By Richard Bammer/ RBammer@TheReporter.com
Posted: 05/02/2010 01:03:08 AM PDT
Benefits of company-sponsored wellness programs -- walks, runs, weight-loss regimens, blood pressure screening clinics, for example -- may be obvious, but they are becoming increasingly popular among Solano County business leaders because of still-rising costs for health-care premiums.
Study after study indicate that wellness programs are worth every corporate dollar spent. The returns -- improved health-care cost management, increased employee productivity, decreased rates of illness and injuries, reduced employee absenteeism -- translate into savings, which make CEOs and stockholders happy.
But wellness programs, according to a Providence General Medical Center study, also mean plenty of benefits for employees, among them lower levels of stress, increased self-esteem, stamina and morale, improved physical fitness and the potential for weight reduction, which can stave off medical problems such as diabetes and hypertension, which have reached epidemic proportions in the United States.
"For us, it makes good business sense, in addition to being the right thing to do," said Ken McCollum, vice president of human resources at NorthBay Healthcare, which owns and manages two hospitals in Solano County and employs nearly 1,900.
"Certainly, there's the benefit of supporting employee needs in this area, and, from a morale standpoint, it communicates to employees that you care about them," he added. "You can make resources available to them at no cost or low cost."
And it can be as easy as a mouse click. He cited company intranet services that allow NorthBay employees to take a health-risk appraisal by logging in at work or at home, day or night, allowing them to not only review their health risks but also to develop diet and exercise plans and establish fitness and health goals.
"We are in the process of adding elements as we go along," said McCollum, 64, who placed second in his age category at the company's Run For Good 5k fundraiser April 17 in Fairfield. He said the online activities complement "on-site elements," such as walking trails at the NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield and VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville.
NorthBay's director of public relations, Diane Barney, said the company has recently ramped up its employee wellness program, which began two years ago. Concerned about employee health, the company in January launched a major employee fitness challenge, Get Lean With Green, based on Fairfield physician Kenneth Forsythe's "Green Light Program," five steps toward achieving better health. Nearly 500 employees signed up, she noted.
The program's emphasis is not so much on weight loss as it is on getting in better shape, Barney said in a press release.
And there are incentives. Points are awarded, based on participation, so even physically fit employees can take part. Prizes are handed out along the way, with drawings in June for substantial prizes.
Additionally, 45 NorthBay employees have chosen to support the American Diabetes Association by signing up for today's Tour de Cure bicycle race, a fundraiser for the association, in Napa. Two of the riders have diabetes, Barney noted.
Sandy Durrance, a registered nurse at NorthBay and administrator of the Get Lean With Green wellness challenge, said, "Being healthy is such a big thing right now. In terms of helping employees, statistics and studies show that, when people are more fit, they are more productive and, mentally, they feel better."
NorthBay, she noted, "really wanted to find a program to really launch wellness." The company has carried out a smoking-cessation program and made worksites smoke free, but, Durrance explained, "We wanted to take it to the next level," inviting employees to make a choice to get more fit.
Forsythe, who works at Fairfield Primary Care, said wellness programs within companies large and small have gained popularity in the West for the past 20 years, but "they are becoming really important right now."
"We have an aging population," he said, noting that, with age, medical problems begin to surface among people. Pandemics of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension -- "These are all connected with being overweight," which wellness programs can mitigate, he added.
Gradually, it has dawned on business leaders that investing in wellness "enhances and protects the workers they have," noted Forsythe.
Saying his patients repeatedly tell him one thing -- "Doc, I just want to be healthy" -- Forsythe said, "They want to do something about their health. They need simple, sensible guidelines and they exist in the Green Light Program."
Durrance said Forsythe is at the forefront of new generation of physicians unafraid of candor with their overweight patients. They tell them "they need to do something about it," she said.
Participation in corporate wellness programs is voluntary, of course, but, McCollum said, "We try hard to listen to our employees and try not to coerce them into things that they'd rather not do."
All of NorthBay's employee wellness activities coincide with National Employee Health and Fitness Day, May 19. Created by the National Association for Health and Fitness in 1989, the day raises awareness of the role worksite health promotion programs play in making a business healthier and more productive.
