Solano County Business News

Solano Economic Development Corp. guest discusses future of California's growth

2012-01-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

by: Richard Bammer, rbammer@thereporter.com

Longtime Bay Area and state public servant Sunne McPeak said Solano County and California are making a comeback from the Great Recession, but, to maintain economic growth, political and business leaders must be "focused on outcomes" and work together.

The president and CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund and a former Contra Costa County supervisor, McPeak, speaking Wednesday at a Solano Economic Development Corp. meeting in Fairfield, wondered, "Is California going to be a global leader again?"

The county and state boast "amazing assets to build upon" in the lingering wake of the most serious recession since the Great Depression, she said at the noon luncheon marking the EDC's 29th annual meeting, held at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Speaking to more than 200 area government, business and education leaders, McPeak quoted President Woodrow Wilson to support an assertion that the key to political and economic success, whether it be at the county or state level, is for stakeholders to bridge ideological divides.

"The most efficient form of government is the spontaneous cooperation of its citizenry," she said, quoting the 28th president and an allusion to ongoing political gridlock in the halls of the state Capitol and on Capitol Hill in Washington.

McPeak, who served for three years as secretary of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency for former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, cited the state's multibillion-dollar agricultural industry, life-science research and high-tech companies as reasons to be optimistic about the future. But the key to any successful economic strategy, she said, "is to play to your strengths."

Saying California has historically relied on a "research base" laid down by biotech firms, the military and universities, McPeak, who earned a master's degree in health education and medical care administration, said it provided "an added value" to the state's economy found nowhere else.

As the chief of CETF, a statewide nonprofit group with a mission to close the so-called "digital divide" among underserved communities, she called California "a natural leader in broadband connectivity."

McPeak said California, once ranked relatively low among states in broadband service, has emerged in the last five years as a national leader in the field, recognized by bureaucracies "in the Beltway," a reference to regulatory agencies in Washington.

The private and public sectors work best when their goals are mutually beneficial, she noted. While the private sector may be the source of most jobs in the United States, economic development in communities "is determined by the environment of the public sector," she asserted.

California can regain "its place in the sun," said McPeak, when leaders in Sacramento and Solano County focus on outcomes, forging plans that declare "here's where we're going and this is how we'll get there."

To be competitive in the global economy, state and local leaders must encourage innovation, improve quality of life, govern effectively and forge a culture of accountability, she asserted.

McPeak noted that the Government Performance and Accountability Act will be on the November ballot. If approved, it requires that policies, programs and fiscal decisions by local and state governments be driven by data that indicates what is or is not working.

Solano EDC meeting has encouraging words for tough times

2012-01-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

January 25, 2012 | Posted by Barry Eberling

Solano EDC meeting has encouraging words for tough times

Sunne McPeak, president of the California Emerging Technology Fund, gave the keynote address to the Solano EDC annual meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn Wednesday morning in Fairfield. (Mike Greener/Daily Republic)

FAIRFIELD — Solano Economic Development Corp. members on Wednesday heard some encouraging words amid a still-struggling economy.

The occasion was the group’s 29th annual meeting. About 270 people came to the lunchtime event at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Sunne McPeak gave the keynote address. McPeak is a former Contra Costa County supervisor, former secretary of the state Business, Transportation and Housing Agency under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and president of the California Emerging Technology Fund.

“Those of you sitting in the room are the key to Solano’s success,” McPeak said, adding people in their positions are at the heart of whether California becomes a global leader once again.

Both local elected officials and people from local businesses were in the room. McPeak called the area’s public-private partnerships its great strength.

She mentioned other Solano County strengths as well, from its proximity to such research institutions as UC Davis, to such natural features as Suisun Marsh and San Pablo Bay.

“Any successful economic strategy, you already know, you play to your strengths,” she said.

McPeak labeled the state’s successful effort to end redevelopment agencies, which cities such as Fairfield, Suisun City and Vacaville used for economic development, as “insanity.”

“There needs to be a replacement soon,” McPeak said.

She had harsh words for state government in general, but for the structure rather than legislators. At one point, she had people involved with private enterprise in the room stand.

“We want to thank you for being patient with this state,” McPeak said.

McPeak talked about a movement called California Forward, of which she is a part. Among other things, it would base state budgeting on results that can be measured. She mentioned five criteria: reducing crime, improving education, reducing poverty, improving health and increasing employment.

“That is absolutely common-sense government,” McPeak said.

She also talked of the California Emerging Technology Fund, which the state Public Utilities Commission formed in the wake of telecommunication company mergers. AT&T and Verizon gave a total of $60 million to the fund, McPeak said.

The group’s goal is to close what it calls the digital divide by having 90 percent of California households with broadband connections by 2020. The number stands at about 70 percent today. McPeak said communities with high-speed Internet access get more investment.

McPeak urged the Solano County Board of Supervisors to hold a summit on the broadband issue with Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

Solano County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Linda Seifert attended the Solano EDC lunch. She noted after the event that Solano County already teams with neighboring counties on certain issues, such as the recent agricultural economic summit with Yolo County and work on tribal issues with Napa and Sonoma counties.

Seifert said Solano County would have to look at which counties it would partner with on broadband issues, if it decides to go in that direction. McPeak during her presentation didn’t say why she mentioned Contra Costa and Alameda counties, as opposed to other regional counties.

Solano EDC President Sandy Person also addressed the luncheon gathering. She mentioned success stories in the county and its seven cities in 2011 and challenged people in the room to spread the message.

“Let’s make some magic happen in 2012,” Person said.

Reach Barry Eberling at 427-6929, or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

Vacaville council to ask legislators to delay end to redevelopment

2012-01-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

VACAVILLE — Vacaville is joining other California cities that are asking their representatives in Sacramento to delay the state’s elimination of redevelopment.

City Hall is asking for more time, saying the state law eliminating redevelopment has already killed one Vacaville business and could threaten others that have leases and agreements connected to the city’s redevelopment agency. The law also threatens to throw a monkey wrench into the city’s contracts with its employee groups, the letter states.

The letter, which goes to the council for approval Tuesday night, contends there are too many unanswered questions and discrepancies within Assembly Bill 1X26 that need time to be ironed out before redevelopment agencies are done away with and their assets disposed of.

Vacaville City Council

What: Approval of letter asking state legislators to delay imposing law eliminating redevelopment
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Vacaville City Council chamber, 650 Merchant St.
Info: 449-5100

The council is also scheduled to vote on whether to serve as the successor agency to the city’s redevelopment agency and preside over the disposal of Vacaville’s redevelopment funds and assets.

This vote follows a week after the Suisun City and Fairfield city councils approved their intention to become successor agencies for their redevelopment agencies.

Late in December, the state Supreme Court ruled that Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature have the power to eliminate redevelopment agencies and use their money to fund education.

Vacaville drafted the letter at the request of the California Redevelopment Agency to ask state legislators to create legislation to delay implementing AB 1X26, according to a report to the council from Public Information Officer Mark Mazzaferro. Vacaville expects to lose $4 million a year in redevelopment funds.

If approved, the letter will go to state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, and Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, D-Davis, who represent Vacaville in Sacramento.

AB 1X26 and the subsequent lawsuit have already damaged Vacaville’s economy, according to the letter.

“One of the more popular businesses in downtown Vacaville has fallen victim to the end of redevelopment, as the Creekside Bar and Grill has closed. Because of the rules implemented prior to the Supreme Court decision, the city was unable to exercise an option to extend their lease,” according to the letter.

The letter contends other leases and agreements will be “called into question” and could affect groups such as the Downtown Business Improvement District.

City contracts with employee groups also face problems due to the legislation, according to the letter. Vacaville has used redevelopment money in almost every city department and it pays parts of the salaries of a large number of employees.

“The law calls for invalidating employee contracts at the end of January. However, such a provision is infeasible, as our labor negotiations require proper notice of layoffs,” the letter states.

While City Hall agrees redevelopment as it is now is over, the city is asking for time to create what the letter describes as “a more fair and reasonable process.”

Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.

Fairfield updates possible redevelopment agency losses

2012-01-10T10:28:00.001-08:00

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield has provided the latest information on how much money it is owed by its soon-to-be-defunct redevelopment agency — $82.3 million.

The previous figure of $87.6 million came from a state-required redevelopment agency report for the 20110-11 fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. The City Council approved the report at its Dec. 20, 2011, meeting. The updated figure released late Wednesday goes beyond the end of the fiscal year, after some of the money got paid back.

In addition, the city reported that this $82.3 million owed because of city loans breaks down to $19.9 million in principal and $62.4 million in interest. City officials fear that this money will be lost with the demise of redevelopment agencies, prompting further cuts in the city’s day-to-day operations.

Fairfield loaned this $19.9 million to its redevelopment agency over the years to jump-start development in the Cordelia redevelopment project area. This project area, formed by the city in 1983, has yielded such development as the Costco store, the Copart building, the NorthBay Healthcare building and Homewood Suites. The agency has bought and sold land for development and made such improvements as building Westamerica Drive.

The city made the loans to the agency at various interest rates over the years, such as 12 percent. Fairfield had been counting on the agency repaying $54.8 million of this money through 2018-19 to keep its general fund in balance.

But the state is dissolving the 400 or so redevelopment agencies in various communities as of Feb. 1. Fairfield officials fear the city will lose the annual loan repayments to the general fund for the $82.3 million. That threatens to lead to further general fund budget cuts.

In addition, the city could lose $2 million to $3 million annually in redevelopment money used to help pay city staff in such areas as economic development and housing.

City Councilman John Mraz at Tuesday’s meeting said the situation is dire.

“I’m not so concerned about redevelopment as I am about the jobs that are attached for the people who work for the city,” he said.

City Manager Sean Quinn said that the city will present a plan for dealing with the situation at the City Council workshop Jan. 28 and Jan. 29.

Reach Barry Eberling at 427-6929, or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

Fairfield takes deeper look at redevelopment agency loss

2012-01-10T10:26:00.001-08:00

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield ‘s ailing general fund could lose more than $7 million annually because of the state’s successful bid to dissolve redevelopment agencies.
City Manager Sean Quinn gave the City Council the news at Tuesday’s meeting. The city uses $2 million to $3 million of redevelopment agency funds for salaries and programs, he said. Its general fund also receives about $5.8 million annually from the agency to repay loans that the city made to the agency over the years.

Affordable housing program takes a big hit with redevelopment loss.

All of that could be gone with the end of redevelopment, with the redirection of an unknown amount of some property tax income making up only a fraction of the loss.

“We’re going to be faced with some very difficult decisions over the next six months,” Quinn told the council.

City Councilman John Mraz said the city could be looking at layoffs.

“If you think things were bad last year — stand by, they’re going to get worse,” Mraz said.

Meanwhile, the Fairfield City Council will discuss redevelopment when it meets for a workshop Jan. 27 and Jan. 28. Quinn said city officials will present the council with a plan on how to proceed.

“Stay tuned, folks,” Mayor Harry Price said. “These are difficult times.”

Fairfield formed its redevelopment agency in the 1970s. The agency spends subsequent property tax increases within adopted redevelopment areas to improve those areas. Those property tax increases can be used to finance loans to build roads and other infrastructure to spur development and to clean up blight.

The city over the past three decades has used its redevelopment agency to help spur such development projects as Westfield Solano mall, the Green Valley corporate and commercial areas and Solano Business Park. By law, it must set aside 20 percent of its redevelopment funds to promote affordable housing.

California last year moved to dissolve the 400 or so redevelopment agencies in the state to redirect that property tax money back to schools, counties and special districts, as well as cities. The state Supreme Court last week ruled that the state indeed has the power to make this move.

Even though the agencies are to be dissolved as of Feb. 1, agency bonds and other loans must continue to be repaid by property tax income. But, city officials said, loans made by a city to a redevelopment area after the second year of the area’s existence are not considered an “enforceable obligation.” Fairfield’s redevelopment agency owes the city $87 million in principal and interest and city officials fear this money will be lost.

The general fund pays for such day-to-day expenses at police, fire and recreation services. Fairfield estimates its general fund will be several million short in revenues over expenses each year through most of the decade and is counting on $54.8 million in redevelopment agency loan repayments to help fill the gap.

City officials on Wednesday couldn’t give the mix of principal and interest that the agency owes the city for the loans. In past years, the interest has comprised more than 50 percent of the total amount.

Fairfield has a long history of loaning city money to its redevelopment agency. The City Council authorized one of the first loans Oct. 16, 1979. It was looking for ways to move Highway 12 from the downtown on Texas Street to today’s route.

At that time, the council had yet to even form the Highway 12 redevelopment area. But it authorized $3.6 million in loans for the project, in case a planned bond sale was delayed, with future redevelopment agency property tax money to repay the loan at 8 percent interest.

Then-City Councilman Manuel Campos said at the time that the Highway 12 bypass project “is one that the city wants and needs badly.”

The redevelopment agency repaid various Highway 12 project loans by the end of the 1980s. Meanwhile, the city made other loans to its redevelopment agency over the years, many of them to help jump-start the commercial and business development in the Green Valley area. Some of these loans were made at 12 percent interest.

Quinn said the city will pursue legislative and legal means to get the loans repaid.

Meanwhile, some in the state are pushing for redevelopment to be reborn in some other form. The state had given communities the option of keeping a stripped-down version of their redevelopment agencies by paying a fee — in Fairfield’s case, a one-time payment of $11 million and annual payments of $2.6 million — but the Supreme Court ruled this violates Proposition 22.

The California Redevelopment Association isn’t giving up.

“The legislative record is abundantly clear that the legislators did not intend to abolish redevelopment,” association president Julio Fuentes said in a news release. “We hope to work with state lawmakers to come up with a way to restore redevelopment.”

Reach Barry Eberling at 427-6929, or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

Solano County office has more to do due to loss of redevelopment agencies

2012-01-10T10:23:00.001-08:00

By Melissa Murphy / The Reporter Posted: 01/04/2012 01:03:45 AM PST

The death of city redevelopment agencies means more work for the Solano County Auditor-Controller's office.

A California Supreme Court ruling last week upheld Assembly Bill 1X26, legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown that effectively kills redevelopment agencies.

Brown proposed dissolving the agencies and then transferring their property tax revenue, of about $5 billion a year, to cities and counties that controlled the agencies. They would then use the money to repay redevelopment debt and distribute money to cities, counties, special districts and schools, saving the state about $1.7 billion this year.

Controlled by cities and counties, redevelopment agencies initially existed to restore blighted neighborhoods. Through the years, the money has been used to finance big box retailers, sports complexes and other projects that critics say run counter to the agencies' original mission.

Locally, funds from the agency helped renew Vacaville's downtown, including Town Square, CreekWalk and Andrews Park, and the Nut Tree. The police station and newer freeway overpasses were also made possible by redevelopment agencies. The city of Dixon, according to Economic Development Director Mark Heckey, will have $1 million taken away from housing, have to cancel a major drainage project downtown and money for emergency home repairs for seniors will be gone.

For a while, the agencies were given an option in the form of Assembly Bill 1X27 to opt into diverting a specific amount of property tax revenue to schools and other services. However, redevelopment agencies were hit with another significant blow when the ruling also eliminated that option.

It also put a kink in the plans at the office of Solano County Auditor-Controller Simona Padilla-Scholtens, who had been planning for months that redevelopment agencies were going to still exist.

Padilla-Scholtens explained that the court's ruling "threw a curve" at the plans.

"We began to put together guidelines, outlining rules and regulations because the agencies opted to continue existing, but now they don't have that option," she said.

She explained that the California State Association of County Auditors is looking at the legislation to come up with a better plan to adhere to the court's decision.

"We'll have to regroup statewide," Padilla-Scholtens said. "The auditor-controller's office will play a key role in the dissolution of the agencies."

She explained that they've always played a role handling redevelopment agencies by calculating property taxes and ensuring proper pass through agreements, but now that role is different.

"It adds to the complexity of what we do," Padilla-Scholtens said.

There is a lot of work on the horizon, including an audit. The office will also have to validate the numbers by determining the agencies' indebtedness and committed allocations. Additionally, a timeline will be created so that needed information can be given to the county in a timely manner.

She added that there will be a fiscal impact to both the county and cities, but true numbers are unknown at this point.

Follow Staff Writer Melissa Murphy at Twitter.com/ ReporterMMurphy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

'It's a black day,' Vacaville mayor says about court's redevelopment agency decision

2012-01-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

By Melissa Murphy / The Reporter Posted: 12/30/2011 01:04:05 AM PST

It isn't good news for cities that California is taking more than $1 billion in redevelopment money from their budgets, and local city leaders say they must now look to the future to try to figure out how to get out of a financial mess.
"It's a black day," said Vacaville Mayor Steve Hardy of a decision Thursday by the state Supreme Court to allow the state to dismantle redevelopment agencies. "There is nothing we can do but stay focused to get the city through the next year. It's frustrating that the state government has chosen this path."

Elimination of the redevelopment agency in Vacaville is an impact to the general fund of nearly $4 million. This news comes at a time when the city was already projecting a $1.2 million deficit for next year's budget, according to City Manager Laura Kuhn.

The city will still be able to pay any debt associated with current contracts that involved redevelopment funds, but that source of revenue has essentially stopped.

Redevelopment has helped renew Vacaville's Town Square, CreekWalk and Andrews Park, and the Nut Tree. It also made it feasible for the city to attract major employers like State Compensation Insurance Fund, Kaiser and Genentech. The police station and newer freeway overpasses also used redevelopment funds.

In other words, many of the things that have resulted in the high quality of life Vacaville residents enjoy can in one way or another be attributed to redevelopment, city officials said.

Projects like Opportunity Hill and affordable housing will have to be put on hold until other funds are available.

Hardy said the state's decision will have "catastrophic" consequences for all of California.

"How this will play out is left to be seen, but I believe no good will come from it," he said. "There was no thought given to this as far as I'm concerned."

Kuhn shared similar sentiments.

"I already felt like my hands were tied, now they've tied my legs," she said. "There is an extreme level of frustration on our part."

Still, Kuhn said the city has a good team that will look carefully at every possibility to make sure the city is financially whole.

For Suisun City, Thursday's Supreme Court decision brings it the "worst-case scenario."

Marketing Manager Scott Corey said in a press release that the elimination of the Redevelopment Agency will require cutting the current Suisun City budget by $1.4 million, which the City Council has discussed in theory for several months. Because the option to pay annually to retain the Redevelopment Agency was eliminated, Suisun City stands to lose approximately $13 million in additional cash and assets, he said.

"We're still digesting the court's decision," said City Manager Suzanne Bragdon. "But from reading the basic background provided by the court, it's clear that those not at the local level -- people not on the ground -- miss the whole concept that redevelopment provides tools to make new development and new projects happen that wouldn't happen by private investment alone.

"Instead, they describe redevelopment as a big shell game that allows cities to grab property taxes from other entities, rather than a tool to grow the overall property tax pool -- not to mention the creation of other tax revenues and jobs -- which benefits everyone, including schools and the state," she continued. "This decision has severely limited future business development in a community like Suisun City."

Assemblymember Mariko Yamada, D-Solano, said in a prepared statement that now is the time to work together to ensure that more cuts aren't made.

"We've turned the page on redevelopment as we once knew it," she said. "The state's difficult choices under a continuing no-new-revenue environment forced us to prioritize and work to prevent further cuts to education, healthcare and public safety. Let us resume our discussions in the new year and find ways to support communities that struggle with blight and the need for affordable housing."

Although Solano County doesn't have an immediate fiscal impact since it doesn't have a redevelopment agency, Supervisor Mike Reagan said the "sad saga" of the state trying to solve its problems at the local level continues.

"It's another example of the state ignoring the will of the voters," he said. "They (voters) clearly wanted this money to stay in city hands. This was the last remaining tool (cities) had to spark job creation and boost the economy."

Cities seek compromise to stop state from killing redevelopment

2012-01-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

By Judy Lin / Associated Press
Posted: 12/30/2011 01:05:17 AM PST

SACRAMENTO -- The California Supreme Court on Thursday gave Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers the right to eliminate community redevelopment agencies in a crucial decision that impacts the state budget.

But the fate of the more than 400 redevelopment agencies remains unclear as cities -- and even many lawmakers -- vowed to seek a legislative compromise next year that would ensure the agencies' survival.

The court affirmed the state's authority to dissolve the agencies, calling it "a proper exercise of the legislative power vested in the Legislature by the state constitution." Doing so means more of the property taxes generated within redevelopment zones will go toward schools, law enforcement and other local services, freeing up as much as $1.7 billion in the state general fund during the current fiscal year. The money now is returned to the agencies to spend on future redevelopment projects.

Lawmakers and the mayors of several large cities said Thursday they were inclined to work out a compromise after the justices issued their split decision. While they affirmed the Legislature's authority to dissolve redevelopment agencies, the justices in a unanimous decision invalidated companion legislation passed last summer that was intended to keep the agencies operating by forcing them to direct a certain amount of property tax revenue to schools and other services.

The majority said that law ran afoul of voter-approved Proposition 22, which prohibits the state
from raiding local tax money.
"I intend to work closely with leaders in Sacramento and across California to develop a responsible path forward that invests in our schools, our safety and puts the 14 million unemployed Californians back to work," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement. "This includes new legislation to provide economic tools to communities most in need."

Redevelopment agencies were authorized by the Legislature shortly after World War II as a way to restore blighted neighborhoods and are largely controlled by cities and counties to promote construction projects. They have been credited with revitalizing blighted districts such as the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego, downtown San Jose and Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco.

Critics, including Brown, say some have become little more than slush funds for private developers. They want property taxes generated by new developments to be diverted from the agencies to local services that now must be funded by the state.

Redevelopment money in the past has been used to finance big box retailers, sports complexes and other projects that critics say run counter to the agencies' original mission.

"Today's ruling by the California Supreme Court validates a key component of the state budget and guarantees more than a billion dollars of ongoing funding for schools and public safety," the governor said in a statement.

The ruling was highly anticipated because it was a key component of balancing this year's state budget. The state is heading into the new year with a $13 billion deficit over the next
18 months, and a ruling against the state would have widened the shortfall.

The governor proposed dissolving redevelopment agencies in January, then transferring their property tax revenue of about $5 billion a year to the cities and counties that controlled the agencies. They would then use the money to repay redevelopment debt and distribute money to cities, counties, special districts and schools, saving the state about
$1.7 billion this year.

State lawmakers inserted a compromise in last summer's budget that allowed the agencies to keep operating if they made additional payments of about $400 million annually to schools and other local services starting next year. The court invalidated that piece of legislation, calling it "flawed."

The court opinion was written by Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar and signed by five other justices. The seventh, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, agreed but wrote a separate opinion saying she would have upheld the compromise law that would have permitted agencies to continue if they shared revenue.

The decision means schools can expect more than $1 billion each year in additional property tax revenues, but a firm figure won't be released until Brown presents his spending plan next month, said finance department spokesman, H.D. Palmer.

Local government officials say it does not make sense for the state to eliminate redevelopment agencies, which contribute $2 billion a year in economic activity. They say because the Legislature did not intent to eliminate local economic development efforts, agencies should be reshaped.

"We do know that the governor will be a tough nut on this, but at the end of the day, his primary challenge is to help balance the state budget," said Jim Kennedy, interim executive director of the California Redevelopment Association, which filed the lawsuit along with the League of California Cities.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders called it a "sad day" while San Jose City Attorney Richard Doyle called the ruling a disappointment but not a total surprise, given the judges' reactions during arguments in November.

------

Associated Press writer Juliet Williams contributed to this report.

