News

• Jan 8 - Briefing Call with Governor Schwarzenegger: Proposed Budget and Impact on Business
• 2010 Programs announced

Check the Mark Your Calendars Section for more information about these events.

On Christmas Eve, the U.S. Senate passed the "Patient Protection Affordable Care Act" (H.R. 3590), their version of legislation that would take steps to fix our fractured health care system. While the bill takes many steps to make health care more affordable for Latinos families, it still falls short of providing affordable access for all communities.

Significant measures and fixes that will help Latinos include:

• Eligibility for affordability credits for the vast majority of uninsured U.S. citizens and legal immigrants to make health insurance more affordable though an Exchange.
• Fair levels of financial assistance for U.S. citizens and legal immigrants in mixed-immigrant-status families who apply for affordability credits to purchase insurance. This was a major improvement to the previous Senate legislation.
• Solid investments to tackle health disparities through data collection, workforce diversification, and community health centers

However, there are major shortfalls that would hinder the Latino community's ability to benefit from health care reform:

• Restrictions to the health insurance marketplace-known as the Exchange-and verification threaten access to insurance.
• Waiting periods for legal immigrants to access public health programs such as Medicaid remain in place.
• Insufficient financial assistance for low- and moderate-income families could burden families with unaffordable health insurance costs.
• Provisions to address inequalities in health care do not go far enough due to a lack of direct action to remedy health disparities, such as by investing in language access services.
• Puerto Rico is excluded from many of the benefits of health care reform, such as the Exchange.

While we've already had some incredible victories, we believe the final bill should build on the House's version. True health care reform should come with improvements to appropriately address many of the disparities in access to health insurance and quality of care that Latinos face in our current system.

Thank you for everything you've done over the past months. These next few weeks will be critical in ensuring that a final health care reform bill builds on what works and eliminates or fixes that which is harmful. We hope to continue working with you to ensure that reform is beneficial for all American families and communities, including Latinos.

Please read NCLR's comments on the Senate legislation here: http://www.nclr.org/content/publications/detail/61094/

By Nathan Olivarez-Giles, LA Times

The Obama administration's new plan to give a boost to small businesses reflects continued trouble in that sector, which is facing new failures even as much of the nation's economy is stabilizing. As credit lines have shrunk and consumers have cut back on spending, thousands of small businesses have closed their doors over the last year. The plight of struggling firms has been aggravated by the reluctance of banks to lend money, said Brian Headd, an economist at the Small Business Administration's office of advocacy.

"While bankruptcies are up, overall, small-business closures are up even more," Headd said. California has been particularly hard hit. The latest data show small-business bankruptcies up 81% in the state for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, compared with the previous year. Filings nationwide were up 44%, according to the credit analysis firm Equifax Inc. The actual number of small businesses in trouble is probably higher, experts said, because many owners file for personal bankruptcy rather than seek protection for the business. Dennis McGoldrick, a bankruptcy lawyer in Torrance, said his clients are all stuck in similar situations -- capital is hard to come by, customers are tough to attract and debt is piling up. "We can't keep up," McGoldrick said. "There's more people that want to come in every day than I can see."

Cecily McAlpine, who filed for bankruptcy protection for her Cold Stone Creamery franchise this spring, said the experience was humiliating but she had no choice. Receipts at the fledgling Compton ice cream shop plunged dramatically during the recession, and by late 2008 she was paying her employees out of her pocket. "When the refrigerator died, that was it; I'd just had it," McAlpine said. "That was the day I broke. I just started throwing stuff away." McAlpine recently withdrew her bankruptcy filing after selling all the store equipment and paying off her creditors. She is slowly paying off some back-rent and utility debt, and will officially dissolve her business in the next couple of weeks, she said. I still feel scarred and like a loser," she said. "Even though I'm not in it anymore, it's still there."

Recognizing the problems of business owners like McAlpine, the Obama administration has proposed using federal stimulus money to help funnel more loans to small businesses. The White House has also asked Congress to eliminate capital gains taxes for one year on new investments in small-business stock, and called for a new tax incentive to encourage small businesses to hire more employees. On Dec. 14, Obama called a meeting of executives of Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and nine other large banks, and told them that they owed it to the nation to make more loans to small businesses and help rebuild the economy.

In California, the need is great. Over the last year, the Los Angeles, Riverside/San Bernardino and Sacramento metropolitan areas have led the nation in small-business bankruptcy filings, said Tim Klein, a spokesman for Equifax. About 19,000 small businesses filed for bankruptcy in California during the 12 months ended Sept. 2009, up from 10,500 the previous year. During September alone, 2,229 small businesses filed for protection, up from 1,503 filings in September 2008, the firm reported. Kathleen March, a bankruptcy lawyer in Los Angeles, said she often pushes her clients to file for personal bankruptcy instead of a business filing because it's easier.

