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2011-08-09 SMBTA Recognizes Hewlett Packard Leaders at Business Matchmaking

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2011-08-10 Crackdown on Fake Veteran-Owned Businesses

2011-08-09 Feds making funds for vets’ businesses hard to qualify for

AGC CALIFORNIA: 2011-09-12 Deal Reached to Avert Federal Transportation Program Shutdown House and Senate leaders agree to terms for extending authorization for highway, transit and aviation programs
Late Friday, House and Senate leadership came to an agreement on a six-month extension for Federal Transportation programs. The agreement allows highway and transit programs to be funded at the current year’s funding through March 31, 2012. If approved, this would be the eighth extension of SAFETEA-LU, which expired in 2009. AGC and our members have been very active contacting both the House and Senate to ensure that any extension of the surface transportation programs is done at current levels.
In addition, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs will be extended for four months until January 31, 2012. FAA’s Airport Improvement Program would be funded at $1.18 billion (one third of current year’s funding).
Both extensions will be bundled into a single bill and is likely to be voted on this week. The extension allows time for the House and Senate committees to continue working on a long-term authorization bill. Differences over spending levels and federal transportation policy continue to beleaguer the ongoing discussions. Failure to pass a long-term authorization bill will cause California highway and transit programs to come to a screeching halt. State and local construction are extremely reliant on the $4 billion the industry receives annually in highway and transit funds through the federal program. AGC has urged congressional leaders to refrain from making any additional cuts to construction accounts when considering a transportation authorization bill.

CalPERS Solicitation 2011-6199 Multi-Asset Class (MAC) Partners Alternative Solicitation: CalPERS has posted a new Investment Manager solicitation. Solicitation: 2011-6199 Multi-Asset Class (MAC) Partners Alternative Solicitation
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is seeking external strategic partners to manage a multi-asset class portfolio and provide insights and analytics on asset allocation and portfolio construction decisions.
Investment managers can submit proposals through CalPERS Investment Proposal Tracking System. For information on minimum qualifications, the solicitation process and how to submit a proposal, go to the Investment Proposals link.

GOVERNOR’S OFFICE PRESS RELEASE: 2011-08-23 Governor Brown Creates California Interagency Council on Veterans

NEWS RELEASE: 2011-07 California Department of Veterans Affairs: Brown Appoints CalVet Undersecretary and Deputy Secretary for Veterans Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2011-07-20 AGC Supports Full Funding for Federal Highway Program
CONTACT: Sophia Taft 916.371.2422 tafts@agc-ca.org
Proposal released by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Mica reduces California’s funding by more than $1 billion, and 43,000 in jobs annually.
The House passed budget resolution and multiyear authorization proposal released by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Mica will reduce California’s funding by more than $1 billion in fiscal year 2012 and remain at reduced federal funding levels in subsequent years. With the compounding factors, California stands to lose 43,000 jobs annually and $7.6 billion in cuts over the next 5 years.
“The ripple effect will be catastrophic,” said Associated General Contractors of California chief executive officer Tom Holsman. “This will affect state matching funds, which will also be cut. At a time when our industry is facing over 20% unemployment, it is difficult to understand the apparent disregard of fully funding the infrastructure needs of our country.”
California construction employment has decreased by 379,000 (40%) since February 2006. With California’s budget problems, state and local construction are extremely reliant on the $4 billion the industry receives annually in highway and transit funds through the federal program.
“The ramifications are significant. Additional investment in the Nation’s aging infrastructure is necessary,” said Holsman. “In these difficult economic times the federal cuts will lead to devastating and long term job loss.”
While the proposal talks about reforming and refocusing the program to produce a more efficient and cost effective program for long term infrastructure planning; even with significant reform additional revenue will still be needed to address our transportation needs.
California and local governments are desperately in need of construction improvements and desperately short on cash. AGC and key members are pushing the California delegation to enact a transportation reauthorization bill that protects the Highway Trust Fund and eliminates any further reductions.

INVITATION: Invitation to the City of Los Angeles’ DVBE Program
In line with the Mayor’s Executive Directive 14 creating the Small Business Inclusion Program, we would like to encourage State certified Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise (DVBE) firms to register in the City of Los Angeles Business Assistance Virtual Network (LABAVN). By registering in LABAVN at http://labavn.org, City departments and potential prime contractors can identify DVBE firms to work on City projects.
If you have further questions on the program, please e-mail Ms. Kecia Washington, Managing Director with the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Business Policy at kecia.washington@lacity.org or call at 213.978.2029.

