NEWS & UPDATES

RJI Documents
At A Glance

RJI Cluster Contacts
(May 2011)

(PDF, 41.03 KB)

2009 RJI Annual Report
(05.26.10)

(PDF, 3.02 MB)

RJI Industry Clusters Report
(Jan-Mar 2010)

(PDF, 218.3 KB)

2009 RJI Transition Plan
(July 2009 update March 2010)

(PDF, 621.73 KB)

RJI Industry Clusters Report
Jul-Dec 2009)

(PDF, 231.79 KB)

Leadership SWOT Analysis
(June 2009)

(PDF, 27.71 KB)

News Releases

Annual Meeting 05.26.10

Events

Industry News

2003 RJI Implementation Plan

Release Date: May 7, 2012

Contact: Melende Ward
559) 487-5791, X 2709

Job creation and retention first priority for local entrepreneurial program

Fresno, CA – Elizabeth Echols, SBA Region IX Administrator announced today that the Central Valley Business Incubator, Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has been selected to receive the 2012 California SBDC Excellence and Innovation Award.

“The Central Valley Business Incubator SBDC is a deserving recipient of the SBDC Excellence and Innovation Award. CVBI-SBDC boasts a strong network that meets the needs of entrepreneurs, small-business owners, and innovators looking to create the jobs of tomorrow today,� said SBA Region IX Administrator Echols.

Competing with California SBDC centers located in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Northern California and Sacramento the SBDC Service Center Excellence and Innovation Award honors Small Business Development Centers for their innovation and excellence in assisting entrepreneurs and small-business owners achieve their business goals. The CVBI-SBDC was selected from a network of 35 statewide centers. The California SBDC program is funded by the SBA, other federal, state and local partners as well as private entities.

“It is an honor for the UC Merced SBDC Network to have a service center receive recognition as the California SBDC Center of the Year Award by SBA. The CVBI-SBDC has an outstanding team thanks to the leadership of Kirk Nagamine, Director and his Assistant Directors Rich Mostert, Gil Jaramillo and Helle Peterson, Director of the WET,� states Diane Howerton, Regional Director. Their exceptional performance is clearly demonstrated by the 153% increase in job creation in 2011. In addition, there was a 63% increase in clients served that resulted in helping SBDC clients secure $5.5 million in loans and equity.

Led by Center Director Kirk Nagamine, CVBI-SBDC provides services to small business entrepreneurs in Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Madera Counties. A service center is located in Visalia to serve the Tulare and Kings county areas. Fresno State and the Office of Community Economic Development serve as hosts to the CVBI-SBDC program.

Nagamine said,� "On behalf of the CVBI - SBDC team, I would like to express our gratitude for the recognition. We believe that providing support for existing business owners and also for innovators and entrepreneurs is crucial to creating quality jobs and improving our communities and our nation. Success in this area requires the commitment of many aligned partners and we salute them and our SBDC peers throughout California for the great work that they do."

The SBDC program provides small business owners and entrepreneurs with the tools and guidance needed to become successful in today’s economic climate. Direct and technical assistance is provided to entrepreneurs through one on one free consulting and low cost seminars and conferences.

The presentation of the award will occur on May 23 at the UC Merced SBDC Small Business Week Recognition Program in Fresno. For details of the event and to register please visit http://sbdc.ucmerced.edu.

The Business Journal / BY Michael Kincheloe

Representatives of Fresno’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities team met with members of the public this morning to educate them on the interagency collaboration as well as to answer any question they might have.

Mike Dozier, Executive Director of Community and Economic Development at California State University, Fresno was the “facilitator� of the meeting, which was held in the council chambers at Fresno City Hall. Seven of the 12 federal agencies participating in the initiative were represented, and several members of Fresno’s city government were on hand as well.

Fresno City Manager Mark Scott told those in attendance that the federal government contacted City Hall with an idea to increase the capacity of local government by providing specialists from federal agencies to work in partnership with Mayor Ashley Swearengin’s office as a community solutions team.

“They came to us and said, ‘We’d like to test a different approach,’� Scott said. “What can we do to help?� Team members from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, Small Business Administration, and the Departments of Transportation, Agriculture and Commerce each gave a presentation related to their particular scope of work.

Scott Stollman of the Environmental Protection Agency's San Francisco office is the project’s team leader. He said that most team members are assigned to Fresno for a year, with the government having the option to extend their appointment beyond that.

“Our results will determine whether they decide to keep us here for another year,� Stollman said. Each agency’s scope of work varies: There is downtown revitalization and housing, business and economic development, transportation, resource management and sustainability, workforce development and adult education, high speed rail, land use planning, livable communities/housing and homelessness.

“We will be investing in areas that have not historically been invested in,� said Sarah Nusser, a special assistant in the Office of Community Planning and Development at HUD and one of two team members working out of the mayor’s office. “We will work with key local and regional stakeholders to address local needs and provide access to experts.�

Jermaine Hannon of the Federal Highway Administration and Department of Transportation urged the public to contact the Fresno Council of Governments and get involved in the planning process by making their voices heard.

“Fresno is already a strong city and a strong community,� Hannon said. “Our goal is to make it a stronger city and a stronger community.�

Click here to Play

"What is the Regional Jobs Initiative?" was presented on May 26, 2010, at the RJI's Annual Meeting last year. This film gives an overall picture of what RJI has meant to those involved and how RJI has benefited this region.

By Tim Sheehan/The Fresno Bee

It's no surprise that wages and income in the Valley are lower than average in California. But 25% lower?

That's how far the average compensation per job in Fresno County lagged behind the state average in 2009 in new statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

It's not just wages and benefits. Per-capita income -- a measure of personal income from all sources, divided by the number of residents -- is even more discouraging. Fresno County ranked 45th among California's 58 counties. Tulare, Madera and Kings counties each ranked among the bottom seven.

What's happening in the Valley? The answers aren't as obvious as one might expect.

Agriculture generally is considered the bedrock of the Valley's economy -- and low farmworker wages often are blamed for weighing down the region's pay and income.

But the bureau figures and local economic experts suggest other factors also are at play.

"A lot of it has to do with the industry mix, the characteristics of the industrial base here," said Antonio Avalos, a professor of economics at California State University, Fresno. "And agriculture is not necessarily the most important part of that."

Among the issues involved in the Valley:

- Higher unemployment.
- More reliance on public assistance.
- A lack of high-tech and heavy manufacturing industries that buoy wages in other parts of the state.
- A lower cost of living that employers use to justify lower wage scales here.

In earlier economic-development efforts, officials promoted the Valley as a cheap place to do business. Some experts now see that strategy as creating more problems than jobs.

"Lower income is pulling this whole region down," said Michael Dozier, director of Fresno State's Office of Community and Economic Development. "It affects morale, how we feel about ourselves, how public services are provided."

Dozier said low wages reduce the Valley's spending power. That repels high-end retailers and businesses, depresses spending at those that are here and hampers the ability of local governments to collect sales taxes needed for police and fire departments or to maintain streets and parks.

The challenge now is to reverse the trend by promoting education and making the Valley a center for home-grown entrepreneurs and advanced technology related to agriculture, Dozier said.

Industry gaps

How exactly does compensation in Fresno County stack up against the statewide average in different industries? The gaps are across the board and wider in some industries than others. But in no single sector are wages in Fresno County higher than the state average.

The smallest margin, according to the federal statistics, is in health care and social assistance, a field in which more than 44,500 people were employed in Fresno County in 2009.

The average compensation per job was $50,182 in the county, compared to $51,029 statewide -- a difference of less than 1.7%, or $850 a year.

The widest wage chasm was in manufacturing. In Fresno County, the average compensation was $49,694 in 2009. That was about $35,000 -- or 41% -- shy of the statewide average of $84,743.

Another big difference was among managers of companies and businesses. A $34,000 gap exists between the average compensation in Fresno County of $72,725 per year and the statewide average of $106,827.

There also is a significant disparity in accommodations and food service. The average compensation statewide was $22,437 in 2009, compared to $17,275 in Fresno County.

The difference was less for farm jobs. The average compensation statewide was $31,416 in 2009 -- only 5.3% higher than Fresno County's average of $29,742 for the year.

But farm jobs represented less than 5% of Fresno County's total employment in 2009 and less than 4% of the total compensation for all workers in the county.

The recession of 2007-09 merely compounded the Valley's chronic problems as thousands of the region's workers lost their jobs and took unemployment benefits, joining others who already relied on public assistance programs.

"This area was one of those most affected when the housing bubble burst," said Avalos, who is also the director of research at Fresno State's Center for Economic Research and Education of Central California. "We saw the construction industry booming, and then suddenly it started shedding people ... whose incomes are now less than when they were working."

"If you compared this with normal, healthy economic conditions, the per capita income would be higher," he said.

Aiming higher

Dozier has long had a beef with economic development strategies pitching the Valley as a low-cost alternative to Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose where companies can do business.

"I think it's a horrible way to market the region," Dozier said. "If you want to attract companies that are just looking for cheap, there will be lots of cheaper places down the road, like Mexico or just about anyplace outside California, so they're not going to stay."

Dozier acknowledged that some believe the Valley needs to emphasize lower costs because other areas have a more educated, skilled work force.

"We do need to address our high school dropout rates and our college attainment," he said. "We need to encourage people who live here to get the education and get the skills they need."

Efforts like the WET (Water & Energy Technology) Incubator and the Lyles Center for Entrepreneurship, both housed at Fresno State, and community college programs aimed at energy and manufacturing technology, may help fuel a Valley turnaround.

Dozier said such programs can create more and better-paying jobs in high-tech industries related to agriculture and home-grown businesses -- and train the workers needed to fill them.

"But in the meantime, we need to find another thing to market," he added.

"If we market 'cheap,' it just cheapens us. ... We need to accentuate our positives, that we're central to California, close to good ports and the Pacific Rim markets."

For the sixth time in seven months, the San Joaquin Valley Business Conditions Index climbed above growth neutral. The index is produced by Dr. Ernie Goss, research associate with the Craig School of Business at California State University, Fresno.

The survey of individuals making company purchasing decisions for firms in Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties points to positive and improving growth for the next six 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).

Other highlights:
� New export orders boost March numbers.
� Hiring improves for March.
� Approximately 15 percent of respondents expect significant delivery delays due to the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and radiation disaster.

Following are details for March.

Overall Index: The index climbed to 55.4 from 53.0 in February. 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.

�The region�s leading economic indicator continues to strengthen with exports, and an expanding agriculture sector contributing to the expansion. Our survey results, while clearly weaker than the national ISM survey outcome, indicate that each month growth prospects are improving,� Goss said.

Employment: �The hiring gauge slipped to 54.8 from February�s 56.4. �Even with expanding jobs, it will take many months for the area to recapture jobs lost during the recession. From the beginning of the recession in December 2007 until March of last year the area lost more almost 25,000 jobs. Over the past year, the area has recovered less than 2,000 of those lost jobs. Our surveys over the past several months indicate that the region will add another 3,000 by the end of the first quarter of 2012 leaving the region down almost 20,000 jobs, or 7 percent, since beginning of the recession,� reported Goss.

Inflation: The prices-paid index, which tracks the cost of raw materials and supplies, rose to an inflationary 84.2 from 81.8 in February. �We continue to record unacceptably high inflationary pressures at the wholesale level. The upward pressures in prices will be further exacerbated by disruptions of supplies and products from Japan,� said Goss.

�Additionally, the Federal Reserve�s record low short-term interest rate policy and the Fed�s policy of buying long-term U.S. Treasury debt, termed quantitative easing 2 (QE2), will continue to contribute to higher inflationary pressures. Over the past three months, U.S. wholesale prices have advanced at an annualized pace of more than 15 percent. Surveys of supply managers, both in our region and nationally, indicate that this elevated pace will continue at least through the summer of this year,� Goss said.

Business Confidence: Looking ahead six months, economic optimism, captured by the March business confidence index, declined to a still strong 63.8 from 67.6 in February. �Despite higher commodity prices, unacceptably elevated unemployment rates, and Japanese supply disruptions, firms remain upbeat in their economic outlook,� said Goss.

Trade: New export orders for March were healthy. The March new export orders reading climbed to 56.6 from 49.9 in February. The area�s import index dipped to 64.6 from 67.2 in February. �Despite all of the international turmoil and uncertainty, businesses continue to expand both sales and purchases abroad. Aided by a cheap dollar making U.S. goods more competitively priced abroad and an expanding global economy, we are tracking improving sales abroad,� said Goss.

