Hawthorne Press Tribune
The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne
Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - December 14, 2017
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Students Receive a New Vision
Last week, 128 students at Anderson Elementary School and 166 students at Rogers Middle School received a free pair of eyeglasses resulting from a partnership between Vision to Learn and the Lawndale
Rotary Club. Several students received their very first pair of eyeglasses and were relieved to see the world in a whole new light. Photo Provided by Lawndale Elementary School District
City Council Votes to Join BizFed
to Spur Growth, Help Businesses
By Derrick Deane
members can choose amongst themselves which
In the final meeting of 2017 on Tuesday,
advocacy community they’d like to belong
the Hawthorne City Council took another step
to whether that be transportation, land use,
toward continuing to build up commerce in
housing…and then the City Manager a lot of
the coming years. With a unanimous vote of
times or the Mayor can kind of carry things
4-0 (Councilmember Nilo Michelin was not
forward,” Harbour said.
in attendance), the group agreed to join the
The $10,000 level includes all the low-level
Los Angeles County Business Federation for
perks as well as a link on the BizFed website
a one-year trial.
and a priority to meet and present to some of
The Los Angeles County Business Federation,
the working groups and communities that are
also known as BizFed, is an alliance between
pertinent to Hawthorne’s revitalization plan.
160 business associations that include more
The highest level includes all of the above as
than 80 chambers of commerce representing
well as social media advocacy spread among
325,000 businesses in all 88 cities of Los
multiple platforms including Facebook, Twitter,
Angeles County. Their core focus is public
Instagram and LinkedIn.
advocacy with a goal, in Hawthorne’s case, to
“We’re able to make people aware of what
help reach its revitalization goals.
you’re doing and draw in the kind of audience
“We have leadership relationships on all levels
that [Hawthorne] wants to target,” Harbour
of government--local, regional, state and federal,”
said. “We put together an annual plan for
BizFed Senior Director of Business Relations
the length of your membership and we want
Kevin Harbour told the Council. “What that
to understand what your plan is--and if you
means [for Hawthorne] is that we can educate
don’t have a plan, we give you some thought
you on not only Senate and Assembly bills as
leadership on how to develop a plan and then
they come down and impact business, but also
we mobilize companies and people within our
help the City mobilize to support them to the
organization that will compliment and help
benefit of the City of Hawthorne.”
move that plan forward more effectively.”
BizFed has been in existence for 10 years and
Councilmember Angie Reyes English, who
is currently working with other cities including
held a lengthy and much-needed interrogation of
Cudahy, Maywood, Inglewood, Lawndale,
the proposal, ultimately said, “It’s important that
Whittier and El Monte. “As the City sets it sights
existing businesses are being championed just
on growing technology, infrastructure and bring
as much. I know the City is growing. However
in restaurants and logo-type businesses that will
it’s important to know that organizations such as
improve the quality of life for the residents, we
[BizFed] have the opportunity should we need
are the connective tissue between the City’s
your assistance to outreach to you in regards
goals and actualizing them into reality and
to an existing business that might have some
bringing those goals to fruition,” Harbour said.
concerns about expansion and development.”
The Federation operates on various levels of
English added, “I know that we have a
membership ranging from $5,000 to $15,000
Planning Department, I know that we have
a year for entry-level participation. The lowest
our land use, I know we have no permitting
level of membership and the level that the City
and all this other stuff. I’m aware of that. I
Council voted for allows for a seat on the Board
know we used to have monies that we would
of Directors, five advocacy seats, and business
be able to give to existing businesses to fix
intelligence that includes alerts on any Assembly
their façade. We no longer have that.”
or Senate bills moving through Sacramento. The
English also addressed the long-held wish to
cost is $5,000 a year for membership.
implement public Wi-Fi in the city. “It’s been
“You have five advocacy seats so Council
something I’ve been discussing for numerous
years, in regards to the Hawthorne Specific
Plan and other stuff that we have,” she said. “I
would hope that [BizFed] look to Hawthorne,
look to its history, look to what it has been
doing versus just becoming a member. My
wish list is that we can ultimately benefit this
community through Wi-Fi.”
While still voting in favor of trying BizFed
out, Mayor Alex Vargas mentioned that he
was curious to see how that would impact the
Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce and what its
goals and accomplishments have been to date.
“Since we’re looking at an outside company to
help do some of this development, I think we
really need to ask our Chamber of Commerce
President to come and give us a report on all
the benefits her group is doing,” Vargas said.
“Why are we finding a need to be a member
of another group?”
Vargas issued a request to City Manager
Arnie Shadbehr to have Chamber of Commerce
President Patricia Donaldson provide a
report with regards to a budget and what the
organization is doing–and then the Council can
be the judge on whether or not it is sufficient.
“Later on they’re going to ask us for money…
and if they’re doing something [for the City],
then okay, good,” Vargas said. “If they’re not
and they’re [supposed to be] representing
the City of Hawthorne as our Chamber of
Commerce, I think they really need to be
delivering something to our business owners
instead of forcing Councilmembers to ask
[BizFed] how they can help our businesses
when our Chamber of Commerce should be
the first line of attack on that.”
Councilmember Olivia Valentine, who
introduced the discussion item, voiced her
adamant support for membership. “We’ve been
looking for something to bring in more retail,
more restaurants into the city and I think this
is a way to do it,” Valentine said. “I think this
is also a way to assist the businesses that are
already here that need help. I think this is a big
step for us to be able to network on a regular
basis with the business community. •