AGENDA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE
SPECIAL MEETING NOTICE
JANUARY 31, 2023
PUBLIC MEETING 5:30 P.M.
MEMBERS
Tyron Hampton, Chair District 1
Jessica Rivas, District 5
Steve Madison, District 6
Jason Lyon, District 7
STAFF
David Klug, Economic Development Director
Dion O’Connell, Assistant City Attorney
Garrett Stevenson, Recording Secretary
MISSION STATEMENT
The City of Pasadena is dedicated to delivering exemplary municipal services, responsive to our entire community and consistent
with our history, culture and unique character.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Assistive Listening Devices are available at all Pasadena City Council meetings. Assistive Listening headphones and neckloops can be checked out 20.20000 at the desk of the Sergeant-at-Arms, located inside the City Council Chambers.
Languag
e translation services are available for this meeting by calling (626)744-4124 at least 24 hours in advance.
Habrá servicio de interpretación disponible para éstas juntas llamando al (626)744-4124 por lo menos con 24 horas de anticipación.
Meetings are broadcast live on cable Channel 3 and on the Internet at http://pasadena.granicus.com/mediaplayer.php?camera_id=2&publish_id=9 and https://www.pasadenamedia.org/watch/ (Click on Video Streamlining on the right side of the screen).
It
ems on the agenda may not be called in order listed. Agendas and supporting documents are available on the Internet at
https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/city-council-economic-development-technology/ Mater
ials related to an item on this Agenda submitted to the Economic Development and Technology Committee after distribution of the agenda packet will be posted online.
SPECIAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE
MEETING FOR JANUARY 31, 2023 AT 5:30 P.M.
NOTE TO PUBLIC: Economic Development and Technology Committee meetings are now available for public in-person participation. Meetings are held at City Hall in the Council Chambers, Room S249
City Council Meeting Policy:
City Council Meeting Policy - Please Read
TO VIEW A LIVE STREAM OF THE MEETING:
http://pasadena.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=9 AND
WWW.PASADENAMEDIA.ORG
In order to facilitate public participation at meetings, the City will accept public comment in the following manner:
1. Prior or during the meeting, members of the public may provide public comment by submitting a speaker card prior to the start of public comment on that item, at the following webpage:
https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/public-comment/ or submit a public speaker card to the recording secretary in the Council Chambers.
If a public comment speaker wishes to speak on more than one agenda item, please indicate so on the form (multiple item speakers will be handled according to the process posted on the agenda and as specified in the City Council meeting policy). Public comments are limited to 3 minutes each, and the Chair and the Committee may limit this time if reasonable under the circumstances.
2. Speaker Card Help Line: If a public comment speaker needs assistance in completing a speaker card, please call the City Clerk’s Office at: (626) 744-4124.
Help line will open 30 minutes prior to the posted start time of the meeting.
3. Members of the public may submit written correspondence of any length prior to the start of the meeting, at the following email address:
g
[email protected]
W
ritten correspondence will be forwarded to the Economic Development and Technology Committee prior to the start of the meeting, posted online, and made part of the legislative record for the item.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
Off ice of th e Ctty Man age r
CITY OF PASADENA
NOTICE OF SP ECIAL MEETING
OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE
J
ANUARY 31,2023
PUBLIC MEETING: 5:30 P.M.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the spe cial meeting of t he Economic Development and Technology Committee will be held in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, January 31 , 20 23 at 5:30 p.m., to discuss matters on the attached agenda.
Tyron Hampton, Chair
Economic Development and Technology Committee
I HEREBY CERTIFY that this agenda in its entirety, was posted on the Internet at www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/city-council-economic-development-technology/ and on the Council Chamber Bulletin Board, Room S249, and the Bulletin Board in the rotunda area; City Hall, 100 North Garfield Avenue, this 26th day of January 2023 by 4 p.m. and that copies hereof were faxed, emailed or delivered to each member of the City Council and to each local newspaper of general circulation, radio or television station requesting notice in writing, all of which recipients are identified on the distribution herein below.