Inventories: The inventory index, which tracks the change in the inventory of raw materials and supplies, climbed to 53.8 from 51.8 in February. �As a result of improving sales outlook, firms in the area continue to add to inventory levels,� said Goss.

This month, supply managers were asked how they expected the Japanese tragedy to affect their purchases of supplies and inputs. Approximately three-fourths of respondents expected little or no impact on the price of purchases while only 6.5 percent anticipated price increases of more than 10 percent resulting from the earthquake and tsunami. In terms of deliveries, approximately 15 percent expect significant delays in obtaining supplies while 63 percent anticipate little or no impact on delivery speed stemming from the Japanese disaster. The remaining supply managers anticipate only minor delays.

Other components: Other components of the March Business Conditions Index were new orders at 56.3, up from 51.9 in February; production or sales at 59.3, up from 55.8; and delivery lead time at 52.8, up from 49.1 in February.

For the full news release, please click here.

By Tim Sheehan / The Fresno Bee

Jobs will return this decade to the central San Joaquin Valley.

For tens of thousands of people who are out of work in the region, however, there will be no rush to prosperity.

The gains will be painstakingly slow, and most of the openings will be in jobs that pay the lowest wages and require the least education and training.

Recent employment forecasts by the state Employment Development Department predict that the occupations with the most jobs opening between 2008 and 2018 will be in fields such as farm labor, retail and food service.

But local experts in employment, economic development and job training say it doesn't have to play out that way. They say the keys to defying the dismal projections and creating more and better-paying jobs are improving education and vocational training, developing new industries of regional significance and investing in California's high-speed rail program.

Doing so "will drastically change those numbers if we are successful in our efforts," said Mike Dozier, chief operations officer of the Fresno Regional Jobs Initiative.

"Let me get philosophical here: We can make a difference by addressing infrastructure needs and taking calculated risks," Dozier said. "Or we can stay with the status quo and remain a haven for $10 jobs."

The state's projections don't anticipate the employment boost that leaders expect from burgeoning industries such as solar power and clean energy or agricultural and water technology. Nor, they say, does the forecast include the job-creating effects of building, maintaining and operating a high-speed train system -- a massive infrastructure project that, if it happens, would commence construction in the Valley in late 2012 or early 2013.

What the forecast does show is that, except for the prominence of agricultural labor in the Valley's economy, Fresno County and its neighboring counties look much like the rest of California and the U.S. -- an abundance of openings in low-paid service jobs compared to higher-skilled, higher-paid work.

The 10 occupations with the greatest number of openings through 2018 are expected to produce about 32,600 jobs in Fresno County, according to the state's projections. But more than 75% of those are positions for which the 2010 median wage was less than $10 per hour.

Underlying forces

The state's 10-year forecast is based on surveys sent out to employers every two years, said Steven Gutierrez, an EDD labor market analyst. The results depend in large part on how many firms respond with estimates of their hiring needs, augmented with trends from previous years.

"While I appreciate the state data, a lot of the state forecast is based on hindsight," said Blake Konczal, executive director of the Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board, which underwrites vocational-training programs for the unemployed.

A reliance on agriculture, a lack of industrial and technological businesses and lower rates of educational achievement handicap Fresno compared to some other areas of California.

"Other parts of the state have lots of these service jobs, but they also have other industries that people can get into if they wish," Konczal said.

And the Valley has chronically suffered from higher unemployment than state and national averages, creating a dynamic of labor supply and demand that also suppresses wages.

"Low wages really have been a plague on us," Dozier said. "For years we've marketed ourselves as being a cheap alternative to Los Angeles, San Francisco or other areas. ... Branding ourselves like that has ramifications, and I personally don't agree with it."

But there is something different about this recession compared with other economic downturns over the past few decades: the depth and breadth with which job cuts have affected the work force.

"This recession has hit the Valley harder due to the cause -- fraud in lending that resulted in a housing crisis that rocked high-growth areas of the country," Dozier said.

Fear of layoffs forced people to cut household spending, reducing sales-tax revenue for cities and counties. Falling property values and rising foreclosures meant less property taxes for government as well. That means cities, counties, schools and the state are cutting jobs -- positions that were among the better-paying jobs in the region.

"The expected very slow growth in government spending and jobs is one key reason Fresno is expected to lag behind the rest of the state in job growth," said Jeff Michael, a professor of economics at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. "The public sector is the biggest source of higher-trained, higher-wage jobs in the area."

The Valley lost one major employer, Fresno-based retailer Gottschalks, to bankruptcy, and other companies left the area, said Cathy Frost, president of Bennett Frost Personnel Services, a Fresno employment agency.

"But the majority of employers simply cut back on their staff, and they may never get back to where they were before this hit," Frost said. "It's going to be a long, hard crawl back."

An evolving work force

Some believe the number of low-paid service jobs may be a signal of a broader recovery to come.

"If the service industries are growing, that means something's happening where people have money to spend," said Steve Geil, CEO of the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation. "A few years ago, restaurants were shutting down. Now those are some of the jobs that we're going to see hired. ... You've got to ask yourself, who's growing?"

But Geil said that doesn't mean the Valley should simply settle for low-wage jobs.

Geil pointed to efforts by the Economic Development Corp., Regional Jobs Initiative, Workforce Investment Board and local colleges and universities to attract and nurture entrepreneurs and industries in the fields of solar and alternative energy, irrigation technology and water conservation, and agricultural technology and research.

"The agriculture industry is evolving. It's going high-tech," Geil said. "As technology takes over in farming, there will be fewer farm jobs available, but there will be a higher level of skill and education for employees to know how to work with technology."

Between research and development in agriculture, energy and irrigation, "these are not going to be low-wage jobs," Geil said. "The work force is changing, and pay scales will change along with that."

But, he added, "that evolution is going to be measured in decades, not years."

The state's forecast suggests that of 114,000 total job openings anticipated among all occupations by 2018 in Fresno County, only about 24,000 are expected to be new jobs from industry growth. The rest are projected as replacements for workers who retire or leave for other jobs.

That's not much comfort when the number of unemployed in the county stands at nearly 80,000.

Konczal said a more comprehensive local study in 2010 by the Fresno Workforce Investment Board -- based on a survey of more than 1,400 employers in a range of industries -- offers a somewhat brighter outlook, with about 10,000 new jobs predicted in Fresno County by 2013.

But it won't happen unless people are educated and trained.

"Trying to attract industries and jobs to this area is problematic because of the large number of unskilled people here," Dozier said. "Do we need to improve our education and training? Yes, yes, yes."

"You can't tell me the people in these situations are just not smart people," he added. "They lack opportunity."

By Michael A. Fletcher / The Washington Post

FRESNO - This city is grappling with one of the most troubling contradictions of the new economy: Even as it has one of the nation's highest unemployment rates, it has thousands of job openings.

The dilemma is becoming more common across the country as employers report increasing numbers of job openings. But many of those jobs are not a good fit for those who are out of work.

The reason, economists say, is that the recession accelerated the decline of some industries, such as housing construction, as others that require far different skills, including health care, emerged stronger.

Some economists predict that this disconnect is likely to grow as the economy develops jobs that require more training. President Obama, speaking last week in his State of the Union address, said the nation is facing a new "Sputnik moment" that demands a renewed focus on innovation and education to secure its economic future.

Evidence of a skills mismatch became increasingly clear in Fresno after the housing bubble burst, causing joblessness to nearly triple.

Unemployment hovers at 16.9 percent, but managers at the 7,000-employee Community Medical Centers say they cannot find enough qualified technicians, therapists, or even custodians willing and able to work with medical waste.

The situation is much the same at Jain Irrigation, which cannot find all the workers it wants for $15-an-hour jobs running expensive machinery that spins out precision irrigation tubing at 600 feet a minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"The job requires at least a high school education, and maybe some technical training, but we don't seem to be getting the right people applying," said Aric J. Olson, Jain's president.

The U.S. job market has rebounded from its July 2009 nadir, when the Labor Department reported that there were just 2.3 million job openings nationwide. (When the recession began in late 2007, there were 4.4 million openings.) In November, the latest time period covered by federal statistics, there were an estimated 3.2 million openings across the country.

But that 39 percent increase in job openings has not been accompanied by a corresponding decline in the unemployment rate, which now stands at 9.4 percent - the same as it was in July 2009.

A matter of debate

The puzzling gap between jobs and hiring has touched off a furious debate among economists, one that holds serious implications for how policymakers attack the problem.

Some economists say the persistent lack of hiring is due mostly to weak demand caused by cutbacks in household consumption and business investment. They add that though the economy is improving, job openings remain scarce: There are 4.6 jobless Americans for each opening, according to the Labor Department.

"Economies are funny," said Stephen J. Rose, a senior economist at Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce. "They seem to work so well, but when they get knocked off their moorings, it takes awhile to reorganize everything."

Others say the problem is largely structural, meaning that a large share of jobless workers will have to acquire new skills before they can return to the workplace.

Still others think both factors are at play. The steep economic drop from the housing and financial bubbles that preceded the recession only amplified structural changes that are always occurring in the job market, they say.

"Should construction have been as large a part of the economy as it was?" said Jason Pride, director of investment strategy for Glenmede Investment and Wealth Management, a Philadelphia-based firm that manages $19 billion in assets. "Probably not. But it persisted for 10 years and drew a lot of people in. Now some of those people have to take a step back and find new skills. It doesn't matter that people may be fairly skilled in one industry. Their skills may not be applicable to other fields."

Switching fields often isn't as simple as taking a class or two. In the coming years, the nation's workforce is going to need many more workers with college degrees and industry certifications, according to a report last year by Georgetown's workforce center.

Fresno leaders long ago saw nurturing innovation as the key to the area's economic future. The city sits in the heart of the nation's most abundant agricultural region, which has been both a boon and a burden: The seasonal nature of production has saddled the region with unemployment rates that are typically far above the national average.

The unprecedented housing boom brought construction jobs that lowered the unemployment rate to nearly 6 percent just a few years ago. But the bubble popped, throwing many people out of work. At the same time, the region also developed industries with global reach. Fresno is home to 160 companies that make products such as irrigation components that provide exact water flows, allowing uniform crops with minimum water use. The region is also a center for filtering and other control systems for all types of liquids.

'A whole other problem'

However, those innovative companies often struggled to find employees, and few understood the scope of the problem.

"For years, I thought the only challenge was that businesses were not growing and that we needed to find ways to increase demand," said Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin (R), who before being elected in 2008 co-founded the Regional Jobs Initiative, aimed at relieving chronic unemployment.

But a 2004 survey of Fresno area employers discovered thousands of job openings despite relatively high unemployment. "It was a total light bulb moment for me," Swearengin said. "The survey revealed a whole other problem. Certainly, a company needs demand for a product. But if they don't have people with the skills to fill jobs, it is hard to sustain growth."

Subsequent surveys have come up with similar findings, and many local employers call the search for qualified workers one of their toughest challenges.

Claude C. Laval III is chairman of a company that makes filters for a range of uses, from homes and water towers to the cooking oil used by snack-food companies. It is a niche business that suffered during the recession but that is now poised for robust growth.

"There are a lot of people with solids in their liquids," Laval said with a chuckle.

Finding the people he needs - first-rate welders and workers comfortable running computer-controlled equipment - is a constant challenge, he said. "Getting well-qualified, smart people who want to work in an industrial environment is not easy," he said.

Laval said the local workforce-training system, while rightfully focused on the impoverished and the unemployed, is almost always a step behind when it comes to meeting the evolving needs of employers. "They do surveys asking us who we plan to hire in the future. But often, we don't know ourselves," he said.

Consequently, though the job training he has observed is serious and well structured, he added, "it is not necessarily for jobs that exist."

Job-training officials say they do their best to gauge the needs of employers when deciding what classes to offer. Still, they acknowledge, it is difficult to match people with available jobs.

"There is not an easy way for people to find out that the opportunity is there or, conversely, the qualified person is there to be hired," said Blake Konczal, executive director of the Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board.

Making matters worse, budget problems have led at least one local community college to end summer classes, while waiting lists and lotteries are used to cull those who want training in high-demand disciplines, such as nursing.

Ginny Burdick, senior vice president for human resources at Community Medical Centers, said the hospital is "like a city. We have every kind of job there is. Some take four-year degrees. Some take two-year degrees. Some take no degree at all."

But they all require certain skills that she said are in short supply. "Some people don't know how to figure out how to do a task," Burdick said. "Part of it is attitude. Part of the skill we want is the willingness to work hard."

Getting job skills early

Local officials have tried to address employers' concerns by not only training the jobless, but better orienting students to the demands of the workplace.