At the Jelly Belly Candy Co. in Fairfield, company spokeswoman Tami Holt said the company pays a portion of its employees' gym fees and encourages workers to share fitness tips and recipes. "We try to keep it fun," she said.
As you might expect, Travis Air Force Base has long had an employee wellness program in effect, in part because of the needs of the military service. "The military has a huge focus on fitness and wellness," said Mary Nelson, a civilian employee and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who oversees the base's wellness program. "The priority is to make sure the airmen (a term that includes men and women) are fit to fight -- that's the first priority."
Regulations require that all active-duty personnel take an annual fitness test (soon to be twice-yearly) that includes sit-ups, push-ups and completion of a 1.5-mile run.
But base officials also seek to enhance airmen's health in other ways, too, said Nelson. She cited a tobacco-cessation program and gait analysis, that is, how a person walks or runs.
"We also look at body fat analysis," obesity prevention, metabolism analysis and, from time to time, host blood pressure screening clinics and computer-based motivational programs, she said.
"We're helping them to take better care of themselves, to prevent trips to the hospital," said Nelson. McCollum called corporate wellness and fitness programs "a thing of the future," adding, "A lot of employers are using some type of wellness initiative at their worksites. It's been proven: When an employee is leading a more healthy lifestyle and eating the right food, they feel better and they're more productive -- not just at work but in their personal lives as well."
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Emerging from bankruptcy, Six Flags Corp. looks ahead
Times-Herald staff report
Posted: 05/04/2010 01:48:52 AM PDT
Even as its parent company emerges from bankruptcy, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's summer season begins daily operations this month. This year's season starts May 28 and runs through Aug. 22.
In anticipation of the birth of two dolphin calves this year, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has designated 2010 the Year of the Dolphin, with a dolphin swim program and dolphin experiences, park spokeswoman Nancy Chan said. Along with the debut of several new shows, guests also will find new food vendors throughout the park, she said.
This announcement comes after Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (formerly Six Flags, Inc.), completed a yearlong restructuring, Chan said. Emerging from Chapter 11 with its debt reduced by about $1.7 billion, the company also is backed by $725 million in equity committed by new shareholders, she said.
"This reorganization constitutes the final step in the repositioning of Six Flags globally," Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Park President Eric Gilbert said. "While the day-to-day operations of our park were never impacted, it's very exciting to envision a future that will allow us to rapidly grow and expand the array of services and entertainment for every single guest." Investing in park infrastructure will remain a top priority, he said.
"For Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, that means continuing to improve and upgrade all elements of the park and planning for new rides, attractions and special events over the next several years, including, of course, our highly-anticipated 50th anniversary season in 2011."
Discovery Kingdom has recruited more than 1,400 employees for the 2010 season and the park's special Season Pass price of $49.99 has been extended until May 31, according to the announcement.
The firm plans to apply to list the new common stock of Six Flags Entertainment on the New York Stock Exchange, it notes.
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is a New York-based publicly-traded corporation with 19 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Posted: 05/04/2010 01:48:52 AM PDT
Even as its parent company emerges from bankruptcy, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's summer season begins daily operations this month. This year's season starts May 28 and runs through Aug. 22.
In anticipation of the birth of two dolphin calves this year, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has designated 2010 the Year of the Dolphin, with a dolphin swim program and dolphin experiences, park spokeswoman Nancy Chan said. Along with the debut of several new shows, guests also will find new food vendors throughout the park, she said.
This announcement comes after Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (formerly Six Flags, Inc.), completed a yearlong restructuring, Chan said. Emerging from Chapter 11 with its debt reduced by about $1.7 billion, the company also is backed by $725 million in equity committed by new shareholders, she said.
"This reorganization constitutes the final step in the repositioning of Six Flags globally," Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Park President Eric Gilbert said. "While the day-to-day operations of our park were never impacted, it's very exciting to envision a future that will allow us to rapidly grow and expand the array of services and entertainment for every single guest." Investing in park infrastructure will remain a top priority, he said.