DISTRIBUTION:
City Council
City Manager
City Attorney
Public Infonnation Officer
Pasadena Weekly
Pasadena Independent
Los Angeles Times
Pasadena Journal
Pasadena Now
Pasadena Star News
La Opinion
Jacqueline Tatum, Posting Secretary
Economic Development and Technology Committee
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, listening assistive devices are available from the City Clerk's Office wit11 a 24-hour advance notice.
Please call (626) 744-4124 to request use ofa listening device. Language translation services may be requested with 24-hour advance notice.
Habra servicio de interpretacion disponible para es/as juntas 1lamando al (626) 744-4124 par lo menos con 24 horas de anticipaci6n
100 North Garfield Avenue, 4th Floor · Pasadena, CA 91101 1726 (626) 744 4660 Fax (626) 744 4773 www cttyofpasadena net
SPECIAL MEETING
AGENDA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE
JANUARY 31, 2023
Public Meeting: 5:30 P.M.
Council Chambers, Pasadena City Hall
100 North Garfield Avenue, Room S249
PUBLIC MEETING - 5:30 P.M.
ROLL CALL
PUBLIC COMMENT – LIMITED TO ITEMS ON THIS SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
AND WILL BE HEARD AT THE TIME THE ITEM IS CONSIDERED
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
• DECEMBER 6, 2022- SPECIAL MEETING*
• DECEMBER 20, 2022- CANCELLED MEETING*
• JANUARY 17, 2023- CANCELLED MEETING*
NEW BUSINESS
1. RETURN TO IN-PERSON MEETINGS* - PHILLIP LECLAIR, CHIEF
INFORMATION OFFICER
INFORMATION ONLY
2. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE* - DAVID KLUG, ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
ADJOURN
*Attachment
01 12/06/2022
CITY OF PASADENA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE MINUTES
DECEMBER 6, 2022 – 4:30 P.M.
CITY HALL, COUNCIL CHAMBER
SPECIAL MEETING
The meeting was convened and held virtually by videoconference/teleconference.
OPENING The Chair called the special meeting of the Economic Development and Technology Committee to order at 4:32 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
Staff:
Councilmember Tyron Hampton, Chair
Vice Mayor Andy Wilson
Councilmember Steve Madison
Councilmember Jessica Rivas
Miguel Márquez, City Manager
David Reyes, Acting Assistant City Manager
David Klug, Economic Development Director
Ruth Martinez, Project Manager for Economic Development David Sinclair, Project Manager
Jennifer Paige, Deputy Director of Planning and Community Development
Guille Nunez, Senior Planner of Planning and Community Development Dion O’Connell, City Attorney
Garrett Stevenson, Recording Secretary
APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by Councilmember Wilson, seconded by Councilmember Madison, to approve the minutes of May 17, 2022, June 1, 2022 (special meeting), June 21, 2022 (cancelled meeting), July 19, 2022, August 16, 2022, September 20, 2022 (cancelled meeting), October 18, 2022 (cancelled meeting), No vember 2, 2022 (cancelled meeting), November 15, 2022 (cancelled meeting) as submitted:
AYES: Councilmembers Madison, Rivas , Vice Mayor Wilson, Chair Hampton
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
NEW BUSINESS PASADENA TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT- MIKE ROSS, CEO PASADENA CENTER OPERATING COMPANY*
Mike Ross , Chief Executive Officer of the Pasadena Center Operating Company, and Jens Weiden Chief Execute Officer of the Rose Bowl Operating Company, reviewed the agenda report as part of a PowerPoint presentation, and responded to questions.
Vice Mayor Wilson asked staff to include PowerPoint slides that will provide information on how the Pasadena Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) assessment will increase occupancy for short term rental units; and recommended changing the duration of the TBID assessment from ten years to five years.
02 12/06/2022
Jill Shook, representing Making Housing and Community Happen (MHCH), advocated for the City to use a portion of the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) to fund the City’s affordable housing trust fund.
