Blog | Campbell Chamber of Commerce

27 Apr 2016
Comments: 0

Tips from the Top: How to find the perfect coffee & store it properly

Coffee tips from an expert

We get asked a lot on how to find the perfect coffee. We recommend buying coffee at small artisan roasters (local micro-roasters) that offer transparency and traceability on their coffees.

First of all these roasters handle smaller quantities and you get a fresher roast (coffee ages quickly and you do not want to keep it for months on the shelves). You will be able to find rare and special coffees that you will not find from large scale roasters or in large supermarket chains (there is just not enough quantity of these special beans for a large chain or a large roaster). Read more!

24 Nov 2015
Comments: 0

AB-1461 Motor Voter Act

All the pundits seem to want to get as many people to register to vote as possible. It is said that we must ease the barriers of registering to vote. What barriers? We can register at the library, the fire house, post office, city government offices, on the web. If it is really that difficult to register, how tough it is to vote, to pick up a pen and fill in your ballot, take it to the voting booth and use it to wiz through the official voting ballot.

The Motor Voter Bill is officially called AB-1461 Motor Voter Act. It is estimated that about 6.6 million eligible voters are not registered to vote. This bill will attempt to get them registered when they apply for or renew their driver’s licenses. At this time, information will be taken from each person for registration purposes, including party preference. There are 5 officially recognized political parties in California: American Independent, Democratic, Libertarian, Peace and Freedom, Green and Republican to register you to vote. You will also be given the option to choose No Party Preference, which used to be called decline to state.

Here is how the process will work once the DMV and Secretary of State work out details. Anybody obtaining or renewing a driver’s license or gets a State Identification card, will be asked to affirm their eligibility to vote and will be given the choice of opting out of registering at that time. For those who opt in on registering, their information will be transmitted from the DMV to the secretary of state’s office, where citizenship will be verified and names will be added to the voter rolls. This should be ready by June 2016. It is also interesting to note that you are already afforded the opportunity to register to vote at the DMV, this takes it further by shoving it down your throat. Do we really need to shove the responsibility of voting down the throats of citizens to make them a caring citizen?

In our last general election in 2014, only 42.2 percent of registered voters submitted ballots and those were people who registered all by themselves without this new easy do for you program. Honestly, if you have to make it so easy to get them to register, I don’t believe that the percentage of voters will increase, quite the contrary, it will actually go down because you will have more people registered who really don’t care to be.

The belief is, if everyone votes that’s a good thing. That may be true if everyone did their homework, voting with complete knowledge of all the candidates and legislation. Personally, I research every ballot measure before I vote; it takes a bit of time, sometimes more than a day, but how can you not do your research if you really care about the country and your community? But many don’t take the time and vote blind, having done no research to understand the bill, but instead voting with the herd. An eenie meenie mini moe process just doesn’t cut it when voting for our future.

If, because of the new Motor Voter bill, more people are registered to vote, it doesn’t mean they will vote or that they will take the time to understand the issues and candidates. I hope that newly registered voters from this process take the time needed to do their homework before casting their votes.

Authored by Chamber Board Member Carl San Miguel

Highland Properties/Financial

28 Oct 2015
Comments: 0

How Are the Roads in Your Neighborhood?

It goes without saying that our roads are in desperate need of maintenance.

We pay taxes at the pump every time we fill up. Both State and Federal, and in some cases, local taxes are designated for road repair and maintenance. Simple research into transportation taxes and how the funds are spent will reveal “it isn’t enough” to cover what is needed to maintain our highway infrastructure. It will also divulge that our funding methods only covers about 30% of what is needed to repair our roadways. Just in case you have lost track of what you pay at the pump, the State charges 71 cents and the Feds charge 18.4 cents for every gallon of gas pumped. (It is also worth mentioning that California’s gas tax may increase by 12 cents if Senator Jim Beall gets his way.) Read more!

30 Sep 2015
Comments: 0

Minimum Wage – What does it mean?

Minimum Wage: What Does It Mean?

Minimum wage is the government-sanctioned hourly amount that all employers are required to pay any hourly employee. In the last few years, there has been a push to increase minimum wage and now, the City of Campbell is seeking to impose a city-wide ordinance mandating the minimum wage an employer in Campbell can pay their employees.