"For Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, that means continuing to improve and upgrade all elements of the park and planning for new rides, attractions and special events over the next several years, including, of course, our highly-anticipated 50th anniversary season in 2011."
Discovery Kingdom has recruited more than 1,400 employees for the 2010 season and the park's special Season Pass price of $49.99 has been extended until May 31, according to the announcement.
The firm plans to apply to list the new common stock of Six Flags Entertainment on the New York Stock Exchange, it notes.
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is a New York-based publicly-traded corporation with 19 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Solano Community College-Vallejo Center's growth prompts more funding
By Sarah Rohrs
Posted: 05/04/2010 01:48:54 AM PDT
More than 1,000 full-time students taking classes at the Vallejo Center means the satellite campus will get $1 million more each year for staffing and other services, officials said Monday. Solano Community College received word the Community College Chancellor's Office Board of Governors had officially designated the satellite campus on Columbus Parkway as a "center," President Jowel Laguerre said. This means the school is eligible for the state funding boost. "We're officially recognized as a center and with that comes extra resources to facilitate our needs here," Vallejo Center Director Jerry Kea said.
Since the Vallejo Center opened in 2007, the facility has been called a "center," but has lacked official state designation as such, Laguerre said. The additional $1 million will go toward making the Vallejo Center a self-contained facility where students can find services they need and not make trips to the Fairfield campus for help in financial aid and other issues, Kea said.
"We want students to receive, to the greatest degree possible, a range of services, from financial aid, admission and registration support and that type of thing," Kea said. Proceeds also will likely be spent on custodial services in an effort to help keep the satellite campus maintained and repaired, Kea said.
Vallejo board member Rosemary Thurston said funding will also go toward bolstering the Vallejo Center's educational programs and to collaborate with surrounding universities. Thurston's late husband Bill Thurston, a long-time Solano College board member, was instrumental in helping to pass the bonds necessary to finance construction of the Vallejo satellite campus.
The ultimate goal is for students attending the Vallejo Center to have access to all the classes and other programs they need in order to obtain bachelor degrees, Thurston said.
School officials are excited about the additional funding, and the center's success, Thurston said. When the Solano College Vallejo campus was still inside the John F. Kennedy Library, about 250 full-time students took classes there, Kea said. Last year, the equivalent of nearly 1,300 full-time students were attending, he added.
Contact staff writer Sarah Rohrs at srohrs@timesheraldonline.com or (707) 553-6832.
Posted: 05/04/2010 01:48:54 AM PDT
More than 1,000 full-time students taking classes at the Vallejo Center means the satellite campus will get $1 million more each year for staffing and other services, officials said Monday. Solano Community College received word the Community College Chancellor's Office Board of Governors had officially designated the satellite campus on Columbus Parkway as a "center," President Jowel Laguerre said. This means the school is eligible for the state funding boost. "We're officially recognized as a center and with that comes extra resources to facilitate our needs here," Vallejo Center Director Jerry Kea said.
Since the Vallejo Center opened in 2007, the facility has been called a "center," but has lacked official state designation as such, Laguerre said. The additional $1 million will go toward making the Vallejo Center a self-contained facility where students can find services they need and not make trips to the Fairfield campus for help in financial aid and other issues, Kea said.
"We want students to receive, to the greatest degree possible, a range of services, from financial aid, admission and registration support and that type of thing," Kea said. Proceeds also will likely be spent on custodial services in an effort to help keep the satellite campus maintained and repaired, Kea said.
Vallejo board member Rosemary Thurston said funding will also go toward bolstering the Vallejo Center's educational programs and to collaborate with surrounding universities. Thurston's late husband Bill Thurston, a long-time Solano College board member, was instrumental in helping to pass the bonds necessary to finance construction of the Vallejo satellite campus.
The ultimate goal is for students attending the Vallejo Center to have access to all the classes and other programs they need in order to obtain bachelor degrees, Thurston said.
School officials are excited about the additional funding, and the center's success, Thurston said. When the Solano College Vallejo campus was still inside the John F. Kennedy Library, about 250 full-time students took classes there, Kea said. Last year, the equivalent of nearly 1,300 full-time students were attending, he added.
