Keller
Butler
Tuesday, July 21, 11:45 AM, VIA Luncheon
AI and Intellectual Property Law: Risks, Rights, and Regulations
Education Center, Child & Family Center (21545 Centre Pointe Pkwy)
Thursday, August 20, 5:30 PM, VIA After Five Hosted by Young & Chic, LLP at 25152 Springfield Court, #345
Exploring Ownership, Compliance, and Legal Challenges in an AI-Driven World
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming the way businesses operate, market their services, and engage with customers. From generating content and streamlining workflows to enhancing customer service and supporting hiring decisions, AI has become a powerful tool for organizations of every size. But with these opportunities come important legal questions that many business owners and executives have yet to fully address.
Join the Valley Industry Association (VIA) on Monday, July 21, at the Child & Family Center Education Center, for an insightful luncheon presentation featuring Lucas Rowe of Koegle Law Group. This timely discussion will help business leaders better understand the evolving legal landscape surrounding artificial intelligence and intellectual property.
Attendees will gain practical insights into how small and midsized businesses are currently leveraging AI across marketing, operations, human resources, and customer service. The presentation will also explore the growing legal risks associated with AI, including copyright infringement, rights of publicity, confidential data exposure, consumer protection concerns, and emerging compliance requirements.
Most importantly, participants will learn actionable strategies to protect their organizations, including implementing effective AI policies, negotiating vendor agreements, establishing human oversight processes, and reducing potential liability while continuing to benefit from AI innovation.
Whether your company is already using AI tools or just beginning to explore their potential, this luncheon will provide valuable guidance on balancing innovation with legal responsibility in an increasingly AI-driven world. Don’t miss this opportunity to stay informed, protect your business, and prepare for the future of artificial intelligence.
Date: July 21
Location: Child & Family Center Education Center
Presenter: Lucas Rowe, Koegle Law Group
Hosted by: Valley Industry Association (VIA)
Thursday, August 27, 8:30 AM, VIA CEO Forum Education Center, Child & Family Center (21545 Centre Pointe Pkwy)
Tuesday, September 29, 11:45 AM, VIA Luncheon
Update from Fivepoint Education Center, Child & Family Center (21545 Centre Pointe Pkwy)
Thursday, September 24, 5:30 PM, VIA After Five
Hosted by Valencia Town Center at Salt Creek
Thursday, October 15, 5:30 PM VIA After Five
Hosted by New York Life at 25124 Springfield Ct, #170
Tuesday, October 20, 11:45 AM, VIA Luncheon
Update: City of Santa Clarita Education Center, Child & Family Center (21545 Centre Pointe Pkwy)
Friday, November 6, 6:00 PM VIA BASH
Boots & Bowties at the Hyatt Regency Valencia
SBy Patrick Moody Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital
ummer is in full swing, and by now, you might be bored with your usual exercise routine. If you need to shake it up, the American Heart Association and the American Council on Exercise offer several ideas for staying active while enjoying the season. To start, learn to stay safe in the heat.
IF YOU’RE A MORNING PERSON
Try yoga or tai chi. Look for an outdoor class in your area. The only equipment you need is a yoga mat and lightweight clothes that are easy to move in.
Head out for a hike. Try a hike in the forest, hills or mountains shortly after sunrise. If you’re up for a challenge, try rucking—adding weight to your body. You could use a weighted vest, or you could add full water bottles, sandbags or special rucking weights to your backpack.
IF YOU ENJOY SOLITUDE
Attempt archery. It requires complete focus and upper-body strength.
Go fishing in a secluded spot you’ve never explored before. Walk, hike or paddle a small boat to get there.
If you want to get the whole family moving
Find a bowling alley. Bowl a few frames as a family. Plus, you’ll likely find other family-friendly games there that anyone can play.
Play miniature golf at a family fun center or disc golf in a park.
Fly a kite. Is there a breeze? Head to a park that has a large field.
IF YOU WANT TO HAVE AN EPIC ADVENTURE
Organize a scavenger hunt in your backyard, neighborhood, a forest or the beach. You also could incorporate a scavenger hunt into a road trip when you need a break from driving. Roll on down the river in a kayak or a raft.
Dance it out. Attend a music festival nearby (The city of Santa Clarita’s Concerts in the Park at Central Park is a terrific venue) or out of town, and dance until you’re worn out.
IF IT’S TOO HOT TO BE OUTSIDE
Get a grip. Try your hand — and your feet — at rock climbing. Indoor rock-climbing gyms offer
instructors who can guide you and help ensure your safety.
Party on. Take the music festival idea indoors. Crank up the tunes at home and dance your heart out.
