Central Valley Business Times

Business and Safety Cartoons by Ted Goff

Friday | July 3, 2009

Fourth of July freedom from escalating gas prices?

LOS ANGELES, 7/3/09 8:45am

• Prices drop in most areas

• ‘They haven’t been this low for Independence Day since 2005’

Immediate ‘protection’ of Lake Tahoe urged

LAKE TAHOE, 7/3/09 5:05am

• Environmental groups say lake is threatened by new development

• ‘The biggest threat Tahoe has ever faced is facing us right now’

Quebecor World gets court OKs

TORONTO, ONTARIO, 7/3/09 4:12am

• Clears the way to emerge from bankruptcy

• ‘We look forward to exiting creditor protection in mid-July’

Evidentiary hearing July 7 on Avenal Energy project

AVENAL, 7/3/09 3:21am

• Key to a final yea or nay to project

• Public is encourage to attend

New-home state tax credit exhausted

SACRAMENTO, 7/3/09 2:02am

• Buyers snap up $100 Million in credits

• No plans to extend the program

Feds may gamble on bullet train to Vegas

LAS VEGAS, NEV., 7/3/09 1:02am

• Would extend California system

• ‘Will reduce congestion on I-15’

Bullet train’s Central Valley route still on fast track

SACRAMENTO, 7/3/09 1:01am

• Rail authority readies application for stimulus money

• ‘The state must find a viable surface transportation alternative to ease auto and air traffic congestion’

Central Valley farms to get more water

SACRAMENTO, 7/3/09 12:03am

• State to release additional 100,000 acre-feet

• Will be ‘loaned’ to Central Valley Project

McClatchy’s Lynn Dickerson leaves company

SACRAMENTO, 7/3/09 12:03am

• Restructuring cited

• ‘Requires us to be smaller and more efficient in every area of the organization’

The walnut twig beetle is smaller than a grain of rice. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

One-two punch threatens black walnut trees

DAVIS, 7/3/09 12:02am, by Kathy Keatley Garvey

• Enemies are beetle and fungus, scientists warn

• ‘The black walnut trees could go the way of the American chestnut or American elm’

VIDEO: Avoiding social marketing disasters

STOCKTON, 7/3/09 12:01am, by David Chandler

• The biggest mistakes in online social marketing

• Your behavior determines exactly how you are treated

WEBCAST: The Day's Top Business News

PLENTY WARM IN SPRINGVILLE, 7/2/09 2:29pm
Opus West soon to file for Chapter 11; Several Valley banks will cash and process the State IOUs; California Budget Project says there's another culprit than budget shortfalls, etc; Fewer farm items being stolen, it appears.

• News you can use

• Interviews that inform

• Fact ... not OUR opinion

WEBCAST: The Stock Market Review

WARM BUT NICE IN SPRINGVILLE, 7/2/09 2:26pm
Markets off today; Crude falls sharply again today.

• Brief market observation and commentary

• Dow Jones and Nasdaq indexes

• Stocks of local interest

• U.S. Crude for August delivery

Supreme Court clarifies liability to sexual harassment outside of work

SAN FRANCISCO, 7/2/09 12:55pm

• Says it has to be pervasive or severe

• King Tut, the beach house and ‘if you know what I mean’

State budget ‘culprit’ named

SACRAMENTO, 7/2/09 10:27am

• The problem is in the Constitutoion

• ‘There's a fourth culprit at work right now in California’

Physician’s assistant convicted in $7.7 Million fraud

LOS ANGELES, 7/2/09 10:17am

• Steals doctor’s identification to defraud Medicare

• Case involves recruiting patients

Rural crime declines

HICKMAN, 7/2/09 7:15am, by Christine Souza

• Recession is credited

• ‘If you can't sell it, you are not going to steal it’

Day-use fees waived at Corps of Engineers sites

SACRAMENTO, 7/2/09 7:05am

• Free days are Aug. 1-9 only

• ‘Some of California’s best parks are managed by the Corps’

California starts paying its bills with IOUs

SACRAMENTO, 7/2/09 6:08am

• UPDATED at 10:41 a.m.; 12:30 p.m.; 2:50 p.m.; 8:40 p.m.; 9:50 p.m.