Contact staff writer Sarah Rohrs at srohrs@timesheraldonline.com or (707) 553-6832.
Solano County Fair helps itself as it helps nonprofits
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
Posted: 05/04/2010 01:48:55 AM PDT
Every Solano County city will be strutting its stuff at this year's fair as the annual event moves back to its roots, a spokeswoman said Monday.
All cities will have an "exposition style" booth at the fair, entitled Join The Fun, fair spokeswoman Debbie Egidio said.
Also new this year is a way for any Solano County tax exempt organization to sell fair tickets and help themselves raise funds in the process, Egidio said.
Any Solano County nonprofit can get its own unique Promotional Code by requesting one at mpassey@scfair.org and including certain information, she said.
Then, anyone buying tickets and carnival wristbands at SCFair.com, can use that code, generating an added discount and money to the organization, she said.
"The organization gets the difference between the regular price and the promotion price," Egidio said. "It's pretty exciting. It's the first time we've been able to give back to the community in this way."
Fair officials suggest participating organizations spread the word in newsletters, e-mail blasts, on their websites or in mailings.
The city booths will highlight what each city has to offer, Egidio said.
"I'm sure there will be some friendly competition between the cities, because everyone has pride in their city, but there will be no official competition," Egidio said.
The idea was born out of a desire to take the fair back to its local origins, she said.
"They were brainstorming ways to bring something unique and special, and we really wanted to focus on Solano County, and what better way than to have the cities focus on themselves?" Egidio said.
In other fairgrounds-related news, county supervisors today will consider several matters related to the area's development.
The supervisors will consider approving agreements with Brooks Street, SWA Group and the city of Vallejo for the entitlement phase of the so-called Solano360 Fairgrounds Project.
This would move forward the plan to develop the fairgrounds to include retail, housing, commercial areas, a water feature and walking trails, while maintaining the annual county fair site, Supervisor Linda Seifert said.
In February, the supervisors approved an updated agreement with Vallejo and the Vallejo Redevelopment Agency regarding the project.
The process for environmental documents is included in this next step.
"I think there are community concerns, which I'll listen to," said Seifert, who represents Benicia and part of Vallejo. "No one knows what information will be revealed by the closer look we're asking for. But we want a realistic assessment of the plan, so that when the economy turns around, and such a project is viable, we know the proposed vision for the fairgrounds is the right one."
Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com.
Posted: 05/04/2010 01:48:55 AM PDT
Every Solano County city will be strutting its stuff at this year's fair as the annual event moves back to its roots, a spokeswoman said Monday.
All cities will have an "exposition style" booth at the fair, entitled Join The Fun, fair spokeswoman Debbie Egidio said.
Also new this year is a way for any Solano County tax exempt organization to sell fair tickets and help themselves raise funds in the process, Egidio said.
Any Solano County nonprofit can get its own unique Promotional Code by requesting one at mpassey@scfair.org and including certain information, she said.
Then, anyone buying tickets and carnival wristbands at SCFair.com, can use that code, generating an added discount and money to the organization, she said.
"The organization gets the difference between the regular price and the promotion price," Egidio said. "It's pretty exciting. It's the first time we've been able to give back to the community in this way."
Fair officials suggest participating organizations spread the word in newsletters, e-mail blasts, on their websites or in mailings.
The city booths will highlight what each city has to offer, Egidio said.
"I'm sure there will be some friendly competition between the cities, because everyone has pride in their city, but there will be no official competition," Egidio said.
The idea was born out of a desire to take the fair back to its local origins, she said.
"They were brainstorming ways to bring something unique and special, and we really wanted to focus on Solano County, and what better way than to have the cities focus on themselves?" Egidio said.
In other fairgrounds-related news, county supervisors today will consider several matters related to the area's development.
The supervisors will consider approving agreements with Brooks Street, SWA Group and the city of Vallejo for the entitlement phase of the so-called Solano360 Fairgrounds Project.
This would move forward the plan to develop the fairgrounds to include retail, housing, commercial areas, a water feature and walking trails, while maintaining the annual county fair site, Supervisor Linda Seifert said.