Economy, hospitals top the list of top buisiness stories for 2011

2012-01-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

By Reporter Staff

Posted: 01/01/2012 01:03:58 AM PST

In Vacaville and elsewhere in Solano County, the top business story of 2011 was the ongoing housing crisis, namely a staggering number of home foreclosures that continue unabated, coupled with stubbornly high jobless rates as local, state and the United States economies begin a fragile recovery in the lingering wake of the Great Recession.
But there were many other significant stories, too, and here is a top 10 list as compiled by Reporter editors and writers:

No. 1 Continuing economic struggles. Solano County's economy is crawling northward, but isn't expected to reach prerecession levels for several more years, according to a projection by the University of the Pacific's Business Forecasting Center.

California's economic outlook also is gradually improving, but the gap between the Sacramento and Silicon valleys is widening, according to center officials, who released their projections in April.

No. 2 Hospital wars. A fall 2010 announcement by NorthBay Healthcare, stating it planned to open Solano County's first trauma center, launched a new front in the battle with Kaiser Permanente for local hospital market share.

Battle lines were drawn in January 2011 at a meeting of the Solano County Emergency Services Cooperative, the agency that sets criteria for establishing trauma centers. Cooperative members were reviewing the application process for creating a Level III trauma center at NorthBay's Fairfield, when Kaiser Permanente officials confirmed they had hand-delivered a letter of intent just days before, announcing their interest in establishing a Level II trauma center at their Vacaville hospital.

Ted Selby, Solano County's Emergency Medical Services administrator, explained that while there isn't a limit on the number of Level III trauma centers a county can have, the number of Level II centers. By year's end both hospitals had opened Level III centers as the race for a Level II center continues.

No. 3 Shock's owners sublease their store. Saying "it's a family decision," Stacey Powers, longtime owner of Shock's The Home Comfort Store in Vacaville, in June announced she planned to liquidate her stock and sublease the business (opened by her father, James Shock, in 1976) to another furniture merchant on Oct. 1.

Plans were for Powers and her husband, Bud, a retired school teacher, to relocate to Jacksonville, Ore., in the fall.

No. 4 Longtime jeweler Thornton retires. It was a sight and sound never seen heard before at Thornton & Sons jewelers in Dixon: the front door closed and locked for the last time.

Store owner and namesake Jerry Thornton in May announced his retirement after nearly 50 years in the trade, 40 of them as a small-business owner whose stores have long been recognized as a mercantile institution in Solano County.

The closing of the Dixon store leaves one family-owned store in operation, in Nut Tree on East Monte Vista Avenue in Vacaville, remnant of a one-time small jewelry empire that, in its heyday in the early 1990s, boasted five storefronts countywide, including two in the Factory Outlets complex, with annual sales exceeding $6 million.

No. 5 Fresh & Easy opens. With fresh fruits and vegetables, ready-to-go meals and plenty of choices, a new grocery store in Vacaville lived up to its name, Fresh & Easy, and opened its doors in March, the first grocery to open in the city in many years. The store, a 10,000-square-foot space on Elmira Road, is among the first of 13 that the retailer, a unit of England-based supermarket behemoth Tesco, plans to open in the region.

No. 6 Mercedes comes to Fairfield. Long equated with luxury and quality, Mercedes-Benz cars are "exceptional," said David Long, general manager of Mercedes-Benz of Fairfield, which quietly opened Nov. 1 on the city's Auto Mall Parkway.

Owned by Thomas A. Price and Adam Simms of the Price-Simms Auto Group, which also owns Ford Fairfield and other Bay Area dealerships, the newest player on the city's auto row might also be noted for the exceptional building housing some of the world's most stylish and well-made vehicles. The 41,000-square-foot structure, completed in October after more than a year of construction, is a two-story, glass-and-steel affair with a curved frontage, sleek, modern and largely naturally lighted inside, and will eventually be powered entirely by solar panels.

No. 7 EDC chief Mike Ammann leaves; Sandy Person picked as replacement. Mike Ammann, longtime president of the Solano Economic Development Corp., in May accepted the top job at San Joaquin Partnership in Stockton, an organization similar to EDC, and left his $100,000-a-year post in Fairfield on June 14.

EDC Vice President Sandy Person was named interim president at the nonprofit business that promotes the county's economic interests, and, in October, was named president.

No. 8 Westrust acquires remaining Nut Tree parcel. Westrust, the Mill Valley-based developer of Nut Tree and other properties statewide, in July acquired the final 35 acres of the 96-acre master plan for Nut Tree, giving the company primary control of the project.

"I think it's great for the city of Vacaville," said Ricardo Capretta, managing partner of Westrust, which controls 71 acres of the project, including retail space, the Nut Tree Theme Park, commercial office space and land for more than 200 multi-family units.

No. 9 Borders Books closes. A U.S. Bankruptcy Court in July approved Borders Group's plan to sell off its assets, the final nail in the coffin for the 40-year-old chain, which included a store in Nut Tree in Vacaville. With its closure, which resulted in job losses for 30 full- and part-time workers, the owner of the East Monte Vista Avenue shopping complex, Westrust, leased 10,320- and 9,499-square-foot spaces to retailers ULTA, a purveyor of beauty products, and Kirkland's, a purveyor of home decor, respectively. The retailers plan to open in the first quarter of 2012.

No. 10 Travis Credit Union honored. Vacaville Chamber of Commerce leaders in June formally recognized Travis Credit Union, among the largest credit unions in California, as business of the year.

TCU, led by longtime president and CEO Patsy Van Ouwerkerk, was cited for its chamber involvement and support, community involvement, financial literacy programs and business standards.

Grant will help close 'digital divide'

2011-12-14T08:56:00.000-08:00

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen / Times-Herald, Vallejo Posted: 12/14/2011 01:02:41 AM PST

Solano County will share in a $450,000 grant meant to close the area's technology gap, Solano Economic Development Corporation spokeswoman Sandy Person said.

The California Public Utilities grant, to be distributed over the next three years to the East Bay Broadband Consortium, was approved earlier this month, Person said this week.

Funded by the California Advanced Services Fund, the program is intended "to help close the digital divide and promote innovative solutions to broadband infrastructure deployment, access and adoption needs and opportunities," she said. In other words, the idea is to make sure everyone in the area has Internet access, she said.

The consortium is a collaboration between the Solano Economic Development Corporation, the Contra Costa Economic Partnership, the East Bay Economic Development Alliance and the East Bay Community Foundation.

The first $150,000 will pay for the consortium to develop a broadband infrastructure plan "to make the East Bay a national and global leader," Person said. It also will help establish Get Connected East Bay!, a collaborative effort to provide free or low-cost access to computers and the Internet to all area residents, she said.

"We want to make sure every resident and business in the consortium area has reasonable access," Person said.

"It's about creating access to high-speed Internet connection (broadband) and basic digital literacy skills, which is essential to every aspect of life in today's economy," Person said. "There are access gaps, and this puts the people in those areas at a disadvantage. There are gaps in this county and this will help identify them."

Work on the plan is expected to start next month, she said.

Modular housing builder, Blu Homes, celebrates its new manufacturing facility at Vallejo's Mare Island

2011-12-05T10:33:00.000-08:00

By Jessica A. York

Posted: 12/02/2011 01:00:41 AM PST

Mare Island's former ship and submarine shop was reborn Thursday with a ceremonial flourish for its newest tenant, an event many hope Vallejo's post-bankruptcy economy will mirror.

Modular home builder Blu Homes' president Bill Haney cut the ceremonial ribbon at the company's new West Coast manufacturing facility before a crowd of more than 300 onlookers.

"This is a place American men and women ... came together to rebuild America's industrial power and stand up for Americans' values after our Pacific fleet was destroyed at Pearl Harbor," Haney told those gathered, "That same notion of coming together to rebuild a future is something that we want to be able to do, here."

The company, which began leasing the 250,000-square-foot former submarine and ship manufacturing and repair shop on Nimitz Avenue in September, has already hired 50 workers from the greater Vallejo area, and expects to add 30 more by year's end, Haney said.

"I really believe that Blu Homes and Vallejo are a perfect fit at a perfect time," Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis said during the ceremony. "I say that because we all on the council think it would be an excellent idea to have a 'green-tech' island here on Mare Island ... and this is the start."

Thursday's celebration drew local dignitaries, former Mare Island workers, potential Blu Homes clients and more. In addition to Haney and Davis, event speakers included Tom Sheaff, vice president for Lennar Mare Island, and Paul Guilfoyle, a Blu Homes board member and actor best known for his police detective role on the TV show "CSI."

Guilfoyle jokingly placed the entire audience under arrest before sharing why he had become part of the Blu Homes venture, with its "green" energy-efficient homes and construction.

"It's obvious that the game plan of home building has changed radically. The idea of these great giant castles of isolation based on fear, segregating community based on vanity, are going away like dinosaurs," Guilfoyle said. "Let's open up these doors, and let's all of us ... walk toward the light of the future, the Blu light."

Homes in various states of construction ringed parts of the building's perimeter, opened for viewing. The building, the size of four football fields, looks -- and is -- about four times too big for the amount of work going on inside right now, said company co-founder Maura McCarthy. She said she expects the facility to begin filling up within a year to 18 months.

"We loved the building, we love the area and the labor was the right fit for us," McCarthy said of Blu Homes' interest in the Mare Island site during a pre-ceremony tour.

Contact staff writer Jessica A. York at (707) 553-6834 or jyork@timesheraldonline.com.

Blu Homes, green vision may signal jobs revival for Vallejo

2011-12-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

By Jessica A. York

Posted: 12/05/2011 01:00:54 AM PST

For most struggling in the current economy, finding a job comes first, ideology second. But Mare Island industrial newcomer Blu Homes is aiming to package the two together, with a planned 80 local jobs created by year's end and a vision of no-waste manufacturing and an environmentally friendly "green" final product.

The company's available jobs, as with such opportunities in most areas, has a ready and willing audience.

Some 1,000 people turned out two months ago for the then-advertised 50 job openings with the 4-year-old company, with headquarters outside of Boston.

"(I am) so proud that they are in Vallejo, that they selected Vallejo, and the jobs that they'll create for the community, it's just exciting," Vallejo Economic Development Director Ursula Luna-Reynosa said. "Small businesses are ... creating this (new) economy. We often see new businesses with much smaller, 20 (to) 30 employees. This is a good size compared to that, and there are opportunities for it to grow. And the city is going to do whatever it can ... . We want to be there as they continue to grow."

Available workforce
Blu Homes officials said they were persuaded to set up shop in Vallejo because of the available workforce -- a combination of skilled workers prevalent in the East Bay, and the technological minds of Silicon Valley. The facility is likely one of the largest new manufacturing facilities to open this year in the Bay Area, officials said.

"Mare Island is continuing down the path of resurgence, and once again it's becoming a hub of economic activity in Vallejo and the North Bay," said Tom Sheaff, vice president of the former naval base's master developer, Lennar Mare Island, during the facility's opening ceremony Thursday.

Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis shared his support of not only the new company, but also its contribution toward the idea of a "green technology" island, clustering alternative energy and low environmental impact on Mare Island and Vallejo.

"I think it's kind of fitting that we take a historic shipyard that benefited the country and the world during war times, created jobs, and was a leader in shipbuilding and submarine building, and to bring a company that wants to revolutionize the way we build and sell homes," Davis said. "That is fantastic, it's a perfect fit."

In a pre-ceremony tour, Blu Homes co-founder and vice president of sales Maura McCarthy shared a similar sentiment concerning the facility's future on Mare Island.

"We're in the crown jewel of Mare Island, the biggest building," McCarthy said of the company's new 250,000-square-foot facility, a former Mare Island Naval Shipyard machine shop. "I believe in the cluster effect of green businesses. (The cluster) becomes much more a little mini-economy within an economy."

Happy for revival
The improvements, and reanimation of a long shuttered building -- the largest machine shop under one roof west of the Mississippi River in its time, former shipyard workers said, is something of a balm to the previous generation.

Several shipyard retirees commented on the most obvious change to the building -- its floor. New concrete replaced wooden blocks soaked in oil, a major improvement, some said. Friends John Chamberlin and Jack Tamargo served first as shop apprentices and later as general foremen for the former Building 680, the two said Thursday.

"When I came in the door, Aug. 15 of 1960, I looked all the way down the shop, and as far as you could see, there were nothing but individual machines and men running them and making parts," recalled Chamberlin, who now serves as secretary for the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation. "We were building ships and right around 800 men working here at the time ... in the war years we had 4,000 in the shop, in the '40s. "

Chamberlin said that while he does not think there's any comparison between the shop then and now, he supports Blu Homes' efforts to bring the facility back to life.

Tamargo recalled new equipment procured for the shop still coming in as the workforce was being reduced as the shipyard was nearing its 1996 closure.

"It was a sad thing to see, but we're glad to see the building is finally going to be used for something other than just a big empty building," Tamargo said.

"We wish Blu Homes well in their endeavor, that's for sure," Chamberlin added.

For more information Blu Homes and potential future job openings, visit the company's website online at www.bluhomes.com, and click on the "careers" link at the bottom of the page.

Contact staff writer Jessica A. York at (707) 553-6834 or jyork@timesheraldonline.com.

Mare Island landmark building now home to Blu Homes

2011-12-05T10:28:00.001-08:00

FAIRFIELD — Workers once built parts for submarines in massive, historic Building 680 on Mare Island, before the Mare Island Naval Shipyard closed in 1996.

Now workers will build prefabricated homes there, homes that are energy-efficient, constructed using green methods and designed so they virtually fold up for convenient shipping to their foundation. Long-vacant Building 680 is getting a new tenant in Blu Homes.

“That is now our crown-jewel plant,” Blu Homes co-founder Maura McCarthy said. “This plant is the biggest plant we have. Ironically, even though it’s a beautiful, old historic building, it’s going to be an extremely modern plant.”

The Navy constructed the building at the dawn of World War II and made it big. The structure is 257,750 square feet and has a central bay that is the equivalent of 10 stories tall.

And Building 680 is more than just another Mare Island industrial building for an additional reason. It has a sign at its top saying “Mare Island Naval Shipyard” that can be seen from the other side of Mare Island Strait along the Vallejo waterfront, giving it a high profile.

But the days of building propellers and periscopes there are gone. Blu Homes will be constructing homes that have most everything in place prior to shipping, from the electrical and plumbing systems to the cabinets.

These homes range in price from about $166,000 to $495,000 and more. They come with names such as the Element and Breezehouse. They have steel frames, high ceilings and lots of windows.

Don’t think of the relatively simple-looking prefab homes that get hauled down the freeways in two halves. These are fancier buildings.

“The name ‘Blu’ comes from the idea of building something that’s beautiful and green,” McCarthy said. “These houses are like the Lexus hybrid. They are high-quality, really durable.”

After being built at the plant in six to eight weeks, the homes are folded almost like origami, trucked to a foundation and then unfolded, McCarthy said.

A video posted at http://www.bluhomes.com shows how this works. The home sections arrive at a site looking like rectangular boxes. A crane then unfolds parts of the box, revealing a house with a far different shape over the course of a couple of days.

Blu Homes looked at some 25 sites in various states before settling on Building 680. One thing the Mare Island building had in its favor was its sheer size and height.

“We need to be able to build a two-story building,” McCarthy said.

Then there’s its location. The plant will be industrial, but use high-tech software. McCarthy said Mare Island is near to Silicon Valley and that such other possible plant locations as Arizona don’t have “the type of powerhouse brain trust” that can be found in the Bay Area.

Plus, Tom Steyer encouraged Blu Homes to locate in California, McCarthy said. Steyer is founder of Farallon Capitol Management and co-founder of OneCaliforniaBank, as well as an environmentalist.

Blu Homes might employ 50 or so workers on Mare Island, but could ultimately offer hundreds of jobs, McCarthy said.

“It all depends on demand,” she said. “Everybody is suffering a little bit in housing right now. The good news is this kind of housing is a bright spot in the housing industry.”

And Building 680 is now a bright spot in Mare Island’s ongoing, time-consuming and often painful rebirth after the naval shipyard got shuttered 15 years ago.

Reach Barry Eberling at 427-6929, or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

Chambers of commerce give out Spirit of Solano awards

2011-12-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

FAIRFIELD — Solano County’s chambers of commerce on Thursday honored local businesses and community members, such as Meyer Corp. and Travis Credit Union, for their contributions to the community.

They did so at the Spirit of Solano luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn. About 325 people attended the sold-out event hosted by Westamerica Bank and the Solano Economic Development Corp.

“This gives us an opportunity to publicly recognize how important business is to our local economy,” Solano EDC President Sandy Person told the gathering. “You are the backbone of our economic well-being.”

Meyer Corp., the cookware giant with its main distribution center on 58 acres in Solano Business Park, won recognition from the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce. It opened a 165,000-square-foot, 100-foot-tall warehouse in 2010 that has an automated storage and retrieval system.

“We appreciate your commitment to the Chamber of Commerce and your investment in our community,” Chamber of Commerce President Barry Young said.

Ed Blackman of Meyer Corp. in turn praised Fairfield. Meyer Corp. got unbelievable cooperation from the city in constructing its buildings, he said.

“Solano is a great place to live and a great place to work,” said Blackman, senior vice president of logistics and facilities.

Mark Warcholski, director of warehouse operations, also accepted the award on behalf of Meyer Corp.

The Vacaville Chamber of Commerce honored Travis Credit Union. Among other things, chamber officials praised the credit union for being involved in helping nonprofit organizations ranging from Boys & Girls Clubs to Habitat for Humanity.

Foster’s Bighorn Restaurant and Bar won the Spirit of Solano award from the Rio Vista Chamber of Commerce. Owners Howard and MaryEllen Lamothe are prominent members of the chamber, chamber officials said. Howard Lamothe is a fourth-generation Rio Vistan who previously owned Henry’s Coffee Shop and bought Foster’s Bighorn in 2001.

Other Spirit of Solano honorees were:

Michael Paric of Computer Business Solutions, honored by the Benicia City Council.
Max Villalobos, manager of the Kaiser Permanente Napa/Solano service area, honored by the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce.
Jim and Kathy Ernest of Ramtown Karate, honored by the Dixon Chamber of Commerce.
Mary Bitagon of Vallejo, honored by the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of Solano County.
Roberto Cortez of Vallejo, president of Monarch Engineering, honored by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Solano County.
Ruby Joyce Barnett, owner of Ruby Joyce Barnett Nationwide Insurance Agency in Vallejo and Oakland, honored by the Solano County Black Chamber of Commerce.

Reach Barry Eberling at 427-6929 or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

Businesses receive Spirit of Solano status

2011-12-05T10:20:00.000-08:00

Robin Miller/RMiller@TheReporter.com Published By The ReporterPosted: 12/02/2011 07:59:50 AM PST

Struggling businesses and a tough economy may be dominating headlines across the nation but on Thursday, local civic and business leaders took time out to praise a handful of firms they say are thriving examples of what makes Solano County tick.

In all, nine local businesses were honored with the Spirit of Solano award at a standing-room-only Fairfield luncheon. The award recognizes local chambers of commerce and honors businesses that embody the entrepreneurial spirit of the region.

"We are living in some trying times when our economic structure is challenged from every side," Solano EDC President Sandy Person told the crowd of some 300 people at the event hosted by Westamerica Bank and the EDC at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. "But it is appropriate that we honor each of you. You are the backbone of the economic wellbeing of our county."

She praised the businesses for their continued support of nonprofits, schools, churches and other agencies in the county, saying, "There is nothing we can't achieve if we continue to build on your many accomplishments."

Each of the businesses honored Thursday were nominated by local chambers of commerce. For Vacaville, the nominee was Travis Credit Union and Board Chairman Curt Newland couldn't have been prouder.

"This award follows the idea of people helping people," he said, adding that Travis is all about helping people. "We are proud of the work we do with groups and nonprofits and very proud of the financial literacy programs we have for teens and seniors," he said. That helping spirit is part of what earned Travis the award, chamber officials noted.

In Dixon, the award went to Ramtown Karate and its owners Jim and Kathy Ernest. Feted for their contributions to the community, individuals and families, the Ernests expressed amazement at the award. "We were surprised ... because we forget we're a business," Kathy Ernest told the crowd. "The business part of it is such a small part of what we get out of what we do."

Other winners included: Meyer Corporation in Fairfield; Computer Business Solutions in Benicia; businesswoman Marin Bitagon, nominated by the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce; Monarch Engineering President and CEO Robert Cortez, nominated by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Foster's Bighorn in Rio Vista; Ruby Joyce Barnett and Nationwide Insurance, nominated by the Solano County Black Chamber of Commerce; and Kaiser Permanente in Vallejo.

Picks & Pecks Editorial from The Reporter

2011-12-05T10:16:00.000-08:00

Solano County's entrepreneurial spirit was strong Thursday as nine businesses received Spirit of Solano awards from the Solano Economic Development Corp. In northern Solano County, the winners included Vacaville's Travis Credit Union; Dixon's Ramtown Karate, owned by Jim and Kathy Ernest; the Meyer Corp. of Fairfield; and Foster's Bighorn in Rio Vista. Picks to all.

After slumping below growth neutral last month, the San Joaquin Valley Business Conditions Index rose above growth neutral 50.0 for November.

2011-12-02T15:03:00.000-08:00

www.craig.csufresno.edu/ubc/PDF/FresnoNovember2011.pdf

For More Information Contact:

Ernie Goss Ph.D., 559-278-2352

University Business Center

Craig School of Business

California State University, Fresno

San Joaquin Valley Leading Economic Indicator Advance:

Minimal Job Gains for November

November survey results at a glance:

- Leading economic indicator moves above growth neutral.

- Firms report net job gains for the month after four months of losses.

- Over the next six months, approximately one-fifth of firms expect to add workers and 20 percent anticipate layoffs, while the remaining 59 percent look for level employment.

- Business managers anticipate wholesale prices to grow by 3.2 percent over the next six months or approximately 6.4 percent on an annualized basis.

PMIs for U.S. & San Joaquin Valley, 2010-11

Oct. Dec. Feb. April June Aug. Oct.

U.S. San Joaquin Valley

San Joaquin Business Conditions Index ¡V p. 2 of 3

For Immediate Release: December 1, 2011

Fresno, CA - After slumping below growth neutral last month, the San Joaquin Valley Business Conditions Index rose above growth neutral 50.0 for November. The survey from individuals making company purchasing decisions in firms in the counties of Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare continues to point to slow to no growth in the coming months. The index, a leading economic indicator for the area, is produced using the same methodology as that of the national Institute for Supply Management (www.ism.ws).

Overall Index: The index, produced by Ernie Goss Ph.D., Research Associate with the Craig School of Business at California State University, Fresno, advanced to 51.7 from 48.1 in October. An index greater than 50 indicates an expansionary economy over the course of the next three to six months. Survey results for the last three months for the San Joaquin Valley are listed in the accompanying table. ¡§Based on our surveys over the past several months, I expect growth to weaken and potentially turn negative in the next three to six months,¡¨ said Goss. Employment: The hiring gauge increased to a tepid 50.3 from October¡¦s weak 44.7. This is the fifth consecutive month that the employment index has plunged below growth neutral. ¡§Manufacturing and construction firms continue to shed jobs. Both durable and non-durable goods manufacturers detailed pullbacks in hiring for the month,¡¨ said Goss. ¡§Employment data indicate that the region¡¦s employment level bottomed in August 2011. Since then, the area has added almost 5,000 jobs. However, even with these gains, the region will have to add almost 24,000 to return to pre-recession employment levels,¡¨ said Goss. This month firms were asked about their hiring expectations for the next six months. ¡§More than one-fifth, or 21 percent, expect to add workers, 20 percent anticipate layoffs, while the remaining 59 percent look for level employment for the next six months. ¡§These expectations are somewhat more optimistic than September 2011 when 33 percent expected layoffs in the next six months,¡¨ said Goss. Wholesale prices: The prices-paid index, which tracks the cost of raw materials and supplies, dipped to a somewhat inflationary 63.8 from October¡¦s 66.7. ¡§As area growth has waned, so have inflationary pressures at the wholesale level. Lower inflation in the pipeline gave the Federal Reserve room to take the coordinated monetary easing action it initiated yesterday with five other central banks,¡¨ reported Goss.