At the Center for Advanced Research and Technology, which serves high schoolers from Fresno and neighboring Clovis, classes focus on hands-on experiences. All of the classes mix disciplines - combining, say, English, environmental science and chemistry - in an effort to make the material relevant both to the lives of students and to the needs of employers.

Michelle Mar, an English teacher, has students prepare resumes, and "I tell them whether I am going to hire them or not" based on how they are written.

Devin Blizzard, the program's executive director, said part of the idea is to make students career-ready. "You have to make the intangibles tangible," he said.

The program has a good reputation among employers, and many more of its students than is average in the region go on to community and four-year colleges, a recent study found.

Many employers here call that the right approach. They say that if potential employees don't have all the technical skills they need, they should at least convey a willingness to learn.

Bob Armey, president of Rutter Armey, a machine shop that works on specialty items such as crankshafts, textile rolls and food-processing equipment, says he can barely find machinists who know how to handle manual machines. When he does, he said, "they have a job making $20 an hour, with health care and pension."

Sometimes, Armey trains unskilled people, a decision that he bases on the vibe he gets when he looks a job applicant in the eye. "The only way I can get good people is to train them myself," he said. "And that's very costly."

A couple of years ago, he hired two men despite what he assumed were their gang tattoos. One left the firm to be a truck driver. But the other is now an assistant foreman.

"He's a great worker," Armey said. "Sometimes you just have to take a chance and do something good for mankind."

u-Planit is a comprehensive college- and career-planning website for middle- and high-school students.

Check out www.u-Planit.org and forward to students and educators alike.

How Regional Innovation Clusters Can Foster the Next Economy

By Mark Muro, Senior Fellow and Policy Director, Metropolitan Policy Program
By Bruce Katz, Vice President and Director, Metropolitan Policy Program

Brookings Institution

Twenty years after Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter introduced the concept to the policy community and 10 years after its wide state adoption, clusters'geographic concentrations of interconnected firms and supporting or coordinating organizations�have reemerged as a key tool and rubric in Washington and in the nation�s economic regions.

After a decade of delay, the executive branch and Congress have joined state and local policymakers in embracing �regional innovation clusters� (RICs) as a framework for structuring the nation�s economic development activities.

At the state level, governors and gubernatorial candidates of both parties are maintaining or stepping up their longstanding interest.

And additionally, a broad range of business leaders, mainstream commentators, and policy analysts have been calling in the wake of the recent recession for a different kind of growth model that depends less on bubbles and consumption and more on the production of lasting value in metropolitan economies and the super-productive clusters within them.

All of which, at a moment of deep economic uncertainty, makes it appropriate to revisit the cluster paradigm and consider its special relevance at a moment of deep economic uncertainty, fiscal crisis, partisan gridlock, and necessary governance reform.

This paper finds that:

1. Clusters and cluster approaches hold out substantial attractions as the nation seeks to rebuild a damaged economy. Clusters, in this respect, have emerged as a major focus of economic and policy discussion just now by dint of their demonstrated practical impact, their value in paradigm discussions, and their potential utility in policy reform. Most notably:

• Pointing to impact, new research confirms that strong clusters tend to deliver positive benefits to workers, firms, and regions. It is now broadly affirmed that strong clusters foster innovation through dense knowledge flows and spillovers; strengthen entrepreneurship by boosting new enterprise formation and start-up survival; enhance productivity, income-levels, and employment growth in industries; and positively influence regional economic performance
  
  
• As a matter of paradigm, clusters reflect the nature of the real economy. Cluster frameworks, in this respect, highlight the real-world interactions, connections, transactions, and dealings of real firms after a period of delusion and over-simplification. For example, the cluster paradigm emphasizes the regional underpinnings of the national economy; highlights the unique variations and specializations that define productive local economies; and focuses attention on the myriad actors and the dynamics of their exchanges and interactions that give rise to new innovations and jobs. Clusters, in short, provide a timely and useful lens through which to clarify what matters in economic affairs
  
  
• As a matter of policymaking, clusters provide a framework for rethinking and refocusing economic policy. The cluster paradigm, finally, yields practical insights that can help policymakers get their priorities right and maximize the impacts of their efforts at a time of constrained resources. Along these lines, cluster thinking appeals because it: puts the policy focus on regions; draws attention to the grainy, real-world dynamics of regional economies; takes into account the need for local discretion across regions and industries; and provides a vehicle for coordinating fragmented policy offerings to improve efficiency

• Don�t try to create clusters. Clusters can�t be created out of nothing and cluster initiatives should only be attempted where clusters already exist. The preexistence of a cluster means that an industry hotspot has passed the market test. By contrast, efforts at wholesale invention will likely be fraught with selection issues, inefficiency, and probable failure and waste
  
  
• Use data and analysis to target interventions, drive design, and track performance. Cluster strategies or policy interventions�when attempted�should be grounded in rigorous empirical information and analysis so that decisionmakers can make objective assessments about the nature, competitive prospects, and specific needs of different regional industry concentrations. Cluster strategies also need to be held accountable so performance measurement is critical
  
  
• Focus cluster initiatives on clusters where there is objectively measured evidence of under-capacity. Work to upgrade an identified cluster should be tightly focused on attacking specific, documented constraints, institutional deficiencies, or resource shortcomings
  
  
• Maximize impact by leveraging cluster-relevant preexisting approaches, programs and initiatives. Specific, targeted cluster-oriented initiatives are clearly justifiable, but equal value and added impact may well come from drawing other, more generally relevant programs into the cluster orbit. For example, at the federal level programs like the R&D tax credit as well as SBI and SBTT grants, workforce training programs, and small business finance may all be rightly viewed as �cluster� programs, just as banking regulations, tax credits for venture capital, and education policy may be at the state level. In this way, �clusters� and cluster strategies are less a specific program than a framework through which to shape and coordinate disparate policies
  
  
• Align efforts �vertically� as well as horizontally. The cluster paradigm can�and should�be used to organize the disconnected policy offerings of any one level of government in service of clusters� needs in a region, but it also provides a framework for coordinating them up and down the tiers of federalism to avoid policy conflict, redundancy, or missed opportunities for synergy
  
  
• Let the private sector lead. Clustering is a dynamic of the private economy in the presence of public goods. Cluster strategy should be pursued with humility as a matter of supporting, connecting, filling gaps, and removing obstacles to private enterprise while making sure certain public and quasi-public goods are available

• Federal policymakers can provide a rich base of information and related foundational resources for cluster practitioners nationwide. Going forward, the federal government should move aggressively to build the information base necessary for cluster activity and policymaking; create effective forums for best practice sharing; enhance the capacity of regional cluster intermediaries with planning and other assistance; employ cluster paradigms on major national challenges; coordinate disparate cluster-relevant programs; and ensure the overarching cluster effort is visibly prominent
  
  
• State policymakers should strategically invest their own resources in cluster-led economic development. States can make clusters a central component of economic development planning; target investments strategically to clusters of state significance; and adjust metropolitan governance to ease regional collaboration
  
  
• Regional leaders should identify cluster challenges and coordinate cluster actors. Regional intermediaries should work to identify and describe local clusters, identify their binding constraints, and facilitate regional joint action to implement needed exchanges and initiatives
  
  
• Local policymakers should bring to tools to influence on-the-ground implementation of cluster-oriented economic development. They should manage zoning and permitting issues to benefit the physical infrastructure in which clusters exist, and they should keep an eye out for the broader demographic and social context in which new industry clusters might form and to which existing ones must adjust

Central Valley Business Times

Small Business Development Center services are being expanded in part of the Central Valley through new partnership agreements with the Central Valley Business Incubator and California State University, Fresno's Office of Community and Economic Development.

"We look forward to working with the excellent leadership and management teams at CVBI and OCED to provide exceptional services to entrepreneurs and the small business community," says Diane Howerton, regional director of the University of California, Merced Small Business Development Center.

The SBDC program is a job creation and job retention program that assists business owners and entrepreneurs with business plans, loan package proposals, advises on financial systems and projections, evaluates plans for expansion, provides analysis and assistance on cash flow issues, provides technology needs assessment along with important research, international trade and procurement assistance.

In addition to the free one-on-one business consulting, the management team offers a variety of workshops and seminars.

The UC Merced's SBDC network is a nationally accredited program, largely funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

"CVBI and SBDC's combined history of business development partnered with the resources of Fresno State's Office of Community and Economic Development and the UC Merced Regional SBDC network is definitely a home run for Central Valley entrepreneurs and business owners who are maintaining and creating new jobs and opportunities for economic wealth here in the valley," says Kirk Nagamine, CEO of the Central Valley Business Incubator.

The Central California SBDC program covers the counties of Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Madera. There are full time offices in Fresno and Visalia with satellite offices in Clovis, Hanford, Porterville, and Madera.

California Small Business Development Centers are expanding services in Central California. The UC Merced Small Business Development Center network has partnered with the Central Valley Business Incubator and California State University, Fresno's Office of Community and Economic Development, enhancing an already working relationship between the latter two agencies.

Click here for full news release.

By Clay Moffitt / The Business Journal

With stable leadership established, after a transitional year in 2009, the Regional Jobs Initiative (RJI) and California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley (Partnership) are looking to expand their membership.

The Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) on the campus of [California] State University, Fresno spearheads both the RJI and the [Partnership]. In 2009, when OCED director Ashley Swearengin left to become the mayor of Fresno, it shot waves of uncertainty through the Central Valley regarding the future of [both the] RJI and the Partnership.

Mike Dozier took over as director shortly after and reestablished the stability of leadership.

"Our team did an excellent job of making the transition and maintaining all the work we had already accomplished," Dozier said.

One of his first objectives was to motivate the industry clusters to begin meeting again.

The RJI created 12 clusters [comprising] industry leaders within the San Joaquin Valley. Those clusters being arts and culture, food processing and agriculture, tourism, water, software development, construction, clean energy, information technology, logistics and distribution, manufacturing, public sector and health care.

The clusters previously met regularly, each with a designated cluster manager, to discuss best business practices, workforce needs and other issues pertaining to the various fields.

Those meetings temporarily ceased once Swearengin left. But once Dozier took over as director, it gave them the assurance of [the future of the programs].

"The clusters wanted to meet, but there was a limbo status," Dozier said. "They weren't sure if RJI was still in existence; but once we got on board and started putting everything together, there wasn't any resistance."

Although companies are pitted against each other in the competitive business world, Dozier said they understand they need each other to maintain the health of the industry.

Once they started meeting again, one of the things RJI had the clusters do in 2009 was to create a SWOT analysis to examine their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This helped each industry [cluster] establish goals and objectives for the year.

Having prospective from individuals or organizations once viewed as rivals helpd the other cluster members recognize new ways to handle various situations.

"Collaboration is messy, but it is where the real creative and opportunity resides," Fresno Coalition for Arts, Science and History chair Cynthia Cooper said in the 2009 RJI annual report.

"The changes in the economy have forced all sectors to find new ways to work together, to explore partnerships and alliances that make sense."

Through this collaboration, each cluster prepared a progress report, which was included with RJI's annual report.

In addition to continuing the communication of the clusters, the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley was able to secure some major grants in 2009.

The Partnership was awarded a $2 million grant from the governor's Discretionary Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funds, which will go toward education and training for high-wage, high-demand jobs.

The Partnership was also given multiple six-digit seed grants in 2009, which totaled $2.5 million for one year.

With the question of the stability of the organizations now answered, the RJI and the Partnership are looking to expansion

The organizations' expansion efforts will be particularly focused on the rural regions of the Central Valley, to include as many players in each industry as possible.

"For this to be effective, it needs to have everyone involved," Dozier said. "All these measures are meant to be inclusionary to provide better economy and better quality of life for the Valley."

Dozier said the need for cooperative efforts for all involved is evident, and the organizations will continue to fight for the overall improvement of the local economies.

"We are fighting for our fair share of funding for issues that plague the San Joaquin Valley," Dozier said. "Anyone that wouldn't want to be a part of it isn't thinking clearly."

The Fresno Bee

As any entrepreneur knows, when the market is not responding to your product, you change your product. And with unemployment in the San Joaquin Valley once again returning to unacceptable levels, we must change our product.

By all accounts, we are in for a long cycle of economic malaise. The Great Recession looks more like an L than a V or U on a graph. And with that in mind, we need to rethink why we continue to find ourselves in economic circumstances that rival the worst in the nation.

There is a way out, but it is going to require a commitment by the community as a whole to move in a new direction. By offering a product that has succeeded in many other regions. That product is a tenacious effort to cultivate and foster entrepreneurial start-ups.

