November 2011 Archives

Tipoff: Selection as councill president could face battle,

As the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency takes steps to protect its ongoing programs from a potential state shutdown, Controller Wendy Greuel is raising concerns today over how the agency accounts for the money in those programs. Daily News,
"The reason for this audit was that the CRA could not tell us how much AB 1290 money it had," Greuel said. "That raised all sorts of red flags."

AB 1290 is state law that allows redevelopment agencies to continue to take in tax dollars for a project area as long as it is used for specified programs within the area.

Each year, California's School Boards Association gives out an award to the California state legislator who has been most supportive of education.Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the Daily News.

This year's winner?

Nobody.

That's right. The association could not find one single California legislator in 2011 who was outstanding in his or her support of education.

In fact, while other legislatures across the country debated and even passed meaningful new laws to improve student learning in our schools, Sacramento took a pass.

yhe latest batch of residential real estate stats are yet another illustration why housing markets are intensely local beasts. Gregory Jl Wilcox in the Daily News.

Reports last week from the same source -- Realtors -- offer the proof.

The California Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales, a measure of future sales activity, had increased for the sixth consecutive month.

Pending sales were up 3 percent from October and up 11 percent from a year ago.

- All was quiet before dawn at Los Angeles City Hall, where "Occupy" demonstrators have been camping since Oct. 1 and are now under threat of arrest if they don't clear out after noon Monday. Daily News,

Two people went to use portable toilets set up outside the landmark building about 5:30 a.m., and few others milled around in the predawn chill.

But there was no sign that the estimated 500 tents had diminished.

The City Hall lawn, home to an Occupy encampment that's both inspired and exasperated the public for the past two months, will shut down early Monday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Friday. Dakota Smith in the Daily News,

Villaraigosa praised the ideals of the Occupy L.A. movement, but said that protesters could no longer stay on the site because of health and safety concerns. The 1.7 acre park will close at 12:01 a.m. Monday so the grounds can be restored.

"The movement has awakened the country's conscience," said Villaraigosa, adding that "it's time for Occupy L.A. to move from holding a particular patch of park land to signing more people up."

In a concession to Occupy organizers, Villaraigosa said, the south steps of City Hall would remain open during the closure so protesters could continue to gather.

Juan and Adriana were happily hitched until an infidelity diminished their wedding vows. Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News

Eager to stay married, however, the parents of two remade their bond with affordable counseling at the Valley Family Center in San Fernando.

"It's been a godsend," said Juan, 40, a Los Angeles waiter, who asked not to disclose his last name. "We had a huge problem. We almost got divorced. I was cheating.

"It's been great so far ... I'm trying to get better."

Eight weeks after Occupy L.A. camped out on City Hall's lawn, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is evicting the protesters. Dakota Smith in the Daily News,

The Mayor's Office announced Wednesday that Occupy L.A. must move next week.

"LAPD Deputy Chief Jose Perez and I informed members of Occupy L.A. that City Hall Park would close at some point next week," said Villaraigosa's Deputy Chief of Staff Matt Szabo, after a meeting with Occupy L.A. leaders and Los Angeles Police Department officials.

Concerned that recent court rulings have created a new boom in medical marijuana dispensaries, a Los Angeles City Councilman proposed Wednesday a complete ban on pot shops.Daily News.

Councilman Jose Huizar said the city has tried to balance patient needs with community protection by enacting laws and permits that limit the number of pot shops and their proximity to schools, homes and other dispensaries. Now the court has thrown into question L.A.'s ability to regulate dispensaries.

"What I am concerned is that we will see a new proliferation of these clinics," Huizar said, estimating there are more than 300 clinics now operating within the city. At one point, officials estimated there were more than 1,000 clinics operating without regulation.

Auto dealerships selling new cars would be exempt from the Los Angeles business tax under a proposal recommended by a city panel Wednesday.Daily News,

"For years, our broken tax system has been used by cities around us as a way to lure businesses," Council President Eric Garcetti said at a meeting of the Jobs and Business Development Committee.

"I am hopeful that today we say stop. We are going to do all we can to lure businesses back to the city."

