Business owners call on legislator to generate jobs

Coachella Valley business owners and leaders called on Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, to promote legislation that spurs jobs and eliminate those that hurt economic growth Wednesday in Palm Desert.

During a town hall meeting hosted by Nestande, Jay Chesterton, of the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, spoke against SB 432, a workplace safety bill that requires hotels to have a fitted sheet as its bottom sheet and not a flat sheet as its bottom sheet on its beds.

"Please tell them, stay out of our beds,'' Chesterton said.

The meeting was held at the to a group of about 65 people.

Former Indian Wells Mayor Dick Oliphant called on Nestande to promote legislation that puts a time limit on unemployment insurance.

“We keep extending it and we’re not allowing people to get off it to go to work,’’ Oliphant said.

Oliphant, who owns Oliphant Enterprises, Inc., said at a recent project some contract employees did not show up to work.

“They would not show up because they would be going off unemployment for a couple, for three weeks of work,’’ he said.

Mark Weber of the Coachella Valley Enterprise Zone said that a manufacturer has plans to visit the valley this week because the valley is an enterprise zone.

He said California’s “over-litigious” society and high workman comp rates are hurting local businesses.

“All those are detriments to jobs and that’s why jobs are continuing to leave,’’ Weber said.

Nestande, who was against the elimination of enterprise zones, said he would like to see the entire state become an enterprise zone.

“Why are we picking areas if we know lower regulation and lower taxes work to bring businesses in,’’ Nestande said.