Vacaville could land aircraft firm

By Kimberly K. Fu/ KFu@TheReporter.com
Posted: 09/25/2013 01:01:01 AM PDT

With a cheer Tuesday, Vacaville leaders moved a step closer to bringing a high-tech aircraft production and sales business to the city.In a unanimous vote, the City Council approved a final agreement between the city and Southern California-based ICON Aircraft Inc., which has proposed the construction of a multimillion-dollar facility adjacent to the Nut Tree Airport."This really, truly is a significant moment in the history of the city of Vacaville," said Vice Mayor Dilenna Harris. "This is going to be fantastic and I just can't wait."Councilman Curtis Hunt agreed."This truly is a milestone for Vacaville," he said. "Five hundred jobs, potentially, a $10 million dollar facility. ... We are all so very excited about this.

"The city has been working for two years with ICON Aircraft, in partnership with the state, the county, the Solano Economic Development Corporation and others to reach an agreement that would bring the firm to Vacaville.The current agreement would bring ICON's unique amphibious light sport aircraft, the A5, to Vacaville. ICON officials have said there's a long waiting list for the luxury plane, which means the city would almost immediately begin to reap the benefits of sales tax revenues.

Future plans include a training facility.Other benefits, officials said, would include the generation of 500 or so high-paying jobs and more revenues for the city by way of ICON clients. That includes hotel stays and the frequenting of local eateries and shops by those looking into buying the planes, as well as learning to pilot them.Incentives have been built into the agreement, including sales tax rebates and the sharing of the transient occupancy tax.

City officials emphasize that there's no risk on their part in the agreement, which they described as win-win for the city, as well as the Solano region.Assemblyman Jim Frazier, D-Solano, assured the community that he would continue to help further the process any way he can."I will continue to put up a fight against Arizona and Texas," he said. "I am in Sacramento fighting on your behalf. ... I'm not going to let go."The matter now rests in the hands of ICON officials, who must choose between three locations to find the home for its headquarters. Arizona and Texas remain in the running.In other matters, the council also unanimously approved the Vanden Meadows development proposed for south Vacaville.

The project is a near-265-acre development to be built west of Leisure Town Road and south of the Southtown community.Plans call for 939 dwellings, a Travis Unified School District school site, neighborhood park, pedestrian trails and more.Council members said they want to scrap plans for apartment dwellings, which the applicant supports and pledged to initiate that process as soon as possible. More discussions are expected about traffic issues and road work.

Follow Staff Writer Kimberly K. Fu at Twitter.com/ReporterKimFu.

Wolk brings positive message to Solano

By Robin Miller/ RMiller@TheReporter.com

Posted: 07/27/2013 01:01:54 AM PDT

State Senator Lois Wolk, D-Solano, talks with local civic and business leaders following a presentation at the Friday breakfast gathering of the Solano Economic Development Corporation. (Robin Miller/RMiller@TheReporter.com)

When it comes to attracting and retaining business and jobs, California doesn't need to take a back seat to Texas and other states anymore.

 

That was part of the message State Senator Lois Wolk, D-Solano, brought Friday to local business and civic leaders during a Fairfield breakfast gathering of the Solano Economic Development Corporation.

 

Her message was straight forward: "The outlook (for California and Solano County) is tremendously positive."

 

Noting declines in unemployment rates, increases in the numbers of jobs created in the past year, and movement on important issues in Sacramento, Wolk said there are still challenges ahead but added that it was "wonderful to be here with some good news."

 

Of particular importance, she noted, was the passage of AB 93, an economic package that provides some tax exemptions for manufacturers on purchases of equipment and materials.

 

"For years we have heard that the barrier to expansion of business in California is that we have no sales tax exemption (for manufacturers) like every other state," Wolk said. "The argument is that equipment and materials should be exempt because the output, or product, they make is also taxed, so they are double taxed. AB 93 allows for the exemption for manufacturing processing businesses."