In February, the supervisors approved an updated agreement with Vallejo and the Vallejo Redevelopment Agency regarding the project.
The process for environmental documents is included in this next step.
"I think there are community concerns, which I'll listen to," said Seifert, who represents Benicia and part of Vallejo. "No one knows what information will be revealed by the closer look we're asking for. But we want a realistic assessment of the plan, so that when the economy turns around, and such a project is viable, we know the proposed vision for the fairgrounds is the right one."
Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com.
Monday, May 3, 2010
REGION'S BEST YOUNG POETS, RAPPERS AND SINGERS TO COMPETE FRIDAY AT UC DAVIS
University of California, Davis
May 3, 2010
REGION'S BEST YOUNG POETS, RAPPERS AND SINGERS TO COMPETE FRIDAY AT UC DAVIS
A UC Davis-sponsored poetry competition expected to attract more than 800 middle and high school students will be held Friday, May 7, at the campus's Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
For the past month, organizers of the event -- the second annual Sacramento Area Youth Speak (SAYS) Summit and Slam -- have held semifinal rounds, encouraging the best young poets, rappers and singers to compete for a spot in the finals.
Hosted by the UC Davis School of Education, the summit and slam will start at 9 a.m. with students participating in a town hall meeting and workshops on writing, social justice and youth empowerment. This year's contest is titled "Learning Literacy Leadership for 2010:
School is My Hustle."
At 6 p.m., the competition's finals will be held in Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center. The top six poets will represent Sacramento at Brave New Voices, an international youth poetry slam held in Los Angeles in July.
The annual SAYS Summit is a culmination of year-round programming in regional schools. Youth from different communities and economic and ethnic backgrounds come together to learn and celebrate their accomplishments. Students also develop plans for school improvement and community change.
"Our goal is to create a literary community where everyone's narrative matters and contributes, not only to the classroom, but also to the critical conversations of our world," said Jason Mateo, director of the youth literacy program.
Rudy Corpuz, director of United Playaz, a violence prevention and youth leadership organization in San Francisco, will deliver the keynote address at the summit.
Tickets for the slam finals -- $5 for those 21 and under and $15 for all others -- are available at the Mondavi Center box office or by calling (866) 754-ARTS. A limited number of seats for the daytime summit will be available to schools. For more information, contact Jason Mateo at jasmateo@ucdavis.edu or visit says.ucdavis.edu.
Media contact(s):
* Jason Mateo, School of Education, (415) 531-6955, jasmateo@ucdavis.edu
* Donna Justice, School of Education, (530) 754-4826, dljustice@ucdavis.edu
* Jim Sweeney, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-6101, jpsweeney@ucdavis.edu
May 3, 2010
REGION'S BEST YOUNG POETS, RAPPERS AND SINGERS TO COMPETE FRIDAY AT UC DAVIS
A UC Davis-sponsored poetry competition expected to attract more than 800 middle and high school students will be held Friday, May 7, at the campus's Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
For the past month, organizers of the event -- the second annual Sacramento Area Youth Speak (SAYS) Summit and Slam -- have held semifinal rounds, encouraging the best young poets, rappers and singers to compete for a spot in the finals.
Hosted by the UC Davis School of Education, the summit and slam will start at 9 a.m. with students participating in a town hall meeting and workshops on writing, social justice and youth empowerment. This year's contest is titled "Learning Literacy Leadership for 2010:
School is My Hustle."
At 6 p.m., the competition's finals will be held in Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center. The top six poets will represent Sacramento at Brave New Voices, an international youth poetry slam held in Los Angeles in July.
The annual SAYS Summit is a culmination of year-round programming in regional schools. Youth from different communities and economic and ethnic backgrounds come together to learn and celebrate their accomplishments. Students also develop plans for school improvement and community change.
"Our goal is to create a literary community where everyone's narrative matters and contributes, not only to the classroom, but also to the critical conversations of our world," said Jason Mateo, director of the youth literacy program.
Rudy Corpuz, director of United Playaz, a violence prevention and youth leadership organization in San Francisco, will deliver the keynote address at the summit.
