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PERMIT NO. 447

July 1 Mandate: Employers Required To Provide Paid Sick Leave

SPECIAL REPORT – HEALTHCAREMiller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Advancing In Pediatrics With Telemedicine, Mental Health Focus� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

A new era in pediatric care isbeing ushered in at Miller

Children’s & Women’s HospitalLong Beach that focuses more onmental health, and strives to pro-vide patients with a more conven-ient experience by consolidatingservices and harnessing new tech-nology.

Dr. Divya Joshi, chief medicalofficer for the hospital, said in aninterview with the Business Jour-nal that the hospital, which oper-ates as a branch of theMemorialCare Health System, re-

mains one of eight children’s hos-pitals in California and is cur-rently the largest in the state witha total of 373 beds.

The hospital changed its namelast year by adding “Women’s” to

the title to reflect the full level ofcare that the hospital provides, shesaid, adding that the hospital of-fers a wide spectrum of specialtycare services for both children andpregnant women under one roof.

“Pediatric medicine starts be-fore the baby’s born,” Joshi said.“So we thought, since we offerthis entire spectrum and contin-uum of care from the moment the

Fitness Trends And Your HealthSee Story Page 6

Recent Advancements In CancerTreatments And Research

See Story Page 8

� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

W hen it comes to protect-ing your business from

employment-related lawsuits,local attorneys agree that there arefour main things every businessowner needs to do: stay abreast ofchanging employment laws; keepthorough documentation and filesfor all employees; ensure employ-ees are regularly trained about is-

sues such as harassment; and re-tain a business law firm to advisein labor matters.

According to attorneys from theLong Beach offices of Clinton &Clinton Attorneys At Law, MarronLawyers, and Tredway Lumsdaine& Doyle, the top reasons employ-ees file lawsuits against businesses

are for claims of wage and hour-related issues, misclassification ofemployee status, harassment or re-taliation, and discrimination.

When asked to identify the com-mon thread among businesses thathave had employment-related law-suits filed against them, Paul Mar-ron, principal and founder ofMarron Lawyers, told the BusinessJournal, “To be frank, the commonthread is that it will happen.”

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

B y this summer, most em-ployers in California will

be required to start offering atleast three days of paid sick leaveto their employees who work 30days or more in a year under anew state law.

The legislation, known as As-sembly Bill 1522 or the HealthyWorkplace Healthy Family Act of2014, officially became law onJanuary 1, 2015, but the mainprovision that mandates all pri-vate and public employers re-

gardless of size provide paid sickleave to their workers goes intoeffect on July 1.

The law extends paid sickleave to all qualifying employ-ees, including temporary, on-calland part-time workers who oftendon’t receive the same benefitsas full-time or salaried employ-ees. Out-of-state workers are alsocovered under the law if theywork 30 days or more within ayear in California.

The only employees exemptfrom the legislation are those cov-ered by a union contract with col-lective bargaining agreements,state providers of in-home sup-portive services and certain aircarrier employees.

California is the second state inthe nation to pass a paid sick leavepolicy after Connecticut approveda similar law in 2011.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who signedoff on the bill last year, has said

that the new mandate would en-sure sick leave is provided to 6.5million California workers, about40 percent of the state’s work-force, who currently don’t receivesick leave benefits. “Whetheryou’re a dishwasher in San Diegoor a store clerk in Oakland, thisbill frees you of having to choosebetween your family’s health andyour job,” Brown said in a state-ment. “Make no mistake, Califor-nia is putting its workers first.”

Shannon Jenkins, an employ-ment attorney with TredwayLumsdaine & Doyle (TLD) LLC,which has offices in Long Beach,Downey, Irvine and BeverlyHills, said in an interview withthe Business Journal that em-ployers who already provide sickpay might still have to modifytheir policies based on new re-quirements of the law.

Many employers, whether they

New State Law IncludesPart-Time Workers AndOthers; Businesses

Must Maintain Records

The BusinessSeat At TheTable Needs

To Be Occupied� By GEORGE ECONOMIDES

Publisher’s Perspective

T he recent unanimous voteby the Long Beach City

Council to implement a projectlabor agreement (PLA) and thecouncil’s delay in moving forwardon examining the possibility of aU.S. Customs facility at the LongBeach Airport, are two of many is-sues deserving not only inputfrom the business community, butdirect, hands-on involvement.

The city budget, city salariesand pensions, the proposed newcivic center, fees for permits andlicenses, the process for issuingcity contracts, the use of former re-development land, infrastructureneeds, prioritizing spending ofTidelands projects, economic de-velopment efforts, etc., are a fewother items on which the businesscommunity should be weighing in.

According to city officials –city staff and those elected – thebusiness community has a seat atthe table if it wants it, but thatseat is not being occupied and

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CommissionGreen Lights

More ApartmentProjects ForDowntown


Senior Writer

T hree apartment projectsproposed for Downtown

Long Beach were all approvedunanimously by the Long BeachPlanning Commission on May21. Together, the real estate de-velopments create 424 newmulti-family units in the down-town area.

Two of the projects – a 113-unit,five-story apartment building at207 Seaside Way and a 95-unit,eight-story apartment building at442 W. Ocean Blvd. – are by En-semble Investments, a LongBeach-based real estate develop-ment firm.

Tyson Sayles, Ensemble Invest-ment’s executive in charge of res-idential developments, recentlytold the Business Journal that thetwo developments are designed to

FOCUS ON LAWKeeping Up With Employment Law – How Having An Attorney Can Save Your Business Money


(Please Continue To 0)



Law Grads Faced WithTough Job MarketSee Story Page 24

Dr. Divya Joshi, chief medical officer for Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach, visits with Adam Gojit, 7,and Ashley Cordova, 9, at the hospital. See story below. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

1_LBBJ_MAY26_2015_PortAnniversary 5/23/15 5:33 PM Page 1

Inside This Issue4 Inside City Hall

• Hula Hoops, Martinis And FreewaysBy Former Councilmember Gerrie Schipske

5 Helping Long Beach Businesses Grow

6 Special Report: Healthcare Industry• Fitness Trends And Your Health

• Advancements In Cancer Treatment, Research

• Advancing Pediatrics, continued from Page 1

12 Newswatch• Finalized Longshore Workers’ Contract Approved• Harbor Truck Group Launches New Chassis Pool• City Council Allows Yellow Cab To Rebrand Itself• Councilman Dee Andrews To Seek A Third Term• Beach Streets Event For Cyclists, Pedestrians June 6• Long Beach Announces Innovation Team Members

16 Real Estate Luncheon• Two-Page Photo Spread

20 New Sick Leave Law

22 Focus On Law• Employment Law, continued from Page 1

• Law Grads Faced With Tough Job Market

26 In The News

28 Perspective

30 Art MattersPresented By The Arts Council For Long Beach

31 The Nonprofit PagePresented By The Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership

Free: Long Beach Business Journal Digital Edition, Monday Morning Coffee, NewsFlash

Sign up at: www.lbbusinessjournal.com • Follow us on Twitter: @LBBizJourn

2 Long Beach Business Journal May 26-June 8, 2015

1_LBBJ_MAY26_2015_PortAnniversary 5/23/15 5:33 PM

2015


May 2 4 Long Beach Business Journal May 26-June 8, 2015

Hula Hoops, Martinis And Freeways...

California is credited withbringing the world such innova-tions as hula hoops, martinis andfreeways. But it also brought thecreation of the “special dis-trict” – one of the least known orunderstood units of local govern-

ment that is rapidly growing here as well in other states.A special district is “a separate local government that

delivers a limited number of public services to a geo-graphically limited area.” Most significantly, like otherlocal governments, a special district has the power to taxfor those services.There are over 3,200 of these hidden governments in

California. We usually only learn about them when weget our property tax bill which enumerates who is takingour money or when someone starts talking about settingone up. And some are talking in Long Beach about set-ting up a Fire Protection Special District.“Fire Protection Special Districts” aren’t new. Most of

the approximately 372 “Fire Protection Special Districts”are located in rural areas of the state. The districts belongto a strong lobby group: Fire Districts Association ofCalifornia (FDAC) www.fdac.org ).

These districts are governed by elected boards of di-rectors, who are responsible for overseeing the fire dis-tricts, selecting fire chiefs, establishing service levelsand approving expenditures. Their revenues are derivedfrom property tax payments and payments under contractwith cities based on assessed property valuation through-out the district.Some argue that putting Long Beach fire and emer-

gency medical services into a special district would makecertain that revenues raised would only go to pay for thefire department. Currently, all revenues taken in by thecity are put into the general fund and then appropriated bythe city manager, mayor and city council to numerous de-partments. Over the past years, the mayor and coun-cilmembers adopted “proportional share” cuts among thedepartments. Since fire and police account for more than70 percent of the budget, each department received severecuts to equipment and service levels. To date, neitherequipment nor service levels have been fully restored.

It would take the vote of residents to set up a Fire Pro-tection Special District and the power to tax residentswould have to be approved separately by a two-thirdsvote. District boardmembers would need to be elected(or the city council could serve as the board).In another scenario, some think we should explore

contracting out for fire services with the already estab-lished Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los An-geles County (Fire District). This would requireresidents to approve annexation to the fire district whichwould in turn then bill the city for fire suppression, haz-ardous materials response, fire prevention, emergencymedical services, and support functions such as dis-patching, training, equipment maintenance, supplies andprocurement. Not all current firefighters and manage-ment level staff would be kept in Long Beach. Localcontrol would be lost.Several questions need to be answered on either pro-

posal: How much money would be actually saved in turn-ing over the fire department to a fire district? (No onehas produced the figures yet.) How much will the citycontinue to be obligated to pay for CALPERS pensionsalready granted or vested? Would the district own orlease current fire department stations and equipment? Seriously, do we really want one more layer of govern-

ment and one more taxing authority in our lives or do wewant city management to step up and do whatever ittakes to keep our 112-year-old fire department ?Next column: Do water utility customers deserve a

refund?(Gerrie Schipske is a native of Long Beach, an attor-

ney, registered nurse practitioner and full time instructorat CSULB Department of Health Care Administration.She was elected to both the Long Beach Community Col-lege Board of Trustees and the Long Beach City Council.She is the author of several books on Long Beach historyand her blog, www.longbeachinside.blogspot.com.) �

INSIDE CITY HALL

� By GERRIE SCHIPSKE

Contributing Writer


May 26-June 8, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 5 2015

Insight Examination Services

Helping Long Beach Businesses Grow

With the assistance of the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network, Insight ExaminationServices, which opened at Douglas Park in 2011, was able to hire and train several new em-ployees. Pictured are three of those employees, Neeti Rajput and Khushali Shaha, at left, andMario Galabov, at right. They are shown with owners Sunil and Anju Garg. (Photograph by theBusiness Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


Senior Writer

Due to the complex nature of its work, Insight Examination Services, a Long Beach-based financial services business, had trouble hiring and retaining employees even dur-ing the height of the recession. After being introduced to the Pacific Gateway WorkforceInvestment Network, the company’s co-owner, Anju Garg, said the organization notonly helped with hiring skilled employees, but also enabled the company to train newemployees at a reduced cost.

Insight Examination Services, which opened in Douglas Park in 2011, provides fieldexamination services to the banking industry. The company’s field examiners visit loanapplicants – typically those seeking loans of $1 million or greater – and ensure that theapplicants are creditworthy according to compliance guidelines from the Federal De-posit Insurance Corporation. The company also provides accounting services.

“It’s a niche business requiring extensive knowledge in accounting,” Garg told theBusiness Journal. “One of the biggest challenges we have had in our field is to hire,train and retain people,” she said. Training a field examiner takes about one year, Gargsaid. Oftentimes, after investing time and financial resources in training new employees,many of them would quit to work at large banks. “We have a challenge of hiring andinvesting heavily in our employees and then losing them anyway,” Garg said.

Garg learned about Pacific Gateway in December of 2013 through a presentation ina course she was taking as part of the Goldmann Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Pro-gram at Long Beach City College. Pacific Gateway is an organization administered bythe City of Long Beach that provides workforce development services to businessesand individuals in Long Beach, Signal Hill, Torrance and Lomita.

At the time, Garg was hoping to hire four to five people with either undergraduateor graduate degrees in accounting. She had tried multiple online job posting serviceswith little success. Pacific Gateway staff posted Garg’s job listings on its online data-base, expanding the pool of applicants applying to the position. “They posted it and wegot a lot of responses and interviewed people,” Garg said.

As Garg received more applications and conducted more interviews, Pacific Gatewaystaff assisted her by conducting skills assessments of applicants, she said. Ultimately,Garg hired four Long Beach residents, each who had been unemployed for a year ortwo. With Pacific Gateway’s assistance, Garg was able to get a tax credit through thestate’s Enterprise Zone program for hiring local residents. The Enterprise Zone programended in 2014.

Pacific Gateway enrolled Insight Examination Services in its On The Job TrainingProgram, which provides a percentage of the wages of workers being trained on the job.Because the company’s primary challenge had been spending resources on training em-ployees and then losing those employees, this program “helped a lot,” Garg said. “Theyallowed us to spend less of our resources . . . so that really was a big deal for us.”

“It was really wonderful to know that there is somebody out there helping small busi-nesses,” Garg said of Pacific Gateway. “It is very good that we have this partnershipand that there are some resources available.” �

Presented monthly by the Long Beach Business Journal and the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network

www.pacific-gateway.org


Fitness Trends And Your Health� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

When summer rolls around, magazineracks are full of publications boasting thatthey hold the latest fitness secret to abeach-ready body. And in 2015, there isno shortage of fitness trends out there totry, from traditional exercises like Pilatesto newer regimens like CrossFit and barreclasses. But which is truly the best foryour health?

According to fitness and medical profes-sionals, a combination of aerobic (cardio)exercise and strength training, plus ahealthy diet, is the key to getting – and stay-ing – healthy and in shape.

“Exercise is extremely important forhealth,” Dr. Brandon Villarreal, an expertin obesity medicine and an anesthesiologistwho practices at Lakewood Regional Med-ical Center, told the Business Journal. Vil-larreal is the co-founder of the LosAngeles-based Sand Cosmetic Institute,which offers custom weight managementservices and cosmetic procedures.

As long as both aerobic and resistance(strength training) exercises are part of aperson’s workout regimen, “It doesn’tmatter what kind of exercise you do,” Vil-larreal said. “There is not one better thanthe other.”

“I don’t believe that any one exercise isgood for everything,” John Garey, ownerof Long Beach-based John Garey Fitness& Pilates, told the Business Journal.“That’s why we offer so many differentclasses at our facility.” Garey’s businessoffers about 160 classes per week in dif-ferent kinds of exercise techniques, suchas Pilates, barre (workouts using balletbars), trampoline, spin (a high-intensitycycling class) and rowing.

In some cases, Garey even offers combi-nation classes to ensure multiple parts ofthe body are targeted in a workout. For ex-ample, he is now offering combination spinand rowing classes. Spin classes primarilywork out the lower body, and provide an in-tense cardio workout, while rowing classeswork the upper body, he explained.

Villarreal said that spin classes should-n’t be undertaken without cycling experi-ence. “I would recommend working up toit over about six months,” he said. Other-wise, injuries such as swollen knees oreven a torn meniscus (tissue near theknee) could occur, he noted. But when ap-proached correctly, “Spinning can be verynice as an exercise,” he said.

Garey’s business also offers multipletypes of barre classes for the same reason.“Some classes really emphasize the car-dio aspect, and some emphasize thestrength aspect – and not just the lowerbody,” he said.

While Garey said multiple forms of ex-ercise should be employed to work the en-tire body, he recommended that everyoneincorporate some Pilates into their work-out routines. “The whole idea behind Pi-lates is to train the core muscles and tomake sure the muscles are working cor-rectly,” Garey said.