 

Governor Jerry Brown, she noted, referred to the tax exemption as his "Texas option," a comment that brought more than a few chuckles from the audience.

 

The exemption, she noted, are offered through a competitive process, with a select committee of the governor's awarding the credits of up to $2 million.

 

The plan may already be lined up to help Vacaville, as the exemptions could apply to an aircraft manufacturing firm currently negotiating to locate near the Nut Tree Airport.

 

ICON Aircraft Inc. of Los Angeles wants to establish a facility to build light recreational aircraft on land adjacent to the airport in Vacaville. "So much for Texas," Wolk quipped.

 

Wolk also talked to the group about the ongoing battle over the Delta, vowing to continue to fight for "real" quality controls that will benefit the region

 

And on education, she thanked voters for approving Proposition 30, providing funding for schools but added that more will need to be done in the future and that education remains a priority.

About Manex

The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex), a private non-profit corporation, was established in 1995 to provide services to small and mid-size manufacturers in Northern California. Manex operates through a cooperative agreement between the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), under the Department of Commerce.

Manex has evolved as manufacturing needs have grown in Northern California. Our vision mandates that we address the total organization, and as a result our role as strategic advisors includes:

• Strategic Planning
• Continuous Improvement
• Sales
• Marketing
• Product Development and Innovation
• Workforce Development
• Sustainability
• Supply Chain Development
• Export Assistance
• Technology Transfer Utilizing area Labs and Universities
• Connecting Manufacturers with Private and Public Resources
• Working directly with the State, Counties and Cities to promote Economic Development in Manufacturing, Fabrication, R&D, as well as Food and Beverage Processing

The Manex team brings an average of 20 years private industry experience to provide a powerful depth and breadth of business know-how. We are recognized for our strategic, enterprise-level expertise and extensive front-line manufacturing and distribution experience. Our client case studies and success stories are well documented. Independent quarterly client surveys ensure full accountability and a performance scorecard of certified value for our customers.
With our roots in manufacturing, our active participation in MEP and a longstanding dedication to knowledge transfer and implementation, we have a continued commitment to develop and deliver services that help you thrive in a globally competitive environment.

For more information about our company, please view our corporate brochure (PDF) or our website.

East Bay Broadband Consortium

The East Bay Broadband Consortium (EBBC) is an East Bay regional initiative organized to improve broadband deployment, access, and adoption in Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties through a collaborative regional approach.
 

Broadband – high speed Internet – is a critical 21st century infrastructure that is a key enabling technology for:

• Economic competitiveness
• Public health and safety
• Sustainable Communities
• The Smart Grid
• Access to information and services delivered through broadband applications and technologies

Basic digital literacy skills are virtually essential to every aspect of the 21st century economy. Yet infrastructure and access gaps are present in the East Bay, resulting in a persistent “Digital Divide.”
EBBC was formed to close these gaps and advance the region as a center of innovation for advanced communications technologies, leveraging the region’s deep knowledge assets. The EBBC Action Plan will identify and leverage opportunities aimed at increasing:

1. The region’s broadband infrastructure investments (public and privately financed).
2. Affordable access to broadband technologies.
3. Wide adoption of broadband to acquire the benefits of these technologies.

The EBBC vision is to make the three-county East Bay the nation’s leading broadband enabled region in the nation.

For more information, visit the initiative website: www.ebbroadband.org.

Solano EDC breakfast focuses on children

By Barry Eberling
From page A3 | May 30, 2013 |        

 

FAIRFIELD — First 5 Solano made a pitch to the business community Wednesday concerning the county’s youth.

The group hosted the Solano Economic Development Corp. breakfast. It asked businesses and individuals to sponsor sending children to pre-kindergarten academies this summer.

“Today, our goal is really to pique your interest and get your commitment on behalf of Solano County’s youngest citizens,” Solano County Supervisor Linda Seifert told the gathering at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Solano County will have 16 academies this summer, hosted by school district and youth program providers, for 450 children. The academies are for children who have not attended preschool and who will start kindergarten this fall.

