Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass continues her mission to aid the city's businesses, announcing a one-year extension for the Al Fresco Outdoor Dining Program, providing a balm to restaurants that have weathered the pandemic and its aftermath. The initiative, according to a statement from the Mayor's Office, offers eateries with temporary permits the time to transition to the program permanently and includes financial support to cover permitting fees. Bass, underscoring the city's backing for local commerce, said, "Thousands of businesses have been assisted this year building on our momentum to change City Hall into an advocate for businesses – not a barrier."
In what appears to be a blend of generosity and business acumen, Mayor Bass has not only focused on extending deadlines but has also injected capital into business development – with over $18 million in financial assistance having been allocated to companies citywide, her administrative strides are manifesting in summits, streamlined processes, and housing expansions that promise to boost L.A.'s fabric, more than 2,000 units, said to be moving swiftly through the bureaucratic pipeline, which were once choked by red tape, are now reportedly finding quicker paths to realization under her stewardship. "Since Mayor Bass signed Executive Directive 4, hundreds of businesses have accessed more than $18 million in funding assistance," as stated by the Mayor's Office.
Additionally, building on the city's digital and economic front, Mayor Bass has heralded programs like ‘LA Optimized 2.0,’ bolstering the digital prowess of 475 businesses, and the LApreneur program which has seen over 100 business owners graduate with sharpened entrepreneurial skills. In tandem with creating physical spaces like the BusinessSource Centers in burgeoning communities such as Boyle Heights and Watts, the Mayor's Office has pushed forward measures to foster an ecosystem conducive to commerce and connection, including the procurement of substantial grants to mitigate pollution in port communities and the bolstering of the Port of L.A. amid record-breaking trade volumes.
Emerging from the constraints of the pandemic, Mayor Bass' proactive measures extend from the economic realm into the cultural and social spheres of the Angelino experience, and the emphasis on salvaging and reinvigorating industries pivotal to the identity of Los Angeles, like the entertainment sector, now witness to the bolstering by the Film and Television Tax Credit Program, and the hosting of industry councils to magnetize productions back to the heart of Hollywood.
