April 14, 2016
Staff and Wire Report
“Marva Smith Battle-Bey’s focused and consistently positive energy will be missed by all of us working to improve conditions in South L.A.,” said Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who like other community leaders, family and friends reached out to various media outlets recently, expressing their grief for Battle-Bey’s passing.
“The shopping centers at Vermont & Slauson, which she helped develop and manage, are just a small part of her legacy. For many years she was a successful and positive role model for so many in the community.”
Battle-Bey, who spent 30 years leading the Vermont-Slauson Economic Development Corporation died April 7. As of LAWT press time, there was no information on the cause of death. Battle-Bey grew up in Detroit, initially graduating with a B.S. in Urban Planning from Michigan State before heading to Los Angeles where she graduated from planning school at the University of Southern California. She worked for Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley before joining the Vermont Slauson EDC in 1981. Her first major project was the Vermont Slauson Shopping Center, which opened that same year. It had been the first major retail investment in the community since the 1965 Watts riots.
In 2007, she received national recognition for her efforts in South Los Angeles, from the Small Business Administration, which named her as the National Minority Small Business Champion that year.
Battle-Bey also received academic recognition from USC where she had been a Ph.D . candidate. She served on the Advisory Council for the School of Policy, Planning and Development. Active in a variety of organizations, Battle-Bey was a member and/or served on the Board of the National Congress for Community Economic Development, Association of Women Business Entrepreneurs, the Southern California Business Development Center, a multi-bank CDC representing 30 lenders and a loan fund of $35 million; the California Economic Development Lending Initiative (CEDLI), and the California Organized Investment Network (COIN), which was co-founded by VSEDC.
“Marva Smith Battle-Bey was one of a kind,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“She was a fighter, fearless in her work to help people get access to good-paying jobs — no matter who they were or where they lived. She transformed lives by helping people dream beyond their circumstances, turn those dreams into goals, and make those goals into progress for themselves and their community.
“Businesses thrived because of Marva’s tireless efforts to broaden opportunity in South L.A. — and under her indispensable leadership, the Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation was instrumental in rebuilding after the civil unrest of 1992. Her passing is a tremendous loss for all of Los Angeles. We must honor her memory by recommitting ourselves, every day, to our calling to make seat at the table for everyone in the city she loved."
“No words can adequately express what Marva has meant in our lives. We are forever grateful for the opportunity to work with her,” states William A. Holland, Vice President of the VSEDC Board of Directors. “Marva left a company that only she could have built, and her spirit will forever be the foundation of VSEDC. We will honor her memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work she loved so much.”
Stated Battle-Bey’s sister Gloria Gilmore, “Our family is deeply saddened by the sudden death of our loved one. She gave so much of herself, of her time and her resources to her family and community. She had a zest for life, enjoyed the work that she did to enrich the lives of the residents of Los Angeles, and she especially loved her Los Angeles Lakers. We thank Los Angeles for embracing her. We truly will miss her warm smile, her intellect and her unselfish acts of kindness. Please continue to pray for our family.”
Services have been planned as follows: Public Viewing at Angelus Funeral Home 3875 Crenshaw Blvd., LA, CA 90008, Friday, April 15, 2016 from 3pm to 7pm; Memorial Service will be held Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 11am in the Los Angeles City Council Chambers, 200 N. Spring Street, LA, CA 90012. Parking in City Hall East. Condolences may be sent to Gloria Gilmore c/o Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation 1130 West Slauson Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90044 attention: Ms. Sarah Moore.
April 07, 2016
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA News Wire Contributing Writer
The federal government spends about $1 billion on advertising services, but history continues to show that small businesses and local and minority-owned media companies are mostly left out.
On Wednesday, March 23, as part of its ongoing series on Supplier Diversity, the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities hosted a roundtable discussion on diversity and government advertising practices.
Moderated by Thomas Reed, the director of the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities, the event also included commentary from James Winston, the president of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, Melody Spann Cooper, Steve Roberts, Sherman Kizart, and other experts from the broadcasting industry who examined the federal government’s interaction with diverse communities and how current advertising practices reach those same communities.
“We wanted to have a more laser-like focus on federal advertising. The congressional research service has found in recent years the federal government spends close to $1 billion annually on advertising services,” Reed said in opening the roundtable discussion.
“The focus of the meeting is an examination of how, where, and in many instances, why this money, these dollars, are being spent and how we might begin to expand the pool of vendors who assist the government and getting out the message,” he said.
While public documents reveal who is spending the money, they don’t always reveal who is on the receiving end of those contracts, Reed added.
“Experience tells us that local media, small companies, women and minority-owned media are not well-represented,” he said.
The meeting was viewed as a critical beginning step in minority-owned media being considered when the federal government and its agencies seek to advertise.
Last month, leaders from the National Newspaper Publishers Association and the National Association of Hispanic Publications – which combined publish more than 600 newspapers to over 30 million readers – were joined by D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton in calling for an examination of government advertising practices.
It’s widely understood that government advertising covers a variety of subjects, Reed said, noting public service announcements, federal job openings, competition for federal contracts, and even the sale of surplus government property.
He said federal agencies use numerous platforms to educate the public about their core services including using television, radio, and now, increasingly, social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter.
However, the lack of advertising by federal agencies in Black media can be felt in radio as well, Winston said.
“We find ourselves very challenged to maintain the success of our existing stations. Your success depends on getting advertising dollars and, in 2012, the Congressional Research Service did a report that at the time showed that the federal government agencies were spending about $500 million a year on commercial advertising,” Winston said. “That number is now closer to $1 billion and the report showed that the largest commercial advertiser in the federal government is the Department of Defense. And, so we’ve found that a great deal of money is being spent but there’s very little information about where that money is going.”
