By Dick Gong, John Lloyd and Ron Fong

Local governments often tackle similar issues with different solutions. The result is usually a patchwork of laws in neighboring cities, increasing the difficulty and cost of compliance for businesses and confusing consumers. We applaud all 10 Sonoma County jurisdictions for addressing carryout bag regulation in unison.

Through the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency, all 10 county jurisdictions are simultaneously working to regulate carryout bags. This regional approach has included numerous opportunities to discuss and review the proposal, both with the agency and in each jurisdiction.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on June 18 gave its formal support to an ordinance that would ban carryout plastic bags at checkout lines countywide. It would also add a 10-cent charge for each paper bag.

By employing a regional and measured approach, Sonoma County elected officials have respected the public and businesses while working to achieve their environmental goals. This level of regional cooperation should be recognized and rewarded.

More than 75 jurisdictions in California have already regulated carryout bags. The proposed Sonoma County regulation, similar to other California ordinances, would maximize environmental gain and minimize impacts to business.

Since passing a similar ordinance in 2010, Los Angeles County has seen single-use bag consumption reduced by more than 90 percent. They also found that consumers quickly adapted and businesses felt minimal impact.

We agree with many that this is an issue of statewide concern and the state Legislature should step up and regulate bags. This would create the most environmental benefit and eliminate the patchwork of local legislation. As an industry, we continue to push for a reasonable statewide law in order to remove the difficulty of implementing dozens of varying local bag laws.

Unfortunately, the state Legislature has failed us and left the task to cities and counties. The Legislature’s inaction makes the county’s regional effort even more valuable to consumers and businesses.

We urge each jurisdiction to remain committed to the regional process and regulate carryout bags in unison. We believe the proposed ordinance is respectful of consumers and businesses, as proven in dozens of other California cities and counties.

The process is often just as important as the policy being considered. In this case, Sonoma County elected officials got it right by pursuing a regional bag ordinance.

Dick Gong is co-owner of G&G Supermarkets. John Lloyd is president of Big John’s Market in Healdsburg. Ron Fong is president and chief executive officer of the California Grocers Association.

Reprinted from The Press Democrat (6/26/2013)

Company Cited for its Service and Support for Employees in the National Guard and Reserve

PLEASANTON, Calif., June 25, 2013 – Safeway Inc. has been selected to receive the 2013 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the nation’s highest honor given to employers for exceptional support of National Guard and Reserve employees. Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an office of the Department of Defense, announced the award recipients today.

Safeway is one of six large companies to be honored with the prestigious Freedom Award. Nine other award recipients are small- to mid-sized businesses or public-sector employers. The recipients, who were chosen from a pool of nearly 3,000 nominated private and public sector employers, were selected for their demonstrated programs, policies and achievements in support and hiring members of the National Guard and Reserve.

“I commend and thank the 15 recipients of the 2013 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award for providing exceptional support to our Citizen Warriors,” said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. “So many of our Nation’s employers are finding ways to contribute to our Nation’s security, but these employers stand out for their commitment to our Guardsmen and Reservists. They have the gratitude and thanks of the entire Department of Defense.”

“Providing employment opportunities and training to our men and women in uniform and veterans are among the most important public services we perform,” said Safeway’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Edwards. “We are honored to be among a select group of private and public sector organizations who can now call themselves Freedom Award recipients.”

Safeway has a long history of commitment to men and women in the military. The company was among the first employers to commit (more than 10 years ago) to cover the pay differential and extend full benefits to employees in the Reserve and National Guard called to active duty. Safeway continues to provide this benefit. The company has aggressively responded to the need for employment with returning veterans through its Junior Military Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer (JMO/NCO) Program.

In 2012, Safeway hired nearly 1,500 veterans with over 1,300 of them hired into the company’s retail stores. Safeway has also committed to hiring at least another 1,500 veterans by the end of 2013. While the majority of Safeway’s Store Managers and Assistant Managers are promoted from its internal ranks, the company’s Human Resources team recognized the untapped talent pool in the military.

“We saw an opportunity to recruit new kinds of leaders who will become an important and critical part of our future,” said Larree Renda, Safeway Executive Vice President. “Our JMO and NCO recruiting program officially launched in 2010. We accept applicants who have been officers or non-commissioned officers in the military and place them in an accelerated leadership program.”

