California

“Seizing Our Destiny” Economic Plan Moves Forward in Riverside, California

blog.pe.com/riverside/

Many officials in the region of Riverside, California have spurred up the economic development plan which is known as “Seizing Our Destiny”.

The original development plan was launched nearly 2 years ago and many officials are realizing the importance of the initiative.

There were also multiple goals that were listed in the development plan such as:

  1. Attracting businesses that are eco-friendly (green job summit was also held)
  2. Expanding the convention center which is located in the downtown region

Some other goals included hosting the Festival of Lights and sending a particular newsletter to all of the local residents in the area.

There were also particular goals that were not met by the city as deadlines were surpassed. The Mayor of Riverside whose name is Ron Loveridge stated that he was pleased with the progress and is hopeful with the new re focus of the development plan.

Some of the key areas that will be focused on include:

  1. Sending out encouraging messages about the community of Riverside to ultimately attract new tourism and brand new businesses.
  2. Increasing the amount of collaboration between businesses, the city government and many of the local schools.

Many of the officials also want to continue to see how the city of Riverside is doing in the future by utilizing a variety of indicators such as test scores from schools and crime rates as well. A “quality of life index” would also be served as a score card.

Some of the features of the “quality of life index” include:

  1. A variety of surveys from employment data and wage data
  2. Measurements of the quality of water
  3. An overall score of approximately 539 out of 1000

A focus on solar power contributed to the high score on the “quality of life index”.

Overall, the rise of the development plan is going to positively affect the community of Riverside.

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Net Energy Metering Program To Expand in California

http://sandfsolar.com/

Many regulators in the state of California approved a particular subsidy for a variety of businesses and homeowners that generate solar power from the roof.

The solar industry was in dire need of expansion as it is currently suffering. The Public Utilities Commission in the state of California adopted the program and allows a myriad of businesses and homeowners to use the solar power system to ultimately sell any unused power to a local utility company. The solar power program is called “net energy metering” and was adopted in the early 1990’s. The solar program also attracted investments of approximately $1 billion dollars from a myriad of companies and banks. The biggest contributors to the solar program include Google and U.S. Bancorp.

The solar program has also increased development in the solar market but anxiety hit as many developers worried about the hard cap that limited the cost of the solar program. Many proponents of clean energy wanted the Public Utilities Commission to increase the cap so that a variety of businesses and companies can join the solar program. The utility did not want to raise the cap though because those that sell the energy are not contributing enough to the overall welfare of the electric grid.

San Diego Gas, PG&E and Southern California Edison estimated that nearly $1.3 billion dollars will be shifted in a variety of costs from a myriad of solar customers to non-solar proponents. The number of customers in the solar program is expected to double as soon as the expansion takes place. A Vice President of San Diego Gas and Electric elaborates on how low income customers will suffer the most as they end up paying more for electricity while solar customers don’t pay anything or a limited amount.

Overall, the expansion of the “net energy metering” program is going to be beneficial to the entire solar market.

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Southern California Gas Company To Expand Solar Development

http://www.lbausa.com/partners/

The Gas Company in Southern California has announced that they will be expanding its solar development over a time period of a couple of years.

The solar development project will focus on expanding the solar cogeneration system. The project will ultimately speed up the commercialization of the brand new technology as solar energy is relied on instead of electricity to power an air conditioner in a particular home.

During the entire process, renewable electricity will also be generated. The solar technology has already been installed near the Resource Center in the region of Downey, California. The thermal technology utilizes a particular tracking system and mirrors so that the energy from the sun can focus on a myriad of solar panels to ultimately produce new sources of hot water and electricity.

The thermal technology technique can produce as much cooling power to ultimately cool two homes in a particular area. The Southern California Gas Company is the only company that is practicing and testing the cogeneration technology for cooling purposes. The use of the new technology will be extremely important to homeowners as the air conditioning that is used by a building makes up for nearly 50 percent of the electricity.

Some properties of the solar cogeneration technology include:

  1. Modular Construction
  2. Small body so that it can be efficiently installed on the rooftops of a myriad of institutional and commercial rooftops
  3. Less space is ultimately needed when compared to a PV Solar System
  4. Increased Efficiency due to the production of heat and electricity

The modules are also created by utilizing Cogenra Solar Technology. A Vice President of Southern California Gas Company elaborates on the many benefits of the cogeneration project as there are many savings in cost, sustainable energy is generated and green jobs are efficiently created.

Overall, the Gas Company in Southern California is making advancements in regards to sustainable energy.

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Economic Summit Held in Santa Clara, California

workforce.org/

An Economic Summit has concluded in the state of California as 500 people met in the region of Santa Clara to discuss a variety of initiatives.

The policies that were discussed aimed to create more jobs in California while also appealing to the global marketplace. The large Economic Summit was also a continuation of 14 forums that were held to discuss various economic initiatives.

There were many ideas that were presented so that California can return to its status of prosperity. At the Economic Summit, hundreds of the attendee’s signed a document called the “Commitment to Economic Prosperity” which is a particular pledge from the people to work very hard to push initiatives forward in the state of California.

