In a move aimed at helping combat the growing problem of microplastic pollution, an online tool has been developed to help companies measure their plastic emissions and receive recommendations on lowering their impact.
A group representing US apparel and footwear brands and importers has called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to provide greater clarity and more realistic ‘Made in USA’ labelling requirements to support domestic manufacturing.
UK footwear chain Jones the Bootmaker has changed hands for the second time in less than a year.
Industrial thread maker Coats has credited the acquisition of Patrick Yarn Mill and its ongoing transformation programme with a rise in its profit forecast for the year ahead as footwear and apparel helped boost 2017 revenue.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the Trump administration’s appeal of a federal judge’s ruling blocking the planned March 5 termination of the DACA program.
With that decision, the fate of litigation over Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals will remain with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal, in a process that could take months. Current participants will be allowed to renew their status until that is resolved.
Even with the March 5 deadline removed, Congress should not continue kicking a DACA fix down the road. A permanent, legislative solution is what’s needed, not more politicking and more litigation.
Created in 2012 by executive action to defer deportation proceedings against young people brought to the United States illegally as children, DACA has offered protection to 800,000 people whose sole offense is having been brought here. About 1.8 million undocumented immigrants are thought to qualify for DACA protections.
Far from indiscriminate, DACA was designed to be highly selective. Among other things, those eligible must have come to the country before they were 16, continuously lived in the U.S. since June 15, 2007 and must either be in school, have obtained a GED or high school diploma or have served in the American military.
Public opinion surveys have consistently shown that most Americans, including most Republicans, support allowing the so-called “Dreamers” to stay. A recent CBS polls found that 87 percent of Americans hold that view, including 79 percent of Republicans.
Given the widespread support for a DACA fix, it is unfortunate that DACA has become yet another political football, with the fates of millions of young people held hostage to political gamesmanship like pointless government shutdowns.
Only on Feb. 15 did we finally get some votes and clarity on the matter, as the U.S. Senate failed to pass multiple versions of immigration packages trading a DACA fix for varying border security measures.
A proposal by Sens. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, and John McCain, R-Arizona, to provide a path to citizenship for the 1.8 million young people in exchange for increased border security measures, plus funding for additional immigration judges, received 52 votes in favor, 47 against, well short of the 60 needed for passage.
Another bill put forward by the “Common Sense Caucus” led by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, called for a path to citizenship along with $25 billion in funding for border security over the next decade. That bill received 54 votes in favor, 45 against.
A bill backed by President Trump and introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, fared the worst. Like the other two proposals, the bill provided a path to citizenship, but it also provided $25 billion for a southern border wall. Unlike the others, the proposal would end the diversity visa lottery program and what opponents call chain migration and supporters family reunification. That bill received just 39 votes in support, 60 votes against.
Evidently, Trump’s preference for packing a DACA fix with non-border security programs is simply infeasible and unpopular even with many Republicans. So, it seems clear to us that a DACA fix must come either as a clean bill or a compromise bill focused on border security specifically.
With 10 million additional undocumented immigrants to deal with, a legal immigration system that could use reform and a heated debate to have over President Trump’s proposed wall, Congress should have the decency to pass a DACA fix now and prove reasonable compromise is possible.
Consumer confidence is moving in opposite directions, statewide vs. nationally, as new federal income tax rules come into play.
California consumer confidence fell in February for the second consecutive month to a six-month low, the Conference Board reported Tuesday, Feb. 27. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for California was 115.9, down from 131.5 in January but up from 113.3 a year earlier.
Meanwhile, U.S. shopper optimism rose for the second consecutive month to a 17-year high. Nationally, Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for February was 130.8 up from 124.3 in January and up from 116.1 a year earlier.
A retooling of federal income tax rules, approved by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump late last year, may trim the cash flow of many upper-middle-income property owners in California.
The new law that took effect this year, for example, limits tax breaks for state and local taxes — such as income and property taxes — to a $10,000 deduction for many households. In a costly state like California, that will cut take-home pay.
In February, California’s view of both current and future economic conditions dimmed vs. January, the Conference Board’s polling found.
