Chamber News: Recap for Week of July 27
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Dear Mountain View,
Today ends a wild month of July, so today's newsletter focuses on a range of topics - local news, tools and resources, health and testing information, and financial aid programs and proposals. Have a great (and safe) weekend!
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Please Voice your Choice!
Chamber of Commerce Survey
Just a reminder that the Chamber of Commerce has begun its vetting process for City Council candidates. As we gather information and ask them questions, we want to make sure to have the candidates address the issues that are most critical to YOU. So we have prepared a quick (two minute) survey to determine what business issues you think City Council candidates should be focused on.
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Art & Wine Festival Cancelled
As reported earlier this week, we are very sad to inform you that the Mountain View Art & Wine Festival scheduled for Sept 12-13, 2020 has been cancelled. This decision was not made lightly, but the community's health and safety is our first priority.
A year without the Mountain View Art and Wine Festival is terribly disappointing, but we have every intention of returning in 2021 to celebrate our Golden Anniversary - 50 years! We are grateful for your tremendous support of the festival over the past half century, and look forward to celebrating with you on September 11-12, 2021.
Please continue to make Mountain View the special place we know and love - shop local, wear face coverings, follow safe guidelines, and practice kindness towards each other. Together we will get through these challenging times!
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RECAP
Free Tools All Small Business Should Have
(and some help to run them)
Many merchants are struggling to survive in an environment where in-person contact is serverly limited or even non-existent. In our latest Back to Business series, Dave Meyer of Grow with Google presented tools and insights for small businesses on how to maintain a strong relationship with customers while managing your business remotely. Not only are these tools FREE, but Google also offers support on them at no charge.
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Covid-19 Testing Returns to Downtown August 4th
The County is once again providing COVID-19 Testing on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 from 9:30am - 4:30pm at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. More details coming soon.
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CDC Revises Testing Guidance
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its testing guidance to promote a modified symptom-based strategy instead of a test-based strategy to determine when to discontinue transmission-based precautions. The CDC’s updated symptom-based strategy allows isolated or quarantined persons to end some protocols in certain situations, allowing them to return to work faster. But in other situations, the updated guidance may require more extended quarantines. Click here to review the latest guidance and how it may impact your return to work policies.
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State Announces New Supports for California Workers
Governor Gavin Newsom announced a host of new safeguards for California workers who face the greatest risk of COVID-19. He also committed to working with the Legislature and key stakeholders to expand critical protections like paid sick leave.
Helping Workers Isolate and Quarantine
The state will allocate existing federal funds to local public health departments and community-based organizations to assist with supportive services for isolation and quarantine. A new program, Housing for the Harvest, provides safe, temporary isolation spaces for agricultural and farmworkers who test positive or were exposed to the virus, which limits the risk of spreading COVID-19 to their coworkers or households.
Outreach and Education
This effort will leverage the public service media campaign and build a more comprehensive community engagement strategy to include work with community-based organizations, promotores, labor unions and worker advocacy groups to directly reach workers.
Support for Employees
Governor Newsom will work with the Legislature to build on previous executive action and advance worker protections. Expanded paid sick leave will provide workers financial security so they are able to stay home when sick. Similarly, workers’ compensation access helps ensure that front-line workers can quarantine and stay home from work when ill.
Employer Resources
As California businesses work to reopen, a new Employer Playbook released this week will guide them on how to provide a clean environment for workers and customers to reduce risk.
Strategic Enforcement
Cal/OSHA and the Labor Commissioner’s Office have strategically targeted investigations in high-risk industries, where the state has seen the most workplace outbreaks. Expedited enforcement authority and advanced reporting of health and safety hazards at work will improve enforcement outcomes. Requiring employers to report outbreaks to their local health departments will help track county transmission. Governor Newsom will work with the Legislature to establish this authority.
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PPP Deadline is a Week Away!
Soon after the original June 30 deadline for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Congress voted to extend the program to August 8. If you haven't already applied for a loan, visit Venturize for a list of lenders and check out their loan forgiveness FAQ.
Please note that Congress is working on a new stimulus bill as well as considering unemployment benefits. We will keep you informed as we learn more.
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California's $100B Stimulus Proposal
As reported in the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Democratic state lawmakers debuted a new proposal for a $100 billion stimulus plan Monday evening. The plan proposes a combination of a new tax voucher program, borrowing from the federal government and accelerating existing funds to raise a total of $100 billion for economic relief. The plan also would be aimed at reducing the risk of small business owners and residents losing their homes due to bankruptcy and supporting minority and women-owned businesses.
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