Graduates qualify for Store Manager and Assistant Manager jobs and a range of other manager-level positions in the distribution and backstage departments at Safeway. The 41-week intensive training program includes a combination of on-the-job training, mentoring, classroom seminars, job shadowing and independent study, as well as participating in numerous department and key leadership strategy sessions. At the end of the program, participants are qualified to hold a number of leadership positions, including Store Manager and Warehouse Superintendent.

In addition to Safeway’s JMO/NCO program, Safeway’s Retail Military Recruiting efforts were launched in 2012 to increase efforts in hiring veterans of all backgrounds into our retail store environment.

In 2011, the company launched an annual Veterans Day weekend fundraiser. To date, Safeway has collected and donated more than $2 million to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project and other organizations that help veterans recover from service-related injuries and/or return to the civilian workforce. Our various divisions also participate in local fundraisers and community service initiatives to support our country’s heroes. These programs are in addition to ongoing commitments to continue full benefits for Safeway employees who are called to active duty, and to ship care packages — more than 2,000 to date — to soldiers overseas.

The 2013 Freedom Award recipients will be honored at the 18th annual Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award ceremony in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2013.

Reprinted from Reuters (6/25/2013)

Los Angeles on Tuesday became the largest city in the nation to move toward a ban on plastic grocery bags, with the City Council barring them in supermarkets, convenience stores and any big retailer that sells groceries.

Nearly three weeks after a similar measure was defeated in the California Legislature, the City Council voted 11-1 to prohibit the so-called “single use” plastic bags in pharmacies, food markets and any large store — including Target and Wal-Mart — that has a grocery section.

Councilman Paul Koretz described the ban as one of several environmental initiatives that have been embraced by the city, including a clean-truck program at the Port of Los Angeles and a push to build new rail lines. “Today we’re taking another big step forward,” he said.

Added Councilman Paul Krekorian: “Enough waiting for the Legislature to act on this.”

Tuesday’s vote offered a sweeping victory for environmental activists. Once the ban goes into effect, around one-fourth of California’s population will be covered by laws that will move consumers toward reusable bags, said Kirsten James, who handles water policy for the advocacy group Heal the Bay.

“This is the biggest city in the nation to tackle the single-use bag addiction,” James said. “It sends a strong signal to Sacramento that we need a statewide policy.”

L.A.’s ordinance, first embraced by the council in March 2012, will be phased in over the next year, reaching large stores on Jan. 1 and smaller ones on July 1, 2014. Customers who want paper bags will have to pay 10 cents for each one, according to the ordinance.

Opponents of the ban referred to the paper bag fee as an unfair tax. And they argued that it will hurt business in the region, particularly the plastic-bag makers that operate in the southeast section of Los Angeles County.

Cathy Browne, general manager at Huntington Park-based bag maker Crown Poly, said an unspecified number of employees will lose their jobs if the law passes. More than 50% of the plant’s business is in plastic grocery bags used in Los Angeles and other localities, she said.

Browne, whose company has 300 employees, said the measure also would create a new burden to Angelenos who reuse plastic bags for trash and pet waste. “Consumers like plastic bags,” she said. “So when they shop at a retail store that has a ban they’ll shop elsewhere.”

Because Councilman Bernard C. Parks voted against the measure, a second vote will be needed next week. But no one involved in Tuesday’s debate expects the outcome to change. A signature from the mayor — whether it be the outgoing Antonio Villaraigosa or his successor, Eric Garcetti — is also expected.

Businesses that fail to comply with the law would face a fine of $100 for the first violation, $200 after the second and $500 after the third. Fines would be imposed for each day the violation continues.

Backers of the measure contend it will create jobs, fueling such programs as the nonprofit Green Vets LA, which has put veterans to work manufacturing reusable cloth bags. Jim Cragg, the group’s director, said he had hired 100 people to sew those bags.

“I’ve actually hired one person from the plastic bag [industry],” he said.

Sanitation officials estimate that 2 billion plastic bags are distributed in the city each year.

Reprinted from The Los Angeles Times (6/18/2013)

Savvy, confident organized retail crime gangs – who steal billions of dollars worth of merchandise each year only to sell that merchandise online or at physical fence locations – continue to test retailers to the core, oftentimes stopping at nothing to profit from their criminal behavior.

The National Retail Federation’s ninth annual Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Survey found that 93.5 percent of retailers say they have been a victim of organized retail crime in the past year, down slightly from 96.0 percent in 2012. For the replika óra past three years, more than 90 percent of the retailers surveyed have admitted to being victims of ORC. Equally disturbing: eight in 10 (81.3%) believe that ORC activity in general in the United States has increased over the past three years.