Following discussion, it was moved by Councilmember Madison, and seconded by Councilmember Wilson, to approve the staff
recommendation, amended to include further discussion regarding the duration of the TBID assessment when reviewed by City Council:
AYES: Councilmembers Madison, Rivas, Vice Mayor Wilson, Chair Hampton
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
INFORMATION ONLY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE- DAVID KLUG, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR*
David Klug, Economic Development Director, reviewed the economic development update report as part of his oral presentation, and responded to questions.
Councilmember Madison asked staff to provide an update on the status of the Paseo Colorado outdoor mall at a future committee meeting.
Following a brief discussion, on the order of the Chair, and by consensus of the Committee, the information was received and filed.
UPDATE ON SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATE OF
GOVERNMENT (SCAG) ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS - SUSAN
AMBROSINI (SCAG) AND SCOTT WILLIAMSON (AECOM)*
ADU UPDATE- GUILLE NUNEZ, SENIOR PLANNER, PLANNING AND
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT*
The above two Information Items were discussed concurrently.
Susan Ambrosini, representing AECOM , and Guille Nunez, Senior Planner of Planning and Community Development, reviewed the agenda report as part of a PowerPoint presentation ; and Jennifer Paige, Deputy Director of Planning and Community Development responded to questions.
Garrett Stevenson, Recording Secretary, reported that the City Clerk’s Office received one letter of correspondence asking the City to reduce policy barriers for ADU placements.
The following residents provided comment on the matter:
Sonja Berndt, Pasadena resident
Jill Shook, representing MHCH
Dan Sharp, Pasadena resident
Anthony Manousos, representing MHCH
03 12/06/2022
Vice Mayor Wilson asked staff to consider allowing additional building height on ADUs for residents providing housing for Section 8 rec ipients; and to agendize that matter for consideration at a future committee meeting. He also asked staff to provide information on detached two-story ADUs with consideration of privacy for neighbors and zoning setbacks (typically placed over garages).
The Committee thanked staff and AECOM for their detailed presentation.
Chair Hampton echoed the comments of Vice Mayor Wilson . He asked staff to provide information that would allow for the building of detached two-story ADUs that is considerate of the priv acy of surrounding neighbors, at a future committee meeting. Chair Hampton recommended that staff develop a streamlined and subsidized program for building owners seeking permits that do not meet code compliance regulations and asked that the matter be discussed at a future committee meeting. He also asked staff to consider creating a concept design for garage conversions and pre-approved plans that residents could use without needing to hire an architect.
Following discussion, on the order of the C hair, and by consensus of the Committee, the information was received and filed.
UPDATE ON SHORT -TERM RENTAL ACTIVITY - GUILLE NUNEZ,
SENIOR PLANNER, PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT*
Guille Nunez, Senior Planner of Planning and Community Development, reviewed the memorandum as part of a PowerPoint presentation ; and Jennifer Paige, Deputy Director of Planning and Community Development responded to questions.
Vice Mayor Wilson shared his concern with the permit compliance status, which detailed that approximately 33% of all short-term rental units in the City have obtained a Short -Term Rental permit. He asked staff to work with Vrbo to encapsulate the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and TBID assessment in their booking engine.
Councilmember Madison asked staff to provide the application for the Short-Term Rental permit to the Committee to share with their constituents.
On the order of the Chair, and by consensu s of the Committee, the information was received and filed.
PASADENA COMMUNITY ACCESS CORPORATION ANNUAL
REPORT*
On the order of the Chair, and by consensus of the Committee, the information was received and filed.
PASADENA CENTER OPERATING COMPANY FY22 ANNUAL
REPORT*
On the order of the Chair, and by consensus of the Committee, the information was received and filed.
04 12/06/2022
COUNCILMEMBER
COMMENTS
Vice Mayor Wilson acknowledged his departure from City Council on December 12, 2022; and thanked fellow councilmembers and staff for their work on economic vibrancy and formalizing affordable housing improvements for the City.
The Committee thanked Vice Mayor Wilson for his contributions and expertise to the Committee and City Council.
ADJOURNMENT:
On the order of the Chair, the special meeting of the Economic Development and Technology Committee was adjourned at 6:25 p.m.
