Valley Economic Development Center

The phrase "eliminate the middle man" has been used so commonly that it has reached cliche status. But there are times when the intermediaries are important and deserve recognition. This time, it's the Valley Economic Development Center. You may recall, from last Sunday, our Valley Perspective editorial that noted a $205,000 loan from a U.S. Commerce Department program to De Leon Enterprises of Pacoima. The loan program was important for two reasons.

Kiva is an international microlender known for providing loans in Third World countries to businesses that might be in a need of a cow or a new oven. But now Kiva is moving into a new territory -- Los Angeles. The nonprofit lender, which uses its website to get ordinary citizens to help support its loans, has started by funding 13 loans in the L.A. area. "I went to three different banks," said Yesenia Monroy, co-owner of the small Cafe 22 health-food restaurant near L.A. County/USC Medical Center.

A draft audit by the city of Los Angeles found no financial irregularities by the Valley Economic Development Center, a city official said Monday. "Their preliminary findings basically have found that the . . . books are in order and the way they do what they do is appropriate," said Jasper Williams, director of industrial and commercial development at the Los Angeles Community Development Department.

Small businesses that are having trouble obtaining loans may be eligible for assistance under a new program organized by a San Fernando Valley economic development group. The loan program is designed to provide capital to existing businesses throughout Los Angeles to help offset the effects of the economic downturn and the credit crunch, said Roberto Barragan, president of the Valley Economic Development Center. "This program is specifically a job-saving and job-creation program," he said.

Roberto Barragan has been named president of the Valley Economic Development Center after serving in an interim capacity since the resignation of longtime president John Rooney last year, agency officials said Thursday. Barragan, 39, impressed board members as the acting president of the nonprofit agency, which came to prominence after the 1994 Northridge earthquake by providing government-funded loans and technical assistance to small businesses, said board member Wayne Adelstein.

Valley Economic Development Center President John Rooney is preparing to leave the agency he brought to prominence, and the center board is expected to ask agency Vice President Wilma Berglund to take over as acting president.

The chairman of the Valley Economic Development Center has resigned under fire, and half of the center's governing board has quit in a leadership shake-up at one of the city's leading small-business organizations. After months of controversy, a group of board members asked David Honda to leave the board on grounds that he was interfering with the day-to-day operations of the nonprofit group, board member Wayne Adelstein said Monday.

Small businesses that are having trouble obtaining loans may be eligible for assistance under a new program organized by a San Fernando Valley economic development group. The loan program is designed to provide capital to existing businesses throughout Los Angeles to help offset the effects of the economic downturn and the credit crunch, said Roberto Barragan, president of the Valley Economic Development Center. "This program is specifically a job-saving and job-creation program," he said.

After nearly running out of money in its small-business loan funds last month, Valley Economic Development Center Inc. of Van Nuys says it is getting $16 million to enable it to continue to lend to Southern California firms caught in the stubborn credit crunch. Most of the money -- $15 million -- is coming from the city of Los Angeles. Last week, Merrill Lynch & Co. said it would supply the group with $1 million.

When Bill Pegnato started his roof-maintenance company in 1992, he was armed with a business degree from Rutgers University and years of experience in the trade. But despite his academic attainments and on-site smarts, his business remained sluggish. He thought about hiring outside consultants but was shocked at the $2,000-a-day fee he was quoted. Then he spotted a newspaper advertisement for a 10-week business course offered at the Valley Economic Development Center--for free.

After nearly running out of money in its small-business loan funds last month, Valley Economic Development Center Inc. of Van Nuys says it is getting $16 million to enable it to continue to lend to Southern California firms caught in the stubborn credit crunch. Most of the money -- $15 million -- is coming from the city of Los Angeles. Last week, Merrill Lynch & Co. said it would supply the group with $1 million.

Flora Montes de Oca's plans to expand her factory had come to a frustrating standstill just a few months ago, with the new plant site she bought in Sun Valley idled by bureaucratic permitting hurdles. But help from a retooled city-funded program has given her hope. Consultants brought in by the Valley Economic Development Center are helping her seek a parking variance so she can soon begin building a facility that will more than triple her space.

The Valley Economic Development Center and the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, two of the Valley's most visible business organizations, hope to team up to buy a $3.1-million office building in Van Nuys, officials said Monday. Development center President Roberto Barragan said the organizations expect to close escrow this week on a 25,000-square-foot building at 5121 Van Nuys Blvd. that was formerly leased by the state.

You know it's a small world when seeds that were planted in Bangladesh bear fruit in the San Fernando Valley. The experiment began 15 years ago when the Gameen Bank of Bangladesh began loaning small amounts of money to poor villagers, mostly women, who were traditionally considered terrible credit risks. The woman used the loans to start small businesses such as husking rice, sewing or making pottery.

The Northeast Valley Small Business Development Center is scheduled to open this month at 12502 Van Nuys Blvd., Pacoima. The SBDC is a national program funded by the California Trade and Commerce Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration. The program is operated locally by the Valley Economic Development Center, a nonprofit organization. VEDC had served the community through a city funded Business Assistance Center.

Last summer was not a very pleasant time for the folks at the Valley Economic Development Center. The longtime president and longtime chairman were facing questions about financial deals, media scrutiny was intense and board members of the Van Nuys-based business assistance agency were bolting for the door quicker than you could say "meeting adjourned." It was not exactly the summer of love.

Roberto Barragan has been named head of the Valley Economic Development Center after serving in an interim capacity since President John Rooney resigned last year. Rooney quit the nonprofit agency after some board members questioned fees paid to him and a staff consultant who brokered a deal to get private investment funds for a Canoga Park sign maker. City auditors found no financial irregularities at the agency.

The Valley Economic Development Center has received an award of excellence for its Pacoima work force program from the California Assn. for Local Economic Development. The Pacoima Workforce Initiative was launched a year ago and has placed more than 110 Pacoima residents in jobs, with a 98% retention rate, according to the center. A substantial part of the Pacoima population is at or below the poverty line, and the area is a government-designated empowerment and enterprise zone.

The Valley Economic Development Center in Van Nuys was honored with an award for excellence for its Pacoima Workforce Initiative by the California Assn. for Local Economic Development Programs. The award was announced at the association's annual conference in San Diego last week. VEDC Vice President Paul O'Reilly said the year-old initiative has placed more than 110 Pacoima residents in jobs, with a 98% retention rate.