“We are extremely concerned by the organized patterns that are taking place in the retail industry right now as these crime gangs continue to find ways to maneuver the system,” said NRF Vice President of Loss Prevention Rich Mellor. “Though retailers continue to make great strides in their fight against organized retail crime, savvy, unconscionable criminals are selling stolen merchandise for a profit that doesn’t belong to them. With the types of organized retail crimes changing in severity each year, retailers remain vigilant in their fight against ORC.”

Store merchandise credit/gift card fraud poses new threat to retailers

For the first time, NRF asked the senior loss prevention executives surveyed about their experience with store credit merchandise/gift card fraud, and the results are troubling: when asked specifically if they’ve experienced boosters who return stolen merchandise without a receipt for the sole purpose of receiving store credit via a gift card, who then turn around and sell that merchandise credit for cash to secondary markets that include kiosks, pawn shops and check cashing stores, 77.8 percent said they have experienced this.

“This is an important crime to keep an eye on, as this could easily turn from being an organized tactic to one that amateurs could adopt,” continued Mellor. “In conversations with retailers and law enforcement, we’ve learned that there are expresssgiftz already defrauding processes being put in place, but retailers continue to lose millions of dollars to this enterprise scheme.”

Survey finds increases in violence, connection to “gateway crimes”

One of the most distressing trends in organized crime activity is the propensity for thieves to resort to violence to avoid being apprehended, putting store personnel, law enforcement and customers at risk. According to the survey, retailers say on replica horloges average two in 10 (18.3%) apprehensions lead to some level of violence, up from 15.2 percent last year and 13.0 percent in 2011.

Individuals connected to “gateway crimes,” or crimes that are known to lead to bigger crimes, such as the use of or sale of drugs and weapons, are often found to be associated with organized crime gangs. According to the survey, retailers say on average 44.8 percent of those apprehended for ORC are involved in gateway crimes.

Law enforcement understanding of issue grows

Thanks to organized methods of communication between retailers and law enforcement, awareness among law enforcement officials is at an replicas relojes all-time high. According to the survey, nearly half (48.1%) of retailers say they believe law enforcement understands the complexity and severity of ORC, up from 40.0 percent last year and the highest percent reported in the five years of asking this question.

Nearly six in 10 (58.4%) believe top management at their organization understands the severity of ORC, up from 54.4 percent last year.

Top cities for organized retail crime activity

Organized retail crime gangs wreak havoc throughout the country, but many cities have remained top locations for ORC activity for the past several years, including Dallas, Houston, Miami and Los Angeles. The top 10 locations that retailers say have the most criminal activity are (in alphabetical order):

Atlanta
Baltimore
Chicago
Dallas
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
New York
Northern New Jersey
San Francisco/Oakland

Federal Legislation Still Needed to Combat Growing Problem

For years, retailers and other vested parties have worked together to tackle organized retail crime. These partnerships include regional groups and associations who host meetings to share intelligence and work with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Even with the success of these partnerships, organized retail crime remains a Federal matter because of the jurisdictional issues with criminals crossing state lines. NRF strongly believes that organized retail crime must be addressed through Federal legislation by amending the Federal Criminal Code to effectively address the organized and serious nature of this issue and, be properly defined as a Federal crime with appropriate sentencing guidelines.

Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders have reached agreement on major elements of the state budget, including a controversial school funding proposal and other issues, sources said.

In a victory for the Democratic governor, sources said the agreement will largely assume the more conservative revenue estimates proposed by Brown.

Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders have reached agreement on major elements of the state budget, including a controversial school funding proposal and other issues, sources said.

In a victory for the Democratic governor, sources said the agreement will largely assume the more conservative revenue estimates proposed by Brown. Legislative Democrats had urged about $2 billion more in spending on state services and programs than Brown proposed, after the state’s nonpartisan legislative analyst issued a rosier economic forecast than Brown’s.

In a compromise on Brown’s proposal to overhaul the state education system and to shift more money to poor and English-learning students, all school districts would receive additional base revenue.

In addition, Senate Democrats are poised to get $206 million to improve mental health services, including $142 million in one-time general fund money. They are also expected to receive about $80 million to restore Medi-Cal adult dental benefits.

Assembly Democrats would receive approval for implementation of middle-class college scholarships, a priority of Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez.

The college scholarship and mental health programs are expected to take effect next year.