Winston added: “The agencies pretty much do the same thing, they all have major contracts with one huge advertising agency, usually a ‘Madison Avenue’ advertising agency.”
Kenyata Wesley, who represented the Department of Defense during the discussion, said she attended to help explain the procurement process and to help minority media members to better navigate the acquisition process.
“We do have a very robust media program, about $300 million spent in the media community,” Wesley said. “Hopefully, we can walk away with solutions.”
Chanel Bankston-Carter, the director for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said her agency is committed to working with veteran-owned and small businesses, and they’re looking at opportunities for procurement.
She said the roundtable is “Truly an opportunity to share ideas, strategies and come together to develop a partnership that will benefit the small business community.”
“My sole purpose is to work on procurement opportunities for the small business community,” Bankston-Carter said, noting that the Veterans Affairs is the only federal agency that has a verification program. “There are times advertising has opportunities to be more diverse and we do have a lot of opportunity for marketing and advertising and we do use that. So, I would just love to say that we are open.”
During the conference, Reed reiterated the purpose of the sit down.
“It’s not to indict, but to gain a better understanding of the process, why federal advertising dollars are not more broadly spent and how women and minority-owned media companies can improve government advertising to underserved communities,” he said.
The conference was held just two weeks after Norton joined the call for more accountability in government advertising spending with minority-owned publications.
“I’m requesting a report from an objective arm of the federal government, the GAO. We’re asking them to conduct a study of the federal agencies whose outreach is to people of color,” said Norton on Friday, March 11.
“We don’t want our federal agencies to forego their mandate and responsibilities. There is a mandate to engage small businesses. We want to discuss if that is, in fact, taking place. There’s no more authentic or trusted way to do so than to engage the Black and Hispanic Press.”
Norton and the accompanying Black and Latino publishers said no one can accurately pinpoint a dollar figure of what the federal government spends.
“We have no sense of the numbers,” Norton said. “If you don’t even know what they do, you can’t know what they spend. We want to know how much they spend and with which press. We don’t even know if they have a strategy.”
March 31, 2016
By Elizabeth Marcellino
City News Service
The Board of Supervisors voted this week to adopt an ordinance that makes it explicitly illegal to rent space to medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
Marijuana dispensaries have been illegal in unincorporated areas since 2011. The board relies on zoning laws to enforce the ban and recently vowed to crack down on violators, voting earlier this month to assemble an enforcement team.
The ordinance amends the existing ban to make clear that renting or leasing a property for use as a medical marijuana dispensary is illegal.
County lawyers called the amendment a “non-substantive change.”
Landlords can already be held liable for illegal drug sales on their property under federal law. A 2013 case against several Southern California landlords renting to dispensaries — later dropped by the U.S. Attorney’s Office — originally called for them to forfeit their properties.
The board approved adoption of the amended ordinance without comment on a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Sheila Kuehl abstaining.
In February, the board directed county lawyers to draft an ordinance that would prohibit all cultivation, manufacturing, laboratory testing and distribution of marijuana in unincorporated areas of the county for at least 45 days, while the county studies the impacts.
That move drew protests from advocates for those who use marijuana to treat and alleviate pain from serious, and even terminal, medical conditions.
All use of marijuana remains illegal under federal law. However, sales of marijuana legalized under state laws in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and in the District of Columbia totaled $3.4 billion in 2015, according to a report by Forbes magazine.
March 24, 2016
California Black Media Staff
Last Tuesday, the California Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy held an oversight hearing on the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GoBiz. According to the committee agenda, five years have passed since the office was created.
Lawmakers were eager to hear progress.
While many presenters applauded the efforts of GoBiz, the hearing hit a sour note when California Black Chamber of Commerce President Aubrey Stone described the bleak situation of African-American business in the state.
Stone said Black businesses employ less than two people per company and that these numbers are reflect the African-American unemployment rate, which is twice the state’s average. Stone also told attendees that no one from GoBiz had ever contacted him to discuss the Black business climate.
“I have had no official contact from anyone from these agencies that are dedicated to economic development,” said Stone. “I recommend the formation of some type of review panel to find ways to reduce this embarrassing economic gap that currently exists.”
In response, GoBiz’s Executive Director of Infrastructure and Economic Development Teveia Barnes apologized for not reaching out to Stone prior to the committee hearing.
After Barnes’ apology, some lawmakers on the committee asked follow-up questions about the agency’s relationship with Asian and Hispanic chambers of commerce. GoBiz’s small business advocate Jesse Torres responded that he knew and had a relationship with other groups.
Torres’ admission sparked criticism, although he promised to make a better effort to connect with the chamber in the future.
“I am disappointed … I don’t see how this is rocket science,” said Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) expressing concern. “You just said a moment ago that you gather chambers together to have a dialogue and conversation.”
Clearly frustrated with GoBiz’s responses, Gipson stressed his disappointment that Barnes was just meeting with the Black Chamber for the first time. Gipson also wants to check in with the banking committee to determine why some banks aren’t participating in lending programs.
“You are right. I should have met Mr. Stone before today,” said Barnes. “We have already made arrangements to get together and continue our conversation.”
Committee Vice-Chair Young Kim (R-Fullerton) closed the hearing on a more positive note, comparing the committee hearing to her experiences as a mother. She said from time she has to sit down with her children to tell them they are doing a great job, but ask what more can be done?
“That is how I see what this hearing was today” said Kim. “ I know you were already doing the work and a good job, but we needed to see how you can do better.”
The three-hour hearing mainly focused on small business assistance, including the Offices of the Small Business Advocate, International Trade and Foreign Investment and the Small Business Finance Center.
The committee requested a follow-up hearing with GoBiz. As of press time no date has been set.