Tickets still available for La Mesa Chamber’s James Bond bash at Town & Country Resort

March 11, 2010 (La Mesa) – Try your luck at Monte Carlo-style gaming tables amid a night of glitz, glamour and prizes galore at La Mesa Chamber of Commerce’s Casino Royale Night on Thursday, March 18th . The event takes place in the Golden Ballroom at the Town & Country Hotel, where a silent auction, raffle, and elegant food stations will all be part of the fun.

March 6, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) -- Seven businesses were honored at the 98thAnnual Inaugural Gala hosted by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce and presented by Barona Resort & Casino on February 26. This year’s Gala replaced the Chamber’s Annual Awards Banquet, increasing the number of honorees and award-winners and broadening scope of the event.

 
 
March 5, 2010 (El Cajon) -- The Grossmont College Career Center will host “Be A Star Performer,” a free informational meeting on soft skills that can give you an edge in your job search and career success, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, March 11, at the Career Center, Room 627, on the college campus.

 
March 2, 2010 (Alpine) – A ribbon cutting today heralded opening of the new Chico’s store at the Viejas Outlet Center in Alpine. This is the first outlet store in San Diego County for Chico’s, an upscale women’s clothing and accessory retailer with 600 stores nationwide. Representatives of Chico’s, Viejas Outlet Center and the alpine Chamber of Commerce were on hand to celebrate the occasion and welcome customers.

 


TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH
 

By Rama Beerfas

March 1, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – We’ve talked about the concept of selling benefits instead of features in order to give your audience the inducement to make the purchase. Now, we need to solidly define the term "benefit."

 
 
By: Stanley Popovich
 
February 28, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) -- Layoffs in today’s business world are common--and with a lay-off comes the fear and anxiety of finding another job. With this in mind, here are some ways for you to manage those stresses involved in finding a new job.

 
February 25, 2010 (San Diego) – By a unanimous vote, on Wednesday a local jobs policy ordinance won approval of the City’s Rules, Open Government and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. The Committee directed the City Attorney’s Office to draft the policy for the San Diego City Council to consider within 60 days.

UPDATE FEB. 23:  The Board has voted unanimously to outlaw project labor agreements through an ordinanance, instead of putting a similar measure on the ballot. 

February 20, 2010 (San Diego) – San Diego's Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday on whether to place a ballot initiative before voters that would ban project labor agreements (PLAs). PLAs, adopted in other jurisdictions but not by the Supervisors, mandate that government contracts for public construction projects go to contracts that hire union workers.  

Supporters of PLAs say they are needed to assure that jobs will go to local workers paid decent wages, not cheap labor imported from elsewhere.  Opponents contend that outlawing PLAs will cut costs and save money for cash-strapped jurisdictions.

By Miriam Raftery

February 23, 2010 (El Cajon) - A standing-room-only crowd turned out to savor music from seven different bands at Valley Music’s grand reopening on Saturday.
 

DeMaio pushes to ban living wage, local hiring requirements and more;

Hueso counters with local jobs ordinance

February 20, 2010 (San Diego) On Wednesday, San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio and the Associated General Contractors are trying to put an initiative on the ballot that would eliminate gains made by labor in recent years. On Wednesday, Councilman Ben Hueso will seek to counter those efforts by introducing a Local Jobs Ordinance that would make local job creation a priority on public works projects.

City aims to attract, retain businesses in challenging economic times

February 20, 2010 (La Mesa) -- La Mesa… Seeking to encourage businesses to remain in La Mesa and attract new businesses to the community, the City of La Mesa has launched a redesigned economic development webpage at www.cityoflamesa.com/economicdevelopment aimed at providing up-to-date information including listings of space available, guides for property owners and start-up businesses.

February 18, 2010 (El Cajon ) – The U.S. Census Bureau will hold employment testing in the Grossmont College Career Center on Monday, February 22 at 10 a.m. Full and part-time jobs are available for the 2010 census, including supervisory and non-supervisory positions.  

 
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

By Rama Beerfas
 
February 15, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Anyone who has participated in a business networking event of any kind has heard about the all-important 30-Second Commercial, sometimes known as the “Elevator Pitch.” The purpose of this commercial is to make people aware of what you do and what type of business you are looking for, usually in a thirty to sixty-second timeframe.

 
 
February 14, 2010 (Rancho San Diego) – If your company has a “help wanted” ad, you can now place your job listing free in the Rancho San Diego-Jamul Chamber of Commerce monthly newsletter, The Bridge.

“We will also list job fairs as a free community service,” said RSDJ Chamber President Valerie Harrison.

February 13, 2010 (San Diego)----San Diego Self Storage’s Jamacha Point facility in Spring Valley donated 100 corrugated boxes for shipping supplies to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti. The boxes transported items collected at the Light of the World Church, including clothing, medical supplies, food and water.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

By Rama Beerfas

February 10, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – If you’ve ever taken a sales training class, you have probably heard the features vs. benefits marketing approach. I call this technique the WIIFM Factor – What’s in It for Me. When it comes right down to it, when you are stressing the benefits, rather than the features of a particular product or service, you are telling your prospects what is in it for them when they purchase from you.