Entrepreneurs are individuals who have built our country's wealth, brought innovation to the market, and have taken the necessary risks that others are unwilling to pursue.

Our cultural fabric has been built on self-employment, though over the past 50 years we lost our understanding of the contributions that entrepreneurs make. Instead, we have accepted a common set of myths that serve to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit depriving us of a powerful wealth generator.

So what are those myths? Here are five:

Myth 1: Most businesses fail within two years. False. Depending on the source and the time period, the number of businesses that survive to their fifth year hovers around 50%. And that includes counting as failures those business that were sold, closed for personal reasons, and discontinued after accomplishing the desired outcomes.

Myth 2: Entrepreneurs are born, not made. A genetic argument. For some reason, people want to believe that entrepreneurs are individuals born with a gene that makes them entrepreneurs. But why stop there? Let's find the accountant gene, the dishwasher gene and the office manager gene. We can conduct the tests on all 12-year-olds and then based on the genetic findings, we can guide them to their genetic destiny. Entrepreneurs are made.

Myth 3: Entrepreneurs are risk takers. Yes, they are. Calculated risk takers. They size up an opportunity, evaluate the factors that can lead to failure, identify how to neutralize those factors, and then if that makes sense, launch a business. The risk takers are those preparing themselves to take a job with a corporation.

Myth 4: Large businesses create the jobs in America. False. The Kauffman Foundation, in a recently released study, compared start-ups with existing businesses from 1977-2005. On average, start-ups create 3 million jobs each year. Existing businesses, on average, lose 1 million jobs annually. And more important, the study found that during recessionary years, job creation at start-ups remains stable; while for existing businesses the pattern was downward.

Myth 5: The most productive economic strategy by a community is to attract existing businesses. This is often referred to as the "rob thy neighbor" strategy of economic development. Find a business in another community, bribe them with taxpayer dollars to move to your community, and as a result they will bring jobs and wealth to your community. Never mind the fact that it destroys many lives in the other community. If you are looking for an example of success using this strategy, look no further than Mississippi. They originated the "rob they neighbor" strategy back in the 1930s.

If we are to change the product, we as a community need to embrace a culture of entrepreneurship. And the very first step is through educating our youth.

No student in our community should graduate from high school without a course in entrepreneurship. We need to realign our government and community institutions so entrepreneurship becomes a priority, not a desire. And we need to make sure that our precious tax dollars dedicated to economic development are directly invested into programs that assist individuals who can launch a business with great success.

We cannot afford another decade of economic decision making based on myths. We need to make a change and make it now.

Dr. Timothy M. Stearns is the executive director of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Coleman Foundation Chairholder in Entrepreneurship at California State University, Fresno.

By Tim Sheehan / The Fresno Bee

At age 23, Nick Valencia of Calwa is a high school dropout and out-of-work father of two young kids. But he's motivated to make a better life for his family.

Valencia is among the first clients of the Fresno Bridge Academy, an experiment in two Fresno neighborhoods aimed at helping families bridge the gap from chronic poverty and public assistance to becoming self-sufficient, productive contributors to society.

Organizers say that by providing a cocoon of support, ranging from academic and vocational education, counseling and job placement to social and family services, the Bridge Academy removes obstacles -- and eliminates excuses -- for people who are accustomed to failure and futility.

Valencia said the academy is a turning point in a life earlier punctuated by drug use, homelessness and hardship.

"It's easy to say, 'I quit,' but this makes it easy to say, 'I'll make it.' "

The academy was conceived in 2003 by the Fresno Regional Jobs Initiative. But it had what Bridge Academy board Chairman Peter Weber called "a long gestation," first because of other priorities and, later, a lack of funds.

Now, armed with more than $300,000 from the Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission, the Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board and AT&T, Bridge Academy launched this summer as an 18-month pilot effort in southeast Fresno and in the Lowell Elementary School neighborhood north of downtown Fresno.

Addressing many issues

Weber said organizers expect to serve 120 families in the two neighborhoods over the next year and a half.

At the same time, program leaders hope to help area employers find reliable workers for available entry-level jobs -- mechanics, health-care support, forklift operations and warehouse positions -- that require relatively short training periods.

"It's a comprehensive family effort," Weber said. "What we have found [in earlier programs] is that we can train the adults, even place them in jobs, but they still have family issues they don't know how to cope with."

Problems like finding baby sitters and transportation, medical care, a lack of workplace skills and poor money management can be stumbling blocks as serious as a lack of education and training, said Luis Santana, executive director of Reading and Beyond. Reading and Beyond is the lead agency managing the Fresno Bridge Academy, serving clients in the southeast while the Fresno Institute for Urban Leadership is working with families in the Lowell Neighborhood.

What's new about the Bridge Academy approach, Santana said, isn't the scope of services -- many of which are already provided by such agencies as the county Department of Social Services, the Workforce Investment Board and others.

But putting roots down in neighborhoods, marshalling the entire array of vocational and social services and simplifying the referral process is different from what's been tried before in Fresno, Santana and Weber said.

While Bridge Academy has taken cues from similar successful programs in such places as Stockton and Oakland, where the focus is on social services, Weber said he's unaware of any that have merged as many agencies and services with job training and placement into such a unified effort.

"It's ambitious, but we think it's the right way to go," Weber added.

Case managers interview prospective clients not only to learn their job skills and what vocational training and placement services they need, but also what social-service help the clients and their families need -- from drug or alcohol treatment and bus tokens to food stamps, child care and literacy tutoring for children and adults.

"We're not just helping someone find a job," Santana said. "We're supporting the entire family."

Bridge Academy managers will coordinate that safety net of support to families for at least a year after job placement. "The idea is to set them up for success," Santana said.

But progress is slow. While more than 100 people have had initial eligibility interviews since the program started in May, only eight clients have been fully enrolled -- certified to participate in existing job-training programs through the Workforce Investment Board's Workforce Connection.

Starting slowly

Weber said a challenge is identifying people who want to make a serious effort to reach self-reliance. "There's a social contract," he said. "We tell them, 'There's a lot in this for you, there's a lot that we're willing to do, but you've got to do your part.' "

Recruiters for Reading and Beyond and FIFUL are canvassing neighborhoods and, when school opens in the fall, will work with school administrators to identify families as candidates for participation.

Because it's a social experiment, organizers will carefully track participants' success through the 18-month pilot period, looking for what works and what doesn't, Santana said, and fine-tune the program as it moves forward.

If it does what it's supposed to, "this can be replicated and expanded to communities throughout the Valley," Santana said.

Even more important than the program's commitment to job-seekers, organizers said, is the job-seeker's commitment to themselves.

"The ones who get some kind of help and are motivated are the ones who will succeed," Santana said. "At least those who fail won't be able to say the barriers weren't broken for them."

Motivation isn't an issue for Valencia, who grew up in Southern California but was given up by his parents and came to Fresno, alone and homeless, at age 15.

He attended Cambridge Continuation High but dropped out without a diploma because of the hardship of working at a nursing home to make money and living on the street.

"I slept under the bridge at Highway 99 and Ashlan Avenue," he said. "I've eaten out of garbage cans. I've had to guard my clothes from the other homeless guys."

A second chance

Now, Valencia hopes the Bridge Academy can help him make up for lost time. The academy's case managers have arranged for him to take classes to finish his high-school diploma, get new eyeglasses so he can see better to study, and have organized child care for his young sons, Nathaniel, 2, and 5-month-old Dominic, so he can attend classes and go to job interviews.

After he gets his diploma and finds a job, Valencia said, he wants to continue on to college and study for a career in computer technology and graphic arts.

"I want to go to college and be the one who says, 'I made it,' " he said. "I want to make a better life for my kids. I don't want them to see what I've seen."

Officials say they're mindful that some people may consider Bridge Academy a case of throwing money at an insurmountable problem.

But Santana said he believes the cost is a modest investment in people's lives and Fresno's future.

"We want these people to be able to contribute to society, not just consume services," he said. "If their situation never changes, it will cost us more. ... We want to break the cycle and produce a generation that can provide for themselves."

Valencia said he also knows skeptics will be watching the program.

"The only thing I can do," he said, "is thank people by showing them it's not going to be a waste."

Click here for the 2009 RJI Annual Report, located in RJI Documents At A Glance on the About The RJI page.

By Tim Sheehan / The Fresno Bee

After six years of focusing its job-growth efforts on the Fresno/Clovis metro area, the Fresno Regional Jobs Initiative is turning its sights to surrounding rural communities.

RJI brings together private businesses in a dozen industry "clusters," along with local government, nonprofits and colleges to help businesses expand and bring more jobs to the area. At the organization's annual meeting Wednesday, chief operations officer Mike Dozier said RJI "is escalating efforts to integrate the rural communities of Fresno County into its existing 12 industry clusters."

The needs of businesses and employers in the smaller cities and unincorporated towns, Dozier said, are bound to be different from those in Fresno and Clovis. Small-town employers joining the RJI network, he added, will bring "unique perspectives leading to innovative solutions" and gain access to expertise and information.

Each of the industry clusters -- agriculture and food processing, software development, construction, arts and culture, government, health care, clean energy, information technology, warehousing and trucking, manufacturing, tourism, and water -- is being asked to come up with ways to reach out to colleagues in eastern and western Fresno County, Dozier said.

More teamwork across the clusters is also being encouraged to recognize the overlap among different industries, Dozier said.

The regional expansion and greater collaboration are expected to be keys to the success of the Fresno RJI and similar efforts in other parts of California, said Joel Ayala, who was appointed about two months ago as director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development.

Ayala, the meeting's keynote speaker, said regional networks for economic development have grown in importance in California since 2003, when the state's Trade and Commerce Agency was shut down. "When that happened, businesses in different regions banded together and circled the wagons," Ayala said.

In the absence of a single statewide commerce agency, Ayala said he believes his job is to provide an avenue for cities, counties and regional business coalitions to overcome state regulatory, bureaucratic or paperwork hurdles in the way of economic development.

Ayala said he also wants to pluck the best features of different regional economic-development programs to drive better legislative and policy efforts in Sacramento.

By Russell Clemings / The Fresno Bee

A decade from now, one of Fresno's loftier views might be from the platform of its high-speed train station.

With plans taking shape for the California high-speed rail system's route, it is becoming clear that Fresno's landscape could be in for a Jetsons-style makeover.

It starts with the system's planned downtown station: An estimated 130 feet wide and more than a quarter-mile long, three blocks between Merced and Tulare streets near the Union Pacific tracks.

Like the rest of the high-speed line downtown, it would be elevated 60 feet from ground level to the tracks.

"It's an aircraft carrier, hovering over your town," Sandy Stadtfeld, a consultant to the California High Speed Rail Authority, told a recent meeting of the rail committee of the Council of Fresno County Governments.

Sixty feet. That's almost twice the elevation of the Highway 180 overpass on H Street. It's only about 13 feet lower than the roof of Chukchansi Park and it could exceed even that if a structure is erected over the track beds.

Something that size would forever alter the city's low-rise skyline. But so far the station and the rest of the local high-speed rail plan are getting little attention.

"This has been very under-the-radar in terms of constituent topics," City Council Member Andreas Borgeas said.

Even the station's immediate neighbors in Chinatown are scarcely aware of the plans.

"No one's ever talked to us about it," said Kathy Omachi, a board member of Chinatown Revitalization Inc.

Some of that may be because uncertainty still clouds the high-speed rail project. Less than one-third of the money for the first phase has been secured.

And the exact route and other details depend on decisions yet to be made by the authority and its funding partner, the Federal Railroad Administration. Depending on how much land it needs, the authority could condemn homes and businesses to build the route, though none of those choices has been clearly spelled out.

But on its Web site and at recent open houses in Fresno, the authority has begun to disclose some details of its plans.

Among issues raised as a result are noise from the 220-mph trains and whether a slice of Roeding Park should be sacrificed to make room for the high-speed tracks.

And then there is that 60-foot trestle.

It wouldn't be limited to downtown. Plans call for it to begin rising from ground level at Malaga Avenue, where the high-speed line would lie just west of the existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks.

By the time it reached Central Avenue, the trackbed would be perched atop a row of pillars spaced about 120 feet apart.

Following the Union Pacific tracks north from Calwa, it would remain at 60 feet at least until Ashlan Avenue and possibly beyond, depending on which of two alternatives is chosen for the route in northwest Fresno.

An elevated structure has advantages. It costs about twice as much as a ground-level route but allows local streets to remain open. And it's about half the cost of putting the line in a below-ground trench. But it is certainly big.

