009-08-03T17:54:20Z

SACRAMENTO—No American Experience has been more photographically reproduced than the raising of the American flag over Iwo Jima in 1945. Perspectives 2009: An American Experience brings to Sacramento James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers, whose father is one of the figures in the photograph.

Bradley’s book recounts the story of the boys’ lives, beginning as his quest to discover why his father remained silent about the wartime experience. In telling the story behind the Greatest Generation’s iconic photo, Bradley relates basic fundamentals of the American Experience: teamwork and digging in to do what’s called for. The figures in the photo, he said, were boys of common virtue doing their duty.

The best-selling book became a Clint Eastwood-directed movie released in 2007. His second book, Flyboys, which debuted in 2003, is the secret story of eight naval aviators who were beheaded on the island next to Iwo Jima. A ninth Flyboy got away. His name is George H.W. Bush—the 41st President of the United States.

Bradley’s life has evolved into an American Experience typical to Baby Boomers whose fathers served in World War II—a life of adventure, overseas travel and as a college student, study abroad in Japan—and that experience changed his life. As a result, he founded the James Bradley Peace Foundation, dedicated to fostering understanding between America and Asia. The foundation sends American schoolchildren to high school in Japan and China where they live with a family.

Says Bradley, “My hope is that after these young people come back from their one year abroad, they will eventually migrate upwards into the American power structure and the next time we are debating whether to talk it out or fight it out, one of them might make a difference.”

Bradley is also very familiar with the corporate world, with vast experience writing and producing corporate films and corporate meetings; he has traveled the globe, living and working in more than 40 countries for nearly a decade. He has run companies in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy.

Since 1995, the Metro Chamber has introduced the region’s business people to some of the world’s most influential and world-renowned leaders including President George H.W. Bush, Gen. Colin Powell, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Gov. Ann Richards, President Gerald Ford, Capt. Jim Lovell, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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The Sacramento Metro Chamber is the largest, oldest and most prominent voice of business in the greater Sacramento area. Representing nearly 2,200 member businesses and business organizations in the six-county Sacramento region, the Metro Chamber serves as the region’s leading proponent of regional cooperation and primary advocate on issues affecting business, economic development and quality of life.

When citing the organization, please use our preferred name:
Sacramento Metro Chamber on first reference and Metro Chamber on second reference.

Metro EDGE rallies young leaders

2009-08-01T04:59:30Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber has launched a new effort to put Sacramento on the map by channeling the energy and innovation of the city's emerging leaders.

Metro EDGE is a new program created to give Generation X and Generation Y professionals a vehicle to support Sacramento's growth as a major metropolis full of cultural, social and business opportunities. At the same time, the program is intended to draw more young energy to the city and help stem an exodus of people looking for opportunities in major cities.

The group's official debut is set for a Sept. 9 "official launch" at L Wine Lounge, 1801 L St. In July, more than 100 people gathered at a networking mixer at Lounge on 20, 1050 20th St., to learn more about the program.

The group's organizers want to harness the city's creative types, entrepreneurs, young professionals and college graduates into a force that can help Sacramento rival other major cities, said Metro EDGE's chairwoman, Autumn Heacox of Sierra View General Contractor.

"What's different about Metro EDGE is that we have a strong sense of community and a drive to make Sacramento a better place," she said. "We are a group of Generation X and Generation Y professionals that prides itself on uniting with one voice to offer a unique perspective on Sacramento's most pressing issues."

The group's volunteer leaders are noticing many people leave Sacramento for cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York after growing up or going to college here, said Ingrid Foster, the chamber's president of communications.

"We hope this group can help keep our talent local," she said.

Metro EDGE will engage in workforce development and promote the things that make Sacramento a good place for young professionals to come.

"It's an opportunity for our young professionals to share our community and significant regional attributes with their peers," said Linda Cutler, chamber board chair and vice president of corporate communications for GenCorp.

The program is expected to help promote a new generation of leaders via professional development, networking events and organized activities involving such issues as transportation, development, job growth, arts and culture, green technology and sustainable living. The program also will create a forum for these generations to discuss regional issues.

The group is meant to complement the chamber's Leadership Sacramento program, started in 1985 to promote leaders who want to serve the community.

The launch party at L Wine Lounge will celebrate Sacramento and its food, beer, wine, music and celebrities, Foster said.

"We're going to have a celebration of things that are local," said Foster.

Condi Rice: A unique vantage point on U.S. diplomacy, former Sec of State returns to Sac on Oct. 9 Perspectives 2009: An American Experience offers premier speakers in business-friendly forum

2009-07-15T23:51:25Z

SACRAMENTO—Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returns to the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s day-long premier speakers forum, Perspectives 2009: An American Experience, this year to address a Sacramento audience that last saw her nine years ago when she was advising then-presidential candidate George W. Bush.

With her first visit in 2000 pre-dating the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, it will be interesting to hear how she relates her tenure as national security advisor to President Bush and Secretary of State.

In September 2000, Rice told the Perspectives audience that the United States can’t continue being the “world’s 9-1-1” and respond to every international conflict. The next president, she said, would have to decide how far to extend our military’s reach in making a secure world. (Read a summary here of her Perspectives 2000 speech.)

“We are bringing Condoleezza Rice back on this 15th anniversary of Perspectives because of the unique view she has on world affairs—bridging the nine years between her visits,” said Matt Mahood, Metro Chamber president & CEO. “Back in 2000, she accurately portrayed the struggles China was having in opening its economy and Russia’s still emerging sense of national self after its breakup. What attendees of this year’s Perspectives will hear is an astute and informed sense of world affairs—you can’t get that anywhere else in a venue like Perspectives.”

After the Bush administration left office, Rice returned to Stanford University, where she is the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution and professor of political science.