On Tuesday, June 25, 2019, The City of Los Angeles announced the addition of LGBTQ certification to the Los Angeles Business Assistance Virtual Network(BAVN). BAVN is a free online portal provided by the City of Los Angeles and the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development that connects businesses with City contracting opportunities. The new qualifications will allow for statistical tracking of certifications to ensure that contracts reflect the diversity of the City.
“I applaud the City’s efforts to expand opportunities in public procurement for our local business community. LGBTQ certification is another step towards further leveling the playing field for small and diverse businesses,” said Los Angeles Board of Public Works President Kevin James. “BAVN is a free and accessible resource that allows us to provide these businesses with the proper tools to succeed and thrive in Los Angeles.”
The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is the exclusive, third-party certification body that will work to verify that eligible businesses are majority-owned by LGBTQ individuals. Once this process is complete, businesses can sign up through BAVN to be notified when contracts are available for bidding and receive guidance through the bidding process. The Bureau of Contract Administration, led by Inspector of Public Works John L. Reamer, Jr., verifies documentation and oversees contracts for the City of Los Angeles.
BAVN currently offers certification for disadvantaged business owners; disabled veterans; minority-owned businesses; women-owned businesses; small, emerging, and local businesses; and more. This allows small and diverse businesses the opportunity to compete with large corporations for contracts. The new LGBTQ certification program will go into effect in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2019-20 beginning on July 1st.
This announcement comes during the annual celebration of LGBTQ Heritage Month. Additionally, the Los Angeles Board of Public Works recognized a few of the outstanding men and women from the Department of Public Works as part of the month’s festivities.
“Los Angeles has been at the forefront of championing equality since 1967 when Silver Lake’s Black Cat became the site of one of the first LGBTQ demonstrations,” said Los Angeles Board of Public Works Vice President Cecilia Cabello. “While tremendous strides have been made since then, the fight for equal opportunity continues. I’m honored to recognize a few of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters who dedicate their lives to enhancing the quality of life for Angelenos and advocating for inclusiveness in the workplace and beyond.”
The LGBTQ Heritage Month honorees were recognized for their professional accomplishments and contributions to raising awareness of human and civil rights in and out of the workplace. From maintaining our streets and sewers to fixing potholes and collecting trash, these honorees are making a significant impact in their respective fields:
Gaye Chapman, Senior Electrical Inspector, Bureau of Contract Administration: serves as lead project inspector for the L.A. Wastewater Integrated Network Systems (LAWINS) project involving multiple wastewater facilities. She also provides training and guidance to other Bureau of Contract Administration inspectors.
Doug Walters, Chief Sustainability Officer & Chief Resiliency Officer, LA Sanitation and Environment: a proven leader in sustainability and environmental issues who formerly served as Co-Chair of the City’s Gay & Lesbian United Employees organization where he spent 4 years advocating for inclusionary policies for LGBTQ employees within City Departments.
Les Amer, Accounting Clerk, StreetsLA: supports the street pavement preservation program and sidewalk construction program. His work ensures the delivery of materials essential to paving more than 2,200 lane miles and constructing 500,000 square feet of sidewalks annually.
On June Thursday, June 20, 2019, First Amendment Coalition announces that it has received a $100,000 gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to support the organization’s work to defend free speech, the free press, and public participation in civic affairs. This generous and substantial commitment will enable FAC to continue to grow its programs and reach new audiences—work that is more important than ever in light of unprecedented threats to the First Amendment and the public’s right to know.
Craig Newmark, is the founder of craigslist.org and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. The gift from will support all of FAC’s programs, including its free Legal Hotline, its strategic litigation program, and its Subpoena Defense Initiative, which connects journalists with qualified pro bono counsel to defend them against subpoenas seeking confidential sources and notes.
“FAC is truly grateful to Craig Newmark Philanthropies for this generous gift, which will allow us to continue and expand our fight for speech and press freedoms, public access to government records and meetings, and civic engagement,” said FAC Executive Director David Snyder.
Also Craig Newmark said “A democracy can only thrive when the entire public participates, and is included, in a society, and that means we need people to be informed about what’s going on around them so that they can be thoughtful voters, citizens, and neighbors.”
“I’m proud to support the First Amendment Coalition as they protect American democracy.” Newmark concluded.
FAC’s work has grown recently, with the addition of a Legal Fellow program and the launch and expansion of its subpoena defense work, which includes free seminars for lawyers and journalists on how to respond to civil and criminal subpoenas to journalists. Most recently, FAC arranged for counsel to represent freelance journalist Bryan Carmody, who was subject to illegal search warrants, executed by San Francisco police officers, sparking national outrage from press advocates and others. FAC has also filed a motion to unseal the search warrants used in Carmody’s case, to allow the public to see where and how SFPD failed to recognize the critical protections of California’s journalist shield law. FAC also recently led the court fight in enforcing SB 1421, the state’s new landmark police transparency law, and, on the federal front, is suing the United States Department of Justice for access to records of its collection of journalist phone and email records.
About Craig Newmark Philanthropies:Craig Newmark Philanthropic supports public charities for trustworthy journalism, voter protection, women in technology, veterans and military families.
The trustworthy journalism priority focuses on efforts that promote the adoption of trustworthy journalism and on countering disinformation. While, voter protection priority focuses on defending the Fifteenth Amendment. This work includes voter registration, legislation and policy, and improvements to the electoral system. Women in technology priority focuses on national initiatives that are working to solve the gender gap in technology. Lastly, vets and military families priority focuses on efforts that help vets and their families from a broad, national perspective. For more information visit https://craignewmarkphilanthropies.org/about-us/
About Craig Newmark:
Craig Newmark is a Web pioneer, philanthropist, speaker, and one of America’s most recognized nerds. In 1995 he founded craigslist, which to date has seen more than 5 billion classified ads posted. In 2012 he was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame. In 2016, he created the Craig Newmark Philanthropies, a private foundation to promote philanthropy and civic engagement. He was born in Morristown, New Jersey and received degrees in computer science from Case Western Reserve University. He now lives in San Francisco. For more information visit https://craignewmarkphilanthropies.org
About The First Amendment Coalition: The First Amendment Coalition is an award-winning, nonprofit public interest organization dedicated to advancing free speech, more open and accountable government, and public participation in civic affairs.
The mission of the First Amendment Coalition is to protect and promote freedom of expression and the people’s right to know. The Coalition is a non-profit, nonpartisan educational and advocacy organization serving the public, public servants, and the media in all its forms. Its constituency reflects an increasingly diverse society. The Coalition is committed to the principle that government is accountable to the people, and strives through education, public advocacy, litigation, and other efforts to prevent unnecessary government secrecy and to resist censorship of all kinds. (Board of Directors, August 18, 2008). For more information visit https://firstamendmentcoalition.rg
Hollywood Breaking News, Lifestyle, Celebrity News, Entertainment News, Awards, Fashion Events, Movies, Sports, Local News, National News & US World