“A lot of times people are ready to go

back into fitness and they will jump intothese really high intensity programs andthey will end up with really sore musclesor sore backs,” Garey said. “For those peo-ple, we encourage them to jump into a Pi-lates class so they can make sure that theircore muscles are strong enough and thatthey are actually firing when they are sup-posed to be firing.”

Villarreal also emphasized the impor-tance of building core strength before start-ing a new workout routine. “The bottomline is core strength,” he said, explainingthat he teaches patients how to do sit-upsand squats for that purpose.

Giovanna Ferraro, owner of GroundworkFitness in Downtown Long Beach, believesa full-body workout is key in exercise. Hercircuit-training based workouts, which shehas dubbed “shiftwork,” use the body’s ownstrength to perform movements rather thanrelying on machinery. “Basically, you aregoing from lifting weights to jumping jacks. . . to a punching bag, to getting on a sta-bility ball and working your core,” she said.“You are going to burn 30 percent morecalories doing something like this than justsitting there going from one machine to an-other. It is very effective.”

Similarly, CrossFit, a fitness regimenthat has been growing in popularity sinceit was launched in the early 2000s, is cir-

cuit-based and is designed to work out thewhole body with cardio and strength train-ing. CrossFit is known for being high-in-tensity, and incorporates more extremetechniques like Olympic weightlifting.Chad Cross, owner of CrossFit LongBeach, said CrossFit workouts also strayaway from using machinery.

“We do different things like Olympicweightlifting, gymnastics and other typesof weightlifting,” Cross said. “And then wealso do cardio-type stuff, like running, bik-ing and swimming.” CrossFit workouts typ-ically take place in group classes and varyfrom day to day, he noted.

Exercise should be catered to an individ-ual’s needs, Villarreal said. For example, ifhe were developing a weight loss programfor a relatively healthy 25-year-old patient,he would approach the situation differentlythan if he were working with a 65-year oldpatient with little muscle mass.

Although exercise regimens should beindividualized, there are some basics Vil-larreal recommends adhering to. Perhapsthe most important of these is to gradu-ally increase the intensity of an exerciseroutine over time. “I see a lot of trainerswho will take folks who have never exer-cised their entire lives and start [them]using very heavy weights,” Villarreal ob-served. “And what happens is they are not

going to build any muscle mass, but theyare just going to get ligament disease andjoint disease,” he said, explaining thatstarting an exercise routine at a level thatis too intense strains the body rather thanhelping it.

The same principle ought to be appliedto aerobic exercise. Villarreal said hestarts off his patients with aerobic exer-cise by having them walk on the treadmillfor about 30 minutes a day, graduallybuilding up the pace as they get in bettershape. “What I tell my clients who wantto lose weight is, all you need to do iswalk continuously for about 30 minutesfor the first couple of weeks, and thenafter that work up to about an hour everyday of your life,” he said.

At Ferraro’s gym, “You all start off asbeginners, no matter who comes throughmy doors – whether you have never beento a gym in your life or you have been in agym setting for 20 years. It doesn’t matter,”she emphasized. As clients make progress,they are moved into intermediate and ad-vanced levels. “It is a safe way to progresspeople so that we keep our clients as in-jury-free as possible,” she said.

Cross said that CrossFit Long Beach in-structors scale workouts to an individual’sability level. “We have people in theirearly 20s and we have people in their late70s doing this. We just scale it back; theylift less weight and do less complicatedmovements and less dangerous stuff,” hesaid. “But mentally, it’s not for everybody,necessarily. You have to be looking topush yourself.”

Villarreal cautioned against CrossFit.“CrossFit, I think, is very dangerous forpeople. It doesn’t matter what age you’reat,” he said. “I have a 22-year-old daughterwho does CrossFit . . . I have seen her pro-gram. What she is exposing herself to isjoint disease later in life, because when youkeep doing a lot of repetitive motion . . .let’s say for 30 to 45 minutes, that’s toomuch stress on the joints.”

Cross, however, said that a key compo-nent of CrossFit is varying routines so thebody isn’t doing the same exercise overand over again. “You want to keep yourbody doing different things. If it gets usedto something, it gets efficient at it, and itstops responding to it,” he explained. “Wedo not have a set routine that we do on aregular basis. We change the stimulus al-most every day.”

All those interviewed by the BusinessJournal agreed that, without proper nutri-tion, working out wouldn’t net much inthe way of results.

“When you think about exercise andyou think about the fact that people aremalnourished because of our standardAmerican diet, they are not going to getthe benefit of an exercise program with-out proper nutrition,” Villarreal said. Forthat reason, a key aspect of GroundworkFitness’s program is a component calledNutrition 101. John Garey Fitness & Pi-lates offers healthy cooking classes, andCrossFit Long Beach offers a variety ofnutritional resources online atwww.crossfitlb.com/nutrition.

“Our society is based on the latestfads,” Villarreal reflected. “But at the endof the day, it doesn’t matter what someoneis doing as long as it is a program that isspecific for that particular individual.That’s the key.” �

6 Long Beach Business Journal May 26-June 8, 2015SPECIAL REPORT – HEALTHCARE

Most instruction that takes place at Groundwork Fitness, a gym in Downtown Long Beach, occurs ingroup classes centered on the concept of what owner Gio Ferraro calls “shiftwork.” During a class,such as the one Ferraro (center) is instructing above and below, participants perform multiple kinds ofexercises to work out their full bodies. Groundwork Fitness is located at 333 Pine Ave. (Photographs bythe Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


2015


May 2


Senior Writer

The word “cure” gets bandied aboutquite a bit in the media, particularly whenspeculating when someone will discover acure for cancer. But talk to oncologists andmedical researchers and they’ll tell you thatthere are endless ongoing studies examin-ing new ways to treat and prevent cancer –partially because not every cancer is alike,just as all patients are unique. For that rea-son, medical experts interviewed by theBusiness Journal agree that, in general,cancer treatments in the future will be moretargeted and customized.

New Treatments“In the future, treatments for cancer will

become more targeted,” Dr. Carey Cullinane,medical director of Cancer Risk and Preven-tion Program at Long Beach Memorial Med-ical Center’s Todd Cancer Institute, told theBusiness Journal. “As we grow in under-standing the human genome, and in turn thegenomic changes which occur in cancers, wewill be able to target genomic weaknesses incancers,” she said. Targeted treatment thera-pies are already in use for some cancers.

In a targeted therapy treatment, physicianstake a sample of a patient’s cancer cells andexamine it to identify mutated genes thatmay have caused the cancer, according to

Dr. Nilesh Vora, who practices hematologyand oncology at local hospitals including St.Mary Medical Center and Long Beach Me-morial Medical Center. He is also a partnerat Coast Hematology-Oncology Associates.After identifying that gene, doctors then de-termine if a medicine is available to target it.“By targeting it, you basically attack it andyou kill the driver for that tumor. As a result,lots of cancer cells will die,” he explained.

“That has changed the way we do lungcancer therapy,” Vora said, noting that thereare also “all kinds of targeted therapies forleukemia now.” He added, “In a lot of caseswe don’t even do chemotherapy upfront.We do targeted therapy.”

Cullinane said targeted therapies that“more precisely attack tumor cells” aresome of the most promising recently ap-proved cancer treatments. “These treat-ments are already making changes in howwe treat ovarian cancer, melanoma and lym-phoma and, as our knowledge grows, willbe used in other cancers as well,” she said.

According to Vora, another advancementin cancer care made in recent years has beenin the use of immunotherapy in fighting can-cer. In immunotherapy, a patient’s own im-mune system – specifically a type of whiteblood cell known as a T-cell – is essentiallygiven a boost and used to attack cancer. Theproblem is that some cancer cells are able tosend a signal to a receptor (called PD-1) onT-cells, which causes them to stop attackingthe cancer. A class of relatively new drugscalled PD-1 inhibitors switches off thismechanism, allowing the body’s T-cells tocontinue fighting the cancer.

Immunotherapy has already made a pos-itive impact in treating melanoma and maysoon play a role in lung cancer treatments,Vora noted. One new immunotherapy treat-ment, Provenge, “removes white cells froma patient and sensitizes the white cells tolook for prostate cancer proteins,” he said.When the white cells are placed back intothe patient, “it has been shown to improvesurvival in prostate cancer,” he noted.

In addition to these advancements, long-used cancer treatments such as radiation,chemotherapy and surgery are becomingmore precise. “In contrast to what hap-pened 20 years ago, [when] we did moreradical surgeries and we did chemotherapythat was cytotoxic and made people veryill,” these procedures have improved, Cul-linane noted. “Our surgical procedures aremuch more limited in most cases. Radia-tion is targeted . . . And chemotherapy isbecoming more targeted so that we are not[harming] healthy cells; we are really justtargeting cancer cells,” she said. Vora saidthat surgeries have become less invasivedue to laparoscopic techniques and the useof robots in operations.

Ongoing ResearchWith the aid of modern science, antibi-

otics and viruses may also be used to treatand prevent cancer in the near future.

A study recently published in the medicaljournal “Oncotarget” found that certain typesof antibiotics are capable of killing off cancerstem cells in multiple kinds of tumors. Thestudy was led by Michael Lisanti, a cancerresearcher at Manchester University, whosedaughter Camilla gave him the idea to inves-tigate antibiotics as a means of treating can-cer. She is listed as a co-author on the study.

Camilla’s suggestion led Lisanti to inves-tigate how the ability of certain kinds of an-tibiotics to inhibit the reproduction of cellmitochondria might impact cancer stemcells. Mitochondria are subcellular struc-tures that generate energy and also play arole in cell growth and death, among otherprocesses. Cancer stem cells rely heavilyupon mitochondria to replicate, accordingto the study.

The study found that “four to five differ-ent classes of FDA [U.S. Food and DrugAdministration] approved drugs can beused to eradicate cancer stem cells, in 12different cancer cell lines, across 8 different


Recent Advancements In Cancer Treatments And Research

SPECIAL REPORT – HEALTHCARE


tumor types.” The effective antibiotics usedwere all commonly prescribed medicinesincluding azithromycin and doxycycline,among others. The effectively treated tumortypes were from cancers of the breast,ovaries, prostate, lungs, pancreas, brain(specifically glioblastoma) and skin(specifically melanoma). Two types ofbreast cancers were included in the study.

Multiple ongoing studies are investigat-ing the use of some of these antibiotics incancer patients – for example, there is astudy examining how doxycycline may im-pact breast cancer patients. Lisanti and hiscolleagues suggested the findings of theirstudy warrant further clinical trials.

Another study recently published in On-cotarget may also result in advancements incancer treatment. The study, published byDr. Paul B. Fisher, director of the VirginiaCommonwealth University Institute of Mo-lecular Medicine, along with several col-leagues, devised a new method of viral genetherapy in the treatment of cancer. Viralgene therapy is the practice of engineeringviruses to deliver treatments to cancer cells.

In previous research, Fisher had discov-ered a gene known as mda-7/IL-24, whichis able to selectively kill cancer cells with-out harming the body’s healthy tissues.“Another advantage of this agent is that,when it interacts on the surface of cellsthrough receptors, it stimulates its own pro-duction by those cells,” Fisher told theBusiness Journal in a phone interview. Inother words, the gene is able to spread.

In his recent study, Fisher and his teamengineered conditionally replicatingviruses to contain mda-7/IL-24 and deliver

it to cancer cells. A conditionally replicat-ing virus (CRV), unlike a non-replicatingvirus, is able to make copies of itself onceit enters a cancer cell, Fisher explained.

Cancer cells, however, contain a proteinthat protects them from therapeutic treat-ments, so killing them off isn’t as simple asexposing them to a drug. To increase thetreatment’s likelihood of success, the CRVwas also engineered to contain an experi-mental drug that inhibits cancer cells’ de-fense against treatments.

Fisher and his team also had to solve theproblem of how to ensure the modifiedCRV actually got to the prostate cancercells they were targeting. While the conceptof viral gene therapy has been around for along time, Fisher told the Business Journalthat actually delivering viruses to cancercells has been a barrier to efficient treat-ment. When a virus is injected into thebody, it may either become trapped in theliver as the body tries to rid itself of it, or itmay be eradicated by the body’s immunesystem, he explained.

To address that problem, he and his col-leagues developed a technique to protectthe engineered viruses until they get to thecancer cells. The process, called ultrasoundmicro bubble destruction, involves encas-ing the viruses in a gas bubble. “This bub-ble is coated with a complement whichactually prevents the immune system fromseeing any virus on the surface and destroy-ing it,” Fisher said. “So it is basically astealth missile floating through your body.”

Ultrasound equipment breaks the bubbles– so, by placing an ultrasound device overthe location of a cancer, the bubbles burst

right on target, enablingmore efficient delivery ofthe modified virus.

The technique effec-tively eradicated the tar-geted prostate cancercells. Fisher said he wantsto take the method intoclinical trials, although heemphasized that the FDAmay require him to takeadditional steps first. “It’sa long path,” he said.“One of the first tests isgoing to be in patientsthat have malignantglioma, which is a veryadvanced brain cancerthat is invariably lethal.”

As more advancementshave been made in treat-ing and diagnosing can-cer, survival rates haveimproved. “We are muchbetter at treating cancernow,” Cullinane said.“The five year relativesurvival rate for all can-cers diagnosed in 2004 through 2010 was68 percent, up from 49 percent in 1975through 1977. This reflects both improvedtreatment as well as early diagnosis ofsome cancers,” she explained.

Cullinane reflected, “I think we are a wayoff from finding a ‘cure’ for all cancers – butwe are much better at curing early diseaseand making advanced stage cancer a chronicdisease – more and more people are livingwith cancer instead of dying from it.” �


According to Dr. Carey Cullinane,medical director of the Cancer Riskand Prevention Program at LongBeach Memorial Medical Center’sTodd Cancer Institute, “Cancer is thesecond most common cause ofdeath in the United States, exceededonly by heart disease.” Cullinane ispictured at the Todd Cancer Institute,located at 2810 Long Beach Blvd.(Photograph by the Business Jour-nal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


May 2

baby is visible in ultrasound until theyreach age 21, we should reflect in our namewhat it is we do.”

The name isn’t the only aspect of thehospital that has evolved.

New technological advancements, for in-stance, have enabled doctors to not only di-agnose infants in the womb but treat themas well, particularly in prenatal and pediatriccardiology, she said, adding that the hospitalis one of the only hospitals in the country tohave a surgeon who specializes in the field.

“If we detect a heart problem before thebaby is born, the mother and family can

meet with the cardiologist or the cardiacsurgeon to talk about treatments, out-comes and what the life of the child willlook like,” Joshi said.

She said such prenatal treatment is alsofrequent in urology, such as detectingbladder abnormalities or dysfunctions inother organ systems.

Advancements in surgical equipmenthave also enabled doctors to provide more“minimal invasive surgery,” which involvesusing small fiber optic cables as a cameraand for making small incisions.

Using these new instruments helpsshorten the time a patient is required to stayin the hospital, reduces risk for complica-tions and leaves a smaller scar than previ-ous procedures, Joshi said.

The hospital has also made technologicaladvancements in “supportive care” throughhighly sophisticated breathing machinesand ventilators, she added.

“When a child is critically ill, we haveto breathe for them,” Joshi stressed.“Sometimes we have to make the heartbeat for them. We have to fight infectionsfor them. We have to feed them . . . wehave to do everything for them.”

Another major step forward in pediatriccare is the hospital’s ability to make a ge-netic or biological diagnosis for treat-ment, she said.

Doctors are now able to diagnose dif-ferent types of leukemia, for instance,with specific abnormalities and providetreatment based on the specific geneticmakeup of a condition.

