Hijab-Gate: Employee Rights and Responsibilities
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO, OCBC |
Aug 31, 2010
Comments: 0 |
Recently, Orange County's biggest private employer has been in the spotlight over a suit filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by Imane Boudlal, a restaurant hostess working at Disneyland citing religious discrimination. Boudlal, who has worked at Disneyland for the past two years, recently obtained her U.S. citizenship, and began wearing a hijab last week to work. She was asked to remove the headscarf or work in another job at Disneyland. She refused and went home.
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Signing Off: OCBC Says Farewell to Matt Prince
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO, OCBC |
Jun 22, 2010
Comments: 4 |
Sadly, this edition of OCBC's E-Indicator will be the final newsletter at the masterful hands of OCBC's Director of Communications Matt Prince. As of July 6th, Matt will be joining The Disneyland Resort as Manager of Executive Communications.
The Business Council was privileged to work with Mr. Prince for the past three years. His leadership and creativity truly escalated OCBC's profile and solidified it's position as the leading voice of business in Orange County. On the good news side-and...
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That's the Way--Uh Huh, Uh Huh--I Like It!
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO, OCBC |
Jun 14, 2010
Comments: 6 |
OCTA Teaches Jobs Creation 101:
You know the facts: nationally, about 370,000 government jobs were just “created” vs. only 41,000 private sector jobs. With a real state unemployment rate nearing 20% (counting those underemployed and those folks who just “gave up looking”), California needs two million jobs right now.
Even Orange County—-damning by faint praise with “only” a 9.5% unemployment rate-—has lost almost 175,000 jobs, with the transportation sector down over 40%.<...
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Roses, Radishes and Squirrels Sighted in the OC
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO, OCBC |
Jun 1, 2010
Comments: 2 |
In the garden of OC what we need is some serious cabbage, but instead we discovered last week some roses, radishes, and a few squirrels. Jobs creation is job one. OC’s near 10% unemployment and the state’s near 13% unemployment, we see signs of economic recovery, but no jobs creation. How do you create jobs? Reduce fees and taxes, cut regulations and eliminate opportunities for frivolous lawsuits. Anything else is a SQUIRREL, or a distraction, to the main event.
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Let Our Children Go!
Return Local Control of Education NOW
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO, OCBC |
May 17, 2010
Comments: 3 |
State and federal lawmakers and bureaucrats are holding our children hostage. They are well-intentioned, no doubt, but the road to hell is paved with their good intentions. And the travel is getting hotter every day.
Sacramento is broke, programs are being cut, legislators’ management skills are questionable and California’s economic recovery is not evident. Local educators are doing their best with constrained, delayed school funding, making the tough decisions every other private se...
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Treasurer Street's Dead End
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO, OCBC |
Apr 6, 2010
Comments: 0 |
Orange County doesn't seem to have the best of luck when it comes to electing good treasurers. According to OC historian (and former OCBC CEO) Stan Oftelie, two of the county's earliest treasurers, William B. Wall of Tustin, and Josiah C. Joplin of Trabuco Canyon, were Southern Democrats and Confederate soldiers. Joplin, who fought at Gettysburg for the Old South, was elected seven times despite political charges that his son, John Booth Joplin, was named after John Wilkes Booth, President Linco...
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Et Tu, D.A?
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO, OCBC |
Mar 23, 2010
Comments: 1 |
Toyota--the world’s largest automaker--has its troubles now, no doubt. Over six million cars recalled, product liability issues, injured drivers, and a reputation badly beaten. Add to that, Congressional, federal grand jury and National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration investigations and at least 89 class-action law suits. Clearly, this is a top employer under siege as it is recalling millions of vehicles and trying to make corrections.
It’s odd to me that one of those 89+ law su...
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Squirrel!
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO |
Feb 24, 2010
Comments: 3 |
Have you seen Disney’s animated movie, UP? It’s a great story about Carl, a 78 year old retired salesman who ties balloons to his house and flies away with Russell, an 8 year old stowaway, and his faithful dog, Dug. It’s a wonderful story, very touching.
The dog, however, really caught my attention. Dug has a special collar that allows him to speak! He helps Carl and Russell on his adventures throughout the film, but does have one tragic flaw: Dug gets distracted by squirrels. H...
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All I Want For Christmas
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO |
Dec 12, 2009
Comments: 7 |
‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through the county
Not much was stirring, due to lack of a bounty.
Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care
Hoping soon our state will know fiscal repair.
No visions of sugar plums dance in our heads,
But more practical gifts we ask from Santa instead:
1. Jobs
And by that, I mean an inviting business environment that encourages businesses to locate and grow here. Thriving busi...
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This is Sick
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO |
Dec 4, 2009
Comments: 4 |
They aren’t doctors, they don’t even play them on TV, yet our esteemed leaders in Washington have taken out their prescription pads to fix what they think ails us. What it really sounds like is Herbert Hoover’s old campaign chestnut, “a chicken in every pot” – in other words, quality healthcare for everyone that won’t cost us a penny.
