Major flooding is heading to California on May 17-19, and CGA will be in the thick of the emergency response. Don’t worry, it’s only an exercise!
Every year the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) stages a comprehensive three-day training disaster exercise called Golden Guardian. For 2011, the emergency event will be a catastrophic flood. In response, federal, state, and local emergency management personnel across California are activated to respond as if it is a real emergency.

Dave Heylen, Matthew Dodson, and I will act as liaisons between the government response and California businesses. CGA is a formal partner with CalEMA as part of the Business and Utilities Operations Center (BUOC). Our role will include notifying California businesses of dangers and coordinating needed donations ranging from private helicopters to bottled water.

In the event of a real emergency, CGA’s partnership with CalEMA will provide you the best information available to protect your business and employees, as well as help Californians survive and recover from the incident.

After whithering opposition from CGA and other business advocacy groups, Council voted down a staff recommendation to ban all forms of polystyrene prepared food containers last night and ordered staff to study educational and outreach options to reduce the future use of the products. While Hermosa Beach is a small beach community, the scope of its proposed ordinance would have set a bad precedent by banning such a wide range of products. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County is still working on a task force to examine ways to reduce polystyrene use.

Long Beach’s long-delayed bag ordinance is scheduled to come up for a vote next Tuesday at 5 p.m. The ordinance mirrors Los Angeles County’s bag ordinance, which passed in November.

Following the failure to pass AB 1998 last year, we knew that a hodge-podge of local governments would pass ordinances and we have worked hard to get them to at least keep the details and specs the same, across jurisdictions. Our biggest disappointment is that the City of Los Angeles failed to move forward with an ordinance, creating an uneven playing field for competing grocers in some communities, whereby a store located in unincorporated Los Angeles County must implement the ordinance while a competitor in Los Angeles City proper can continue operating as usual. We believe that every grocer should have an equal chance to compete in a community for customers.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee voted on Thursday to move the Safe Drug Disposal Information Ordinance to the full Board of Supervisors for a final vote. The measure was passed to the Board with Supervisors Mirkarimi, the author, and Campos voting in favor. A representative of Mayor Ed Lee testified in support of the ordinance.

The ordinance requires pharmacies, including those in located in grocery stores, to post information regarding safe and legal disposal of unused pharmaceuticals. This mandated posting is connected to an effort by Mirkarimi to require pharmacies to take back pharmaceuticals on-site. A voluntary pilot project is beginning in the next few months that the city hopes to become permanent.

CGA requested the posting be done voluntarily to better mesh with the pilot project. The committee appreciated the suggestion of a voluntary posting by grocery stores, but felt a mandate would ensure participation and consistency.

CGA will continue to work with the Board and DOE on this ordinance. The Board of Supervisors is likely to bring the ordinance up for a vote within the next few weeks.

CGA is setting up meetings with City Council Members to discuss recent shopping enforcement efforts that gouge grocers whose carts are found on public property. If you are available next week to join me for a meeting, let me know right away.

CGA and other business advocacy organizations will meet with LA County’s Environmental Health Director Angelo Bellomo tomorrow afternoon to discuss our opposition to the Department’s proposed fee increases for health inspections and plan checks. Under an analysis completed by the County, larger stores would see dramatic increases for inspections and plan checks, while smaller grocers and c-stores would see fee decreases but increases for plan checks. We have asked Supervisors to deny the reformulation on the grounds that additional costs during the economic crisis will only make it more difficult for the food retail industry to add needed jobs.

We have learned that Hermosa Beach plans to introduce a long-anticipated polystyrene ban on Tuesday, May 9th and are attempting to confirm whether the city plans to create an exemption for meat containers and whether #6 polystyrene (clamshell containers) are included in the proposal. We will forward more information when it becomes available.

Educating your customers about the true facts on food expiration is critical to changing some of the urban myths that have been propagated by opponents of the grocery retail industry. In particular, some anti-grocers groups, like LAANE down here in Los Angeles, have told community groups that grocers stock “expired” products, produce and meats in under-served communities. These lies will take hold unless consumers become knowledgeable about how the varied expiration schemes actually work.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors passed its bag ordinance on a 4-1 vote. The ordinance is very similar to the San Jose and LA County regulations. The ordinance goes into effect 1/1/2012. The ordinance applies only to the unincorporated part of the County. Supervisor Cortese complimented CGA’s work on the issue. Posted by Cell Phone – 916-832-6149

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors postponed a vote on an ordinance on April 19 which would have increased food facility inspection fees and the process to calculate the fees. LA County provided very little notice the changes were being considered. CGA, along with other affected industries, have been able to secure a 3-week postponement. CGA is actively questioning the rationale behind the recalculation and increases especially since the County is not providing any additional services to justify the fee increase. Proposed fee changes include 50% increase and in one case a 200% increase as well as introducing new fees for previously included services. CGA will continue to engage the County and question the increased fees throughout the process.