_________________________________
TYRON HAMPTON, Chair
Economic Development and Technology Committee
ATTEST:
____________________
Garrett Stevenson
Recording Secretary
12/20/2022
CITY OF PASADENA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE MINUTES
PASADENA CITY HALL
100 NORTH GARFIELD AVENUE
COUNCIL CHAMBER – ROOM S249
DECEMBER 20, 2022
MEETING
The regular meeting of the Economic Development and Technology Committee, scheduled for Tuesday, December 20, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. was cancelled as ordered on December 15, 2022, and posted.
ATTEST:
____________________
Garrett Stevenson
Recording Secretary
_________________________________
Tyron Hampton, Chair
Economic Development and Technology Committee
01/17/2023
CITY OF PASADENA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE MINUTES
PASADENA CITY HALL
100 NORTH GARFIELD AVENUE
COUNCIL CHAMBER – ROOM S249
JANUARY 17, 2023
MEETING
The regular meeting of the Economic Development and Technology Committee, scheduled for Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. was cancelled as ordered on January 12, 2023, and posted.
ATTEST:
____________________
Garrett Stevenson
Recording Secretary
_________________________________
Tyron Hampton, Chair
Economic Development and Technology Committee
Department of Information Technology
PROVIDE DIRECTION FOR REMOTE PUBLIC COMMENT AT
PUBLIC MEETINGS OF CITY LEGISLATIVE BODIES
EdTech Committee
January 31, 2023
Department of Information Technology
Background
• Council provided direction on November 21, 2022 to
resume in-person public meetings of all city legislative bodies.
• First in-person City Council meeting occurred January 9, 2023. All other bodies resumed in-person meetings.
• Topic of remote public comment referred to EdTech
Committee for further discussion.
2 Department of Information Technology
Remote Public Comment Support Impacts
• Remote public comment requires most of the remote meeting capabilities and staff resources that were available to support remote meetings of the City Council during the COVID pandemic. • Summary of resources increased/added to support fully remote meetings:
> Integration of Council Chamber audio visual technology with virtual meeting technology for simultaneous in-person & remote capabilities > Online Speaker Card queuing and management
> DoIT Staff – Added two DoIT staff to run virtual meeting technology > City Clerk – Additional overtime for two staff
> Contract sound engineer
> And other capabilities enumerated in Agenda Report
> Estimated costs: $200,000 Annually
3 Department of Information Technology
Cost Estimates for Permanent Remote Public
Comment
1. Remote public
comment at City Council
meetings
Meeting Location:
Council Chamber
2. Remote public
comment for those bodies
meeting in the Council
Chamber
Meeting Location: Council
Chamber
3. Remote public
comment for all bodies
from multiple locations
Meeting Location: Other
locations
Estimated Cost:
$250,000 Annually
10-Year Cost:
$2.5M
Estimated Cost:
$300,000
Annually
10-Year Cost:
$3M
Estimated Cost:
$700,000
Annually
10-Year Cost:
$7M
$200,000+ Technology
Upgrades
Ready to Implement Ready to Implement Available CY 2023 4 Department of Information Technology
Live Public Comment Statistics (for meetings
held in Council Chamber)
Total # of Public Speakers
Body
April
2022
May
2022
June
2022
July
2022
Aug
2022
Sept
2022
Jan*
2023
City Council 158 66 30 72 91 79 31
Council Committees (All)
EdTech 0 4 7 0 8 0 0
Finance 2 0 7 0 0 2 0
Legislative Policy 1 0 3 0 0 0 0
Municipal Services 1 3 0 6 5 29 17
Public Safety 0 20 2 7 7 3 0
Commissions (Partial List)
Community Police Oversight 8 13 3 1 0 8 0
Design 6 20 1 2 9 7 1
Planning 40 14 29 72 17 6 5
* Jan 2023 statistics up through January 26. City Council & EdTech meetings scheduled January 30 & 31, respectively.
5 Department of Information Technology
Staff Recommendation
• Limit remote public comment to only available from
the Council Chamber to minimize technology
investment costs and support costs.