One morning in September, Pacoima residents were greeted by a curious sight: A white tent pitched outside a long-shuttered, foreclosed home on Kagel Canyon Street. Under the tent sat eager staffers from the Department of Recreation and Parks, holding notebooks and questionnaires. Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

As the team explained, the foreclosed home was set to be bulldozed and replaced with a small park, one of 50 planned by the city.

The sidewalk meeting represents one piece of an ambitious plan announced last week by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to build 50 new parks throughout the city, including transforming 10 foreclosed homes into green spaces.

Occupy L.A. leaders said on Tuesday that city officials backpedaled on an offer to lease a downtown space to the group after news outlets published details of the offer. Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

Looking for a peaceful way to end the Occupy L.A. encampment, the city offered to lease a 10,000 square foot office space in the Los Angeles Mall. The city-owned space, most recently occupied by B. Dalton Booksellers, was offered to the protesters for $1 a year lease.

City Council candidate Joe Buscaino picked up the endorsement of one of his opponents on Tuesday, with Firefighter Pat McOsker backing Buscaino over Assaemblyman Warren Furutani.
"Joe Buscaino is a proven public servant and an excellent candidate for the working men and women of Council District 15," said McOsker, who also serves as president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City.
Buscaino also has been endorsed by UFLAC as well as two of his other primary opponents, Gordon Teuber and Jayme Wilson.

The next time you see a van on the freeway sporting an ad for a big-box store or a delivery truck promoting the latest box-office hit, the message may be brought to you courtesy of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Barbara Jones in the Daily News,

With the state's years-long financial crisis taking the district deeper and deeper into the red, the school board has decided -- very reluctantly -- to plug some of the holes in the budget by selling advertising space on dozens of LAUSD's vans and delivery trucks.

For years, Los Angeles officials and the business community have held the common desire to eliminate the city's gross-receipts tax, long seen as the iconic symbol of L.A.'s anti-business attitude. Daily News

The tax, executives argue, is driving businesses into nearby communities that had no tax. City officials agree in theory, but could not figure how to plug the $425 million hole in the city budget that scrapping the tax would create.

But now, even without having worked out the entire plan, city officials have been pushing a series of small steps to chip away at the tax, little-by-little.

Tipoff: New council president to consider change in habit; Howard Berman gets some help from Sen.Alex Padilla.

Looking to concentrate on his mayoral campaign in 2013, Councilman Eric Garcetti said he will give up his post as Council President on Jan. 2.
Garcetti, who has been the council president since 2005,said he had been planning to step down from the council;s top job for some time so he can concentrate on the race for mayor.
He is introducing a motion in council today to nominate Counclman Herb Wesson to take over his job and for Councilman Ed Reyes to become president pro tem, to fill the post vacated last week by Councilwoman Jan Perry. Perry also is running for mayor.
Counm\ciman Dennis Zine, who is running for city controller in 2013, has said he is planning to give up his post of assistant prseident pro tem.
The council president helps set the agenda for council meetings, appoints council committees and serves as mayor when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is out of the city.

The waiting room inside the Sun Valley Health Center was bursting with patients Thursday afternoon, many of whom likely would go without medical care if the center wasn't close to their homes. Susan Abram in the Daily News,

For Samm Austria, 32, who has just started to visit the clinic, the convenience is immeasurable.

"I wouldn't be happy at all if this wasn't here," said Austria, whose three children also see doctors at the clinic. "Everything here runs so smoothly, better than other places I've been to. They should have more of these."

With a new study out that shows the dangers of secondhand smoke from neighbors in residential buildings, Los Angeles County health officials are hoping more cities will ban smoking inside apartments. Susan Abram in the Daily News.

Preliminary results from a study released Wednesday by the county health department show that tobacco smoke particles can seep into the units of nonsmokers through air ducts, electrical cracks, and under doorways and can reach "significant levels equal to and exceeding those of a smoky bar or casino."