"It's going to be an enormous structure," said Tom Lang, whose proposed Aquarius Aquarium would lie just west of the likely route at its San Joaquin River crossing.

Teams of consultants are currently reviewing alternatives for the system's route from Merced to Bakersfield.

Their work is driven by a 2012 deadline to begin spending $2.25 billion in federal stimulus funds. The San Joaquin Valley segments are among those eligible to use the stimulus money.

By 2020, the high-speed system is supposed to link San Francisco and Anaheim with 220-mph trains. Other destinations -- north to Sacramento and south to Riverside and San Diego -- would be added in later phases.

The estimated cost for the first phase is $42.6 billion, including $9 billion from a bond issue approved by California voters in November 2008. The authority is confident that it will get the remainder from other federal sources, local governments and private investors such as pension funds.

Fresno city officials say they are closely monitoring the plans, even as they relish the economic development potential of sub-two-hour travel times to downtown San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Noise is one major concern. At top speed, a non-stop train at ground level is likely to produce a 98-decibel roar for a few seconds.

That sound level is not exactly ear-splitting. It's roughly equal to a freight train's horn, maybe a little less.

Nevertheless, city development director John Dugan said the 60-foot trestle may have to be topped by 20-foot walls to reduce noise to 65 decibels or less, about as loud as a vacuum cleaner or dishwasher.

How would that look -- a 20-foot ribbon running 60 feet overhead?

"If it's designed correctly it could be very graceful," Dugan said. "But certainly that's an issue -- just a big structure in the sky where you don't expect to see something."

There may be alternatives to 20-foot sound walls, such as soundproofing for nearby buildings, but the walls remain under consideration, said Carrie Bowen, the authority's Central Valley regional director.

Also under study is whether the high-speed tracks and Fresno station should be east of the Union Pacific tracks, next to downtown, or west of them in Chinatown.

The city would prefer the former, but that would require the high-speed system to cross the railroad twice. A station on the west side is "not as direct but it would still work," Dugan said.

At Roeding Park, system planners face a similar choice: Run the high-speed tracks east of the railroad and take out a lot of houses, or run them on the west and take out part of the park. One option being considered is to reduce the width of Golden State Boulevard to minimize the park impact, Dugan said.

North of Ashlan Avenue, planners are trying to decide whether to wedge the high-speed system between the railroad and Highway 99, which would require them to nudge the freeway slightly west. The other alternative is a new route west of the freeway between roughly McKinley and Shaw avenues.

The studies now under way are expected to result in environmental reports that will be reviewed by the authority's board and released for public comment, probably some time this fall, Bowen said.

The reporter can be reached at rclemings@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6371.

By Bethany Clough / The Fresno Bee

Valley officials once chased Donald Trump and Bass Pro Shops in the hunt for economic development. Today they’re more interested in businesses like Valley Chrome Plating.

Housed amid auto dismantlers in three nondescript buildings tucked into an industrial area of Clovis, the company has only 65 workers. But it has customers across the nation.

Experts say these kind of companies are key to the region’s economic growth because they draw fresh dollars into the local economy, creating wealth that flows to other businesses and their workers.

So local economic development officials are finding ways to help these small businesses — finding services they need, navigating difficulties that hold them back, even just fixing potholes to help their trucks run more smoothly.

“More than ever we need that type of support for local businesses,” said Steve Geil, president of the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation. “It’s brutal out there.”

Of the companies with headquarters here, video-security company Pelco often makes headlines, as did Gottschalks before it closed. But many others run mostly under the radar.

Valley Chrome Plating makes and sells chrome bumpers and other accessories for big rigs. The aftermarket parts are sold as replacements after a truck is wrecked, or to buyers wanting to gussy up their rigs.

President Ray Lucas says he does 60% of his business east of the Mississippi River, due mostly to leads from a yearly trade show in Louisville, Ky. Valley Chrome is beginning to sell to truck manufacturers, too. A contract with a major truck manufacturer is expected to be finalized soon, he said, and that will boost business significantly.

Valley Chrome suffered during the recession but is seeing an upswing, he said.

Although the company is 49 years old, many people have no clue it’s located here, he said.

“They have no idea,” he said. “I don’t do a lot of marketing in this area because so much of my business is elsewhere.”

Companies like Valley Chrome are key to the local economy because they bring in money from outside areas, said Tim Stearns, director of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at California State University, Fresno.

No economy can exist by circulating money in isolation, he said.

“You always have to be able to pull money in from other parts and other economies in order to enhance your economy,” he said.

Mike Dozier agreed. He is director of the Office of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State, which runs the Regional Jobs Initiative.

Although stores, doctors and lawyers are necessary, they circulate money locally, he said. A new dollar brings a financial boost to all kinds of businesses in town, Dozier said. Each dollar coming into the community is circulated between four and eight times, experts said.

Hoping to support more local businesses, the EDC started the BEAR Action Network, which stands for business expansion and retention, in 2008. The network of information, resources and services is designed to help businesses with whatever they need, such as referring them to an accountant who is familiar with the tax advantages of enterprise zones, Geil said.

City managers of all local cities also participate in the network, which has helped cities be more responsive to businesses, he said.

Sometimes the needs of a company are as simple as fixing potholes outside a business so there’s less wear and tear on the trucks and the product doesn’t get damaged, he said. Lucas said that although he hasn’t directly benefitted from the BEAR network, he has noticed support from government agencies lately. Last week Valley Chrome received an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and an official from the county’s division of environmental health showed up at the award ceremony. “These are the same people that do a lot of the environmental enforcement with us,” he said. “If they see us in a good light ... we are establishing relationships with them that can only help us down the road.”

Keiser Corp. is another company that brings outside money into the local economy. It manufactures stationary bikes, ellipticals and other fitness equipment, with about 40% of its sales outside the United States. The company has a sales office in Britain.

“We’re probably one of the best-kept secrets in Fresno,” said Dennis Keiser, who founded the company here with his brother Randy in 1978.

From a plant on Cherry Avenue, Keiser Corp. makes equipment that is used on U.S. military’s submarines, by gyms all over the world and by half of the country’s professional football and baseball teams.

After sales grew 65% in 2008 compared to the previous year, sales were flat the following year during the recession, Dennis Keiser said.

But already sales are picking up. A new, more compact elliptical machine is selling well in Europe. More of the compact machines can fit into a room, allowing gyms to hold walking classes popular in Europe. Such classes are expected to catch on here soon, he said.

One risk facing the local business community is that these companies will sell to an outside buyer or leave the area. Either way, the profits leave the Valley.

Pelco, for example, was bought by French company Schneider Electric in 2007.

And Plastic Jungle, a Web-based company founded in Clovis that lets customers buy, sell and trade gift cards, recently moved to Mountain View. The company received a $4.8 million investment from Silicon Valley venture capital firms.

Tech firms are particularly at risk of being lured away as venture capitalists like to be close to their investment, and it makes sense for them to be located in the country’s hotbed of technology, said founder Tina Henson. While local agencies are doing what they can for businesses, many still complain about the cost of doing business in California. Both Keiser and Valley Chrome have considered moving out of state. Lucas of Valley Chrome looked into moving to Nashville about six years ago when he realized he could save $600,000 a year in workers’ compensation, freight costs and power bills. But because the move would cost $10 million, require a huge amount of work and uproot family, Lucas decided against it.

Likewise, Keiser has frustrations with government. He said that while some agencies are helpful, others are adversarial and make running a business in California difficult.

Dozier said it’s important to address those issues. That’s why the RJI’s top focus is on retaining and expanding businesses, he said. It has a far higher priority than persuading outside businesses to move to Fresno, he said.

“You take care of what you got first,” he said. “You make sure those industries know that they’re wanted here, and if they have any issues, you address those,” he said.

Fresno has gotten better at that over the last five or 10 years, he said.

The EDC still does some attraction of outside businesses, working with seven other counties to do so, Geil said. But Dozier points out that when local companies thrive, other out-of-town businesses will notice and look to the area without being courted, Dozier said.

Some have already noticed.

Betts Spring Inc. began moving aspects of its business to Fresno from San Francisco 20 years ago.

The company makes springs for the transportation industry and other purposes, from nuclear power plants to irrigation equipment. It also makes accessories such as hangers for truck mud flaps. It bought an Ohio fender maker in 2007 and also manufactures and distributes truck parts across the country.

In January 2008, it moved its headquarters for its manufacturing division here.

The 141-year-old company first moved here because Fresno’s central location was ideal for the distribution side of its business, said president Mike Betts. The cost of living also played a role, he said.

One hundred of its 190 employees are located in Fresno.

Betts said he sometimes get comments from people asking how he likes Fresno compared to San Francisco. He said he debunks Fresno’s stereotypes and tells questioners that 15 minutes is considered a long commute here, unlike the Bay Area.

“We feel that Fresno for us ideal,” he said. “It’s a friendly business climate, where a lot of cities are not. The people are lower key in general in the Valley than they are in the bigger cities, and government tends to be available and open and cordial.”

By Robert Rodriguez / The Fresno Bee

It may take a lot to persuade former Fresno resident Steve Sevgulian to relocate from Newport Beach back to his hometown.

But city, economic development and education officials are going to try.

Sevgulian was among more than 100 people at the first-ever Boomerang Reception at Fresno State's Smittcamp Alumni House on Tuesday.

The reception was a key part of the recently launched campaign to try to persuade former Fresno residents -- especially those between the ages of 28 and 38 -- to come back home.

Event organizers hope that Fresno's slower-paced lifestyle, family connections and high-paying jobs will be enough of a draw.

Sevgulian, who works in sales for a manufacturer, said he'd consider returning if he could find a well-paying job. He has lived in Newport Beach for about five years.

"I have lots of good memories living here," Sevgulian said. "But I also need job security, and I think that is what a lot of people are looking for. We have big city experience, but are there private-sector jobs here?"

Event organizers say there are many unfilled jobs in the Fresno area, including positions in executive management, speech therapy, information technology, pharmacies and nursing.

Local officials -- including Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin and the presidents of Fresno State and Fresno Pacific University -- were on hand Tuesday night to woo the potential boomerangs, a term used for people who return to their hometowns.

Also attending were representatives from the Workforce Investment Board of Fresno County and the Regional Jobs Initiative.

Suzanne Bertz-Rosa, a graphic designer and member of Creative Fresno, one of the event's sponsors, was excited with the number of people who attended.

"We had a far greater response than we anticipated," said Bertz-Rosa. "And this says a lot ... about what people think about Fresno."

Organizers used electronic ads at Fresno Yosemite International Airport, a Web page and social networking sites to attract potential boomerangs.

Kristina Kinard of Tulare didn't need much persuading to return home. After working for three years in San Diego as a medical researcher, Kinard was yearning to be closer to family and live in a more affordable city.

She was fortunate to find a job at Children's Hospital Central California.

"I used to pay $1,300 a month for a one-bedroom apartment, and now I am in a position where I may be able to buy a home," Kinard said. "I couldn't do that living in San Diego."

By Robert Rodriguez / The Fresno Bee

Call it the boomerang campaign.

With electronic ads at Fresno Yosemite International Airport, a Web page and social networking efforts, officials are targeting young professionals who departed from the Valley and may -- now that the unemployment market has cooled -- be willing to return for the right job.

Though unemployment rates are high in the Valley, employers here say they still need educated professionals in many fields. The recession, along with family ties, may provide an incentive for some who left to return.

Along with new ideas, so-called boomerangs "also come back with a renewed interest and passion for the area," said Mike Dozier, chief operations officer of the Office of Community and Economic Development at California State University, Fresno.

The challenge has long been figuring out how to lure these former Valley residents -- especially those between the ages of 28 and 38 -- away from their big cities, vibrant life and higher-paying jobs.

Travis Sheridan, chairman of the networking group Creative Fresno and one of the leaders in the boomerang campaign, said several factors are working in Fresno's favor: a weak economy, local family ties and many unfilled, highly skilled jobs in the region.

It's no accident that the first ad was placed at the airport a few days before Thanksgiving. It's designed to get people to start thinking about Fresno and, perhaps more importantly, provoke their relatives to start that conversation.

"Parents can be a very persuasive tool," Sheridan said.

Lillie McHenry is part of Sheridan's target audience. She's been trying for several years to get her son Micah, who was born in Fresno, to move back from Chicago. She was at the airport Wednesday to pick him up.

"I have even tried to find girlfriends for him here," she said jokingly. "But it hasn't worked."

Micah McHenry, 30, admits he thinks about coming back, but he owns a successful landscaping design firm in Chicago.