Tickets for the slam finals -- $5 for those 21 and under and $15 for all others -- are available at the Mondavi Center box office or by calling (866) 754-ARTS. A limited number of seats for the daytime summit will be available to schools. For more information, contact Jason Mateo at jasmateo@ucdavis.edu or visit says.ucdavis.edu.
Media contact(s):
* Jason Mateo, School of Education, (415) 531-6955, jasmateo@ucdavis.edu
* Donna Justice, School of Education, (530) 754-4826, dljustice@ucdavis.edu
* Jim Sweeney, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-6101, jpsweeney@ucdavis.edu
Manufacturing can propel state forward -- if politicians act
By Michael Ammann
Posted: 05/02/2010 01:02:53 AM PDT
As Sacramento politicians grapple with a $20-plus billion deficit, there is a growing disconnect between a thriving private-sector economy and the dysfunctional financing of government services.
The latest example of this disconnect is the automotive industry's departure as a California economic force. The last vehicle production facility (NUMMI-Toyota) closed in March, resulting in the closure by all California auto suppliers with an estimated loss of 20,000 production jobs.
The continued debate of whether to make drastic cuts to state government versus painful tax increases has set in at the Capitol with the same old rhetoric that has gotten us nowhere.
Those running for office, especially the gubernatorial candidates, need to focus on ways to get our economy growing with a strong competitive state economic development program that partners with local economic development organizations. This is in the interest of all Californians, particularly Solano County, where unemployment has reached more than 13 percent and may go higher.
Even with Solano's strategic location, skilled and trained work force, which makes the county's communities an ideal location for expanding high-wage manufacturing firms, cannot overcome California's negative business investment climate.
There is a continued inaction by the Legislature, producing unresolved growing structural budget deficits. The outcome is few and unclear business investment incentives, resulting in a "wait-and-see" attitude about expanding -- or, even worse, decisions to relocate out of state.
If you question this, just try to convince an out-of-state friend or business associate to make a business investment or consider moving into California. You'll quickly learn how difficult it is to attract investment and talent to California.
Jobs and the economy have topped every opinion poll for the past 18 months. It is only logical that the Legislature and candidates for state offices address the issues that are most important to residents: Jobs. Jobs. Jobs.
There are opportunities: the biotech industry, for example. Biotech has skilled labor. It's labor- intensive and provides high wages. Biotech is crucial to California's and Solano County's economic future. A recent survey by the California Healthcare Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP forecasts good and bad news.
Good news: Biotechnology companies expect to maintain or add jobs over the next two years. Of the 200 biomedical employers surveyed for the report, 92 percent of companies see revenue growth and plan on expanding their research and development investment.
Bad news: Two-thirds of the survey's respondents expect to increase out-of-state manufacturing as opposed to growth within California. To further exacerbate our concerns, nearly 6 of 10 indicated they will grow their research and development departments outside of California.
With Genentech/Roche, Bio-Rad, ALZA and Novartis among the leading employers in Solano County, I am increasingly concerned that our state leaders are not doing enough to promote growth within our state. While policymakers have long seemed content to watch California's manufacturing base whittled away, they have also assured Californians that, as long as we remain the leader in venture capital and research, our state will continue to prosper. However, this report should undermine this sense of complacency.
This report, coupled with our state's terrible economic situation, should be a serious wake-up call.
Our state cries out for a comprehensive, consistent economic development policy, plan and staffing. While our Legislature has seen the importance in providing incentives in situations, their success has been limited to clean energy. Creating forward-looking plans to promote economic growth and jobs is something this state has been waiting on for several administrations.
The launching of the centralized Governor's Office of Economic Development (GoED) office this month is too little, too late, and most likely will not survive or thrive in the next administration. Meanwhile, the Legislature is developing bills that sunset for all investment incentives, including tax credits, deductions and exemptions, and caps how much can be claimed each year, thereby creating substantial uncertainty for employers and discouraging future investment in the state.
The final key to revitalizing California's economy is to streamline regulations so that the entitlement process actually "entitles" investment that expands businesses that hire unemployed people.
Regulatory reform will bring investment and payrolls to provide new tax and fee revenues to Solano communities.