"California is the largest smoke-free zone in the nation, but the bans don't protect children," said Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Seeking to bring green spaces to the city's most park-poor neighborhoods, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced plans Wednesday to build 50 new pocket parks around Los Angeles over the next two years. Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

"Residents will have a new reason and resource to enjoy their communities," said Villaraigosa, speaking about the pocket park plan at a Los Angeles Business Council event on Wednesday.

The city is facing a shrinking pool of available space to develop parks, said Deputy Mayor Sarah Sheahan. While some large, privately funded parks are still planned -- such as the Hollywood Freeway Park, which would rise over the 101 Freeway -- the city no longer has the ability to transform big swaths of land.

Taking two small steps to reverse the city's image of being unfriendly to business, the City Council on Wednesday called for extending the three year tax holiday for new businesses and exempting mutual fund managers from the tax. Daily News.

The current business tax holiday ends in 2012. The proposal would extend it through 2015.

"With a 12 percent unemployment rate, we need to move quickly to attract and retain jobs in the city," Council President Eric Garcetti said of the tax holiday.

Suffering from the success of its own water conservation program, the Department of Water and Power on Tuesday began pushing for a new rate increase of more than $5 a month on the average water bill.Daily News,

The proposal to increase the utility's Water Quality Adjustment Factor is in addition to separate increases DWP plans to seek in water rates of 5 percent and electricity of 7.5 percent, two proposals that are temporarily on hold until the city hires a ratepayer advocate.

But DWP head Ron Nichols wants the increase in the utility's Water Quality Adjustment Factor to move forward before a ratepayer advocate is in place, warning that the city could face penalties for missing deadlines to meet federal water quality standards.

The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday demanded changes to Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment plan, alarmed that the month-old state law was putting unarmed probation officers in charge of violent criminals, one of whom is due for release Friday. Chrustuba Villacorte in the Daily News,

"This was not the profile that the governor was telling the counties we'd be receiving and be responsible for," Supervisor Michael Antonovich said Tuesday.

"Our facilities and our personnel are not equipped to handle this type of individual. They belong under state supervision and control."

Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy said Tuesday he hopes to hammer out a contract with district teachers within a few days and to have a deal ready for the school board to adopt by month's end .Barbara Jones in the Daily News,

Before ducking out for his daily negotiating session with leaders of United Teachers Los Angeles, Deasy told the school board that the two sides have made "remarkable progress" since negotiations began in September. "We're in substantial agreement but not complete agreement," he said.

A spokeswoman for the 40,000-member UTLA had no comment on the ongoing talks.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's idea to tap voter-approved transportation money to fix Los Angeles' streets has hit a roadblock with some City Council members, who worry the public won't get a say in the $1.5 billion plan. Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

Revealed last week, the mayor's L.A. Road Works plan would repair one quarter of the city's 6,500 miles of aging roadways by borrowing against Measure R revenue, the half-percent sales tax approved in 2008 to pay for transportation projects.

Major arteries and roadways from San Pedro to Sylmar would be repaved, repaired, and resealed under the proposal, which would fix some streets that haven't seen repairs since the 1950s.

With the Occupy L.A. movement giving new life to a proposal to sever ties with banks involved in questionable activities, a city panel asked Monday for more details on the impact of adopting a "Responsible Banking" ordinance. Daly News.

Modeled after measures adopted by other cities, the proposal from Councilman Richard Alarcón would require the city to stop doing businesses with banks that are involved with illegal activities or that fail to show they have invested back into the community.

Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, formally announced plans to run for the 1st District seat on the City Council in 2013.
Cedillo, who is most closely associated with the Dream Act and alllowing drivers licenses for illegal immigrants, said he believes a City Council office would allow him to bring "bold and experienced leadership to strengthen and protect the Los Angeles dream."
Councilman Ed Reyes is being termed out in 2013. His chief deputy, Jose Gordea, also has announced for the seat. Cedillo actually filed papers earlier this year allowing him to begin raising money for the race.

