Tariffs On Chinese Goods To Increase Friday, President Tweets
President Trump took to Twitter over the weekend to announce that this Friday his administration is imposing additional tariffs on Chinese imports. Under his purview, the U.S. government has imposed 25% tariffs on $50 billion worth of high-tech imports from China, as well as 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of other goods, according to Trump’s tweet. “The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday,” he tweeted. He also said that $325 billion in previously untaxed Chinese goods would soon be subject to a tariff rate of 25%. His Sunday morning tweets indicated impatience with ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and China. “The Trade Deal with China continues, but too slowly, as they attempt to renegotiate. No!” he wrote.

May Is Small Business Month
In recognition of the more than 3.9 million small businesses in the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared May California’s Small Business Month. More than 40% of small businesses in California are minority-owned, according to his proclamation. “Our small businesses account for over 99 percent of total businesses in California, employing 7 million people – nearly half the state’s private workforce,” Newsom wrote. “The 70,350 small firms that exported goods from California generated 43 percent of the state’s $152 billion in total exports. These businesses are renowned around the world for their innovations and comprise an indispensable part of the Golden State economy.”

Long Beach Health Department Aims To Reduce Spread Of HIV And STDs
The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services and the Long Beach Comprehensive HIV Planning Group have partnered to reduce the rates of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the city. According to a city press release, “Long Beach has some of the highest rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in the State of California.” Respectively infection rates increased 88%, 143% and 267% since 2013. By contrast, the rate of new HIV infections in the city has declined overall, though it remains twice as high as the state average. The new Long Beach HIV/STD Strategy aims to reduce and treat sexually transmitted infections in the community, and offer greater resources for education and prevention. Click here to read an in-depth Business Journal story on the topic from November 2018.

Long Beach City Auditor Recognized For Animal Care Services Audit
Long Beach City Auditor Laura Doud and her team received the Distinguished Knighton Award at the Association of Local Government Auditors’ annual conference on Monday. According to Doud’s office, the award recognizes “the best audit performance reports issued by 300 local government and audit organization members.” Doud and her team were recognized for their performance audit of the Long Beach Animal Care Services Bureau, which was requested by Mayor Robert Garcia. In a statement from the auditor’s office, Garcia said he was proud of the work performed by the city auditor and her team. “Our Animal Care Services Bureau has already started seeing the positive changes that stemmed directly from this audit, and we are excited to see more of their recommendations be implemented,” he stated.