To be sure, some of what is proposed will help some of the uninsured as well as some of the underinsured who face chronic health problems. But is the cu...
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Will California's Assembly Say
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO |
Nov 19, 2009
Comments: 3 |
The deadline for states to apply for federal “Race to the Top” (RTTT) education funding is fast approaching and while other states have their applications ready to go, the California Assembly has not yet passed the measures needed to make sure California is even able to apply for the much-needed money.
Every child has a right to a quality public education. Today, school officials across California are wondering, not about quality education, but about whether they will even be abl...
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Economic Incentives, Jobs—They're EZ!
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO |
Nov 3, 2009
Comments: 1 |
It's all about jobs. How many times do we have to say it? A lot, I guess. Business wants to hire, to thrive, but we get pummeled every day from neighboring states to move to lower tax, less onerous regulatory locales. In fact—true story—even OCBC was solicited by Henderson, Nevada's economic development team to "move" to Nevada!
I know—it was an unsolicited email, but that's how crazy things are for California business.
There's one economic incentive this state does h...
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Water vs. Football
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO |
Sep 29, 2009
Comments: 10 |
The press reported recently that an L.A. businessman wants to build a 75,000-seat football stadium in the City of Industry. Now that local objections to the project have been settled, the state legislature plans to waive environmental and planning rules for the new structure, arguing that the stadium is a job-creating machine. A bill granting that waiver, which bends rules every other builder must comply with, passed the state Assembly earlier this month and now awaits approval from the Senate....
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The Business of Education
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO |
Aug 27, 2009
Comments: 10 |
Imagine you own a company that is paid by the state for widgets you produce. All your workers are required to pay dues to a union that protects them from being fired, regardless of the quality of their work or the number of widgets they produce. You do not track worker performance anyway, because state law prohibits it. You track the quality of widgets (which are not very good, by the way) but not the quality of performance of the workers making the widgets. Other companies who need your...
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Reform Education as California Reforms Its Budget
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO, OCBC |
Jul 21, 2009
Comments: 5 |
Forty percent of California’s annual budget—in the double-digit billion-dollar range—is dedicated to education. Despite this, California is ranked near the very bottom nationally in student achievement and high school drop out rates—some districts are at 50%! Now our leaders face a $26 billion budget shortfall and must cut education as part of the plan to fill the hole. It’s time to break out of the traditional education box and be creative. Here are a few solid ideas:
1. Allow for...
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California Must Find a Long-term Solution for Transit Funding
by Lucy Dunn & Carl Guardino, |
Jul 15, 2009
Comments: 1 |
The following joint op-ed from Lucy Dunn and Carl Guardino, President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, ran in the San Jose Mercury News:
Demand for public transit is higher than it has been in decades. Even car-loving Orange County has seen transit demand rise by double-digit percentages, even after gas prices began sliding late last year. In Silicon Valley, bus and light-rail ridership is up by more than 3 percent. Yet California transit a...
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Bitter Sweet: OCBC Says Farewell to Kris Murray
by OCBC, Staff |
Jul 7, 2009
Comments: 4 |
Sadly, the Business Council must say farewell to one of its own. Yesterday marked the last day for OCBC's VP of Government Affairs, Kris Murray as she will be joining the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) as Executive Director of Government Relations.
The Business Council was privileged to work with Ms. Murray for the past two years. Her leadership on transportation and government affairs fronts truly molded OCBC's advocacy program to one of the best in the state. In particular,...
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Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO |
Jun 3, 2009
Comments: 1 |
When Anaheim Councilman Harry Sidhu came to me several months ago and presented his vision to organize a job fair, I said, ‘You must be nuts. There is no way you could gather enough businesses that are actually hiring in this economy to make this thing worthwhile.’
I have never been so pleased to be so wrong.
At the Anaheim/OC Job Fair and Expo, 109 employers came, with over 2,400 salary and part time jobs to fill. They set up shop at Anaheim’s Garden Walk. They built it, and in...
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Ballot Budget Blues
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO |
May 20, 2009
Comments: 8 |
The May 19 ballot propositions were ostensibly a good-faith effort to find a state budget solution but they failed to convince the people. In OC, over 75% of a very small voter turnout voted “no.” The Governor’s tactics to inspire fear in voters about passing the measures “or else” were not persuasive. Going forward, what are California’s options? And which options will the people of California be able to digest? Sit tight because this won’t be like ripping off a band-aid – these cuts must...
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Welcome to OCBC's New Blog: Dunn and Done
by Lucy Dunn, President and CEO |
May 11, 2009
Comments: 0 |
Welcome to Orange County Business Council's blog: Dunn and Done.
Regionally and nationally, OCBC works to enhance Orange County’s economic development and prosperity in order to preserve a high quality of life.
For more than 100 years, OCBC and its predecessor organizations have promoted economic development countywide and served as the voice of business in America’s fifth largest county representing businesses with nearly 250,000 employees in Orange County and 2 million worldwide.
Thi...
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