August 26: BBQ and Seminar at Green Thumb Nursery

PLEASE NOTE….THE AUGUST MEETING HOSTED BY GREEN THUMB NURSERY, WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY CHANGED, HAS BEEN CHANGED BACK TO THE ORIGINAL DATE, AUGUST 26, 2010…..PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS TO ATTEND THIS AMAZING EVENT!

September 23: 12th Annual Memorial Golf Tournament

This year's golf tournament will be held on Thursday, September 23, at the Angeles National Golf Club, 9401 Foothill Blvd., Sunland, CA. Registrtion begins at 9 a.m., with a shotgun start at 11 a.m. Enjoy golf, a southwest BBQ dinner, many door prizes and a raffle.

Click here for more information and a registration form.

2010 SFV 51st Annual Beautification Awards Banquet a Success!

This year, Awards Chair Gordon Larson and his team selected the very charming Hidden Chateau and Gardens in West Hills as the site of the gala awards ceremony. And what a show it was!

Forty-five awards were presented in 22 award categories and 7 special awards. Award categories included residential and commercial landscape construction and maintenance as well as design/build, water features, xeriscape and lighting categories.

Judging this year's entries were State President-Elect Bob Wade from the OC Chapter and Past State Presidents Barbara Alvarez from the LA/SGV Chapter and Jon Alsdorf of the San Joaquin Valley Chapter.

For a complete list of the 2010 winners, click here.

Unlicensed Operators Getting You Down?

If you are a victim of unlicensed operator activities, the California Landscape Contractors Association has some good news for you:
There are two state-government entities that are responsible for enforcing some or all of the laws that pertain to these activities: the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) and the Joint Enforcement Strike Force. The former oversees the Statewide Investigation Fraud Team (SWIFT), which investigates complaints against unlicensed contracting and related activities. The latter is a multi-agency organization that seeks to root out the underground economy and devotes a large portion of its enforcement efforts to the construction industry.

If you really want to put your illegal competition out of business, you must do your part. You must report illegal activities to the proper state agency.


Gather Information
It's important to gather as much information as possible when faced with competition you believe to be illegal. Try to get the operator's name, address, phone number, vehicle make, and vehicle license number. Get the address of his or her jobs in progress. Get the project owner's name, address, and phone number. Collect the operator's advertisements, fliers, and business cards. Is the person using a contractor's license number? If so, make a note of the number. In addition, pictures can be excellent evidence, if you have an opportunity to take them. Check with the CSLB to find out if the person or firm is licensed -- and licensed in the proper category. To check a license, go to License Status Check on the CSLB's website. You'll find a wealth of information there on all of California's licensed contractors.

Unlicensed Operators
After you've collected as much information as you can, and you've determined that the person or firm is operating without a license, fill out an Unlicensed Activity Lead Form and send it to the nearest CSLB SWIFT unit. The addresses and fax numbers of the two California units are on the form. Also fill out a Lead Report and send it to Underground Economy Operations (the Joint Enforcement Strike Force) at the address on the form. Although SWIFT and the Joint Enforcement Strike Force cooperate very closely with one another on unlicensed operations, CLCA recommends that you inform both organizations to improve the chances of quick action. If you do that, write "cc" and the name of the other organization on both reports; that way both organizations will know that the other received the information as well.