Additionally two other entities impose a minimum wage, the State and the Federal government. The State minimum wage is currently $9.00 per hour and is being increased to $10.00 per hour in January 2016. The Fed’s rate is at $7.25 if the employer offers Medical coverage and $8.25 without medical coverage. Since the State’s wage is higher, it trumps the Fed’s. Currently what is being proposed by the City of Campbell is $10.30 per hour to match what competing cities offer, eventually raising it to $15.00 per hour with an inflationary factor thereafter. Read more!

26 Aug 2015
Comments: 0

Campbell’s Oktoberfest 2015

First, a touch of history…

Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on 12th October 1810.

The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy, royal event. The fields have been named Theresienwiese (“Theresa’s fields”) in honor of the Crown Princess ever since, although the locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the “Wies’n”.

Horse races in the presence of the Royal Family marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest.

In 1811 an added feature to the horse races was the first Agricultural Show, designed to boost Bavarian agriculture. The horse races, which were the oldest and – at one time – the most popular event of the festival are no longer held today. But the Agricultural Show is still held every three years during the Oktoberfest on the southern part of the festival grounds.

In Honor of an Icon: Betty Deal

When Betty Deal was hired by the Campbell Chamber of Commerce in 1994, no one truly understood the far-reaching impact she would have, not only on the Chamber and its members but on the City, its residents, business owners and nonprofit organizations.

Betty grew up in Hanford, a small town in the Central Valley. She eventually moved to the Bay Area and worked at Intel Corporation for a number of years. After leaving high tech, she decided to switch gears, becoming the membership director at the Chamber while also working as an insurance agent.

At that time, the Chamber had 150 members. Today, the Chamber has over 500 members and two award-winning festivals that draw close to 50,000 people to downtown Campbell. Betty’s innate charm, outgoing personality, determination, vision, leadership and ability to connect with people was instrumental in making the Campbell Chamber of Commerce what it is today. She helped transform Campbell into a “go to” downtown for restaurants and entertainment. She quickly earned her nickname: The Real Deal. And that she was.

Betty was present at every Chamber event. She would arrive at a member’s Ribbon Cutting with her giant wooden scissors in hand, work the room at every mixer to welcome attendees and share stories at the monthly luncheons. Patriotic to the core, you would never see her without an American flag pin on her lapel.

Betty was awarded Citizen of the Year in 2008 and was also recognized by the City of Campbell and the County of Santa Clara Office of Women’s Policy as one of ten Women of Distinction.

Betty was generous with her time and talents. She was active in various community boards including the Heritage Theater, the Campbell Historical Museum and Country Women’s Club. Betty had an undying love for NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (“Junior”). She would not miss watching a race on TV! She even had a decorative NASCAR ‘hood’ she kept in a prominent place at her desk. She also had a passion for travel and often took cruises to Hawaii and would visit family out of state.

Betty retired from the Chamber in June 2013, becoming an honorary lifetime member and serving as one of its Ambassadors. She remained active in both the Chamber, attending luncheons and the annual Celebrate Campbell events, as well as the community where she continued to participate in many organizations.

A truly genuine and giving person, Betty possessed a zest for life and was adventurous, kind, funny and wise. She loved her country, her community, the Chamber and all of those with whom she made friends along the way. Betty passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 20th at 10:30am with loved ones by her side. She will be profoundly missed.

Pictured with 14 past Citizen of the Year recipients, Betty is on the far right. Image courtesy of Karen Tamaki Photography.

Betty was a passionate advocate for Campbell. Her blood bled chamber blue. It was an absolute pleasure working side by side with her. I will miss her very much and sadly, Campbell has lost another community icon. ~ Neil Collins, CEO of SCCAOR and past Campbell Chamber of Commerce CEO

The community of Campbell has lost an amazing advocate and we’ve all lost a genuine friend. ~Pam Finch, Keller Williams Real Estate and Chamber Past President

We welcome you to post a memory, story or personal thought about Betty to this blog using the comment section below. We hope it will serve as a compilation of her legacy.

24 Jun 2015
Comments: 0

New ‘Paid’ Sick Days Law

On July 1, 2015 business owners get one more challenge from the State of California…mandatory Paid Sick Days for employees. The new law affects every business with employees and of course, the penalties for the failure to comply are draconian. To make the challenge even more interesting, this very poorly written statute has many professionals uncertain how to implement it properly.

An employee will be able to use employer Paid Sick Days for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition, or preventive care for, themselves or a family member, or for an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. The law has three different implementation options. Read more!