This week, VICA sent letters to the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, Los Angeles County Citizens Redistricting Commission, and the City of Los Angeles Redistricting Commission to advocate for the diverse and cohesive needs of the San Fernando Valley.

VICA argued Cities in the Valley need to be recognized as unique municipalities that share geographic boundaries, and the districts need to be split in a way that gives voters in the Valley their fair share.

Some of the principles VICA supports for the redistricting processes are:

VICA will continue to be involved in the City, County, and State redistricting processes and will work to ensure that San Fernando Valley residents and businesses get fair representation for the next 10 years!

VICA would like to congratulate Armando Flores, who was recently promoted to the position of VICA's Director of Legislative Affairs.

Over the course of his 5 years here, Armando has served VICA in many ways - as an intern, Administrative Assistant, Legislative Affairs Associate, Legislative Affairs Manager, and now the Director of Legislative Affairs.

When asked about this tremendous achievement, Armando said, "I am proud to see how our team has remained a strong presence and maintained effectiveness during the pandemic, especially with our advocacy. I am excited to continue leading the legislative team as Director of Legislative Affairs and continuing to fight for the business community."

Congratulations Armando!

We look forward to having you lead the legislative affairs department at VICA.

Wednesday, February 17

9 to 11 a.m.

Online Video Conference

Tuesday, February 23

Online Video Conference

Tuesday, February 23

10 to 11 a.m.

Online Video Conference

Thursday, March 4th

9 to 10:30 a.m.

Online Video Conference

VICA supports SB 10 (Wiener), which would allow cities to zone for up to 10 units per parcel in transit-rich and job-rich areas. SB 10 would address California's housing shortage, preserve significant control for local jurisdictions, and reduce barriers to increasing density in our communities. Instead of requiring municipalities to increase density in transit-rich and jobs-rich areas, SB 10 would simply allow local governments to approve an ordinance for these types of developments if they choose. This gives cities the agency to increase housing supply while preserving local control, as no changes would be made to local height limits, setbacks, objective design standards, historic standards, or demolition restrictions.

Your voice is needed to urge legislators to support SB 10 to promote housing development and provide local governments the autonomy to increase baseline housing!

VICA supports Senate Bill 15 (Portantino), which would provide incentives to local governments to build housing on idle sites that contain commercial shopping centers or big box retailers. However, VICA is concerned with the prevailing wage provisions included in SB 15, which will make development more expensive and contradict any positive steps towards affordability of new housing. SB 15 would empower and financially incentivize local governments to quickly rezone idle retail sites for residential development projects. Further, the bill's focus on workforce housing would guarantee that new units would be affordable for California's workers, who have been hard-hit financially by the COVID-19 crisis, but these affordable rates can be contradicted due to prevailing wage provisions.

Your voice is needed to urge legislators to support SB 15, but urge lawmakers to remove the damaging prevailing wage provisions.

The PPE Unite Program distributes valuable face masks, hand sanitizer, and face shields to eligible small businesses in the County of Los Angeles. Sign up is simple and it is easy to schedule a pick up!

If your business is eligible, you will get a one-time 30 days supply of PPE at no cost with safe contactless pickup.

For more information about eligibility visit the PPE Unite website.

Supplies are on a first come, first serve basis, so check it out as soon as possible!

President Joe Biden announced that the federal government has secured 200 million additional vaccine doses, bringing the U.S. total to 600 million doses.

The economy is still struggling, but investors are gaining confidence in the markets, predicting the economy will grow more quickly than it has in three decades.

US jobless claims fell last week to 793,000, still a high number, signaling that the job market is fragile despite a decline in COVID infections and hospitalizations.

The State Auditor released a report saying that because funding is disjointed, CA has failed to combat homelessness despite spending $13 billion in the last 3 years.

LAUSD may meet the threshold to reopen elementary schools within a week, says LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are continuing to decline, but vaccinations are lagging as the largest vaccination sites in LA County close temporarily.

Scientists are confident that vaccines will still suppress the South African variant of COVID-19, which was found in California and at least three other states.

A new CNBC survey shows that Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill has support from 63% of small business owners, a group hit hard by the pandemic.

Pamela Marcello - Hollywood Burbank Airport

Pamela Marcello grew up in the idyllic New England town of Mendon, Massachusetts, which is forty or so miles from Boston heading East on 495. It goes without saying, she is a devout Boston Red Sox fan.

Upon graduating from Clark University, a small liberal arts university in her home state with a degree in political science, Marcello took a left turn and headed into a long and successful career in the music industry. As a New York City-based executive for two major multinational music companies, she had the distinct pleasure of working with legendary recording artists such as Elton John, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Tina Turner.

The call of the West propelled her to move from the Big Apple to the City of Angels in 2010 and it is here where Marcello rediscovered her passion for politics and governance. She successfully charted a new course in her career from the 2012 Obama Campaign as a Los Angeles Area Neighborhood Team Leader to a District Representative for Congressman Adam B Schiff in 2013. Taking off from Congressman Schiff’s District Office in Burbank, Marcello landed at the Hollywood Burbank Airport as the Senior Director, Government & Public Affairs in October 2020. Within a short period of time, she has easily grasped the intricacies of aviation policies on the three levels of government; city, state and federal.

Marcello is proud to be a team member of the Hollywood Burbank Airport during these uncertain times. The greatest accomplishment in 2020 for the Airport was its’ ability to pass a balanced budget for 2021, maintain exception service during the ongoing pandemic, and employ all of its staff on the runway and administration through federal funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Marcello is looking forward to working with the VICA Board, staff, and members to fulfill its mission to enhance the economic vitality of the greater San Fernando Region by advocating for a better business climate and quality of life. She is uniquely qualified to give input and guidance in helping VICA maintain a regular presence at all levels of government to effectively represent Valley business.

> Please share a brief biography and a fun fact about yourself that people would love to learn, ie: you love skydiving, you have run a marathon, you started your own business at a young age, etc. (2-3 sentences) 

> Tell us about your belief in VICA, how has VICA been most valuable for you? 

> If you were to share an experience with someone about VICA, what would that be? 

> Share with us what you believe to be the greatest accomplishment VICA has achieved?

> What was your organizations and/or your greatest accomplishment in 2020?

> Can you share what VICA has meant for you and your business during COVID?

Sponsored by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

VICA members can promote their business, events and news in VICA Weekly. Member messages are available for $50 per week or $175 for four weeks. Messages are text-based and may not contain more than 70 words. A logo may be added for an additional $5 per week. For more information or to schedule your member message, contact cathy@vica.com or call (818) 817-0545.