In Hollywood, it's known as a good get. In politics, it is landing a whale.
DreanWorks owners Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg announced Monday they are supporting Controller Wendy Greuel in the 2013 race for mayor.
The three represent a major entry into the Hollywood community as they sent out a letter telling of their support of her and asking that people donate to her campaign.
"Steven, Jeffrey and David understand that as mayor of Los Angeles, not only will I fight to ensure that Los Angles remains the heart and soul of the entertainment industry, but that I will also fight to ensure tha tLos Angeles remains a world class class city in which all of us can be proud," Greuel said.
Prior to her election to the City Council in 2002, Greuel worked at Dreamworks.

School kids bombarded by tests, with little time for learning. Parents priced out of health insurance. Families moved from homes scuttled by foreclosure. Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

One LA, a grass-roots mover and shaker, rallied San Fernando Valley schools, synagogues and churches Sunday to solve these problems and more.

"Why are we here?" asked Rabbi Don Goor of Temple Judea, where more than 500 residents packed the pews for a standing-room only crowd in Tarzana.

Newcomers who put up street lights in Cold Creek in the 1970s got a quick lesson in lighting etiquette, according to local legend. The bulbs were immediately shot out by old-timers - a message that a dark sky was preferred over a lit one in this rural Los Angeles County community.Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

Decades later, darkness is still preferred.

"Darkness just speaks of tranquility," said Mary Ellen Strote, whose Cold Creek home overlooks the wilderness of Malibu Creek State Park. "It just feels protective and calming."

The grammar lesson centered on the mind-numbing topic of reflective and intensive pronouns, but the seventh-graders couldn't take their eyes off the teacher working the classroom. Barbara Jones in the Daily News.

They laughed as Rebecca Mieliwocki crunched her biceps and shook an imaginary volleyball, creating images of reflexes and intensity to help them grasp the rules for using words ending in "self." They completed a work sheet to an instrumental by the Black-Eyed Peas -- "relaxing music to learn grammar by!" she cried -- and later competed for Sour Patch candy in a boys vs. girls test of their grammar skills.

Mieliwocki's techniques may be unorthodox, but they're also effective -- a combination that captured the attention and admiration of the

Tipoff: Two Congressmen tout their supporters.

At least one nonprofit agency has met a city deadline to bid on operating the Los Angeles Zoo. Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

The Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, which raises millions for zoo programs and exhibits and trains zoo volunteers, submitted the proposal Monday.

"If the city will entrust the management and operation of the Los Angeles Zoo to GLAZA, everyone will be a winner," said Connie Morgan, the group's president, in a letter to GLAZA members Tuesday.

In one of the most closely watched Harbor Area political contests in years, Los Angeles police Officer Joe Buscaino and Assemblyman Warren Furutani emerged as the top vote-getters Tuesday in a crowded field to fill Janice Hahn's vacant Los Angeles City Council seat. Donna Littlejohn in the Daily News

The two will face each other in a Jan. 17 runoff election.

With all of the precincts counted in Tuesday's special election, Buscaino finished with 29.1 percent, followed by Furutani with 22.3 percent.

A Los Angeles city fire captain has been placed on leave for allegedly falsifying his timecard after auditors found he was paid $50,000 in vacation time last year, the equivalent of nearly 23 weeks of pay, city documents obtained by the Daily News show. Daily News,

Vacation, overtime and bonus pay boosted Capt. Eric Vasquez's wages by about $77,000 more than his base salary of $108,000, according to payroll information obtained under the California Public Records Act.

The alleged discrepancies by Vasquez - a 17-year LAFD veteran whose duties involved supervising time sheet data entry, including his own - were discovered last month by the City Controller's Office when the department submitted payroll data electronically for the first time.

n an attempt to lure new vehicle dealers to Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on
Tuesday called for exempting them from the city's business tax.
The move could cost the city $3.6 million - the amount received from dealers in gross receipts tax last year - but officials maintain it could be offset by new sales tax revenue

generated by luring new dealers. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

Last year, the city took in $29 million in sales tax revenue from its existing dealers.

"For too long, L.A.'s business tax has driven auto dealers outside the city limits," the mayor said. "But there are smart reforms we can make right now."

With a public hungry to produce solar energy in their homes, the Department of Water and Power is expected within the next month to propose a planned demonstration project to boost green energy and pay homeowners to sell electricity to the city.Daily News.