Money was freed up for expanded programs by reducing the amount of money Brown proposed to give schools to pay down debts owed under Proposition 98, California’s school-funding guarantee, the sources said. The agreement also assumes nearly $300 million in higher property tax revenue and savings of about $85 million to $90 million in the state expansion of Medi-Cal.

Legislative Democrats had urged about $2 billion more in spending on state services and programs than Brown proposed, after the state’s nonpartisan legislative analyst issued a rosier economic forecast than Brown’s.

In a compromise on Brown’s proposal to overhaul the state education system and to shift more money to poor and English-learning students, all school districts would receive additional base revenue.

In addition, Senate Democrats are poised to get $206 million to improve mental health services, including $142 million in one-time general fund money. They are also expected to receive about $80 million to restore Medi-Cal adult dental benefits.

Assembly Democrats would receive approval for implementation of middle-class college scholarships, a priority of Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez.

The college scholarship and mental health programs are expected to take effect next year.

Money was freed up for expanded programs by reducing the amount of money Brown proposed to give schools to pay down debts owed under Proposition 98, California’s school-funding guarantee, the sources said. The agreement also assumes nearly $300 million in higher property tax revenue and savings of about $85 million to $90 million in the state expansion of Medi-Cal.

Reprinted from The Sacramento Bee (6/10/2013)

Charles “Chuck” Collings seemingly was born to be in the grocery business, managing an Oklahoma store when fellow teens were still finding their way.

Collings, who went on to become a key Raley’s executive actively involved with the West Sacramento grocer for nearly 50 years, died Saturday because of prolonged health problems.

He was 87.

Collings’ career in the grocery industry began with him sweeping floors and bagging dry goods in a small grocery store in Ada, Okla., when he was a youngster. When he turned 16, he became a manager of the store.

After serving three years in the Navy duringWorld War II, he returned to work for a wholesale meatpacker. He was also an accounting department manager for a Montgomery Ward store in Oakland.

In 1956, Collings was recruited by company founder Tom Raley to join the Raley’s management team.

Collings held various positions and in 1969 became president of Raley’s Superstores.

Collings retired in 1998, but his presence within the company was so profound that he continued to serve on the Raley’s board for years after retirement. He was first elected to the board in 1957.

He was influential in the purchase of the Eagle Thrifty Drug chain, which became the beginnings of the Raley’s Northern Nevada Division. He also assisted in the creation of Mid-Valley Dairy and Super Store Industries.

Collings was appointed Raley’s CEO in 1992. He stayed on the board of directors until 2006, with an additional title of “CEO Emeritus.”

Michael Teel, current Raley’s president and CEO, and the grandson of founder Tom Raley, said: “Chuck was Raley’s. He was a strong leader who set high expectations for business performance and a moral tone for all to follow.”

Collings was past chairman of the California Grocers Association and of the CGA’s Educational Foundation. He was named Sacramentan of the Year in 1997 by the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

In 1998, he was inducted into the CGA Educational Foundation Hall of Achievement.

Collings’ widow, Frances, said Monday that she and Collings were to celebrate their 66th year of marriage later this month.

Frances Collings said her husband “already had everything lined up” for his services, including some of his own thoughts to be read aloud by others.

She added: “That’s the way he was. He took care of everything so that other people wouldn’t have to when the time came. That’s how thoughtful he was.”

The Collingses were closely involved in numerous local and national endeavors, including St. HOPE Academy, Pro Athletes Outreach and various Christian groups.

Likewise, the Collings Teen Center in West Sacramento has been a source of family pride.

“We’ve had a really good relationship with (Sacramento Mayor) Kevin Johnson,” Frances Collings said, adding with a chuckle, “Although his political views and ours are very different, we didn’t let that get in the way.”

Collings also said her husband helped with the effort that ultimately made Raley Field home of the Sacramento River Cats baseball team. She recalled that when that effort was successful, her husband requested seats near the home team’s dugout “so Frances can help the manager manage” the team.

Arrangements are being finalized. Frances Collings said a local memorial service will be held near the end of this month.

Reprinted from The Sacramento Bee (6/11/2013)

Having spent most of last week listening to California lawmakers debate the merits of bills relating to the environment and the economy, one familiar word immediately jumped into my head on Friday when, driving in Oregon, I pulled into a gas station and was immediately greeted by a man wearing a working man’s uniform:

“Jobs.”

Oregon is one of two states in which self-service gas pumping is a crime.

It is an odd sensation for a Californian to pull into a gas station and remain seated behind the steering wheel as a stranger appears at the window and asks, “Fill it up with regular?”