Do a tight 10. Do 10-minute workout routines with exercises that require no equipment, such as squats, side bends, leg lifts, pushups, forward bends, neck stretches and calf raises. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, rest or
do cardio for 30 seconds, then move on to the next exercise.
LOVE OUTDOOR WORKOUTS?
These tips will help keep you from overheating:
Time it right. Exercise when it’s coolest outside — early morning or late evening. It’s often hottest between noon and 3 p.m.
Stay hydrated. Drink water before, during and after exercise.
BY KEN KELLER SCVBJ Contributing Writer
Owners and employees often see business very differently. Ask a business owner and an employee the same simple question, “How is the company doing?” and you’ll often get two very different answers.
The employee might share, “We’re busy, but things feel a little disorganized.”
The owner might answer, “Revenue is up, but margins are under pressure and I’m watching cash very carefully.”
Neither is wrong. They’re just seeing the business from two entirely different vantage points.
Understanding this gap is one of the most overlooked, and most important, aspects of running a healthy, growing company.
At its core, the difference comes down to responsibility. Employees are responsible for their role. Owners are responsible for the entire system.
That distinction shapes how each group thinks, prioritizes, acts and reacts.
Employees tend to operate in the short term: this week’s tasks, my next paycheck, this month’s goals, the next performance review. Owners are forced to think long-term: sustainability, market shifts, hiring decisions, and whether today’s choices will still make sense next quarter or a year from now.
For most employees, risk is
personal: job security, workload, clarity of expectations. For owners, risk is exponential: payroll, debt, client concentration, economic cycles, and the reality that one or two bad decisions can have lasting consequences.
An employee might reasonably ask, “How does this affect my workload or my team?” An owner must ask, and answer, “How does this affect the entire company?”
Those are not competing questions; they’re just operating at different levels.
Many of the frustrations inside a company don’t come from poor attitudes or lack of effort. They come from partial visibility. What do I mean?
Employees typically see a portion of the business. They often do not have access to financial data, strategic discussions, or the broader context behind decisions. So, when something doesn’t make sense, they may fill in the gaps. But the assumptions may be incorrect.
Owners, on the other hand, carry the full weight; the full picture. But because that is often complex and constantly changing, they don’t always communicate it clearly or consistently. In fact, and this is based on decades of my observational experience, most owners are very poor communicators.
The Result?
• Employees wonder why decisions feel reactive or unclear, maybe even personal
• Owners feel frustrated that people “don’t see the bigger picture”
This isn’t a people problem; it’s a perspective gap.
High-performing companies don’t eliminate this gap entirely, but they acknowledge it and do work to narrow it. Here are a few practical ways to start:
Share more context You don’t need to open the entire financial playbook, but giving people a basic understanding of revenue, margin, and cash flow changes how they think. Explain the “why” Even a two-minute explanation can prevent hours of confusion or frustration.
Teach business literacy
When employees understand how the company makes money, their decisions improve.
Think beyond your role Ask how your work impacts the customer, your team, the other teams, and the business.
Ask better questions Instead of assuming, seek clarity and ask: “Help me understand the bigger picture here.”
Own outcomes, not just
tasks That shift alone raises your value significantly.
When owners and employees begin to see the business through a more shared lens, something powerful happens:
• Execution improves
• Communication becomes more productive
• Trust increases
• And ultimately, the business grows faster, with fewer internal obstacles
The goal isn’t to make employees think like owners overnight. Nor is it realistic for owners to expect everyone to carry the same level of responsibility.
The goal is simpler and more impactful:
To help each side better understand how the other sees the same business.
Because when that happens, alignment increases and growth becomes a lot more sustainable.
Ken Keller advises small and midsize business owners on profitable growth.
When a customer hesitates at the register, there’s a good chance the problem isn’t the product or service. It’s the payment method. In a year when affordability tops the priority list for many consumers, demand hasn’t disappeared; consumers are just waiting for a better path to purchase. Offering flexible financing options can help small businesses capture that demand and win customers that bigger competitors might otherwise scoop up.
For years, it seemed that only the big chains were able to offer financing. Not anymore. Synchrony partners with more than 500,000 merchant locations across the U.S., including independent auto shops, dental practices, furniture stores, powersports dealers, home improvement contractors and more, giving them the digital tools, training and financing infrastructure to help them compete with brands that have entire teams dedicated to those functions.
In the wake of Small Business Month, it’s worth asking: Are you giving every customer the best possible chance to say yes? No matter your line of business, the right financing tools can help protect your margins, reduce cart abandonment and build the kind of loyalty that keeps customers coming back and helps your business grow.
Here’s what you need to know about giving your customers more financing options.
