- The Beverly Arts
Updated: Sep 27, 2023
Senator Ben Allen
Beverly Hills, California, USA. 10th September, 2023. California State Senator Ben Allen has been nominated for a LABA Icon Award. Senator Ben Allen has authored crucial legislation in the areas of environmental protection, climate change, green transit, education funding, government transparency, electoral reform, economic development, and access to housing. Raised in Santa Monica, California, Ben holds degrees from Harvard, Cambridge, and UC Berkeley. He was first elected in 2014, and is now serving his third and final term in the State Senate where he represents the 24th Senate District, covering the Westside, Hollywood, South Bay, and Santa Monica Mountains communities of Los Angeles County.
Ben chairs the Senate's Environmental Quality Committee and co-chairs the Legislature's Environmental Caucus, is a member of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, chairs the Legislature's Joint Committee on the Arts, and the Senate Select Committee on Aerospace and Defense. He previously served as Chair of the Education Committee (2017-2019) and Chair of the Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee (2015-2016).
Ben has thrown himself into the important work of state government, focusing on wise decision-making and pushing for reforms that address systemic inadequacies in our state. He has authored nearly 60 new laws in various areas, from environmental protection to electoral reform.
During his first two terms in the Senate, fighting the climate crisis and protecting our state's precious natural resources have been among Ben's top priorities. CalMatters recently recognized him as one of the Legislature's foremost leaders in the field of environmental protection. He authored SB 54, groundbreaking legislation to address plastic pollution, which Governor Newsom signed into law to international acclaim. The New York Timescalled SB 54 "the most sweeping restrictions on plastics in the nation" and suggested the legislation is "another route for curbing carbon emissions and trying to sidestep the worst consequences of global warming" after the Supreme Court gutted the federal government's power to regulate carbon emissions. As Chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, Ben worked with his colleagues to pass a powerful climate package requiring the state to become carbon-neutral by 2045 and produce 90% of its electricity from clean sources by 2035, among other measures. A member of the Ocean Protection Council and Coastal Conservancy, he has led a successful effort to phase out a dangerous carcinogen in firefighting foam, crafted a compromise to phase out destructive trawling gear, and brokered a major compromise that lessened the environmental impact of off-highway vehicle use at state facilities. "If only Congress could work out such compromises," wrote the Sacramento Bee editorial board about the bill.
Among his efforts to reform California campaign finance and elections laws, Ben authored the landmark Voter's Choice Act of 2016 to implement more flexibility in how and where to vote, creating the vote center model used in the 2020 elections, which resulted in significantly increased voter turnout. Ben also has been a leader for campaign transparency, and was a leader in passing the Disclose Act and Petition Disclose Act and other transparency measures that have dramatically improved the disclosure of donors to political causes for the public. The California Clean Money Campaign has routinely ranked him top in the Legislature for his commitment to clean money political reform.
An advocate for the Golden State's continued leadership in arts and entertainment, Ben is a member of the California Film Commission. He was part of a legislative effort to extend the Film & TV Tax Credit Program to further support and invest in California’s unrivaled film industry. Ben also authored the law that reinstated teaching credentials for theatre and dance educators, and he continues to fight for expanded access to the arts in schools and underserved communities. Ben has been a champion for science and was a joint author of the state's groundbreaking law that increased vaccination rates among school children.
Prior to his election to the Senate, Ben served as President of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education, lecturer at UCLA Law School, and worked as an attorney at the law firms of Bryan Cave LLP and Richardson & Patel and at the nonprofit Spark Program. While at law school, Ben served as the voting student member of the University of California Board of Regents and was a summer judicial clerk with the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Prior to law school, Ben worked in Washington DC for the Latin American team of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), and then as Communications Director for Congressman Jose Serrano (D-NY).
Ben grew up in the 24th Senate District and attended public schools, graduating from Santa Monica High School in 1996. His father, Michael, spent his career on the English Department faculty at UCLA and mother, Elena, was a public school teacher and artist who served as Chair of the Santa Monica Arts Commission. Ben has a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in History from Harvard University; a Master's degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Cambridge; and a Juris Doctor degree from UC Berkeley. Fluent in Spanish, Ben is a Senior Fellow with the international human rights organization Humanity in Action, an Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellow, a Truman National Security Project Fellow, and a graduate of the Jewish Federation's New Leaders Project. He and his wife Melanie, an attorney, have a little son, Ezra.
The Beverly Arts News is sponsored by The Beverly Arts Foundation
- The Beverly Arts
Updated: Sep 27, 2023
Professor Lingyun Xiang
Beverly Hills, California, USA. 8th September, 2023. Professor Lingyun Xiang is a well-known economist and distinguished investor in the United States, a full member of the Association of International Accountants (AIA), a member of the International Association Of Accounting Professionals (IAAP), a Certified Forensic Public Accountant (FCPA), a senior public accountant of the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA), an International Certified Internet Finance Manager (ICIFM), the Marquis of San Prospero, International Ambassador for Public Welfare and Charity, an image ambassador for global diplomats, an overseas image ambassador of Chinese enterprises, a leader in the financial industry, and a senior financial risk management consultant.