IMPORTANT NEWS:
HR 240 is sponsored by Representative Bob Filner from San Diego, CA and is co-sponsored by only one other Representative, Jim Gerlach from Pennsylvania. This legislation is simple; it changes one word in TITLE 38. It changes the word “May” to “Shall” which will now place Veteran Owned Businesses in a position of priority for government contracts.
An aggressive support campaign is in progress asking everyone to contact their federal legislators to support this House Resolution. -Rich Dryden, Executive Director, CA DVB Alliance

IMPORTANT NEWS: 2011-06 California’s Veteran Population in the Labor Market A report of the American Community Survey compiled by the California Employment Development Department

SCAM ALERT: There’s an organization named “The Veterans Support Organization” that’s now infiltrated 17 US states, and it’s especially active in the northeastern USA. While it is a legal 501(c)(3) “non-profit” on paper, this organization is actually a huge scam that’s cheating real veterans’ organizations out of donations, while duping well-intentioned donors.
Of $2.6+ million they reported as total income for 2009, only $400,000 was spent on anything vaguely resembling support to veterans. That’s only 15% of their income! Senior managers’ salaries totaled 40% of their 2009 income, and their president alone reported income of 240,000 in 2009. (That’s almost 1/4 million dollars!) Their collectors at grocery stores & malls…many of whom are NOT military veterans at all, and many of whom also have criminal records…keep 30% of everything they collect. So the collectors themselves keep 30 cents of every dollar donated! To trick donors into thinking they’re really veterans, they wear military-looking clothing…”pseudo uniforms” so-to-speak…purchased from military surplus houses. Army “camo-pattern” jackets that many non-veteran hunters wear, and etc. If asked a few rudimentary questions by any real vet…for example, what units they served in, and where & when…their lack of actual military background is immediately evident.
In March 2011, a FOX TV station in New York did an investigative report on this outfit that reveals them as the thieves they really are. Go here to watch it: (Please tolerate the brief commercial to see the actual report)

CENSUS: VETERANS OWN 6 PERCENT OF BAY AREA BUSINESSES 2011-05-17 By Matt O’Brien, Contra Costa Times, San Francisco, CA

IMPORTANT NEWS: 2011-05-05 Governor’s Press Office Governor Brown Announces Appointments

IMPORTANT NEWS: 2011-05-02 Governor Brown Declares the Month of May California Small Business Month
SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. issued an official proclamation declaring the month of May as California Small Business Month.
“In these turbulent economic times, it is the small business owners who are leading the charge back to prosperity and job creation,” Brown said in his proclamation, “When we, along with all of our partners in local and national organizations, support private sector job creators, we enhance the human and capital infrastructure of California.”
Brown’s proclamation highlights the role of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GoED) in facilitating economic growth through collaboration with small businesses, promotion of technical assistance and procurement opportunities, partnerships with economic and workforce development agencies and facilitation of networking across the economy.
“It is important that the state turn the spotlight on the job creating potential of our small business owners and support their efforts to lead the recovery” said GoED Deputy Director and Small Business Advocate, Marty Keller. “Our continued goal is to increase the integration and effectiveness of technical support services that state government and non profits provide entrepreneurs and small business owners. Give them good information, connect them to thriving networks and small businesses will grow and hire.”
GoED will continue to work closely with small business owners in the weeks ahead by hosting a series of meetings in Sacramento between small business owners and government decision makers. These meetings are designed to bring elected officials together with small business owners, representing every sector and every region, to hear first-hand the challenges facing the small business community.
GoED’s partner, the California Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), will also be hosting a series of free small business resource events around the state.
GoED and the Small Business Advocate are responsible for representing the state’s 3.5 million small businesses to state government. California small businesses account for over 99 percent of the state’s firms and provide over 52 percent of all private sector jobs.
For the complete text of the proclamation visit: http://tiny.cc/ukeqb or http://www.business.ca.gov.

IMPORTANT NEWS: 2011-04-26 Governor’s Press Office Governor Brown Bans Non-Essential Travel

IMPORTANT NEWS: 2011-04-14 By Julian Pecquet 04:47 PM ET Obama lifts 1099 tax reporting burden
President Obama on Thursday signed into law a bill repealing the healthcare reform law’s 1099 tax reporting requirement, the first provision of the Democrats’ law to get the ax.
The Senate passed the law, 87-12, on April 5. The Republican controlled House cleared it in March.
Obama signed the bill, which was defeated several times, despite taking issue with the ways it’s paid for: a “clawback” provision that goes after people who get more in healthcare subsidies than entitled to under the healthcare reform law.
“Today, I was pleased to take another step to relieve unnecessary burdens on small businesses by signing H.R. 4 into law,” reads the president’s signing statement. “Small business owners are the engine of our economy and because Democrats and Republicans worked together, we can ensure they spend their time and resources creating jobs and growing their business, not filling out more paperwork. I look forward to continuing to work with Congress to improve the tax credit policy in this legislation and I am eager to work with anyone with ideas about how we can make health care better or more affordable.”