Has your small business been resorting to tactics like offering discounts to entice customers? You could be losing out. Not only are you tightening your margins, which hurts your bottom line, but you’re also setting the expectation that if customers wait long enough, you’ll offer another discount.
When you’re ready to launch a customer financing program for your business, Synchrony provides the digital tools, training, marketing support and account management that helps small business owners compete with brands that have
dedicated teams for those functions. Small and medium-sized businesses can use multi-source financing and tools like Synchrony PRISM to offer credit access to customers:
• Multisource financing (MSF) is how Synchrony connects applicants who might otherwise have been declined with expanded financing solutions offered through our secondary financing partners. With a single application, Synchrony is able to reduce friction at the point of sale by facilitating more approvals and driving conversion. And merchants benefit from significantly higher approval rates for their customers, which can drive more sales and customer satisfaction.
• Synchrony PRISM is a credit decisioning platform that goes beyond the traditional credit score. In determining whether to extend credit, many of Synchrony’s competitors only use credit bureau data, while Synchrony PRISM incorporates up to 20,000 data attributes, including cash flow, rent payment history and other behavioral signals, to identify creditworthy customers that a conventional model might miss. By offering a more holistic view of consumers, Synchrony PRISM increases approval rates for a similar level of risk while reducing fraud. For small business partners, that can translate to fewer lost sales and more customers walking out the door satisfied.
To make these financing tools even easier to offer at the point of sale, Synchrony can integrate financing directly into the systems your team already uses
every day.
Independent software vendor (ISV) integrations embed Synchrony’s financing options directly into your company’s practice management systems, pointof-sale platforms and field service tools your team uses every day. This makes financing a natural part of the conversation rather than a separate step your staff has to introduce and manage.
In a market where every dollar is considered, the businesses that make spending feel manageable are the ones customers return to.
Synchrony provides a suite of consumer financing options that can be offered together through a single application, to help match more customers with more potential payment paths.
Offering multiple financing solutions early in sales interactions helps reduce sticker shock and gives customers more purchasing power.
Through Synchrony, your business can empower customers by offering:
These revolving credit accounts feature the merchant’s brand or a Synchrony network (such as the Synchrony HOME or Synchrony Car Care credit cards) which can be used at thousands of merchant locations. Customers can keep and reuse them for repeat purchases, helping build loyalty to that business. These cards may also offer promotional financing, which can help make larger purchases more manageable by allowing the cardholder to pay over time.
This model lets customers split a purchase into fixed, scheduled payments over a defined term, creating a onetime-use loan rather than open-ended revolving credit. It’s commonly used for customers who prefer predictable payments and is especially prevalent in big-ticket categories — such as powersports, trailers, musical instruments and lawn and garden equipment — often
BY ONDRÉ SELTZER PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE SANTA CLARITA VALLEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
In economic development, a new lease is rarely just a real estate transaction. It is often a sign of something larger: a company’s confidence in its workforce, its operating environment, its partners and its ability to keep growing in a community.
That is why DrinkPAK’s latest expansion in the Santa Clarita Valley matters.
The company has leased a 257,507-squarefoot industrial facility at 25470 Springbrook Avenue, adding another major location to its local operations. With this newest site, DrinkPAK now occupies nearly 1.4 million square feet across eight buildings in the Santa Clarita Valley.
For a company that first launched operations here in late 2020, that growth has been extraordinary. DrinkPAK began in the SCV at The Center at Needham Ranch, where it quickly expanded from a single facility into a multibuilding campus. Since then, the company’s local footprint has continued to grow through several major milestones, including the final phase of Needham Ranch and a 2025 lease of a 172,843-square-foot facility on Golden Valley Road.
DrinkPAK is a next-generation contract manufacturer of alcoholic and non-alcoholic canned beverages, providing full-service support for procurement, batching, processing, filling, packaging, warehousing and distribution. Its customers serve markets across the country, and the company has also expanded nationally with operations in Fort Worth, Texas, and a third facility currently under construction in Philadelphia. But even as DrinkPAK’s reach has grown, the Santa Clarita Valley has remained central to its story.
That is an important point for our region. The SCV’s competitiveness is built on more than available buildings. It is built on the ability to support companies through multiple stages of growth, from site selection and permitting coordination to workforce connections, infrastructure conversations, business resources and long-term relationships with public and private partners.
For companies with complex production, distribution and workforce needs, location decisions require confidence. They need room to operate, room to adapt and room to plan for what comes next. They also need a business environment where partners understand that timing, access, talent and coordination can be just as important
as square footage.