• Only second time since Great Depression

• At least nine banks will honor the IOUs

Opus West to file for bankruptcy

PHOENIX, ARIZ., 7/2/09 12:02am

• Expects to seek Chapter 11 protection

• Declining real estate values and tight credit markets blamed

Carl Winston

AUDIO: Tourism industry is reeling from recession

SAN DIEGO, 7/2/09 12:01am

• But it could mean bargains for vacationers this summer

• ‘Las Vegas is dying’

VIDEO: Get lots of retweets and transform your small business with Twitter

STOCKTON, 7/1/09 5:02pm, by David Chandler

• The Twitter strategies that work for small business

• Twitter for business expert shows you how getting retweeted can help you realise the potential of Twitter

Advanta settles with feds, will refund millions

WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/1/09 3:34pm

• Settlement lets it avoid admitting liability

• Advanta's rate increases had been implemented in an unfair manner

WEBCAST: The Day's Top Business News

WARM BUT NICE IN SPRINGVILLE, 7/1/09 2:00pm
State may send out IOUs as early as tomorrow, and State offices closed most Fridays, without pay; 22 Midas shops owner from Modesto sued by State for $222 Million for bait-and-switch; Last quarentine for Oriental Fruit Fly lifted today.

• News you can use

• Interviews that inform

• Fact ... not OUR opinion

WEBCAST: The Stock Market Review

TOASTY IN SPRINGVILLE, 7/1/09 1:59pm
The markets gained a bit today; Crude slipped down over $0.50 today.

• Brief market observation and commentary

• Dow Jones and Nasdaq indexes

• Stocks of local interest

• U.S. Crude for August delivery

Episcopal Church reclaims Central Valley church

MODESTO, 7/1/09 1:49pm

• Modesto’s St. Paul’s returns to national church

• Will be headquarters for diocese

Bakersfield $309 Million hydrogen power project funded

BAKERSFIELD, 7/1/09 1:24pm

• Recovery Act money allocated to clean energy project

• Will burn locally-made hydrogen for its turbines

Counties pushed to ‘fiscal brink’

SACRAMENTO, 7/1/09 1:05pm

• Shoulder $4.3 billion in cuts, IOUs

• ‘We cannot uniformly ensure the delivery of critical health, public safety and other vital services’

Schwarzenegger furloughs state employees for third day a month

SACRAMENTO, 7/1/09 12:17pm

• Refuses to sign any routine legislation until there is a budget

• Claims lawmakers won’t address ‘massive’ fraud

California says goodbye to Oriental fruit fly

LOS ANGELES, 7/1/09 11:02am

• State says the pest is wiped out

• ‘A pest that poses a serious threat to California farming’

Modesto firm gets U.S. Chamber award

WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/1/09 9:04am

• Innova Seeds cited for increasing trade

• ‘A prime example of an American business successfully navigating the international marketplace’

Where the jobs will be: Recruiting patterns to hold steady in Q3

CHICAGO, ILL., 7/1/09 7:48am

• No surge in hiring expected

• ‘Businesses will continue to be conservative’

State accuses 22 Midas shops of bait-and-switch

SACRAMENTO, 7/1/09 5:38am

• Says auto repair scam included Central Valley

• ‘Customers were lured in with the promise of cheap brake specials’

IOUs are newest form of payments in California

SACRAMENTO, 7/1/09 5:10am

• No budget in place, state starts cranking them out

• Can you pay your employees with IOUs?