The utility said it is working out details of a project that would produce six megawatts of power.

But the agency has several issues to work out, primarily the money involved. In particular, it has to determine just how much to pay homeowners and businesses who generate enough power on their own to sell it back to the grid.

When Janice Hahn won her bid for Congress in July, it set off a stampede to take her spot on the Los Angeles City Council. Donna Littlejohn in the Daily News,

Twenty people initially set their sights on the race, but when the dust settled, the field of declared candidates had narrowed to 11.

That was little consolation to voters in the San Pedro-to-Watts district, who were left trying to sort them all out amid a flurry of mailers and colorful road signs.

Hoping to ensure the San Fernando Valley gets its "fair share" of roadway and transportation projects, elected officials throughout the region are gathering this week for their first-ever Mobility Summit. Christina Villacorte in the Daily News,

"We don't want the Valley neglected," said Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine. "It should get its fair share of resources, services, finances."

The San Fernando Valley Council of Governments will host the Mobility Summit on Thursday at a Van Nuys hotel to discuss, among other issues, hoped-for transportation networks, funding sources for projects, and ways to speed up their construction.

TipoffL State panel looking to allow some recapture of lost funds.

After paying out $38 million in internal harassment and discrimination suits over the last three years, the LAPD is coming under fire for a perceived lack of discipline of command staff targeted in the complaintshttp:C.J. Lin in the Daily News.

Several supervisors have been promoted although they were named as defendants in lawsuits that resulted in six- or seven-figure judgments or settlements, according to a review of city and court documents.

"I have a running joke," said attorney Gregory Smith, who has filed about 50 lawsuits on behalf of officers against the Los Angeles Police Department.

The public would be allowed to purchase shares in the Dodgers and other professional sports teams under federal legislation introduced Thursday by Rep. Janice Hahn and an Oregon lawmaker. Daily News.

Hahn, D-Wilmington, acknowledged that even if the bill were to pass, it probably wouldn't be in place in time to affect the expected bankruptcy auction of the Dodgers.

"Introducing this shows there could be a way in the future to have more fan involvement," Hahn said. "Clearly, this is bigger than the Dodgers. While it might not pass in time for when the Dodgers are sold, it might affect some future sale."

Less than 24 hours after the revelation that embattled owner Frank McCourt agreed to sell the team, many people are re-claiming their interest in owning the Dodgers and new parties are throwing their hat into the ownership sweepstakes. Jill Painter in the Daily News.

Former Dodgers players Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser, local player agent Dennis Gilbert, NBA owner Mark Cuban, former Dodgers general manager Fred Claire, Fox and Time Warner and a couple of billionaires are positioning financial backers, making squeaky-clean proposals and gauging fan interest.

L.A. officials ready for new owner
Leaders of Los Angeles' civic institutions don't always agree on much but on Wednesday they saw eye-to-eye on one thing: Frank McCourt's ownership of the Dodgers will not be missed. Daily News.

"As a lifelong Dodger fan I am looking forward to the end of Mr. McCourt's time as owner," said Rep. Janice Hahn, whose father, former County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, helped bring the team to Los Angeles in 1958.

"The next owners of the Dodgers should be as passionate about the team as the fans."

Los Angeles International Airport remains a terrorist target, but security has "improved significantly" with help from $1.6 billion worth of improvements made over the past decade, according to a report released Wednesday by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Art Marroquin in the Daily News.

The 162-page study by a blue-ribbon panel of aviation, homeland security and law enforcement experts assembled by Villaraigosa found further enhancements should be made at the nation's third-busiest airport, including improved coordination between LAX's police force and the Los Angeles Police Department.

A city councilman on Wednesday called for the city to look into whether Van Nuys Airport should have its own separate managing board so it would receive extra attention rather than competing against the other city-owned airports. Daily News.
Councilman Tony Cardenas requested a report that would look into whether it is practical to create a separate commission for VNY or whether a subcommittee of the seven-member Airport Commission could be created to deal with local issues.