This month supply managers were asked how much they expected prices of products they buy to increase in the next six months. Approximately 20 percent of the supply managers expect these prices to grow by more than 6 percent during the next six months. Overall, supply managers anticipate prices to grow by 3.2 percent over the next six months or approximately

San Joaquin Business Conditions Index ¡V p. 3 of 3

6.4 percent on an annualized basis. ¡§Last December when we asked the same question, supply managers expected annualized price growth of 5.6 percent. Thus, anticipated wholesale price growth has increased by 0.8 percentage points since last December,¡¨ said Goss.

Inventories: Businesses expanded inventories at a slow pace for the month. The inventory index, which tracks the change in the inventory of raw materials and supplies, advanced to 50.4 from 43.7 in October. ¡§The lack of any significant buildup in inventories is another indicator of a negative outlook by businesses,¡¨ reported Goss

Business Confidence: Looking ahead six months, economic optimism, captured by the November business confidence index, rose to a still anemic 42.5 from 37.0 in October. ¡§Both U.S. and global economic uncertainty and slow growth continue to restrain economic confidence among individuals making purchasing decisions for their firms,¡¨ said Goss. Trade: For a fifth straight month, firms experienced a pullback in new export orders to 43.8. While this was up from October¡¦s 41.7, it still indicates reductions in export orders from October. At the same time the area¡¦s import index stood at a weak 47.5, but up from October¡¦s 36.7 and September¡¦s 41.9. ¡§Slow area growth and weakening global business continue to push trade numbers below growth neutral for the area,¡¨ said Goss. Other components: Other components of the November Business Conditions Index were new orders at 52.3, up from 48.1 in October; production or sales at 49.2, up from 48.3; and delivery lead time at 56.1, up from 55.6 in October. Table 1 details survey results for the last three months. December survey results will be released on the first business day of next month, January 2.

Table 1: Overall and component indices for last 2 months and one year ago (above 50.0 indicates expansion)

San Joaquin Valley

November 2010

October 2011

November 2011

Leading economic indicator

53.3

48.1

51.7

New orders

56.3

48.1

52.3

Production or sales

53.5

48.3

49.2

Employment

50.1

44.7

50.3

Inventories

51.4

43.7

50.4

Delivery lead time

55.1

55.6

56.1

Wholesale prices

65.2

66.7

63.8

Imports

51.8

36.7

47.5

Export orders

50.6

41.7

43.6

Business confidence

54.8

37.0

42.5

Craig School of Business: http://www.craig.csufresno.edu/

Follow Goss: Twitter at http://twitter.com/erniegoss or www.ernestgoss.com

Yolo and Solano leaders chart way for ag

2011-11-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

Agriculture has been, is and will continue to be king in Yolo and Solano counties, but most people don’t understand that, industry leaders said Wednesday at a joint economic summit.

More than 100 politicians, farmers, professors, bankers and government employees met Wednesday at UC Davis to talk about the challenges facing the region’s $2.5 billion industry and how the two counties could pool their collective might to advance their interests.

Educating people will be key, they said.

“It’s important to dispel the myth that agriculture is a small part of the economy” or that agriculture equals farmers laboring in the field, said Dan Sumner of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, which is housed on the UCD campus.

Agriculture was a $2.5 billion business for the two counties last year, a sum almost evenly divided across a variety of sectors that include farming, processing, administrative support and distribution.

It could be an even bigger part of California’s economy, said Glenda Humiston, state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Program.

If leaders like the ones at Wednesday’s meeting create a statewide agriculture plan, Humiston said agriculture could add 182,000 jobs in five years. The average worker would make $24 an hour.

More than 14 million workers had jobs in California last month, according to data from the state’s Employment Development Department. That’s up 140,000 since 2011.

Despite misconceptions that all ag jobs are on the farm, 65 percent of the estimated 182,000 uptick would crop up in and around cities, not farms, she added.

“The second you start talking about agriculture, (urban and suburban residents) get this glaze over their eyes,” Humiston said. “They have an image of Ma and Pa Kettle holding a pitchfork somewhere. They don’t get this.”

Farm jobs would increase, sure, she said, but many more would sprout to support the raw products coming off the field, including work in light manufacturing, management, distribution, logistics, packaging and marketing.

“These are not farmworker jobs; these are head-of-household jobs.”

Most of the two counties’ ag jobs are already off the farm, according to data presented by Doug Henton, CEO and chairman of Collaborative Economics.

About 15,500 people work in agriculture in Yolo and Solano. Roughly 3,500 grow crops on the farm while the remaining workers are involved “in all those activities between that farm and that fork,” Henton said.

There are many links in the food supply chain, Humiston said, warning the leaders not to fixate on a single link. That’s what Sonoma County did when it homed in on creating a central cold storage where farmers could store their wares and restaurants could come to pick it up.

But that’s only a speck in a complex game of connect-the-dots, she continued. “How is that food getting to the aggregation hub? What will it do once it’s there? You going to put it in boxes? Wash it? Where is it going? Who’s the customer?

“We’ve got to recognize these food systems we’re talking about are very, very complex,” she said. “It’s not simply an aggregation hub.”

Next steps include promoting agriculture, figuring out way to fill in gaps in the food supply chain, like processing plants, and redoubling efforts to preserve ag land.

Yolo County Supervisors Don Saylor and Duane Chamberlain plan to serve as emissaries to the Solano County Board of Supervisors by presenting Wednesday’s action plan. Solano County Supervisor Mike Reagan will do the same in Yolo.

“The counties have been working together without regard to artificial, manmade political boundaries for forever,” Reagan said. There’s a lot more work we can do to take advantage of the tremendous potential we have in this area.”

— Reach Jonathan Edwards at jedwards@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8052. Follow him on Twitter at @jon__edwards

Solano, Yolo counties hope to further build ag industry

2011-11-17T12:40:00.001-08:00

By Melissa Murphy / The Reporter Posted: 11/17/2011 01:03:02 AM PST

Adding value to agriculture is the goal for Solano and Yolo county leaders looking to build on an economic asset already in the region.
That goal was the topic of discussion Wednesday during the first Solano and Yolo joint economic summit at the University of California, Davis.

Farmers, bankers and government leaders made up the more than 100 people in attendance interested in working together to further build the region's agricultural industry that generated $2.5 billion in 2009 between the two counties.

The group reviewed advantages that the counties already have, but also some of the disadvantages that hold back the potentially booming industry.

"This is another step in a journey we believe in," said Solano County Supervisor John Vasquez. "This is the foundation to know what our asset base is and to build off it."

According to the group, Solano and Yolo counties share strengths, including an abundant supply of water, location between Sacramento and San Francisco, soil, access to markets, infrastructure, high crop value and a skilled workforce.

The summit's purpose was to take the information shared and turn it into strategic actions.

Areas of opportunity identified by the group include crop processing, reaching the global market and agritourism.

However, taking advantage of those opportunities will pose quite a challenge. Government leaders mentioned the water war between Northern and Southern California and the impacts on the Delta water, air quality standards that were designed to protect agriculture actually hamper growth in processing crops. Additionally, agritourism has the potential to bring in revenue, but the impact to local residents is perceived by some as a negative.

Glenda Humiston, state director for the USDA Rural Development, encouraged the group of agriculture supporters to be vocal about California as a whole creating an agricultural strategy.

Humiston explained that she regularly hears that if the housing market was back on track, the economy would pick up.

She believes the opposite.

"You wouldn't put a roof on a house before a foundation is laid," she said. "Until we get these (agricultural) jobs out there, they can't afford the house."

She encouraged the group to look at things differently.

Humiston explained that everyone needs to be involved in boosting the agricultural industry.

"Make a case to the business community why buying local will benefit them," she said, adding that instead of having city economic developers trying to bribe companies to relocate to the area, reach out to those already here.

"Things aren't going to be fixed by another farmers' market," she said. "It all comes down to collaboration, start using current resources."

Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor picked out a few steps the counties can take in the next few months, such as presenting the information to each of the supervisor boards, figuring out a way to hire an agriculture ombudsman and including those at the summit that are willing to help in the planning.

"Agriculture is not a boutique industry, you can't just leave it on a shelf," he said. "It has to be a business enterprise."

Solano County Agricultural Commissioner Jim Allan said the summit was very constructive and gave definitive direction.

"Now it's time to take this to the broader ag industry and to the community," he said. "I think they will (accept it). They have an entrepreneurial spirit that will respond."

Editorial: Let's Champion Travis AFB

2011-11-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

Published by The Reporter Posted: 11/13/2011 01:04:25 AM PST

The recent announcement that Travis Air Force Base would be eliminating 58 civilian jobs and moving 35 military positions to other bases should serve as a wake-up call to local leaders. If Solano wants to keep -- much less grow -- the base's $1.5 billion annual contribution to the local economy, it's time to resume advocating on its behalf.
It was a united advocacy that helped ensure Travis's survival a decade ago, when the Base Realignment and Closure Commission was downsizing the military footprint then.

Solano's local representatives joined the state's entire congressional delegation and stood behind an effort to protect as many California bases as possible. The governor organized a Council on Base Support and Retention, and the Legislature lobbied on its behalf.

Locally, leaders from all seven Solano cities joined forces with those from the county, the Solano Economic Development Corp., Solano Community College and other government agencies and private interests. They formed the Travis Community Consortium whose purpose was to protect the base's interests locally and in Washington, D.C.

Travis emerged from those BRAC hearings on solid footing. It is also poised to survive this current round of cuts, as the Pentagon attempts to reduce its spending to 2010 levels and shave off $450 billion during the next decade.

Of course, if the Congressional Super Committee fails to do its job, the military may be required to cut another half-trillion dollars, and who knows what that might mean.

As long as Congress is determined to reduce the nation's $14 trillion deficit, the military shouldn't expect to be spared completely. Certainly no one objects to the elimination of unnecessary services or duplications of efforts. But local leaders are in a position to encourage the Pentagon to look to Travis as the logical place to headquarter units when consolidations occur.

Among the reductions announced by Travis earlier this month, for example, is the Pentagon's decision to deactivate the 615th Contingency Response Wing and put it under the command of the 621st Contingency Response Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. Similarly, the 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force's headquarters at Travis is being deactivated and its military positions will be transferred to other bases. In all, 35 active-duty military members will be moved to different missions or bases.

Presumably, though, it might have been just as easy to deactivate other groups and bring their headquarters to Travis. That's the kind of pitch the local air base needs to have made on its behalf.

It won't be easy, though. The BRAC process was done publicly, but the legislation that authorized it has expired. Decisions are once again being made behind Pentagon walls, with little or no warning to Congress, much less local officials. Ensuring that these decisions are made in the open is the first thing local leaders should push for.

So far, the job losses announced at Travis have been relatively small. Most of the 58 civilian jobs being cut are coming out of the 60th Force Support Squadron and the 60th Civil Engineer Squadron, and many are being accounted for through a hiring freeze, attrition and retirements. They represent only 3.6 percent of Travis' 1,600 civil service positions. Meanwhile, the military positions being reassigned account for less than 0.5 percent of the base's 10,000 uniformed employees.

But there is no reason that Travis should have to lose any positions. It's location as the gateway to the Pacific, combined with the ongoing effort to modernize its facilities, should make it a base to which the Air Force wants to add missions.

It's time for all Solano leaders to come back together and resume the effort to remind the Pentagon of that.

Nominations for appointments to the new Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness

2011-11-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

The Department of Commerce is seeking nominations for appointments to the new Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, published in the Federal Register on 3 November 2011.

The deadline for applications is 14 December 2011. Full details appear in the Federal Register notice: 76 Fed. Reg. 68,159.

As described in the notice, the Committee will advise the Secretary of Commerce on the development and administration of programs and policies to expand the competitiveness of U.S. supply chains, including programs and policies to expand U.S. exports of goods, services, and technology related to supply chain in accordance with applicable United States regulations.

This advisory group is possible due to the sustained interest and willingness to participate that has been demonstrated from the beginning in May 2009 at the joint Department of Commerce – Department of Transportation national conference, “Game Changers in the Supply Chain Infrastructure: Are We Ready to Play,” held in Washington and carried on through informal regional outreach discussions on freight policy and competitiveness issues in Atlanta, Chicago, San Diego, Seattle, Kansas City, and New Orleans.

Nominees meeting the eligibility requirements will be considered based upon their ability to carry out the goals of the Committee as identified in the Federal Register notice.

Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs
t: (202) 482-3015 (main) f: (202) 482-0900
email: ITALegislativeAffairs@trade.gov web: http://trade.gov
U.S. Department of Commerce | International Trade Administration

Agriculture focus of Solano, Yolo summit

2011-11-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

Published by The Reporter Posted: 11/02/2011 01:04:05 AM PDT

Adding more value to agriculture is the focus of a joint upcoming Solano and Yolo county economic summit. "We are bringing together the experts -- from academia to operators -- to help shape some strategies to grow this vital sector of our economy and bring more quality jobs to the area," said Solano County Supervisor Mike Reagan in a press release announcing the summit.

The Solano and Yolo Counties Joint Economic Summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center on the University of California, Davis, campus.

"The summit promises to give us a road map that will guide us in our collaborative efforts to increase the development of our agriculture economy," said Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor.

The agenda of the summit includes:

* An overview of the Food Chain Cluster report and the shared agriculture opportunities in the two counties.

* Panel discussions that examine the potential for making the region the heart of the seed industry and how an aggregation hub can expand the region's capacity to move products to market
* Facilitated discussions that explore how the region can move past identified barriers to growing agriculture and the food chain cluster.

* Creation of strategic action plans that add more value to agriculture and bring quality jobs to the region.

To reserve your seat at the summit, call 864-1855 or e-mail pat@solanoedc.org. Registration fee is $25 per person, which includes parking and lunch. For more information about the reports shaping the discussions at the summit, visit www.solanocounty.com/jointsummit.

Kaiser opens trauma facility in Vacaville

2011-11-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

By Kimberly K. Fu / The Reporter

Posted: 11/02/2011 01:03:53 AM PDT

Excitement bubbled Tuesday at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Vacaville, where officials heralded the opening of Solano County's second Level III trauma facility. The first -- at NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield -- opened in September. "We know that with this important level of care, the people who live in this area (and others) will benefit," said Max Villalobos, Kaiser's senior vice president. "We are excited that we are finally here."

The new designation means that trauma patients will receive aid including emergency resuscitation, surgery and intensive care. Since the hospital's "soft opening" on Oct. 17 an estimated 15 to 20 patients, including one at 4 a.m. Tuesday, have already been treated. And officials' preparations have proved successful.

"We've already learned that having them here, ready to go, is instrumental in saving lives," the administrator advised, regarding the team of top medical professionals assembled in-house, from surgeons to specialists to nursing staff and more.

Dr. Steven Stricker, physician-in-chief and chief of staff, described the Vacaville facility as "the most beautiful, incredible, wonderful medical center in the United States of America," called his team "world class" and emphasized that patients will receive comparable care.

He also promised that Kaiser would bring Solano's first neurological center to Vacaville next year, with plans to upgrade the trauma facility to Solano's first Level II center, which would make it Kaiser's second Level II center in Northern California. Its first is in South Sacramento.

With its location between Level II centers in Walnut Creek (John Muir Medical Center) and Sacramento (University of California, Davis, Medical Center), Vacaville is in a great position to grow its services, Stricker said.

"We are so lucky," he added.

Having a trauma center within the city, said Vacaville Mayor Steve Hardy, could change lives.

"In Vacaville, people will live who wouldn't have otherwise without the care," he said. "I'm very proud of this."

Dr. Mark Hawk, chief of neurosurgery with Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Region, pledged unrivaled care.

"There was a statement made that we opened the finest trauma center in Sacramento and we promise nothing short of that here," he said.

A permanent helipad is being sought for the facility and plans are already in the works to upgrade the trauma center's designation.

Solano County leaders told businesses can thrive here

2011-10-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

By Melissa Murphy / The Reporter

Posted: 10/28/2011 01:03:26 AM PDT

The woes of the American economy are well known but Solano County has opportunities to turn lemons into lemonade, if its business and civic leaders act now.
That was the message real estate experts brought to local business and civic leaders Thursday at an annual county "real estate roundup," sponsored by the Solano Economic Development Corporation.

"The body is not well," Brooks Pedder, managing partner and director of Colliers International in Fairfield, a commercial real estate firm, told the group. "You are the immune cells and we need to wake you up to assist us in getting out of this."

Pedder repeated a message he said he brought to the group two years ago, that local civic leaders can't control the financial market or state and federal hurdles, but they can do something different -- like reducing or waiving development "impact fees."

His reasoning was it would give local communities an advantage over their competition and help produce jobs that might not otherwise be created.

Instead, in the past two years, revenue from fees wasn't generated because, according to Pedder, buildings weren't built, deals weren't completed and jobs weren't created. On top of that, approximately 2,000 jobs were lost in 2010-11, he said.

"The gains we made in 2006 have evaporated in the last 18 months," he said. "As a region, Solano has lost almost all positive momentum from the past three decades."

Pedder didn't deny that companies are still looking to leave California, but he said Solano County can do something about it.

"We need to be the alternative to the rest of the state," he said. "We need to rebrand ourselves."

He explained that Solano County needs to think, "There is no way we don't have what you need."

The county has plenty to offer, he said, noting its large, diverse labor pool, the opportunity for workers to cut their commute, affordable housing prices, its location midway between Sacramento and San Francisco, its close proximity to major universities, and its wealth of available buildings and land.

"We are a deal-making region, but we're losing our practice," Pedder said. "Get ready. Hopefully we can get you busy again. I don't have all the answers, but you guys are the key. Let's fix it."

There are other positives for Solano County.

Chuck Shaw of ICSC Northern California said Solano has "eight lanes of retail bliss" on Interstate 80.

"That's what the corridor does for you," he said. "There is strong retail sales and very unique property."

He encouraged the group of business and civic leaders to stay the course because local government has worked to patiently make sound decisions.

Shaw explained that the county has a key opportunity in developing the Solano County fairgrounds in Vallejo. Solano360, the county project to redevelop the property that sits along Interstate 80, is a great opportunity, Shaw said, if planned carefully.

"It's a huge undertaking and I wish you success in that," he said. "You are in considerably better shape than everyone else."

Mare Island landmark building now home to Blu Homes

2011-10-31T10:57:00.001-07:00

Solano EDC meeting focuses on real estate

2011-10-31T10:56:00.001-07:00

FAIRFIELD — Solano County could be “The Other California” for businesses looking to flee or avoid the state.

That was one of the ideas that Brooks Pedder, managing partner at Colliers International, brought up at Thursday’s Solano Economic Development Corp. breakfast. He spoke at the corporation’s annual “real estate roundup” presentation.

California as a whole in Pedder’s view is a place businesses are leaving or avoiding for numerous reasons. Pedder suggested Solano County be an alternative — a kind of oasis for business within the state — and lower development impact fees as a way to show its uniqueness.

“Let’s repackage ourselves,” he told the 150 or so business and civic leaders attending the event.

A key to marketing “The Other California” is the Solano EDC, given that individual cities don’t have the “band width” to broadcast such a message by themselves, he said.

“We don’t want to become a permanent economic victim,” Pedder said. “We’re not there yet. We need to turn on the switch. You guys here are the key. We have a lot of empty buildings. We need your help.”

Development fees help pay for infrastructure and other costs. Pedder’s argument is that while reduced fees bring in less money, having no development brings in no money, and no jobs either.

The industrial vacancy rate is 14.4 percent. To see speculative buildings constructed, the rate would have to be about 5 percent, he said.

Like other speakers, he mentioned the importance of job creation to the local economy. Solano County’s unemployment rate is 11 percent.

“We have a form of cancer — let’s call it ‘we need jobs’ ” he told his audience.

But he saw strengths to help market “The Other California.” Local housing prices are once again competitive. The county has a good location between Sacramento and the Bay Area. It is near the Universities of California at Berkeley and Davis, he said.

Kevin Ramos, chief investment officer with Buzz Oates, said Solano County is a Bay Area suburb. Bay Area markets firm up from west to east, so the economic growth in parts of the Bay Area could reach Solano County in two to three years, he said.

Among the challenges facing Solano County is being part of California, with its overreaching regulations, he said. Also it has a “tweener” location and some businesses may decide they want to be either in the Bay Area or Central Valley, he said.

He called the building fees in the county “moderately high,” adding that his firm sees higher fees in some areas and lower fees in others.

Chuck Shaw of Fite Development Co. talked about retail. Solano County retail isn’t as healthy as Bay Area retail, but is much better off than Central Valley retail, he said.

Shaw sees the county as having an ace-in-the-hole when it comes to retail development. He called Interstate 80 “eight lanes of retail bliss.”

Solano County has 20.3 million square feet of retail space and an 8.3 percent vacancy rate. That’s not so bad, Shaw said.

Reach Barry Eberling at 427-6929 or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

Fairfield brewery gets mammoth wind turbine to power plant

2011-10-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield on Friday got a new landmark.

Anheuser-Busch and Foundation Windpower assembled a white wind turbine with a tower some 320 feet tall at the Budweiser brewery along Interstate 80. Hundreds of such mammoth turbines are in place 10 miles to the east in rural Montezuma Hills pastureland, but this one is in Fairfield city limits.

Brewing beer at Budweiser should soon be a breeze. Plant General Manager Kevin Finger estimated the turbine could provide 20 percent of the electricity for the brewery.

The local brewery sits amid a wind belt. That wind has even given the area its name. Supposedly, “Suisun” is the Patwin Indian word for the area’s famed west wind.

Finger is familiar with the area’s stiff winds that will soon give the brewery power. He commutes to work from Green Valley by bicycle and often must fight the breeze on his return evening trip.

As far as he knows, this is the first turbine at an Anheuser-Busch InBev facility, Finger said.

“To my knowledge, this is also the first at a brewery facility in the United States,” he said.

The General Electric turbine on Anheuser-Busch land is owned by San Francisco-based Foundation Windpower. Foundation Windpower has a 20-year agreement to sell the electricity to the brewery. The turbine will produce about 1,500 kilowatts of electricity per hour.

This turbine and associated equipment cost about $4 million, said Matt Wilson of Foundation Windpower. Power from the turbine should start going to the brewery on Nov. 2 or Nov. 3, he said.

On Friday morning, a crane with a boom extending even higher than the turbine tower prepared to lift the nacelle — a box the size of a mobile home that contains the gearbox and other equipment — to the top of the tower. It would then lift the three turbine blades to the nacelle for attachment.

That mammoth crane had to be assembled on the spot. Finger said it arrived on 27 tractor-trailer flat beds.

Anheuser-Busch has launched other renewable energy projects at the local brewery. The brewery gets 4 percent of its electricity annually from 6,500 solar panels covering about 6.5 acres. It has replaced about 15 percent of its natural gas use with methane that comes from brewing wastewater.

But none of these other efforts will draw the attention of passers-by on adjacent I-80. The turbine, in contrast, is hard to miss.

The turbine is “an environmental statement,” Wilson said.

And a big one at that.

Reach Barry Eberling at 427-6929, or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

Solano event addresses the future of real estate

2011-10-19T09:43:00.001-07:00

Solano event addresses the future of real estate

EDC brings business leaders from all around
Times-Herald staff report
Posted: 10/19/2011 01:01:00 AM PDT

Trends and the immediate future of Solano County's commercial real estate market will be the focus of the Solano Economic Development Corporation's Oct. 27 breakfast meeting, organizers announced.

