VICA Members joined our Civic Snapshot event, presented by Grant Thornton. This session discussed transportation in a post COVID-19 world. Members heard from Hilary Norton (Commissioner, California Transportation Commission) David LiBatique (Deputy Executive Director – Stakeholder Engagement, Port of Los Angeles) and Jay Kim (Assistant General Manager - Mobility Management, LA Department of Transportation). The panel was moderated by Martin O’Malley, former Governor of Maryland.

Assembly Bill 1179: Employer Provided Benefit: Backup Childcare - OPPOSE

Senate Bill 726: Alternative Fuel & Vehicle Technologies - OPPOSE

SoCal Greenprint Initiative - OPPOSE

The SoCal Greenprint is another device that, by design or inadvertence, is a step backward for fair housing in Southern California. In fact, it is yet another backhanded method to override municipal general plan land use and housing ordinances under the guise of conservation. It is yet another attempt to restrict housing regulations to preserve the status quo for those that have and restrict those that do not, putting new working-class housing under attack and exacerbating the housing crisis. The Greenprint Initiative creates rushed and poorly vetted development guidelines that will result in problematic recommendations. It will undercut efforts to provide sufficiently robust job, infrastructure, and housing opportunities for decades to come. By creating a separate guideline for local government and developers to follow, it will make our housing, economic, and social challenges even more daunting, and it could effectively hand housing opponents the ammunition to delay and prevent greatly needed housing projects.

There is an alternate map that is being discussed. Alternative Map 078 keeps the Valley entirely in one district. VICA continues to monitor the situation and will advocate to ensure the Valley is represented at its best. VICA needs you to make the Valley's voice heard. We will ask you to voice your thoughts on the maps once public comment is made available.

To Submit Written Comments: Click Here.

The LA28 Games Agreement is an important milestone as we advance toward 2028 and begin to organize these games. VICA will continue to be active in bringing the Olympics to Los Angeles so that we can reap the success and fiscal benefits that it will bring.

LIVE EVENT: The Garland

At VICA's 72nd Annual Meeting, VICA members will elect a new Board and Executive Committee for 2022. Nominees from a diverse set of businesses, organizations and industries were carefully selected to lead VICA in the coming year.

A federal appeals court this past Tuesday upheld California’s ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, overturning earlier rulings. The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was quoted, calling the California laws “a reasonable fit for the important government interest of reducing gun violence.”

LA City's sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandate went into effect on November 8th. City officials said they initially wanted to focus on "education and outreach" instead of immediately implementing fines. The mandate wasn't officially enforced until November 29th.

Amid deep frustration over widespread, visible homelessness, Los Angeles voters want the government to act faster and focus on shelter for people living in the streets, even if those efforts are short-term and fall short of permanent housing, a new poll of county voters shows.

Redistricting won’t change that California is a blue state. But it could decide just how blue it is. For the second time, the once-in-a-decade process of drawing the state’s new congressional and legislative districts is in the hands of an independent commission — officially without concern about the impact on balance of power.

The last pending civil lawsuit seeking to stop the California high-speed rail project hit a wall Tuesday when a state appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling that the project did not violate the California Constitution by adopting a segmented approach to building the system.

A new grant will help undocumented students at California State University Northridge pay expenses for renewing their status under the federal government’s Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, according to university officials.

Director of Field Services & Interim CEO

Andrew Sisolak is the Director of Field Service for the Western Los Angeles County Council, Boy Scouts of America and is concurrently serving as the Interim CEO of the Verdugo Hills Council, Boy Scouts of America, both agencies are VICA members. Andrew is the Co-Chair of VICA's Ambassadors Committee, a member of the VICA Board, and the membership lead on VICA’s Executive Committee. Sisolak gives leadership to Scouting operations for roughly 75 percent of Los Angeles County, providing service to nearly 7,500 families. Sisolak is an Eagle Scout and grew up in Scouting programs in Ventura County. When not working on renovation projects on his home in Simi Valley, Andrew enjoys hunting, being outdoors, and cooking for his family and friends.

Like all businesses and organizations the effects of COVID 19 and Safer at Home were challenging for Scouting. Despite the disruption to our normal program delivery, camping, office operations, and other facets of our business operations our Scouting organization, youth, and families were resilient and modeled the best of Scouting’s motto “Be Prepared”. Program delivery switched seamlessly to virtual delivery and we reorganized programming so that families could all participate and continue Scouting while at home. We conducting “Campouts in Place”, a virtual 5k, creating a weeklong Summer Camp in a box program that we ran all summer, and even create a virtual reality camp world for Scouts across the country to interact in. Our creativity was endless and things that might have been taboo were considered the new normal.

VICA is an amazing asset as it allows me to develop relationships with key business leaders in the local community, which in turn helps our local non-profit grow and thrive. Additionally, being aware of business developments and the legislative landscape empowers me to make strategic choices for our organization and advocate for our needs. I can think of so many instances where I have been able to educate non-profit peers, my own board members, or other business leaders on specific issues because of the knowledge and background VICA has afforded me. Significant to me personally is that VICA is composed of thoughtful, caring, and compassionate human beings who genuinely care about our local communities and citizens. I’m happy to have developed true friendships with many VICA members.

Click here to read Andrew's full feature.

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.