This enables doctors to use such treat-ments like chemotherapy on specificallytargeted cancer cells, thereby reducing sideeffects, such as loss of hair and vomiting,associated with treating the entire body.

TelemedicineOne way the hospital is providing a

more convenient experience for patientsand their families is through the use oftelemedicine, using two-way video, e-mail, smart phones, wireless tools andother forms of telecommunications tech-nology for medical purposes.

In the past, if a child was sick andneeded special treatment not offered at anearby hospital, the child would be placedin an ambulance and brought to MillerChildren’s & Women’s Hospital LongBeach, Joshi said.

Today, however, medical information

can be exchanged from one site to an-other simply by turning on a camera, en-abling a doctor to diagnose a patient ormake a physical exam remotely viatelemedicine. She said this technologicaladvancement has become vitally impor-tant in pediatric care.

“We’re working on expanding that andlinking different hospitals and communitiesto this hub via telemedicine,” Joshi said.

Consolidating ClinicsThe hospital is also in the process of

consolidating its seven clinics to operateunder one roof, establishing a “one-stopshop” for medical services, she said.

Within the next two years, the hospitalwill be consolidating its clinics to operateat one 60,000-square-foot building nearthe hospital instead of having medicalservices, such as X-ray technicians andpharmacologists, spread out amongst sev-eral nearby offices.

The project, which is being partly fi-nanced through federal funds, will pro-vide more patient convenience, improvequality of care, create better teamworkand increase efficiency, Joshi said.

“I think that is one of the biggest proj-ects we’re working on,” she said. “It willmake a really, really big impact on thehealth care of children.”

Mental Health ServicesIn addition, the hospital and the pediatric

community in general are now consideringhow mental health plays a role in a child’sor young adult’s physical health, Joshi said.

She said the hospital is in the process ofexpanding its mental health services forboth children and pregnant women. The


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SPECIAL REPORT – HEALTHCARE

Advancements

In Pediatrics(Continued From Page 1)


hospital is currently seeking grant fundingto hire a psychologist for the entire chil-dren’s hospital as well as for the hospital’sneonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

“It takes more than just fixing the bodyto fix the person,” she said. “I think wethankfully, in the 21st Century, have cometo understand that you can’t separate mindand body. That is where I think pediatricsis ahead of the adult medicine.”

Joshi noted that current research indi-cates that, the more stress a child is under,the greater the risk he or she will have achronic disease as an adult. She said dif-ferent factors, such as being bullied atschool, could actually impact a child’s im-mune system.

“What we do to children affects whathappens to them in adult life,” she said.

Joshi said recent studies also show thatup to 70 percent of mothers who givebirth in the NICU have some form ofpost-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD),which can adversely impact a child’smental health and, ultimately, behaviorwell into adulthood.

Having a dedicated psychologist onhand at the hospital will not only “helpparents in the present” deal with stress,but also “help parents be better parents inthe future,” she said.

Joshi said the hospital also provides“child-life specialists” trained in how to“professionally play” with children to ex-plain what is going to happen and to en-sure a safe environment.

“If you’re totally stressed out or youdon’t understand, you will not heal asquickly and you won’t comply with the

treatment as well,” she said. “So, the envi-ronment is important for the outcome.”

Major RenovationsMiller Children’s & Women’s Hospital

Long Beach is also in the process ofmaking major renovations to its 20-bedpediatric intensive care unit (PICU),which provides care to toddlers, childrenand teenagers who become critically illor injured.

Matt Farhadi, spokesperson for the hos-pital, said the three-year renovation projectincludes creating “private patient rooms” toincrease comfort for patients and families.

The $30 million renovation project is of-ficially underway, he said. Phase 1, whichincludes eight new private patient rooms, anew PICU classroom and a new pediatricpharmacy in the north wing, is projected tobe completed by March 2016, Farhadi said,while the entire PICU renovation is ex-pected to be completed by November 2017.

In addition, the hospital is expected toopen its new $1.2 million urology andnephrology center in June that will jointhe two programs, thereby improvingservices and providing more conveniencefor patients, he said.

The 34,000-square-foot Larry & HelenHoag Foundation Pediatric Urology &Nephrology Center will be located in theHartley Medical Building at 2888 LongBeach Blvd.

“This consolidation of disciplines allowsus to better serve patients in the prevention,diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease,while we continue to provide high-qualitypatient care and pursue innovative researchin urology,” Farhadi said. �



May 2

Finalized Longshore Workers’ Contract

Approved� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

A contract for West Coast longshoreworkers has finally been agreed to by thetwo negotiating parties after nearly a yearof discussions and disagreements. The pre-vious contract expired July 1, 2014. Thenew agreement is retroactive to that dateand runs through June 30, 2019.

On May 21, the Pacific Maritime As-sociation (PMA), which represents theemployers of West Coast longshoreworkers, announced that its members

had ratified the new five-year contract.The following day, longshore workers inthe International Longshore & Ware-house Union (ILWU) did the same.

According to an ILWU statement, 82percent of its members voted in favor of theagreement. The PMA did not provide a per-centage breakdown of member votes, butstated that the contract was “overwhelm-ingly” approved.

“This contract provides an importantframework for the hard work ahead to over-come new competitive challenges and tocontinue to position the West Coast portsas destinations of choice for shippersworldwide,” PMA President and CEO JimMcKenna said in a statement released fol-lowing the ILWU’s vote.

“The negotiations for this contract weresome of the longest and most difficult inour recent history,” ILWU International

President Robert McEllrath said in a state-ment. “Membership unity and hard workby the negotiating committee made this fairoutcome possible.”

The ILWU statement explained that thenew contract maintains health benefits andimproves wages, pensions and job safetyprotections for workers. Additionally, thecontract limits outsourcing of union workerjobs and provides for “an improved systemfor resolving job disputes.”

Long Beach Board of Harbor Commis-sioners President Doug Drummond ap-plauded the ratification of the contract in astatement released on May 22. “This newpact is terrific for management and labor,and proves that by working together, we canbuild a partnership that will continue to helpto improve this economy and provide jobsall across the United States,” he stated.

Contract negotiations began to grow

heated last October when multiple ports re-ported that fewer longshore workers thannecessary were being deployed to unloadships. The move worsened already historiclevels of congestion caused by a confluenceof issues within the supply chain. In theearly months of this year, employers lockedworkers out of docks over multiple week-ends so that they could clear the docks,which the PMA alleged was due to thework slowdown.

Ultimately, a visit from U.S. Labor Sec-retary Thomas Perez resulted in a tentativeagreement, the details of which were not re-vealed. The details of the finalized, ap-proved contract have also not yet beenreleased. McKenna, however, stated in Feb-ruary that full-time longshore workers madean average of $147,000 per year with fullypaid health care and a maximum yearlypension of $79,920 under the old contract.

Gene Seroka, executive director of the Portof Los Angeles, emphasized the importanceof the contract approval in relation to supplychain efficacy. “The approval of this laborcontract allows us to move full speed aheadsharpening our competitive edge,” he said ina press release. “In the last 90 days, labor andmanagement throughout the San Pedro Baysupply chain have made excellent progresseliminating the backlog of ships, gettingservices back on schedule, and improvingcargo flow in and out of terminals.” �

Harbor Trucking GroupLaunches New ChassisPool And ExpandsCommitment To

Train More Drivers� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

The Harbor Trucking Association(HTA), which represents more than 100trucking companies serving California’sports, announced on May 20 that it is ex-panding educational and industry partner-ships to help improve the trucking industryand supply chain.

The association is entering into a newpartnership with ChassisFinder.com to cre-ate a new pool of 250 chassis – the trailerequipment used to haul shipping containers– to be used by HTA members at WestCoast ports. The pool is called the TruckerChassis Connection. Two hundred of thechassis are dedicated to the San Pedro Bayports, with the remaining 50 to be usedaround the Port of Oakland.

ChassisFinder.com is an online chassisreservation program that provides “real-time information on chassis availability andpricing.” Truckers using the Trucker Chas-sis Connection will be able to locate andobtain chassis through this program.

The announcement comes on the heelsof historic levels of congestion at the SanPedro Bay ports, in which a shortage ofchassis played a large role. Greg Boyle,president of HTA, said the new poolwould “create more reliability and shouldhelp create faster turn times for port truckdrivers.”

The association also announced it wouldbe expanding its partnership with LongBeach City College (LBCC) to help train


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more truck drivers, thanks to a $220,000grant from Jobs for the Future and the Wal-mart Foundation. HTA and the city collegefirst partnered on a truck driver trainingprogram in 2013 to address a shortage oftruck drivers in local ports. Since then, theprogram has graduated 100 drivers.

With the new grant, LBCC and HTA willbe able to train 300 more drivers, with afocus on recruiting more women for theprogram. “With this grant, Long Beach CityCollege will be able to further strengthenour efforts to prepare our local workforcefor well-paying careers in these industries,”LBCC Superintendent-President Eloy Oak-ley said in a press release from HTA.

“We feel in order to best serve our mem-bers and our industry, we need to do morethan just be advocates,” HTA Executive Di-rector Weston LaBar said in a statement.“We need to make bold moves that helpsolve issues that our industry faces . . . Theonly way we can accomplish this is bythinking outside the box and partneringwith other stakeholders to implementgame-changing programs that move our in-dustry forward.” �

Visioning Session OnFuture Of Main LibraryScheduled For May 30

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

A community-wide discussion on the fu-ture of the main library, which will be a cen-tral part of the city’s new civic center inDowntown Long Beach, is scheduled to takeplace this Saturday, May 30, from 10 a.m. tonoon. The meeting is being held at the mainlibrary’s auditorium, 101 Pacific Ave.

Representatives with Plenary EdgemoorCivic Partners (PECP), a developmentteam chosen by the city council last year totake on the civic center rebuild project, willbe available at the meeting along withmembers of the Long Beach Public LibraryFoundation and Friends of the Long BeachPublic Library.

The main library and the city hall build-ings, both of which have been declaredseismically unsafe, are expected to be de-molished and rebuilt as part of the civiccenter rebuild project.

For more information on the civic centerrebuild project, visit www.pecplongbeach.com. �


appeal to “a broad range of downtown res-idents.”

Plans for the apartment building onSeaside Way incorporate a pedestrianbridge planned by the city into its design.The bridge, intended to better connect theLong Beach Performing Arts Center andLong Beach Convention & EntertainmentCenter, will be about 30 feet wide at thefront of the building, and will becomepart of an “integrated promenade” with aground floor café, Sayles said.

“We’re designing a special rooftop deckwith a boutique hospitality appeal andgreat ocean views,” Sayles said of theSeaside Way development. Plans for thebuilding include 53 studio apartments, 33one-bedroom units and 27 two-bedroomunits. The development is being built ona parking lot behind the historic Breakersbuilding.

The 95-unit Ensemble project is locatedbehind the California Bank & Trust build-ing at 444 W. Ocean Blvd. Amenitiesplanned for the development include a fit-ness room, rooftop deck and pool, accord-ing to a city staff report. Plans include 43studios, 21 one-bedroom lofts, 25 two-bed-room units and six three-bedroom units.

The third development approved by theplanning commission is a 216-unit apart-ment building at 150 W. Ocean Blvd.,proposed by Lennar Multifamily Commu-nities. The project is adjacent to theOcean Center building at 110 W. OceanBlvd., with The Pike Outlets located be-hind it.

The seven-story project, dubbed“Oceanaire,” includes a mix of studiosand one-bedroom, two-bedroom andthree-bedroom floor plans. According toa city staff report, “Residential amenitiesinclude a business center and bicycle stor-age facility along the Ocean Boulevardground floor frontage, a large courtyardwith an internal reflection pool, a pooland spa amenity deck on the third floor,and roof decks on the fifth and seventhlevels.”

The city is requiring Lennar to improvethe portion of Victory Park between theproposed structure and Ocean Boulevard.The developer must also create a new“dog and fitness park” where the devel-opment touches Seaside Way, accordingto a city staff report. �

Three New Apartment

Projects Move Forward(Continued From Page 1)


May 2

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

The Long Beach City Council has al-lowed its only licensed taxicab service tolower rates, expand its fleet size and rebranditself to stay competitive with ride-hailingservices, such as Uber and Lyft, which haverecently gained popularity and market share.

The city council voted unanimously, 9-0,at its meeting on May 12 to allow LongBeach Yellow Cab Cooperative, Inc., whichhas been the city’s sole permitted taxicabprovider since 1982, to have 24 more taxi-cabs on the roads, change its logo and offerdiscounted or even free fares.

The move, which makes Long Beach thefirst major city in the nation to deregulateits taxicab service, has received national at-tention as taxicab companies locked in withfixed rates across the country have beenstruggling to compete with ride-hailingservices that offer variable prices and con-venient smart phone apps.

As part of the rebranding, Long BeachYellow Cab is repainting its taxicabs a new“highlighter yellow” and launching a new“Ride Yellow” mobile phone app, which al-ready offers a $15 discount on trips for pas-sengers using it for the first time, to rivalride-hailing services.

In a separate item, the city council onMay 19 directed city staff to draft an ordi-nance to establish a pilot program tochange certain regulatory elements of LongBeach Yellow Cab’s current taxi permit thatwould ultimately give the company more

flexibility with its business model. Citystaff expects the pilot program to be imple-mented during the peak summer travel sea-son if the ordinance is ultimately approved.

“We as an industry find ourselves the re-luctant participants of one of the great pub-lic policy debates that is going on today,”said William Rouse, general manager ofLong Beach Yellow Cab, during the citycouncil meeting on May 12. “Cities every-where are struggling with really what to dowith their taxicab companies to address is-sues of the unlevel playing field that exists. . . In the end, it’s going to be the customerwho benefits from better service.”

The council’s action comes after a bien-nial report on public convenience and ne-cessity regarding taxicab service found that“the number of authorized taxicabs is in-sufficient for the needs of the city,” accord-ing to city staff.

Ride-hailing services, such as Uber andLyft, are officially known as transportationnetwork companies (TNCs), which enabledrivers using their personal vehicles to pro-vide prearranged rides for compensationafter being connected with passengers viasmart phone apps or other online devices.

Operating with a virtually unlimitednumber of vehicles and unregulated pricing

allows these companies to use supply anddemand to their advantage, increasingprices during peak hours, which attractsmore drivers to be available and droppingprices when demand is low, which enticesmore customers.

In an interview with the Business Journal,Rouse said taxicab companies, on the otherhand, have been regulated by cities as a con-sumer protection, and, with set rates andfixed vehicle supply, taxicabs have had noroom to budge when competing with TNCs.

He said a new business model to letLong Beach Yellow Cab, which has re-cently seen a decline in business, imple-ment flexible pricing and increase its fleetsize from 175 to 199 vehicles would enablethe company to compete.

With the new model, Long Beach YellowCab would be able to reduce “dead miles”(when drivers are without passengers), animprovement ultimately resulting in morerevenue for the company and drivers aswell as faster service and discounted pricesfor customers.

“With a fixed supply, you’ll never meetpeak period demand,” Rouse said. “As youincrease your number of passengers andyour density, the portion that’s dead, wherethere’s no revenue, gets reduced more andmore. As that portion is reduced, it also cor-responds to faster service.”

He said the new business model mighteventually lead to something that allowsLong Beach Yellow Cab to “flex” vehiclesin rotation to address peaks in demand, en-abling the company to see an increase inservice capability.

With TNCs on the rise in the last fewyears, recently passed state legislation nowrequires that such companies file various re-ports with the California Public UtilitiesCommission (CPUC). A bill passed last yearthat goes into effect on July 1, in fact, codi-fies new insurance requirements for TNCs.