Californians’ view of today’s business climate was down in February to 151.5 vs. 161.7 in January but up from 143 a year earlier. Californians’ view of future expectations was at 92.2, down from 111.4 the previous month and down from 93.5 a year earlier.
Californians were an outlier. In the seven other states tracked by the Conference Board, confidence rose in six states month-over-month and was up in all seven during the past year.
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Southern California’s job growth only boosts its unaffordability
By CRAIG CLOUGH
City News Service
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council appears set to pass a resolution today that would keep the city pursuing host city duties for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The city’s participation in the event was thrown into doubt earlier this month when some potential logistical problems and financial liability risks were noted in a report to the City Council, but those issues appear to have been negated after some sports companies in Los Angeles, including Anschutz Entertainment Group and the Los Angeles Football Club, formed a limited liability company with the intent on taking the lead on executing the host city contract.
The LLC will “absorb all of the potential risks” in hosting, Branamir Kvartuc, a spokesman for Councilman Joe Buscaino, told City News Service last week.
Among the problems with the potential host contract was that Los Angeles would be the official host city but the games would likely be played at a venue outside the city — the new NFL stadium under construction in Inglewood or the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The contract would have called for the city to provide police officers and other services at the venues, along with other guarantees, including that the airspace be free of commercial signage and advertising.
“We can’t do police support in Inglewood or Pasadena,” Kvartuc said.
FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, rejected amendments to the host city contract proposed by the Los Angeles Convention and Tourism Board, according to the city staff report from the offices of the chief legislative officer, city administrator and city attorney. The board was originally to be the signee of the host city contract with FIFA, with the city of L.A. to sign a memorandum of understanding with the LACTB, Kvartuc said.
“Not only could the city be liable for partial performance, or nonperformance, the city could also incur liability for damages resulting from the performance of other governmental entities or private parties,” the city staff report said.
As a result of the contract problems, Council President Herb Wesson never scheduled a vote for the host city agreement, according to Kvartuc, but Mayor Eric Garcetti intervened and asked the United Bid Committee, which is leading the North American bid, to extend a deadline so the contract issues could be worked out.
A spokeswoman for Wesson did not respond to a request to comment, but Wesson was one of the eight council members who signed the new resolution, which is scheduled to be voted on by the Trade, Travel and Tourism Committee, immediately followed by a vote by the full City Council.
In the last two weeks since the extension was granted, the LLC has been formed, and the cities of Inglewood and Pasadena have also provided letters of support to serve as potential venue hosts, Kvartuc said. The resolution under consideration by the City Council says the city will work “in good faith” with the host committee to negotiate a contract specifying the types and level of city services to be provided by the city for 2026 World Cup events.
If the North American bid is successful, the United States would stage 60 matches, and Mexico and Canada 10 apiece, and at least 12 cities will be selected as venues for games. The LATCB said in a report that any one host city could generate $400 million to $600 million in total economic impact as a result of serving as a World Cup host.
Here are The Register’s swimming standards for reporting times this spring. Please report times that meet these standards to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com
BOYS
200 m. relay 01:45.9
200 free 01:46.9
200 IM 02:01.0
50 free 00.22.2
100 butterfly 00.54.1
100 free 00.48.2
500 free 04:51.9
200 free relay 01:32.9
100 back 00:55.9
100 breast 01:01.9
400 free relay 03:28.9
GIRLS
200 m. relay 01:59.9
200 free 01:58.9
200 IM 02:14.9
50 free 00.25.1
100 butterfly 01:00.9
100 free 00.54.9
500 free 05:15.9
200 free relay 01:48.1
100 back 01:01.5
100 breast 01:09.9
400 free relay 03.54.9
The point standard for boys and girls diving is 200.
Demolition and construction has begun at Ports O’ Call Village in San Pedro, the one-time thriving retail village that was allowed to fall into disrepair, ultimately leading to the eviction of many longtime businesses by its landlord, the Port of Los Angeles.