Edward Headington, a long-time staffer on Democratic campaigns and a public affairs executive, announced Wednesday he will be seeking the Democratic nomination for the 38th Assembly District.
Headington, 38, is the only San Fernando Valley-based candidate in the district, which continues to include a large portion of the Santa Clarita Valley. The district has been represented by Republcian Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, who is being termed out of the seat.

An agreement with Los Angeles Unified to bring back 325 laid-off office clerks and library aides was ratified by the union representing support staff, officials said Tuesday.Susan Abram in the Daily News.

The California School Employees Association overwhelmingly ratified the deal that restores the jobs but requires workers to take four unpaid furlough days between January and June, officials said. The school board approved the contract last week.

That means 79 full-time financial managers and 60 full-time office technicians will be recalled, along with 98 part-time library aides and 63 part-time office technicians. In addition, 25 employees will be rehired as financial managers, according to the district. However, the CSEA disputes some of the figures, saying there are more librarians being added, not financial managers.

The city Department of General Services barricaded a fountain and a memorial sculpture in front of City Hall to protect them from damage by people camped on the lawn for Occupy L.A., which turns one month old today.Daily News,

The Frank Putnam Flint Fountain was built in 1933 in honor of the senator's efforts to bring water to Los Angeles. A firefighters' memorial on the southwest corner of the City Hall lawn was built in 1944 to honor fire personnel killed in the line of duty.

The structures had sustained some non-permanent graffiti, mayoral spokesman Peter Sanders said. At least one protester had been spotted periodically sitting on top of the fountain, and protesters had also hung a movie screen from the fountain to project videos.

The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to let a Sherman Oaks couple keep their 7-foot-tall, illegally built wall to keep out paparazzi pursuing their celebrity neighbor, actor Shia LaBeouf. Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

The controversy over the "Great Wall," a name coined by frustrated neighbors, highlighted L.A.'s uneven enforcement and tolerance of lawless construction.

The wall was built last year by Deervale Drive residents Joe and Orit Picker, who argued the structure was needed to shield them from photographers searching for LaBeouf.

Rep. Maxine Wtaters, D-Los Angeles, announced Tuesday she is endorsing Councilma\woman Jan Perry in the 2013 race for mayor.
"Jan has a proven that she has the compassion, commitment and capacity to be an effective leader for the people of Los Angeles," Waters said.
"She has been tireless in her efforts to improve the quality of life for the people she represents and the success of her work is evident."
Among other things, Waters said Perry has helped develop thousands of 8nits of affordable housing for the homeless and working famimlies.
Perry said she was honored by the endorsment from Waters, one of the most powerful women in Congress.

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After three years of federal monitoring, the Los Angeles County Probation Department missed Monday's deadline for overhauling its 14 juvenile camps, raising the possibility of a takeover by the U.S. Justice Department. Christijna Villacorte in the Daily News.

Under an agreement signed Oct. 31, 2008, the agency was given three years to attain substantial compliance with 41 reforms, such as preventing "abusive institutional practices," swiftly investigating child abuse allegations and implementing effective rehabilitation and behavior management.

Acting Chief Cal Remington estimated the department had implemented more than 90 percent of the mandated changes. He conceded, however, that he was unsure whether progress was sufficient to keep the Justice Department from taking over the juvenile camp operation.

Hundreds of health care workers, senior citizens and disabled adults rallied Monday, shouting and chanting their frustration over Gov. Jerry Brown's decision to eliminate money for adult day-care programs. Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

Joined by Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park, the group waved signs proclaiming "No Nursing Homes," blew whistles and beat drums in front of Brown's office on Spring Street.

"Governor Brown needs to have mercy -- not just for us, but for our patients," said Hilda Yesayan, part of the crowd demonstrating in front of the Ronald Reagan Building.

With President Barack Obama setting a goal of doubling the nation's exports over the next five years, Los Angeles officials unveiled a program Monday designed to help businesses enter the international market. Daily News.

The Los Angeles Regional Export Council will aid local businesses -- with help from USC and UCLA business students -- in exporting their goods and services.

The export council will be made up of business leaders and academics who will develop a website, identify businesses that could become players in the export world and create a one-stop hub to connect businesses with new markets.