In case you missed last week's e-blast: March 5 Eblast See more past email blasts here.

The La Mesa Chamber is committed to helping our members and the entire business community speak out on issues that negatively impact you, your business and your families. One of those issues is the escalating gasoline pricing in San Diego. Thanks to Supervisor Jim Desmond and Supervisor Joel Anderson they have created an agenda item to be heard by the entire Board of Supervisors to discuss and hopefully approve.

Their Agenda Item is asking the Board of Supervisors to draft a letter to the Governor and San Diego County’s State Legislative delegation requesting temporary one-year suspension of the State of California gas tax and a request to back fill the funds using the State’s budget surplus.

We have attached the process to submit your comment - let’s support this and TEMPORARILY SUSPEND FOR ONE YEAR the State’s gas tax.

The popular Spring Fling Business Expo is finally scheduled for this year and offers members an opportunity to participate and share their goods and services with members, businesses and the public. We would love to see you there! We are making plans to celebrate all of you and the strength of our business community! Take a look at the information below and the link to download a registration form and make pans to join us!

Time: 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Where: Courtyard by Marriott San Diego El Cajon

141 N Magnolia Ave, El Cajon, CA 92020

To reserve a display table, please contact Mary England at (619) 251-7730 or email maryengland@lamesachamber.com.

Presenting Sponsor: Union Bank

AAA Imaging ∙ Amanda Hammett Insurance & Financial Services – State Farm ∙ American Medical Response (AMR) ∙ BooXkeeping San Diego East ∙ East County Art Association ∙ East County Magazine ∙ Express Blinds & More ∙ Fully Promoted EmbroidMe La Mesa ∙ HNK CPAs ∙ JM Medicare Services ∙ Kristie Facto State Farm Insurance ∙ La Mesa Floral Design Shoppe ∙ La Mesa Courier ∙ La Mesa Flooring Company ∙ La Mesa Lions Club ∙ La Mesa Park & Recreation Foundation ∙ Lamplighters Community Theatre ∙ Local Umbrella Media ∙ Major Security Services ∙ Masterpiece Limousine ∙ McGovern Law Group ∙ Nightwalker Caverns Escape Room Adventures ∙ Oakwood Escrow ∙ Reventia Sterling Designs ∙ San Diego Community Power ∙ San Diego Eye Professionals ∙ San Diego Flood Restoration ∙ Spa Piel ∙ St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center ∙ Sungarden Terrace Retirement Community & Adult Daycare ∙ The Upper Hand Spa Salon ∙ Thoughtful Creations ∙ Union Bank ∙ Westmont of La Mesa

Our fleet of vehicles will provide you with the level of opulence and extravagance you would normally associate with stars and celebrities, and our highly trained chauffeurs excel not only in a service which is second to none, but also have first hand local knowledge of the best places to see within San Diego and Mexico.

1419 Broadway, El Cajon, CA 92021 | (858) 483-5466 | masterlimos.com

COVID-19 trends in San Diego County continue to show improvement. For the first time since last November, suspected COVID-19 hospitalizations fell below 300 reaching 283 on March 8th. Over the past week, nearly 5% of Coronavirus tests came back positive, a significant improvement considering the region posted a rate of 30% in the first week of January.

COVID 19 consequences continued to be suffered more frequently by those who have remained unvaccinated.  Although San Diego County has one of the highest vaccinations rates in the state, the region's number of residents who have received at least one dose still has not crossed the 3 million mark. While nearly 1.2 million have now received booster shots, that number represents only about 55% of the 2.1 million across the region that are eligible. Source: San Diego Union Tribune - Paul Sisson. Photo: Ariana Drehsler

Join us and mix and mingle, while enjoying great food prepared by the BJ's staff and see why this restaurant is so popular! Heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served and a “no host” bar will be offered where you may purchase a great variety of BJ’s award-winning brews on tap every day.

Bring your business cards and join us for great food, hand crafted beer, raffles and more!