Leaders in the areas of office, industrial and retail properties will hold a panel discussion at the 2011 Real Estate Round-up, 7:30 a.m. at Fairfield's Hilton Garden Inn.

"This is an important event for anyone interested in gaining information about the opportunities that exist for growth in our commercial real estate," Solano EDC interim president Sandy Person said. "We've put together a great panel of leaders in the field which will share their views and 'best guesses' for what the next year will bring."

Sponsored by Pacific Gas & Electric Company, the event costs $25 for EDC members and $35 for non-members.

To register, call (707) 864-1855

Positive economic news for Solano county

2011-10-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

Positive economic news for Solano county

Published by The Reporter
Posted: 10/04/2011 01:02:37 AM PDT

A monthly newsletter from Solano Economic Development Corporation finds good job news for the local economy.

In the past month, four companies have announced plans to relocate and/or expand their operations in the county, Solano EDC noted. They will bring some 200 jobs to the area.

"In light of all the bad news from the state and national scenes, this is tremendous news for Solano County and shows the strength that will undoubtedly come when the economy finally begins its long awaited rebound," the EDC newsletter noted.

Companies that have announced plans include:

* Coda Automotive will complete assembly of its new Coda EV, all electric sedan, in Benicia, bringing about 50 jobs to the community. The firm expects to complete assembly and ship some 10,000 to 14,000 vehicles in the coming year.

* Altec announced it will expand its green vehicle operation in Dixon, increasing the job force to 200 employees there.

* Blu Homes will begin mass producing pre-built homes at Vallejo's Mare Island, employing 90 when it opens, with more expected as the production increases.

* enXco recently celebrated Shiloh III -- a $300 million expansion of its windmill farm operation between Rio Vista and Fairfield. The new project features 50 2.05 megawatt turbines and will generate more than 100 megawatts of power.

Tech sector finds home in Fairfield

2011-10-04T09:00:00.001-07:00

Tech sector finds home in Fairfield

The business press is full of stories about how the technology sector is one segment of the Bay Area economy that is growing, even booming in some locations. Software, specialty electronics and small specialty manufacturers seem to thrive in our risk-taking, highly educated mega-regional setting. And, these companies provide quality jobs for those with the right skills.

Fairfield may not be considered part of Silicon Valley, but our city is home to a variety of technology companies that may fly under the radar. These interesting small companies (or branches of larger companies) help broaden the local economic base and provide unique products and services in the regional, national and even international market.

One unique company that has been in Fairfield since 2004 is Tronex Technology, Inc., located at 2860 Cordelia Road. Founded in Napa in 1982, Tronex manufactures precision hand-cutting tools that are used primarily by professionals engaged in electronics manufacturing (particularly in making printed circuit boards), wire and cable assembly, medical device manufacturing, scientific research and jewelry making.

“We manufacture top performing tools for a niche market that extends across the globe, including Europe and the Far East,” said Arne Salvesen, president of Tronex. “In many applications, our tools will be used for several hundred thousand cuts before they require sharpening. People are very often surprised that we actually manufacture in Fairfield as a lot of manufacturing has moved overseas. We use American specialty steel and other raw materials. We design and manufacture with such care that the performance of our tools is exceptional, which enables us to be competitive.”

Salvesen is an engineer and Harvard MBA who has become enamored with the business advantages of operating in Fairfield. He mentioned to us that he looked at several expansion sites in the region and chose Fairfield because it was centrally located and allowed Tronex employees the opportunity to live close to work. Salvesen also noted that both Solano Community College and Napa Valley College have played a vital role in employee training by providing classes in machine tool programming and drafting.

Large, international technology companies have also found Fairfield a good fit for their business plans. A newcomer to Fairfield, TenCate Advanced Composites, recently moved from Benicia into the former Tri Eagle Beverage space at 2450 Cordelia Road. The parent company, Royal TenCate, is based in The Netherlands and focuses on high-tech specialty fabrics and composites. Their markets include protective fabrics for firefighters, specialty military armors, space composites, geosynthetics, industrial fabrics and artificial turf. According to the company website, TenCate fabrics were worn by the responders to the recent industrial fire in northeastern Fairfield. TenCate will employ approximately 100 people in its Fairfield facility.

Fairfield also supports home-grown businesses as well. Dependable Plastics has operated for more than 25 years at 4900 Fulton Drive. Dependable custom manufactures plastic casings and coverings for medical devices and tools. They can make everything from simple hand-tool cases to full-scale machine coverings. Some of the coverings showcased on the company website are amazingly complex and intricate.

Technology companies look for a variety of things in choosing a location for their business including location, affordable and available space, cost of housing and an educated workforce. In addition to local community colleges, Solano County is the home of a local Workforce Investment Board, a private nonprofit organization that has been contracting with Solano County for 28 years to help with workforce education and job placement. According to Loraine Fernandez, program administrator, WIB uses individualized programs to help unemployed and displaced adults, youths and veterans with retraining and job advanced placement. Technology fields that are popular now with WIB clients include fiber optics and Internet security. WIB also offers a Career Center open to everyone. Interested people should visit the Solano Employment Connection Career Center, 320 Campus Lane in Fairfield.

The WIB is offering a Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at University of Phoenix, 5253 Business Center Drive. Call WIB at 863-3596 for more information or to register.

Economic Notes is an update from Fairfield City Hall written by Brian Miller and Karl Dumas of the Fairfield Planning and Development Department. They can be contacted at 428-7461 or email at kdumas@fairfield.ca.gov or bkmiller@fairfield.ca.gov.

Solano bank gets millions for job growth

2011-09-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

Solano bank gets millions for job growth

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen / Times-Herald

Posted: 09/29/2011 01:01:21 AM PDT

A Solano County bank was awarded more than $20 million in federal funds to help create local jobs, the U.S. Treasury announced Wednesday.

Dixon's First Northern Community Bancorp is among 16 California banks to share $103.1 million as part of the final wave of Small Business Lending Fund money meant to help create new jobs, Treasury officials said. The Dixon bank got its $22.8 million last week, a bank spokeswoman said.

"This is a good thing," bank spokeswoman Louise Walker said. "We'll be able to provide more opportunities to local small business."

Bank officials applied for the program four months ago and learned they were approved in July, Walker said.

"We're hoping to lend some $30 million to $40 million, but it really will depend on the demand for loans," she said. "You hope it creates or retains jobs."

Walker said she's unaware of other area banks being awarded any of these funds.

Messages left with the Treasury Department weren't returned Wednesday.

The Small Business Lending Fund was established as part of the Obama Administration's Small Business Jobs Act. Its aim is to encourage community banks to increase lending to small businesses, helping those companies expand their operations and create new jobs, Treasury officials said in a prepared statement.

Wednesday's 16 brings to 30 the number of California community banks sharing $274.5 million in this federal funding.

The program provides capital to community banks with less than $10 billion in assets at a dividend rate that falls as the bank increases its lending to small businesses, treasury officials said. This provides "a strong incentive for new lending to small businesses so they can expand and create jobs," they said.

Other Northern California banks awarded funds this round include Oakland's OBDC Small Business Finance ($219,000), Lafayette's California Bank of Commerce ($11.0 million) and San Francisco's Low Income Investment Fund ($7.5 million). Also on the list are San Jose's Opportunity Fund Northern California ($2.2 million) and the California Coastal Rural Development Corporation in Salinas ($870,000).

Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com.

Section of Mare Island is cleared for 'Town Center'

2011-09-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

Section of Mare Island is cleared for 'Town Center'

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen/ Times-Herald, Vallejo

Posted: 09/25/2011 01:03:35 AM PDT

The section of the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard set aside as the "Town Center" has been "cleared" by the agency overseeing the island's environmental remediation and is now ready for reuse, a spokesman for the island's main developer said Thursday.
But market forces will likely delay any actual progress.

The Town Center is envisioned to one day include mixed-use commercial development -- office, R&D, light industry and retail, developer Lennar Mare Island spokesman Jason Keadjian said.

The new certification allows the 61 acres covered to be developed -- 59 acres for commercial reuse and about two acres for homes, Keadjian said. This latest approval brings the environmental cleanup of Lennar's 650-acre parcel to more than 60 percent completion, he said.

Lennar Mare Island was given a "No Further Action" required letter by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. The letter certified that impacts to soil and groundwater resulting from former military use have been addressed, Keadjian said. The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region (water board) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency collaborated on the inspection, he said.

Lennar officials managed the investigative and remedial activities at 34 sites associated with the former shipyard's underground storage tanks, fuel-oil pipeline system, electrical transformers and general fill used to build up the area over the years, Keadjian said.

"This milestone is part of the continuing environmental cleanup and redevelopment of the former shipyard," he said. "The cleanup is a cooperative effort between the United States Navy, the city of Vallejo, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board and the community."

Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Joanne Schivley, expressed cautious optimism upon learning of the sign-off.

"Now Lennar and the city and not the Navy has control of when we can develop there, which I'm sure will happen when it's economically feasible to do so," she said.

City Councilwoman Marti Brown had a similar reaction.

"It's great news because it means that now all the environmental remediation work is done," Brown said. "And now the next step of development can move forward. Whether the economy is going to let us, is another matter."

Between 2007 and 2009, in anticipation of development in the newly signed-off area, Lennar demolished nine buildings and removed potentially hazardous materials like asbestos and lead-based paint from a dozen others, Keadjian said.

"This area represents almost one million square feet of commercial space for Mare Island and the city of Vallejo, with the potential to support approximately 1,000 jobs," Keadjian said. "LMI is excited to have the environmental work complete and we look forward to realizing the potential of this area as market conditions improve."

Located between Azuar Drive and Railroad Avenue, the Town Center site is considered one of Mare Island's best for long term development opportunities for both new construction and rehabilitation of existing structures, Keadjian said.

Fairfield distributor brings international guests to his facility

2011-09-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

Daniel Levesque, center, and Louisa Berube, left, of Quebec, Canada, take a tour through one of the tractor part warehouses at the FP Smith Parts & Equipment headquarter on Ramsey Road in Fairfield Tuesday afternoon. (Mike Greener/Daily Republic)

FAIRFIELD — Daniela Bucciolini met, and conquered, her match Tuesday.

Bucciolini was one of more than 135 guests at Fairfield’s FP Smith Parts & Equipment. Her company near Florence, Italy, produces spare parts for the Komatsu PC220LC excavator she tested out at Smith Parts.

Her employee, Filippo Becattini, videotaped as his boss scooped up piles of dirt into a bucket, then dropped them back down.

“She wants to do these kinds of dangerous things,” Becattini said. “She’s very competitive.”

“I was like a child with joystick,” Bucciolini said after her test drive. “It was fantastic. It was easy and incredible.”

And, yes, she wouldn’t mind owning one.

“She doesn’t have enough room in her garage,” Becattini joked.

More than 18 countries were represented at the event, an early introduction to the Independent Distributor’s Association convention that opens Wednesday in San Francisco.

Marcello Marchetto accompanied her boyfriend, Walter Antonella, to the event. His company, outside Milan, Italy, sells the undercarriage parts for the excavator.

Marchetto also tried out the excavator.

“I’m very satisfied,” she said after stepping down from the cab of the excavator. She followed it with a few words from the Rolling Stones tune “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.”

“I know this is work for a man,” she said, with translation help from Bucciolini. “But even a woman can do this. It’s very soft.”

“It’s a woman’s machine,” Bucciolini proclaimed.

Guests of Smith Parts were treated to a variety of activities including a tour of his warehouse.

“I really want to see his variety of parts,” said Enzo Masciotra, from Montreal.

Many of them purchase parts from the Fairfield company.

Robert and Kimberly Castle traveled from Brisbane, Australia. He was attracted to the vintage car show Smith Parts had arranged for his guests.

A 1967 Armijo High School graduate, Pete Smith will be installed as vice president of the Independent Distributors Association, which represents more than 450 companies worldwide. It’s a trade association for companies that manufacture, sell or distribute parts for heavy equipment.

More than 26 countries will be represented at the convention.

The last time the convention took place in San Francisco was 1989.

“It ended on a Sunday and the (Loma Prieta) quake was on a Monday,” said Nancy Estes, executive director of the Independent Distributors Association.

While there have been other pre-convention events in the past, Estes said Smith took it to the max with clay shooting, live entertainment and food.

“This is phenomenal,” she said.

“When you live in Cordelia, you make things happen,” Smith said. “Either you go to the world or you bring the world to you.”

Smith welcomed guests from as far as China. Kevin Hu feasted on oysters and pizza at the event. The company he works for, outside Shanghai, manufactures spare parts for heavy equipment.

FP Smith Parts & Equipment has been in business for more than 60 years and has 21 full-time employees.

Reach Amy Maginnis-Honey at 427-6957 or amaginnis@dailyrepublic.net.

VacaValley Hospital to get $118 million makeover

2011-09-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

VacaValley Hospital to get $118 million makeover

Will double number of beds; is precursor to trauma center plans

By Dan Verel, Business Journal Staff Reporter

A rendering of the $118 million VacaValley Hospital expansion

VACAVILLE — VacaValley Hospital will soon undergo a $118 million renovation, a project that will double the size of the current hospital.

NorthBay Healthcare, which operates the 50-bed hospital and NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield, is currently awaiting approval from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development on the planned improvements, which would add an additional 24 beds — 16 medical-surgery beds and eight intensive care unit beds — to the hospital.

All told, construction on the hospital would include two stories while adding roughly 68,000 square feet to the hospital, which will double its footprint, said Steve Huddleston, a spokesman for NorthBay Healthcare. Improvements include an expanded emergency department and a new MRI machine. About 13,500 current square feet of the hospital will be renovated, and four modern surgical suites will be added to the hospital. An upgrade to the central utility plan is also part of the project, as are additional parking areas.

“We don’t have enough beds and capacity in the system now,” he said.

Rendering of lobby

Hospitals across California are undergoing significant construction projects in order to meet state requirements mandated for seismic safety, but the facility upgrades in Vacaville are not a result of that, Mr. Huddleston said. Instead, the project is part of the health system’s strategic plan, defined two years ago, to open Solano County’s first trauma center. Just last week, the 132-bed facility in Fairfield received its level III trauma center designation.

“None of the issues are related to the seismic retrofitting,” Mr. Huddleston said. “There will be two new major services that are vascular and heart related.”

The plan for the trauma center initially called for the Fairfield hospital to obtain a level III designation, but to eventually move the trauma center to the 25-year-old Vacaville hospital, where it would apply for a level II designation.

But soon after NorthBay Healthcare announced its plans over a year ago, Kaiser Permanente’s Napa-Solano region said that it too intended on seeking a level II trauma center — at its Vacaville facility. Kaiser eventually amended its plan to seek a level III center in Vacaville, which it expects designation for by the end of October. In response to Kaiser’s plan, Mr. Huddleston has said NorthBay Healthcare would explore the possibility of keeping the trauma center in Fairfield.

There is no limit on how many level III trauma centers can be in a county, but state law says a county can have only one level II center, unless a specific exception is granted. Both NorthBay Healthcare and Kaiser have said they will likely seek level II designations at the respective facilities after a needs assessment is completed by the county to see if a such a center could be sustained.

The expansion at NorthBay Healthcare’s VacaValley Hospital will go ahead regardless of where the trauma center ends up, Mr. Huddleston said.

NorthBay Healthcare expects to break ground on the expansion in Vacaville by early 2012 and to have construction completed by early 2014, Mr. Huddleston said. Before any construction and before any financing can take place, OSHPD must approve of the plans. The health system is hoping for state approval by the end of this month so that it can begin with the financing.

All told, the health system will be seeking about $200 million in loans and bonds, but only $118 will account for the construction. The remainder of the loan will go toward refinancing existing debt. Once OSHPD signs off on the plans, the Federal Housing Authority, through its Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program, would be able to back the bonds, which would then guarantee a loan from Bank of America, Mr. Huddleston said.

DPR Construction, which has offices in Sacramento, San Francisco, Redwood City and San Jose, has been selected as the general contractor. San Francisco-based WRNS Studio is the architect.

NorthBay Business Journal Impact Solano Conference 2011

2011-09-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

Impact Solano Conference 2011

Impact Solano, the North Bay Business Journal’s upcoming conference focusing on this county, was held Wednesday morning, Sept. 21, 2011, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. The conference featured an economic outlook and panel of of local speakers. [Read an overview of the conference.]

Robert Eyler, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, Frank Howard Allen Economics Research Fellow, director of the Executive MBA Program, Sonoma State University
Presentation (PDF): IMPACT Solano: Recovery, the Region and Reality

Sandy Person
Interim president, Solano Economic Development Corp.
Presentation (PDF): Solano County Update

Gary Passama
President and CEO, NorthBay Healthcare
Presentation (PDF): Overview of NorthBay Healthcare and report on VacaValley Hospital expansion

David Payne
President, Altec Industries
Presentation (PDF): Green Fleet Focus Factory project

Solano business conference finds some bright spots

2011-09-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Solano business conference finds some bright spots

Robert Eyler, economics department chair at Sonoma State University, gives the keynote address at the Impact Solano conference at the Hilton Garden Inn Wednesday morning. (Brad Zweerink/Daily Republic)

FAIRFIELD — Solano Economic Development Corp. Interim President Sandy Person found some numbers to smile about Wednesday amid the slow economy.

Four recent business endeavors will bring 200 new jobs and a half-billion dollars in investment to the county, she said. Those are the Shiloh III wind project by enXco in the Montezuma Hills, the planned Altec Industries public utility equipment company expansion in Dixon, the Coda electric car company in Benicia and the Blu Homes prefabricated, eco-friendly homes plant on Mare Island.

The challenge for Solano County, as explored during the Impact Solano conference Wednesday, is to keep this type of momentum going. The morning conference sponsored by the North Bay Business Journal took place before more than 100 people at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Even more development projects are coming to Solano County. Gary Passama, president of NorthBay Healthcare, said NorthBay could begin work on a $120 million VacaValley Hospital expansion within the next half-year. The state must still approve the project.

Person also noted some projects that the Solano EDC has under way. Among them is an economic study of Highway 12 to show, among other things, where all of the truck traffic goes. The Solano Transportation Authority will use the study to try to get more federal and state highway improvement dollars.

“We don’t know much about Highway 12,” Person said. “It serves some tremendously important industries in this county.”

Robert Eyler, economics department chairman at Sonoma State University, was the keynote speaker at the conference. He sees some encouraging economic news for California amid the bad news, such as growth in personal income among Californians.

“Is California as a state recovering? Yes,” he said. “Is it a slower recovery than we want? Of course.”

Solano County is creating jobs. It has some demand in the housing market, however weak that might be, he said.

He talked of county strengths, such as its location between the University of California, Davis, and UC Berkeley. The county needs to communicate with them, to get the science done there to result in Solano County jobs, he said.

Person later said she is going “full throttle” in her contact with UC Davis.

“We have some amazing opportunities to collaborate there,” Person said. “Stay tuned.”

Eyler praised the county’s decision to focus on economic clusters: life sciences, the food chain and energy. He talked about the county’s weather and microclimates as a plus.

But he warned against cities fighting among themselves over who gets what firm, something that could drive away companies the county is trying to woo.

“Don’t worry where it lands,” Eyler said. “Worry about how you feed off it after it lands.”

And he cautioned local leaders to watch what’s going on in other communities that want to compete with Solano County.

Eyler ended his part of the conference with words of encouragement. He urged local economic and civic leaders to “keep at it” and to stay engaged. Then the county will do fine, he said.

Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646, ext. 232, or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

NorthBay Healthcare gets trauma designation in Solano County

2011-09-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

NorthBay Healthcare gets trauma designation in Solano County

By Dan Verel, Business Journal Staff Reporter

FAIRFIELD — NorthBay Medical Center has been named Solano County’s first trauma center after a five-member assessment team on Sept. 9 evaluated the emergency services and trauma support systems and found that the program passed muster.

“The survey team felt that NorthBay Medical Center’s application and on-site review demonstrate your hospital’s commitment to providing excellent trauma care,” wrote County Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas and Ted Selby, administrator of the Solano County, in a joint letter to trauma program leaders.

They added, “The successful achievement of a trauma designation is commendable.”

It has been a year since NorthBay Healthcare, which operates the Fairfield hospital and VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville, first unveiled a plan to open a level III trauma Center by the end of 2011.

The designation process will be completed within 90 days when county health officials and NorthBay sign a trauma center agreement that paves the way for emergency responders – police, firefighters, paramedics and ambulance companies – to deliver patients with traumatic injuries to the Fairfield hospital. The trauma center will significantly lessen the need to send seriously injured residents out of county for care.

In addition, some suggestions made by the surveyors during their visit already are being implemented, including reconfiguring and enhancing the trauma treatment room. NorthBay officials said work was under way on other improvements that will be accomplished quickly.

NorthBay Healthcare officials said Solano County was one of the few counties its size within California that did not have a designated trauma center within its boundaries.

Designation as a level III center means emergency medical services personnel can now bring trauma patients to the Fairfield hospital’s Emergency Department for treatment. Patients will be triaged in the field according to criteria for treatment at the appropriate level of trauma care. Patients with neurological injuries will continue to be transported to Level 1 and Level 2 trauma centers.

About 1,000 trauma cases occur every year in Solano County, according to state statistics that show 42 percent are transferred out of the county, typically to trauma centers in Walnut Creek or Sacramento. Most are a result of traffic crashes — 50 percent — and falls, at 39 percent. Less than 7 percent of traumatic injuries are a result of assaults.

“This is a life-saving advancement of medicine for residents of Solano County,” noted Gary Passama, president and CEO of NorthBay Healthcare. “We didn’t just decide to do this. This has been part of our long-range strategic plan for many, many years. Our role as the independent, community-based healthcare provider is to bring to local residents the medical services that do not exist here.”

During the last three years, NorthBay Healthcare built the infrastructure for trauma care and other advanced medical services. It began by putting into place around-the-clock in-house physician staffing for general surgery, internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, anesthesia, OB-GYN and critical care medicine, all of which provide a strong foundation for a high-quality trauma medical team.

“We created that system to improve the care for all patients,” said Deborah Sugiyama, president of NorthBay Healthcare Group, which directly manages operations in NorthBay Medical Center and NorthBay VacaValley Hospital. “But it was the underpinnings of creating a trauma center.”

Ms. Sugiyama added, “Clinical systems needed to be created. Surgery and intensive care units had to be integrated into our trauma system. Thousands of hours of staff training were accomplished, quality monitoring was put into place and community education started.”

The program was developed under the guidance of Kathy Richerson, vice president and chief nursing officer at NorthBay, who had helped with the implementation of trauma services in her previous role in a Sacramento hospital.

“We can be proud of this accomplishment,” Ms. Richerson said. “It required tremendous dedication to create something our community really needs. The team at NorthBay never wavered in its mission to deliver this program to those we serve. We knew we would be saving lives because we could eliminate the long transport times to other hospitals farther away. And we knew we could keep families of trauma victims closer to their loved ones, which quite often helps the recovery process.”

Dr. J. Peter Zopfi is the trauma medical director and chief of surgery. Daman Mott, R.N., is director of Emergency Department and Trauma Services, assisted by Heather Venezio, R.N., trauma program director. Ms. Richerson noted that NorthBay has been the leader in filling the gaps in the county’s healthcare delivery system by investing in new technology and facilities. The trauma program follows NorthBay’s pioneering efforts in providing neonatal intensive care for newborns, the first accredited cancer center in the county, the only advanced heart and vascular center offering open-heart surgery, along with programs for wound care, joint replacement and women’s health.

Kaiser Permanente also intends on opening a level III trauma center at its Vacaville hospital, likely by the end of this year, giving Solano County two trauma centers.

Benicia scores green auto operation

2011-09-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

Benicia scores green auto operation

Amports Inc. will do final assembly for Coda’s zero-emission car

By Loralee Stevens, Special to the Business Journal

Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, drive's the all-electric car.

