The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant is designed to provide financial assistance to shuttered venue operators (SVOs). These grants can offer relief to live venue operators and related businesses.
Eligible entities include:
- Live venue operators or promoters
- Theatrical producers
- Live performing arts organization operators
- Relevant museum operators, zoos and aquariums who meet specific criteria
- Motion picture theater operators
- Talent representatives, and
- Must have been in operation as of Feb. 29, 2020
- Venue or promoter must not have received a PPP loan on or after Dec. 27, 2020
A recorded program webinar is now available on SBA’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/PdfQGb6z-gg.
For more information on this program, visit https://www.sba.gov/coronavirusrelief or https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/shuttered-venue-operators-grant email SVOGrant@sba.gov with your questions (please include topic in the subject line).
All lenders are now eligible to provide PPP loans. If you haven't already, please contact your bank and askl about applying. The application process is simplified and is open to those receiving a first draw loan or those who received a PPP loan in the past.
Small Business Town Hall (Small Business Q&A - PPP2 & other funding updates) hosted by LA SBDC Associate Director Ted Hiatt, and financial experts Lori Williams and GB Bajaj, these webinars will focus on the PPP2 and will cover: who is eligible; how to apply; loan details; how to use the funds.
On Wednesdays, Lori will cover how to calculate wages for the PPP application - for employees and business owners (sole proprietors - independent contractors, LLCs, and partnerships.) You'll also learn how to calculate the 25% revenue reduction to confirm eligibility for second draw PPP applicants. You may want to have a copy of your 2019 tax return in front of you so you can follow along. GB will present on Thursdays and will also cover tax implications as they relate to PPP and EIDL . Seminars take place Wednesday, February 17th @ 1:00 PM; Thursday, February 18th @ 1:00 PM; Wednesday, February 24th @1:00 PM; Thursday, February 25th @ 1:00 PM. Register Here
PPE Unite™ provides free Personal Protective Equipment to LA county small businesses. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees can apply to receive a one-month supply of face masks, hand sanitizer, and face shields through the PPE Unite™ distribution program. These supplies are offered on a first come, first served basis, so don't delay. Sign up here to get your free PPE
CALIFORNIA RELIEF PROGRAM: Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers have reached a spending deal on small-business grants, stimulus checks for individuals and housing for farmworkers infected by the coronavirus, Newsom said Wednesday.
It includes a fresh $24 million for a program that puts farm and food processing workers up in hotels if they contract the virus and have no place to isolate, Newsom said as he spoke at a community vaccination clinic in the Coachella Valley, a region that’s home to many farmworkers.
“It’s candidly been underutilized, and we recognize that,” Newsom said of the farmworker housing program. “And the purpose of this new appropriation is to maximize its effectiveness.”
Newsom and lawmakers released a joint statement with details on the other spending items, including money for grants of $5,000 to $25,000 for small businesses, nonprofits and cultural centers.
The deal will also cover Newsom’s proposed stimulus plan to give a $600 one-time payment to low-income Californians.
The governor’s visit to the Coachella Valley was his latest stop in a tour around the state to highlight vaccination efforts as California’s virus numbers continue to improve. Local and county governments have teamed up with nonprofits and community groups in the valley to vaccinate farmworkers and atriskpopulations. Details of the stimulus package include:
Fee waivers: Two years of fee relief that can range annually from $455 to $1,235 for roughly 59,000 restaurants and bars licensed through the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The deal also includes fee relief for more than 600,000 barbering and cosmetology individuals and businesses licensed through the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Resources for child care: More than $400 million in new federal funds will provide stipends of $525 per enrolled child for all state-subsidized child care and preschool providers serving approximately 400,000 children statewide.
The new funding extends care for children of essential workers through June 2022. That money also increased access to subsidized child care for more than 8,000 children of essential workers and at-risk children — who are not currently served in the system — through June 2022.
More aid for families: A combined $35 million for food banks and diapers.
Community colleges: An additional $100 million in emergency financial aid will to qualifying low-income students carrying six or more units, with award amounts to be determined locally and made available by early April.
The deal also provides $20 million to reengage students who have either left their community college studies because of the pandemic or to engage students at risk of leaving.
CalFresh student outreach: Roughly $6 million will support outreach and application assistance to University of California, California State University and California Community College students made newly eligible for CalFresh. The program provides supplemental food assistance.
VACCINE
Due to insufficient vaccine supply, the City of Pasadena is not able to offer appointments for the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at this time. Local pharmacies, however, are launching COVID-19 vaccine programs after receiving vaccine directly from the federal government.
