PRIORITIZING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.
The Chamber joined two dozen California business, labor and education leaders in Washington, D.C. this week to advocate for greater federal investment in early childhood education. A recent New America Foundation report reinforces that Pre-K education lays a critical foundation for career preparation, and California lags far behind most states. The delegation met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, top right, Senator Dianne Feinstein, lower left, and Rep. George Miller, chair of the House Education & Labor Committee. Priorities included funding for comprehensive student performance data tracking, better integration of Pre-K to 3rd grade education, and better incentives for quality school, teacher and student performances.

Los Angeles City Administrative Officer discusses budget crisis with Chamber Board
Miguel Santana, the City Administrative Officer for the City of Los Angeles, discussed the ongoing budget challenges at City Hall. "The reality is very simple," Santana said. "Our revenues are not catching up to our expenditures, and they haven't for some time." Resolving the City's budget crisis will continue to be a top Chamber priority and Chamber leadership will continue to advocate for responsible budget reform. Read more or contact Samuel Garrison, 213.580.7568 or sgarrison@lachamber.com.

Business Leaders Task Force on Homelessness meets to discuss next steps
The Business Leaders Task Force on Homelessness, which includes business leaders from the private and public sectors who are evaluating best practices from around the nation, met Monday and formed committees focused on homeless system coordination, financial modeling for permanent supportive housing, funding coordination and allocation, and communicating the work of the task force. The task force will focus on developing a regionalized plan to combat homelessness in order to align services within the City and County. "We all agree that regionalization is key," said Michael Arnold, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Contact Beverly Kenworthy, 213.580.7531 or bkenworthy@lachamber.com.

Local businesses, schools honored for working together to strengthen education
Pillar, a partnership between the Chamber and the Los Angeles Unified School District, is proud to announce the winners of the first Pillar Partnership Spotlight. The Amgen Foundation, along with its partner West Adams Preparatory High School, and Tucker Ellis & West LLP and its partner the Law, Business and Government Academy at Lincoln High School, were named the winners of the "Spotlight," which was created as a way to recognize businesses and schools working together to strengthen education and develop the future workforce. The "Spotlight" highlights partnerships that exemplify best practices and inspire future business-education collaborations. These partnerships will be highlighted in the May 31 edition of the Los Angeles Business Journal and the "Spotlight" school will receive funding for activities such as field trips to their partner's place of business. Get involved with Pillar today or ontact Paola Santana, 213.580.7553 or psantana@lachamber.com.

Assemblywoman Julia Brownley commends Chamber on Race to the Top efforts
The Education & Workforce Development Committee met Friday with California State Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, left, as well as 2010 Candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction Larry Aceves. Aceves shared his top priorities for improving California schools, and Brownley thanked the Chamber for supporting Race to the Top efforts. "This is an organization that understands the importance of education," said Assemblywoman Brownley. "I appreciate this organization's thoughtfulness and investment in what I believe to be our most important capital (education)." Contact Sonia Campos-Rivera, 213.580.7538 or srivera@lchamber.com.

Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference 2011 to be held in L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Monday that the City will host Microsoft Corporation's Worldwide Partner Conference 2011, a gathering of the company's staffers and business partners July 10-14 next year. The conference is expected to bring about 15,000 attendees, who will spend an estimated $45 million, officials say. It would be one of the biggest gatherings at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Read more. Want your good news featured here? Click here to learn more.