To read the full announcement and learn more about DrinkPAK’s growth in the Santa Clarita Valley, visit https://www.scvedc.org/ blog/drinkpak-secures-eighth-industrial-facilityin-santa-clarita-valley-to-support-regionalexpansion.
BY JASON BEAMAN Poole Shaffery
Every business owner understands the value of reputation. For a business a name, logo, slogan, or product line can become one of the company’s most important assets. Yet many owners protect equipment, leases, insurance, and contracts long before they protect the brand customers actually remember.
tration early, ideally before investing heavily in signage, packaging, websites, advertising, or expansion. The first question is whether the proposed mark is available and protectable. A clearance search can help identify whether another company is already using a confusingly similar name for related goods or services. This step can prevent the expensive problem of launching a brand, building customer recognition, and then receiving a cease-anddesist letter.
Made-up words, unusual words used in an unexpected way, or suggestive names that hint at the nature of the business often receive broader protection than generic or merely descriptive terms. Owners should also think about whether to register a word mark, a logo, a slogan, or some combination. In many cases, the business name itself is the core asset.
whether a company actually owns the brand it is building. A registered trademark can make due diligence smoother, support licensing revenue, and increase confidence that goodwill is transferable.
A trademark is more than a clever name or attractive logo. It is the sign customers use to identify the source of goods or services and distinguish one business from another. A restaurant name, construction company logo, clothing label, podcast title, software name, or professional services brand may all function as trademarks when used in commerce. Registering a business name with the state, obtaining a domain name, or securing a social media handle can be useful, but those steps are not a substitute for Federal trademark registration.
Business owners should consider trademark regis-
Continued from page 7
Timing also matters when a business plans to grow beyond its original neighborhood. A company may acquire some “common law” rights simply by using a mark, but those rights are often limited to the geographic area and market where the mark is actually known. For a Santa Clarita business that sells online, ships products nationally, opens additional locations, licenses its brand, franchises, or markets across Southern California and beyond, federal registration can provide a stronger foundation.
There are also practical considerations in choosing what to register. Strong marks are usually distinctive.
offered through dealer channels on Synchrony’s platforms.
CareCredit Credit Card A dedicated health and wellness credit card, from Synchrony, is accepted at over 290,000 locations including dental, vision, audiology, chiropractic, veterinary and wellness practices. This option offers promotional financing that can help patients pay over time for the care they want
Federal registration provides several important benefits. It creates public notice of the owner’s claim, places the mark in the USPTO database, and can deter later users from adopting similar marks. It also provides legal presumptions of ownership, validity, and the right to use the mark nationwide for the goods or services listed in the registration. A registered owner may use the ® symbol, sue in federal court, record the registration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to help stop infringing imports, and use the U.S. registration as a basis for seeking protection in other countries.
Registration can also add business value. Investors, lenders, buyers, franchisors, licensees, and strategic partners often want to know
or need. Health and wellness providers accepting CareCredit receive payment quickly, helping protect cash flow so they can focus on care rather than collections.
In a market where every dollar is considered, the businesses that make spending feel manageable are the ones customers return to.
Learn more about boosting your business at Synchrony.com/business. Financing is subject to credit approval. (BPT)
Trademark registration is not automatic brand safety. Owners must use the mark properly, monitor for infringement, maintain registrations, and avoid allowing the brand to become generic. Still, for many businesses, registration is a modest investment compared with the cost of rebranding after a conflict. Your brand is one of your business’s most important assets. Whether you are launching a new venture, expanding into new markets, licensing your brand, or simply want to protect the name you have worked hard to build, trademark protection should be part of your business strategy. Our office assists business owners with trademark searches, federal registration, and brand protection planning. Contact us to schedule a consultation and take the next step in protecting your brand.
On June 11, Valencia Town Center became more than a shopping destination. It became the center of business in the Santa Clarita Valley. Our 2026 Business Expo brought together 103 exhibitors and thousands of attendees for an afternoon dedicated to networking, discovery, and community connection.
The exhibitors reflected the remarkable breadth and depth of Santa Clarita’s business community, showcasing the people, products, services, and organizations that help our region thrive every day. From established companies to emerging entrepreneurs, local nonprofits to industry leaders, the Expo celebrated the innovation, expertise, and collaborative spirit that define our local economy. Throughout the afternoon, conversations sparked new relationships, familiar faces became valuable business connections, and attendees discovered businesses and resources they may never have encountered otherwise.
Attendees visited exhibitor booths throughout the venue, collecting stamps for a chance to win raffle prizes valued at more than $30,000.
We extend our sincere appreciation to all 103 exhibitors. Every business and organization that participated invested time, energy, and expertise to make this year’s Expo a success. Together, they demonstrated the innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaborative spirit that continue to drive the Santa Clarita Valley’s economy.