Businesses and individuals can sponsor a child for a pre-kindergarten academy for $200. First 5 Solano will match the amount.Go to www.first5solano.com or call 784-1338 for more information.

District Attorney Don du Bain and county Superintendent of Schools Jay Speck made the case that what happens in early childhood education is important for the entire community.

Du Bain told the audience that high school dropouts are eight times more likely to end up in jail or prison as are youths who stay in school.

Dropout rates in the country range from 2 percent for the Travis School District to 9 percent for the Fairfield-Suisun School District to 35 percent for Vallejo City Schools, he said. That means one out of every three Vallejo youths are in that high-risk category for jail or prison.

“You can imagine the problems that creates for the city of Vallejo,” du Bain said.

Finally, du Bain talked about efforts to reduce truancy, such as a truancy court that has worked with 55 parents since its inception in October 2011. The goal is to get the parents’ attention rather than to prosecute them, he said.

“Truancy affects crime,” du Bain said. “My goal is not just about reducing truancy, but about crime prevention.”

He outlined a strategy to deal with such challenges – supportive parenting, preschool and after-school programs.

Du Bain gave an example of a supportive parenting program. He talked about Solano County’s nurse-family partnership, which has nurses work with low-income, first-time mothers on health and parenting issues.

Speck talked about the importance of children simply being at school. Sixty-four percent of children with good attendance in kindergarten and first grade read at grade level in third grade, he said.

“Chronic absence is an indicator we need to pay attention to,” Speck said.

California defines “chronically absent” as missing 10 percent or more of the school year. Speck said about 5,000 Solano County children fall into this category.

“Kids who are not ready, they are already on the path to dropping out or failure,” Speck said.

Today’s children are tomorrow’s work force, Solano Economic Development Corp. President Sandy Person said. The issues discussed at the breakfast involve a “critical economic benefit” for the county, she said.

Reach Barry Eberling at 427-6929 or beberling@dailyrepublic.net. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/beberlingdr.

Solano County leaders see link between crime, dropout rates

By Richard Bammer/ RBammer@TheReporter.comthereporter.com

Posted: 05/30/2013 01:31:14 AM PDT

One Solano County leader noted that 5,000 Solano County public school students have been identified as chronically absent. Another noted that 75 percent of habitual truants will drop out of school, and some two-thirds of U.S. prison inmates are school dropouts. And still another leader said 50 percent of all Solano 5-year-olds receive no preschool instruction before reaching kindergarten.

 

Jay Speck, superintendent of the County Office of Education, District Attorney Don du Bain and Supervisor Linda Siefert made persuasive links between the importance of early childhood education, regular school attendance, truancy, dropout rates and crime during a Tuesday breakfast meeting in Fairfield, sponsored by Solano Economic Development Corporation.

 

Their remarks come at a time when California's high school graduation rate rose sharply last year, to 80 percent, with Latino and black students showing gains higher than those of white and Asian students. Still, the state is ranked 39th out of 50 states in graduation rates, and it ranks 49th, down from 47th in the past year, in per-pupil spending, according to Ed Source, an independent online forum that seeks to clarify education issues.

 

An educator for nearly 40 years, Speck, speaking briefly to some 250 people gathered in the Hilton Hotel, suggested that signs a student may drop out surface before the child reaches high school.

 

Important factors leading to dropout rates, he noted, using computer-aided slides, are school readiness, being able to read proficiently by third grade, making progress toward graduation, student engagement and attendance.

 

The lead architect of "Every Minute Matters," a program designed to stem chronic absenteeism, beginning in the primary grades, Speck noted that absences -- whether excused, unexcused or due to suspension -- stymie a student's ability to succeed, and chronic absenteeism, defined as a student who misses 18 or more days of school, or more than one-tenth of the year, is a harbinger for trouble.

 

In the past year, the SCOE has begun tracking chronic absenteeism, and research shows that 5,000 Solano students, or 9 percent, are defined as chronically absent, he said.