That service may seem time-consuming and unnecessary, but give it this: Requiring that attendants pump gas creates nearly 10,000 jobs in Oregon. Since about 16 times more gasoline is sold in California, a similar law in the Golden State would likely translate to about 160,000 jobs.

Now there’s an idea for an enterprising California lawmaker next year: Introduce a bill to ban self-service gas pumping and create 160,000 jobs.

But wait a minute. An Oregon State University economist estimates that the requirement that attendants pump gas adds from 3 cents to 4 cents a gallon to the cost of gas in Oregon.

Given that a similar law in California would result in higher gasoline prices, the Chamber of Commerce would probably call such a bill — one that would create 160,000 jobs — a “job-killer.”

My head was still spinning from having listened to numerous debates about jobs in the Assembly and Senate last week, but as the helpful attendant stuck the nozzle into my gas tank, my brain cleared and a truth emerged:

Not all jobs are created equal, and to debate public policy solely on the basis of the net increase or decrease in jobs makes about as much sense as pulling into a gas station and not being about to fill your own tank.

On Thursday, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, had sought, unsuccessfully, to make essentially the same point as he argued for his bill that would have banned single-use plastic bags in California supermarkets and drugstores.

Several of the bill’s opponents had passionately argued that such a ban would cost jobs in California.

“I consider myself an environmentalist,” Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, had said, “but this is not an abstract concept to me. These are real jobs, real lives.”

Padilla seemed perplexed.

He said he had researched the six plastics companies that had registered their opposition to his bill and, as best he could tell, only one still manufactured the types of bags that would have been banned. The others had transitioned to making reusable plastic bags, or made the type of clear-plastic bags that are used by consumers to package fresh produce. Those bags, he noted, would have been unaffected by his bill.

In addition, the bill would have created new markets for reusable bags made from plastic, creating new jobs and providing opportunities for today’s workers to be retrained.

The vast majority of the 14 billion single-use plastic bags distributed in California each year, Padilla determined, are made in North Carolina, Texas and overseas.

In the end, he said, perhaps only a couple hundred California jobs would be affected — jobs that involve making a product that plainly causes harm to the environment and contributes mightily to a buildup of plastic waste in oceans and waterways.

When California banned smoking in public places and took other measures to discourage tobacco use, he asked rhetorically, did anyone seriously object on the grounds that the benefit to public health should have been trumped by the loss of a relatively small number of jobs supported by the sale of cigarettes?

State and local governments pay to dispose of those billions of urban tumbleweeds that collect in storm drains and on beaches, and to handle them as best they can at waste-sorting facilities and landfills.

“It’s not as if there’s not a cost on all families in California today,” Padilla said. “We’re already paying for plastic bags.”

As for their effect on the environment, Padilla noted that “1,000 years from now, when all the canvas and paper has biodegraded, the plastic will still be around and impacting our world.”

In the end, the bill fell three votes short of passage.

Perhaps those senators who professed that their opposition was based solely on a concern about jobs might consider a fact-finding trip to Portland.

That city, like 75 cities in California, bans single-use plastic bags. But it has plenty of jobs for gas station attendants.

By Timm Herdt
Ventura County Star Columist

Reprinted from Contra Costa Times (6/5/2013)

Grocers’ Partnership with Feeding America® Provides Much-Needed Aid to Local Area Food Banks

Save Mart Supermarkets today announced perishable grocery donations from the chain’s 226 stores topped one million pounds in the first quarter of this year (January – March).

The food, which includes bakery, dairy, deli, frozen products and produce items, is collected daily by local area food banks as part of the Fresh Food Rescue program launched in March 2012 by the Modesto, California-based grocer and Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization.

“We are honored to work with our partner Feeding America on the Fresh Food Rescue program,” said Save Mart’s Public Affairs Director Alicia Rockwell. “This vitally important initiative allows us to channel perishable food items that are no longer saleable, yet still safe for consumption, into the hands and the homes of many families in our communities who would otherwise go without. Our goal is to donate a total of four million pounds of perishable groceries by the end of the 2013.”

According to Rockwell, store personnel follow strict guidelines to ensure the integrity and safety of all donated food. Preparation of product includes removal from the sales floor, freezing, separating, and labeling for pick-up.

“We value our long-standing partnership with Save Mart and the passion we share in the fight against hunger,” said Eric Davis, director of retail product sourcing for Feeding America. “The one million pounds of food they donated between January and March through Fresh Food Rescue provided 882,000 nutritious meals to our neighbors in need, and that is truly appreciated.”