Events of this scale are made possible through the generous support of dedicated community partners. We proudly thank our sponsors: Valencia Town Center, Burrtec, So.CA IBEW-NECA Labor Management Cooperative Committee, FastSigns Santa Clarita, The Balloon Bar Inc. and KHTS and The Signal. Their partnership helped create an engaging experience for exhibitors and attendees alike.
We also extend our gratitude to the many businesses and organizations that donated raffle prizes. Collectively contributing more than $30,000 in giveaways, including hotel stays, theme park tickets, dining experiences, gift cards, spa packages, and much more, their generosity added excitement to the event while encouraging attendees to spend more time discovering local businesses throughout the Expo.
Most importantly, thank you to everyone who attended. Every conversation, introduction, business card exchanged, and new partnership formed is a reminder that strong local economies are built through meaningful relationships. The Business Expo continues to provide a place where those relationships begin and where Santa Clarita’s business community comes together to support one another.
Planning is already underway for the 2027 Business Expo. We look forward to welcoming returning exhibitors, first time participants, sponsors, and community members for another outstanding event.
If you are interested in exhibiting, sponsoring, or being among the first to hear about next year’s Expo, contact us at hello@ scvchamber.com and ask to be added to our interest list.
Thank you to every exhibitor, sponsor, prize donor, volunteer, and attendee for making the 2026 SCV Chamber Business Expo another memorable celebration of Santa Clarita’s thriving business community.
We’re thrilled to invite you to join us in celebrating the exciting new businesses opening in our community! Each grand opening is not just a milestone for these businesses but also a chance for all of us to come together and support our local economy.
From marking special occasions to recognizing remarkable achievements, we feel honored to share in your celebrations. Our grand opening and ribbon-cutting events are FREE and open to everyone to attend! It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow community members, meet the passionate individuals behind these new ventures, and explore what they have to offer.
Let’s show our support and make these celebrations unforgettable! Bring your friends and family, and let’s celebrate the growth and vibrancy of our community together. We can’t wait to see you there!
Congratulations to Majestic DME on your grand opening. Go visit them at 19977 Soledad Canyon Rd Santa Clarita, CA 91351. Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate and support them at their open house. Photo credit: Joie de Vivre Photographie
for
Mark your calendars and come be part of the excitement as new businesses open their doors right here in our community! These grand openings are more than ribbon cuttings — they’re celebrations of growth, local spirit, and fresh beginnings.
Everyone is welcome to join the festivities, connect with fellow community members, and show support for the entrepreneurs investing in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Whether you’re launching a brand-new business or celebrating an important anniversary, we’d love to celebrate you with a memorable ribbon cutting ceremony.
This is the perfect opportunity to showcase your business, connect with fellow entrepreneurs, and celebrate your hard work and success.
on
Email us at hello@scvchamber.com to learn more about how we can assist in organizing your ribbon cutting or grand opening.
Congratulations to Chartwell Escrow on your grand opening. Go visit them at 26650 The Old Road, Suite 201, Valencia, CA 91381. Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate and support them.
Isabell Berberian, Assistant Field Deputy for Supervisor Kathryn Barger, congratulates President, Vince Foley, on their grand opening.
Join us at Olive Branch Theatricals for our August Business After Hours Mixer and connect with professionals, business leaders, and entrepreneurs from across the Santa Clarita Valley before we pause mixers for the summer.
If you have been meaning to reconnect, grow your network, or meet new business contacts, this is the mixer you do not want to miss.
Congratulations to Sierra Tire Pros on your grand opening. Go visit them at 27125 Sierra Hwy, Ste. 401, Canyon Country, CA 91351. Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate and support them. Photo credit: Joie de Vivre Photographie
BY PERRY SMITH SCV Business Journal Editor
There’s lots of change under way in the city of Santa Clarita.
But sometimes changes can be made in order to keep things the same.
That’s kind of the city’s idea behind its review of objective design standards. The Planning Division’s objective design standards, which is a California requirement, in order for the city to enforce certain neighborhood “looks” it would like to maintain, in each of its communities.
The state has tried to remove any subjective elements a city might have for the local review of housing projects, which was seen as a barrier to more housing, City Senior Planner Dave Petersen said at a May 1 meeting of the City Council’s Development Committee.
Peterson explained the purpose of creating them.
“The first objective is to try to ensure that the quality of the architecture coming in the projects is maintained and meets the standards of the City Council,” he said, and the second: “to try to embed as much authority with the city for these projects’ review as we can.”
He also said that by creating a program, the city “checks the box” for the state, which is a requirement if the city would like to have any standards, and it also gives the city flexibility in its review process, including an opt-out clause for developers.