BENICIA – City and county officials got a tour last week of Benicia’s first foray into green technology.

Startup zero-emission car developer Coda Automotives of Santa Monica has inked a deal with long-time Benicia automotive processing company Amports Inc. to do the final assembly on its flagship zero-emission cars.

Coda CEO Phil Murtaugh led a tour last Monday of the assembly operation for Solano officials, including Benicia mayor Elizabeth Patterson, who hailed the agreement as “proof positive” of the benefits of collaboration.

Coda’s cars, slated for the fleet market, will be shaped in China, then shipped to the Port of Oakland and trucked to Benicia where major drive-train components – including Coda’s 12-volt lithium-ion battery – will be installed by Amports.

Beginning around the end of this year, 10,000 to 14,000 cars are expected to roll through the assembly line during the first 12 months.

Coda CEO Phil Murtaugh explains the Code assembly process

According to Amports general manger Randy Scott, an initial 50 employees will be hired to run the operation, some by Coda, some by Amports.

“We have the capacity to absorb the assembly work already,” he said.

He did not disclose details of the agreement, but referred to it as “long term.”

According to Solano acting economic development manager Mario Giuliani, who arranged last Monday’s tour and press conference, the agreement spells a great win for the county and an opportunity for Benicia to attract more clean, green tech companies.

“With Amports developing the capacity to assemble zero-emission vehicles, other electric and hybrid car makers could lower their production costs by following Coda,” he said.

Mayor Patterson said Benicia could become a leader in the transition from petrochemical to alternative-energy industries. The city has long been known for oil refining, with Valero Energy Corp. a major business presence.

Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, drove a Coda prototype and pronounced it fascinating.

“We are excited that Coda decided to pick California as a launching place … ,” he said. “At a time when America is fixated on the idea of jobs immediately and jobs in the future, it really is through the kind of innovation that Coda brings – in this case to the transportation field – that’s going to drive jobs.”

Coda has raised over $200 million in venture funding. The 200-employee company expects to begin selling its first cars around the beginning of 2012. It’s currently building a network of dealers and intends to open a showroom somewhere in the Bay Area, according to Mr. Murtaugh.

“We’re hoping it’ll be in Benicia,” said Mr. Giuliani. “A green point-of-sale business would be a terrific addition to the green assembly line.”

Impact Solano to focus on future of key region

2011-09-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Impact Solano to focus on future of key region

Wednesday conference to feature economic forecast, local outlooks

By Gary Quackenbush, Special to the Business Journal

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Located at the center of a geographic triangle linking San Francisco, the North Bay and Sacramento, Solano County is welcoming entrepreneurs and businesses looking for a place to locate or expand with favorable operating conditions, lower costs and other important perks.

Impact Solano, the North Bay Business Journal’s upcoming conference focusing on this county, will be held Wednesday from 8 to 10:30 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. Cost is $45 per person and tables are also available. Call Linda Perkins, 707-521-5264.

The conference will feature an economic outlook and panel of of local speakers.

Robert Eyler

Robert Eyler, Ph.D.

Director, Executive MBA Program and Frank Howard Allen Research Fellow, Sonoma State University

Dr. Eyler will provide attendees with a macroeconomic overview of the nation and region, given the events of 2011 as the context for a general preview at 2012, followed by a close up outlook at Solano County.

His current forecast for 2012 for both national and state economies will be presented. The rationale behind this forecast will include an analysis of labor the market’s ability to generate jobs and reduce unemployment, and the slow growth of both production and incomes.

“There are some caveats to 2012 being a year of continued, positive economic news that must be explored,” Dr. Eyler said. “The state budget may change in January, based on an inability of California to generate tax revenue to cover expenses in the first half of 2012, which may lead to state-level cuts.”

Looking ahead, the federal government will be gearing up for an election year, meaning 2012 could be another year of stagnation and rhetoric versus proactive economic planning, according to Dr. Eyler.
At the local level, he believes Solano County should continue utilizing its defined clusters in life sciences, food and energy, as well as recognizing that regional competition will continue from all directions as both housing markets and job markets continue to recover slowly.

“The challenge for Solano County will be continuing to grow in the midst of macroeconomic uncertainty and slow movement in other markets that would support business clusters,” he said, noting clusters such as construction, professional and personal services.

Sandy Person

Interim president, Solano County Economic Development Corp.

Ms. Person will describe the demographics of Solano County and its proactive economic development process.

She will also discuss the county’s business-friendly market environment and offer a preview of new commercial real estate transactions that are attracting an increasing number of firms into the area — including two hybrid and all-electric vehicle manufacturers.

“Solano is one of the fastest growing sectors in the North Bay. It is a region that has plenty of open space for large and small plants and offices of every size,” she said.

Ms. Person will also provide a rationale on why so many firms are choosing to locate in Solano and what is attracting them.

“Major transportation arteries, more space to grow and expand, access to rail heads and air transport, plus close proximity to suppliers and partners, are some of the reasons for the recent flurry of new arrivals — with more to come.

“We are experiencing a relocation and corporate migration trend as firms move from other cities and counties into our area to avail themselves of the many advantages our county has to offer,” she said.
“The EDC’s mission is to facilitate economic development and assist these firms in navigating the process.”

“Solano is truly becoming an industrial dynamo of Northern California. It’s an area with so much to offer.”

David Payne

Manager of operations, Altec Industries, Inc.

Mr. Payne will provide the audience with the reasons why his firm, one of the largest manufacturers of hybrid commercial vehicles, originally located in Solano and has decided to remain there.

The company’s Dixon Final Assembly Plant serves the western U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii) and the Pacific Rim.

“This location is logistically ideal given its proximity to Interstates 80 and 5, shipping ports, and supply chain support from either Sacramento or Bay Area businesses,” Mr. Payne said.

“Our recent decision to stay in Solano County and expand our current operation, rather than relocate, was primarily motivated by Altec’s appreciation of this area and its corporate citizenship.”

Altec has enjoyed a good reputation in the local community since 1988 — one that allows it to easily recruit from a qualified labor pool to build a stable work force. He said competitive pay and benefit packages enhance an attractive, enjoyable work environment.

Pacific Gas & Electric is Altec’s largest West Coast customer. PG&E’s fleet office is located in nearby Davis. PG&E and Altec have collaborated to create several hybrid solutions for utility vehicles, leading to a new expansion of Altec’s Green Fleet Focus Factory.

“In addition to our partnership with PG&E, U.C. Davis offers untapped resources in research, development, and validation of hybrid vehicle designs.”

Gary Passama

President and CEO, NorthBay Healthcare

As Solano County grows, employers and residents expect to see healthcare services expand to accommodate more workers and families. Mr. Passama’s presentation will address his company’s plans for achieving this.

Amid the uncertainties of health care reform and the economy, NorthBay Healthcare is planning to move ahead with a bold strategic plan that will bring new advanced medical services to an underserved Solano County.

After opening the county’s first open-heart surgery and cardiac care program, NorthBay is poised to be the first to provide trauma care in the county.

Mr. Passema has an ambitious agenda and timetable, one that includes a plan designed to grow emergency services to become the county’s premier center for heart attack treatment.

All of this is set against a backdrop that is even more ambitious — a major hospital expansion project at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital.

This $120 million project will result in doubling the acute care hospital in Vacaville and will position this independent, community-based, non-profit healthcare system to meet the revolution in healthcare delivery that is coming down the pike — along with the medical needs of the rapidly-expanding commercial and residential population in Solano County.

The health care industry is one of the largest employers in the North Bay and generates more $15.3 billion in revenue in the San Francisco Bay Area alone, according to recent news reports.

Solano Center for Business Innovation launched

2011-09-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

September 19th, 2011 05:50am

Solano Center for Business Innovation launched

By Loralee Stevens, Special to the Business Journal

SOLANO COUNTY — A new non-profit group is focussed on helping Solano’s small businesses grow revenues with an eye toward creating jobs.

Charles Rieger has launched a non-profit to help grow Solano businesses

Charles Rieger, formerly with IBM and now owner of a construction business, is the guiding force behind the Solano Center for Business Innovation.

“I looked around to see what we could do to help the 15,000 small companies that are operating, and often struggling, here in the county,” he said.

Mr. Rieger has talked with 60 local businesses and laid out a series of programs designed to address their concerns.

“They didn’t want handouts, but they did want help adjusting to new, competitive ways of doing business,” he said.

Part mentoring, part educational and part hands-on job creation, the center is not an incubator, but an effort to provide resources and contacts to both working companies and the out-of-work, including about 78,000 idled construction workers.

Anyone is welcome to gather with the group on the second Wednesday of each month at the Solano EDC, where subjects such as business technology and how to put it to use, and entreprenuership for the experienced worker are addressed.

A Pathways to Innovations program offers special mentoring to individuals or companies who want to grow or change, and the center is soon to launch a series of breakfast meetings where speakers of note will hold forth on pertinent topics.

“We want to get Rep. John Garamendi speaking on ‘Buy American’ for example,” said Mr. Reiger.

Melissa Percivalle, whose event planning and fund raising startup Event Savvy is benefiting from the Pathways program, is now putting her new business skills to work for the center.

“I get so involved in helping my clients develop their ideas I tend to let other things go,” she said. “Charles helps me back up my ideas with solid business practices. So in return I’m helping him develop the breakfast series and other events.”

The most ambitious of the center’s programs piggybacks on the California Energy Upgrade initiative to create jobs. Mr. Reiger calls it Energy Upgrade California Solano Plus.

Working with partners such as Solar City and Green Environmental Technologies, the center’s goal is to make 500 Solano County homes 40 percent more efficient while putting construction workers back in action.

“We persuade homeowners to avail themselves of the state energy rebates, which work out to $2,500 for every 25 percent reduction in energy use through solar and other alternative energy, roof and window improvements, more efficient appliances.

“Then, if they’re willing to pass the rebate on to us, we’ll install a complete energy monitoring system, an energy management system, and LED lighting throughout the home.”

Just launched, the Solano Plus program has already signed up three homeowners. Mr. Reiger hopes to double enrollment each month.

“We think we have a winner. The homeowner gains far more energy efficiency and several small businesses benefit from the work,” he said.

The next Center for Business Innovation meeting is on September 21 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For more information call 707-861-0724.

Pipe Shields, Inc. relocates to Fairfield

2011-09-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Patti Magee, Executive Assistant

pmagee@WisemanCo.com
707.427.1212

Kirk Hull of The Wiseman Company announced today that Pipe Shields, Inc. has chosen to re-locate to waterview offices on the second floor of the Green Valley Executive Center in Fairfield. Green Valley Executive Center is home to a variety of professional firms and Solano’s finest gourmet restaurant, Sticky Rice Bistro.

Acquired by Durga Agrawal, PhD, Pipe Shields, Inc. is one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of a unique line of pre-insulated pipe supports, slides, guides and anchors that it has developed and patented during its 39 year history. They have done projects in the past for clients as varied as Boeing, Dow Chemical, Hershey’s Chocolate, Genentech, Nissan Motor Manufacturing and UC Davis, just to name a few. Their manufacturing facility, which includes 450,000 square feet of covered shop space, is in Houston, Texas and their offices in Fairfield are used for engineering, sales and marketing.

The Wiseman Company is a full-service, commercial real estate firm offering brokerage, development, investment and management services to Solano, Napa and Yolo counties. For more information about Green Valley Executive Center or any of our other Class A properties, contact Kirk Hull at 707.427.1212 or by email at khull@WisemanCo.com.

Benicia facility to finish assembly of Coda's new electric vehicles

2011-09-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

By Tony Burchyns

Posted: 09/13/2011 01:00:32 AM PDT

Coda Automotive CEO Phil Murtaugh, center, shows off the 12-volt battery Monday in Benicia that will power the Coda EV, an all-electric sedan slated for delivery beginning late this year in California. At his left are Benicia mayor Elizabeth Patterson, and next to her is Rep. George Miller D-Martinez. (Tony Burchyns / Times-Herald)

BENICIA -- It will still be known as the city with the oil refinery, but Benicia is about to zoom into the electric car industry.
Officials from Amports Inc. and startup Coda Automotive Inc. announced Monday that the two have closed a deal to open a final assembly plant in Benicia.

The Los Angeles company also is in talks to open a Bay Area showroom, but details have not been released, company officials said.

Meanwhile, the Benicia operation will generate 50 jobs, with 10,000 to 14,000 cars expected to roll through next year.

Benicia will be the latest Bay Area city manufacturing electric cars. Palo Alto-based Tesla Motors Inc. is partnering with Toyota to build its next-generation electric sedan at a factory in Fremont.

Coda Automotive CEO Phil Murtaugh poses Monday with the startup companyÕs new all-electric sedan at Amports Inc. in Benicia. (Tony Burchyns / Times-Herald)

City officials said luring a company on the forefront of the green manufacturing industry was a significant coup.

"We have felt for a long time as a city that it is best to work in a collaborative and cooperative way with businesses in order to achieve our strategic goals ... ," Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson said. "And today is proof positive of that collaborative effort."

Ironically, the city's prosperity remains closely tied to fossil fuel, with Valero Energy Corp. operating an oil refinery there. But Patterson said the city of 28,000 also can be a leader in the transition from petrochemical to alternative-energy industries.

Coda plans to ship its nearly finished "clean" cars from China to the Bay Area. The sedans will then be trucked from the Port of Oakland to Benicia, where major drive-train components -- including Coda's 12-volt battery -- will be installed by Amports technicians.

The zero-emission cars will have a range of up to 150 miles, company officials said. Pricing will start at about $45,000 before federal and state incentives. The four-door, five-passenger sedans are expected to hit the market by year's end.

Coda officials called the partnership with Amports -- an automotive processing services company -- "long-term," but did not give details of the contract's terms.

The companies confirmed the deal at a press conference Monday at Amports. Among those in attendance were Coda CEO Phil Murtaugh, Amports Senior Vice President Jim Triplett, Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, and local elected officials.

Dozens of Coda workers encouraged by the partnership's prospects also attended.

Coda CEO Phil Murtaugh led reporters and local elected officials on a brief tour of the plant, demonstrating how the Coda battery's heating and cooling systems work.

Murtaugh said the company -- which has about 200 employees, mostly in southern California -- is still building its dealer network.

"Our first flagship store is open in L.A. and we are currently looking in the Bay Area for a second flagship store," said Murtaugh, who spent more than 30 years with General Motors before joining Coda eight months ago.

Murtaugh said he expects about half of Coda's sales to be through "fleet" sales.

Coda has designed its sedan to be plugged into standard household outlets. The batteries will take about six hours to fully charge, the company says.

Rep. Miller drove a Coda prototype Monday, later calling the experience "fascinating."

"We are excited that Coda decided to pick California as a launching place ... ," Miller said. "At a time when America is fixated on the idea of jobs immediately and jobs in the future, it really is through the kind of innovation that Coda brings -- in this case to the transportation field -- that's going to drive jobs."

Contact staff writer Tony Burchyns at tburchyns@timesheraldonline.com or (707) 553-6831.

Invitation to Back to School Fall Event at the Inventor's Lab in Vallejo

2011-09-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

Subject: You are invited to the Back to School Fall Event at the Inventor's Lab in Vallejo

Back to School Fall Event at the Inventor's Lab in Vallejo

The Inventor's Lab invites you our Back to School Fall Event.

The back-to-school fall event will be the official ceremony to kick off for the full range of services at the Vallejo site. We will also utilize this event to promote interest among our partners to foster long-term sustainability for the project and future opportunities for more science in Solano County. The Inventor's Lab team is inviting its partners to join us.

The event will feature a slide show and will start with a presentation. We will then break into round table discussions to network and brainstorm opportunities for the future of science learning in Vallejo.

When: Wednesday, September 21st from 6:00-9:00pm

Where: Norman C. King South Vallejo Community Center 545 Magazine Street

Please confirm your participation and feel free to forward this invitation to those that you believe should make part of this major event and networking opportunity. We will need name, title and contact information of your participants.

Hoping to see you all at the Inventor's Lab,

Verónica Urdaneta

External Relations/Marketing
Community & Media Outreach
University of California, Berkeley
Lawrence Hall of Science #5200
Berkeley, CA 94720-5200
510.643-3849
veronicau@berkeley.edu

Solano County business, political leaders told California is mired in recession

2011-09-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

By Karen Nolan / The Reporter

Posted: 09/01/2011 01:04:44 AM PDT

A newspaper columnist who has been covering California politics for more than 25 years painted a bleak picture of the state's economic future for Solano County business and political leaders on Wednesday.
Dan Walters offered one "silver lining" to his gloomy forecast: "The first step toward curing yourself of a disease is admitting you have it," he said. "The longer this recession goes on, the more evident it becomes that things aren't right. ... The denial quotient seems to be diminishing."

Speaking at the Solano Economic Development Corp.'s breakfast meeting at Fairfield's Hilton Garden Inn, the Sacramento Bee's syndicated political columnist assessed the state's economic and political conditions, putting them into historical context.

While the recession may have officially ended months ago, California remains mired in it, said Walters, noting that the state's 12 percent unemployment rate doesn't count those who have given up hunting for jobs or who have left the labor force altogether or the underemployed. Add in those numbers and "the impact is truly 18 or 20 percent" unemployment, he said.

The state that has already lost more than 1 million jobs needs to add 15,000 a month just to keep up with its growth rate, Walters said. While there are areas where jobs are on the uptick, such as Silicon Valley, most of the state remains in what Walters called "the worst recession since the Great Depression."

Walters, a journalist for more than four decades and who started writing a column focused on California and its politics in 1975 -- the first time Jerry Brown was governor -- reminded the audience that the state's economy has long been a series of booms and busts.

President Ronald Reagan's military buildup of the 1980s poured money into California's military installations and weapons and space industries. It dried up when the Cold War ended, resulting in the bust of the early 1990s.

In the late 1990s, venture capitalists invested heavily in high-tech industries, resulting in the dot.com bubble that burst when those investors began looking for actual profits. Then global bankers streamed money into the state's housing market. The state is still reeling from its collapse.

While there has been plenty of speculation as to what the next bubble might be, no one knows if there will even be a next one, Walters said. Which raises a number of questions: "What if we actually have to ... compete in the global economy without the advantage of a rapid capital infusion? What if we have to go out and hustle and invest?"

California doesn't stack up well in the competitive world, Walters said. Yes, it has good weather, impressive scenery and an entrepreneurial spirit that can be capitalized on, but it also has plenty of drawbacks, including:

* The fifth-highest tax burden, when measured as a percentage of personal income. "We're at 11 to 11 1/2 percent," he said. "The national average is 9 percent."

* An "uncertain" water supply -- not because California doesn't have water but because "we have political inability to come to grips with capturing, storing, conveying and pricing that water."

* The worst traffic congestion of any state.

* Among the worst road conditions, "second only to New Jersey, where Tony Soprano buried bodies in the road," he said, drawing a laugh.

* Public education, which "is down there with Mississippi."

* The "most dense regulatory structure in the country."

Sacramento politicians should be asking, "What do we need to do to make ourselves competitive?" But they aren't, Walters said. "They don't want to dig into the real problems and look at where we stand in a global economy."

If they did, he said, legislators would redirect their attention "toward the real stuff -- education, transportation, water -- instead of whether hotels such as this one should have to use fitted sheets, or whether San Francisco should be allowed to dump its trash in Solano County."

Columnist gives sobering talk on economy to Solano leaders

2011-08-31T14:48:00.000-07:00

FAIRFIELD — Longtime state newspaper columnist Dan Walters offered a sobering perspective of the economy in a talk Wednesday before Solano County leaders.
Walters told the crowd at a Solano Economic Development Corporation breakfast that economists have little evidence the state will emerge from the economic downturn anytime soon.

“No one truly knows what will happen next in this state,” Walters said at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield.

The Sacramento Bee columnist, who’s written 7,500 columns on state issues since 1981, placed the blame on the structure of state governance and California’s attractiveness to new industry and investors.

He went through what the state’s resume might look like, with the negatives outweighing the two benefits he named: scenery and climate. Negatives include:

Fifth-highest tax burden on income basis in the nation.
Worst traffic congestion of any state.
Floundering educational system now rivaling Mississippi.
A jungle of red tape.
Second-worst roadway conditions in nation behind New Jersey.

“Where Tony Soprano buries bodies in the road,” Walter quipped.

Economic downturns are nothing new to the state, he said, although the current one has been the most destructive. A pattern of ups and downs dates back to the late 1970s, Walters said.

He put it like this: a boom hit in the 1980s when the federal government spent heavily on weapons manufactured here. Then it crashed in the 1990s when the Cold War ended. It boomed again with the rise of the tech industry and crashed soon after. One final up and down came with the housing boom and bust.

“You have to ask, ‘Do we want another bubble?’ ” Walter said.

For California to compete in the global economy, it must admit that its way of governing is broken, Walters said. He said he thinks the state has rendered itself ungovernable.

Reach David DeBolt at 427-6935 or ddebolt@dailyrepublic.net.

High-tech status vital to Solano County

2011-08-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

By Melissa Murphy / The Reporter
Posted: 08/30/2011 01:05:49 AM PDT

Solano County is on the "high tech" cutting edge, but to keep up with that reputation it must bridge gaps left by technology infrastructure.
Solano County, along with Contra Costa and Alameda counties, is in line waiting to be approved for funding from the California Public Utilities Commission, which is allocating $125 million to create two new programs, a revolving loan fund for capital infrastructure and the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Account.

The account will provide grant funds to eligible consortia to cover the cost of deployment activities other than the capital costs of facilities.

The Solano County Economic Development Corporation is joining with the Contra Economic Partnership and the East Bay Economic Development Alliance to create the East Bay Broadband Consortium to receive that state funding.

"There is pretty terrific turnout of support for this broadband initiative," said Sandy Person, interim president of the Solano EDC. "I'm thrilled with how our community and private sector partners have stepped up to be involved in this consortia and help secure our innovative capacity."

Person put together support from Solano County in a very short amount of time to apply for the funding. The application was submitted last week.

"This is a plan for the whole county," she said and added that cities will not be locked into one service provider. "The providers are part of the discussion to maintain our competitiveness."

Person explained that the county has grown so much that the technological infrastructure hasn't been able to keep up. "We have to identify those gaps," she said.

"Broadband is considered to be an essential 21st century infrastructure for economic development and competitiveness, public safety, e-health and telemedicine, education and workforce development, e-government services, social media and many other applications," according to the consortium. "Despite California's leadership in the creation and adoption of advanced communications and information technologies, many gaps exist in both infrastructure and access to the uses of these important technologies."

Some areas lacking in Solano County include the city of Benicia's industrial park.

Benicia's acting Economic Development Manager Mario Giuliani said that the city council voted to support the process to "beef up" the broadband system in the county.

He explained that Benicia has one of the largest industrial parks in the county, but doesn't have access to broadband, which makes connecting to the Internet more expensive.

Adding broadband to the mix would provide more options for users and will in turn have better service making it less expensive to transfer greater volumes of data using the latest technology.

"If we're a high-tech hub, we want to make sure all our cities have that capability that we're claiming is our competitive edge," Person added.

NorthBay Business Journal 2011 IMPACT Solano

2011-08-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

A must-attend conference exploring the top issues

shaping the future of business in Solano County

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 8-10:30 a.m.

Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield

Registration: 8 a.m. Program: 8-10:30 a.m.

Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Robert Eyler

Economics Department Chair at Sonoma State University and

Director of the Center for Regional Economic Analysis

Economic Overview

A look at the state of Solano County's economy and how national

and statewide economic issues are playing out at the local level

Panel Discussion

Local experts discuss the impact of key issues currently affecting Solano County's major industries, including what these challenges and new developments mean for business in the years to come.

