Dear Residents,

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes continues to monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus in Los Angeles County and would like to share the following updates with the community:

The Latest

Business License Tax Refund Update

Do you own a small business in Rancho Palos Verdes? To provide business owners affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with some financial relief, the City is offering small businesses located within RPV a one-time refund of their 2020 business license tax.

The City Council recently expanded the program eligibility so that more businesses can participate. The refund is now available to all registered RPV businesses that generated less than $1.5 million in gross receipts in 2019, regardless of whether they are brick-and-mortar businesses.

Business owners can apply for this refund by submitting a form online, by mail, or by email.

Please click on the links below to view the refund form and frequently asked questions:

2020 Business License Tax Refund Request Form (Online Form)
2020 Business License Tax Refund Request Form (PDF)
2020 Business License Tax Refund Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)

If you have questions, please contact the Business License Coordinator at 310-544-5301 or businesslicense@rpvca.gov; or the Finance Department at 310-544-5304.

You Could Have COVID-19 and Not Know It

You can be infected with COVID-19, show no symptoms, and infect others. Please protect each other by wearing a face covering when you're with people not from your household and keep practicing physical distancing.

Tomorrow is Takeout Tuesday!

The community is encouraged to join in the “Takeout Tuesdays and Takeout Thursdays” initiative launched by the Peninsula cities and the PVP Chamber of Commerce by posting on social media and inviting friends and neighbors to order takeout, using Tuesdays and Thursdays as a special reminder.

Residents are asked to show their support by ordering takeout or delivery, not only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but on a regular basis throughout the coronavirus restrictions. Check the Open for Business page on the City website for a list of local restaurants offering takeout, delivery and curbside pickup.

Beware of COVID-19 Online Scams

Scammers are taking advantage of fears surrounding coronavirus. They’re setting up websites to sell bogus products, and using fake emails, texts, and social media posts as a ruse to take your money and get your personal information. They are forging emails mentioning the outbreak that appear to be from business partners or public institutions to try to get users to open the messages, unleashing malware.

Charity Scams

Charities help communities in their time of need and representatives may ask for donations from people to help fund their activities. However, scammers may try to take advantage of the kindness of others for their own benefit.

How do I know my donation is going to a real charity?
In California, all legitimate charities and professional fundraisers must be registered with the California State Attorney General, Charitable Trusts Section. This office regulates charitable organizations to ensure donations contributed by Californians are not stolen or misused through fraud.

To ensure the charity you are donating to is legitimate, use the Attorney General’s Registry Verification Search. This tool allows you to search the files of the Registry of Charitable Trusts.

Do your homework when it comes to donations, whether through charities or crowd funding sites. Don’t let anyone rush you into making a donation. Do not pay donations with gift cards or by wiring money.

More Info on Scams

Stay up to date on the latest scams and precautions you and your family should take.  Sign up for the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs' consumer alerts. If you come across any suspicious claims, report them to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

Cases

As of June 22, there are 85,942 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Los Angeles County, including the South Bay, so the public should not think one location is safer than another and everyone should be aware and practice physical distancing. The total includes 123 cases in Rancho Palos Verdes, 48 in Palos Verdes Estates, 19 in Rolling Hills Estates and two in Rolling Hills. Countywide, 3,137 people have died.

According to the Department of Public Health, 12 deaths have been reported in Rancho Palos Verdes. The City extends its deepest condolences to the families of these residents.

For a list of cases broken down by city, demographic characteristics, and settings, visit: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/locations.htm

For an interactive dashboard with maps and graphs showing testing, cases and death data by community, poverty level, age, sex and race/ethnicity visit: http://dashboard.publichealth.lacounty.gov/covid19_surveillance_dashboard/

An interactive dashboard of COVID-19 cases in the South Bay maintained by the City of Torrance is available at bit.ly/2XB1fv1. The dashboard reflects information sourced by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus
California Department of Public Health: cdph.ca.gov/covid19 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): cdc.gov/COVID19
World Health Organization: who.int/coronavirus
California Governor’s Office: covid19.ca.gov
County of Los Angeles: lacounty.gov/covid19
L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1
FEMA Coronavirus Rumor Control: https://www.fema.gov/Coronavirus-Rumor-Control
 
Sign up for “Notify Me” city listervs at rpvca.gov/notify

Be sure to also follow the City on Nextdoor, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 
 
Sign up for emergency alerts from Alert SouthBay by:

• Texting “alertsb” to 888-777, which returns a link to register for Everbridge (for COVID-19-related alerts, text the keyword "cv19rpv")
• Registering online at alertsouthbay.com
• Downloading the free Everbridge app on an iOS or Android device from the App Store or Google Play. Select “Find an organization or subscription” and search “alertsb”

Sign up for emergency alerts from Alert LA County at https://lacounty.gov/emergency/alert-la/