California homeowners saving up to overhaul that 1980s-era kitchen or build a porch off the family room face an additional cost in the new year: replacing plumbing fixtures throughout the house.
The company attributed a third consecutive drop in U.S. comparable-store sales to a laundry list of macroeconomic headwinds when it reported earnings last week. Wal-Mart, which forecast continued gloominess through year-end, told analysts it would watch to see if the federal health-care law would take yet another chunk out of customers’ pocketbooks.
Throughout this summer and fall, California’s gasoline prices have hovered about 40 to 45 cents per gallon above the national average. The difference has sometimes reached 50 cents.
At its annual awards gala on Thursday, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. named Lancaster as the most business-friendly city with a population over 50,000, while La Mirada was chosen the most business-friendly among cities with fewer than 50,000 people.
Today’s policies to combat climate change cost much more than the benefits they produce. Unfortunately, bad political choices often make these policies even less cost-effective.
A California Greenhouse Gas Inventory Spreadsheet (GHGIS) model was developed to explore the impact of combinations of state policies on state greenhouse gas (GHG) and regional criteria pollutant emissions. . . Results indicate that all three scenarios are able to meet the 2020 statewide GHG targets, and by 2030, statewide GHG emissions range from between 208 and 396 MtCO2/yr. However, none of the scenarios are able to meet the 2050 GHG target of 85 MtCO2/yr, with emissions ranging from 188 to 444 MtCO2/yr, so additional policies will need to be developed for California to meet this stringent future target.
Business associations have recently become so vocal about power costs that Italy’s economic development ministry is scrambling for new ideas. Among them: a proposal to issue bonds to help pay for the 12 billion euros a year that Italy spends on subsidies to the renewable energy industry and that ends up in everyone’s energy bill.
California will fall short of its goal to slash greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury unless it adopts aggressive policies to fight climate change, a new report says.
“U.S. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions declined 3.8 percent in 2012. The 2012 downturn means that emissions are at their lowest level since 1994 and over 12 percent below the recent 2007 peak. After 1990, only the recession year of 2009 saw a larger percentage emissions decrease than 2012. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions have declined in 5 out of the last 7 years.”
This comprehensive reference report measures the performance of 16 different state workers’ compensation systems, how they compare with each other, and how they have changed over time.
This study evaluates the ratepayer impacts of the California net energy metering (NEM) program and fulfills the requirements of Assembly Bill (AB) 2514 (Bradford, 2012)1 and Commission Decision (D.) 12-05-036 to determine “who benefits, and who bears the economic burden, if any, of the net energy metering program,” by October 1, 2013.
Sacramento, Calif. — California state economic development director Kish Rajan today announced an effort to streamline the permitting process for zero emission vehicle fueling stations and significantly expand California’s hydrogen and electric vehicle capacity.
A new 16-state study of workers’ compensation systems, covering 60 percent of the nation’s workers, says it’s too early to tell what the real-world effects of SB 863 will be, specifically whether its cost-saving provisions will offset the costs of increased cash payments, as its sponsors promised.
Sacramento, Calif. – Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), Kish Rajan announced today that Governor Brown has signed legislation to streamline the state’s export certificate program and decrease delays for California businesses looking to export goods.
Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed into law changes to Proposition 65, the state’s landmark anti-toxins law, that aim to reduce lawsuits and fines for businesses.