Many people also close down their businesses thinking that will solve their problems, only to find their companies' debt lives on, March said. "The norm is if you're running a small business, you will have to either cosign or personally guarantee the significant debts," she said. "The business itself can shut down, but the people cosigned all the debts. So, the individuals are then saddled with these huge debts." A client who owned a surf shop was paying for business expenses from the client's own funds long before filing for personal bankruptcy, she said. "In this economy, anything that isn't a necessity is a tough business to be in," March said. "And the majority of my clients have waited too long to file for bankruptcy and in the process made things worse on themselves financially as a result."

File 091461 being heard before Small Business Commission on Mon Jan 11th. Employers will be eligible for exclusion of up to $133,333/year in taxable payroll from the calculation of the payroll expense tax. Agenda will be posted today at http://www.sfgov.org/site/osb_meeting.asp?id=98406

For more information, visit www.sfgov.org/sbc.

You are invited to participate in an invitation-only briefing call today, Friday, January 8, 2010 at 3:30 PM regarding Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed budget for 2010-11 and how it will affect businesses and the economy in California.

The call-in information is listed below:
Call-In Number: 888-972-9340
Password: BUDGET

This will be a listen-only call followed by a question-and-answer session. PLEASE NOTE: Due to the expected number of callers, we recommend that you dial into the call at least 10-15 minutes early.

The SFHCC has introduced programs for 2010. The SFHCC celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009 of connecting our business community since 1984, making many new changes once again. The SFHCC is entering a new era with the change in the economy.

We foresaw many of the shifts in the economy during 2008. The SFHCC introduced a stronger focus on procurement during 2009 and have made a decision to serve as a procurement assistance center for its membership. Many of you have received communication from us trying to determine if you are interested in contracting. For those of you who have a product or service purchased by our corporate partners, this is your year.

The SFHCC created a list of commodities purchased by our corporate partners then created a list of current and past members who provide those commodities. We also extracted companies that were in our database who provided those commodities. The end result is a list of over 600 businesses that provide commodities purchased by our corporate partners.

As consumer spending continues to be low, we want to help those members identify new revenue streams. The SFHCC will work with members to discuss various aspects of contracting and how to prepare for opportunities. SFHCC Procurement Specialist, Olena, is our primary contact who will visit your location and share details about contracting opportunities. We will introduce a "Procurement" page on our website to keep all information concise and easy to find. We will also use Facebook to communicate opportunities that are provided with short notice. Search for Sfhispanicchamber on Facebook and friend us.

"Now's a good time to be an entrepreneur because of the current climate with downsizing, layoffs, and furloughs. If you are a person of color, a woman, or a service disabled vet with a strong business idea in Professional Services, Construction, Food and Beverage, corporations and municipalities have diversity marketing initiatives and/or other added incentives to do business with you." Richard Ventura, President & CEO, SFHCC.

You can download information about 2010 programs on our homepage at www.sfhcc.com or directly from here.

Please join us Wednesday Jan 13 from 3pm-5pm at Officers' Club, 50 Moraga AvenueSan Francisco, CA 94129 for a presentation at 3pm with Q&A and networking at 4pm.
View the PDF invitation »

About Contract #4 -- Contract #4 is a $99 million contract which includes construction of an at-grade temporary bypass, southbound battery tunnel, permanent roadway section, electrical and mechanical substation, retaining walls, and a traffic switch (full weekend closure).

About the Doyle Drive Replacement Project -- The south access road to the Golden Gate Bridge, known as Doyle Drive or Route 101 in San Francisco, CA, is aging and must be replaced with a facility that meets modern seismic and design standards.

The Doyle Drive replacement, Presidio Parkway, is an approximately $1.045 billion project that is set in a national park and will feature a parkway design including two sets of short tunnels, a wide landscaped median, enhanced pedestrian access and traffic calming transitions.

A partial listing of the identified UDBE, DBE, Small Business and DVBE contracting opportunity components may be included in the following areas:

• Site Preparation, Removal of Existing Structures and Site Control
• Workforce Support/Administration
• Environmental, Air, Noise, Dust and Vibration Monitoring and Mitigation
• Supplies (Materials - i.e. structural concrete & steel, bar reinforcing steel & other equipment, etc.)
• Typical Construction Work Associated with Highway, Tunnel, Electrical & Mechanical Substation and Retaining Wall Construction Projects:
  • Roadway and Tunnel Excavation & Construction
  • Structural, Concrete and Waterproofing Work Associated with Tunnel Construction
  • Various Lighting and Fire Protection System for Tunnel
  • Temporary Structures
  • Bridge and Other Structures Removal
• Other Project Support:
  • Materials Hauling & Trucking
  • Traffic Signage & Other Temporary Signage
  • Equipment Maintenance & Installation
  • Traffic Control
  • SWPPP & Site Safety Implementation

This event is your opportunity to build key relationships with potential bidders and small businesses. We highly encourage you to bring business cards, statement of qualifications and relevant marketing materials to share with event attendees.

For more information call (415) 420-7528 or email smallbusiness@presidioparkway.org. Visit our website at www.presidioparkway.org/contractors

Recovery.org, a service of Onvia, is tracking American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) spending by Federal, State and Local agencies and provides detailed information about what is happening in our States and Municipalities - from the moment ARRA funds are approved, to a government agency's issuance of a Bid or RFP, through contract award to a business.

