In-Depth Summary of the August 2026 Governor Debate
SD 24 State Senate Debate: Questions & Answers Summary Santa Monica Democratic Club candidate debate between John Erickson (West Hollywood City Council Member, former Mayor) and Brian Goldsmith (small business owner, journalist, and Democratic consultant), the two remaining candidates for California’s 24th State Senate District (which includes Santa Monica). This summary covers the moderated debate […]
Santa Monica Focused Senate Debate Summary: The Takeaways That Matter to SM Businesses
Note to readers: This post is written as a nonpartisan candidate briefing for Chamber members. Both candidates are Democrats; there is no Republican candidate in this race. The Chamber does not endorse candidates. The full, unedited, generated transcript can be found here and a more in-depth summary that is not focused on purely Santa Monica […]
AB 1776: We Advocated on a Big Antitrust Bill. Here’s What Changed.
This post is about antitrust law, but if you’re a small business owner, it’s still worth paying attention to, because AB 1776 deals with something every business owner does every day: set prices, compete for customers, and figure out how to stand out from the business down the street. What AB 1776 is: AB 1776, […]
Your Website Could Cost You $5,000. Here’s How We Fix That. (SB 690)
California has a 1967 anti-wiretapping law, and lawyers are now using it to sue small businesses over normal website features. Things like chat bubbles, AI assistants, contact forms and other customer communication software on your site could cause issues for you…because a loophole in the 1967 law can treat them as if they were secret […]
When “Simple” Takes Two Years: A Permitting Story We Couldn’t Ignore
We have heard of many permitting issues for our small business members in our City, however, in the past 2 years, most of the complaints have come in after the project was completed. This means we weren’t able to get involved and often, that means our ability to get all the details and explain to […]