Time: 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

Location: 5500 Grossmont Center Dr., La Mesa

Don’t be left out – RSVP now so we know you will be joining us and prepare enough refreshments.

The La Mesa Chamber invites you to join them in welcoming Oakwood Escrow to our business community on Wednesday, April 27th. The open house begins at 5 p.m., with the “official” ribbon cutting scheduled for 6 p.m. Join us and meet owner, Haley Kremensky and her team at Oakwood Escrow located at 8697 La Mesa Blvd., Ste. D in La Mesa. Refreshments and delicious beverages will be served. Haley and looks forward to meeting you. RSVP online or to: rsvp@lamesachaber.com so Haley can prepare enough refreshments for you.

Join the La Mesa Park & Recreation Foundation in partnership with the City of La Mesa to celebrate a FREE family-friendly Earth Day Fair on Saturday, April 9 from 10 AM to 1 PM

at MacArthur Park, 4900 Memorial Drive, La Mesa, CA.

The event welcomes all ages and will showcase fun, educational, and sustainable activities, products, and services.

Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week reflecting a low number of layoffs across the economy. Jobless claims fell by 18,000 to 215,000 for the week ending February 26 from 233,000 the previous week the Labor Department has reported.

In total, 1,476,000 were collecting jobless aid the week that ended February 12th, a small uptick of 2,000 from the previous weeks numbers which was its lowest level since March 14, 1970. The US economy has rebounded strongly from 2020’s Coronavirus caused recession.

Massive Government spending and the vaccine rollout jump started the economy as employers added a record 6.4 million jobs last year. The US economy expanded 5.7% in 2021, growing last year at the fastest annual pace since a 7.25% surge in 1984, which also followed a recession. Source: San Diego Union Tribune.

Google announced on February 17th that it is creating a $100M fund to sponsor an ambitious project to expand effective skills training and job placement programs for low income Americans. The Google-Backed initiative is targeting a big problem: How to find train and create paths to good jobs in the modern economy for the nearly 2/3 of American workers who do not have a 4-year degree. The tech giant is working with three non-profit groups to the effort: Year Up, which focuses on upward mobility programs for the disadvantaged; Merit America, an organization that offers tech training programs for adults without a bachelors degree; and Social Finance, which designs student friendly financing and repayment plans.

The training organizations re paid a portion of their costs up front and receive additional payments only if their graduates land and keep higher-paying jobs. The program will combine Google philanthropy with loan repayments from students. The loans will carry no interest and students will begin repaying only if they get a job that pays at least $40,000 a year. They payments will be about $100 per month and continue for 5 years. The Google fund hopes to fuel total wage gains of $1 billion for 20,000 training program graduates.

The three organizations working with Google are indicative of newer trends in job training and hiring. They focus on results-graduates getting higher-paying jobs rather than numbers of people passing through their programs. They are advocates for hiring based on demonstrated skills instead of screening by college degrees. They are all experimenting with ways to make programs more self-sufficient financially and less dependent on charitable support.

A major part of successful training programs, experts agree, is what they do beyond teaching technical skills. The programs also emphasize so called soft skills like teamwork, communication, and willingness to learn new things. They often provide help with arranging childcare and transportation. They have career coaches, social workers and counselors and foster peer group and alumni networks.

There’s a new pub in town and everyone’s invited! Deano’s Pub. We are putting the final touches on our bar and venue, offering up a friendly place to enjoy your favorite cocktail or beer after work.

As an LGBTQ+ friendly bar, our inclusive atmosphere is top priority for Deano’s Pub and is apparent in the awesome new vibe. We are looking to bring weekly local music, trivia nights, comedy, and karaoke to the neighborhood.

Be true to yourself and don't worry about what people say.

I wanted to create a cool, inclusive neighborhood bar that everyone could feel safe and welcome to come to.

I love riding vintage scooters around with our friends. Check out San Diego Scoot Mob on facebook.

