[Source: Los Angeles Business Journal] Small businesses across Los Angeles have seen a boost in sales and project continued growth through the end of summer, according to a new survey released March 13. The survey, by 1st Century Bank in conjunction with Beacon Economics, showed optimism and expectations of growth among small businesses in Los Read More…
Newsroom
Los Angeles small business attitudes
[Source: 1st Century Bank and Beacon Economics] Small companies are drivers of ingenuity and progression, yet within the economic sector, their contributions are often overlooked. The media relies largely on macro data — primarily GDP and the S&P 500 (a snapshot of the largest 500 publicly traded companies) — to gauge the health of the Read More…
Federal tax reform means more business taxes for California
[Source: Fox and Hounds Daily/Loren Kaye] California’s corporate tax base may increase by up to 12 percent as a result of federal tax reform legislation, according to a study recently released by the StateTax Research Center. This means that revenues from California’s corporate income tax could increase by as much as $1.3 billion – without any Read More…
NRG subsidiary to close three power plants in Southern California
[Source: Los Angeles Times] In another sign of the state’s power glut, three Southern California gas-fired power plants owned by a subsidiary of energy firm NRG Energy Inc. will close over the next few months. The NRG Etiwanda Generating Station in Rancho Cucamonga, which began operations in 1962, will be retired as of June 1. Read More…
California Attorney General establishes Bureau of Environmental Justice, and industry should get prepared
[Source: Stoel Rives LLP] On February 22, 2018, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that the Department of Justice is opening an environmental justice office within the environment Section: the Bureau of Environmental Justice (“Bureau”). “The Bureau’s mission will be to protect people and communities that endure a disproportionate share of environmental pollution and public Read More…
The coming decline of the employment drug test
[Source: Bloomberg] Employers are struggling to hire workers in the tightening U.S. job market. Marijuana is now legal in nine states and Washington, D.C., meaning more than one in five American adults can eat, drink, smoke or vape as they please. The result is the slow decline of pre-employment drug tests, which for decades had Read More…
If California’s the future, why are so many leaving?
[Source: Curbed / American real estate blog] California, many say, is the future. A center for creative industries and new technology—look at its impressive rollout of electric vehicles and autonomous cars—it’s also a diverse state, pushing progressive policies that could be models for the rest of the country. And people are leaving in droves for Read More…
California losing residents via domestic migration
[Source: Brian Uhler/Justin Garosi, Legislative Analyst’s Office] For many years, more people have been leaving California for other states than have been moving here. According to data from the American Community Survey, from 2007 to 2016, about 5 million people moved to California from other states, while about 6 million left California. On net, the Read More…
The SCAQMD wants to raise your taxes
[Source: OC Register] In what appears to be the very definition of an out-of-control government agency, the staff of the South Coast Air Quality Management District has decided to pursue its own plan for raising the sales tax in four counties by a quarter-percent. The SCAQMD doesn’t have the authority to put tax-increase proposals on Read More…