"The thought of coming back does cross my mind," Micah McHenry said. "But to be honest with you, there is no money here. It would be too hard."

Part of the boomerang strategy is convincing people like Micah McHenry that Fresno does have opportunities.

The airport's ad includes a Web address--www.fresnoboomerang.com--that invites people to a reception at the Smittcamp Alumni House from 5-7 p.m. on Dec. 22.

Local officials, including the presidents of Fresno State and Fresno Pacific University, will be on hand to woo potential boomerangs.

Organizers say that despite the county's double-digit unemployment rate, there are still many unfilled jobs including executive management, speech therapists, information technology, pharmacists and nurses.

"We realize that some of the people who have left and gone away aren't aware that there are jobs available for them," said Dozier. "And this is the first step in letting them know that."

Although the recruiting effort is operating on a shoestring budget, many organizations have donated their time or facilities, including Fresno State, Fresno Pacific University, the Regional Jobs Initiative and the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Project supporters say Fresno's slower-paced lifestyle also can help convince some to return home.

"With this economic downturn, people are looking at their options, and some people may be growing tired of the rat race, the expense of living in a large city or their long commutes," said Sheridan. "People are looking to improve their quality of life."

Cathy Frost, president of Bennett Frost Personnel Services in Fresno, said the struggling economy may also be driving former Valley residents back home to launch their own businesses.

"If people can find the jobs they are looking for, that's great," Frost said. "But this also is a great time to be an entrepreneur. This economy has really changed the mind-set of lots of people and they are looking at all the possibilities."

Veronica Hernandez and Ryan Metzdorff are among the boomerangs who returned to the Valley and decided to start their own company. She's from Sanger; Metzdorff grew up in Fresno.

Earlier this year, the couple opened Munchies on Wheels, a late-night food delivery business.

Hernandez, a graphic designer, and Metzdorff, a video game designer, lived in Orange County for nearly six years, but the failing economy made it unaffordable for them.

"We knew that it was cheaper to live here and that our families were here and they could help us," Metzdorff said. "And even though starting your own business has been tough, we think this was the right thing to do."

Suzanne Bertz-Rosa, a graphic designer, also has no regrets about returning to the Valley. A Visalia native, Bertz-Rosa spent 12 years living in San Francisco and Austin, Texas, before returning to Fresno in 2002.

And it was her life experiences outside of the area that sparked the launching of MindHub, a popular local listserv that's widely used by people promoting their events and ideas.

"I love my life here now," Bertz-Rosa said. "This is a place that provides you the freedom to create your own life."

By Bethany Clough / The Fresno Bee

A plan for hotels to pick up the tab for marketing the Fresno area to visitors is getting closer to approval.

A proposed tourism business improvement district would require hotels, motels and inns in Fresno and Clovis to pay an assessment equal to 1% of total room charges.

The plan has approval from enough hotels to pass, but still needs to undergo two public hearings and a vote by the Fresno City Council.

If it passes, the Fresno City and County Convention and Visitors Bureau would use the money -- an estimated $800,000 a year -- to market the region. The bureau would woo conferences, sports tournaments and anything that would bring hotel guests to the area.

Without the tourism district, the bureau will close. The bureau lost its main source of funding, the city of Fresno's $1.2 million contribution, as the city struggled to balance its budget.

At least 51% of hotels need to sign petitions saying they agree to the arrangement for it to pass. So far, 82% of hotels have agreed to it, said Layla Forstedt, the bureau's acting chief executive.

Hotels are relying on the visitors bureau to market the region and bring more visitors, said Amy Overton, general manager at Piccadilly Inn Airport and president of the Fresno Hotel/Motel Association. "We need heads in beds, and that's what the CVB does," she said.

Without it, she said, "the economic impact would be a disaster to the city. There would be no entity marketing the city of Fresno."

It's not cost effective for hotels to take over the role of the visitors bureau, said Jay Virk, spokesman for La Quinta Inn and Suites near Shaw Avenue and Highway 99 in Fresno, and the Fairfield Inn & Suites Marriott and Comfort Inn in Clovis. Instead, they rely on the bureau to bid and fill out applications to bring large-scale events to town, he said.

Most hotels will probably add 1% to the cost of their room to pay for the tourism district, he said.

Guests must be informed of the charge at booking and on their final bill, said Nicole Zieba, Fresno's deputy city manager and a member of the bureau's board of directors. She said she has not heard any opposition to the tourism district yet.

State law requires such districts to be formed through a municipality. The city councils of Fresno and Clovis have given their initial approval for the bureau to start the process.

The first public hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday in the Fresno City Council chambers. Another hearing and a final vote on the plan by the council is scheduled for Dec. 16.

The Business Journal

The City of Fresno Personnel Services Department was honored last week with an Award of Excellence from the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IMPA-HR), a nonprofit organization that provides resources and advocacy for public human resource professionals at all levels.

The award, presented at the IMPA-HR conference in Nashville, recognizes the quality, accomplishments, and contributions of agency personnel programs over a three year period. Fresno was selected, in part, for its prudent fiscal management during recent budget challenges, which have crippled many public agencies.

“Our City’s employees benefit every day from the outstanding work of our Personnel Department,” said Mayor Ashley Swearengin. “The professionalism of the department staff and their commitment to providing top quality service is clearly reflected in this much-deserved recognition.”

The City’s award in the medium-sized agency category reflected its service to 4,950 permanent, permanent part-time and temporary employees. IPMA-HR cited the City’s leadership and involvement with the County of Fresno, Fresno Unified School District and Fresno County Office of Education to form the Public Sector Collaborative (PSC), a cluster of the larger entity, the Regional Jobs Initiative (RJI).

Internally, the department has also developed a multi-level staff development program focused on succession planning and developing future city leaders. The program includes opportunities for those not currently serving in leadership roles to better understand “what life is like as a supervisor.”

By Bethany Clough / The Fresno Bee

In a sign of just how rocky the job market has become, a program at Fresno State that helps students start and run their own businesses is full for the first time.

All six offices at the Lyles Center Student Hatchery are occupied -- and that reflects a national trend as university students increasingly turn to business-launching programs and entrepreneurship classes, educators say.

Spurred by a bad economy and a shortage of job prospects, today's college students are seeking to create their own future. And at Fresno State, the growing reputation of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is attracting lots of interest.

The incubator-like program inside the Lyles Center gives students office space to run a business professionally, as well as access to entrepreneurship experts.

The hatchery started in 2006, and it has had some empty desks until now, said Genelle Taylor, the center's associate director. But this year, the program had more applications than it could accept.

Adam Mortanian, a 22-year-old senior, has a space in the hatchery, where he worked on the business he founded, Adnik Asset Management. The business changes locks, cuts grass and drains pools for bank-owned foreclosures. Mortanian recently sold it for $100,000.

He started the business from his bedroom at his parents' home.

As the business grew -- it employed 15 people from San Joaquin to Ventura counties, including four licensed contractors -- Mortanian needed a more professional space.

He couldn't meet with clients or interview job applicants in his bedroom, so he met them at Starbucks. But even that didn't have the air of professionalism he wanted.

"I'm trying to portray a certain type of image, and I couldn't do that without the office," he said.

Now he's working on several other ventures, including Remove-It, an environmentally friendly water-spot remover for cars, windows and other surfaces.

Mortanian and the other student entrepreneurs are working on businesses that include hair-clip makers and mobile skateboard shops. They work out of offices with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of Shaw Avenue. They have desks and chairs for visitors and access to fax and copy machines, a receptionist and a mailing address that isn't their parents.' Most students use their own cell phones and laptop computers.

The space is called a hatchery because it's less intense than an incubator program, said Lyles Center director Tim Stearns. The students are welcome to bounce ideas off the center's employees. This year, they are working with entrepreneur-in-residence John Jacobson, who has experience starting businesses and funding them as an investor.

Students qualify for the office space in several ways. Two students qualified by winning entrepreneurship scholarships that include $5,000 and the office space. Another space is allotted to the winner of a Fresno State business plan competition.

Others apply for the space, pitching their businesses to Lyles Center officials, who look for students who are "coachable," said Taylor, the Lyles Center's associate director.

"There's so many great applications coming in, it's really hard to decide," she said.

The Lyles Center isn't alone. In the Midwest and in rural areas in particular, centers like this are rapidly growing, said Heather Van Sickle, executive director of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship. It reflects the evolving priorities of students, she said.

"They are more interested in figuring out ways they can create jobs or create opportunities," Van Sickle said.

The Lyles Center -- which opened in 2004 -- is recognized as a leader. In April, for example, Entrepreneur Magazine showcased the center alongside programs at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as part of a story on what it termed the "entrepreneurial vanguard."

That kind of program appeals to today's college students, who are different from their predecessors, Van Sickle said.

"The younger generation, Gen Y and the Millennial generation, are more interested in creating their own future," she said.

Jacobson agreed, saying the old model of graduating from college and working at a job at a large firm for 40 years is changing.

"You work for yourself," he said. "That kind of culture ... is creeping in and is being driven by the fact that IBM isn't hiring 35 new kids into their program each year the way they were 10 years ago."

The dismal job outlook gives students an even greater incentive to create their own businesses than in years past, Mortanian said.

"Now it's more like 'Wow, am I going to have a job?' " he said. "I think it's really getting students to think twice: Is my idea a business?"

By Christine Bedell / The Bakersfield Californian

A cooler-than-usual June and efforts to clean the valley's air are combining to make breathing a little easier this summer.

Not since 2005 has the San Joaquin Valley violated a key national air standard fewer days at this point in the year.

We stood at 50 exceedances of the so-called 8-hour ozone rule Monday, down from 65 in 2008 and 64 in 2007, according to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

Weather has a lot to do with our air quality conditions but evidence suggests more than just a meteorological fluke is in play here, said Scott Nester, air district director of planning.

Yes, June was cooler than normal and there were 10 or 11 fewer days over the standard than is typical, he said.

But peak ozone concentrations didn't change from June to July, suggesting efforts to clean the air have played a role, too, Nester said.

"Emissions are going down," he said. "That's what the San Joaquin Valley air district wants."

And there's also the economic downturn. Fewer goods are being moved and fewer miles are being driven, which could also be helping clear our air, Nester said.

Other air districts in the state are generally seeing air improvements, he said, also suggesting the economic climate is having an effect.

Ozone is an invisible gas formed when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants and other sources chemically react in the presence of sunlight.

It's the main ingredient of smog and can damage lung tissue and aggravate breathing problems.

From the "Who knew?" file, really warm temperatures like those we saw last week can improve air conditions.

When temperatures get over about 105 degrees, the inversion layer rises and the concentration of ozone close to the valley floor tends to stabilize, and not continue to climb, Nester said.

Bakersfield is the second most ozone-polluted city in the country after Los Angeles, according to the American Lung Association's 2009 State of the Air rankings. We stood there the year before, too.

OZONE RULE VIOLATIONS AS OF JULY 26
2009: 50
2008: 65
2007: 64
2006: 65
2005: 47


Source: San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District


The reporter can be reached at cbedell@bakersfield.com.

By James Olinger / Business Street Online

Pelco has been named an official ENERGY STAR Partner in recognition of its ongoing 'Go Green' initiative.

The partnership was made official on June 2. Pelco applied to be a partner after more than two years of energy conservation efforts that ranged from facility-wide recycling to the installation of improved lighting.

Pelco's responsibilities as a partner will include monitoring its energy performance, formulate and put into effect a plan to improve that performance, adopt the ENERGY STAR strategy, and inform its employees as well as the public about the partnership, activities and achievements.

"We are dedicated to doing our part to protect the environment by considering how green can be incorporated in our daily activities," says Julie DeBenedetto, director of employee services and facilities. "We believe that an organization-wide energy management approach will help us enhance our financial health, improve the environment and drive value to customers through cost efficiency."

By Gabriel Dillard / The Business Journal

A standing room crowd of more than 125 people gathered at California State University, Fresno Wednesday to learn how federal stimulus money is being spent in the Valley.

Presenters included Mark Stout, vice president of renewable technology from CleanTech America, discussing how construction and manufacturing industries can participate in the clean energy boom. And former state Assemblymember Nicole Para, director of the Governor’s Regional Development Initiatives, outlined stimulus funding at the state level.

Also, a panel of representatives from various municipalities and other state and federal agencies discussed how they plan to use stimulus funds.

The audience was mostly made up of representatives from the manufacturing, construction and green energy sectors wanting to learn about available opportunities for picking up business. An estimated $85 billion of a total of $787 billion is slated for California from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Peter Weber with the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley also discussed opportunities stemming from the high-speed rail project expected to link Los Angeles and San Francisco.