While the owner of the namesake Ports O Call Restaurant – one of San Pedro’s treasures – tries to negotiate with the Port and developers of the new San Pedro Public Market, lost in the details is a little radio studio just outside the restaurant that is a podcasting voice for Southern California.
Basically, if an agreement for the restaurant is not made, the Los Angeles Radio Studio, funded as a public service by restaurant owner Jayme Wilson and run by Michael Stark, the eight-year-old studio may have to shut down.
That would leave numerous local voices in limbo. The studio serves as the recording room and distribution center for numerous programs heard locally and around the world:
• Phil Hulett and Friends: Heard on KFWB (980 AM) until the station was sold and changed formats, Hulett’s popular program is heard in over 60 countries and covers just about everything except politics.
• Talk Time Internet Radio: Hosted by Zeke Vidaurri, the show spotlights issues important to San Pedro and includes discussions and interviews with local leaders and politicians.
• Thrashpie Radio: Hosted by former KNAC now KBUE (105.5 FM) personality Ted “Thrasher” Pritchard, the show features music you haven’t heard on local radio since KNAC left the air.
• Radio Waves: Hosted by Stark and Yours Truly, the show covers local radio while promoting this column and the newspapers that carry it, along with career-spanning interviews with the people who make radio great like Shotgun Tom Kelly and Dr. Demento.
Numerous other shows are recorded at the studio weekly; they can be heard via iTunes and more, accessed at LARadioStudio.Com.
“In addition,” according to Stark, “the studio does a lot of work with the CSULB radio program, with internships and hosting shows that are featured on the student station that broadcasts on line and over the air via K-JAZZ’s digital HD stream (88.1 HD3)”
Wilson says that he is in talks with the new developer for the studio (and restaurant) to be part of the new San Pedro Public Market.
“A small glassed studio in the Market would connect the development with the world,” he explained. “We could broadcast live musical performances and other events” that are expected to be part of the development.
Hopefully, an agreement can be made, as the loss of the only studio of its kind in the area would be huge for the community, just as podcasts are gaining in popularity.
iHeart stopping news?
Inside Music Media’s Jerry Del Colliano (insidemusicmedia.com) is predicting that iHeart Radio, owner of numerous local stations including KIIS-FM (102.7) and KFI (640 AM) is going to be bankrupt soon … perhaps by the time you read this. March 1st was the day he predicted. And he’s often right.
What would that mean for the world’s largest radio group owner? A huge mess, says Del Colliano. And he’s right, due in part to the company having kicked the can of debt payments down the road for too long. Basically, iHeart owns too many stations, owes too much money (over $20 billion) and has helped devalue radio to the point where ad revenue continues to decrease. We’ll see next week if the prediction is correct.
Emmis Sells St. Louis
While iHeart continues to avoid the obvious – selling stations to pay down its huge debt – Emmis Communications, former owner of Power 106, is doing just that. In fact, Power itself was sold to pay down its relatively minor debt, and they just sold its four stations in St. Louis to reduce it even more. Emmis owes about $80 million and the St. Louis sale will generate about $60 million for the company.
Covered with giant protest headlines, mostly in English, Dior’s show structure, erected on the grounds of the Musée Rodin, telegraphed another political concept from Maria Grazia Chiuri. The texts were from the Sixties, particularly 1968, a worldwide seminal moment for youth culture and grassroots mobilization in an era of major social volatility.
A half-century later, Chiuri finds that year fascinating — and who doesn’t? An exhibit of political posters of the French far left from 1968 to 1974 is running at the Beaux Arts, part of a series of events marking the 50th anniversary in May of the Paris student uprisings.
Yet it’s one thing to recall 1968 with a show of political posters. It’s another to address it in a fashion context. While some elements — student protests — can be romanced, others, including the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, cannot.
Chiuri thus sidestepped those horrors, instead celebrating the positive aspects of the revolutionary moment, including an eruption of creativity in fashion. Three years earlier, Diana Vreeland had penned a piece in Vogue titled “Youth Quake,” a handle and concept that resonates deeply with Chiuri, who, throughout her still-young tenure at Dior, has struggled to seamlessly address a
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