Rouse said, however, backers of Uber,Lyft and Sidecar, another TNC, spent morethan $1 million in lobbying efforts last yearto defeat state legislation that would have re-quired stricter regulations such as mandatingdrivers pass drug tests and have permanentvehicle markings to notify law enforcement.

He said Long Beach Yellow Cab requiresthat all drivers pass drug tests and extensivefingerprint background checks. City staffnotes that the taxicab company is requiredto pay more than $79,000 annually for abusiness license with the city.

In addition, the company coordinateswith the Long Beach Police Departmentand has cameras installed in all vehicles toensure safety for the driver and passenger.Rouse said TNCs, however, don’t have suchstrict requirements because it would impacttheir business model.

“Uber’s entire business model is aboutshifting costs and shifting responsibility onto others,” he said. “So they don’t back-ground check their drivers because they’renot held responsible for doing so.”

Email requests for comment from Uberwere not returned by deadline.

During the May 12 city council meeting,Mayor Robert Garcia lauded Long BeachYellow Cab as a “community partner” thatprovides transportation services to the dis-abled, seniors and tourists, as well as voterson Election Day.


City Council Allows Long Beach Yellow Cab To Rebrand Itself, Lower Rates To Battle Uber, Lyft

William J. Rouse, general manager of Long Beach Yellow Cab Cooperative, Inc., is seen with the organi-zation’s newly branded, highlighter yellow taxicab and displayed logo that are already on the street afterreceiving Long Beach City Council approval. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

(Please Continue To Next Page)

NEWSWATCH


Dee Andrews To SeekThird Term On City

Council – As Write In� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

Sixth District Long Beach City Coun-cilmember Dee Andrews announced onMay 22 that he plans to run for a third term.Due to the city’s term limits law, Andrewsmust run as a write-in candidate during theprimary nominating election scheduled forApril 12, 2016. He is the first candidate toofficially announce for the seat.

“I’m proud of my record working toimprove and protect 6th District neigh-borhoods but there is much work that still

needs to be done and there are projects Iwant to see through to completion,” hesaid in a statement.

“After a lifetime in Central Long Beach, Ithink voters have a pretty good idea of whoI am, what I stand for and what they cancount on me to fight for,” Andrews added.“Today, I will begin what is likely to be myfinal political campaign, by asking voters towrite my name in to allow me the honor ofcontinuing to represent them at city hall.”

Andrews is the fourth councilmember inthe city’s history to seek a third term, ac-

cording to Andrews’ campaign. State As-semblymember Patrick O’Donnell ran andwon a third term for the 4th District only toleave the remainder of the term vacant totake the state office that he won last year.

Andrews, a 60-year resident of CentralLong Beach, was elected to the city councilin a special election in 2007, was re-electedin 2008 and then ran unopposed to win re-election in 2012.

According to his campaign staff, An-drews has focused on “strengtheningneighborhood safety, prioritizing funding

for local infrastructure improvements, ex-panding after-school programs and institut-ing commonsense reforms to improve thedelivery of city services.”

Andrews served as the first African-American student body president at PolyHigh School, where he was an All-Ameri-can High School Football and Track star.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in social sci-ence and physical education from Califor-nia State University, Long Beach, and is amember of the Long Beach State and LongBeach City College Athletic Hall of Fame.

For 29 years, Andrews taught black his-tory and government at Long Beach Polyand Wilson high schools, and he currentlyworks as a substitute teacher at CabrilloHigh School in West Long Beach. �


Lyft Sixth District Long Beach CouncilmemberDee Andrews, pictured top center, who is seeking a thirdterm as a write-incandidate, is seenwith, from left,Juanita Wilson, Virgia Wade, Alice Robinson, Charles Wadeand Cintha Wade,members of the Central Neighborhood Advisory Committee(CNAC). (Photograph by theBusiness Journal’sEvan Patrick Kelly)

ext Page)

NEWSWATCH

He clarified that the city council isn’t nec-essarily taking a side in the ongoing disputeover the “sharing economy” but rather is al-lowing the city’s permitted taxicab serviceto stay competitive in the marketplace.

“I think the rebrand is incredibly thought-ful,” Garcia said. “This is actually a verysignificant moment, I think, and I’m reallyproud of Long Beach for taking the lead onthis issue.” �

Yellow Cab Rebranding(Continued From Page 14)


May 2 16 Long Beach Business Journal May 26-June 8, 2015REAL ESTATE LUNCHEON


Senior Writer

Long Beach elected officials (including

Mayor Robert Garcia and 4th District

Councilmember Daryl Supernaw), city

commissioners, local business people and

commercial real estate professionals gath-

ered for the Long Beach Commercial Real

Estate Council’s Annual Luncheon And

EXPO on May 21 at The Westin Long

Beach. The event is co-sponsored by the

Long Beach Business Journal.

Mayor Garcia provided opening remarks,

in which he emphasized the importance of

the local commercial real estate industry in

marketing Long Beach.

“In commercial real estate business, you

are all selling our city every single day. You

are selling our city to business folks. You are

selling our city to people who want to invest

in the community,” Garcia said. “That work

of selling Long Beach is some of the most im-

portant work that happens in our community.”

Following Garcia’s comments, Ryan Al-

toon, executive vice president of Anderson-

Pacific LLC, spoke about how sustainable

building practices incorporating walkable el-

ements and amenities can activate commu-

nities. In Long Beach, AndersonPacific and

its partner, Ledcor Properties, are building

The Current, a 17-story, 223-unit apartment

tower at 707 E. Ocean Blvd. that Altoon said

Long Beach Commercial Real Estate Event Focused

Keynote speaker Lewis C. Horne, president ofthe greater Los Angeles Region for CBRE, Inc.

Ryan Altoon, executive vice president of AndersonPacific LLC, spoke about his project,

The Current, under construction in Downtown Long Beach

Randy Lindros, Community Bank; Hal Compton, Firstline Mortgage; Ed Nance, Wells Fargo;and Paul Hesse, Penta Pacific Properties and President pro tempore for the Long BeachCommercial Real Estate Council

Holli Applegate, Old Republic Title Company; Steve Warshauer, Coldw BLAIR WESTMAC; Shannon Allen, DOMA Properties; and Garrett Mas

John O’Connor, Monica Estevez and Bob Klaewtanong, all of theSares-Regis Group

Dan De Leon, Mark Correll and Cameron Jacques, all of ColdwellBanker Commercial BLAIR WESTMAC

Jon Legg, Old Republic Title Holding Company; Kimberly Wirz, iCore Global;and Christopher Scott, Old Republic Title Holding Company

Cheri Bancroft, David Keller and Chandra Johnston, all of Kamus + Keller

Noel Aguirre, Lee & Associates; Derek Burnham, Burnham Development;and Sean Lieppman, Lee & Associates

Arnie Garfinkle, AllStar Group; Jenny Redlin, Partner Engineering and Science;and CraigSullivan,ParkwestGeneral Contractors


May 26-June 8, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 17REAL ESTATE LUNCHEON 2015

would be completed in April 2016. Upon

completion, the company plans to begin

work on a second, 35-story and 219-unit res-

idential project adjacent to The Current.

The Current will be Long Beach’s first

residential building to meet the Gold Cer-

tification of the U.S. Green Building Coun-

cil’s Leadership In Energy &

Environmental Design for Neighborhood

Development ranking system.

Lewis C. Horne, president of the greater

Los Angeles Region for CBRE, Inc., a

global real estate firm, served as the func-

tion’s keynote speaker. He discussed how

the trend of creative office space is evolving

from being defined by open spaces and ex-

posed industrial elements into a more com-

plex design strategy that may change office

culture entirely.

To illustrate his point, Horne explained

how CBRE completely gutted and re-

designed its offices in Los Angeles into a

“free address” format – meaning that no em-

ployees, not even executives, have their own

offices. The design, which also incorporates

the latest technology and healthy-living of-

fice equipment such as standing desks, facil-

itates a more inclusive and collaborative

corporate culture. This concept, he suggested,

may be the future of creative office space.

The Long Beach Commercial Real Estate

Council was formed in 1993. To join or for

more information, visit: lbcrec.com. �

Focused On Sustainable And Creative Design Trends

Luncheon guests join members of the LongBeach Commercial Real Estate Council Boardof Directors (Board), from left: David Pintar,Driver Urban (Board); Martine Crutchfield,Cardinal Pacific Escrow; Randy Jones, Spec-trum Commercial Lending (Board); Ryan Al-toon, AndersonPacific; Kelly Dent, CBRE(President of the Board); Mark Sokolowski,Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (Board); ToddLaPlante, 5 Points Realty (Board); Juan Huizar,Sage Realty (Board); Arnie Garfinkle, All StarGroup (Board); Francisco Williams, Capital Fi-nancial; Brian Russell, Coldwell Banker Com-mercial BLAIR WESTMAC (Board).

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garciapresented opening remarks

Johanna Cunningham, Apartment Association,California Southern Cities, with Long Beach 4th District Councilmember Daryl Supernaw y; Steve Warshauer, Coldwell Banker Commercial

roperties; and Garrett Massaro, Lee & Associates

Michelle Reagan, Pacific Western Bank; Michelle Filerman, Wells Fargo; Sossi Crilly, Stew-art Title; and Dino Champagne, Asset Preservation

us + Keller

ham Development;

John Fucci and Jim Axtell of Kilroy Realty, and Dave Smith, CBRE

Lynn Stearns, First American Title, andMurray Anderson, US Bank

D. Rocky Rockefeller, Rockefeller Partners Archi-tects, and Kraig Kojian, Downtown Long BeachAssociates

Frank Colonna, Colonna & Co Realty, andJared Lucas, Union Bank

Samantha Argosino, The Brass Lamp BookBar & Lounge, and Mark Handian, Hand-ian Construction

Debbi Fixen, Shoreline Village, and D.J.Jones, Premier Business Centers

Rich Carry, Main Street Realtors,and Rayne Sherman, ShermanDesign Group

Art Demarillas, Community Bank, andJames Arom, Wells Fargo

George Bustamante and Steve Warshauer,both with Coldwell Banker CommercialBLAIR WESTMAC

Kelly Dent, CBRE, and Becky Blair,Coldwell Banker Commercial BLAIRWESTMAC

Photographs by the Long Beach Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly

1_LBBJ_MAY26_2015_PortAnniversary 5/26/15 9:51 AM

May 2

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

Ever wonder what it would be like to ridea bike or walk in the middle of a streetwithout fearing automobile traffic?

On Saturday, June 6, the public will havea chance to experience just that in LongBeach during “Beach Streets Uptown,”when a 3.5-mile section of Atlantic Avenuefrom Wardlow Road to Harding Street willbe temporarily closed off to vehicles, cre-ating a route for walking, bicycling, social-izing and other activities.

The event is based on “Ciclovia,” whichmeans “bike path” in Spanish, first coinedin the 1970s in Bogota, Columbia. Alsoknown as “Open Streets,” such events thattemporarily close off streets to let bicy-clists and pedestrians roam freely havecaught on in cities across the country andthe world as a way to promote healthyphysical activity, spur local economicgrowth and make social connections.

Funded by a grant from the Los Ange-

les Metropolitan Transportation Author-ity, the Long Beach event, which takesplace from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and spansthree council districts (7, 8 and 9), is ex-pected to rival other such events in SanFrancisco, Los Angeles, San Diego andNew York, city officials said.

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia saidin a statement that he expects the bike andpedestrian-friendly event to give the “up-town” community in North Long Beachmore exposure while supporting localbusinesses there.

“The Beach Streets event is going to bea great way to explore Bixby Knolls andNorth Long Beach and support local busi-nesses uptown,” he said. “I’m really look-ing forward to seeing the community outon their bikes, and I want to encourageeveryone to bring the whole family out.”

While some businesses, such as automo-tive-related shops, might be negatively im-pacted because vehicle access will be mostlyclosed off for the day, most businesses alongthe route are embracing the event as a way

to increase “visibility,” said Nate Baird,Long Beach’s mobility coordinator, in an in-terview with the Business Journal.

Several businesses, including restaurantsand clothing boutiques, are actively en-gaged in the event and will be using park-ing lots for programmed activities andmusical entertainment, such as DJs, whilesome are offering special deals, he said.

“Folks are generally seeing it as a posi-tive to have so much visibility on a Satur-day,” Baird said. “We’re really hopeful thatthe visibility will be good for everybodyalong the corridor.”

“CicLAvia,” Los Angeles’s version ofOpen Streets, boosted sales for businesseson the day of the event in June 2013 by10 percent, according to a study byUCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs.The event, which drew about 150,000people down to Wilshire Boulevard, in-creased sales revenue for the corridor of128 businesses by a total of $52,444, ac-cording to the study.

Long Beach, already known for its com-

mitment to become the most bicycle-friendly city in the country, should draw afairly sizable crowd, Baird said. However,he said it’s uncertain exactly how manypeople will attend.

“I think we’d be pretty happy with 30,000to 50,000 people,” Baird said. “We wantthis to be a great event, and we don’t wantit to be overcrowded.”

He said a number of Long Beach citydepartments, nonprofits, businesses andvolunteers have come together to organizethe event, which is being marketed tolocal residents in addition to peopleacross Southern California through ad-vertising and social media.

“We are doing the event very uniquely,”Baird said. “It’s being entirely LongBeach made. People know Long Beachfor our bicycle infrastructure and ourcommitment to bicycling, so I think wecould have a pretty good draw.”