• Begin allowing remote public comment for those
bodies scheduled in the Council Chamber with
active public comment, or as directed by City
Council, including:
1. City Council
2. Municipal Services Committee
3. Public Safety Committee
4. Planning Commission
5. Design Commission
6. Community Police Oversight Committee
6 Department of Information Technology
Staff Recommendation
• On occasion, meetings of other legislative bodies
may be scheduled in the Council Chamber to allow
for remote public comment when there is a high level
of public interest anticipated on the agenda topic.
• Staff seeks direction from Council on these
recommendations or any variation.
7 Memorandum
Date: January 31, 2023
To: Economic Development Technology Committee
From: David A. Klug, Economic Development Director
Subject: Economic Development Update
The Economic Development Division is committed to an on-going effort to retain Pasadena’s existing businesses and recruiting new ones. This purpose of this memo is to provide an update on those efforts for the month of September, October, November, and December.
BUSINESS OUTREACH SEP OCT NOV DEC
Broker Outreach - Calls and/or meetings with brokers offering insights on market conditions
17 32 14 24
Business Assistance - Permit assistance, site assistance, general information (demographics, psychographics, traffic info) 25 36 23 15
Business Outreach - Phone calls and visits to various businesses 14 8 82 45 Business Visit - Prescheduled visits with CEO, CFO of local businesses
2 4 10 12
Investment - Developers/Fund Managers looking at Pasadena 1 2 2 1 Major Property Owner - Call and/or visits to major commercial property owners
1 4 2 3
Marketing - Ad placement, retail recruitment, outreach to potential relocation
0 0 0 0
Sales Tax - Calls and/or visits to large sales tax producers 2 6 3 2 New Business Welcome Letters – letters are sent to every new business
42 44 42 37
Totals 104 136 176 139
Investment/Reinvestment
Pasadena is seeing some key commercial spaces recently sold in the last quarter including:
• 2165 E Colorado Blvd and 2191-93 E Colorado Blvd – This is currently a retail/auto repair commercial site that buyer expects to develop property into brand new, state of the art EV automotive dealership.
• 110 E Holly Street – Class C vacant office building built in 1904 and renovated in 2022 sold for $6.0 million.
• 536 S Fair Oaks Avenue – Medical Office building sold for $3.8 million. • 70 S Raymond Avenue – Retail/restaurant 14,040 sf. building built in 1904 in Old Pasadena sold for $4.3 million. Owner will hold the asset as an investment with the current tenants.
• 191 N Los Robles - Watermark Lodging Trust (Westin) was acquired by Brookfield Asset Management on behalf of Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners IV on October 21, 2022 at a transaction valued at $3.8 billion.
Business/Development Activity
Better Business Bureau
Staff recently met with Steve McFarland, CEO of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. Recently relocated from Downtown LA, the new Pasadena office, located at 696 E Colorado, serves the counties of Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey.
Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private nonprofit organization founded in 1912 with a self- described mission is to focus on advancing marketplace trust.
CEO Steve McFarland adds, “On average, our Pasadena office processes nearly a thousand consumer complaints per day. We are proud to serve our local area and thrilled to be in Pasadena.”
Build Your Dreams (BYD)
Build Your Dreams or BYD as they are known, recently took over a sublease at 888 E Walnut.
The sublease is for approximately 47,000 square feet and it is anticipated that BYD would bring about 140 employees to Pasadena.
BYD is a major Chinese automaker based in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. It sells vehicles under the BYD brand. Founded in 1995, BYD started out as a battery maker and entered the automobile business in 2003.
Western Asset
Western Asset Management Company, a global fixed-income management company, recently renewed their lease at 385 E. Colorado Blvd. In a statement, Irvine Company, which owns the building, said the renewal of Western Asset is the largest lease signed in the greater Los Angeles area in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Founded in 1971, Western Asset has nine offices world-wide, 757 employees globally and currently have $484.5 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2020. They currently occupy over 180,000 square feet at their Pasadena office.