The five policy areas that are going to be focused on include:

  1. Educating the workforce for the state of California
  2. Investing money into the weak infrastructure
  3. Encouraging new forms of innovation
  4. Boosting the amount of regulation
  5. Making it easier for businesses to acquire capital

There were also many notable individuals at the Economic Summit such as the New York Times Columnist named Thomas Friedman and Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom. There were also many business leaders that came to the summit which were the major stars for the event. Lt. Governor Newsom elaborated on the high unemployment rate and the need to educate the workforce so that their skills are kept up to date. There were also many jobs that still needed to be filled as there were 465,000 unoccupied positions. Training workers with many 21st century jobs was a main priority as the industry needs to align with education. Many people brought an expertise opinion as nearly 40 economic initiatives were developed at the economic summit.

Overall, the Economic Summit served as a positive gathering as the state of California is struggling financially.

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Dire News For The State Of Economy In California

www.washingtonpost.com/

Governor Jerry Brown of California has announced a dire situation for the entire economy and the school structure.

The state budget is going to have to be revised as a vote needs to be initiated to determine if taxes are going to be raised. Due to the lower amount of state revenue, the amount of funding for the education sector is going to have to decrease.

The Chief of Staff for the SDUSD elaborates on how the education system has not improved over the year which means there will need to be more cutbacks. If the tax increases do not pass, than the school district can expect to lose up to $42 million dollars.

Chief of Staff Rhinerson states that the tax initiatives are going to become pivotal especially if the school system is going to be saved. Since the beginning of January, the budget deficit also increased to approximately $16 billion dollars which means that deeper cuts are going to have to be initiated. Governor Brown also made sure to pinpoint that cuts alone are not going to be as beneficial as increasing the taxes on the affluent. The Governor also wants voters to accept a temporary increase in the sales taxes of a quarter of a cent.

Governor Brown wants to increase the sales tax from 7.25 percent to 7.5 percent while the income tax rate is raised for individuals that are earning more than $250,000 dollars. If none of the proposals get approved than there will be nearly $6 billion dollars in cuts and the UC System will get $250 million dollars less which will lead to many tuition hikes for many of the students. Many of the school programs will also suffer at the Universities which will negatively affect job growth.

Overall, California is in a dire state but can recover as the residents make sacrifices.

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West Village At UC Davis Honored As Model For Sustainable Urban Planning

inhabitat.com/

The West Village region on the campus of UC Davis is being honored as a model for urban planning and sustainable development.

The West Village is considered to be the largest net zero community in the entire country of the United States. The particular journal called “Planning Theory and Practice” featured the sustainable features and urban planning of the West Village.

The report in the journal highlights the innovative construction of the building and how “creative partnering” has led to energy conservation. There were many international green projects that were submitted to the journal but the West Village received the top ranking.

The Co-Author of the case study elaborates on how the West Village is a national example of developing a net zero energy eco-district. The West Village currently has 315 apartments in which nearly 800 students live. The community is also expecting to expand as there will be 343 homes for many of the staff and faculty while a total of 4,200 residents will be properly housed. The West Village project also has amenities such as study and recreation facilities and a village square for the students. The amount of energy that is produced by the West Village is equivalent to the amount that is consumed for a particular year.

Some sustainable features of the West Village include:

  1. Energy Efficient Design
  2. Solar Panels that are photovoltaic
  3. Biodigester that converts waste to efficient energy
  4. Streets that meet the guidelines of the solar design
  5. Drainage that is on site
  6. Residential density which is high and leads to sustainable development

Private investment also assisted as the West Village region was constructed. Nearly $280 million dollars was efficiently allocated to the project of the West Village at UC Davis.

Overall, the sustainable design of the West Village is a positive model for many potential building developers.

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California Governor Declares Small Business Month

California Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. issued an official proclamation declaring the month of May as “California Small Business Month.”

CA Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr.

CA Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. (Photo - business.ca.gov/)

It’s a bit late, but the proclamation might still do some good in putting fire under state and regional agencies that provide support and assistance to startups and small business owners in the Golden State.

“This month, we reaffirm our commitment to helping California’s small businesses thrive and prosper. The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, along with key agencies of state government, works to facilitate economic growth through collaboration with small businesses,” said Governor Brown in his proclamation. “Supporting small-scale private-sector job creators is among our most promising strategies to enhance California’s human capital, expand job opportunities and increase our competitive advantage in the global marketplace.”

California has 3.4 million small businesses which account for 99 percent of all California firms and more than 52 percent of the state’s workforce. As part of “Small Business Month,” the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (Go-Biz) is participating in a number of small business related events across the state.

These events are designed to connect small business owners with the resources and tools they need to succeed as well as to recognize their role in California’s recovery. Their regional SBDC (small business development centers) partners will additionally host a series of free small business seminars and events.

According to the Go-Biz event calendar, the 1st Annual Southwest Veterans’ Business Resource Center (SWVBRC) Small Business Outreach Event to connect small businesses, secure federal contracts, and create jobs is scheduled to be held on May 17, 2012 in Perris, CA.