June job cuts fall to 15-month low

CHICAGO, ILL., 7/1/09 4:41am

• Employers announced 74,393 job cuts in June

• ‘The government and non-profit sector will continue to be a source of heavy job cutting’

Susan Wilson Solovic

AUDIO: To survive recession, don’t cut your prices

ST. LOUIS, MO., 7/1/09 12:02am

• Small business guru offers tips

• ‘Focus on your own business and your own results’

VIDEO: Brand yourself as a great employer to get the top talent

STOCKTON, 7/1/09 12:01am, by David Chandler

• Make your company where the best and brightest work

• Attraction and stick-ability

Central Valley cities still among the fastest-growing

WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/30/09 9:01pm

• Bakersfield, Fresno, Elk Grove, Roseville make lists

• New Orleans finally approaches pre-Katrina population

WEBCAST: The Day's Top Business News

NOT AS HOT IN SPRINGVILLE, 6/30/09 2:01pm
UC Merced and a Ducor lemon grove have solar power; Over 1/3 of small business owners say they'd take a good job ... if they could find one; Consumer Confidence numbers are down; Californians using 5.6% less gas, and 11.6% less diesel, than Q1 last year.

• News you can use

• Interviews that inform

• Fact ... not OUR opinion

WEBCAST: The Stock Market Review

PLENTY WARM IN SPRINGVILLE, 6/30/09 2:00pm
Markets off a bit today; Crude down some too.

• Brief market observation and commentary

• Dow Jones and Nasdaq indexes

• Stocks of local interest

• U.S. Crude for August delivery

2009 California almond forecast down

SACRAMENTO, 6/30/09 1:31pm

• Difficult spring noted

• Crop running two weeks behind average

Solar arrays in Ducor (Mitsubishi photo)

Central Valley lemon ranch squeezes power from sun

DUCOR, 6/30/09 11:55am

• Limoneira Company turns on 1 Megawatt solar plant

• ‘Doing the right thing often yields positive financial results’

Gasoline, diesel use plummets in California

SACRAMENTO, 6/30/09 10:43am

• Gasoline use down 5.6 percent in Q1

• Diesel drops 11.6 percent

State moves to revoke farm labor contractors’ licenses

SACRAMENTO, 6/30/09 9:51am

• UPDATED: Fixing name of contractor as provided by state

• Workers toiled in severe heat

• ‘This sends yet another strong message’

Consumer confidence drops

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., 6/30/09 7:36am

• Monthly index drops sharply from May

• ‘Economic conditions, while not as weak as earlier this year, are nonetheless weak’

Spraying herbicide on invasive weeds doesn't always pay

WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/30/09 7:12am

• Might actually increase the problem

• Could be a waste of time and money

Survey: Small business owners would chuck it all for a good paying job

RIVERWOODS, ILL., 6/30/09 5:16am

• More than a third of owners would give it up

• ‘The economy clearly seems to be taking its toll on the independent spirit of small business owners’

UC Merced solar project funded

MERCED, 6/30/09 12:03am

• Wells Fargo to finance SunPower project

• Part of $100 Million solar projects funding deal

VIDEO: Refresh your interviewing process to access top talent

STOCKTON, 6/30/09 12:02am, by David Chandler

• There more to it than just attracting a large number of quality candidates

• Get the key interviewing points

Alicia Whalen

AUDIO: The secrets to getting Twitter traffic

TORONTO, ONTARIO, 6/30/09 12:01am

• Use Twitter to drive website traffic and increase sales

• ‘It allows the brand to have a personality’

WEBCAST: The Day's Top Business News

HOT IN SPRINGVILLE, 6/29/09 2:01pm
Democrats passed a bill last night, Governor says he'll veto it; 1.6 million jobs cut announced since last June, about half of them coming in the first 5 months of 2009; Fussing and feuding continues over water shortages, Delta Smelt, et al; July 4th travel to be down 2.7% compared to last year, but over 4.5 million Californians expected to take trips over the holiday.

• News you can use

• Interviews that inform

• Fact ... not OUR opinion