Speakers to be announced.

For more information and to register click here

Bay Planning Coalition Workshop Series 2011

2011-08-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

Regional Government and Regulatory Agencies - Is This Going to Work for the Business Community? BAAQMB, BCDC, ABAG and MTC, it is more than alphabet soup. How do we assure that our business community can thrive with conflicting regulatory guidelines and rules? What are our rights? The workshop will feature three panel discussions: CEQA, BCDC Bay Plan Amendments, and SB 375.

Workshop details
Date: September 14, 2011
Check-in: 7:30 am
Workshop: 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: URS, 1333 Broadway, Oakland, CA
Cost: $60 per person (excluding fees)
All registrations must be received by Sept 7.
No registrations will be accepted on site.

For more information click here

To register click here

Vacaville, Solano County must aid economy

2011-08-11T08:43:00.001-07:00

By Melissa Murphy / The Reporter

Posted: 08/11/2011 01:32:25 AM PDT

A meeting of the minds with major employers in Vacaville have leaders trying to fill in the "gaps."

During a breakfast meeting Wednesday of the Council of Major Employers, sponsored by the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce, the group of about 20 major employer representatives were given a brief review of what happened during the Solano Economic Stimulus Forum in June.

Vacaville City Councilwoman Dilenna Harris said that the county and cities came to the conclusion that they need to stimulate the economy because stimulus wasn't coming from outside the county.

"We have to work together countywide," she said, adding that they need to figure out what needs to be done to boost the economy. "What is good for the county is good for Vacaville.

City Manager Laura Kuhn explained that survey results show that finding financing for major projects in Solano County is difficult and development impact fees are another obstacle.

Kuhn added that Vacaville, along with the county, in regard to development have deferred fees until a house or building is occupied and have streamlined the application process.

Even so, the state seems to be taking its time when processing applications.

Steve Huddleston, vice president of Public Affairs for NorthBay Healthcare, said the provider is ready to move forward with a $200 million project to expand its services at VacaValley Hospital. He said the city of Vacaville's ability to streamline the application process was great, but now that application sits at the state waiting to be opened.

Additionally, the public sector and private sector, according to the survey, would like to see stronger business/education partnerships that promote hiring opportunities for local high school graduates.

Harris said after the group receives input from all the cities, there will likely be a second economic stimulus forum to explain what to do next.

Meanwhile, the Council of Major Employers has agreed to support an East Bay Broadband Consortium, created to help bridge the gaps of important technology infrastructures that are lacking.

"Most Americans consider access to the Internet as a public utility, not a luxury," according to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Survey.

Sandy Person, interim president of the Solano Economic Development Corporation, said Solano County is working with Contra Costa and Alameda counties to move forward with Senate Bill 1040 and apply for a portion of $125 million available to create a revolving loan fund for capital infrastructure and the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Account.

"Broadband is considered to be an essential 21st century infrastructure for economic development and competitiveness, public safety, e-health and telemedicine, education and workforce development, e-government serves and social media," according to proponents of SB 1040. "Despite California's leadership in the creation and adoption of advanced communications and information technologies, many gaps exist in both infrastructure and access to the uses of these important technologies."

The Council of Major Employers agreed to send a letter of support to apply for funding.

Solano County Board of Supervisors approves deal with Solano EDC

2011-08-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

By Melissa Murphy / The Reporter
Posted: 08/03/2011 01:03:46 AM PDT

Solano County continues to be a part of the "family" created by the Solano Economic Development Corporation.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 to renew its membership for three years with the agency for a total of $112,500. Supervisors Linda Seifert and Barbara Kondylis dissented. The county has been a member since 1990.

Additionally, the board voted 4 to 1 in favor of spending $20,000 to Solano EDC for the purpose of providing market intelligence information and to develop an annual economic profile.

Interim President Sandy Person said the mission of Solano EDC is to attract, grow and retain business industry in Solano County that enhances economic vitality.

"We are akin to a very large house with very many rooms and we have a strong foundation of 27 years serving this county," she explained. "We have a healthy reserve base and we congregate what can be a very large family and that family has very different characteristics."

Solano EDC has many arms, Person said, which includes marketing, project management, regional and local partnerships.

Right now, Solano EDC's funding is 70 percent from the private sector and 30 percent from the public sector.

In 2009-10, Solano EDC reduced its membership fees from the county by $10,000 or 21 percent and this time around will not receive funding for management oversight of the marketing contract as it has received in the past.

Seifert explained that while Solano EDC did reduce its membership fees, she would have liked to see further reduction this fiscal year.

"I look at what our non-profits have done, everyone has been taking cuts -- every year continuously," she said. "So it just seems to me, a show of good faith to show support for the non-profits in our community when everyone continues to take a fair share cut."

"For me, there should still be a reduction in the amount that we're paying," Seifert continued. "I am a very strong supporter of (Solano EDC). I think you do a marvelous job. ... As far as the mission and the goals and everything else, I am completely on board."

Supervisor Jim Spering disagreed.

"If I had the support, I would increase the $37,500 because I think there are other areas we have to explore," he said.

Spering explained that Solano EDC does a lot of things behind the scenes including retaining businesses looking to move out of the state, handling new business inquiries, expansion of new opportunities, and balances the ties between education and the workforce.

"This expenditure is a good investment," he said. "Unlike non-profits, who you can give them all the money you want, they don't create one new job, they don't create anymore revenue for the county. The (Solano EDC), I think, puts the emphasis on the right place."

He added that the private sector is key to tax revenue and creates jobs, and Solano EDC is an "arm" to do that for the county.

"Solano County needs to be competitive and Solano EDC makes that happen," Spering added.

Funding for both contracts, according to staff, was identified as a general fund expense in the 2011-12 budget.

Travis AFB is critical to Solano’s economic future

2011-08-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

By: Sandy Person, Interim President, Solano EDC

Thousands of residents will converge on Travis Air Force Base this weekend for the Team Travis Air Power Expo 2011, this year featuring the Thunderbirds. It’s a great event that gives Travis the opportunity to show off a little, and entertain and inform people of all ages.

While we encourage this as a great family outing, it’s also a good time to reflect on just what Travis Air Force Base means to Solano County.

It’s just too easy to take the base for granted, or think of it as a place where the U.S. Air Force has airplanes. It is much more than that and it is vital to our County’s economic well being.

This one figure tells it all: $1.5 billion. That what Travis means annually in payroll, operating costs and the value of the jobs at the base.

For years Travis has been our biggest employer, and it has survived the military base cutbacks. Our government and business community has recognized the importance of Travis and worked diligently to assure we continue to have Travis AFB as a part of our community.

But, Travis is much more than just a $1.5 billion number. It is a community of some 13,000 people – 10,000 military and 3,600 civilians. It’s a community of $13.5 billion in assets and expenditures, 96 miles of roads, 418 buildings, 6400 acres, 58 aircraft, 1,000 dorm rooms,.

And right now, in the midst of the economic downturn, some $150 million in construction projects are underway or planned. Included is $50 million for a runway repair replacement, $22 million for dorms to replace 1950 living quarters, $12 million for a new airfield fire station and $13 million to replace the fuel distribution system. All of these projects mean good paying jobs and more money in our communities.

Some 1200 families live on base, with many more living our surrounding communities.

Take all of these facts, and add the 100,000 retired military and civilian personnel who live within 50 miles of Travis and one can easily see just what an impact this military facility has on our county.

The numbers speak for themselves. They tell the story about Travis AFB and just what it means to our communities.

We have seen many retired military personnel step into key roles to help out communities. They have served as Solano County commissioners, mayors of our cities, leaders of our chambers of commerce’s. They have started businesses, and joined existing firms.

There are many potential opportunities for economic growth, simply because Travis AFB is such a huge factor in the county’s future.

As the Department of Defense and Air Force budgets decline it is critical that Solano County government and private sector seek ways to help the base become more cost effective.

Many of the factors which will contribute to the installation’s cost efficiency and mission effectiveness can be impacted by community and regional actions.

Solano EDC is committed to working with Travis AFB in any effort which will help bring about these changes.

Why? Because what benefits Travis AFB also benefits Solano County!

Air Power!

Lodi wines gain ground in Chinese market - Lodi News-Sentinel:

2011-07-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

Lodi wines gain ground in Chinese market - Lodi News-Sentinel:

Lodi wines gain ground in Chinese market
By Jordan Guinn

News-Sentinel Staff Writer | Posted: Friday, June 10, 2011 12:00 am

Thanks to a blossoming middle class with expendable income and a preference for California wines, Lodi appellation vintners are starting to cash in on China. The interest is so strong that the owner of one Linden winery is even considering selling his vineyard to Chinese investors.

"I'm looking to retire, and I'd say that the offers I'm getting — 5-to-1 — are from Chinese investors," said Dave Pechan, owner of Miramont Estate Vineyards. "The Chinese government is providing financing to help investors buy these places. They want Chinese investments in food processing and food-providing companies around the world."

Part of the reason the investors are interested in the property, Pechan said, is because of the business Miramont is doing overseas. Pechan met with Consulate General of the People's Republic of China Gao Zhansheng in 2008, but didn't start seeing sales materialize until 2010. Last year was a stellar year for sales, Pechan said, with roughly one-third of his exports going to China.

"The last two years have been unbelievable," Pechan said. "The people I'm shipping to in China say things are changing so fast over there that they can't even keep up."
Even though tariffs for shipping into China's mainland can be nearly 50 percent, exporting there can still offer more profit potential than sending wine across the United States, Pechan said. Many states still have taxes and regulations for the shipment of alcohol dating back to the days of Prohibition, and it makes the process cost-prohibitive, he said.
"I can ship to 50 separate countries easier than I can ship to 50 states," he said.

Although the tariffs in China are high, the costs can be absorbed by the importer, and the Chinese vendors he's worked with prefer to receive full containers to keep shipping costs down, Pechan said.
"We may be selling the wine at a lower price point, but we're making the same amount of money," he said.

Paperwork is a part of any business, and the exporting of alcohol is no different, said Craig Watts, owner of Watts Winery in Lockeford.

"The main thing is going through the hoops to get the proper permits to the Chinese government," he said. "Then you have to get contracts agreed on."
Watts has been shipping wine to China for about three years, and will attend Saturday's event to explore options for the future, he said.
One of the most significant challenges, Watts said, besides trying to coordinate the efforts of his five different buyers, is getting the pulse of a market you can't personally visit on a daily basis.
"There are different demands for the different markets in China," Watts said. "Some people want Cabernet; others want less expensive wines. I'm fortunate to have the capacity to do both."
Watts has sent tens of thousands of bottles to China in recent years and shipped a 1,000-case container to China in November. Another 1,000-case container packed with bottles of Zinfandel, Cabernet and Chardonnay should be ready for export in two months, he said. A standard wine case contains 12 bottles.

Gayaldo prefers that Lodi wineries look to ship a finished product overseas instead of raw materials like grape juice, he said, because it helps ensure a better payout for the grower.
"When coffee beans are shipped, the grower receives very little of the profit," he said. "The company that turns the beans into a branded product earn the lion's share of the profit."
Small wineries would be better suited trying to export a finished product overseas to maximize earning potential, Watts said, but larger wineries should consider all the options.
"If you are doing more volume and you are trying to get out as much as you can with a consistent cash flow, sometimes you can do better exporting juice," he said.
Contact reporter Jordan Guinn at jordang@lodinews.com.

Lodi wines gain ground in Chinese market - Lodi News-Sentinel:

2011-07-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

Lodi wines gain ground in Chinese market - Lodi News-Sentinel:

Lodi wines gain ground in Chinese market
By Jordan Guinn

News-Sentinel Staff Writer | Posted: Friday, June 10, 2011 12:00 am

Thanks to a blossoming middle class with expendable income and a preference for California wines, Lodi appellation vintners are starting to cash in on China. The interest is so strong that the owner of one Linden winery is even considering selling his vineyard to Chinese investors.

"I'm looking to retire, and I'd say that the offers I'm getting — 5-to-1 — are from Chinese investors," said Dave Pechan, owner of Miramont Estate Vineyards. "The Chinese government is providing financing to help investors buy these places. They want Chinese investments in food processing and food-providing companies around the world."

Part of the reason the investors are interested in the property, Pechan said, is because of the business Miramont is doing overseas. Pechan met with Consulate General of the People's Republic of China Gao Zhansheng in 2008, but didn't start seeing sales materialize until 2010. Last year was a stellar year for sales, Pechan said, with roughly one-third of his exports going to China.

"The last two years have been unbelievable," Pechan said. "The people I'm shipping to in China say things are changing so fast over there that they can't even keep up."
Even though tariffs for shipping into China's mainland can be nearly 50 percent, exporting there can still offer more profit potential than sending wine across the United States, Pechan said. Many states still have taxes and regulations for the shipment of alcohol dating back to the days of Prohibition, and it makes the process cost-prohibitive, he said.

"I can ship to 50 separate countries easier than I can ship to 50 states," he said.

Although the tariffs in China are high, the costs can be absorbed by the importer, and the Chinese vendors he's worked with prefer to receive full containers to keep shipping costs down, Pechan said.
"We may be selling the wine at a lower price point, but we're making the same amount of money," he said.

Paperwork is a part of any business, and the exporting of alcohol is no different, said Craig Watts, owner of Watts Winery in Lockeford.
"The main thing is going through the hoops to get the proper permits to the Chinese government," he said. "Then you have to get contracts agreed on."
Watts has been shipping wine to China for about three years, and will attend Saturday's event to explore options for the future, he said.

One of the most significant challenges, Watts said, besides trying to coordinate the efforts of his five different buyers, is getting the pulse of a market you can't personally visit on a daily basis.
"There are different demands for the different markets in China," Watts said. "Some people want Cabernet; others want less expensive wines. I'm fortunate to have the capacity to do both."

Watts has sent tens of thousands of bottles to China in recent years and shipped a 1,000-case container to China in November. Another 1,000-case container packed with bottles of Zinfandel, Cabernet and Chardonnay should be ready for export in two months, he said. A standard wine case contains 12 bottles.

Gayaldo prefers that Lodi wineries look to ship a finished product overseas instead of raw materials like grape juice, he said, because it helps ensure a better payout for the grower.
"When coffee beans are shipped, the grower receives very little of the profit," he said. "The company that turns the beans into a branded product earn the lion's share of the profit."
Small wineries would be better suited trying to export a finished product overseas to maximize earning potential, Watts said, but larger wineries should consider all the options.
"If you are doing more volume and you are trying to get out as much as you can with a consistent cash flow, sometimes you can do better exporting juice," he said.
Contact reporter Jordan Guinn at jordang@lodinews.com.

Lodi Costco opens - Lodi News-Sentinel:

2011-07-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

Lodi Costco opens - Lodi News-Sentinel:

Lodi Costco opens
‘We're real excited’: Area residents get a closer look at the wholesale retailer at Harney Lane, Highway 99
Story

Dan Evans/News-Sentinel
Customers browse the food department of Costco on Thursday, June 9, 2011.
Buy this photo

Posted: Friday, June 10, 2011 12:00 am | Updated: 5:41 am, Sat Jun 11, 2011.
By Maggie Creamer
News-Sentinel Staff Writer | 9 comments

The doors are wide open. Costco customers grab carts and start streaming into the new Lodi store.

On the left are gleaming 55-inch 3D-capable TVs, and employees waiting to develop film in one hour. On the right are neatly folded jeans and workers handing out fliers with coupons.
One customer stares at 30 rotisserie chickens spinning in the Inferno 3500 and while another stops to pick up a loaf of bread. A nearby employee describes a free sample as "good as a breakfast item or by itself."
Customers found a clean, shiny, large store on Thursday that they say will be an improvement over driving to Stockton.

Costco sells most items in bulk quantities, and is located at Harney Lane and Highway 99 in the Reynolds Ranch Shopping Center.
The wholesale retailer has displays with everything from the lavishly expensive to the bulk bargain. At a jewelry counter, there is a $165 necklace featured and an ad for a $57,999 necklace available online. There is the ultimate barbecue grill with a price tag of $1,600 next to a typical backyard charcoal grill that costs $85.

As of 2 p.m. Thursday, warehouse manager Denise Zizzo said 6,700 people had walked through the store on the first day or during the preview opening Wednesday.
"The biggest thing we've heard is, everyone is happy we are here. They love the store. They think it's nothing but beautiful," Zizzo said.

The store hired 180 employees, and about 70 to 80 percent are from the surrounding area, she said. A majority of the in-store transfers were Lodi residents who wanted to work closer to home.
During the ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Mayor Bob Johnson said he is excited that Lodi residents will have a new store. He said it has already increased the city's property tax.
"As soon as you people go in and fill up your carts, then our sales tax revenue will go up," he said to the waiting crowd.

Lodi resident Tammy Delemos stood outside listening to the speeches. She recently retired from Staples and was excited to attend her first grand opening. She mainly wanted to get meat and alcohol for upcoming parties.
"We're real excited. We want to support the community. ... This is like Black Friday in June," Delemos said.

While weaving through the aisles, customers can almost get a full meal while choosing from more than a dozen samples, including pork loin, sausage, chicken salad, spinach dip, barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, lemon bars and creme brulee.
Customers looking for a quick lunch can stop at the store's cafeteria that offers hot dogs, pizza, chicken Caesar salad, a berry sundae and 59-cent sodas.
The retailer is selling wine from local wineries, including Michael-David, Periano Estate and Jessie's Grove.

Michael-David is in Costco stores throughout the entire United States, and Melissa Phillips-Stroud was handing out table grape vines on Thursday as an opening-day gift.
"The amount of volume Costco does is extraordinary. People don't buy a bottle of wine; they buy a case," Phillips-Stroud said. "Getting your items in the store helps build your brand."
After walking outside of the dairy room, Jean Battaglia said the store is beautiful.

"We just need little tour guides because it is so different than Stockton," she said. "When you live in Lodi, there's not much else to do."
Lodi resident Deena Kirby lives about half a mile down Harney Lane, and wanted to be at the store for the grand opening.
"I wanted to see what happened when the doors open," Kirby said.

She owns All Seasons Carriage at the corner of Harney and Wells lanes, and she wanted to see how traffic will be now that the store is open.
"As a local business owner, I want to see how it will impact my business. I think it's great for Lodi, and it is tax revenue we need," Kirby said.
Hours for the store will be from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Contact reporter Maggie Creamer at maggiec@lodinews.com. Read her blog at www.lodinews.com/blogs/citybuzz.

SIX LOCAL “FAMILY-FRIENDLY” BUSINESSES HONORED

2011-06-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

First 5 Solano will present awards to six local businesses that make the workplace more “family-friendly” for their employees at a Solano Economic Development Corporation breakfast event on Wednesday, June 29 at the Fairfield Hilton Garden Inn.

The “Family-Friendly Business Awards” program was developed by the Solano Alliance of Business for Children, a group of Chamber of Commerce and Solano EDC members from across the county that advises First 5 Solano on ways to increase awareness and support in the business community for early childhood investments.

“The Solano Alliance of Business for Children has been invaluable in helping us strengthen and deepen our partnerships with businesses and economic development collaboratives in Solano County,” said Dan Ayala, who chairs the First 5 Solano Commission. “We want to actively work with business to support the health and well-being of young children as a way to make our communities more attractive to economic development.”

The 2011 “Family-Friendly Business Award” honorees, nominated by their employees, are:

·        AT&T California
·        First Northern Bank
·        NorthBay Healthcare
·        Panera Bread Fairfield
·        State Farm Insurance Vallejo
·        Travis Credit Union

A Panera Bread employee wrote “Panera is not only great to every customer that walks in the door, but they also strive for having a ‘Panera family’. There is great flexibility with short notice time off and [they are] spectacular with any family emergencies.”

A State Farm employee noted “Specifically in the Vallejo Operations Center, State Farm benefits includes paid time off to care for an ill relative, paid family leave, and paid time to volunteer for a school.”

“Policies and practices such as these are the backbone of a healthy and vibrant business climate,” said Sandy Person, Solano EDC President. “We join First 5 Solano in congratulating these local leaders who understand that their profitability rises when employees have reliable child care and other support to meet both family and work responsibilities.”

First 5 Commission Chair Dan Ayala and County Supervisor/First 5 Commission Vice-Chair Linda J. Seifert will present the awards. The theme of the June 29 event is “Closing the Achievement Gap: How Investments in Early Learning Increase the Bottom Line” and features speakers from the Bay Area Council and Solano County Office of Education.

Finding ways to unite business, education in Solano County

2011-06-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

by Ryan Chalk / The Reporter
Posted: 06/30/2011 01:03:49 AM PDT

Local business professionals, elected officials and education leaders met for breakfast in Fairfield on Wednesday to hear about ways to improve Solano County's business climate through investment in education.

Hosted by the Solano Economic Development Corporation and held at the Hilton Garden Inn, the talk focused around the theme of, "Closing the Achievement Gap: How Investments in Early Learning Increase the Bottom Line." Speaking to the crowd were Matt Regan, vice president of governmental affairs for the Bay Area Council, and Lisette Estrella-Henderson, assistant superintendent of educational services for the Solano County Office of Education.

The idea is that children are the county's best investment for the future and a well educated and trained workforce not only benefits existing employers, but can attract other businesses to the region.

It's a competitiveness issue, according to Regan, who applauded Solano County for leading the state in terms of advocating for early childhood education.

"You will be rewarded for it in growth and economic expansion in years to come," he said.

For that to work, children must begin their education before kindergarten, and it takes everyone, from parents and family members, acting as teachers themselves. For business, it means support for working families by offering or subsidizing child care and providing the flexibility for employees to participate in their child's school or in the community.

Estrella-Henderson implored the audience not to think of their role in early learning as being limited to just their own children, but to all children in the county.

"It really is about our children throughout Solano County and the economic vitality and economic future of Solano County," she said.

The challenge is preparing current and future generations of children to be able to solve problems and perform jobs that don't yet exist, according to Estrella-Henderson.

"That is why we must invest in early learning opportunities. Education is the key," Estrella-Henderson said.

"Folks, it doesn't start in high school, it doesn't start in middle school, it doesn't start in elementary school. We're talking about starting before they get to elementary school," she added.

Helping to promote the notion of early learning is First 5 Solano and on Wednesday, First 5 Solano representatives honored six local businesses for being family friendly.

First 5 Solano offered six ideas for connecting business and children in Solano County. They include: join First 5 Solano's Alliance of Business for Children; assist employees with high quality early childcare and education; provide paid time for employees to volunteer at schools and child care facilities; hold or sponsor organizational family events; provide flexible scheduling; and support family-friendly legislation and regulations.

For more information contact the First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission at 784-1332.

Big-rigs to pay more to cross Bay Area bridges | Recordnet.com

2011-06-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Big-rigs to pay more to cross Bay Area bridges | Recordnet.com

Big-rigs to pay more to cross Bay Area bridges
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June 29, 2011 9:37 AM
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tolls on San Francisco Bay area bridges are going up for big-rig trucks.

Starting Friday, five-axle big-rigs will pay $18 — up from $11.25 — to cross the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Antioch, Benicia, Carquinez, Richmond-San Rafael, San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges. A year from now, the toll for those trucks will rise to $25.

On the Golden Gate Bridge, big rigs will pay $22 — up from $15 — starting Friday. The toll on the Golden Gate will climb to $30 a year from now.

Although the rate hikes do not affect two-axle cars, cars towing trailers will also pay higher tolls.

Bay Area Toll Authority officials, who are responsible for the seven bridges other than the Golden Gate, say the increase is needed in part to pay for seismic retrofits.

