In case you missed last week's email blast: June 22 Eblast

In conjunction with the holiday, we will not be sending out an e-blast the week of July 5th.

We will resume information to you the week of July 12th.

The office will be closed July 7th, July 8th and July 9th.

As we begin the road to recovery together, it is important to reflect on the last year. We all had our own individual challenges and learned that this community is strong and our business community is resilient. It is important to capture some data that identifies the direct impacts of COVID. As the City of La Mesa looks to spending portions of the $10.8 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds, it is our hope that some of those funds may be directed to small businesses and nonprofits throughout the City of La Mesa. However, we need to collect information from all of you to see if there is a need, and identify that need. Be sure and pass this survey on to other business within the City of La Mesa to share their opinion, as well.

Answer questions on the survey NOW! Tell us how COVID-19 has impacted your life and business, and if you need any type of assistance. Until we know what your needs are, it is difficult to ask for any portion of these funds. Tell us how funding would help with your economic recovery. We are all in this together!

Survey: tinyurl.com/lamesabizsurvey2021

Small Business Stimulus Grant Funding is Available NOW From the County of San Diego – We Are District 2

The County of San Diego has received funds from the federal government’s American Recovery Plan Act. This grant is to provide economic assistance to help businesses and non-profit entities impacted by COVID-19. This financial assistance will be allocated to eligible, qualified small businesses and nonprofit entities based on the availability of funds, program guideline, and the submission of all required information and supporting documentation.

Supervisor Joel Anderson District 2 Supervisor has asked chambers to assist with the paperwork for small businesses to complete the submission application. The La Mesa Chamber of Commerce is happy to help. The La Mesa Chamber has decided to take an extra step in this grant funding process and the recovery of our businesses in La Mesa and announce immediately:

The La Mesa Chamber of Commerce believes that assisting ALL businesses in their recovery from the pandemic and ability to obtain funds from the American Recovery Plan Act should be a priority. We are ALL in this together! Chamber Members and Non-Chamber members, effective immediately, may receive help from Mary England, President & CEO of the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce in filling out all paperwork and answering any questions you may have. Mary may be reached 7 days a week –Maryengland@lamesachamber.com or 619-251-7730 to assist you.

We have attached the Small Business Stimulus Grant package and provided the link so that you may find the information. The link is: tinyurl.com/smallbizstimulusgrant

If you are NOT sure of how to answer questions on the application or need assistance on clarifying what documents you need to submit – contact Mary England at Maryengland@lamesachamber.com or (619) 251-7730, we are happy to help!

NOTE: If you applied for and received county funds under the other Small Business Stimulus Grant, allocated from the CARES Act funding – YES you may apply for these funds, you just need to list the amount you received from the county on the application.

It’s been a LONG time since we have been able to be together, under one roof. Take this opportunity to come out and see us! Make plans to come out and see friends and meet new ones at the 7th Annual “Summer Bash" Business Expo. This is an excellent opportunity to meet members of the business community and see what goods and services they offer and enter a chance to win FREE Door Prizes from each business vendor. It looks like we will be giving away over 48 FREE Door Prizes, in addition to other raffles and activities. Join us and have some fun, see friends and sample some great food. To celebrate this GREAT opportunity to “get together again” tickets are only $10 a piece and we have a new venue, our Chamber Member hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott San Diego El Cajon. We will use the ballroom and the outdoor courtyard! As in the past all vendor space will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

We have an ADDED BONUS this year: All vendor tables reserved and paid for by June 29th, 5 p.m. will be entered into an “Early Bird” raffle for a gift basket valued at $200 - that includes gift cards and more!

Location: Courtyard by Marriott San Diego El Cajon

141 N. Magnolia Ave., El Cajon

Time: 5:00 p.m. – 8:00p.m.

Tickets: $10 per person

Note: This is a 21-year or older event.

For details, visit summerbash.lamesachamber.com.

