Dear Members,

Yesterday I ventured up to a Cal Chamber 2022 Legislative Summit in Sacramento. I went as a representative not only of our Los Gatos Chamber, but also of the Silicon Valley Coalition of Chambers in which there are 17 members. I was able to meet briefly with the Lieutenant Governor, Eleni Kounalakis; a few members from the Assembly; a handful of political consultants; Executive Directors from multiple other Chambers in California; the assistant Secretary of Commerce, Arun Venkataraman; and lastly, Opinion Journalist/Columnist, Dan Walters. Governor Newsom unfortunately was in Covid isolation so I missed the opportunity to ask him any questions.

You might wonder what I was doing there. Frankly, I was there mostly to check it out and get a feel for how things work at that level of government. I am sorry to report, it is about what you’d expect. There is an awful lot of schmoozing going on and not much getting done. Few people are asking the hard questions, and even fewer seem to have any solutions to the challenges our state is currently facing. I was able to learn more about some of the bills on the November ballot and how they might affect the business community. I will keep you posted on those as discussions start to happen.

I related mostly to the op-ed columnist, Dan Walters. While his comments were a little depressing, he clearly laid out the facts in a very matter of fact way. He first pointed out that California is the fifth largest economy in the world. Yes, that is right. At $3.4 trillion dollars we fall behind the United States and China of course. We will perhaps surpass Germany very soon. That is the good news. The bad news starts when you look at the shortages that California is facing. Those shortages are our biggest challenges and we have a lot of work to do to avert disaster. Lack of water, electricity, affordable housing and labor are the big four and those are in no particular order. What does this mean? It means that we have to engage now. We have to take the climate crisis and homelessness more seriously and stop thinking and hoping those are someone else’s problems. Those problems are our problems.

Ask your elected officials the hard questions. Demand that they follow through with their attempts to make change. Allow yourself to consider that having more affordable housing units in our town might just help the homeless problem in the whole state. It is our responsibility if we value our democracy at all.

One of the speakers ended with a call out to all at the conference, saying that we cannot take California for granted any longer. She cited New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern’s Graduation speech at Harvard University last week, “Democracy can be fragile. The imperfect but precious way that we organize ourselves, that has been created to give equal voice to the weak and to the strong, that is designed to help drive consensus – it is fragile.” We need consensus now.

So there you have it. Do with that information what you will but know that you can ‘Be the Difference’.

I am looking forward to the Sounds of Summer – the Promenades starting on June 16^th, Jazz on the Plazz starting on June 30^th and Music in the Park starting on July 17^th. Invite your friends and family and come on out and enjoy all that Los Gatos has to offer.

Sincerely,

Catherine Somers

Executive Director

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The Promenades, every Thursday evening, 5-9pm beginning June 16th through August 4^th (but not June 30). North Santa Cruz Ave will be closed to through traffic allowing for everyone to promenade, enjoy live music, food and fun in Downtown Los Gatos. Bring the whole family. Kids’ activities will happen between 5-8pm. Music begins on the North Stage at 5:30pm and on the South Stage at 6:30pm. Grab a bite to eat from one of our great restaurants and step into a few of the downtown shops that will stay open late. 

Jazz on the Plazz, every Wednesday, beginning June 29, will make its grand entrance back into town and into our hearts. How we have missed you! Music will play from 6:30-8:30pm at Town Plaza. Bring a picnic dinner and join in the community fun. 

Music in the Park. This Concert series will consist of six live performances, beginning on July 17 on the Civic Center Lawn from 5-7pm. We encourage you to bring a picnic dinner, enjoy the warm summer sunshine and dance the early evening away.

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The first three episodes are dropping today! Topic - Cannabis in Los Gatos.

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