Nonprofits look for crumbs in county budget | Recordnet.com

2011-06-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

Nonprofits look for crumbs in county budget | Recordnet.com

Nonprofits look for crumbs in county budget
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Claude Brown, president of the San Joaquin County Historical Society, makes his pitch for funds Tuesday in front of the Board of Supervisors.
CLIFFORD OTO/The Record

By Zachary K. Johnson
Record Staff Writer
June 29, 2011 12:00 AM
STOCKTON - Compared with San Joaquin County's $1.249 billion budget, the $33,000 requested by Family & Youth Services seems insignificant.

But without it, a program that allows first-time misdemeanor offenders to perform community service instead of paying high court fines or doing time behind bars would end.

"It's just a small amount of money, but it does a lot," said Linda Mascarenas, the nonprofit group's executive director. If the amount of work done is valued at $10 an hour, that means the offenders in the program perform $243,670 worth of community service, she said.

Mascarenas spoke on the first of three days worth of budget hearings before the Board of Supervisors. A group of nonprofit organizations asking for a total of about $400,000 in funding topped the agenda Tuesday afternoon.

"We know it's a tough year, but all the nonprofits here do a great job," Mascarenas said.

Board Chairman Larry Ruhstaller said it's not the quality of the organizations that's in question.

"The question is: Where are we going to dig up the cash for these requests."

Many of these groups have seen the amount they receive from the county dwindle in recent years as elected officials struggle with tough budget cuts. And though the nonprofit organizations receive funding through other parts of the budget, the amount of supplemental funding awarded at the tail-end of the budget process has been slipping. Four of the groups that came before the board were told earlier this year they were receiving no such funding.

One of those groups, the San Joaquin Partnership, received $59,000 last year in its efforts to attract businesses to the county. Without the money, the group will have to seek out more private donations or reduce its staffing. President and CEO Michael Ammann asked for the same again this year. "It's essential to keep solidarity in these tough economic times," he said.

The county has been shedding jobs in recent years as costs have risen and the down economy has sapped revenue, including from such sources as property taxes and state program funding. Officials said this year's proposed budget again dips into one-time pots of money that won't be helpful in the future if the county can't close the gap between costs and revenue.

In the proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning Friday, county departments are asking for more than $3 million in supplemental funding. The department heads will make their case when the hearings continue today at 9 a.m. on the Sixth Floor of the County Administration Building at 44 N. San Joaquin St.

Contact reporter Zachary K. Johnson at (209) 546-8258 or zjohnson@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/johnsonblog.

Solano Economic Development Corporation president comfortable with new leader taking over

2011-06-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

By Melissa Murphy/ MMurphy@TheReporter.com
Posted: 06/13/2011 01:01:34 AM PDT

Mich A change in leadership at the Solano Economic Development Corporation is expected to be seamless when President Mike Ammann leaves and Vice President Sandy Person takes over.

"It will be steady as she goes," Ammann said. "It's always my goal to leave a good foundation for the next person to take the next step."

Ammann's last day is Tuesday. Afterward, he is headed to San Joaquin Partnership, a Stockton-based organization similar to the EDC.

For the next three months, Person will serve as the interim president at the nonprofit business until a decision is made on the position by the board of directors.

During Ammann's eight-year tenure with the EDC, he has worked vigilantly to build a name for Solano County, statewide and nationally.

"We moved from Solano County being on the edge to the center of a mega region," he said.

He said the first thing he did with the EDC is hit the road with the business community's message: "Plant your business in Solano County."

"We knew the county was rapidly changing, but we wanted to have a factual story and a consistent message. We identified challenges and pulled people together to support our vision."

His positive attitude and willingness to travel earned him the nickname "Mayor of Solano."

"He's everywhere," Person said.

Ammann said it was necessary.

Using the strengths inside Solano County, the EDC, along with its public and private partnerships, see the area as a growing market, he said.

"Using those partnerships, we've built the legacy of our name," he added.

Ammann also had a integral part in creating Team California, a statewide economic development team.

He explained that developing a statewide team leveraged dollars for the state, which helped Solano County and then helped each city in the county.

With a staff of only three, Person said they're a lean and high-functioning organization.

"We've been told we're the nicest competitor," Ammann said. "The reality is, we're competing and winning."

Even in the midst of new economic challenges, there have been some good outcomes, according to the duo.

"People continue to want to live here," Person pointed out.

Ammann added that the alternative energy industry continues to grow and specialty markets such as retail, health care and biotechnology are attractive to outsiders looking to locate to the area.

"It's been fun," he said. "It's the type of organization that attracts great people. I haven't had to look over my shoulder since I started. It's been a pleasure to work on behalf of Solano County."

Person is now on a mission to create a voice within the business community, to show up in front of regulatory government bodies and explain how the decisions they make affect businesses and the economy.

"We need to have a voice along with everyone else at the meetings," Person said.

Ammann added that regulatory environment is the biggest issue businesses face today.

"We need to make it known that without growth, we can't reach other goals," he said. "We need to be able to grow our economy, but we need to be rational about the process instead of fighting each other."

Person explained that anyone can go to the meetings of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Association of Bay Area Governments, air quality districts and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

"We've got to show up," she said.

orth Texas Street gateway seeing construction activity

2011-06-07T16:18:00.001-07:00

June 03, 2011 | Posted by Barry Eberling

North Texas Street gateway seeing construction activity

FAIRFIELD - Fairfield's North Texas Street gateway at Manuel Campos Parkway is taking shape.

The city drastically reconfigured this area last year when it widened the nearby interchange at Interstate 80 and extended Manuel Campos Parkway. A few businesses had their front entrances become their back entrances amid shifting road patterns.

Now a different type of construction work is taking place at and around the intersection of North Texas Street and Manuel Campos Parkway.

Grading has begun on the site targeted for a Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. A soon-to-open Arco gas station recently had a new, power-saving sign installed. A Chevron station will be relocated to a new site.

Things are happening, though much remains to be done to fulfill the city's vision for this area.

"In this economy, it's not like you'll see all four corners built at one time," city Economic Development Manager Curt Johnston said. "It will take some time."

Grading work under way at the Lowe's site involves flattening part of a hill. That will free up room for a development that Johnston said should create a little bit of excitement and draw people to the North Texas Street gateway.

"It will be sort of an economic driver for that area," he said.

Meanwhile, the now-closed Chevron station will be moving to a city-owned site to the south. That's because as a result of the interchange reconfiguration work, the state Department of Transportation ended up owning part of the original Chevron property. Getting the land from Caltrans could take up to a year.

As a result, it's impossible to rebuild the Chevron station at the existing site right now, Johnston said.

But Johnston sees moving the station as an opportunity. From an aesthetic standpoint, the city would like to have a nice, sit-down restaurant or retail store at this gateway site, he said.

The City Council on May 17 awarded a $195,113 contract to A+ Environmental Solutions of Santa Cruz to remove an underground storage tank at the former Chevron gas station. That's a step toward someday getting that restaurant or retail store on the land.

In addition, an Arco station is being rebuilt at the intersection. Crews from JSJ Electrical Display Corp. of Fairfield on May 23 put up a 45-foot-tall sign that has a "green" twist. The sign includes light emitting diodes modules so it can display fuel prices while consuming less energy than a typical display sign.

The Arco building itself is rapidly taking shape. An exterior that only a few weeks ago looked like bare wood now appears largely finished.

Fairfield is seeking other projects for other sites.

For example, the city last year bought a site on Nelson Road near North Texas Street that for about two decades had a vacant former Howard Johnson's restaurant building. The building was demolished several months ago.

"It was a nuisance," Johnston said. "That building needed to come down."

What will take its place remains to be seen. But that will be another step in the reshaping of the North Texas Street northern gateway.

Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646, ext. 232, or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

Farm-fresh fruits, vegetables abound in Solano County

2011-06-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

Farm-fresh fruits,
vegetables abound
in Solano County

By Kimberly K. Fu/ KFu@TheReporter.com

Posted: 06/06/2011 01:03:52 AM PDT

As a kid, nothing compared to cavorting outside on
a sunshiny day, plucking ripe fruits and veggies
from the garden and popping as many in my mouth
as in designated baskets.

The garden's since gone kaput but, thankfully, in
Solano County there's an abundance of places to
round up farm-fresh produce whenever the mood
arises.

That means even when the skies are gray -- such as
today -- and when temperatures resemble winter
more than spring. But weather forecasts promise a
warmer atmosphere come Tuesday, with highs in the
80s and nothing but sun predicted throughout the
week. So pack a jacket if need be, grab a pal or two
and head outdoors for a few hours of tasty bliss.

In Vacaville, locals flock to the Certified Farmer's
Market in the 300 block of Main Street between
Parker and Dobbins streets.

Open Saturdays from 8 a.m.-noon through October,
it features produce galore, along with fresh flowers,
bakery and prepared foods, among other products
for sale. There's also live music at the Downtown
Vacaville Business Improvement District-sponsored
event, shops straddling both sides of the street and
eateries offering hearty meals or simple, savory
snacks.

Go further north and you'll find Aliki's Produce,
where gigantic Brandywine tomatoes are legendary.
Don't be afraid to ask questions, as the folks are
always willing to answer. Who knows -- you might
try something new and actually like it. Aliki's is
located on the corner of Orchard Avenue and
Fruitvale Road

and it's open through October.
Sweet, sweet strawberries are ample in town and
definitely should not be missed. Whether small or
large, the ruby red fruit is always juicy and, well,
kids both young and young at heart love them.
There are at least two stands in the area that seem to
be open nearly every day. One is on Leisure Town
Road, just south of Elmira Road; the other is on
Fruitvale Road, just off Gibson Canyon Road.

Produce stands abound in either direction from
Vacaville.

North of the city, you'll find Dixon and its Certified
Farmer's Market in the Women's Improvement Club
Park on North First and C streets.

From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through Sept.
24, local farmers exhibit aromatic cherries and
strawberries, lush peaches and nectarines,
brilliantly colored peppers, fat ears of corn and all
types of salad greens. The gathering, sponsored by
the Downtown Dixon Business Association, also
features food vendors, live musicians and more.

South of Vacaville, there's a farmer's market in
almost every adjacent city -- which could make for a
great day trip, as you make pit stops at one or more,
depending on how long you linger.

In Fairfield, the Certified Farmer's Market runs from
4 to 8 p.m. Thursdays through Oct. 6. Officials with
the Fairfield Main Street Association said the event
promotes locally grown offerings from produce to
honey. There's fresh-popped kettle corn, too, along
with live entertainment.

In nearby Cordelia, Erickson Ranch at 2482 Cordelia
Road is open through October. On the menu are
Blenheim apricots and more than 20 varieties of
white and yellow nectarines and peaches. You can
also pick your own fruit here.

Next door is Suisun City, which boasts a Certified
Farmer's Market in Harbor Plaza, at Main and Solano
streets. It's open from 5 to 9 p.m. on Fridays
through September.

Not free on Fridays, you say? Well drive a few miles
into Suisun Valley and enjoy fresh fruits and
veggies to your heart's content.

Larry's Produce at 4606 Suisun Valley Road is a
longtime destination favorite. Open through
December, Larry and company offer all types of
produce and flowers, some of which you can pick
yourself. There are also special events throughout
the growing season, including a Haunted House
and pumpkin patch in October. Once, crop circles
were found here. Turns out aliens weren't the
culprit, but that's another story.

The Vegetable Patch on Rockville Road is open year-
round. Aside from produce that you can pick y
ourself, there's a variety of local jams, vinegars,
dried fruits, nuts, fresh salsa, organic farm fresh
eggs and more. There are also seasonal activities,
such as a pumpkin patch around Halloween.

Castaneda Bros. Produce at 4075 Green Valley Road
is a relatively new venue and will be open July
through November. Expect to find squash, heirloom
tomatoes, 15 types of cherry tomatoes, tomatillos,
melons, cucumbers, peppers and fresh Mexican
blue corn. If you have the urge, you can also pick
your own produce.

For more information on Suisun Valley growers, go
online to www.suisunvalley.com/plan-your-visit
/farm-stands/.

There's are more farms and growers throughout the
county. Check out www.solanogrown.org for Farm
Trails maps of participants in Suisun Valley, as well
as Pleasants Valley in rural Vacaville.

3 million grant to help preserve Rockville Trails between Vallejo and Fairfield

2011-05-31T09:35:00.001-07:00

Group approves $3 million grant to help preserve Rockville Trails between Vallejo and Fairfield

By Tony Burchyns / Times-Herald

Posted: 05/25/2011 07:06:38 AM PDT

A major Bay Area Ridge Trail supporter has approved a $3 million grant toward the purchase of rural Solano County land for a future park, open space advocates said Tuesday.

The California Coastal Conservancy funds are part of the Solano Land Trust's effort to raise $13.5 million to buy the Rockville Trails Estates property.

Once targeted for a subdivision, the land nestled between Vallejo and Fairfield is being eyed as a potential regional park and trail system.

"In approving the grant at this early stage, the Coastal Conservancy has shown its leadership, guidance and support of the project," said Solano Land Trust Executive Director Nicole Byrd.

"Their willingness to step forward before other funding sources are lined up demonstrates their belief in the importance of this open space, as well as their trust that we can be successful in meeting the challenge of raising the entire acquisition price," Byrd added.

Coastal Conservancy executive officer Sam Schuchat said "Rockville Trails is a spectacularly beautiful property that will be a valuable addition to the Bay Area's protected natural lands."

Schuchat added "Its purchase will enable construction of a portion of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, ensuring that the public will get to enjoy this area for generations to come."

The land trust announced in March that it was seeking funds from public and private foundations, as well as individuals, the buy the land.

The property is between Green Valley Road and Suisun Valley Road, on the edge of the 800,000-acre Blue Ridge-Berryessa Natural Area.

The property was designated as "highly suitable" in the Upland Habitat Goals Project of the Bay Area Open Space Council, a project that identifies land with high bio-diversity in need of conservation.

The conservancy has worked for many years with the land trust and has provided considerable funding for natural lands in Solano County, conservancy spokesman Dick Wayman said.

This month, the land trust expects to buy the first 330 acres with money from local assessment districts in Solano County and the city of Fairfield, associate director Deanna Mott said. The organization plans to purchase the remaining 1,170 acres by year's end.

Contact staff writer Tony Burchyns at tburchyns@timesherald online.com or
(707) 553-6831.

Solano County crops value rises slightly to top $259 million

2011-05-31T09:30:00.001-07:00

May 24, 2011 | Posted by Barry Eberling

<http://www.dailyrepublic.com/author/beberling/>

Solano County crops value rises slightly to top $259 million

tomato-copy/> Description: Crews harvest tomatoes outside of Dixon in 2007.

Tomatoes are the county's number one crop for the second year in a row.

(Daily Republic file 2007)

Crews harvest tomatoes outside of Dixon in 2007. Tomatoes are the county's number one crop for the second year in a row. (Daily Republic file 2007)

FAIRFIELD - Solano County reported Tuesday that crops in 2010 had a value of

$259.4 million, a 3 percent rise from the previous year.

"Just as a diverse portfolio can buffer financial investment during tumultuous times, a diverse agriculture can sustain its value and importance to the community," Agricultural Commissioner Jim Allan wrote in the annual Solano County Crop and Livestock report.

Even though specific crops saw changes in value, the overall value of more than 80 crops remains constant, he wrote.

Tomatoes continued to be the local king of agriculture, holding the position of the county's No. 1 crop for the second consecutive year. Tomatoes were worth $36.9 million. Even so, that is down from $39.4 million in 2009. The county attributed the drop to lower tonnage after a relatively cool summer.

Walnuts ranked second after having a good year that the county attributed to strong export markets and demand for nuts as a healthy food. The crop had a value of $31.1 million, compared to $21 million in 2009.

The No. 3-ranked nursery category continued experiencing problems in light of the homebuilding slowdown and the corresponding reduced demand for ornamental plants. It had a value of $23.3 million, a drop from the 2009 total of $33.4 million. Nursery products in 2007 ranked number one among county crops, with a value of $56.6 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were cattle at $22.6 million, alfalfa at $19.7 million, milk at $13.3 million, corn at $9.9 million, grapes at $9.2 million, almonds at $8.4 million and sheep and lambs at $6.3 million.

That $259.4 million total for county crops was below the all-time high of

$292.7 million reported in 2008, but is the third-highest total over the past 10 years. The lowest total during that period was the $185.6 million reported in 2001.

Please go to http://www.solanocounty.com/ag to see the county crop report.

Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646, ext. 232, or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

County selects manager for Nut Tree Airport

2011-05-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

County selects manager for Nut Tree Airport
05/25/2011 11:53 AM PDT
The new manager selected to run Solano County’s Nut Tree Airport has two other Northern California airport management positions under his wings. County officials announced today the selection of Dave Daly as the new manager for the Nut Tree Airport. Daly assumes the post on June 14. Daly has 11 years of managing small airports. He has been the airport manager for the Lincoln Regional Airport in the City of Lincoln since 2005. He managed the Yolo County Airport from 2000 to 2005.

Head of Solano Economic Development Corp. taking job in Stockton

2011-05-27T11:40:00.001-07:00

By Richard Bammer / The Reporter
Posted: 05/27/2011 05:09:31 AM PDT

Mike Ammann, longtime president of the Solano Economic Development Corp., has accepted the top job at San Joaquin Partnership, a Stockton-based organization similar to EDC, and will leave his $100,000-a-year post in Fairfield on June 14.

EDC Vice President Sandy Person has been named interim president at the nonprofit business that promotes the county's economic interests, Ammann confirmed Thursday afternoon after a morning announcement to the board of directors gathered at their Campus Lane offices.

Ammann, 64, called the change "a good professional move for me," adding that his new job, which begins June 15, pays "substantially more," though he declined to be specific. He will supervise a slightly larger staff and oversee an annual budget of $1 million, he noted. In his new position, as he did at the EDC, Ammann will be responsible for attracting, growing and retaining business in San Joaquin County.

"Overall, it's a larger marketing opportunity for me," he said, adding he was familiar with some staff members at the Stockton office. "I've competed against them before -- they're a good crew."

San Joaquin County, added Ammann, "has a lot of the same characteristics as Solano," but the biggest difference is its geographic size and population (600,000 people) and, like Solano, has seven major cities.

Saying "I'm still going to be part of Solano County," Ammann said the two counties share common problems. They include the improvement of marketing to attract business, enhancing safety along Highway 12 -- a major commerce corridor for Solano, San Joaquin and Napa counties -- and tackling a host of issues surrounding the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a major source of fresh water for California, widely perceived to be in crisis and hemmed in by a fragile levee system.

"We'll be working in those areas, I'm sure," he said. "Even though I'm leaving, I'm still going to be part of Solano County. You'll see me around from time to time."

Ammann, who served eight years at the helm of EDC, praised his Fairfield colleagues, saying, "They've all done a really good job. Eight years ago, there was a question whether or not the Solano EDC was going to be around. That's why they hired me, to bring back the marketing focus, to put together a team and bring that back. I think we've done that."

A Jackson, Mich., native, Ammann graduated from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Mich. He is the father of one. A resident of Rancho Solano in Fairfield, he and his wife plan to relocate to the Stockton area by the end of the year.

Person could not be reached for comment at press time Thursday.

Marshalls of California LLC has chosen their flagship waterfront building, One Harbor Center, in which to re-locate their Solano county administrative office

2011-05-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

May 23, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Patti Magee, Executive Assistant

pmagee@WisemanCo.com

707.427.1212

The Wiseman Company is pleased to announce that Marshalls of California LLC has chosen their flagship waterfront building, One Harbor Center, in which to re-locate their Solano county administrative offices. Matt Bracco of Cushman & Wakefield represented the Lessor and Kirk Hull of The Wiseman Company represented the Lessee in the transaction.

Marshalls of California LLC is a division of The TJX Companies, Inc., which is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. The Company operates 945 T.J. Maxx, 858 Marshalls, and 337 HomeGoods stores in the United States, 213 Winners, 82 HomeSense, 3 Marshalls, and 3 STYLESENSE stores in Canada, and 312 T.K. Maxx and 24 HomeSense stores in Europe. Their off-price mission is to deliver a rapidly changing assortment of quality, brand name merchandise at prices that are 20-60% less than department and specialty store regular prices, every day.

The Wiseman Company is a full-service, commercial real estate firm offering brokerage, development, investment and management services to Solano, Napa and Yolo counties. For more information about One Harbor Center or any of our other Class A properties, contact Kirk Hull at 707.427.1212 or by email at khull@WisemanCo.com.

****************************************************************

Travis Air Force Base generates $1.5 billion each year for Solano County

2011-05-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

By Melissa Murphy/ MMurphy@TheReporter.com

Posted: 05/20/2011 03:44:10 AM PDT

Air Force personnel walk from the airfield management operations area at Travis Air Force Base on March 23. The base has been called the "crown jewel" of the county. (File Photo: Rick Roach / The Reporter)

Solano County's largest employer, Travis Air Force Base, brings with it a $1.5 billion annual impact to the local economy.
That number, according to Col. James Vechery, is the reason why Solano County can share in the success of the air base.

"It truly is a partnership," he said to those gathered at Thursday's Solano Economic Development Corporation (EDC) breakfast. "We have a legacy of excellence."

Of the $1.5 billion, $737 million is payroll for all employees, including civilians, $514 million is spent on operating costs and $249 million is the value of jobs generated in the local community. Travis also has $13.5 billion in assets and expenditures.

As the largest air mobility base, Travis continues to be the "crown jewel" of Solano County, not only for being an economic powerhouse in the county, but mostly for the men and women who serve at Travis, "they are the best of the best," said Scott Reynolds, EDC board chairman.

There are 10,168 active duty and reservists under the guidance of the base, and 774 airmen are deployed as of May 16.

Col. John Lipinski explained that Travis continues to be the gateway to the Pacific and plays a major role in national security.

He was in Japan during operation Tomodachi, which first sent relief to the country hit by an massive earthquake and the subsequent tsunami and followed with more than 2,600 dependents of military personnel leaving Japan and coming to the United States through Travis.

"End to end, it was magnificent," he said.

Vechery said as good as Travis is today, it isn't good enough for tomorrow.

"We have to look at what we're doing and figure out how to do it better," he said. "We have a tradition of getting the job done."

He also shared some major construction projects planned to be completed by 2013.

"We might have to change that plan to 2050 given the resources," he joked. "But we have a plan."

The base is in the process of an $8 million renovation project for seven out of the 16 dorms. With a cost of $22 million, a new 144-bedroom apartment-style dorm also will be built.

In February, The Zone opened, a new community center in the old officer's club.

Other projects include:

* A revamp of the south gate to cost nearly $6 million, which will better accommodate commercial vehicles coming in and out of the base;

* A new fire station will improve response times, according to Vechery. The $11.9 million station will have 12 truck bays and 18 bunk rooms; and
* A new cargo-loading training facility is already under way and is expected to cost $5.4 million as part of a training project for loading KC-10 jets with cargo.

Additional projects include a full replacement of one of the two runways, $49.8 million; replacement of aging fuel distribution system and fill stand, $13.4 million; and a new bypass road that eliminates commercial traffic crossing an active taxiway, $6 million.

"The discussion of the future was interesting to hear," said Mike Ammann, EDC president. "We usually don't hear much of the ongoing upgrading of facilities. It's great to hear about the continued investment in facilities and its people.

"We've all worked together to make some of those projects happen. It's great to have a good relationship, but it's better to have results."

He explained that Solano EDC, Solano Transportation Authority, Travis Regional Armed Forces Committee and the Travis Community Consortium have worked together on various projects, including gate access.

UC Davis West Village

2011-05-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

UC Davis West Village: "West Village is the largest Zero Net Energy community in the U. S."

West Village is the largest Zero Net Energy community in the U. S. Employing revolutionary energy efficiency measures and meeting the community’s energy demands through on-site solar power generation, West Village introduces a new model for environmentally responsible living. Located on the campus of the University of California, Davis, West Village is an innovative public-private partnership that optimizes public and private resources to deliver a new paradigm of sustainable living.