Sponsorships still available – Call Mary England 619-251-7730 or maryengland@lamesachamber.com

Union Bank

Courtyard by Marriott San Diego El Cajon

Photos courtesy of: Sandra Small/ Photographer and www.CeCePhoto.com.

Join us and welcome TownePlace Suites by Marriott San Diego Downtown to our Chamber and meet Rachel Lynch, Director of Sales, as she hosts tours and shows us this beautiful new hotel. This unique hotel offers extended stays near the Gaslamp Quarter and Balboa Park. The downtown suites feature an urban-inspired fitness center, kitchen or kitchenettes, microwave and stovetop in kitchens and rooms with two queen beds, a single king bed, or King Suite with an extra sofa bed. For our evening mixer and ribbon cutting, guests will receive complimentary parking in the lot next door, great hors d’ oeuvres, a complimentary champagne toast, ”happy hour” priced beverages, and raffles and prizes throughout the evening. Bring your business cards and mix and mingle.

Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Ribbon cutting at 6:15 p.m.

Location: TownePlace Suites by Marriott San Diego Downtown

1445 Sixth Street, San Diego

Complimentary Parking in the lot next door!

Cost: FREE to members - $5 for guests

Time: 5-8pm

VIP Tasting: 5-8p

General Admission Tasting: 6-8pm

Sponsor Tasting: 4:30-8pm

Where: Town and Country San Diego

500 Hotel Circle North in Mission Valley

Early Bird VIP: $60, 5-8pm | Early Bird General Admission: $40, 6-8pm

VIP: $75 and General Admission: $55

VIP: $95 and General Admission: $75

For details and to buy tickets, visit taste.lamesachamber.com.

As the state continues to monitor the transmission and effects of COVID-19 and its many variants, CDPH strongly encourages the following general public health recommendations:

What is a Mega Event? Mega events are planned public or social occasions that include over 5,000 spectators indoors and over 10,000 outdoors. Mega events may have either assigned or unassigned seating, and may be either general admission or gated, ticketed and permitted events. From a public health consideration, Mega events are higher risk setting for transmitting COVID-19.

With California’s tenant protections against evictions expiring next week, the Governor and Legislators agreed on Friday to extend them until September 30th and to cover 100 percent of the back rent owed by many low-income residents whose finances were hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. Looks like the approval of the three-month extension will happen as early as Monday. Allowing more time will also allow distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars in rental assistance that has been unclaimed since it was offered in March. Source – The San Diego Union Tribune – Patrick McGreevy. 

San Diego home prices increased 19.1 percent in a year as of March and outpaced nearly every city in the nation. Nationwide average price increases in the 20-city index were 13.2 percent as of March, reported last week. San Diego’s substantial increase reflects a full year of pandemic pricing from March 2020 to March 2021. The year was marked by a surge in demand from stay-at-home workers, low mortgage rates and national housing shortages. The last time prices went up this fast in the San Diego metropolitan area was in March 2014 as the region rapidly climbed out of the Great Recession. The San Diego County median home price for a resale single-family home in March was $760,000. Source – The San Diego Union Tribune Phillip Molnar.

American consumers absorbed another surge in prices in May – a 6 percent increase over April and 5 percent over the past year, the biggest 12-month inflation spike since 2006. The surge reflected a range of goods and services now in growing demand as people increasingly shop, travel, dine out and attend entertainment events in a rapidly reopening economy.

The increased consumer appetite is bumping up against a shortage of components, from lumber and steel to chemicals and semiconductors, that supply such key products as autos and computer equipment, all of which has forced up prices. As consumers increasingly venture away from home, demand has spread from manufactured goods to services – airline fares, for example, along with restaurant meals, and hotel prices – raising inflation in those areas, too.

For now, though, rising commodity costs are forcing Americans to pay more for items from meat to gasoline. Prices for corn, grain and soybeans are at their highest levels since 2012. The price of lumber to build homes is at an all-time high. More expensive commodities, such as polyethylene and wood pulp, have translated into higher consumer prices for toilet paper, diapers and most products sold in plastic containers. Source – The San Diego Union Tribune – Martin Crutsinger.