Onvia developed Recovery.org to bring unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability to recovery spending* and to ensure that every business, regardless of size, has equal access to the projects associated with the recovery efforts. In order to create jobs, businesses need information about when and where ARRA-funded projects are happening, and they need to know early on in order to prepare and submit bids/proposals. Onvia's Recovery.org site provides early notices of projects, RFPs, bid documents, amendments to these documents, and contract award information about contractor and subcontractor recipients of Recovery funds, as close to real-time as is possible. Business owners need this information in order to actually win Recovery-funded contracts and thereby hire or retain employees to perform on the contract.

Onvia is the leading provider of Business-to-Government solutions in the United States, covering the broadest set of industries and products at every level of the public sector - Federal, State, Local and Education. For more than twelve years, Onvia has delivered unparalleled coverage of government purchasing activity and commercial/residential projects for clients in a variety of industries, including:

• Architecture and Engineering
• Construction
• IT/Telecom
• Healthcare
• Operations and Maintenance
• Professional Services
• Transportation
• Water and Energy/Alternative Energy

Businesses across the United States rely on Onvia as a comprehensive resource for industry-specific information needed to make intelligent sales decisions. Find out what Onvia's paid subscribers already know. To receive five free project leads related to your business, call 1-800-331-2822.

All updates on recovery projects available at http://www.recovery.org/for_businesses.aspx?gloc=ALAMEDA+[CA]*CNT:06001&mloc=CA$001#

The California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (CHCC), has been working with Pacific, Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) to identify companies to bid on upcoming contract opportunities. Currently, the CHCC needs your assistance in identifying the following types of companies:

Areas of Work - NAICS Codes

• Transmission & Distribution - construction 541330 / 237110 / 237120 / 238910
• Substation Work - engineering 333613
• Trenching & Paving - 238110 / 238140 / 238990
• Hydro, and power plant experience - 237130 / 237990
  * We ask that the above companies have a background with other utilities
• Nuclear engineering, project management, construction, and furniture - 238220 / 238290 / 236210 / 237110
  * In most cases, these companies must also have a Nuclear background
• SAP consultants that have worked specifically with utilities - 541611 / 541614
• Diverse rental car company and diverse GM dealer - 441110

All companies should be certified through the California Public Utilities Commission Supplier Clearing House.

All companies must complete CHCC's Procurement Participant Questionnaire. (Questionnaire available at http://www.cahcc.com/procurement_questions.pdf) Please send any information about potential companies to CHCCs Director of Programs & Administration Sophia Garcia at sophia@cahcc.com. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate contact Sophia at 916-444-2221.

The proposed project will construct a 2-lane fourth bore tunnel north of the existing three bores. The new tunnel clear width is 12.58 m (41.25 ft), and the total length is 1,033 m (3,389 ft). Seven cross-passages will be constructed to connect the third and fourth bores to serve as emergency exits. In addition the project includes the following elements:

• Construction of retaining walls and temporary and permanent soundwalls
• Various roadway improvements
• Demolition of the existing maintenance building and construction of a new 2-story operations and maintenance building
• Installation of operations, communications and emergency systems

The estimated construction cost for the project is $270 million. Federal, state and local funding have been secured for this fully-funded project.

The existing three bores of the Caldecott tunnel are located on the border of Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. It carries State Route 24 (SR-24) traffic through the Berkeley Hills, and serves as a major commuter access route.

The Caldecott 4th Bore will be constructed using an approach known as the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) or sequential excavation method. It involves the use of machines, known as roadheaders, to excavate a portion of the tunnel cross section and installing support for this portion of the tunnel prior to excavating the next portion of the tunnel. This sequential method approach is used until the entire tunnel section has been excavated.

It is anticipated that the majority of the excavation will be performed using roadheaders, which are large track-mounted machines with a rotating cutter head located at the end of a hydraulically controlled boom. The rotating cutter head excavates the ground as it is pushed against the tunnel face and is moved around and ahead of the tunnel face until the required section of the tunnel has been excavated. It is also anticipated that some tunnel excavation through harder rock sections will be performed using controlled blasting.

The ground support for the tunnel will primarily include rock bolts and shotcrete. Rock bolts consist of steel rods that are grouted into holes drilled in a radial pattern around the perimeter of the tunnel. Shotcrete consists of a special concrete mix that is sprayed into place on the roof and sidewalls of the tunnel.

Once the tunnel has been excavated, a waterproof membrane will be installed on the roof and sidewalls of the tunnel. Following installation of the waterproof membrane, the final cast-in-place concrete lining will be installed.

For More Information, visit the project website: www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/caldecott

Download fact sheet at http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/caldecott/docs/20090811factsheet_.pdf

The Small Business Administration offers almost 500 classes each year for business owners on a variety of topics in our Entrepreneur Center, located at 455 Market St., 6th Floor in downtown San Francisco. View PDF of classes for 1st Quarter 2010.

For more information, please contact Gary Marshall at (415) 744 6771.

Registration for all classes is available at www.sbatraining.eventbrite.com