Guiding principles of this collaborative project include housing affordability, environmental responsiveness and quality of place. West Village will provide housing, recreation and neighborhood-serving retail for students, faculty and staff, enabling its residents to live near core campus and participated fully in campus life. Leading the Way in Environmentally-Conscious Living West Village integrates sustainable design allowing residents to reduce their reliance on automobiles, limit energy consumption and enjoy the benefits of the local climate in a healthy environment.

For more information, download the project information pdf at right, and stay tuned for the launch of our full website shortly.

Agricultural industry brings $2.5B to Solano, Yolo counties each year - ContraCostaTimes.com

2011-05-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

Agricultural industry brings $2.5B to Solano, Yolo counties each year - ContraCostaTimes.com

Agricultural industry brings $2.5B to Solano, Yolo counties each year

By Melissa Murphy / The Reporter

Posted: 05/13/2011 01:04:38 AM PDT

Updated: 05/13/2011 08:27:44 AM PDT

The agricultural industry in Solano County knows no bounds, a fact borne out in a new report released Thursday that found the natural market for agriculture in Solano County crosses county lines and mixes with Yolo County.

A key finding of "The Food Chain Cluster: Integrating the Food Chain in Solano and Yolo Counties to Create Economic Opportunity and Jobs" is how intertwined the counties have become. Solano and Yolo counties, the report notes, contribute approximately 10 percent, or $2.5 billion, of the annual economic value to the regions' food chain.

"Agriculture is well established here and continues to grow," said Supervisor Mike Reagan. "We want to look at the opportunities out there to help it thrive."

The report, part of a continuing series of studies by the Solano Economic Development Corporation, examines the full spectrum of activity that fertile agriculture brings to the economy of the two counties and provides insight into opportunities to expand the job-creation potential in the local economy.

"Farmers are growing stuff, but they're sending their goods out of the county for processing," Reagan said. "We need to figure out a way to show that we welcome that type of industry to meet the needs of the community."

Reagan noted that some processing facilities already exist in Solano County, such as the Dixon Canning Corporation -- the tomato-processing arm of Campbell Soup Company -- and Superior Farms, also in Dixon, known for its lamb meat

products. In Vacaville, there is the Mariani Packing Company, which packages nuts.

"There is a need for more," Reagan said, adding that county officials will sit down with local farmers and discuss what they need.

Joe Martinez, president of the Solano County Farm Bureau, said processing companies are exactly what the county needs.

"It's been an issue we've been dealing with for years and years," Martinez said. "It's good to see that they're trying to address it in the report. No one seems to know how to come up with a strategy to attract those types of businesses here."

He added that it could be difficult in the current economy to attract that particular type of business and then get it through the permit process.

Yolo County leaders are pleased with the results in the report.

"I am delighted that Yolo and Solano counties are working together to explore ways in which to increase the development of our agricultural economy," said Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor.

Yolo County Economic Development Manager Wes Ervin agreed.

"Over the last few years, our two counties have been working together on parallel tracks to update our general plans and sustainable agriculture efforts. This report gives us the key facts to move forward together," Ervin said in a press release.

This is the third industry cluster report prepared by the Solano Economic Development Corporation as part of Solano County's efforts to provide data to assist the private sector to make informed decisions that will enhance and expand the local economy.

"This report spells out for industry executives all of the tremendous assets we have as a region so they can make informed decisions about how to expand or locate in the region. Growing the entire cluster will ensure agriculture remains viable as well as create a diverse array of good jobs for the region," said Mike Ammann, president of the Solano Economic Development Corporation, in a press release.

Location and natural amenities were pointed out in the report as key assets for the region, including:

* Sharing some of the most productive agriculture lands in the country;

* Being ideally situated on key transportation arteries (highways, airports, rail and ports) that can get raw products from the field to market, either directly to consumers or to value-added processing facilities for consumer products;

* Access to an abundant water supply and excess sewage treatment capacity;

* Proximity to the research in biotechnology at University of California, Davis, and other innovation research in the region;

* A concentration of seven of the top 10 seed manufacturers in the world in the region.

"This food chain cluster study represents the beginning of what we hope will be many shared endeavors by our counties," the Food Chain report said. "In the coming year, we will conduct a joint economic summit to define the strategies available to exploit the opportunities and overcome the challenges identified in this report. In order for these efforts to be successful, we must enlist the partnership of many different segments of our communities -- farmers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists in the private sector and the public sector's elected officials and staffs of the cities, counties, and regional boards."

Earlier studies were on the energy industry and the life science industry. The studies, along with the annual Index of Economic and Community Progress, are available at www.solanocounty.com/economicindex .

Copart Launches iPhone App for Selling Vehicles

2011-05-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

Wireless Developer Network

Copart Launches iPhone App for Selling Vehicles

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPRT), a leading online vehicle auction company, has launched a new iPhone app, Copart Sell My Car, in support of the company's CopartDirect model, which allows on-the-go users to sell their car and receive payment in as little as one business day.

CopartDirect is a division of Copart dedicated to offering a faster and easier way to sell vehicles. CopartDirect provides consumers with an offer to purchase their vehicle when they enter their information into the iPhone app. For the first time, consumers can take this exciting technology and exceptional service with them anywhere.

The Copart Sell My Car app allows consumers to sell their vehicle using three simple steps:

Using an iPhone or other compatible device, users submit contact and vehicle information and can also upload vehicle photos.
The Copart team will respond with any follow up questions, or an immediate offer to purchase the vehicle.
Users can simply drop off their vehicle at any one of Copart's 137 locations nationwide, or have Copart pick up the vehicle, typically within one business day, and receive payment on the spot.

"Our customers have told us they want a simple, hassle-free way to sell their cars," said Copart, Inc. CEO Jay Adair. "The Copart Sell My Car app enhances the customer experience by allowing them to request a quick and fair offer for their vehicle at any time and any place."

Consumers can also choose to sell their vehicle using Copart's auction model, where Copart's registered buyers from around the world are ready to bid on the consumers' vehicle.

The Copart Sell My Car app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Download the free Copart Sell My Car app today for immediate service wherever you are!

For more information about CopartDirect, please visit our website or contact us at (707) 639-5019.

About Copart

Copart, founded in 1982, provides vehicle sellers with a full range of remarketing services to process and sell salvage and clean title vehicles to dealers, dismantlers, rebuilders, exporters and, in some states, to end users. Copart remarkets the vehicles through Internet sales utilizing its patented VB2 technology. Copart sells vehicles on behalf of insurance companies, banks, finance companies, fleet operators, dealers, car dealerships, the general public and others. The Company currently operates 152 facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Salvage vehicles are either damaged vehicles deemed a total loss for insurance or business purposes or are recovered stolen vehicles for which an insurance settlement with the vehicle owner has already been made. For more information, or to become a member, visit www.copart.com.

Solano County - News Details

2011-05-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Solano County - News Details: "Huston appointed Assistant County Administrator

May 2, 2011

The County Administrator is pleased to announce the appointment of Nancy Huston as Assistant County Administrator.

'Nancy possesses the kind of leadership, management skills and familiarity with local issues that Solano County needs. Her city perspective will enhance our ability to collaborate with our city partners,' County Administrator Birgitta Corsello said.

Huston is the current city manager for the City of Dixon. She assumes her new role in July 2011.

“I am looking forward to taking on this new opportunity with Solano County,” Huston said.

Huston began her public service career as a management analyst in the City of Fairfield Finance Department in 1989. She became the city's administrative services officer in 1992. She was appointed the interim assistant city manager in 1996, and later appointed as the assistant city manager in 1997. She became the city manager in Dixon in June 2008."

New building to bring UCD vet med researchers together | Davis Enterprise

2011-05-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

New building to bring UCD vet med researchers together | Davis Enterprise

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Posted by Cory Golden

New building to bring UCD vet med researchers together

An artist's rendering depicts the new $58.5 million UC Davis veterinary medicine building, dubbed Research Facility 3B. Courtesy sketch

With help from a gust of wind, a duck-tolling retriever named Kefi tugged the cloth from a sign marking a new UC Davis veterinary medicine building on Friday.

When finished in December 2012, the $58.5 million building, dubbed Research Facility 3B, will stand four stories high and measure 76,000 square feet.

It “will provide modern, innovative research facilities and a platform for the School of Veterinary Medicine to continue rising to even greater heights,” Chancellor Linda Katehi told about 100 people at a ceremonial groundbreaking.

Inside the new building, about 50 faculty members, some 40 faculty-student research teams and support staff will further delve into, among other areas, pet and human nutrition; neural diseases, like autism; and the link between human and animal disease.

It also will house extension specialists, biosecurity programs and food-safety monitoring and diagnostic systems.

“(There’s) excitement about the opportunities,” said Dean Bennie Osburn of the school, which ranked behind only Cornell University in the most recent U.S. News and World Report rankings. “Our faculty are well-poised and in many respects are on the leading edge in these different areas.

“We will be able to conduct research that is state-of-the art. We have aging facilities that make it impossible to conduct the type of research that we’re capable of doing and need to be doing.”

Vet Med 3B, northeast of Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, will cap a $354 million effort to build eight new buildings for the school. Since 2000, six new vet-med buildings have been completed on campus, as well as a teaching and research center in Tulare.

UCD launched the building program after the American Veterinary Medical Association put the school on limited accreditation in 1998, because it found the facilities inadequate for the number of students UCD had enrolled. Full accreditation was restored in 2004.

Vet Med 3B, designed to meet the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold standards, is being paid for with state funds raised from the sale of revenue bonds sold in April 2010, campus money and $12 million in private donations.

The new building will bring together in one corner of campus vet med researchers, clinical faculty and students who for 40 years have been scattered across a handful of sites on campus.

John Pascoe, executive associate dean, said that will encourage greater collaboration, as will the building itself. Rather than wall off a given researcher’s lab and office space from others, Biosafety level 2 and 3 labs will be clustered more closely together.

Pascoe, who oversees the school’s long-range building plan, compared that design and common areas to escaping jail cells for a playground. They’re mirrored in some of the school’s other new buildings. They’ve already yielded new partnerships.

“We’re seeing people come together, saying, ‘I didn’t realize you were working on that,’ or ‘I didn’t really understand that; you and I can do this together,’ ” he said.

The building’s more flexible design also will better allow for programs to grow and shrink, based on budget and need, he said, and incorporate changes in technology over time.

Many faculty members will be moving from Haring Hall. Discussions are ongoing about what to do with the space they leave behind. Among the options will be providing a home for vet-med programs still stuck in aging temporary buildings, like the Center for Wildlife Health.

Next on the school’s to-do list: a major renovation and expansion of the vet-med teaching hospital at a cost of $50 million to $100 million.

When it opened in 1970, the teaching hospital was the country’s first and served as a model for most of the 28 others nationwide.

Since then, however, about one-third of those campuses have built still newer facilities, Pascoe said. UCD’s hospital has had two major additions, the most recent in 2004.

The school has about 300 faculty members working with more than 700 students, more than 500 of whom are pursuing doctor of veterinary medicine degrees. It provides advanced training for 100 veterinary residents in 25 specialties.

Pascoe said that while new facilities boost faculty, they have been shown to be most important to students.

“We went through a period prior to that accreditation decision, and even after that, where students said, ‘I really want to be there, but it’s so old and crappy (that) I’m going to go someplace else.’ I think now we’re way beyond that,” he said.

“From a faculty recruitment point of view: While facilities are important, it’s really about who you can rub shoulders with. Even when we haven’t had the most contemporary facilities, we’ve had extraordinary people.”

Online: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu

The Daily Californian

2011-05-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

The Daily Californian

The Daily Californian Online

Lawrence Hall of Science to open new satellite center in Vallejo

By Courtney Moulds

Daily Cal Staff Writer

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Category: News > University > Research and Ideas

UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science plans to open a new satellite center May 5 in Vallejo in an effort to provide more science education directly to communities in Solano County.

The center - located at the Norman C. King South Vallejo Community Center in Vallejo - will open the "Inventor's Lab" to the public next Thursday and will provide youth with different types of gears and tools to meet certain challenges, such as using solar energy to make appliances called kinetic sculptures. On June 25, the lab will extend its hours and include workshops for groups that wish to participate in them.

According to Janet Noe, director of marketing and communications for the Lawrence Hall of Science, research conducted a few years ago demonstrated that both Solano and Sonoma counties "were not particularly well served in terms of having a lot of available science and math programs outside of school."

Though plans on how to outreach to Sonoma County have yet to be finalized, the center in Vallejo was selected to not only build community, but also to make science topics more accessible in Solano County, according to Noe.

"We don't have a tech museum and a planetarium," said Chairman of the Vallejo Youth Commission Ruscal Cayangyang.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has stated it will be funding the program for the next two years, but the hope is that the program will be self-sustainable after funding runs out. Noe said fundraising efforts to try to make the program self-sustainable by that time will begin as soon as the center is opened.

According to Director of Community and Visitor Programs at the Lawrence Hall of Science Gretchen Walker, the foundation approached the Lawrence Hall of Science to offer to fund the program. Walker and her team then developed the program to be implemented in Vallejo starting in January, when grant money was received.

"What we're hoping is that it will serve as an inspiration to young people and help them see themselves as someone who can do science," she said.

According to Noe, the center will simulate the Ingenuity Lab currently featured at the Lawrence Hall of Science, in which children can design and test their own creations.

"One of the things we know is that kids learn science best by actually doing activities," Noe said.

Beginning June 25, the center will be open Monday through Friday to the public. In addition to drop-ins, community groups will be able to register for workshops at the site.

In September, the center will begin offering field trips and professional development workshops to school-aged groups and teachers respectively. Program coordinators will use the workshops in hopes that they will allow teachers and other educators to borrow materials for use outside the center.

Vallejo's Assistant City Manager Craig Whittom said the development of the satellite center is consistent with the city's expansion of educational facilities and opportunities.

In the past five to 10 years, the city has tried to expand educational opportunities to its community members he said.

"Vallejo has a diverse community, we have a growing education tradition, and I think that this kind of adds to this emphasis on education that our city council and community leaders are focused on," he said.

Tags: Lawrence Hall of Science, Norman C. King South Vallejo Community Center, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, vallejo

Article Link: http://www.dailycal.org/article/112991

North Bay Pediatrics opening of their new north county office located at The Wiseman Company’s Corporate Plaza building

2011-04-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

April 12, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Patti Magee, Executive Assistant

pmagee@WisemanCo.com

707.427.1212

North Bay Pediatrics is pleased to announce the opening of their new north county office located at The Wiseman Company’s Corporate Plaza building, 1261 Travis Boulevard on July 1^st, 2011. John Pock of Kappel & Kappel Commercial represented the Lessee and Kirk Hull of The Wiseman Company represented the Lessor in the transaction.

North Bay Pediatrics has been growing with the children of Solano County for the past 27 years, providing generalized medical care for infants, toddlers and adolescents. Their offices in Fairfield, Vallejo and Benicia offers parents a choice of service in the largest independent pediatric medical groups in Solano County. With the specifically trained pediatricians, their patients have access to comprehensive primary & specialist care. Their group networks with many hospitals and medical insurance plans in the Bay Area. For more information about North Bay Pediatrics, please visit their website at www.northbaypediatrics.com, or call the business office at 707-648-0711.

Founded in 1979, The Wiseman Company has become Solano County’s leading full-service commercial real estate firm. Recognizing the demand for superior quality, professional offices, Wiseman developed the first Class A office building in 1989. Today, the firm and its affiliates own, manage and lease the preferred multi-tenant office buildings in Solano, Napa and Yolo counties. Their business and professional tenants range from NYSE companies to local entrepreneurs.

For more information about Corporate Plaza or our other fine properties, contact Kirk Hull at 707.427.1212 or khull@WisemanCo.com.

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Looking for family-friendly employers

2011-04-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

Published by The Reporter
Posted: 04/12/2011 05:31:50 AM PDT

First 5 Solano and the Alliance of Business for Children (ABC) invite nominations of local businesses for its 2011 "Family-Friendly Business Awards" program.

The program will honor Solano businesses with workplace policies and practices that support employees with young children. There are separate categories for small (20 or fewer employees), medium (21-99) and large (100-plus) businesses.

"The most successful businesses in Solano County know that 'family comes first.' Employees who are parents are more productive when they have reliable child care, flexible work schedules that accommodate family needs and workplace support," said Michael Amman, president of Solano Economic Development Corp. "Family-friendly business practices is a competitive advantage that generates greater profits by attracting and retaining well-qualified employees."

The awards will be presented at the June 29 Solano Economic Development Corp. breakfast and are sponsored by First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission.

Applications are due by May 6. Nomination form and program details are available at http://www.first5solano.com/ or by calling 784-1332.

2011: It’s time to prepare for economic growth in Solano County

2011-04-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

By Michael Ammann
President, Solano Economic Development Corporation

As we move into the second quarter of 2011, things are beginning to pick up a little on the economic front, in the nation and California. With this improvement come the opportunities for Solano County to step up to the plate and take advantage of its tremendous location in Northern California Mega Region.

We are centrally located between two of the fastest growing mega regions in the nation – if not in the world. The Bay Area and Sacramento metropolitan areas, even with all their challenges, are still dynamic and full of potential.

Solano County is the “heart” of these two Mega Regions.

Just stop and think about what Solano County offers:

Transportation. Freeway link Solano County east and west, via Interstate 80. Then, add freeways that go from Solano south into Walnut Creek, Plesanton and points south. And, from Vacaville, freeways link Solano to the fast growing areas of Yolo and points north along I-5. And remember the investment in two new bridges, the repaving of I-80 and on-going improvements to Highway 12 from Rio Vista to Napa.

Solano also is within an hour’s drive of three major metropolitan airports: San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento. No other county can make that boast.

Think of it this way: within an hour you are on your way to visit family, take a business trip to New York or Europe, or just go skiing in Colorado or Canada!

In addition, express buses move easily through morning and evening freeway traffic on their way to major cities, and the Amtrak service offers the opportunity to take a ride into downtown San Francisco.

Housing: The recession and housing crash was a tremendous blow to Solano’s overall economy. That is a fact, but that will change – it already is showing signs of new life. As the economy begins to grow families will be seeking areas that offer good housing at prices lower than those they can find closer to San Francisco, Napa, and the East Bay.

Great Communities: Our cities are among the best in California. They are clean, safe, and affordable, with convenient shopping and low traffic congestion. Through all the growth of the past decade Solano’s cities have been able to maintain that “hometown” atmosphere many seek.

Jobs: While we can expect a continual need for our county residents to commute to good jobs in the Bay and Sacramento areas, we still can boast a pretty solid core of jobs – and that can be expected to grow as businesses grow in the coming years.

Solano Economic Development Corporation, working with the Solano County Board of Supervisors, has conducted extensive research studies for the past four years. These studies are creating a blueprint for growth. These combined studies make it clear where our best economic growth opportunities lie. It can allow developers and local cities to focus on economic clusters that can bring new dollars and jobs into the county boundaries. Life sciences, agriculture and food processing, alternative energy products and sources, research and development, and manufacturing—these are the areas that promise economic stability in the years to come.

It’s time for all of us – and especially those involved in planning – put on an optimistic face and move forward.

A better future for Solano County and its residents can only be achieved if we act now. Solano EDC is prepared to embrace this tremendous opportunity and all the challenges that come with it.

We truly are the “Heart of two Mega Regions – San Francisco and Sacramento.

Impact of redevelopment agencies discussed in Fairfield

2011-03-31T16:18:00.000-07:00

By Kimberly K. Fu/ KFu@TheReporter.com

Posted: 03/31/2011 01:05:54 AM PDT

Looks like the end of redevelopment agencies may be near -- and local communities will be the ones to suffer.

"Where we go from here is a rough ride," emphasized Jim Wunderman, CEO of the Bay Area Council and keynote speaker at Wednesday's meeting of the Solano Economic Development Corporation in Fairfield.

In January, Gov. Jerry Brown announced plans to eliminate the 400 redevelopment agencies in California and redistribute the money to help close the multibillion-dollar budget deficit. The $2.5 billion in funding -- an estimated $84.2 million in Solano County -- supposedly would support education and public safety, with a portion returned to affected cities through their General Fund accounts to be spent at each city's discretion.

In quick order, Solano leaders and those throughout the state rose up in protest. They encumbered redevelopment funds and assets, transferring ownership of many redevelopment properties into the hands of their respective cities. Unfortunately, the governor later enacted legislation that could repeal such acts.

If Brown's objective is carried out, redevelopment agencies will cease to exist as of July 1.

All is not yet lost, advised Fairfield City Attorney Greg Stepanicich on Wednesday, explaining that the California Redevelopment Association has penned a viable compromise that provides additional funding for schools. An estimated $2.7 billion, he said, could be raised over 10 years.

Suzanne Bragdon, city manager of Suisun City, said the impact from losing redevelopment funding would be disastrous for her community. It's come a long way from being voted the Bay Area's worst place to live in 1987, she said, with $65 million invested to fix blight and become a dining and entertainment destination.

"We're about building places that are healthy and safe for you to live," Bragdon said, pointing out that more than 300 affordable housing units have since been built, businesses have flocked to the city and its waterfront, and crime rates have fallen 60 percent since the late 1980s.

"We had the worst economic meltdown anywhere and look at all the development that's happened," she said, indicating images of the city's revamped Crescent neighborhood, new neighborhoods created with redevelopment funding and more.

"Am I scared if redevelopment goes away? Absolutely," Bragdon added. "I don't want Suisun City to end up like it was in the 1980s. And I am truly afraid of that."

Decisions, Wunderman pointed out, are being made in a "climate of desperation." He described redevelopment as an amazing economic development tool that should be preserved. Perhaps, he suggested, the state could instead enforce tighter restrictions on redevelopment agencies or tie in funding to support California's laws regarding greenhouses gas emissions.

"Maybe we need to rethink the way we provide services to the community. That's where we're headed," he said. "...We all have to give. It's not just the state government -- The federal government isn't coming to our rescue here."

Last flights from Japan land at Travis Air Force Base - The Reporter

2011-03-31T12:19:00.000-07:00

Last flights from Japan land at Travis Air Force Base - The Reporter

Last flights from Japan land at Travis Air Force Base

BY MELISSA MURPHY/ MMURPHY@THEREPORTER.COM

Posted: 03/30/2011 01:03:13 AM PDT

The last of the families of military and Department of Defense contractor families coming from Japan to the United State in a voluntary evacuations arrived Monday afternoon, wrapping up a weeklong itinerary of flights to Travis Air Force Base.

More than 5,000 voluntarily evacuees left Japan for the United States after a 9.0 earthquake rocked the country. The massive earthquake was followed by a devastating tsunami that rattled nuclear energy plants, putting residents in jeopardy of radiation exposure.

Travis Air Force Base alone received 2,500 evacuees with pets and belongings in tow, who were greeted by 400 volunteers from the base, according to 2nd Lt. Joel Banjo-Johnson, deputy chief of public affairs.

The voluntary evacuees left Japan to assist in expediting recovery efforts in Japan by reducing the demand for food, water, fuel and electricity during the national emergency, according to a press release.

Solano County Supervisor Mike Reagan said it was an awesome sight to see the reception the evacuated guests received after the chartered commercial jets landed at the base.

"I'm very impressed and I'm really proud of them," he said of the military troops. "It's the finest example of the (Department of Defense) taking care of its extended family and the community."

Reagan said base personnel voluntarily worked 15 to 16 hours days and continued to maintain smiles on their faces.

Translators, veterinarians, radiation screening, travel assistance and school enrollment were all on hand while the base continued doing its normal business.

"I'm still stoked about what I saw," he said. "It was awesome."