Tom Luhnow's Blog (21)

The Small Business Majority has released its 2013 updated guide that provides a summary of incentives to encourage clean energy and energy efficiency practices to save small businesses money. The Federal guide is for use in California and highlights, if applicable, utility and non-profit energy programs available to small business owners to encourage them to embrace clean energy sources and to take steps to become more energy efficient.  

Small business owners know they need…

Gay marriage laws to generate spending

The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine —

A national think tank says new gay marriage laws in Maine, Maryland and Washington will generate at least $166 million in wedding spending in the next three years.

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimates that nearly 18,000 same-sex couples in the three states will exchange vows in the…

Ann marie Houghtailing has presented several workshops and created webinars for the benefit of our members. Now she has posted a blog that I think is quite insightful and helpful to business people. I always learn something new from her!  And I don't say this because she refers to me in this blog, but I am flattered by her generous comments. Take a look for  yourself:…

Our Advocacy Committee worked diligently to come up with the pros and cons of various state propositions, then discussed them at length before they reached their recommendations to the Board of Directors, which has approved them. There's a Quick Reference page at the start if you just want the results. Any proposition or bond issue not listed was not considered this time round. Whatever your decision, just be sure to VOTE!

View recommendations…

The following is a recent report by John Arensmeyer of the Small Business Majority that might make your life easier:

"Earlier this month Small Business Majority made its first annual trek to DC with our…

The title of the Union-Tribune front page story in their Sunday Business section on 7/22/12 grabbed our attention because we have worked hard over the past year to create a trustworthy place for the LGBT community to use for all their needs, like finding welcoming hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and other services. We did this both for visitors coming to San Diego and for our own community. Locals like to be able to tell their friends that there is one good site they can trust when they plan…

We are excited to announce that local college instructor and entrepreneur Nancy Fredericks will present live interactive marketing webinars in June and August. FREE to GSDBA members and all of our friends (okay, they are free to everyone; spread the word). These 30 minute sessions are mini-tutorials you won't want to miss out on.

Wednesday, June 13th at 10am

SWOT YOURSELF -- TURN STRATEGIC PLANNING INTO MARKETING…

GSDBA RECOMMENDS YES ON PROP. 29

If Proposition 29 passes, it will increase the current California state tobacco tax $1 to a total $1.87 per pack. It applies only to the purchase of tobacco products.

Tobacco kills more than 400,000 Americans every year. Nearly 33 percent of deaths from cancer and 20 percent from heart disease are attributed to tobacco, mostly cigarettes. So the obvious solution is to prevent disease, especially with skyrocketing health care…

The following press release was distributed to the news media today:

WHY THE GSDBA OPPOSES PROPOSITION A – A BAN ON PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS

The Greater San Diego Business Association today announced its opposition to Proposition A, which appears on the June ballot in the City of San Diego. It appears to be a solution where there is no problem. The City of San Diego has, to date, never required contractors…

We sent out the following press release today:

Association rejects high costs and legal concerns for no reward

The Greater San Diego Business Association today announced its opposition to Proposition B, which appears on the June ballot in the City of San Diego. While it is clear that the City’s finances, including the pension plan, need a comprehensive overhaul, review of this initiative finds it would only compound…

Yesterday we had Jeff Light, Editor of the Union-Tribune, as our guest speaker at the professional luncheon series we host each second Tuesday of the month (except in June when we have the Awards Luncheon instead). Talking privately with Jeff, I mentioned that I was appalled the U-T hadn't written anything about the Pride Parade last July 16th on the day of the event. He was sure they had and later sent me a copy of the page in the U-T that not only gave the time and location of the parade,…

When:  Wednesday, March 28th

Time:    6pm to 7:30pm

Where:   The San Diego LGBT Community Center, 3909 Centre Street, San Diego 92103

Moderator:  Tom Fudge, Morning Edition anchor at KPBS

Sponsoring organizations:

The San Diego LGBT Community Center

GSDBA

San Diego Democrats for Equality (formerly San Diego Democratic Club)

Log Cabin Republicans

LGBT Pride San Diego

and several other local…

On March 22nd, the State Controller's office is bringing in experts to discuss the IRS rules regarding registered domestic partners and same-sex married couples. This FREE seminar was wildly popular last year and included some valuable information, so we encourage you to attend if you have questions, need assistance or wish to be better informed. 

Location:  The San Diego LGBT Community Center, 3909 Centre Street, San Diego 92103

Time: Registration begins at 5:30pm; program…

I don't mean they will  LITERALLY set off Roman candles and other incendiary devices at Top of the Park. However, UCSD political science professors Dr. Steve Erie and Vladimir Kogan, two of the 3 co-authors of Paradise Plundered: Fiscal Crisis & Governance Failures in San Diego, promise to light up the sky with their observations about how San Diego has been run, or run into the ground. For example, they write, “…the new millennium has not been kind to paradisical San…

Two City of San Diego programs offer financial assistance to small to mid-size business owners with expanding businesses that require capital but are unable to meet the terms of traditional banks. One is the San Diego Regional Revolving Loan Fund (SDRRLF) and its project area includes the cities of San Diego and Chula Vista.  The other is the Small Business Micro Revolving Loan Fund (SBMRLF). Loan sizes range from $25,000 to $150,000 for the SBMRLF and $150,000 to $500,000 for the SDRRLF.…

The GSDBA is participating in Our Greater San Diego Vision, an unprecedented effort to plan for the future of the greater San Diego region, and we'd like you to participate as well. 



You might wonder why this is so important, so take a quick look at what’s at stake:



•    The region is projected to grow by 1.3 million people (65% will be our own children and grandchildren) over the next 40 years. That is equal to the entire population of the City…

How was your business affected by the September power outage? Western Washington University's Resilience Institute wants to know! Results will be used to predict disaster impacts and help communities prepare for future events. You can also receive a copy of the survey results if you like. 

Go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SDPowerOutage to take the survey.

Sharp HealthCare sent us a letter recently calling on all certified diverse suppliers to sign up for their new Supplier Diversity Program. Such businesses include small disadvantaged, historically underutilized, minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, and small businesses.

The process of certification is conducted by several reputable industry agencies throughout the country, including the NGLCC (…