Professor Lingyun Xiang is also an invited Economic Advisor of the Embassy of the Central African Republic in China, invited Chief Economic Advisor of the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in China, the invited Economic Advisor of the Republic of Liberia, the invited Economic Advisor to the Republic of Zimbabwe, the Special Financial Economic Advisor of the Embassy of Madagascar in China and the International Charity Ambassador of the Republic of Mali. Professor Lingyun Xiang is familiar with the legal situation and policy environment of many countries. Proficient in international law, civil law, economic law, partnership law, tax law and securities law, he is also the author of The Way of the Metaverse, The Logic of Blockchain, Guide to Equity Incentive Practice, Private Equity Investment Solutions, Blockchain: A Technological Revolution Empowering the Real Economy, SME Financing and Growth, Global Visual Economics, Industrial Economics, International Trade and Economic Management, Logistics Warehousing Management and E-commerce, Investment Risk and Operation Management, etc.
The Beverly Arts is sponsored by The Beverly Arts Foundation
Updated: Sep 27, 2023
Celebrity chef and restaurateur Tony (Xiaojun) Hu
Beverly Hills, California, USA. 2nd September, 2023. Tony (Xiaojun) Hu, a celebrity chef, restaurateur, and community leader, has been nominated for LABA Icon Award. Originally from China, Mr. Hu graduated from The Culinary Institute of Sichuan in 1989, the first culinary institute in China. He later immigrated to the U.S. and established himself in Chicago, opening restaurants and promoting Chinese culinary cuisine. Also known as "Chef Tony," he was one of the first to bring Sichuan cuisine to the Midwest in 1998, and was instrumental in building Chicago’s Chinatown into what it is today. He has become an icon for his community, teaching culinary classes and providing outreach services to those in need, earning the him title of the "Mayor of Chinatown." His restaurants now have over 30 locations in Chicago and the U.S. with the goal of bringing the worlds of art, culture, and cuisine together for a memorable dining experience.
Mr. Hu is the Founder and Chairman of the U.S.-China Restaurant Alliance (www.u-cra.com), Founder and Chairman of Lao Sze Chuan USA Group (www.laoszechuanusa.com), Founder and Chairman of Hu’s International Group, Ambassador of the City of Chengdu in Sichuan, China, Overseas Vice President of Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, China, Co-Chairman of the Sichuan Cuisine Committee of the World Federation of Chinese Food Industry, Honorary Chairman of the Chinese American Association at Greater Chicago, and has held many other prominent positions in the community, food and restaurant industry. Mr. Hu has served as a Trustee of Roosevelt University, a member of the Landmark Committee of Chicago City Government, an advisory member of the Chicago City Government Tourism Committee, an Executive Director of the Illinois Restaurant Association, the Vice President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, the President of the Chinese American Association at Greater Chicago and Chairman of the Board of Directors, President of the Chinese Association of Chinese in the Southwest of China, Chairman of the North American Entrepreneur Committee of the World Chinese Food Industry Federation, among others.
Mr. Hu has received many honors and awards including the Global Community Oscar Award, the Outstanding Community Leader Award presented by US Congressman Danny Davis, the "Lifetime Achievement Award" by Time Out Chicago magazine, and the Community Hero Award by Chicago Tribune newspaper. Chicago magazine has twice selected Mr. Hu as one of the Top 100 most influential people, the only Chinese American recognized, for "having done more than anyone to educate Chicagoans about Chinese culture—through food." He has been shortlisted twice on the Top 20 list of CCTV Global Chinese Light. WGN World News designated him as their image spokesperson for "Chicago's very own chef and restaurateur." He was awarded the American Asian Distinguished Leader Award, Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Leader Award, Chicago Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s 2nd Tan Jiping Distinguished Community Leader Award, Promoting Asian Catering Personality Award, Sichuan Cuisine Development 15 Years Most Influential Person Award, Sichuan Cuisine Development Leading Figure Award, the Outstanding Contribution Award for Promoting Chinese Food Culture in the World, the Top Ten Chinese Entrepreneur Award in Chicago, the Community Outstanding Contribution Award issued, entered into the Asian Hall of Fame, and won the Citibank Outstanding Community Service Contribution Award. The World Federation of Chinese Food and Beverages named him "International Master Chef of Chinese Cuisine," and he was honored with the Top Ten Impressive Sichuan Cuisine Characters Award (Lao Sze Chuan was also named the Top Ten Sichuan Cuisine Brands), etc.
Lao Sze Chuan (www.laoszechuanusa.com) is a restaurant he founded in Chicago in 1998, with locations in Chicago, Washington, Minnesota, Houston, Connecticut, and Ohio. In 2000, Lao Sze Chuan was awarded "Three Forks" by the Chicago Tribune, the highest accolade for Chinese restaurants at that time. In 2009, Lao Sze Chuan was rated as one of the top ten Chinese restaurants in the United States by the "American Chinese Cuisine Newsletter." In 2013, it was named the best Chinese restaurant in America by Travel & Leisure magazine. In 2015, it was named the No.1 Chinese Restaurant in the United States by food website "The Daily Meal," and was also named the No. 1 Take-Out Restaurant in the United States. It has been listed as one of the best Chinese restaurants in the United States by "Thrillist" and Time Out magazine and has been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand Award seven consecutive times. The most highly rated dishes are Peking Duck, Chef’s Special Dry Chili Chicken, Sheng Jian Bao (Pan-Fried Buns), and Xiao Long Bao. June 21, 2023 was designated as Houston’s “Lao Sze Chuan Day" by Mayor Mr. Turner of Houston, Texas. Mr. Hu has been interviewed by major TV stations such as NBC, ABC, FOX, CCTV, and WGN, newspapers and magazines including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun, Chicago magazine, and many others.
The Beverly Arts News is sponsored by The Beverly Arts Foundation