 
February 4, 2010 (El Cajon) – Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) will host a community job fair in conjunction with the East County Career Center on February 19, 2010, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Ronald Reagan Community Center, 195 E. Douglas Avenue in El Cajon next to the El Cajon Library).  Job applicants are urged to bring your resumes and dress for success.
 
New economic data released earlier this month shows that the national unemployment rate remains at 10 percent, Hunter observed.

“This is a major initiative about the future of East County,” -- G. Cole Davis, El Cajon Community Development Corporation

By Miriam Raftery

February 4, 2010 (El Cajon) – On Saturday, community leaders from throughout East County convened in El Cajon for “The Challenges and Opportunities of Imaging the Future of the Greater San Diego Region.” The event was the seventh such function held around the County by San Diego Foundation’s Civil Society. The goal?

To create a Regional Vision Initiative with a 50-to-100 year strategic plan that will encompass the shared values and priorities of residents.

February 4, 2010 (La Mesa) -- Mix it up with fun and networking at Hooleys Irish Pub & Grill, 5500 Grossmont Blvd. at Grossmont Center in La Mesa. The La Mesa Chamber of Commerce joins with the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce to help celebrate the popular pub's one-year anniversary at the La Mesa location on Monday, February 8th from 5:30-7:00 p.m.

February 3, 2010 (Lakeside) – Gunshots rang out on Saturday at the Lakeside Rodeo Grounds, where historical re-enactors from the Hole in the Wall Gang staged a mock Western-style shootout.  Members of the Victorian Roses Ladies Riding Society looked on, clad in elegant period attire.

It was all part of the Lakeside Community Expo sponsored by the Lakeside Chamber of Commerce.

 
January 31, 2010 (Santee) – The owner of Smokin’ Joes Barbecue in Santee made a whole-hog effort to please guests at the grand opening of his new restaurant yesterday. After slow-roasting a whole pig on a spit, Joe Jones and his restaurant crew served up succulent results to a hungry crowd lined up for “pig pull” samples.

January 31, 2010 (Alpine) -- Want to get fit and healthy in the New Year? Certified raw culinary chefs Diane Haworth and Michael Varbaek will be guest speakers for the Alpine Business Networking Association (ABNA) on Thursday, February 18 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Vines Bistro & Wine Bar, 2502 Alpine Boulevard in Alpine. Guests are invited for a raw food presentation and information on healthy eating.
 

Sacred Rocks Reserve and RV Park, located at 3,900 feet in the mountains east of San Diego, pledges to become the “Greenest RV Park in America”

January 31, 2010 (Boulevard) ― It’s a “go green” world these days, even in places where you might not expect it. Several years ago, the owners of Sacred Rocks Reserve and RV Park, located in the mountains east of San Diego, had a mission to become “The Greenest RV Park in America,” and set about establishing eco-friendly practices throughout the park.
Their efforts were recently recognized by ARVC (National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds), which awarded the RV Park the “Plan-it Green Award” for 2009.

 
HIGHLIGHTS, NATIONAL & LOCAL REACTIONS TO SPEECH
 
View video of speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2010-state-union-address
 
Read full text of speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-state-union...
 
January 28, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – In his State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama pledged to make job creation a priority, along with helping America’s families who have been shouldering “the burden of working harder and longer for less; of being unable to save enough to retire or help kids with college.”
 
He outlined specific goals to create new jobs, provide tax credits and other help for small businesses, reduce college costs, encourage innovation, increase exports of U.S.-made products and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.

 
 
 
January 25, 2010 (San Diego) – Ten out of 11 local legislators made the California Small Business Association Honor Roll for 2009, in recognition of their voting records to protect the interests of small businesses. Conspicuously absent from the list was State Senator Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta), whose district encompasses the bulk of East County.

January 23, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) - Nineteen hotels in San Diego County have received the prestigious American Automobile Association (AAA) four-diamond award, including three in San Diego’s eastern region: Orchard Hill Country Inn in Julian, Pala Casino Spa & Resort on the Pala Indian reservation, and Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort in Valley Center.
 
The award ranks these hotels and inns among the top 3.4% of all lodging establishments listed by AAA.

January 24, 2010 – Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) and its subsidiaries have announced realignments designed to bolster their organizations and enhance management experience. All changes are effective March 29, 2010.

January 17, 2010 – Sempra Energy Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Sempra Energy (parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric Co.) has pledged $50,000 in disaster-relief assistance funds to victims of the devastating Haitian earthquake. Sempra Energy Foundation will direct the funds through the San Diego—Imperial County Chapter of the American Red Cross International Relief Fund.

by Walter Hall

January 16, 2010 (El Cajon) - Sunbelt Publications, El Cajon’s award-winning regional press, observes 25 years of hard-won success in the book trade this month. The anniversary is a remarkable achievement by a singular couple – Diana and Lowell Lindsay – who have the mischievous look of people who know they’re onto something special. 

Court upholds district's right to assure that school construction jobs will employ local residents

January 5, 2010 (San Diego)--San Diego's Superior Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) that sought to halt work performed under the project stabilization agreement (PSA) reached between San Diego Unified School District and construction unions.