He said the project is requesting $7.5 billion out of a total of $8 billion in stimulus funds for rail projects. While he doesn’t think high-speed rail in California will receive that entire request, he’s optimistic billions of dollars will be secured.

“We are going to get a substantial amount of that money,” Weber said.

Steve Geil, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Development Corporation serving Fresno County, urged business owners to take advantage of all opportunities. That includes gunning for contracts associated with stimulus funding as well as participating in programs such as the Enterprise Zone, which gives business owners tax breaks on employees they hire.

“Take what’s out there right now,” Geil said. “Go after everything that is available.”

For more information, visit www.fresnoedc.com

By Gerald Carroll / Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register

Solar-generated power does pay but over the long term, experts say, and that appears to be the case at Visalia Municipal Airport.

Since 2006, a 171-panel solar power system has been in operation there, using six inverters, which convert sunlight into energy, to generate nearly 60,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

During the day when the sun is shining, the system generates electricity, which is channeled back into Southern California Edison's grid and causes the airport's electricity meter to run backward saving the city, on average, about $650 a month, according to figures compiled by the array's manufacturer, San Luis Obispo-based Deventec Inc., the city of Visalia and research by the Times-Delta.

That translates to $7,800 a year and, so far, more than $31,000 during the system's first four years of operation.

"It's enough [electricity] for the [airport's] parking lot lights, and for the main lounge and offices," said David Williamson, a supervisor at the airport. "The only problem we've had was replacing some of the inverters."

Inverters, which convert sunlight collected by solar panels into electricity, are at the heart of the system, said Joel Weiss of Deventec, who helped install the Visalia system and continues to monitor its electricity production online.

"They need replacing, on average, once every 20 to 25 years," Weiss said. "Still, this array has been operating well and producing electricity for the airport's operations."

Inverters are not cheap. Of the $176,000 the city has invested in the system, 75 percent of that cost has gone to the inverters, said Eric Frost, Visalia's director of administrative services.

One of the six inverters was not working when the Times-Delta took a power-production reading Monday online, but the other five inverters were producing measurable electricity.

Savings are greatest in the spring, when sunlight is maximized and heat is down.

"Summer sunlight does produce power, but extreme heat keeps the amount down," Weiss said.

For example, in April and May, the five functioning inverters produced 9,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity, or around $1,272 worth of power at 14 centers per kilowatt-hour, the average summer rate.

In contrast, those same five inverters produced only 2,010 kilowatt-hours in January only $205 worth at 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, the average summer price, Deventec's charts show.

"The savings are there," said Mario Cifuentez, airport manager. "So far, the system is working."

By Sanford Nax / The Fresno Bee

The federal government's stimulus package is coming to the Valley -- and there is something for everyone.

From tax relief to retraining. From new solar panels on schools to refurbished airport taxiways. From traffic signals to freeway extensions. From new apartment complexes to renovated houses.

The money is starting to flow -- and is finding a home in the Valley.

Over the next two years, California is expected to receive about $85 billion of the $787 billion pledged nationally through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

How much comes to the Valley depends in part on how well local agencies and businesses compete for funds.

Some federal money already is being put to work in the Valley.

For example, the Fresno County Workforce Investment Board got $18 million in stimulus money, said Pam Lassetter, assistant director. The board is using most of it to help put 3,000 students in summer jobs, provide vocational training to former Elkhorn Correctional Facility youths and to teach adults who lost their jobs new skills in health care and other expanding industries.

In Hanford and Lindsay, two affordable-housing developments, delayed after their complicated tax-credit financing sources dried up, got the financing from the stimulus act -- more than $16 million combined.

One of the biggest transportation projects in the Valley -- the extension of Highway 180 from Temperance Avenue to Academy Avenue -- will start in the fall with help from nearly $18.5 million in stimulus money.

That project, which will provide dozens of construction jobs, originally was earmarked for 2011-12, but the state budget crisis would likely have delayed it, said Tony Boren, executive director of the Council of Fresno County Governments.

At least $58 million is earmarked for dozens of transportation-related projects in Fresno County. Those include new traffic signals along Maple Avenue in northeast Fresno, a $1 million roundabout at Dinuba and Buttonwillow avenues in Reedley, resurfacing parts of Blackstone Avenue in Fresno and an automated farebox system on Fresno Area Express.

Valley officials have their eyes on more than $1.1 billion in stimulus money, enough to fund 26 regional initiatives on the eight-county San Joaquin Valley Partnership's wish list.

They include widening parts of Highway 99 and other highway improvements; $108 million for high-speed and intercity rail projects; new railroad tracks and a shipping container yard at Port of Stockton; expanding telemedicine programs centered at the University of California at Merced; expanding broadband to rural communities; and the rehabilitation of a water pumping plant in Kern County.

"The Valley is in a good position to do well if they continue to work together like they have been doing," said Cynthia Bryant, director of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's California Recovery Task Force.

Boren said the construction projects are important because they ripple through the economy. The workers buy food from stores, eat at restaurants, buy vehicles from car dealers.

"There is a real benefit," he said.

Stimulus money will be used to make houses and public offices more energy efficient. Paul Johnson, executive director of the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization, hopes it also can lead to more ambitious green projects in the Valley.

"These funds, if pursued and captured wisely, could help make the Valley a leader in alternative fuel," he said.

Grants for weatherizing houses can be leveraged with stimulus money to improve struggling neighborhoods -- and to provide jobs to contractors and small businesses at the same time, said Craig Scharton, director of the Downtown and Community Revitalization Department in Fresno.

The city has joined with three agencies and one business to buy, renovate and resell abandoned houses in the Lowell Jefferson area of downtown Fresno to low- and moderate-income families.

The goal is to stabilize neighborhoods and create construction jobs. Scharton said stimulus funds can be used in conjunction with other money to go beyond just buying houses.

"We want to concentrate some of the resources in areas where we can have a lasting, positive change in the neighborhood rather than dispersing it into the wind," Scharton said.

Staff Writers / The Business Journal

A local event has been planned to give manufacturing, construction and clean energy industries a leg up in business.

The event, entitled "Taking Advantage of the Clean Energy Boom & Bid on Local Stimulus Projects," will be presented by the Economic Development Corp. serving Fresno County (EDC), the Regional Jobs Initiative and the Central California Builders Exchange.

The event is planned for July 22 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the University Business Center at California State University, Fresno.

It is billed as a joint cluster event for companies to find out who is contracting with private businesses, what types of projects are up for bid, when stimulus funds arrive, when bids are posted and how the bidding process will unfold.

Speakers will include Steve Geil, president and chief executive of the EDC; Mark Stout, vice president of renewable technology for CleanTech America; Nicole Parra, director of the Governor's Regional Development Initiatives and Peter Weber with the California Partenship for the San Joaquin Valley.

The event is free, but RSVPs must be made by July 20. To reserve a spot, contact Bethany Thompson with the EDC at (559) 476-2503 or bthompson@fresnoedc.com

By Dale Yurong / ABC30

California News (KFSN) -- With California expecting 85-billion dollars in federal stimulus funds over the next two years, many wonder how that money will be distributed.

Wednesday in Fresno local leaders learned they'll need to focus to be able to tap into those funds to create jobs.

Fresno State was the first stop on the California "Road to Recovery" tour. Mayor Ashley Swearengin told the California Recovery Task Force much needed federal stimulus money could be put to use in several ways.

Swearengin said, "We know in the San Joaquin valley we have a lot of the natural assets that would create a foundation for a clean energy foundation. All the natural assets. We have the sun. We have the dairy poo. We have in the eastern-southern part we have the wind."

But those seeking funds must navigate a drawn-out process of applying for money from specific departments such as energy, housing and water.

Pete Weber of the Regional Jobs Initiative said, "It's a very complicated process."

Camille Anderson of the Recovery Task Force explained, "There's over 300 pots of funding for us to access here in the state of California so we're here to provide information to local government entities, local business and others."

Some say a regional push is needed to secure the funding needed to create jobs and stimulate the local economy.

Pete Weber said, "I think it's very important for the valley to speak with one voice. I think multi-jurisdictional, multi-county applications will fare a lot better."

Weber believes green jobs, those having to do with energy conservation, will attract a good chunk of federal funding.

This was the first Recovery Task Force conference to be held in the state. Future meetings will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center and San Jose State.


Download California Road to Recovery State & Federal Stimulus Resources

Click for ABC30 story.

By Tracy Correa / The Fresno Bee

At a time when many workers are seeing pay cuts or even losing their jobs, 113 employees at a Fresno food-processing plant got a huge surprise Thursday: an extra paycheck.

It was a gift from LiDestri Foods Inc. owner Giovanni "John" LiDestri back in New York state. He wanted to share his excitement after learning he would be inducted into the Rochester Business Hall of Fame.

More than 700 LiDestri Foods workers in Fresno, New Jersey and New York received two checks this payday. LiDestri said it was the least he could do to thank the employees who have helped the company succeed.

"I thought it was a great honor. I thought I needed to share this," said LiDestri. "I needed to do something more than to say thank you. So, I decided, it's a great excuse to do something nice."

At 63, he said, "I am a stage in my life where material things don't mean that much."

The extra money made Janie Sanchez, a production relief worker in Fresno, smile through tears. "I read this letter," she said, referring to a letter from LiDestri attached to the envelope with the bonus check.

He wrote: "No, you are not seeing double. No, we did not have a computer glitch. Yes, you are getting a double paycheck."

It went on to say: "I know most of you will want to thank me for this gesture, but I have said it a thousand times and I will say it again, that the 'thank yous' should go from me to you because, after all, the only thing I contribute is the vision, and you on the other hand, do all the hard work."

Sanchez said she will give the extra money to her husband, who is building his dream motorcycle before a scheduled amputation of his leg next month. He suffered complications from knee surgery and has other health problems.

LiDestri Foods manufactures sauces, dips and salsas under labels including Newman's Own, Francesco Rinaldi and Sante Fe Salsa.

Giovanni LiDestri, who got his start at 16 working as a bottle washer for Ragu, has owned the company for 30 years. LiDestri operated a plant in Selma from 1992 to 2003, when it expanded and moved to Fresno. The 200,000-square-foot plant and warehouse is on Temperance Avenue south of Kings Canyon Road.

The company's other plants are in Fairport, N.Y. -- the company's headquarters, near Rochester -- Dundee, N.Y., and Pennsauken, N.J.

Only a handful of people high up in the company were in the loop. Even the human resources managers at the company's four plants were kept in the dark until Thursday morning, said Monica Draper, human resources manager at the southeast Fresno plant.

Draper was told not to open the FedEx packages containing paychecks until instructed to do so by telephone Thursday. "Is this our final paycheck?" was the first thing that came to mind, she said.

By 10:30 a.m., she was allowed to open the payroll packages -- and learn the secret. Within a few minutes, she told plant manager Willie Bynum. They called in the eight managers on duty. "There were high-fives," Draper said. "A lot of smiles."

Scott Speck, a master mechanic who has worked at LiDestri for 11 years, said it didn't surprise him that "John," as they all call him, would do such a thing. After all, workers also receive Fourth of July bonuses -- $4 for every month they have worked at LiDestri. "John's a great guy. He's very generous," Speck said.

Company officials wouldn't say how much they handed out in total. In Fresno, everyone from forklift drivers to sanitation workers to managers received the bonuses. Pay at the Fresno plant ranges from $10 to $25 an hour.

Employees were signing a giant card Thursday to thank LiDestri. The messages they wrote were simple. Said one: "Thanks John."

The Fresno Bee

A recent survey about Fresno found that people like the area's national parks, fresh produce and easy commute. But they were not fond of the lousy air quality, crime and poor job opportunities.

The online survey was spearheaded by the Fresno County Convention and Visitors Bureau and was done with the support of Decipher Inc. and The Fresno Bee. More than 1,000 people responded to the survey, which was designed to provide a better picture of what people think about the region.

It will also be used to develop a brand for the region.

Of those who took the online survey, most were female, highly educated and between the ages of 35 and 55.

Along with listing their likes and dislikes about Fresno, survey participants found a few reasons to brag about the area, including its access and location, its proximity to attractions, its conservativeness, its diversity and its friendliness.

When asked whether Fresno has a negative image, an overwhelming number -- 86% -- said yes. But 75% also believe that the negative image can be overcome, and 44% think the image is improving.

The region's self-esteem, however, did not rate very high. Only 7% said the region had a high self-esteem, 48% said it was average and 45% said it was low.