Speaking of more changes that aren’t expected to bring change, the city also gave a developer another year of a previously approved entitlement, for a property that no one thinks is going to be developed according to that entitlement.
Shadowbox Studios, which Santa Clarita’s Planning Division spent more than a year on before council approval in August 2023, was planned to be a full-service film and television studio with 19 soundstages and supporting facilities, before work essentially stopped on the project the following spring.
Industry sources speculated that fund-
ing was an issue for the project that had been expected to add 1.3 million square feet of development in conjunction with a host of planned improvements.
Since the effort has been abandoned, there could be as many as 1,000 homes on the project, according to those familiar with its entitlements. The city has approved the extension, which could be granted at least one more time, according to city officials.
In terms of planning developments that will be seen, the Valencia Town Center is planning to upgrade the fountains that have greeted its visitors for years.
Complaints that the current fountain is not attractive enough or water-conserving have led way to plans for a new one, as well as “a new sitting area with durable materials and partial shade structure.”
The idea is to encourage more visitation in outdoor areas, according to the application.
Looking east, the owners of 21515 Soledad Canyon Road — a 2.62-acre shopping center property at the northeast corner of Soledad Canyon and Golden Oak roads.
The new plan includes a new adult day care center facility.
“The Luminara Day Care Facility proposes to occupy a vacant 4,674-squarefoot corner tenant space (Suite 120) in the center. They provide service to individuals aged 65 and older — participants attend scheduled group sessions and activities, receive meals and are supervised by trained staff. No overnight stays are provided.
The proposed days and hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will be closed on weekends.
Another project that will offer a community service is the Santa Clarita Senior Living Center on Copper Hill Road.
“The originally entitled project consisted of a 109,077-square-foot, three-story building with 104 resident units providing fully licensed senior care (two stories above ground and one belox).
The applicant now proposes a redesigned project totaling 109,631 square feet, and an attached 14,250-square-foot, one-story parking structure with 28 stalls and 14 “tuck-under” parking stalls accessed from the drive isle.
The redesign does not substantially alter the building footprint, but it reduces the number of licensed senior care units from 104 to 101.
BY PAUL BUTLER SCVBJ Contributing Writer
We recently moved and now face one of our most important decisions: where to buy our gas. Even though I love the city, within whose geographic boundaries we still reside, those pesky traffic lights compel us to choose a pump that’s closer.
Back in the day, Marketing 101 taught us about the traditional marketing mix. This framework was originally devised as the “4 Ps” (Price, Promotion, Product and Place) by E. Jerome McCarthy, a marketing professor at Michigan State University in the 1960s.
But does this model pass the test of time 60 years later? In a mature, saturated marketplace like Southern California, I’d suggest that only two true differentiators remain: one from that expanded model (People) and one that needs to be added (Process).
The three gas stations I considered all promoted the price of their product in almost identical ways. One of them is located (Place) on a corner that would save me approximately 87 seconds. Is that enough time to convince me to become a loyal customer? In Los Angeles County, nearly one and a half minutes can be an absolute gamechanger.
Ultimately, it was the People component that drove my decision. At the first station, the clerk didn’t even look up from his phone to acknowledge the transaction. At the second, I asked the clerk a question. He just stared blankly at me; I could almost see the imprint on his forehead reading, “I Don’t Care.”
At the third gas station, however, the clerk welcomed me, looked me in the eye, and thanked me for my business. As I stepped out the sliding doors, he genuinely seemed to mean those four words we so often hear delivered with total insincerity: “Have a Nice Day.”
When McCarthy first formulated his model, technology was in its infancy. Sticking with the theme of alliteration, I’d suggest the modern execution of marketing relies heavily on a new P: Process. Technology is the ultimate enabler of
efficient processes that build customer loyalty — especially through apps. Capt. Obvious here, but an “app” (short for application) is just software designed to perform a specific function directly for the end user.
Everything in our brand-new home seems to be app-driven. The thermostat, washer, dryer, oven, and front door lock all have them. (OK, maybe not the loo — yet). Naturally, I was motivated to look into the customer loyalty apps for the gas stations I was evaluating.
The first station was an easy elimination: they didn’t have a loyalty program. When I mentioned the word “app” to the clerk, he looked at me as if I were from Planet Zog. I know I have a funny accent, but I thought holding up a cell phone and slowly pronouncing those three universally understood letters, “A … P … P,” would have sufficed.
The second gas station had an app, but I trapped myself in a username-and-password loop that frustratingly locked me out of my account. I emailed customer support, only for an automated system to thank me for my message and ask me to explain the exact issue I had just detailed. After my fourth failed attempt at a resolution — and with no real person to speak to on that retro device called a telephone — I deleted the app and drove on.