The Grossmont Healthcare District is pleased to announce the beginning of our Grants Cycle to commence on July 1, 2021. Available is $1.3 million to health-related organizations whose programs and direct services impact residents in East County San Diego. This year, for your convenience, we have several options to submit your grants application: digital, email, or mail/delivery.

An emphasis will be placed on programs addressing priority health needs for the San Diego East Region population, including: Aging Concerns, Behavioral Health, Cancer, and Chronic Conditions including Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes (Type 2), and Obesity. However, grants are not limited to these priority needs.

Grant and sponsorship applications for the fiscal year may be submitted only through December 31, 2021, although grant awards may be considered by the Board of Directors through the balance of the fiscal year (ending June 30, 2022).

For more information, such as the full grants policy, a recorded Q&A Forum, or to preview the application, visit: the Grossmont Healthcare District Grants and Sponsorships page.

Head out to Harry Griffen Park and enjoy a great line-up of local bands at La Mesa’s “Sundays at Six” free summer concert series. Grab a picnic and lawn chair and relax at the beautiful outdoor amphitheater at Harry Griffen Park located at 9550 Milden Street, from 6:00 – 7:00 P.M.

On June 20th, La Mesa kicks off summer with the crowning of Miss La Mesa prior to the first concert.

The Sundays at Six Summer Concerts are sponsored by EDCO Disposal, Grahovac Construction, Laurie MacDonald of Coldwell Banker West, Sharp Grossmont Hospital, the City of La Mesa, and the La Mesa Park and Recreation Foundation. For more information go to cityoflamesa.us/specialevents, email friends@lamesaparks.org or call 619.667.1300.

TownePlace Suites by Marriott San Diego Downtown, located at 1445 Sixth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101, is looking to fill the following positions:

If interested, please send your resume to Rlynch@tpssandiego.com

Businesses, transit agencies and school districts that are considering making a switch to commercial electric vehicles are now able to take advantage of SDG&E’s Power Your Drive for Fleets program. Its innovative pricing plan, the Electric Vehicle-High Power (EV-HP) rate, makes it possible to reap both financial and environmental benefits by powering fleets with electricity. Businesses that sign up for the plan can choose the level of power to subscribe to for their charging needs and pay for it with a fixed monthly subscription fee.

The EV-HP pricing plan also enables businesses to save by charging during times of the day when demand for electricity is low or renewable energy generation is high. Charging during grid-friendly hours ensures that the growing adoption of electric-powered equipment doesn’t strain the grid during peak periods and require costly grid enhancements.

The adoption of the EV-HP rate complements SDG&E’s Power Your Drive for Fleets Program to build charging infrastructure for a minimum of 3,000 plug-in medium-duty and heavy-duty electric vehicles and equipment, including transit buses, school buses, delivery trucks and forklifts. This initiative also supports the electrification of refrigerated semi-truck trailers, which are vital for transporting perishable goods. For more information, visit sdge.com/EVfleets.

July 15 - TownePlace Suites by Marriott San Diego Downtown Evening Mixer and Ribbon Cutting : 5:30-7pm at 1445 Sixth St., San Diego | Details/RSVP

July 21 - "Summer Bash" Business Expo : 5-8pm at Courtyard by Marriott San Diego El Cajon | Details/RSVP

August 30 - "Taste of San Diego - East" : 5-8pm at Town and Country San Diego in Mission Valley | Details/Buy Tickets

October 13 - Salute to Local Heroes & Installation Dinner : 5:30-8:45pm at Sycuan Casino Resort | 5485 Casino Way, El Cajon, CA 92019 | Details/RSVP

November 10 - Evening Mixer at Hooleys Public House : 5:30-7pm at Hooleys Public House | 5500 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa | Details