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CREATING JOBS THROUGH EXPORTING
The Chamber and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Monday that the Chamber has been selected to house the Los Angeles Regional Export Council, a collaborative effort to encourage and assist companies looking to begin or increase international trade activity. "The Chamber is proud to lead this effort, which will result in more business abroad for local businesses," said L.A. Area Chamber Senior Vice President Carlos Valderrama. Los Angeles is the first of four pilot metro areas to partner with the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program to develop export plans this year. Above from left, Mayor Villaraigosa; Richard Drobnick, USC CIBER; Bryan Kang, Rhapsody Inc. Clothing; Valderrama; Mark Quinn, U.S. Small Business Administration's Los Angeles office; Carmen Rad, CR&A Custom Banner; and Chamber President & CEO Gary Toebben. View photo gallery. Contact Carlos J. Valderrama, 213.580.7570.
Chamber supports solar feed-in tariff pilot project
 The Chamber recently testified in L.A. City Council in support of the development of a 75MW solar feed-in tariff pilot program to meet the goals of state-mandated SB 32, which seeks to establish 750MW of feed-in tariff statewide. The goals of this program are to help spur in-basin, rooftop solar power, thereby creating jobs, improving air quality and increasing Los Angeles' renewable portfolio. The project will now go back before L.A. City Council’s Energy & Environment Committee for further implementation collaboration with the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. Contact Jessica Duboff, 213.580.7558.
Chamber High Speed Rail Task Force Chair advocates for high speed rail
 On Tuesday, the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) released an updated business plan for the high speed rail project to connect Anaheim to San Francisco. Maureen Hayes, Parsons Corporation, chair of the Chamber’s High Speed Rail Task Force, participated in the public rollout, along with the mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Fresno, and CHSRA Board members. "High speed rail is a catalyst for innovation, creativity and expansion," said Hayes. "It will boost our economy when we need it most and create sustained growth for years." Updated projections for ridership on the 520 mile line are between 29.6 million to 43.9 million riders by 2040. Contact Jessica Duboff, 213.580.7558.
Chamber receives SBA grant to boost exporting from our region
 On Tuesday, the Chamber announced that it received a $320,000 California State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration. A three-year pilot trade and export initiative, the STEP Program is authorized by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 and is designed to help increase the number of small businesses that are exporting, as well as raise the value of exports for those small businesses so they can grow and create jobs. "The Chamber has been working with area small businesses to increase international trade for many years," said L.A. Area Chamber Senior Vice President Carlos Valderrama. Contact Carlos J. Valderrama, 213.580.7570.
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Nov. 3 is Chevrolet's 100th anniversary. Chevrolet, a division of General Motors Corporation, has been celebrating with events throughout the year. General Motors' sales are led by Chevrolet models like the compact Cruze, the crossover SUV Equinox and the electric Volt. More than 4 million Chevys were sold last year, or half of GM's total sales. 
A 2,000-pound platform that engineers will use to precisely align the Webb telescope's five-layer sunshield was recently completed. Northrop Grumman Corporation is leading the design and development effort for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. "The sunshield has now moved to a very significant pre-flight level of development as we continue to meet the challenges of engineering this one-of-a-kind component," said Scott Willoughby, vice president and Webb Telescope program manager for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. 