By the time I tried the third gas station, I was already implicitly biased toward them due to the sincerity of their peo-
“ But does this model pass the test of time 60 years later? In a mature, saturated marketplace … I’d suggest that only two true differentiators remain: one from that expanded model (People) and one that needs to be added (Process)."
ple (a culture that clearly spanned the whole staff, not just one member). To my delight, their loyalty app didn’t just work — it worked beautifully. It anticipated my needs at the pump, rewarded me for my purchase and clearly showed how to redeem my points. I think this is going to be a great relationship.
In summary, it was the people and the process at the third gas station that won me over. Although, as I glance across the street at the station sitting 87 seconds closer to home … the competition might still be on!
Paul Butler is a Santa Clarita resident and a client partner with Newleaf Training and Development of Valencia (newleaftd.com). For questions or comments, email Butler at paul.butler@ newleaftd.com.
BY DAVID WALKER
Active listings of condominiums for sale throughout the Santa Clarita Valley rose during May to the highest level in more than six years, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported based on the latest data.
The association reported 316 active condominium listings at the end of May, which was up 16.2% from the prior year. For perspective, the smallest inventory since 2020 came in December 2021 with a mere 50 condo active listings.
Local Realtors assisted the close of escrow of 74 condominiums last month, an increase of 32.1% over May 2025. That total is more than half of the 143 sales of September 2020, which was the high mark since the pandemic.
“Higher sales have followed higher listings as buyers discovered the larger inventory with more choices,” said Nicole Stinson, president of the 10,000-member association. “Buyers eager to own a home see the advantages of condominiums and that enthusiasm translated to higher sales.”
The association also reported 542 active listings of single-family homes during May. That was down 22.3% from a year ago. While not as strong as condominium active listing, home listings for the first five months of the year were tracking below only 2025 and 2019.
“The year started with interest rates inching lower and more cuts expected. That unleashed pent-up demand and fueled the fervor to buy real estate,” said Valerie Biletsky, the association’s chief executive officer. “But that enthusiasm was tamped down by the ongoing war in the Middle East and rising prices on items like gasoline.
“Buyers, especially single-family homebuyers,” Biletsky said, “are navigating under a cloud of uncertainty and the possibility that across-the-board inflation may be heading higher.”
The median price of single-family homes that changed owners last month came in at $892,000, up 3.7% from May 2025. The condominium median price reported in May was $515,000, down 11.2%.
SRAR’s Income-to-Loan guide for May found that an income of $127,850 was needed to qualify for an 80% loan of $696,000 on a Santa Clarita Valley median-priced condominium of $515,000. With the national average interest rate at 6.10% during May – one of the lowest since January 2022’s 2.97% and well below the 7.56% of December 2023 – the income needed to qualify decreased 17.8% compared to a year ago. The monthly PITI — principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments — totaled $3,196.
The Southland Regional Association of Realtors recently expanded its First-time Homebuyer Grant Program, increasing income limits to make the program accessible to more prospective buyer. In partnership with the California Association of Realtors’ Housing Affordability Fund, the cash grants provide financial assistance to eligible homebuyers by offsetting ownership-related expenses.
The $1,000 grants will be awarded to qualified first-time owner occupants until all available funds are awarded. Income limits and other conditions apply. Go to Grants on SRAR.com or email Maritzar@srar.com for details and questions.
Later this month, the SRAR also is hosting a risk-management seminar that’s free for its members.
• Pending sales totaled 117 homes, down 37%; condo down 54%
• More than 56% of singlefamily homes sold at list price
• Homes stayed on the market 30 days, unchanged from a year ago
Navigating the complexities of real estate requires more than just market knowledge — it requires a proactive approach to risk. Join us for a comprehensive forum where industry experts break down the latest updates in forms, commercial due diligence and broker best practices.
For more information on attending the event or any of the SRAR outreach for July, visit the organization’s website, SRAR.com.
Chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920, the SRAR is the voice for real estate in San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. With nearly 11,000 members, SRAR serves as a trusted resource and partner to the real estate profession and the community at large.
BY JEFF PRANG Los Angeles County Assessor
I’m visiting with you this month about a developing story that is bringing additional funding to Los Angeles County through airplane assessment, which, up until recently, went unidentified and therefore escaped taxation.
County assessors are constitutionally responsible for valuing all taxable property, both real and personal, for property tax purposes. That responsibility includes commercial aircraft, such as those operating at LAX, as well as privately owned aircraft used for general aviation that are
based or regularly operated in Los Angeles County.
