TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

By Rama Beerfas

July 16, 2010 (San Diego) – Today, Sacramento County Superior Court Patrick Marlette denied a request by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to force State Controller John Chiang to reduce state workers’ pay to the federal minimum wage. The ruling could affect 200,000 California state employees.
 

July 14, 2010 (Lemon Grove) -- Assemblymember Marty Block (D-Lemon Grove) and California State Controller John Chiang will host a Small Business Tax and Regional Opportunities Seminar to provide small business owners with the resources and tools they need to be successful as our economy recovers. Experts will provide small business owners with valuable information on tax preparation, tax compliance issues, current legislative issues and discuss regional opportunities to help businesses grow.

Representatives from the Office of the State Controller, State Board of Equalization, Franchise Tax Board, Internal Revenue Service, United States Small Business Administration, California Employment Development Department and the Small Business Development Corporation will participate.  

Your guide to financial planning & socially responsible investing

By: Judith L. Seid, CFP ®
 

President, Blue Summit Wealth Management

July 9, 2010 (La Mesa) -- We have just received notification that two of our top-rated carriers, John Hancock & Metlife, will be raising rates for new policies. If you have already secured your long term care policy, CONGRATULATIONS…you made a great decision! If you have been considering taking out a long term care insurance policy, please contact an independent Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI) agent right away for quotes. (See below for tips on what to look for.)

Update on Tax Deductible Premiums:

July 9, 2010 (Sacramento ) State Controller John Chiang has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court to block Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s order that would reduce state workers’ pay to the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour. The decision could determine whether 200,000 state workers ranging from DMV employee workers to Cal-Trans highway workers will face pay cuts of two-thirds or more of their salaries in some cases.

SHAREHOLDERS TO PUT LIMITS ON SEMPRA EXECUTIVE PAY

“Felsinger’s salary is a graphic example of the grossly disproportionate salaries that CEOs continue to feast upon even in our current economic malaise. It is offensive in many ways, including the fact that it is partially paid by themoney we pay SDG&E montly.” – Michael Shames, Utility Consumers Action Network (UCAN)

By Miriam Raftery

July 8, 2010 (San Diego) Stockholders at Sempra Energy, parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), have approved a “say on pay” clause giving them power to restrict executive compensation. The vote came in may, following disclosure that Sempra’s chief executive, Donald Felsinger, was the highest-paid executive in San Diego County last year with a $20.9 million annual salary and benefits package, plus a $35 million golden parachute retirement package he woudl receive if the company is ever sold.

Four unions that agreed to slash pensions exempted from order

“I find it wrong for a Governor worth $40 million to be telling a state worker earning $40,000 that you are only worth $7.25 an hour.” – Lace Watkins, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
 

July 1, 2010 (Sacramento) – State workers won’t be celebrating this holiday weekend. Late today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the State Controlled to reduce pay for state workers to minimum wage , $7.25 an hour, until the Legislature passes a state budget. The announcement has left thousands of workers worried over how to cover their families’ living expenses with wages slashed to the bone.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE: DEADLINE JULY 23, 2010

July 1, 2010 (Rancho San Diego) – The Rancho San Diego-Jamul Chamber of Commerce is rolling out a leadership program designed to empower women to own, lead, and navigate business and community in the global economy.

June 29, 2010 (City Heights) – Refugee Works and the San Diego Refugee Foreign invite local businesses to an International Night of Networking on Wednesday, July 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at City Heights Center conference hall, 4305 University Avenue, San Diego. The event will showcase talents of foreign-trained professionals, forced to leave their homes because of war or persecution, who are now legal U.S. residents.

Opponents urge voters “tricked” into signing to ask that that signatures be revoked
 

By Miriam Raftery

June 28, 2010 (San Diego) – San Diego’s Registrar of Voters has rejected a ballot measure backed by Councilman Carl DeMaio that would have made it easier for the City to outsource jobs and overturned living wage standards. The measure was bankrolled by city contractors and developers who stand to gain from increasing outsourcing and lowering wage standards, along with DeMaio, who calls himself the "taxpayer's watchdog."

Economy, bank bailout, war, and oil spill among concerns discussed

By Miriam Raftery
 

June 22, 2010 (Rancho San Diego) – Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) had a breakfast meeting with members of the Rancho San Diego-Jamul Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors yesterday morning at the Press Box Sports Bar & Restaurant to discuss the business climate and provide an update from Washington D.C. for Chamber leaders.

Direct Mail vs. Internet Marketing Part 2: Defining Internet Marketing

By Rama Beerfas

June 18, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Last column, we defined “direct mail.” This time, we will touch on the various avenues available for marketing through the internet, both paid and free.

June 13, 2010 (San Diego) -- The San Diego Better Business Bureau (BBB) has issued a consumer warning about potential investment scams by companies supposedly involved in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill cleanup. Some companies touting their role in the cleanup efforts may be legitimate, while others could be nothing more than bogus clean-up operations designed only to clean-out unsuspecting investors, said the BBB.

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