The author is the president of the Solano Economic Development Corporation.
Posted: 05/02/2010 01:02:53 AM PDT
As Sacramento politicians grapple with a $20-plus billion deficit, there is a growing disconnect between a thriving private-sector economy and the dysfunctional financing of government services.
The latest example of this disconnect is the automotive industry's departure as a California economic force. The last vehicle production facility (NUMMI-Toyota) closed in March, resulting in the closure by all California auto suppliers with an estimated loss of 20,000 production jobs.
The continued debate of whether to make drastic cuts to state government versus painful tax increases has set in at the Capitol with the same old rhetoric that has gotten us nowhere.
Those running for office, especially the gubernatorial candidates, need to focus on ways to get our economy growing with a strong competitive state economic development program that partners with local economic development organizations. This is in the interest of all Californians, particularly Solano County, where unemployment has reached more than 13 percent and may go higher.
Even with Solano's strategic location, skilled and trained work force, which makes the county's communities an ideal location for expanding high-wage manufacturing firms, cannot overcome California's negative business investment climate.
There is a continued inaction by the Legislature, producing unresolved growing structural budget deficits. The outcome is few and unclear business investment incentives, resulting in a "wait-and-see" attitude about expanding -- or, even worse, decisions to relocate out of state.
If you question this, just try to convince an out-of-state friend or business associate to make a business investment or consider moving into California. You'll quickly learn how difficult it is to attract investment and talent to California.
Jobs and the economy have topped every opinion poll for the past 18 months. It is only logical that the Legislature and candidates for state offices address the issues that are most important to residents: Jobs. Jobs. Jobs.
There are opportunities: the biotech industry, for example. Biotech has skilled labor. It's labor- intensive and provides high wages. Biotech is crucial to California's and Solano County's economic future. A recent survey by the California Healthcare Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP forecasts good and bad news.
Good news: Biotechnology companies expect to maintain or add jobs over the next two years. Of the 200 biomedical employers surveyed for the report, 92 percent of companies see revenue growth and plan on expanding their research and development investment.
Bad news: Two-thirds of the survey's respondents expect to increase out-of-state manufacturing as opposed to growth within California. To further exacerbate our concerns, nearly 6 of 10 indicated they will grow their research and development departments outside of California.
With Genentech/Roche, Bio-Rad, ALZA and Novartis among the leading employers in Solano County, I am increasingly concerned that our state leaders are not doing enough to promote growth within our state. While policymakers have long seemed content to watch California's manufacturing base whittled away, they have also assured Californians that, as long as we remain the leader in venture capital and research, our state will continue to prosper. However, this report should undermine this sense of complacency.
This report, coupled with our state's terrible economic situation, should be a serious wake-up call.
Our state cries out for a comprehensive, consistent economic development policy, plan and staffing. While our Legislature has seen the importance in providing incentives in situations, their success has been limited to clean energy. Creating forward-looking plans to promote economic growth and jobs is something this state has been waiting on for several administrations.
The launching of the centralized Governor's Office of Economic Development (GoED) office this month is too little, too late, and most likely will not survive or thrive in the next administration. Meanwhile, the Legislature is developing bills that sunset for all investment incentives, including tax credits, deductions and exemptions, and caps how much can be claimed each year, thereby creating substantial uncertainty for employers and discouraging future investment in the state.
The final key to revitalizing California's economy is to streamline regulations so that the entitlement process actually "entitles" investment that expands businesses that hire unemployed people.
Regulatory reform will bring investment and payrolls to provide new tax and fee revenues to Solano communities.
The author is the president of the Solano Economic Development Corporation.
Energy one key to Solano's economy
By Doug Ford
Posted: 05/03/2010 01:01:33 AM PDT
Most of us know far too little about our national, state and even local economy. The Solano Economic Development Corporation (Solano EDC) has been doing a wonderful job in helping community leaders to become better informed.
In our increasingly complex world, we each have to focus most of our efforts on the day-by-day need to earn a living and provide for the well-being of our families. And so it is a great service to our community that we have one organization close by that can help us greatly in understanding how all the parts of our economy work (and sometimes don't work) together to provide all the resources we need to have a high standard of living.
