The Oceanside Chamber of Commerce has joined a coalition of business organizations in Opposition to AB1066 (Gonzalez). This bill would overturn more than 70 years of precedent by charging employers to provide unemployment insurance (UI) to workers during labor disputes and create additional solvency issues for California’s UI system. View opposition letter.

​The Oceanside Chamber of Commerce Emerging Issues Forum, held the first Thursday of every month, provides an avenue for Oceanside Chamber members to learn about key community issues, interact with legislative representatives and receive updates on legislative items impacting business. April’s forum provided attendees with a detailed update on federal legislative issues impacting businesses and the Oceanside community as a whole. Providing the update was Jennings Imel, Executive Director at the Western Regional Office of the US Chamber of Commerce.

San Diego may be known nationwide for its beautiful beaches and unbeatable year - round weather, but what many people don’t realize is that many of the avocados in their tacos, the lettuce and tomatoes in their salad, and the potted plants for their yard are all grown right here in San Diego County. 

​Nearly 1,500 students graduate from Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD) high schools each year. With diploma in hand they are deemed ready for the next step whether pursuing a postsecondary degree or certificate, starting a job or joining the military. But, are they really prepared to meet the needs of local, regional, and global businesses? ​

(Source: Josh Jenkins – Fox 5 San Diego)

(By: Jane Applegate)
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What do you love about your job? Is it the flexibility in your hours? The work you do or who you do it for? Maybe it’s the comraderie among your coworkers or the exciting challenges you face every day. Hopefully it’s a little bit of all of the above.

​On Saturday, March 16th Metroflex Gym celebrated their One Year Anniversary at their location at 318 N Horne St in Oceanside. Many of their current and prospective members came out to the celebration featuring giveaways, weightlifting competitions, and a variety of vendors. 

​On Friday, February 22nd Tri-City Children’s Dentistry celebrated their anniversary at their new location at 2420 Vista Way Suite 210 in Oceanside. Doctor Angelo Vasquez is a unique kind of pediatric dentist. With his kid-oriented style and fun personality, he gets children excited about their dental care, helping them develop healthy habits that will last. Their office is dedicated to providing excellent dental health care for infants, children and adolescents in a caring and gentle environment to give them a lifetime of beautiful smiles. 

The Oceanside Chamber of Commerce is committed to playing a vital role in the well-being of our community. In February, the chamber voted to support the proposed North River Farms development in eastern Oceanside, in part because of the positive opportunities it will create to meet our housing and employment objectives. Chamber CEO, Scott Ashton says, “As we look to our future it is imperative that we implement lifestyle supportive housing to attract and retain our workforce.” ​

​Last Friday, Sgt. Jim Ridenour, head of Oceanside PD’s H.O.T. team (Homeless Outreach Team) spoke to members of the Oceanside Chamber regarding the transient activity here in Oceanside. This topic has been of great concern and regular discussion amongst members, and the Chamber felt it was necessary to hold a workshop informing business owners and community members alike about the current transient situation and offer some solutions. Sgt. Jim spoke about the causes behind the increase, the strides Oceanside PD’s H.O.T. team has taken to combat this issue, and recommendations for community members to follow that will reduce the number of transient run ins and help his team track the transient population’s whereabouts and hotspots.

(Courtesy of: San Diego Water Authority)

February is Brewing Month in San Diego County and the Water Authority is celebrating with a special roast of Authority 1944 Blend created by Cafe Moto, a social media contest with cool prizes, and other events throughout the region.

Daniel Butler, Municipal Relations San Diego County
Waste Management of North County
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The recycling industry is currently going through a serious downturn due to import policies being enforced by China to reduce trash in recyclables put into effect in early 2018. Their action stems from  something that has become all too common in recycling  programs across North America: recycling  contamination, or the percentage of trash mixed with recyclables. ​

Chamber CEO, Scott Ashton and incoming Board Chair, Bill Birnie were included in a group of business and civic leaders invited to partipate in a forum with Congressman-Elect Mike Levin earlier this week. Levin is set to take over the 49th Congressional District seat, currently held by Darrell Issa, in January.

Representatives from the Manufacturing, Health Care, Transportation and Biotech sectors
(including Oceanside's Genentech), were given the opportunity to share concerns related to their specific industries. Levin expressed an interest in following up with tours of many of the businesses in attendance.​

​The Chamber’s annual Holiday Mixer was held last week at the QLN Conference Center. They arranged for a wide variety food from a number of great places including:
Pickup Stix, The Etouffee Café & Catering, Knockout Pizza, Buffalo Wild Wings, Starbucks, One Perfect Pear Catering and Panda Express

Three members of the Oceanside Chamber Staff:  Kristi, Vannie and Quinton, decided on an impromptu sight-seeing trip for unique views of Oceanside and one-of-a-kind photo opportunities.  Waverider Helicopter Tours made it happen and exceeded our expectations.​

Oceanside's Measure Y, also known as the SOAR Initiative, has been defeated. With 100% of precincts reporting, 54% of Oceanside voters have rejected this initiative that would have "required voter approval of proposals to change land use designation or zoning in agricultural or open space land to any other use."

The Oceanside Chamber, along with local farmers, and City Council candidates, led the effort over several months to spread the word about the negative impact this measure would have on economic development and property rights. This past spring, the Chamber's Business and Community Political Action Committee commissioned an economic impact study on SOAR to highlight its threat to farming as well as a wide variety of opportunity costs this measure could pose. The report is still available at www.OceansideSOARStudy.com.