In a presentation to the city council onMay 12, Baird said there are expected to


Long Beach city leaders and business representatives who have helped organize the “Beach Streets Uptown” event scheduled for June 6 up Atlantic Avenue through Bixby Knolls to Houghton Park in North LongBeach convene at the park where a festival will take place during the event. Pictured from left are: Jay Lopez of the Long Beach Special Events Department; Nate Baird, Long Beach mobility coordinator; 8th DistrictCouncilmember Al Austin; 9th District Councilmember Rex Richardson; 7th District Councilmember Roberto Uranga; Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (BKBIA) Project Manager Krista Leaders; BKBIAExecutive Director Blair Cohn; and Uptown Business Improvement District Executive Director Sean Duren. In the background is the Vietnam Memorial. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

‘Beach Streets’ Event On June 6 To Open Up Atlantic Avenue Through Bixby Knolls To Houghton Park In North Long Beach To Cyclists, Pedestrians

The City of Long Beach recently hired its first Innovation Team (i-team), a group ofeight people with backgrounds ranging from cultural anthropology to government tohealth tasked with creating solutions for city priorities. The team is going to tackle onecity priority at a time, beginning with economic development. According to a city state-ment, “the i-team will use a data-driven process to assess problems, generate solutionsand deliver measurable results.” The Innovation Team, which reports to Mayor RobertGarcia and City Manager Pat West, is funded by a $3 million grant from Bloomberg Phi-lanthropies to be distributed to the city over three years. Bloomberg Philanthropies is a

nonprofit organization encompassing all of former Mayor of New York MichaelBloomberg’s charitable works. “The City of Long Beach is focused on innovative eco-nomic development for the 21st century,” Garcia said in a statement. “We are honoredand grateful to Michael Bloomberg and his team at Bloomberg Philanthropies for pro-viding the resources to put this amazing team together.” Members of the Innovation Teamare: John Keisler, director; Ryan Murray, deputy; Holly Okonkwo, researcher; AlexChavez, programmer; Alma Castro, fellow; Eric Romero, fellow; Heidi Wiersma, fellow;and Chase Airmet, Designmatters fellow. �

Long Beach Announces Innovation Team (i-team) Funded By Bloomberg Grant

John KeislerDirector

Ryan MurrayDeputy

Holly OkonkwoResearcher

Alex ChavezProgrammer

Alma CastroFellow

Eric RomeroFellow

Heidi WiersmaFellow

Chase AirmetDesignmatters Fellow

(Please Continue To Top Of Next Page)

NEWSWATCH


be more than 150 programmed places setup around the route to provide live musicand family-oriented activities. The day-long event will also include various festi-vals and activities at Scherer Park andHoughton Park. To lessen traffic impacts, crossing points

for vehicles and public transit will be set upat major intersections. However, the city isencouraging local residents to leave theirvehicles at home and either bike, walk,skateboard, rollerblade, roller skate or takepublic transit to the event. For more information on the Beach

Streets event, visit www.beachstreets.comor call 562/570-5333. �

City Council Votes ToSupport ‘MeatlessMonday’ Campaign

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

Though not everybody agreed, the LongBeach City Council approved supporting“Meatless Monday,” an international cam-paign that, according to city staff, “encour-ages individuals and organizations to cutmeat from one’s diet one day a week for per-sonal health and environmental benefits.”The city council voted 7-2 to direct the

city attorney to draft a resolution support-ing the campaign, which has already beensupported by city councils in Los Angeles,San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland,Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Councilmember Stacy Mungo, who

spoke at length about her concerns with theitem, and Councilmember Daryl Supernawcast the two dissenting votes.Councilmember Suzie Price who intro-

duced the agenda item along with Coun-cilmembers Al Austin and Lena Gonzalez,clarified that the item was brought forwardas merely a way to “raise awareness” aboutpublic health benefits of “eating morefruits, vegetables and salads,” adding thatit shouldn’t be taken as a mandate. Gonzalez said she signed on to support

the campaign to promote a “different per-spective on eating habits” while helping thecity reach its sustainability goals, addingthat the meat industry contributes more toclimate change and uses more water thanother food alternatives. Austin said he brought the item forward

to promote healthy eating habits in LongBeach, which he added has the “highestrate of obesity in overweight childrenbetween the ages of 2 and 5 anywhere

in California, with a rate of 40 percent.”The Meatless Monday campaign was

founded in 2003 by Sid Lerner, a formeradvertising executive, in association withthe John Hopkins Bloomberg School ofPublic Health, according to the campaign’swebsite. The campaign was revived fromprevious movements during the world warsas a means to conserve food. Mungo said she decided to oppose draft-

ing such a resolution out of respect forsteak houses and restaurants that servemeat, adding that city governments should-n’t be “telling people” or “making procla-mations based on preferences.”In response to Mungo’s comments, sup-

porters of the campaign stated that the citymight be able to use the movement as away to increase business for restaurants,adding that people who choose to followthe campaign would be encouraged todine out on Mondays, which are typicallyslow days for restaurants. �


rth Long h District

s; BKBIA elly)

hasn’t been occupied for quite some time.Elected officials have been pretty much

free to do as they wish. They don’t have tocompromise because, as the PLA voteshowed, no one from the local businesscommunity is offering alternatives or hold-ing their feet to the fire or showing up topresent testimony. Even if the “writing ison the wall” as to how a council vote maygo, that’s no excuse for not being involved.This has to change. It must change to en-

sure a level playing field for businesses andfor the business community to regain cred-ibility with the mayor, city council, citystaff, city commissions and others whocontrol the direction of the city. The fact is, no matter the subject, the

business community has a tremendousamount of expertise to offer in shaping thefuture of this city.The voice of local business must be

heard, whether it’s to provide constructivecriticism, offer a solution or alternative, getbehind a project or development, or even topraise elected officials and city staff for ajob well done. The city has a chamber of commerce, an

apartment association, a commercial realestate council, several business improve-ment districts (Downtown, Belmont Shore,Bixby Knolls, East Anaheim Street, 4thStreet, Magnolia Industrial Group, NorthLong Beach, etc.), the Westside ProjectArea Council, an international business as-sociation, several retail merchant associa-tions and others. These groups need to work together on

issues impacting Long Beach. Collectively,they represent thousands of businesses andtens of thousands of jobs. That shouldtranslate into a powerful voice that influ-ences decisions being made at city hall.It begins at the top with the various

boards of directors. The board sets policyfor the organization’s president/executivedirector to carry out. Writing a check isn’tenough. Boardmembers – who do not andshould not attempt to run the day-to-dayoperations of the organization – need to beactive and involved in the group they haveagreed to serve. They need to “show up”and “speak up” at monthly board meetings.Remember, no one at city hall – no one –

is telling business organizations that theirinput is not welcomed. But it’s up to thebusiness community to make it happen.The only thing standing in the way of the

business community being an active partic-ipant and partner in moving the city for-ward is the business community, itself. �

NEWSWATCH

A Seat At The Table

(Continued From Page 14)

(Continued From Page 1)


May 2

use outside payroll services or not, are stillunaware of the new law that requires work-place notices be posted after January 1,2015. The statute carries fines starting at$100 for failure to post the notice and ad-ministrative penalties as high as $4,000 fornoncompliance of the policy requirements,Jenkins said.

“I have given probably eight speakingengagements since the beginning of theyear to different businesses groups, largeand small . . . and you would inevitably get80 percent of the audience that [had] noidea that this is coming,” Jenkins said.

Under the law, employers have two op-tions. The first option is to provide paidsick leave on an accrual basis by offering aminimum of one hour of sick leave forevery 30 hours worked. Employees maystart using accrued sick days on the 90thday of employment, Jenkins said. Underthis method, employers must allow theiremployees to carry over earned unused sickdays to the following year of employment.At the same time, however, employers areallowed to cap total maximum sick leaveaccrual at 48 hours or six days.

The other option is to give workers thefull amount of sick leave at the beginningof each year, also known as “front loading,”pursuant to meeting requirements of thenew law. Under this method, the carryoverprovision is not required, Jenkins said.

Employers who use paid time off (PTO)policies, which often put vacation, sickleave and personal time off in the same cat-egory, must also still meet requirements ofthe new state law and must pay out accruedtime off when an employee leaves, she said.Furthermore, even if an employee nevertakes sick leave, the new law requires thataccrued sick leave be tracked so that if anemployee is then rehired within one year,the employer must provide any accrued un-used sick time from previous employment.

Under the new law, employers may pro-vide sick leave in increments, but theymust set a minimum increment of nomore than two hours, Jenkins noted. Inaddition, sick leave must be paid no laterthan the next payroll period after the sickleave was taken.

The law stipulates that paid sick leavemust be compensated at the employee’shourly wage rate. However, if an employeewere paid at different hourly rates or bycommission, an employer would have to cal-culate an average hourly rate over the last 90days in which to pay the sick leave, she said.

Jenkins said her law firm is currentlyseeking clarification on this issue because,in some cases, particularly those involvingcommissioned workers, an average hourlywage rate may be considerably higher thanthe regular hourly rate.

In addition, exempt or salaried employ-ees who aren’t paid overtime are deemed towork 40 hours per week regardless if theirworkweek is more or less, she said.

The new law also broadens the reasons anemployee can use for calling in sick. Underthe new law, an employee can take sickleave for “diagnosis, care or treatment of anexisting health condition or preventive care”for one’s own or a family member.

Additionally, the new law defines a“family member” more broadly than undercurrent state and federal statutes, expand-ing the definition to include “biological,adopted, step, foster and domestic partner”with regard to children, parents, spouse,grandparents, grandchildren and siblings.The law also allows employees to take sickleave for being a victim of domestic vio-lence, sexual assault or stalking.

The law states that the employer may notrequire the employee to search for or finda replacement worker to cover paid sickdays and may not require a doctor’s note.

In regard to employers using temporarystaffing agencies, Jenkins points out that,under the new law, an employer is “respon-

sible” for providing paid sick leave to atemporary worker as a joint employer. Shesaid it’s important for an employer to makesure that the contracted staffing agency isproviding the paid sick leave to the tempo-rary worker; otherwise, the responsibilitywill fall on the employer. “What this lawsays is temporary employees from staffingagencies are also covered under the newlaw,” Jenkins said. “So whoever is the em-ployer or joint employer is required to pro-vide paid sick leave.”

In addition, Jenkins said that, under thenew law, employers must show on a paystub or a document issued the same day asthe paycheck how many days of sick leaveare available. Employers must also keeprecords showing how many hours an em-ployee has earned and used for at leastthree years. This information may be storedon documents available to employees elec-tronically, she said.

The legislation was pushed by laborunions and workers’ rights organizationsthat argued sick pay should be mandated,especially for low-wage workers in the pri-vate sector who often have to choose be-

tween keeping a job and taking care of theirfamilies. Several business groups and in-dustry trade associations across California,however, opposed the law and attempted tothwart its passage last year.

The California Chamber of Commerce(CalChamber) had originally placed thelegislation on its annual list of “job killer”bills, measures that would negatively im-pact economic and job growth throughoutthe state. The chamber, however, removedthe law from its list after legislators madeseveral amendments to the legislation, saidJennifer Barrera, policy advocate forCalChamber, in a phone interview with theBusiness Journal.

One of the main changes made to thelaw, she said, was allowing employers withexisting policies, such as PTO plans, to ac-crue time off in a different manner, such asthrough a pay period, rather than “hoursworked.” She said the law was amended sothat employers would still be compliant aslong as their policies provide three days ofsick leave per year or 24 hours in a 12-month period.

“Our concern was that a lot of employersalready provide paid sick leave or sometype of paid time off policy, but they justdon’t necessarily do it in an hours-workedmethod because it’s more administrativelydifficult,” Barrera said. “Especially if youhave a large workforce, you’re not trackingall of their hours.”

Still, she said, the CalChamber continuesto oppose the new legislation based on thefact that it will be a “significant mandateon employers” and “a costly benefit to pro-vide,” especially for small businesses thatdon’t have any paid time off or paid sickleave policy. Even for employers who al-ready have a policy, the bill comes with a“huge expansion” to part-time and seasonalworkers, Barrera added.

“With regard to some of the provisionsof the paid sick leave mandate, the imple-mentation of it is going to be costly and ad-ministratively difficult for a lot ofemployers,” she said. “I don’t know of oneindustry that’s not impacted by this bill.”

One sector that may be particularly im-pacted is the restaurant industry.

Costa Mesa-based Kings Fish House, forinstance, which has 20 locations – includ-ing two in Downtown Long Beach – andemploys about 1,500 people, is one of sev-eral restaurant operators that now have todevelop and implement a system for track-ing sick pay for hourly workers.

“I think we’re all probably in the sameboat,” said Kelly Ellerman, chief people of-ficer for King’s Fish House, referring torestaurants in California. “We’re all tryingto get ready for [the new law].”

She said the company, which uses an out-side payroll service, has already started ac-cruing sick leave for employees as ofJanuary. Asked whether the new law willimpact the company’s bottom line, Eller-

20 Long Beach Business Journal May 26-June 8, 2015NEW SICK LEAVE LAW

Shannon Jenkins, a partner and employment attorney with Tredway Lumsdaine & Doyle LLC, which hasoffices in Long Beach, Downey, Irvine and Beverly Hills, said employers should contact a knowledgeableemployment attorney or human resources consultant to ensure full compliance with California’s newpaid sick leave law that goes into effect July 1. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

“ . . . it appears the California Legislature has taken the approach that employers

are bad people and cannot be trusted. . . . The Democrats in Sacramento –

most of whom know zip about running a business – are slowly zapping the

energy and creativity of small business people. I simply do not understand why they

are bent on making it so difficult for honest, hard-working entrepreneurs to succeed?”

Long Beach Business Journal Publisher George Economides

California’s Sick Leave

Law Effective July 1st(Continued From Page 1)


man said, “It will, but we just don’t knowwhat that will be because it’s a voluntarybenefit.”

Matt Sutton, vice president of govern-ment affairs and public policy for the Cal-ifornia Restaurant Association, said thenew law is ultimately going to force restau-rants to “pay double for the work of oneemployee.”

Unlike other businesses, restaurants re-quire an immediate replacement to covera shift, he said, adding that restaurantsare “incredibly flexible” with schedulesin which employees trade shifts amongsteach other.

“If you take a manufacturer or an em-ployee in a general office, if they come insick, the company is not going to call in areplacement for them that day,” Sutton said.“Given the labor needs of a restaurant,you’re going to pay for them to be out sickand you’re also going to pay for the re-placement labor to come in. So you end upsort of paying double for the work of oneemployee . . . That’s an unintended conse-quence, but the cost implications I think arethe greatest for the restaurant community.”

He added that the California Retail FoodCode already mandates that restaurantsmake sure anyone who comes in sick withcertain symptoms is immediately told toleave. “The last thing an operator wants isa sick employee to show up and possiblyget a patron sick and then the patron wouldbe upset and not come back as a repeat cus-tomer,” Sutton said. “So there were a lot ofthings in place that we thought were ade-quately addressing this.”

He said the new labor law comes at atime when restaurants are already dealingwith the impacts of the Affordable CareAct, which he said has added costs for

restaurants, in addition to the state’s in-crease in the minimum wage.

“It’s a difficult time for operators to beadjusting to all this and come July 1 they’llbe taking on the new costs associated withthe sick leave,” Sutton said.

Business Journal Publisher GeorgeEconomides said he is baffled by all theanti-business legislation coming out ofSacramento. “In trying to comprehendhow this law is to be implemented, espe-cially when it comes to non-full-time em-

ployees, it appears the state legislature hastaken the approach that employers are badpeople and cannot be trusted,” he said. Theway legislators structured the law, it notonly invites abuse by employees but alsolawsuits, with the burden of proof fallingon the employer.

“The Democrats in Sacramento – mostof whom know zip about running a busi-ness – are slowly zapping the energy andcreativity of small business people. I sim-ply do not understand why they are bent on

making it so difficult for honest, hard-working entrepreneurs to succeed?”

Jenkins warned that fines and/or penal-ties for noncompliance could come as a re-sult of either Internal Revenue Service(IRS) action or complaints from disgruntledemployees. She said employers who fail tocomply might be threatened with litigation.

“I have multiple clients who come to mewho have said, ‘I’ve been doing this for 30years and have never been sued,’” she said.“Well, it’s inevitable.”

Jenkins recommends that employersconsult with their payroll provider to en-sure compliance with tracking and report-ing requirements. Small businesses thatdon’t use an outside payroll serviceshould contact a knowledgeable employ-ment attorney or human resources con-sultant, she added.” �

May 26-June 8, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 21NEW SICK LEAVE LAW 2015

Basics of AB 1522:• All employers regardless of size must

comply (with limited exceptions).• All employees (including part-time

and temporary) are entitled to three paidsick days per year.

• Employers must elect to offer threefull days of leave at the beginning of theyear or use an accrual method.

• Employees may use sick pay for abroad range of circumstances affectingthemselves and their families.

• Employers using temporary staffingagencies must provide sick pay to a tem-porary worker as a joint employer.

• Employer must follow use, increment,cap and rollover requirements even if cur-rent sick/PTO plan in place.

• Employer must have compliant track-ing and disclosure methods, workplacepostings and use the labor commissionernotices.

Employers should:• Familiarize themselves with the law

(visit www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Paid_Sick_Leave.htm).

• Revisit current benefit practiceswithin their business to verify that they arecompliant with the law.

• Make the appropriate decisions re-garding how they will offer the benefit

• Consult their payroll provider to en-sure compliance with tracking and report-ing requirements.

• Contact a knowledgeable employmentlawyer or human resources consultant.Source: Tredway Lumsdaine & Doyle, LLC

“With regard to some of the provisions of the paid

sick leave mandate, the implementation of it is going to be

costly and administratively difficult for a lot of employers.”