5286 Baltimore Drive, La Mesa, CA 91942 | info@deanospub.com | 619-439-7433 | deanospub.com

Monday- Friday: 12pm - 1am

Saturday - Sunday: 6am - 2am

On Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 6 p.m., the City of La Mesa invites residents to participate in an interactive virtual workshop for a future park on the site of the former Lemon Grove Road Station, a 2.84 acre parcel at the northwest corner of Waite Drive and Murray Hill Road. The City of La Mesa Parks Master Plan identified this location as a valuable option for a future park.

Where:      Zoom Link https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87507108249 or dial (669) 900-6833 to participate by phone, meeting ID: 875 0710 8249

As a community engagement tool, the City hopes to get input from community members on the plan to build a new park, discuss conditions and future opportunities, and gather community member’s priorities on desired amenities and character of the park.

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3I4etVt, or contact the City of La Mesa News Desk at (619) 667-1191 or email news@cityoflamesa.us.

We must all work together to address our region's housing crisis. The County and the Metropolitan Transit System to look for new opportunities to build more affordable housing throughout the region & repurpose their surplus land. There are currently 9 properties available for interested developers to build new units. Read more.

If someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, they deserve to have the same access to care that we would provide to anyone who suffers from a physical injury. Mobile Crisis Response Teams are a critical way to connect people experiencing a crisis to the care they need. In the year that MCRTs came online, they have helped over 600 San Diegans and connected many to services they previously had no access to. Please call 888-724-7240 to reach the Crisis Line. Learn more.

Everyone deserves accessible medical & behavioral healthcare services that can meet them where they are. The County provided Family Health Centers Of San Diego with a grant to support the purchase of a new mobile Harm Reduction Vehicle. Implementing more mobile services allows us to connect to more people and get them treatment and support services. We have worked to expand Harm Reduction Practices, syringe services, and mobile health centers across the county and it’s great having partners like Family Health Centers San Diego working with us. Read more.

Ending 3/31- Book Now!

for only $850

Did you know there are simple ways to lower your energy bill? Check out these quick and easy energy-saving tips to help lower your bill while staying warm and comfortable.

Visit sdge.com/winter for more savings tips.

The California Office of the Small Business Advocate has awarded $4,175,000 in funding to the County of San Diego for the Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Grant Program. This program will provide grants of $2,500 to County of San Diego microbusiness owners who were in operation in 2019, still in operation, and were impacted by the COVID-19 public health restrictions.

Some of the highlights are below:

We suggest that you go to the website sdivsbdc.org/county-of-san-diego-micro-business-grant-program-application/ to review ALL of the particulars of this funding.

Small Business Stimulus Grant Funding is Available from the County of San Diego – We Are District 4

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.

Chambers have been asked 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.

Here is the Small Business Stimulus Grant package and the link: 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.

FEATURED EVENT! March 23 - "Spring Fling" Business Expo : 5-8pm at Courtyard by Marriott San Diego El Cajon | 141 N Magnolia Ave, El Cajon | Details/Buy Tickets

April 6 - Evening Mixer Hosted by Grossmont Center and BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse : 5:30-7pm at 5500 Grossmont Center Dr., La Mesa | Details/RSVP

April 27 - Oakwood Escrow Ribbon Cutting - 5pm at 8697 La Mesa Blvd., Ste. D in La Mesa | Details/RSVP

July 18 - "Taste of San Diego - East" : 5-8pm at Town and Country San Diego | 500 Hotel Circle North in Mission Valley | Details/Buy Tickets

August 18 - "Summer Bash" Business Expo : 5-8pm at Courtyard by Marriott San Diego El Cajon | 141 N Magnolia Ave, El Cajon | Details/Buy Tickets

October 19 - Salute to Local Heroes & Installation Dinner : 5:30-8:45pm at Sycuan Casino Resort | 5485 Casino Way, El Cajon | Details

Commercial Real Estate

5565 Grossmont Center Dr.

La Mesa, CA 91942

858-549-2874