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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Forging Ahead in Uncertain Times

Editor, Jason Schaff Just got back from the Valley Economic Alliance annual meeting in San Fernando this Wednesday night Aug. 25. It was a pretty somber affair since Alliance Chairman David Fleming announced at the event that the group’s president and CEO Bruce Ackerman was in “grave” condition after a years’-long battle with cancer. (Ackerman died on Thursday, Aug. 26). There was probably no more well-known individual in the business community than Bruce and he did a lot for the Valley. But the meeting went on and it seemed like people were sort of just going through the motions. I sat there thinking that the event was very illustrative of the way 2010 has gone. Many businesspeople are just going through the motions after much bad news over the past few years – hoping it will all get better. As usual, the meeting included reports from each of the five cities that make up the Alliance: Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Los Angeles and San Fernando giving updates on what is going on in their municipalities. The cities are trying to make the best of a bad situation and are going ahead with projects as best they can because things won’t be like this forever. The economic climate is erratic right now. The cities are dealing with that – getting concessions from unions to cut costs, for instance – but they’re also realizing that they need to do some marketing and make some plans so that their cities grow into the future. What’s going on in the cities? Burbank’s new economic development team is extremely busy actually. It meets regularly with local businesses to assess what their needs are as it helps craft a strategy for the city. This municipality recognizes the value of marketing. It has implemented a Shop Burbank marketing program as well as one to help boost the city’s restaurants. Another program has been a broader citywide marketing campaign to create greater awareness of the city. A tourism improvement district is also being considered. Calabasas, a much richer city, has a beautiful new municipal center to tout and a wide array of events to market such as the Method Fest film festival and the Pumpkin Festival. Glendale’s future seems to hinge on the entertainment world especially with expansions at Disney operations in the city and at DreamWorks that are bringing new jobs. Los Angeles – well let’s not even talk about Los Angeles – because that city is just so feebly trying to make good for the wrongs it has done to businesses over the years with a so-called new attitude at city hall and things such as a three-year tax holiday for new businesses that come to the city. But in the back of your mind you figure they just won’t get it right in the end. As for the City of San Fernando: That little city is always trying something new. It has a beautiful aquatic facility in which the Alliance meeting was held. It also is in the beginning stages of establishing a Business Improvement District. It’s also establishing an entertainment overlay zone to help boost business. Things are moving along despite an erratic economy. No huge plans, but that’s OK for now. Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected].

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