LETTER Valley-Wide Consensus? I enjoyed Shelly Garcia’s interview of Joel Simon, the new chairman of United Chambers of Commerce (March 15). Simon has outlined the serious problems with workers comp and the business tax faced by businesses in the Valley. It is his job to try and coordinate a consensus among the 23 chambers of commerce in the Valley to bring about meaningful reform. That’s a near impossible task, what with each chamber adhering to its own strategic plan, many focused on local issues, and many involved in fund raising. With costs rising to do business, Simon would do better to focus on creating one new valley-wide chamber of commerce. Imagine businesspeople like Flip Smith, Ricky Gelb, Jill Barad, Mike Quiroga, Ken Banks, Guy McCreary, Susan Harris, Les Himes, Art Ginsburg, Bob Robertson, Paul Davis, and Stanley Bryant, coming together, working and participating in one new chamber of commerce. These people know too well that business is the engine that drives the local economy. Under one roof, you will have a cutting-edge chamber of commerce leading the way in new business thinking. We need a new San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce. Joe Hooven Burbank