As a significant employer, Pasadena is excited to have Western Asset here through 2035.
General Motors Design Studio
As an update, construction is underway at the General Motors Design Studio located at 580 N Sierra Madre Villa. City staff has been available to assist with the permitting process and will continue to monitor the project through completion. When complete, the $71 million project is expected to occupy 149,000 square feet and will include an innovation lab for designing, implementing, and validating new design tools, as well as a collaboration, research, and development space.
On-street Dining
Restaurant tenants along Colorado Blvd. are re-installing their on-street dining facilities using the new design standards approved by EdTech in June 2022. Playhouse Village Association planned, designed, and constructed eight dining pavilions and recently opened them to the public.
Retail Update
Demand for retail space continues to rise in Old Pasadena. Several brokers are touring potential retail tenants, but space is limited. Staff has encouraged brokers to consider our other business districts as potential sites.
• Doc Martens is currently under construction at 17 E. Colorado Blvd. and should be open in Spring 2023
• J. Crew is currently under construction at their new site at 46 W. Colorado Blvd. • Alo Yoga will be moving into 3 W. Colorado Blvd.
• Brilliant Earth will be starting their tenant improvements at 29 Miller Avenue. • Jewelry store Gorjana recently opened at One Colorado. • The J. Crew Outlet, located at the Hastings Ranch Shopping Center on Foothill Blvd, is set to open next week.
Holiday Season 2022 Recap – Category Breakdown
Retail and mobile analytics company, Placer AI, recently reported that the retail foot traffic performance by category suggests that inflation had a significant impact on consumers’
spending choices this season. Key retail categories indicates that while all categories analyzed saw visit gaps relative to the strong 2021 holiday season, categories offering lower price points were less impacted than others. Discount and dollar stores along with superstores saw the smallest year over year decreases in visits, while specialty clothing, recreational & sporting goods retailers, and department stores saw the largest drops. This seems to indicate that consumers looked for stores that would give them the most bang for their buck for 2022’s holiday gifts. Source: Placer AI
Unemployment Rate Further Defined
The widely used unemployment rate known as U-3 is simply the number of unemployed as a percentage of the labor force (employed plus unemployed). However, there are those who are no longer in the labor force or working part time involuntarily who are not included in this measure. The U-6 unemployment rate (U-6) takes these workers into consideration. The attached memo from the CA EDD provides some clarification to the two unemployment categories.
In the News
First Citizens Bank
First Citizens Bank, based in Raleigh, North Carolina has put its Pasadena offices up for sublease after a merger with another financial institution last year, adding to a record amount of such space available to sublease in greater Los Angeles. The bank is marketing approximately 125,000 square feet at 74 N. Pasadena Avenue and 75 N. Fair Oaks Avenue. According to CoStar data the lease expires in December 2027. The Pasadena office space is the largest leased space for First Citizens Bank in the nation. Source: CoStar
Embodied, Inc.
Pasadena-based robotics developer Embodied, Inc., located at 87 N. Raymond Avenue, recently secured funding of $19 million, according to a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC.) The company declined to name their investors, citing confidentiality. According to the company’s website, Embodied builds “socially and emotionally intelligent” companion robots.
Embodied’s top product- an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled robot companion for small children called Moxie- was selected as one of Time Magazine’s top inventions of 2020. Source:
Los Angeles Business Journal
Tetra Tech Inc.
Pasadena-based Tetra Tech Inc., located at 3475 E. Foothill Blvd., recently announced that it was awarded three federal contracts, the largest of which was a five-year, $100 million contract from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Research and Development to assess human health and ecological risks associated with global climate change.
