Volume 3 Issue 6 November/December 2008 - Sunset Gower Studios

More documents

Recommendations

Info

HOLLYWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE � Since 1921... Promoting and enhancing the business, cultural and civic well-being of the greater Hollywood community. PUBLIC POLICY Hollywood Freeway Central Park Feasibility Study Completed Community Meeting to be held in November The highly-anticipated feasibility study on the proposed Hollywood Freeway Central Park has been completed and will be made available for public comment at a community meeting that is being planned for November 18th at Helen Bernstein High School at 6 p.m. Earlier this month, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law Assistant Majority Leader Kevin de León’s AB 31, which prioritizes $400 million of Proposition 84 park funds, the largest investment in local parks in the nation, to underserved and park-poor communities throughout California. This important legislation will allow Hollywood an opportunity to seek funding for the creation of new parks in our community including the Hollywood Freeway Central Park The concept behind the Park is to construct a cap over a portion of the U.S. 101 Freeway where it goes below grade between Hollywood and Santa Monica boulevards as the freeway travels through the heart of 6 � hollywoodchamber.net Hollywood. The project committee has already raised more than $160,000 from public and private funding sources and has garnered support from Federal, State, and Local Government officials including Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti who has been instrumental in moving the Park project forward. Other elected officials supporting the Park include: Senator Dianne Feinstein, Congressman Xavier Becerra, Congresswoman Diane Watson, California State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas, California Assemblymember Kevin DeLeon, California Assemblymember Mike Feuer, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge. Community support for the park has been overwhelming with more than 450 people in attendance at the three public meetings held to solicit input used in the Feasibility Study. Hollywood Freeway Central Park will be accessible by two subway stops and numerous bus lines, and will be regional in its attraction. Additionally, more than 100,000 people, including 23,000 children live within just one mile of the Park area. As the Hollywood community continues to grow with an estimated 80,000 residents per square-mile, rising land acquisition costs, and over 6,000 additional housing units slated for construction, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has proposed Hollywood Freeway Central Park as a way to create a much-needed street-level public park in one of the lowest resident-to-park space communities in California. For more information on the Hollywood Freeway Central Park please contact the Chamber’s Vice President of Public Policy, Nicole Shahenian at (323) 468-1373 or via e-mail at Nicole@hollywoodchamber.net. You can also visit the Park’s website at www.hollywoodfreewaycentralpark.org. CHAMBER BUSINESS BENEFIT representing Hollywood’s interests with government A rendering from the feasibility study imagines how a Hollywood Central Park could be constructed above the Hollywood Freeway.
� Creating a Strong Economy � Promoting Hollywood � Political & Legislative Action � Networking & Promoting Your Business � Assisting the Community HOLLYWOOD BUSINESS ADVOCATE PUBLIC POLICY Metro Narrows Westside Subway Options At a recent community meeting, Metro officials announced that they have narrowed the options for the Westside subway and will be focusing their studies on two alternatives: the first being a route straight west on Wilshire Blvd. to Santa Monica and the second, adding a leg that would connect from the Hollywood & Highland station passing through West Hollywood before heading south on La Cienega to connect at Wilshire Blvd. with the Wilshire line. Chamber President & CEO Leron Gubler was present at the hearing and praised Metro for considering the Hollywood/West Hollywood connector (known as Alternative 11). He noted that the Hollywood Chamber was on record in support of the two lines, which would create a much more usable subway system and which would get people where they want to go on the Westside. A final recommendation is expected to go to the Metro Board of Directors before the end of the year. Measure R, which would raise the sales tax by ½ cent, would provide a funding mechanism for the subway. Because the route of the Westside extension is so important to Hollywood, the Chamber will continue to follow developments closely and will keep our members informed on how you can help us to get Alternative 11 selected as the preferred route. State Controller John Chiang Briefs Chamber Board of Directors S tate Controller John Chiang briefed the Chamber Board of Directors during their October Board meeting, on the current economic crisis. He explained that the State traditionally operates with a strong reliance on revenue generated by Personal Income Tax. He noted that income tax accounts for between 53 and 55 percent of tax revenue for the State. Transactional Sales tax accounts for 27 percent of the states tax revenue and Corporate tax makes up the remaining 10 percent. In previous years the State has been able to fund its programs through Revenue Anticipation Notes (RAN), monies borrowed from lending institutions based on its projected tax revenues. The Controller noted that because of the on-going credit crisis, lending institutions are not as willing to provide the State with loans as has been done in the past. The State will need between 7 and 10 billion dollars in loans in order to continue its operations. The Controller projected that the State’s budget situation will likely worsen over the next three years and noted that the State needs to stop its practice of borrowing if the situation is ever to be remedied. Controller Chiang also discussed his efforts to notify the public of unclaimed property that the IRS has been holding. Individuals may search to see if the State Controller's Office is holding their Unclaimed Property by visiting the Controller’s website at http://www.sco.ca.gov/col/ucp/index.shtml Controller Chiang was elected in November 2006 to serve as California’s Chief Fiscal Officer. The Controller is the chair of the Franchise Tax Board and, during even-numbered years, the State Lands Commission. He serves on 76 boards and commissions including CalPERS and CalSTRS, the nation’s first and second largest public pension funds. Red Line to Extend Operating Hours During the Holiday Season In an effort to encourage more people to take public transportation, Councilmembers Eric Garcetti, Wendy Greuel, and Jose Huizar have worked with Metro to launch a pilot program that will extend the operating hours of the Red Line throughout the Holiday Season on weekends from November 22nd – January 3rd. The Metro which currently ends services at midnight, will remain open until 3 am on Friday and Saturday nights. The pilot program has been made possible by coalition of business and community stakeholders who have committed funding to operate Metro service for the extended hours. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce encourages you to use Metro when visiting Hollywood this holiday season! Assistant Majority Kevin de León Briefs Members at Brown Bag Luncheon T he Chamber hosted a “Brown Bag Luncheon” for its members with Assistant Majority Kevin de Leon (D-45) in October. The event was the first in a series of Brown Bag lunches that will be held to provide members with an opportunity to meet local elected officials and discuss current legislative initiatives affecting the Hollywood community. De Leon gave the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce a report on his priority legislation and the financial difficulties in Sacramento. The Assemblymember explained that the State’s cash flow problems may require delaying payments of bills or going back into session if the State is unable to float notes due to the current financial turmoil in the markets. He also, reported on the successful passage of AB31, which he introduced to direct $400-million in State bond funds to the communities with the greatest need for parks. Of particular interest to Hollywood is a clause he added that would allow freeway cap parks to apply for the funds. Additionally, he reported on two other bills that did not pass but which he intends to reintroduce next year – a bill to require hand-gun ammunition to be locked up behind a counter and to limit the sales of ammunition to felons, and a bill that would create a new financial product for people without pension plans and that would be administered by the State pension system, Calpers. DeLeon also announced that he would chair the powerful Assembly Appropriations Committee next year. For more information on the work of Assistant Majority Leader Kevin de Leon, please visit the Assemblymember’s website at http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a45/ CHAMBER BUSINESS BENEFIT representing interests of business with government hollywoodchamber.net �� 7
Page 1 and 2: Volume 3 � Issue 6 November/Decem
Page 3 and 4: � Creating a Strong Economy � P
Page 5: � Creating a Strong Economy � P

Volume 3 Issue 6 November/December 2008 - Sunset Gower Studios

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?