Practice and procedure show us that assessors have relied on a variety of records to determine where taxable property is located and whether it is subject to local property taxes. Technology has always changed the tools available to accomplish that task. Tax agencies use property records, business filings, vessel registrations, satellite imagery, and other publicly available information to verify compliance with the law.
In recent years, however, accurately identifying taxable aircraft has become increasingly challenging. Some aircraft owners have exploited complex registration practices and data gaps to avoid detection, even though California
law is clear, aircraft are taxable based on where they are primarily located and operated, not where they are registered. Further complicating this work, changes in how aircraft ownership information is maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have made it more difficult for local government agencies to identify aircraft activity and ownership.
To meet this challenge, the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office has invested in advanced aircraft discovery software that analyzes multiple data sources to identify aircraft activity at local airports. This technology enables the County to locate and assess aircraft that previously escaped taxation, ensuring that all property owners are treated equitably and that the tax burden is fairly shared. Moreover, it’s my responsibility to make sure every piece of taxable property is assessed accurately, so no one pays more than their fair share, and so our communities receive the revenue they are entitled to. This is a clear example of how smart technology investments can improve fairness, strengthen compliance, and generate resources for the public good.
Since the program was initiated in January 2026, the new system has identified nearly 1,000 previously unassessed aircraft. These discoveries are projected to generate nearly $2.5 billion in assessed value from prior year escaped assessments and more than $1 billion in new assessments for the 2026 tax year. Together, these assessments are expected to produce roughly $38 million in additional property tax revenue, funding that supports schools, cities,
public safety, and other vital local services. That figure is expected to grow as investigations and further analysis continue.
There has been some criticism of us undertaking this important step, including a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece claiming among other things that we were creating a new tax as well as expanding government authority or even compromising aircraft safety.
That’s not the case. This effort is not about punishment or singling anyone out. It is about fairness. When some property owners avoid assessment, everyone else pays more or receives less in public services. Ensuring that all taxable property is assessed according to the law protects the integrity of our tax system and ensures that all property owners are treated equitably in the future.
The principle is straightforward: if property is legally taxable, it should be assessed. If taxes are lawfully owed, they should be paid. Most taxpayers understand that fairness requires everyone to play by the same rules.
Most taxpayers would say that it is not only reasonable, it’s essential.
Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang has been in office since 2014. Upon taking office, Prang implemented sweeping reforms to ensure that the strictest ethical guidelines rooted in fairness, accuracy and integrity would be adhered to in his office, which is the largest office of its kind in the nation and provides the foundation for a property tax system that generates more than $20 billion annually.
BY SONIA LEE Partner Thompson Von Tungeln
Every transaction has a headline number. The purchase price, the investment, the valuation everyone fixates on across the table. After decades of closing deals, we can tell you it is the least reliable predictor of how a transaction will ultimately turn out.
abilities, an unfavorable tax basis, and lender obligations that constrain the business for years. The dollar figure was the same. The actual cost was not.
ers try and negotiate with private equity and other financial investors without experienced representation.
What determines whether a deal builds wealth or quietly erodes it is everything the headline number conceals: the tax treatment, the allocation of liabilities, the representations and indemnities, the financing terms, and the conditions that surface long after the handshake. Two acquisitions priced identically can produce entirely different outcomes. One positions the buyer for the next decade. The other carries forward unfunded li-
This is why how you transact can sometimes matter more than what, when and from/to whom you buy or sell. Structure flows directly into your tax exposure, your operations, your estate plan, and the legacy you intend to pass on. The difference between an asset purchase and a stock purchase, or between a precise indemnity and a careless one, is often the difference between a clean closing and years of litigation; a legacy or a curse.
We see the consequences far too often. Capable people, well advised on everything except the one thing that mattered, who moved quickly, signed the wrong instrument, and spent years and real money unwinding it. This is particularly common when successful businessown-
It doesn’t have to be this way. The most valuable hour in any deal is usually the one spent before the documents are signed, with counsel who has sat on both sides of the table hundreds of times.
That is what we do. If you are considering buying, selling, investing in, or starting a venture, call us at 661-945-5868. We offer a complimentary initial consultation, and ours are the only attorneys in the area with genuine Wall Street and international transactional experience as attorneys and private equity investors. Like many of our clients, we have bought, sold, built, and invested in businesses of our own.
26455 Rockwell Canyon Road | UCEN 263 | Santa Clarita, CA 91355 | (661) 288-4400 | www.scvedc.org
Econo Watch
Source: Daum Commercial*, CoStar**
Source: Southland Regional Association of Realtors (SRAR)
*Source: Employment Development Department (EDD) - State of California*