In addition to the U.S. EPA contract, Tetra tech received two five-year contracts from the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID) worth as much as $73 million for environment- related work worldwide. The first contract is to increase water use efficiency and conservation in Jordan, a desert nation receiving less than five inches of rain per year. The second contract is to support the USAID’s expansion of climate change adaptation and resilience programming around the globe. Source: Los Angeles Business Journal
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, located at 177 E. Colorado Blvd., recently announced that New York-based life science fund Royalty Pharma has acquired a royalty rights in olpasiran, a drug used to treat cardiovascular disease which was originally developed by Arrowhead but licensed to Amgen, Inc. in 2016. Royalty Pharma paid $250 million in cash to acquire the royalty stake in the drug. Royalty Pharma has also agreed to make additional payments of up to $160 million, provided that the drug achieves specified clinical, regulatory and sales milestones. Olpasiran is currently entering a Phase 3 cardiovascular outcomes study to determine whether it can reduce risk of cardiovascular events in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Source:
fiercebiotech.com
Daddy’s Chicken Shack
Pasadena’s Daddy Chicken Shack has recently signed a 20-unit franchise deal to expand significantly throughout Los Angeles County. Currently, the company has its only location in Pasadena, with another restaurant coming to Houston. Now, franchisees Blair Salisbury and Robin Bieker, owners of El Cholo Restaurant, are gearing up to expand throughout the area. This is a massive achievement for Daddy’s Chicken Shack, which launched only in 2018. The duo is looking to open their first restaurant by year-end while also eyeing real estate in Santa Clarita and elsewhere throughout Los Angeles County. Source:
fastcasual.com
0 20
40 60
80 100
120
140
Sep Oct Nov Dec
Business Outreach
Broker Outreach/Business Outreach/Business Visits/Assistance Future Investors/Major Property Owners/Sales Tax Producers New Business Welcome Letters
Minute
EDD|LMID|LOS ANGELES COASTAL AREA [email protected] or (916) 796-7758
The Unemployment Rate - There’s More Than One
One of the most important
economic indicators is the
monthly unemployment rate. It’s
the temperature gauge of the
economy. But did you know
there’s more than one? The gold
standard is the U -3
unemployment rate which is used
throughout the nation at all
geographical levels . This rate is
simply the number of unemployed as a percentage of the
labor force (employed plus unemployed). However, there are those who are no longer in the labor force or working part time involuntarily who are not included in this measure . The U-6 unemployment rate takes these workers into consideration. The figu re above shows the components of the alternative measures of labor underutilization, the U-6 rate, as well as the U -4 and U -5 rate. The table below provides definitions of the various components of each of the measures of unemployment.
The unemployed and involuntary part-time worker are still part of the labor force but the discouraged worker and
other marginally attached worker are no longer part of the labor force. The part -time for economic reasons worker would like to work full time, but his or her employer has cut back work. That worker is involuntarily underemployed and counted as employed in the U -3 rate. Each measure ha s a different unemployment rate because each level adds
workers to the ranks of the unemployed. In essence, the growing pool results in a higher rate.
Although the U-6 may give a fuller picture of the economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has limited it to the state level, Los Angeles County and New York City. Comparing U -3 and U-6 rates, the U -6 unemployment rate is much higher. The chart to the right examines this difference and demonstrates that U-6 rates are almost twice that of U-3 as a rule of thumb.
In 2018 in Los Angeles County, U-6 was 8.4 percent and U-3 was at 4.2 percent, a difference of 4.2 percentage points.
The variances have been consistent throughout the years .
Even in 2020, when COVID-19 caused unemployment ra tes
to surge, the U-6 rate was 8.9 percentage points higher than the U-3 rate of 13.0 percent. Over the last 19 years, the U-3 rate has averaged 7.8 percent compared to the U -6 annual average of 15.2 percent. As the only county in the nation to have access to a U-6 unemployment rate, we in Los Angeles County get a unique look at the local economy.
Robert Lee
Labor Market Consultant
January 2023
Unemployed 1) In the labor force
2) Not working
3) Available for work
4) Actively looking for work in the past 4 weeks
Discouraged
Worker
1) Not In the labor force
2) Not working
3) Available for work
4) Looked for work in the prior 12 months
Other Marginally
Attached
1) Not In the labor force
2) Not working
3) Available for work
4) Not actively looking for work in the past 4 weeks
5) Looking for work in the prior 12 months
Part-time for
Economic Reasons
1) Would like to work full time.
2) Working part time because of hours cut-back