Jennifer Barrera, Policy Advocate, California Chamber of Commerce


May 2

“Almost inevitably it happens to anybusiness, particularly one with growth,”Marron said. Owners of growing busi-nesses work less closely with employeesand may pass on managerial duties to oth-ers. That loss of direct oversight sometimesresults in situations where lawsuits canoccur, Marron explained.

“It’s really important for employers topay attention to the environment withintheir company,” Holly Gagas, junior part-ner at Clinton & Clinton, told the BusinessJournal. Gagas heads up the firm’s employ-ment law section. “It is most important tocommunicate with supervisors and em-ployees regarding any applicable laws, in-cluding any changes in laws,” she added.

Keeping up with changing employmentlaws may not be an easy task for already-busy business owners. “For a businessowner to completely stay up on employ-ment laws, it cedes the business owner’sneed to focus on generating money andgrowth of the business,” Marron said.

He continued, “Some good approachesare as follows: obviously have a good lawfirm that represents the company and get in-volved in trade associations for the industry,because the trade associations typically havethe money and resources to educate mem-bership about important employment law is-sues.” He also recommended joining theCalifornia Chamber of Commerce, which hesaid “has tremendous resources, particularlyfor small employers, on how to deal with

employee and human resources issues.”When it comes to any employee-related

matters it is important to properly and thor-oughly document hours worked, overtimehours and complaints of any kind, accord-ing to Pamela Tahim, senior associate atTredway Lumsdaine & Doyle. Doing soenables business owners to defend them-selves when lawsuits arise.

“We see a lot of employers still not usingtime cards or proper time reporting sys-

tems,” Tahim said. If an employer doesn’tproperly document when employees clockin and out, for example for lunch breaks,the employer has no evidence of how manyhours the employees worked or if they tookthe required meal time. “It’s really criticalthat they have their employees clock in andout or put it in their time card . . . becauseif somebody turns around and says well ‘Iwasn’t paid for my lunches,’ how are yougoing to defend it?” Tahim explained.

A common misstep employers makewhen it comes to lunch breaks is allowingor requesting their employees to performtheir duties during lunch, Tahim noted.“They need to make sure that the employeesare completely relieved of all of their dutiesfor their meal and rest breaks,” she stressed.“They can’t say ‘okay, well you are going totake your lunch at your desk and you aregoing to answer the phones.’ The employeris automatically liable for that,” she said.

“Another problem we see is failure toproperly track overtime hours,” Tahim said.Business owners need to understand that“the burden is on the employer” to keeptrack of overtime hours – not on the em-ployee, she noted.

Gagas said a common mistake businessowners make in relation to wage and hourlaws is failing to provide a final paycheckand full payment of benefits to an em-ployee on the day a person is fired.

In her experience practicing law, some ofthe most common lawsuits against employ-ers are related to misclassification of em-ployees as exempt (from the requirement forovertime pay and other protections) whenthey are actually nonexempt, Tahim said.There are three classifications of exemptemployees, including those in professional,executive and administrative positions, sheexplained. Each of these classificationscomes with its own set of requirements.

“It is very important for employers tomake sure that they have a job descriptionfor employees who are in these exempt cat-egories,” Tahim said. To be labeled exempt,50 percent or more of the work an employeedoes must qualify under the requirements

22 Long Beach Business Journal May 26-June 8, 2015FOCUS ON LAW

Paul Marron, principal and founder of Marron Lawyers in Downtown Long Beach, told the BusinessJournal that employment-related lawsuits are almost inevitable for business owners. To better protectthemselves, business owners should make sure their workplace policies are clear and provide propertraining on human resources issues, he said. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Keeping Up With

Employment Law(Continued From Page 1)


of one of the exempt, she explained. If anemployee is misclassified as exempt, “thenthe employer has to pay for overtime wages. . . [and] missed meal and rest breaks” inaddition to financial penalties, she noted.

Another common misclassification oc-curs when a business owner mislabels anemployee as an independent contractor,Tahim said. If an employee is “coming toyour office every single day and you’re di-recting the way they work and you’re su-pervising them, then they are not anindependent contractor,” she said. Fre-quently, she sees lawsuits related to mis-classification of truck drivers and securityguards as independent contractors.

Under California Senate Bill 459, will-fully misclassifying an employee as an in-dependent contractor results in a $15,000to $25,000 fine per violation, Tahim said.

To better protect themselves against em-ployee lawsuits claiming harassment, dis-crimination or retaliatory practices in theworkplace, business owners need to thor-oughly document any complaints, Gagasand Tahim emphasized. “Documentation isreally important [for] any reviews and anycomplaints about employees or by employ-ees,” Gagas said. “Any investigation [ofthese complaints] needs to be documentedand completed thoroughly.”

“When there is a performance problemor there is a dispute within the office be-tween an employee and another employeeor a supervisor, always promptly investi-gate and document,” Gagas said. “And havethe employee acknowledge it in writing.”

To prevent such claims from being madein the first place, business owners should

make sure their supervisors and manage-ment staff are trained in matters of harass-ment, Gagas said. She recommended thatall employees receive the same training.

Of critical importance in avoiding law-suits is hiring the right employees, Marronsaid. “Probably the most significant [factorin employment lawsuits] is hiring the wrongemployee,” he said, adding that backgroundchecks are important measures when hiring.“Hire slow, fire fast. In other words, if pos-sible, bring employees on temporarily to seeif they are going to work out,” he explained.“But if employees don’t work out, fire themsooner rather than later.”

Business owners who aren’t so careful intheir hiring practices may find themselvestaken advantage of. Marron said that, in hisexperience, many employees who sue theiremployers “are problem employees who takeadvantage of very worker-friendly laws in theState of California to manipulate poor per-formance into multiple reasons for suit, suchas discrimination, unpaid wages, unpaidovertime, breaks not provided, et cetera.”

Both Marron and Tahim advise businessowners to purchase employment practicesliability insurance. “That covers wrongfultermination suits,” Marron said. “If the em-ployer has insurance, the employer is reallyprotecting himself from basically going outof business” due to litigation-related costs,Tahim said.

All three agreed that one of the best stepsbusiness owners can take to prevent litiga-tion – and save money when it does occur– is to retain a law firm to advise on busi-ness and employment law. “Have some-body on your speed dial,” Tahim said. �



May 2

� By SEAN BELKStaff Writer

In a tough job market for attorneyswhere there are far more applicants thanavailable entry-level jobs, most lawschool graduates are likely to find workin their own private practices or at a smalllaw firm, according to local legal profes-sionals.

After working for a small law firm inLong Beach for eight years, Matthew Fis-cher, for instance, opened up his own pri-vate practice as a business lawyer nearlya year ago.

Starting out has been a challenge, Fis-cher said, especially during a tumultuoustime for the legal industry when morepeople following the recession have beensettling cases out of court rather than pay-ing for an attorney to go to trial.

Still, Fischer, who serves as presidentof the Long Beach Bar Association(LBBA), an organization of more than500 members, said work has recentlypicked up as the economy has slowly im-proved.

“It seems to be picking up for the busi-ness community and legal community ingeneral – that the farther away we getfrom the 2007-2008 financial collapse, themore legal needs are reappearing that hadshrunk over the past few years, “ he said.

“I think we’re through the worst of it,”Fischer added. “Now, you’re starting tosee people expand and look for new op-portunities, and along with that comelegal needs they may not have had previ-ously.”

On the national level, there was a slightrise in the percentage of 2014 graduatesobtaining entry-level jobs last year com-pared to 2013, according to figures re-leased in April by the American BarAssociation (ABA). The data also shows,however, that there was a slight decline inthe total number of jobs, according to theABA, which notes that there was also asmall drop in the number of law schoolgraduates in 2014 compared to the previ-ous year.

Even with slightly more graduates ob-taining entry-level jobs nationally, locallythere appears to be more lawyers lookingfor work, both recently graduated and ex-perienced, than there are jobs.

Take, for instance, Kaiser, Swindells &Eiler, which employs about 10 lawyersand has clients including national restau-rant chains, hotel corporations, shippingcompanies and even the City of LongBeach. The law firm, which has been inexistence since 1981, received about 50applications about a year ago for just oneavailable lawyer position that required aminimum of 10 years of experience.

“That’s quite a few [applications],” saidPamela Swindells, a partner of the lawfirm and a member of the LBBA.

She agrees that the job market is toughfor prospective lawyers but adds that lawschool graduates might have better suc-cess at making a living if they can stay

“visible” and match the needs of an em-ployer. Right now, the job market at mostlaw firms is primarily geared toward at-torneys with five to 10 years of experi-ence, Swindells said.

“It’s tough out there,” she said. “But thejobs are there . . . It all depends on the fit


Long Beach320 Golden Shore, Suite 410

Long Beach, CA 90802P | (562) 432-7422

Orange County2415 Campus Drive, Suite 250

Irvine, CA 92612P | (949) 679-9823

Faced With Tough Job Market, Law Grads Likely To See More Promise In Private Practice, Small Firms

Matthew Fischer, an at-torney who opened uphis own private practicea little more than a yearago at 400 Oceangate,Suite 800 in DowntownLong Beach, serves aspresident of the LongBeach Bar Association.The Local bar has morethan 500 members.(Photograph by the Busi-ness Journal’s EvanPatrick Kelly)

FOCUS ON LAW


and the personality and where they’re atin their careers.”

Fischer said changes in legal needs forthe business community in Long Beachand Southern California in general hasforced law firms to change their practiceand the way they staff their offices.

“I think there are fewer legal opportu-nities within the traditional firm and gov-ernment structures out there,” he said,adding, however, that there are still a lotof opportunities for smaller firms andsolo practices to “carve out a niche.”

Charles Hicks, adjunct professor anddean of Pacific Coast University Schoolof Law, a non-profit private college inLong Beach, agrees that most graduates,some seeking a second career, are findingwork in private practice while others areable to land jobs in small to medium-sizelaw firms.

Hicks said that enrollment at the uni-versity has risen over the last five to sixyears but has recently started to “stabi-lize” at about 60 new students per year,with total student enrollment at a littlemore than 200 students.

He added that there still appears to beworkforce demand for attorneys in govern-ments, such as cities, counties and states.

Starting salaries, however, are not ashigh as they used to be for entry-level po-sitions, even for graduates from top-tieredlaw colleges, Hicks said, adding that at-torney positions that once carried startingsalaries of $150,000 per year have “goneby the wayside.”

Hicks noted that, while there continuesto be students graduating with law de-

grees, the demand for lawyers, for themost part, has dropped. About 80 percentof people in Orange County, for example,are getting divorced “pro per” (represent-ing themselves) because they can’t affordattorneys anymore, he said.

“You’re looking at $350 an hour ormore for an attorney,” Hicks said. “Theaverage person can’t afford that. So whatyou find is that [fewer] people are goingto the law firms for assistance, andthey’re doing it on their own.”

There does appear to be growing de-

mand for lawyers, however, in the area ofalternate dispute resolution (ADR) medi-ation services, as more cases are beinghandled outside of court rather than goingto trial, he said.

In fact, Hicks added that an ADR me-diation course has been instituted as a re-quirement at his university for all studentsin their second year of law school.

Swindells said cutbacks to the localcourt system have only made cases eventougher to go to trial, which may inadver-tently impact the job market.

She said that, because of budget cuts inrecent years, injury cases that used to befiled at the Long Beach courthouse nowmust be filed in Downtown Los Angeles,making it harder for cases, particularlythose with witnesses, to be litigated.

“It’s become very difficult for every-body here in terms of trying to get a caseto trial and that could affect the job mar-ket as well,” Swindells said.

Hicks said careers that show greatpromise for attorneys in the local area in-clude those involving patent law, copy-right law and healthcare. He added thatthere are even more job opportunities inrural areas.

Swindells said her law firm hires basedon “people skills” and looks at such fac-tors as litigation experience, dedicationand stability, adding that staying con-nected in the industry may also helpprospective attorneys obtain employment.

In addition, Fischer said building a rep-utation in the community creates job op-portunities as a private practice attorneyas well.

“If you do good work, you work withgood people, you do the work to get yourname out there and you demonstrate thatyou’re capable and honest, there are plentyof opportunities for growth,” he said.

In the long term, Hicks said that thereeventually may be a “void of qualified at-torneys” in the future since many lawyersare now reaching retirement age.

However, he said that likely wouldn’toccur for five to 10 years as many lawyersare able to practice law well into theirlater years. �


Charles Hicks, adjunct professor and dean of Pacific Coast University, School of Law in Long Beach,said that most law school graduates are finding work in private practice or small to medium-sizelaw firms. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

FOCUS ON LAW


May 2 26 Long Beach Business Journal May 26-June 8, 2015IN THE NEWS

American Gold Star Manor Commemorates American HeroesEvery year, the American Gold Star Manor holds a Memorial Day Ceremony to honor American military service members who gave their lives for their country. The American Gold Star Manor, located at 3021Gold Star Dr. in West Long Beach, is named for the national group Gold Star Mothers, a group of mothers whose children lost their lives in service of their country. The community is home to Gold Star Mothersand Fathers, as well as veterans and low-income seniors. At this year’s ceremony, held May 22, residents of the American Gold Star Manor were joined by local, county and state elected officials, communityleaders and veterans for a wreath-laying ceremony, and commemorative prayers and remarks. Members of the Cabrillo High School Junior Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps Color Guard performeda presentation of colors, and the Stephens Middle School Band was joined by the American Gold Star Manor Resident Choir for a performance of the Star Spangled Banner. Pictured in photograph at left are,from left: Randy McConnell, chaplain in the California State Military Reserves; Coco Wang; Wang’s husband and military veteran Vern Hollingsworth; and Rob Ewing, chaplain. At right, American Gold StarMothers Sheila Thomas (left) and Nadia McCaffrey lay wreaths at the American Gold Star Manor Memorial as manor President/CEO Terry Geiling looks on. Both McCaffrey and Thomas had children who diedin military service, and both are residents of the manor. (Photographs by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

2015 Executive Quick StartClass of Leadership Long Beach Is First In Six YearsLeadership Long Beach’s Executive Quick Start Class of2015 is the first class of its type since 2009. According toLeadership Long Beach, the class “is made up of leadingexecutives in Long Beach, most who are new to the cityand new to their leadership positions. They met for fivesessions in the month of April at different locations aroundthe city learning about key topics, issues and segments ofLong Beach and created opportunities for them to meetand network with other key leaders in the city.” Picturedat the Rancho Los Cerritos library, from left, are: RolandoCruz, board president of Leadership Long Beach; KennethMcDonald, president/CEO of Long Beach Transit; PatrickShirmer, director of customer operations for Boeing Com-mercial Airplanes; Linda Alexander, executive director ofthe Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership; Carmen Taylor, vicepresident of student affairs for California State University,Long Beach; Lori Lamb, vice chancellor of human re-sources, California State University, Office of the Chancel-lor; Kelly Colopy, director of the Long Beach Health &Human Services Department; Kandice Taylor-Sherwood,director of the Long Beach Civil Service Department; JeffWilliams, executive director of Leadership Long Beach;and Patrick Brown, head of school-elect of WesterlySchool. (Photograph by Oscar Cosby)


May 26-June 8, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 27IN THE NEWS 2015