See the links below for more information:
CVS: https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine
Eligible individuals without internet access can call CVS at 800-746-7287 for assistance on scheduling.
Rite Aid: https://www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/covid-qualifier
If you have any additional questions or need more information, please contact the Citizen Service Center at (626) 744-7311, or by email at csc@cityofpasadena.net. Agents are available by phone Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Los Angeles County-Operated Vaccination Sites Remain Open for Healthcare Workers, 65+ Due For Second Dose at These Sites
Los Angeles County-operated COVID-19 vaccination sites are open and continue to vaccinate healthcare workers and residents who are 65 and older and are due for their second dose of vaccine at these sites.
For the rest of this week, these vaccination sites are only providing second doses to those who are due for their second dose and who received their first dose at these sites
The County operated sites are:
- Pomona Fairplex in Pomona (Pfizer)
- The Forum in Inglewood (Pfizer)
- California State University, Northridge (Pfizer)
- L.A. County Office of Education in Downey (Pfizer)
- Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia (Pfizer)
- Balboa Sports Complex in Encino (Moderna)
- El Sereno Recreation Center in Los Angeles (Moderna)
COVID-19 INFORMATION:
Pasadena reported 23 new cases on Saturday, for a total of 10,639; an additional death raised the city’s death toll to 294.
Los Angeles County reported 3,254 new cases of coronavirus and 197 additional deaths on Saturday as health officials urged residents to celebrate the Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day holidays without mingling with people from other households. The latest numbers bring the county’s totals to 1,164,769 cases and 18,984 deaths since the pandemic began. The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals continued to decline, dipping to 3,270, with 30% in intensive care. The county’s hospitalization rate has more than a third since Feb. 1.
Saturday’s daily test positivity rate was 5.3%, down 42% since Feb. 1. Despite the encouraging trends, the county Department of Public Health was reminded the public that being around people who don’t live in the same household creates a greater risk for COVID-19 because people can be infected with the virus and not yet know it.
On Friday, the county also reported another 15 cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, raising the overall total to 90, including one death. Health officials noted there has been a 35% increase in the number of MIS-C infections locally over the past two weeks. The syndrome generally develops in children after they had COVID-19, although it has occasionally affected patients with no known prior infection.
California has seen 3,450,417 cases and 46,447 fatalities from COVID-19 as of Saturday. 9,649 new cases were reported and 444 new deaths due to COVID-19 complications. The overall case rate in Calfironia is 860 per 10,000 residents.
UNEMPLOYMENT:
Los Angeles County lost more than 400,000 jobs and saw 7,500 small businesses permanently shuttered last year as COVID-19 upended the region’s economy, a new report finds. Industries that depend on in-person customers and employ low-paid workers were hardest hit because they weren’t able to pivot to a remotework model, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.’s “Pathways for Economic Resiliency” study says. The county’s restaurants and food-service outlets suffered the worst, with a loss of 104,600 jobs between February and October. On-again, offagain mandates from the state and county forced many restaurants to close or reduce staffing.
California’s frail job market, battered by nearly one year of coronavirus-linked business shutdowns, has seen another sharp increase in initial filings for unemployment benefits, a weekly government report shows. California workers filed 132,800 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week that ended Feb. 6, a jump of 23,600 claims from the previous week ending Jan. 30, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
The pace of jobless claims in California has intensified at the same time claims are dropping elsewhere in the United States.
Initial U.S. unemployment claims totaled 793,000 in the week ending Feb. 6, down 19,000 from the previous week, according to the federal report.
California also is accounting for far more than its share of unemployment claims. The state, which has 12% of the nation’s labor force, accounts for 16.1% of all of the jobless claims filed nationwide, an analysis of jobs data shows. Other than one week in January that economists view as a reporting quirk, The last time California unemployment claims were below 100,000 was the week of March 14, 2020.
Thursday’s government report also showed a sizable rise in the total number of Americans who are receiving jobless aid, including through extended benefits programs — a sign that long-term unemployment may be growing. All told, 20.4 million people were receiving benefits in the week that ended Jan. 23, the latest period for which data are available. That’s up sharply from 17.8 million from the week before. Part of that increase likely reflects the processing of a rush of claims after the extension of two federal aid programs just after Christmas.In January, the unemployment rate fell to 6.3% from 6.7%, mostly because more people found jobs. But it also declined because many people who had lost jobs stopped looking for one. The government doesn’t count people as unemployed unless they’re actively seeking work.