Participation is not limited to current community leaders. Anyone who wants a wider view of our county and how all the parts fit together, anyone who wants to become a better-informed citizen and help make our community a better place to live in, should consider getting involved in the Solano EDC.
A key component of Solano's economy is the energy sector. It has two parts. The carbon-based segment includes over 40 businesses "in oil and gas drilling and petroleum refining, and energy generation and distribution." (Search for Solano County's Energy Cluster).
At its April 20 meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield, the American Petroleum Institute's (API) senior economist, Sara Banaszak, provided a broad overview of her industry and its foreseeable future. While Solano's employment in this segment has been stable at about 1,200 workers for 10 years and is expected to remain so, our state and national production will have to grow to meet the expanding demand for energy. Banaszak tried to correct some "lingering myths" about the industry. One myth is that the industry is still controlled by the "seven sisters," the huge American, British and Dutch oil companies often referred to as "Big Oil." But those companies, which controlled 85 percent of the world's oil reserves in 1970, now control just 6 percent.
National oil companies (NOCs), controlled by the governments of Russia, Venezuela and five Middle-Eastern nations, controlled less than 15 percent of the world's oil reserves in 1970, now have 94 percent. All are potentially hostile to American and European interests.
The API argues that America cannot maintain its energy security over the next 25 years unless it opens up and develops offshore oil and natural gas resources. The API's brief, "Energizing America: Facts for Addressing Energy Policy," is available on the Internet.
The second part of Solano's energy sector is clean energy, which is small but growing fast. Twenty businesses employed about 300 in 2008 in generating energy from solar and wind. Michael Ammann, Solano EDC president, is planning to schedule a meeting based on it soon.
The author is retired from the U.S. Air Force, lives in Dixon and serves on the Solano County Board of Education.
Posted: 05/03/2010 01:01:33 AM PDT
Most of us know far too little about our national, state and even local economy. The Solano Economic Development Corporation (Solano EDC) has been doing a wonderful job in helping community leaders to become better informed.
In our increasingly complex world, we each have to focus most of our efforts on the day-by-day need to earn a living and provide for the well-being of our families. And so it is a great service to our community that we have one organization close by that can help us greatly in understanding how all the parts of our economy work (and sometimes don't work) together to provide all the resources we need to have a high standard of living.
Participation is not limited to current community leaders. Anyone who wants a wider view of our county and how all the parts fit together, anyone who wants to become a better-informed citizen and help make our community a better place to live in, should consider getting involved in the Solano EDC.
A key component of Solano's economy is the energy sector. It has two parts. The carbon-based segment includes over 40 businesses "in oil and gas drilling and petroleum refining, and energy generation and distribution." (Search for Solano County's Energy Cluster).
At its April 20 meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield, the American Petroleum Institute's (API) senior economist, Sara Banaszak, provided a broad overview of her industry and its foreseeable future. While Solano's employment in this segment has been stable at about 1,200 workers for 10 years and is expected to remain so, our state and national production will have to grow to meet the expanding demand for energy. Banaszak tried to correct some "lingering myths" about the industry. One myth is that the industry is still controlled by the "seven sisters," the huge American, British and Dutch oil companies often referred to as "Big Oil." But those companies, which controlled 85 percent of the world's oil reserves in 1970, now control just 6 percent.
National oil companies (NOCs), controlled by the governments of Russia, Venezuela and five Middle-Eastern nations, controlled less than 15 percent of the world's oil reserves in 1970, now have 94 percent. All are potentially hostile to American and European interests.
The API argues that America cannot maintain its energy security over the next 25 years unless it opens up and develops offshore oil and natural gas resources. The API's brief, "Energizing America: Facts for Addressing Energy Policy," is available on the Internet.
The second part of Solano's energy sector is clean energy, which is small but growing fast. Twenty businesses employed about 300 in 2008 in generating energy from solar and wind. Michael Ammann, Solano EDC president, is planning to schedule a meeting based on it soon.
The author is retired from the U.S. Air Force, lives in Dixon and serves on the Solano County Board of Education.
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