Westerly School Breaks Ground On New ClassroomsMayor Robert Garcia and leadership from Westerly School broke ground on the school’s new permanent learning studios on May 19. When completed in early 2016,the studios will replace the K-8 school’s modular (mobile) classrooms. A crowd of more than 250 guests attended the event, including Westerly’s 150 students and theirfamilies, alumni, faculty and community leaders. The new classrooms (pictured inset left) are made possible by the school’s Building Westerly’s Future (BWF) campaign,which has a fundraising goal of $5 million. More than 100 donors have contributed $3.6 million to the campaign thus far. “My gratitude for current families andtrustees who dreamed this impossible dream, that the school could design and then raise funds to break ground, all within a nine-month period, is nothing short of Her-culean,” Patrick Brown, who is taking the reins as head of school on July 1, said at the event. Pictured above, from left, are: Byron Pinckert, project architect; TheresaAranda, BWF campaign chair; Eileen Edwards, BWF committee member; Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia; Ralph Holguin, BWF committee member; Chris Rodenhizer,current Westerly head of school; Neil Kinney, Westerly School board chair; and Brown. At right, a Westerly School student attends the groundbreaking ceremonywearing a souvenir hard hat. (Photographs by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

at 3021 Mothers mmunity

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old Star who died

Team 100 DeliversFood To Roosevelt Elementary SchoolOn May 22, members of Team100 Food For Kids, a group ofLong Beach area men dedicatedto fighting childhood hunger, de-livered bags full of groceries tobenefit students and families ofRoosevelt Elementary School inLong Beach. The group, now in itsfourth year, has donated morethan 130,000 meals to local stu-dents from seven elementaryschools. Team 100 partners withFood Finders, an area nonprofit

that helps procure and deliver the food on aweekly basis. According to Team 100, more than54,000 elementary school-aged students in LongBeach are low income and live below the povertyline. While these students receive school mealsMondays through Fridays, they may not haveenough to eat during weekends. Team 100makes these food deliveries in the hopes of alle-viating the hunger these students may experienceduring the weekend. Pictured at Roosevelt Ele-mentary school, from left, are: Tim McBride,founder and former president of Team 100; ArleyBaker, Team 100 member and senior director ofcommunications for the Port of Los Angeles; andPatti Larson, executive director of Food Finders.This Saturday, May 30, Team 100 is presentingits annual Blue Martini Ball, sponsored by RuthPeck, to raise funds to combat hunger. For moreinformation on making a tax-deductible donationto Food for Long Beach Kids, visit:http://team100lb.org. (Photographs by the Busi-ness Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Architect Kelly Sutherlin McLeod Recognized With Two AwardsKelly Sutherlin McLeod, a Long Beach-based architect specializing in the preservation and re-habilitation of historic buildings, has been recognized with two awards for contributions in herfield. On May 6, she received the University of Southern California’s 2015 DistinguishedAlumni Award, which in the past has been awarded to well-known architects such as FrankGehry and Thom Mayne. McLeod is the first woman to receive the award. “She represents thevery best in our profession: a prolific practitioner, a highly accomplished advocate for designexcellence and heritage conservation, a true citizen architect and a public servant,” RobertHarris, former dean of the USC School of Architecture, said in a statement. McLeod acceptedthe award at a gala dinner at the Gamble House in Pasadena, a national historic landmarkwhich she, as project architect, preserved. McLeod is also being awarded the Modernism inAmerica Award of Excellence by Docomomo US (the international committee for the documen-tation and conservation of buildings, sites, and neighborhoods of the modern movement) atthe organization’s national symposium on June 5 in Minnesota. She is receiving the honor forher work restoring the Hafley House, a Long Beach residence designed by architect Richard J.Neutra in 1953. McLeod has her own firm, Kelly Sutherlin McLeod Architecture, Inc., and is amember of the design/build team for Plenary Edgemoor Pacific Partners, the group buildingthe new Long Beach Civic Center. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


May 2 28 Long Beach Business Journal May 26-June 8, 2015

Making Strides – The Path To Understanding cystic Fibrosis

There are approximately 30,000 people in the U.S. living with cysticfibrosis (CF), and about 1,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.

Based on research by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, it also is knownthat an additional 10 million people – about one in every 31 Ameri-cans – are symptomless carriers of the defective CF gene.

With May being Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, it’s an oppor-tunity to educate our community to help promote a greater under-standing of this life-threatening genetic disease. It’s also a time tohighlight the great strides that have been made over the last few

decades to improve the lives of those living with CF. Cystic fibrosis primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. A defect in the cystic

fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene causes CF. This gene makesa protein that controls the movement of salt and water in and out of the body's cells. Inpeople who have CF, the gene makes a protein that doesn't work well.

The defective gene and its protein product cause mucus in the body to thicken andbecome sticky. The thick, sticky mucus builds up in the body’s organs, especially thelungs and pancreas.

When build-up occurs in the lungs, it makes it difficult for the person to breathe. Build-up in the pancreas prevents the releases of digestive enzymes that help the body breakdown food. This leads to problems with growth and development.

Cystic fibrosis is a complex disease to treat – affecting multiple organ systems in thebody, which can cause a variety of serious complications, each requiring highly special-ized treatment. Coordinating this multi-disciplinary care takes a unique kind of expertiseand a lot of teamwork.

In the 1950s, few children with this incurable disease lived to elementary school age.Once considered a pediatric illness, advances in research and medical treatments haveextended life for children and adults with CF by decades. Now many people with CFlive well into their 30s and 40s, with some even living into older adulthood.

Many people with CF live “normal” lives. Children and teens can be active and goon to college. As adults, many people with CF eventually get married and have chil-dren of their own.

Research studies today are showing great promise in increasing the life expectancy ofpeople with CF, many of which are being conducted right in our own backyard. In thelast few years alone, the Food and Drug Administration approved an oral medicationthat targets the underlying defect of CF for patients with several different mutations. Ad-ditional trials are examining whether people with numerous different mutations can ben-efit from a combination of drugs.

Researchers are not only discovering more effective therapies to help treat CF symp-toms, but are working hard to continue to improve quality of life for people with CF andeventually find a cure. It’s a complicated disease, but the most important thing to remem-ber is that for people living with it, CF is a diagnosis, not the thing that defines them. (Terry Chin, M.D., is the assistant medical director, Pediatric Pulmonary Center,

Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach.)

Start With Why

Simon Sinek wrote a book entitled“Start With Why.” He reminds us

that everybody knows what they do.Even less know how they do what theydo. And only a few know “Why.” That’sgood for a business organization, but it’salso good for an individual.

Life has a way of pushing us over ifwe let it. One of the main antidotes

against being a pushover is to know what we truly wantout of life. This comes down to a decision to invest inyourself. The most difficult phase of life is not whenothers do not understand you. It’s when you don’t un-derstand yourself.

What do you want out of life? What is your vision foryour future? What are your strengths and passions? Whereare you in your current state of life? The happiest and mostsuccessful people I’ve encountered are those who have bro-ken the chains of procrastination.

Don’t leave yourself out of your life! Bet on yourself.Listen to your soul. Trust your instincts.

Following are five of my acquaintances who couldhave come up with a hundred reasons why they didn’thave enough time or money to follow their passions.They already had commitments and responsibilities. Yetthey overcame their fears. Here’s their story in brief.

Trudy was a divorced single mom stuck in a job as awaitress. She went back to school, got her degree andwas eventually nominated for Teacher of The Year by theSan Diego School District for her work with “at risk”high school students.

Melanie was a single mom whose mother and sisterwere murdered before her eyes by her stepfather. Her sonwas killed by the boy he was mentoring. She now moti-vates harden young criminals to reverse their lives andcreated M.A.T.F.A. (Mentoring, A Touch From Above).

Choelene, was a captain on United Airlines flight 93.She called in sick with the flu and her life was miraculouslyspared from 9/11. It caused her to pause and reflect. Shefound new meaning in the life she already had. She, alongwith her partner, reached out to help and build a commu-nity center in Mississippi for the survivors of Katrina.

Rachel, with severe ADD, struggled through collegeand ended up teaching children with learning disabilities.She has an incredible passion for this work, and she re-solved to do what she wanted.

Vicki was a divorced mother. She is now a businessconsultant, author, and speaker. She is a coach for Nike,Toyota, Gap, Merrill Lynch, etc. She completely alteredher life from that of a teacher and assistant principal todiscover her “why,” and now teaches leaders and man-agers instead of children.

These women could have come up with a hundred rea-sons why they didn’t have time or money to follow theirpassions. After all, they already had commitments andongoing responsibilities. They overcame their fears andwent for it. In most cases it entailed learning a new skillor applying an existing skill in another context. In everycase they answered the question, “Who am I becoming,and how far will that person take me?”

We’ve all been reminded that life does not owe us any-thing. These women had a deeper understanding that lifehad already given them everything they needed.

What they did was not an act of self-indulgence. It wasan act of self-respect.

Don’t let your but get bigger than your why, is anotherway of saying, “Don’t leave yourself out of your life.”(Mick Ukleja keynotes across the country on topics re-

lated to leadership. He is president of LeadershipTraqand author of several books, including co-author ofManaging the Millennials. His clients have included For-tune 500 corporations and non-profit organizations.Check his weekly blog at www.leadershiptraq.com.)

HealthWise

By Terry chin, M.d.

By Mick

UklejA

Planning a vacation? don’t Break the Bank!

According to the recent Wells Fargo’s “How America Buys andBorrows” survey, the cost of a vacation will be one-third of

American’s largest expense this year. Your ticket to avoiding a Breakthe Bank situation may be sitting in your wallet: your rewards creditcard. These tips can help you turn your vacation dreams into reality.

Understand how your rewards card worksRead the terms and conditions thoroughly to understand earning

and redeeming rewards. Some cards offer cash back or points. Knowif fees or charges occur when redeeming and whether your rewards ever expire.

Use rewards you’ve already earnedSome consumers track rewards and redeem them regularly. Others rarely think

about them. If you fall in the second category, check your rewards balance. You mayhave earned enough rewards to offset vacation costs like airfare, hotel stays or giftcards to merchants you plan on visiting while vacationing.

Earn rewards for the money you’ll spend on vacationAccording to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the average vacationer spends just

over $1,300 for travel expenses on a vacation. By responsibly using your rewardscredit card for vacation costs, rewards can add up for use later, perhaps, for next year’svacation!

Understand travel-related benefits that come with your credit cardTraveling with your credit card offers a safer way to pay, if a card is lost or stolen,

your bank can stop charges to your account. Additionally, many card perks may helpmake your travel smoother -- 24/7 concierge services to help with travel plans, rentalcar insurance, no-fee currency conversions, competitive currency conversion rates,and insurance for lost or damage luggage. To learn more about these benefits, readyour credit card agreement.

Make the most of your vacation by using smart budgeting and money managementbasics. Let your bank know you’re going out of town, and stay on top of your financesby using your bank’s mobile app. Then kick back and enjoy your time away! (Ben Alvarado, a 23-year veteran of Wells Fargo, is the president of the bank’s

Southern California Region, which stretches from Long Beach to Orange, Imperialand San Diego counties.)

Small Business Dollars & SensePERSPECTIVE

Effective Leadership

By Ben

AlvArAdo



investors, Flippers Takinglarger Home Share

Just when it looked like owner-occupants weretaking back the housing market and investors

were cutting back their appetite for purchasingsingle-family homes because of appreciatingprices, some new statistics seem to indicate thatinvestors are increasing their share of home pur-chases this year and the quick-strike investors –or flippers – are showing good profits as well inthat segment of the investment arena.

According to new nationwide statistics released recently by Re-altyTrac, one of the leading property data companies, existinghome sales to non-owner-occupants reached a new high of 36.8percent in the first quarter of 2015, the highest level since the firstquarter of 2011 when the firm started releasing its Cash, Investor& Distressed Sales Report. It showed that owner-occupant buyersaccounted for 63.2 percent of all residential single-family homeand condo sales in the first quarter of 2015, down from 65.8 per-cent in the previous quarter and 68.6 percent a year ago.

A couple of overall trends also emerged as well. It appears thatnon-institutional investors are playing a larger role in this markettrend as small investors are taking over a larger portion of pur-chases – and more purchases are involving financing. All-cashbuyers accounted for 25.9 percent of all single-family home andcondo sales in the first quarter of 2015, down from 30.3 percentin the fourth quarter of 2014 – a four-year low.

A total of 14,621 single-family homes were sold to institutionalinvestors – entities that purchase at least 10 properties in a calendaryear – in the first quarter of 2015. This was 3.4 percent of all salesand down from 6.2 percent a year ago, the lowest share in four years.

“The first quarter sales data broken down by owner-occupancy sta-tus suggest two important trends in the housing market: first, investoractivity continues to represent a disproportionately high share of allhome sales activity in this housing recovery, but unlike the past threeyears the large institutional investors are backing out while the smaller,mid-tier and mom-and-pop investors are remaining active,” saidDaren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “The second trend isthat a growing number of investors are not buying all-cash, but instead

are taking advantage of the broader set of financing options now avail-able to them thanks to a new crop of nationwide companies that haveemerged offering financing specifically for investment properties.”

In Southern California, investor activity increased to 29.2 per-cent of home sales in the first quarter.

The average gross profit – the difference between the purchaseprice and the flipped price – for completed flips in the first quarterwas $72,450, up from $65,290 in the previous quarter and up from$61,684 in the first quarter of 2014 to the highest level going backto the first quarter of 2011. The average gross return on investment(ROI) – average gross profit as a percentage of the average originalpurchase price – was 35.1 percent for completed flips in the firstquarter, down slightly from 35.3 percent in the fourth quarter, butup slightly from 35.0 percent in the first quarter of 2014.

“The strong returns for home flippers in the first quarter demon-strates that there is still a need in this recovering real estate marketfor move-in ready homes rehabbed to more modern tastes, particu-larly given the dearth of new homes being built,” said DarenBlomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “The challenge for flippersin 2015 will be finding inventory to flip. Flippers ideally want to buydistressed homes that provide them with an opportunity to add valuein markets where there is good affordability and ample demand frombuyers for the finished flip product – whether those buyers are mil-lennials becoming first-time homebuyers, baby boomers purchasingtheir present or future retirement home, or buy-and-hold real estateinvestors looking for turnkey rental properties that cash flow.”

Another telling statistic from the RealtyTrac numbers also sug-gest that flipping is not for all price ranges. More than half of allhomes flipped in the first quarter of 2015 sold (flipped) for between$100,000 and $300,000. Best returns were on homes sold between$100,000 and $200,000; and from $1 million to $2 million.

Completed first quarter flips with a flipped price between$100,000 and $200,000 yielded an average gross ROI of 47 per-cent – the highest of any price range – followed by those with aflipped price between $1 million and $2 million, which generatedan average gross ROI of 44 percent.

Of the completed flips on single-family homes in the first quar-ter, 34.7 percent were sold (flipped) to non-owner-occupant buyers–real estate investors and second home buyers – the highest sharesince the first quarter of 2011.

It is apparent by these first quarter numbers that investor activityin single-family homes is a key driver of the housing market – andis not going away anytime soon.(Terry Ross, the broker-owner of TR Properties, will answer any

questions about today’s real estate market. E-mail questions to Re-alty Views at [email protected] or call 949/457-4922.)

By Terry

roSS

Realty Views

For many nonprofit leaders, the onlyconversation more terrifying than

fundraising is the one about capital cam-paign fundraising. If only buildingswouldn’t wear out or growth in serviceto the community could be achievedwithout having to grow infrastructure.

Over the years, Long Beach has hadmany good examples of successful cap-

ital campaigns. We’ve also experienced drives that gen-erated far more lessons learned than actual dollarsraised.

With the breaking of ground last week for new con-struction at Westerly School, just months after launchinga major drive for contributions, it would appear that itsleaders are proving to the rest of us what it means to bea master teacher on the subject of capital fundraising.

Founded in 1993, Westerly School has contributed sig-nificantly to the quality education landscape of LongBeach. The school launched with a zeal to provide aunique student and family education experience thatwould eventually become known as “The Westerly Way.”

Like most highly successful nonprofit organizations,it channeled as many precious resources as it couldmuster over the years to do its best work.