 

Nearly 80 percent of children in the juvenile justice system are classified as chronically absent, said Speck, who dispelled some myths about root causes of absenteeism, among them "missing school has no impact" on a student as long as the schoolwork is made up; and it is acceptable "as long as parents give permission."

 

To battle chronic absenteeism, he noted that SCOE has made some headway. Specifically, it has begun tracking data -- at school sites and even to particular teachers -- supporting families in truancy court; distributing "tool kits" about the consequences of chronic absenteeism, and making public service announcements.

 

Du Bain, in his remarks, noted that two-thirds of U.S. prison inmates are high school dropouts; compared the state's overall dropout rates to Solano's, 13 percent to 16 percent, respectively; then detailed the dropout rates among the county's major school districts: Travis (2 percent), Benicia (3 percent), Vacaville and Fairfield-Suisun (9 percent); Dixon (14 percent), and Vallejo (35 percent).

 

"One out of three kids are dropping out of high school in Vallejo," said du Bain, then asked the audience to guess how much dropouts cost California taxpayers every year. The answer: $46 billion.

 

"Truancy affects crime" rates, he said, adding that supportive parenting -- or lack of it -- before children reach 3 1/2 years of age is "a predictor of high school graduation."

 

Du Bain also cited the importance of nurse-family partnerships, preschool, and the presence of Boys & Girls Clubs in low-income neighborhoods as ways to cut the truancy and crime rates.

 

As many as 75 percent of habitual truants eventually will drop out of school, he said.

 

Siefert, just before recognizing a host of Pre-K Business Champion Award honorees, called the statistics "pretty alarming."

 

More than half of all Solano children never step into a preschool class, she noted, then made a reference to First 5 Solano, an innovative program and services to help young children grow up healthy and do well in school and life.

 

The demand for pre-kindergarten instruction in Solano has risen recently, Siefert noted, from 200 to 400 children countywide.

 

Follow Staff Writer Richard Bammer at Twitter.com/REBammer.

TOURISM CONTRIBUTES TO FAIRFIELD’S ECONOMY IN A BIG WAY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Anand Patel
May 2, 2013 (707) 399-2445
anand@visitfairfieldca.com 

TOURISM CONTRIBUTES TO FAIRFIELD’S ECONOMY IN A BIG WAY
National Travel and Tourism Week, May 4-12, 2013

FAIRFIELD, CA – In recognition of travel and tourism’s significant economic, social and cultural impact in Fairfield, the Fairfield Conference & Visitors Bureau is joining the rest of the nation in observance of National Travel and Tourism Week, May 4-12, 2013.

“This national observance provides us an opportunity to truly appreciate what Fairfield and the SuisunValley has to offer leisure travelers, small conferences and meetings, and tour groups. Attractions that set us apart from other destinations includes Suisun Valley wineries and the Western Railway Museum, Jelly Belly and Anheuser-Busch Brewery tours, plus wildlife viewing and nature hikes at Grizzly Island Wildlife Area and Solano Land Trust open spaces,” said Anand Patel, President/CEO, Fairfield Conference & Visitors Bureau. “It’s also a time to recognize what tourism means for us in terms of jobs and much needed revenues for local businesses,” added Patel.

Highlights of SolanoCounty and Fairfield tourism:

· Tourism generates $583 million in travel expenditures, resulting in an estimated $36.8 million in state and local tax revenues.

· Tourism employs 6,930 SolanoCounty residents, representing a payroll of $156.9 million.

 · Fairfield collected more than $1.7 million in transient occupancy tax (TOT) in 2012.

The Fairfield Conference & Visitors Bureau is a destination marketing organization that was created by a Business Improvement District (BID) to market and promote tourism to the area, including overnight stays. The independent non-profit 501C6 organization is funded by 18 lodging properties in Fairfield.

For more information about Fairfield tourism, call the Fairfield Conference & Visitors Bureau at (707) 399-2445 or visit www.VisitFairfieldCA.com. You can also follow Fairfield on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VisitFairfieldCA.com.