La Palma : Chamber, City to Hold ‘Shop’ Series

The Chamber of Commerce and the city will sponsor a series of “Shop La Palma” promotional events at local shopping centers over the next six to eight months in an effort to get residents to recycle dollars back into the town’s estimated 700 small businesses.

The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to waive an estimated $200 in permit fees for the marketing events. The council is hoping the “Shop La Palma” campaign will help boost local business sales and city tax revenue.

“We have to protect every business we have,” City Manager Pamela Gibson said. “We can’t afford to lose one business because there is nowhere to grow in our city.”

The City Council allocated $5,000 in July to fund the local business campaign. The city’s general reserve fund has been hit hard by reductions in state funding and dips in sales tax revenue over the past year.

The first of an estimated seven promotional events is scheduled for Feb. 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the La Palma Convenience Center, at Valley View Street and La Palma Avenue. In addition to a sidewalk sale, the event also will feature a deejay, a raffle and clowns.

Officials said one promotional event will be scheduled at a different local shopping center each month. A week before the events, coupons good at the businesses being promoted will distributed to the city’s 4,000 households, officials say.

“We want to either introduce the public to, or have them revisit, their local businesses and shopping centers,” chamber President Charlene Hatakeyama said. “We are hoping for a good response from La Palma.”