By the end of last year, however, the decision-makersat Westerly, under the capable leadership of Board ChairNeil Kinney and Head of School Chris Rodenhizer, knewthat without a significant investment to move from agingmodular classrooms into state of the art learning facili-ties, the trailblazing force of a Westerly education coulddiminish. A $5 million campaign was officially launchedat the beginning of the year, and, at Mach speed, a hard-hat groundbreaking ceremony and celebration was heldjust last week (see photos on Page 28).

The Westerly team, headed by volunteer capital cam-paign chair Theresa Aranda and committee membersRalph Holguin, Maureen Baker, Eileen Edwards, andJim Martin, have put the fundamentals of savvy capitalcampaigning to work with more than satisfactory results.

First, the campaign message is rooted not in a messageabout covering construction costs, but rather, advancingthe cause of Westerly and what it represents to the com-munity: Guaranteeing a state of the art private educationexperience for children and their families.

Second, the leaders didn’t outsource their responsibil-ities. Westerly put an interim capital campaign manager,Joan McBride, on its payroll to work with them arm-inarm and in a campaign headquarters environment ratherthan contracting with an independent party.

Third, Westerly leaders built community equity inthe campaign before it ever started. Major contributorswere personally contacted by the leaders to solicit theirbuy-in about needed renovations prior to asking themto cash-in on the costs. The result was a group ofvested contributors in the campaign’s overall successprior to launch.

Fourth, from day one, the campaign established a highsense of urgency to raise funds in a timeframe that mostfundraising professionals would consider unthinkable.

Fifth, the capital campaign acknowledged there werealso ongoing fundraising needs for the day-to-day workof Westerly that couldn’t be jeopardized. The campaigncase has its own website at www.westerlysfuture.comand the annual giving program was maintained througha dedicated staffing effort.

Unique to Westerly, the capital campaign also becamea teaching tool for its students to understand what phi-lanthropy means. Kindergartener Henry Day, on his own,began collecting spare change for his school and proudlybrought in $3.02 to firmly make his mark on Westerly’sfuture.

In any capital campaign, the timing for breakingground is a risky proposition. While it’s a significantmilestone, it can be misinterpreted that the campaign isover and funds are no longer needed. The leaders atWesterly wisely timed their public event to culminate theschool year, celebrate the successes and the legacy ofRodenhizer as he prepares to retire next month, welcomeWesterly’s new Head of School Elect Patrick Brown andplant the seeds of anticipation for an exciting next chap-ter in the school’s history. The community’s continuedenthusiasm and contributions, however, are still requiredas the campaign still needs more than $1 million to coverthe final bill.

Capital campaign fundraising is both a reality and aresponsibility for every nonprofit leader. Facilities mustbe modernized, relics retired and adequate infrastruc-tures in place to serve a mission. The Westerly Way is agood example of how to conduct campaigns right and ex-ercise leadership well.(Jeffrey R. Wilcox, CFRE, is president and chief exec-

utive officer of The Third Sector Company, Inc. Join inon the conversation about this article at the Long BeachBusiness Journal website, www.lbbusinessjournal.com)

3rd Sector Report

EDITOR & PUBLISHERGeorge Economides

SALES & MARKETING EXECUTIVEHeather DannSTAFF ASSISTANTLarry Duncan

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

SENIOR WRITER

Samantha Mehlinger STAFF WRITER

Sean BelkCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Gerrie SchipskePHOTOJOURNALISTEvan Patrick KellyCOPY EDITORPat Flynn

The Long Beach Business Journal is a publication ofSouth Coast Publishing, Inc., incorporated in the Stateof California in July 1985. It is published every otherTuesday (except between Christmas and mid-January)– 25 copies annually. The Business Journal premieredMarch 1987 as the Long Beach Airport Business Jour-nal. Reproduction in whole or in part without writtenpermission is strictly prohibited unless otherwisestated. Opinions expressed by perspective writers andguest columnists are their views and not necessarilythose of the Business Journal. Press releases shouldbe sent to the address shown below.

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Vol. XXVIII No. 10May 26-June 8, 2015

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ART MATTERSBrought To You By The Arts Council For Long Beach • www.artslb.org

Long Beach Business Journal 30May 26-June 8, 2015

Gallery Corner Taking place at 18 locations around Long Beach, from Bixby Knolls to El Dorado Park to

Belmont Heights and places in between and beyond, the Mid-City Studio Tour on June 6th

and 7th from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. gives the public a look into the working studios of professional

artists. More than 25 artists, including painters, book artists, sculptors and ceramicists, will

open their studios to the community and art collectors to connect artists and audiences.

Artwork is available for purchase. This is a rare opportunity to meet artists and learn about

their background. The Cultural Alliance Long Beach and other locations will have activities

for children. For a map and more information, visit midcitystudiotour.com.

� By LOARA CADAVONA, LISA GOLDFEIN and LISA JACKERTMemorialCare Health System

Each year the number of individuals suffering

from mental illness and substance abuse in-

creases. A recent study stated that 1 in 5

adults have been diagnosed with a mental condition.

Due in part to this rise, in 2013, the Obama Adminis-

tration declared May as Mental Health Awareness

Month to raise national awareness of the millions of

individuals who live with a mental health condition.

In addition to traditional forms of treating mental

health conditions, such as psychotherapy, rehabilita-

tion or medicine, non-traditional therapies, such as

creative arts are being utilized with psychotherapy.

Creative arts therapy, or expressive arts, uses art prac-

tices such as visual and the performing arts to engage

the patient in the creative process. The creative/ex-

pressive arts therapies can be used to treat patients

suffering from a wide variety of ailments including se-

vere depression and anxiety.

Long Beach is fortunate to have the MemorialCare

Center for Mental Health & Wellness located at Com-

munity Hospital Long Beach (CHLB). The Center offers

a full spectrum of mental health programs to maxi-

mize the continuum of care for each patient, including

psychiatric inpatient programs, an outpatient psychi-

atric clinic and a partial hospitalization/intensive out-

patient program.

Unique to the program are the team of creative/ex-

pressive arts therapists – board certified and masters

prepared in music, dance and movement – who work

with inpatient adults and older adults, as well as pa-

tients with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. The

therapists also work with patients who attend the par-

tial hospital and intensive outpatient programs.

Using the arts in therapy to address the needs of

our patients has been in place since 2002 when the

Center, at that time called the “Behavior Health Unit,”

re-opened. Since then, CHLB has seen consistent pos-

itive outcomes that ultimately result in increased pa-

tient satisfaction and shorter hospital stays as these

therapies are an important and integral part of the pa-

tient’s overall treatment.

There have been many cases where the only ther-

apy that a patient is able to meaningfully engage in is

the creative/expressive arts. Due to the non-verbal as-

pect of these therapies, creative arts therapy can pro-

vide a necessary outlet for patients who have limited

communications skills. Many times, patients are highly

anxious, confused or preoccupied with delusions or

hallucinations and have difficulty verbally articulating

their feelings. Through dance or movement and music

therapy interventions these patients have the oppor-

tunity to express themselves, either through

dance/movement or by playing a percussion instru-

ment, singing or listening, which provides them a

greater sense of themselves, promotes reality orien-

tation and begins the connection with others as well

as their surroundings. It also helps connect and inte-

grate the mind and body, providing more self-aware-

ness, connection and understanding of their emotions

to begin the healing process. Creative arts therapy can

help develop trust, which builds a bridge between the

patient and their treatment team. �

Art Matters to Keesal, Young & Logan� By SARAH BENNETTArts Council for Long Beach Contributor

Award-winning legal legend Skip Keesal has a motto: “Lead

from the side.” It’s a reflection of how the lawyer runs

Keesal, Young & Logan (KYL), the successful law firm he

founded in downtown Long Beach in 1970. It also shows how he

encourages his partners and employees to humbly give back to the

community in which they reside.

Through both its charitable foundation (which has donated $6

million to local organizations since 1991) and the volunteer efforts

of individuals, the firm’s philanthropic contributions in Long Beach

are legendary. Most of them, however, remain behind the scenes.

“If you talk to Skip, you’ll find that he’s involved in 100 things you

didn’t know about and he’s doing it all for the good of those or-

ganizations, not for the credit,” said Justin Hectus, the KYL’s director

of information. “People here are doing all kinds of charitable work

that they’re not going out and telling people about. It’s a part of

the fabric of the firm.”

Hectus himself is active in local arts, both as a longtime former

board member of the Arts Council for Long Beach and co-founder

of the seven-year-old Summer and Music (SAM) concert series,

which presents live music in the streets of downtown. He continues

to volunteer his time each year to help organize and put on SAM’s

four distinct events, giving local musicians an opportunity to play

outdoors for thousands of people.

But Hectus isn’t the only person affiliated with KYL who gives

back to Long Beach arts. Most of the large arts organizations in the

city have had a KYL partner on their board at some point or an-

other. International City Theatre, Musical Theater West and the

Long Beach Symphony have all benefitted from the donation of

time, money and event space.

“We’ve created a support system where if you think this is worth

it, then the firm will support you in your efforts,” said Hectus. “The

thing I talk to folks about in encouraging them to have similar ef-

forts at their companies, is that it provides personal development

that’s almost impossible to do at a corporation. It allows your em-

ployees to have opportunities to grow and to learn.”

The most visible example of KYL’s involvement in the arts can be

found on your next invitation to a fundraising event, meeting or

initiative kick-off. Many of these events are hosted by KYL at their

office at 400 Oceangate, which they donate to charities and non-

profits.

Most recently, the firm’s office was donated as a venue for The

Harmony Project’s launch party. The program promises weekly in-

struction on a classical instrument for elementary and middle

school students and is rolling out a pilot program in several Long

Beach schools.

“There’s a broad recognition that the arts are a way to bridge so-

cioeconomic gaps and build community in a way that no other non-

profit sector can,” said Hectus. “Especially in a community as

diverse as Long Beach, if you can bring people together and make

then feel good about where they live and who their neighbors are,

that’s a pretty significant thing.” �

Achieving Mental Wellnessthrough Creative Arts

Harmony Project at KYL. Photo by Justin Rudd.


Health, as defined by the

World Health Organization,

is a complete state of physical,

mental and social well-being,

and not merely the absence

of disease or infirmity.

Generally, thefocus of healthin the U.S. isaccess to qual-ity health care.We support in-dividuals to en-roll, andencourage for-profit and non-p r o f i torganizat ionsto provide it tosupport em-ployee health.

However, only 10% of long-termhealth stems from access tohealth care. Long–term health isdriven more by social conditions(55%) and behavior (30%).

What does this mean? Itmeans that when we talk aboutsupporting healthy individuals,organizations and communities,in addition to the classic defini-tions of health (nutrition, exer-cise, targeted illness prevention),we are also talking about safety,education, jobs, housing, com-munity togetherness, healthy re-lationships, and wellnessopportunities. Their presence inindividuals, organizations andcommunities support our long-term health. Their absence ac-

counts for so many of our chronicphysical and mental health con-ditions. A focus on buildingthese strengths is essential to ahealthier population and to re-duce health care and other soci-etal costs.

Our Vision for a Healthy LongBeach is that our individual resi-dents and our communities areHealthy, Safe and Thriving:

Healthy: Physically and men-tally well.

Safe: In our homes and in ourcommunities. Safe from crime.Safe on our roads, sidewalks andin our parks.

Thriving: Educated, employedand living in safe housing.

We know that for individuals andcommunities to be healthy, theymust:

Be Educated as to what itmeans to be healthy and well andhow to achieve it.

Have Access to opportunitiesfor health, including healthyfoods, health care, and safeplaces to recreate and congre-gate.

Make Choices every day tosupport their health.

Nonprofit organizations in LongBeach play an essential role tothe overall health of our City.They provide jobs — 19,230 di-rect and 41,970 indirect (LBNPEconomic Impact Report, 2014).They also provide many of theservices needed to build thestrength of our individuals andcommunities to support opportu-nities for health. Nonprofit or-ganizations are a key link

between government and com-munities and individuals, provid-ing direct services such as familysupport, violence prevention, ac-cess to nutrition through foodbanks and community gardens,mental health and substanceabuse counseling, services forseniors, pre-school and after-school programs, job training,the list goes on. Nonprofit or-ganizations in Long Beach havealso taken on an important roleof building community engage-ment and support to address so-cial conditions and behaviorswithin our communities.

Effective, coordinated and col-laborative partnerships betweennon-profit organizations, com-munities, government, business,and individuals are THE KEY toachieving the vision of a HealthyLong Beach. Effective partner-ships occur throughout the Cityalready. Developing commongoals for our work together, un-derstanding the skills and serv-ices we all can bring to the table,enhancing communication struc-

tures, and sharing data will carryour efforts even further toward aLong Beach that is Healthy, Safeand Thriving. I look forward toour work together.

THE NONPROFIT PAGECurated By The Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership

The area’s regional capacity builder, serving local organizations to strengthenand grow through leadership, education and collaboration. Offering:

Professional Development & TrainingNetworking & Collaboration

Custom Training & Consulting ServicesInformation Resources

To learn more, visit us at www.lbnp.org.4900 East Conant St., Building O-2, Suite 225, Long Beach, CA 90808

562.888-6530

Building a Healthy Long Beach

Kelly Colopy, Director, Long Beach

Department of Health and Human Services

Long Beach Business Journal 31May 26-June 8, 2015

Capacity Corner: Upcoming Calendar of Events

From the Nonprofit PartnershipGrantwriting Certificate ProgramWednesdays, May 27-June 10, 9 am-4 pm; This 3-session certificate program willexpand your knowledge and develop the skills needed to prepare a winning grantproposal. Supervising Skills for Success Wednesday, June 17, 2015, 9:00am-4:00pmLearn tips and tools to excel in supervising others. Identify factors that lead tosupervisory success, learn how to successfully confront challenges and pitfalls,and acquire communication and motivational methods for improving perform-ance in others.

From our Partners501(c)onference 2015June 2-3, 2015This annual gathering is an opportunity to explore pressing issues and seek solutionsthrough creative collaboration. For more info, visit: cnmsocal.org.Meet Gilbert Tran of the federal Office of Management and BudgetWednesday, June 3, 2015; 7:30-10:00 am.RSVP for this unusual chance to ask all the questions you have ever had about theOMB Uniform Guidance. For more information, visit: calnonprofits.org.Save the Date: CalNonprofits 2015 Policy ConventionNovember 4, 2015—Oakland, CA Focusing on the economic and political forecast for California’s nonprofit sector. Formore info, visit: calnonprofits.org.

SupportingNonprofit

HealthOften, when we think about

healthy nonprofits, we focus

on financial sustainability. It is

a key social condition for long-

term health of the organiza-

tion.

However, there are other so-

cial conditions that are crucial

to a nonprofit’s health and

well-being.

There are social conditions

that a nonprofit can support

within its walls—opportunities

for learning and growth, en-

suring safety while working,

modeling health daily.

There are also opportunities

to support health and safety

throughout the organization —

providing time for organiza-

tional community togetherness

to build relationships and

trust, opportunities for exer-

cise (walking meetings or “in-

stant recess” are a great way

to fit this in), and access to

healthy snacks.

Many nonprofits are highly

committed to their mission

and community while living

within the reality of being re-

source lean, so everyone is

working hard, often in emo-

tional settings, for long hours.

Wellness breaks are vitally im-

portant.

Be healthy and remember to

take time to breathe!

Data for Grant WritingAccess to data about our

communities is essential to

planning and grant writing.

The Long Beach Department

of Health and Human Services

recently launched a new data

information website: livewell-

longbach.org.

This site provides data on

100 different health indicators

for the City. LBDHHS will be

uploading additional data ele-

ments as they become avail-

able.

I urge you to visit the site

and provide feedback. We

want to make sure it meets

your needs.


may 26-june 8, 2015

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