By Sanford Nax / The Fresno Bee

This recession is so severe that businesses should hoard cash, put thoughts of expanding aside and focus on just surviving--yet they also need to prepare to capitalize on the opportunities that arise when the economy recovers.

That was the central theme of Wednesday's annual meeting of Regional Jobs Initiative, appropriately titled "Planting the Seed for a New Economy."

The RJI started as a grass-roots effort to lower the area's unemployment rate and create jobs in five years. A half-decade later, business leaders and participants have decided to keep going. They say they believe in the collaboration and innovation that the initiative spawned.

"Rethink, reposition and renew," Mike Dozier told a packed audience at TorNino's in Fresno. Dozier is interim director of the Office of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State and an RJI leader.

In 2003, the initiative started with the goal of creating 25,000 to 35,000 jobs by 2008 by focusing efforts on 12 industry clusters, such as manufacturing and arts and culture.

By the end of 2007, the region had added 17,100 jobs in those clusters. The recession has hit in force, and there have been some setbacks; but Dozier still calls the initiative a success.

"We are ahead of other regions just because of [the innovation and collaboration], and we are doing it at all levels," he said.

Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin co-founded RJI when she headed the Office of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State. She appeared at the annual meeting to encourage continued innovation and collaboration among businesses, education and government.

Swearengin said businesses and agencies that once were rivals now work together toward a common goal.

"That was a major breakthrough, embracing collaboration," she said. "If we collaborate, we save money and do a better job."

She encouraged the transitioning RJI to focus on developing a workforce to match the new realities, to create more research and development centers, to offer sales and marketing support, and to build up business infrastructures and advocacy.

She highlighted the Central Valley Business Incubator, the water technology research and incubation program at Fresno State and the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, also at Fresno State, as shining stars in the new economy.

But first, the Valley has to get through this recession.

Brad Triebsch, a partner in the Central Valley Fund, told business leaders to "hunker down" for the next 18 to 36 months

Companies should postpone all but the most essential expenditures, renegotiate contracts with suppliers, delay expansions, conserve cash and cut back where they can, he told about 200 people who attended the annual meeting.

Triebsch, who was part of a panel discussion, suggested businesses emphasize retaining customers through good service because that costs less than adding new ones.

"Protect your vital core of business at all costs," Triebsch said. "If you make it through, there will be more opportunity when you come out at the end."

Dan Doyle, president of Central Valley Community Bank, said that loan volume has increased, despite what many people think.

He said the 322 banks in California--most of which are community leaders--issued more loans in the first quarter than in the same period last year. Loan volume at Central Valley Community Bank increased 11% during that period.

But loans to certain industry segments, such as construction, have declined, Doyle said.

"Develop a survival plan," he said. "These are the times we find out who the good managers are."

Central Valley Business Times

• Broadens from its original objectives
• ‘The real benefit of the RJI is collaboration'

Fresno’s Regional Jobs Initiative will see a change in emphasis as it marks its fifth anniversary and comes under the helm of Mike Dozier, director of the Office of Community and Economic Development at 
California State University, Fresno.

Originally focused on bringing jobs to the Fresno County area, RJI has seen its mission widen to take on more challenges, he says.

“The real benefit of the RJI is collaboration,” says Mr. Dozier.

He says the RJI in the years ahead will be working not just on jobs but also infrastructure improvements ranging from land use and planning to the high-speed rail plan.

“There will be a whole different area that has not been looked at before – the human side of things – everything from education, workforce development, welfare, food stamps,” he adds.

Mr. Dozier says the broad outlines of the new goals will be part of RJI’s fifth annual meeting, co‐presented by the Economic Development Corporation serving Fresno County.

The April 22 meeting is expected to bring together more than 200 local business executives, the public and community leaders from throughout Fresno County.

As the keynote speaker, Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin (former executive director of RJI) will focus on the future of economic development and RJI’s fundamental role within the region.

As many of you know, the RJI we’ve known for the last five years is in a transitional period. As a result, business and community leaders are in the process of shaping the future of RJI’s Industry Clusters.

We want you to be part of this important process and need your input. Our goal is to provide collaborative value within the clusters to make a strong impact in the community.

To gather your input efficiently and quickly, please complete a brief 10-minute survey. We appreciate your participation and support.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please complete a survey for each cluster in which you participated.


RJI Clean Energy Cluster

RJI Construction Cluster

RJI Food Processing Cluster

RJI Healthcare Cluster

RJI Information Processing: Call Center Cluster

RJI Logistics & Distribution Cluster

RJI Manufacturing Cluster

RJI Public Sector Cluster

RJI Tourism Cluster

RJI Software Development Cluster

RJI Water Technology Cluster

Remember to mark April 22 on your calendar for RJI's Annual Event.

We look forward to serving you.

Sincerely,

Mike Dozier
Executive Director | Regional Jobs Initiative

Office of Community and Economic Development
California State University, Fresno
559.294.6021

By Bethany Clough / The Fresno Bee

Hundreds of small-business owners and employees on Thursday descended upon workshops designed to help businesses thrive.

Representatives of new and established businesses said that despite the daunting economy they were determined to survive and expressed optimism about the future at the city of Fresno's first-ever Small Business Development Day.

Mike Zertuche said he came looking for information to increase business. He works in outside sales for Johnstone Supply in Fresno, which sells heating and air conditioning parts and equipment at the wholesale level and is doing OK despite the recession.

"Our attitude is that we're not going to participate in the recession," Zertuche said.

The event at the Fresno Convention Center's Exhibit Hall offered informational booths and free workshops in marketing, writing business plans, contracting with government agencies and other topics.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy," said Angela Vasquez of the Downtown and Community Revitalization Department. If they thrive, the economy thrives, she said.

Historically, small businesses have generated between 60% and 80% of all new jobs, according to the Small Business Administration.

Andy McTavish, area manager for Gaskets-N-More, which sells commercial kitchen hardware, said his company is trying to do more than survive.

He was checking out financing options for buying new equipment and expanding the business.

The company currently manufactures its products in Las Vegas, but McTavish said he hopes to bring some manufacturing here and eventually hire new employees, he said.

Optimism was shared by fledgling businesses, too.

Catering by Joe is just a few weeks old. The Fresno business, founded by Joe Velasquez, offers all kinds of ethnic catering and American food, along with DJ services and table-and-chair rentals for everything from weddings to small luncheons.

"It's scary," he said of starting a business in this economy.

On Thursday, he was learning how to deal with taxes and to market his company to set it apart from competitors. He said he has struggled with how to let customers know he can cook various ethnic foods -- without handing them a gigantic menu.

Despite his obstacles, Velasquez constantly smiled while talking about his company.

"Even with the economy being so bad, I am looking forward to the challenge," he said.

By Ken Robison / The Fresno Bee

For a few hours Wednesday, Clovis was in the international spotlight.

Thousands of biking enthusiasts, fun-and-sun lovers and Lance Armstrong fans descended on downtown Clovis for the Tour of California, which finished its fourth stage in Old Town.

Officials said 35,000 to 50,000 people turned out on a sunny day as Mark Cavendish won a sprint down Pollasky Avenue. Even more watched on television or the Internet as the event was shown all over the world.

The final sprint came after the peloton -- the main body of cyclists -- caught up to a three-man breakaway that had run most of the race ahead of the pack. That's when the Columbia-Highroad team unleased sprinter Cavendish, who edged past Tom Boonen of the Quick Step team in a photo finish.

Levi Leipheimer of Astana finished safely in the bunch to keep the leader's gold jersey.

Today's Stage 5 starts in Visalia at 10 a.m. and finishes in Paso Robles. The Tour of California, which began in Sacramento, ends Sunday in Escondido.

The mood was festive in Clovis as spectators lined the streets leading into Old Town and mobbed the area near the finish line.

Ed Borjas, wife Mona and daughter Yvonne of Clovis arrived on Pollasky Avenue at 6 a.m. and parked their fold-up chairs near the finish line.

Borjas, a furniture maker, had taken the Clovis race organizers' entreaty to "take the day off" from work.

When he heard the race was coming to his town, and that Armstrong was racing, Borjas asked for the day off weeks ago.

"I'm a big fan of Lance Armstrong," he said. "What he's been through. He fought cancer and beat it. Won the Tour de France. He's a great role model, what he did for cancer."

Indeed, Armstrong was the most visible presence in Clovis on Wednesday. Hundreds of spectators wore yellow T-shirts bearing his "Livestrong" logo. Numerous booths on side streets were devoted to fighting cancer or supporting cancer patients and survivors.

"That's the mystique of Lance Armstrong," said Bob Wover, a postal driver from Winnipeg, Canada. "All of us know someone who has had cancer or died from it."

Wover and his friends left Winnipeg -- where the low temperature Wednesday was 18 degrees below zero -- and landed in San Francisco on Sunday. They're following the Tour of California all the way to Southern California.

"I like the way cycling as a sport is growing in North America," he said. "OK, they whiz by really fast, but who cares. It's a chance to see Lance in person.

"And [bicycling] is good for us as a people -- a healthy endeavor, good exercise, gets us outdoors."

Tina Chandler of Clovis had a seat in the sun in Clovis to watch the finish. Husband Jeff was in the snow near Bass Lake.

"That was exactly the sprint finish I wanted," she said. "I'm a Cavendish fan."

Jeff Chandler drove into the foothills through North Fork, parked his truck, hopped on his bike and joined a group of spectators watching the riders finish their King of the Mountain climb over Crane Valley Road.

He then drove down the mountain, hoping to see the finish.

"As I was getting off 168 at Fowler, I could see the helicopters crossing Herndon," Jeff said. "I knew I didn't make it."

But he wasn't crying about missing the final sprint.

"[Tina] likes the finish and I like to see them go up the mountains. I never got to see that before. I got to see them go by once today, but twice would have been better."

Rusty Smith and his wife, Laurie, from Meridian, Idaho, parked their RV in Fresno and cycled to Clovis for the race. Rusty Smith, 55, races on a circuit for men older than 50.

Taking a few sips in the wine garden, he was eager for a sprint finish.

"There's nothing in the world like a half-dozen riders barreling down a straightaway," Smith said. "These guys take the sport to a different level."

From a vantage point in the courtyard of Giovanni's Caffe Italiano, Jeff Moore of Madera County and friends Dan Darby and Rob Pearson had a fine view of the large-screen television at Pollasky and Fifth.

"This country has changed. There are more cyclists on the roads," Moore said. "Lance has done that.

"We're cyclists, and we've ridden the same route down from Spring Valley School. This is a great place to ride."

On Wednesday, it was also a great place to watch -- especially near the finish line in a front-row seat secured at 6 a.m.

"It's one of those things you get to see maybe once in a lifetime," Ed Borjas said. "It was quite an experience for me.

"Worth every minute I came out for."

And did he get to see his hero, Armstrong? Like most folks, Borjas wasn't sure.

"I was looking hard, but they go by so fast," he said. "You wink and you miss him."

Visalia Times-Delta | Tulare Advance-Register
By Victor Garcia

TULARE - Lt. Gov. John Garamendi and others discussed the importance of a medical school in the Valley with the small crowd that gathered at Tulare Community Auditorium this week.

The Central Valley Community Forum "Medical Education in the Valley: Long Term Solutions" on Tuesday included two medical professionals, a high school senior interested in a medical career, Tulare's high school district superintendent and a Valley businessman.

There are 30 percent fewer general-practice physicians in the Valley than the California average, and about 50 percent fewer specialty physicians, Garamendi said.

He said the lack of physicians in the Valley hurts the economy in two ways.

"Businesses will not locate where there isn't good health care," he said. "[And] over $800 million leaves the San Joaquin Valley to drive to Los Angeles or San Francisco where health care is available."

Part of the solution for more medical professionals in the Valley is a medical school at University of California, Merced, he said.

There wasn't much interest in a UC Merced medical school by UC officials until recently, he said. That changed under the UC's current chancellor, Mark Yudof.

A Washington Advisory Group report, which is Yudof's focus, has a three-phase approach to a medical school at UC Merced, said retired Fresno businessman Peter Weber, who is a member on the Valley Coalition for the UC Merced Medical School.

Phase one would be a pre-med program at UC Merced that could start next year, he said. Phase two would be a partnership with University of California, Davis, where UC Merced's medical school branch would actually be in Davis. Phase three would be a full-fledged program at UC Merced by 2020.

Weber said the Valley needs to speak with one voice to make Garamendi's medical school proposal happen.

"With the lieutenant governor's support we need to make our voice heard to the UC Regents and create a sense of urgency to get this done," he said.