May 20, 2012 is the Small Business Week Conference in Washington, D.C. hosted by the Small Business Association, with forums, workshops, and networking events to meet and connect with leaders in the small business community.

The 4th Annual Small Business Resource EXPO, hosted by the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, is scheduled for May 24, 2012 at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside, California. The free admission event will feature over 50 exhibitors ready to help businesses grow and free workshops in social media, marketing, labor laws, and more.

Public Utility Commission Building in San Francisco, California Rated as Smartest Green Construction

www.superconsciousness.com/

The world’s smartest green building is labeled as the Public Utility Commission construction in the region of San Francisco, California.

The Utility building provides wastewater, drinking water and a variety of solar power amenities for many of the municipalities in the region of San Francisco.

In regards to efficiency and sustainability, the Utility building utilizes nearly 55 percent less energy and 32 percent less in electrical demand.

The building is also nominated to have a Platinum LEED Certification for all of its energy efficient features.

The Platinum Certification is the top of the line and requires a strict design process such as:

  1. Reducing the environmental impact
  2. Creating a healthier workspace
  3. Providing benefits of the energy efficient green building

The engineer of the utility building elaborated on how the construction utilized a limited amount of resources and the model was intended to display how a sustainable high rise should look like in the near future. The engineer of the Utility building also wanted to surpass the energy code for California as they utilized the proper team and the proper design.

Some of the features of the LEED design include:

  1. Natural Ventilation Windows
  2. Wind Turbines
  3. Solar Platform that has approximately 684 panels with recycling for wastewater

The building is green in its construction but it is also considered to be smart because of its IBMS (Integrated Building Management System). The IBMS allows data to transfer efficiently between each particular floor in the building. The IBMS also comes with operational tools and software applications that can be utilized in real time and increases the performance of the building itself. Because of the close collaboration between many of the construction workers, the design of the building is seen as a masterpiece.

Overall, the Public Utility Commission Building will pave the road for the construction of other energy efficient projects.

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Economic Development Plan For Butte County, California Underway

http://www.buttecounty.net/

An economic development plan for the region of Butte County, California is beginning to make a positive impact.

The discussion and planning stage is over and positive results are emerging.

A Development Manager for Butte County whose name is Jennifer Macarthy told many Supervisors at a meeting that the county is welcoming a myriad of new businesses and ones that are already established are expanding as well.

The Development Manager whose name is Jennifer Macarthy elaborates on the four goals of the development plan:

  1. Encourage current businesses to continue its expansions
  2. Making Butte County an ideal location for making investments
  3. Improving the sustainable reputation of Butte County
  4. Utilizing resources efficiently for development purposes

One of the most important goals to the Development Manager was making the county an ideal area for investors and investments. Jennifer told the Supervisors that treating the county government people with respect is an important factor for promoting investment. A customer service training program was also implemented so that businesses would be motivated to stay and invest in Butte County. Many of the county employees do not work with people that have projects due to regulations but the Development Manager wants every employee to work with the business so that the project can be implemented in Butte County.

Improving Customer Service is a pivotal factor in order to retain and attract new businesses to the region of Butte County. Economic development also has regional impact such as the nitrate removal project that is one of the most impactful in the state. The nitrate project is broken down into geographical chunks which ultimately help out many local businesses in the regions. The Development Manager wants more projects to be similar to the nitrate project in the future.

Overall, Butte County is beginning to bear the fruit of all of the labor that was put into the development plan.

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Long Beach, California Receives 2 Sustainable Grants

http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.com/

The region of Long Beach, California is due to receive 2 important grants from the local Growth Council.

The first grant is for the sustainable community which is approximately $929,000 dollars and will fund the specific amendment for the local coastal program. The second award is nearly $170,000 dollars and is intended for the Ways Demonstration project.

The awards will make a positive impact across the city and the local region. The Mayor of Long Beach whose name is Bob Foster elaborates on how he is thankful to the Department of Conservation as they can now utilize the money to meet important sustainable goals. Improving the Cerritos wetlands has always been one of the top priorities to Long Beach.

The Southeast Gateway of Long Beach has needed revitalization for a long time. The SEADIP is being used as the development guide to properly boost the Southeast region of Long Beach. The SEADIP plan has needed an update and with the sustainable award, the local leaders can move forward in developing the region of Long Beach. A local council member states that the involvement from the community is ultimately going to drive the success of the SEADIP plan.

The council member finally pinpoints that particular foundations will be strengthened such as:

  1. Economic Development
  2. Preserving Wetland Resources
  3. Reducing miles traveled in a car
  4. Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The second award is also pivotal to Long Beach as the money will be used to fund an urban greening project. Green and sustainable features will be created for the community as the infrastructure is improved. Warn down alley ways will be transformed into pedestrian walkways that will be engulfed in a myriad of native plants and enhancements which are sustainable.

Overall, the region of Long Beach is going to benefit from the development and sustainable grants.

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