03/28/2024

News

California: Chemical Warning May Scare Poor from Canned Food

California plans to delay state-required warnings on metal cans lined with the chemical BPA, arguing too-specific warnings could scare stores and shoppers in poor neighborhoods away from some of the only fruits and vegetables available — canned ones, officials said Thursday.

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Latinos Make More, Spend More in Los Angeles County, Study Says

Latinos’ steady rise as a portion of Los Angeles County’s population has been accompanied by a surge in their economic clout, a trend highlighted in a new study that quantifies increases in the group’s educational attainment, income and consumer spending.

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We Have to Create Accountability or California Will Keep Bashing Businesses

The double standard in the way California treats businesses and public agencies is enough to turn the stomach of any business owner. Without more voters becoming concerned, we will continue to see company relocations to friendlier states, or – as in the case of Kallisto Greenhouses – simply go out of business.

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Californians Lead Nation in Personal Income Growth in 2015

Californians on average saw their personal income increase 6.3 percent last year compared to 2014, the largest increase of any state, according to a new report Thursday from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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California Crime on the Rise

In California’s 68 largest cities, violent crime jumped 11 percent in the first six months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. Among major U.S. cities, three California cities saw the largest increase in property crime in the country.  

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Starter Homes Out of Reach for First Time L.A. Home Buyers

A report from online real estate company Trulia out Tuesday confirms what many prospective young Los Angeles homebuyers have figured out: housing here is out of reach. Only 27 percent of local households can afford a median-priced starter house, which Trulia said cost $329,000, Curbed L.A. reports. The report finds fewer homes available to buyers at all income levels in L.A. County and that home inventory has all but vanished in Orange County, San Francisco and San Diego.

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Bus Fires are Increasing in CA, Consider CARB’s Regulations

In 2013, the alliance filed a lawsuit against CARB seeking to have the Truck and Bus Rule thrown out. Truck owners, operators, mechanics and an automotive engineering expert explained how the diesel particulate filters damaged engines by exposing them to high heat and backpressure, leading to dangerous fires. . . But now CARB is proposing a new regulation for the sale of aftermarket parts to repair the costly filters, and the agency has just released documents acknowledging what the alliance has been saying all along: Even when working as designed, the filters generate excessive heat, damaging both the filters and the engines, and sometimes causing explosive fires.

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An Anaalysis of Latino Household Consumer Spending in Los Angeles County

The Latino population in Los Angeles County continues to grow robustly while, simultaneously, experiencing income growth. Put these two together and the County and big business benefit from a rapidly growing consumer base. Indeed, from 2000 to 2014, the number of Latinos in the County grew by 15.5%, compared to a 1.1% decline in the rest of the population. Meanwhile, the aggregate income among Latino head-of-households grew from $45.9 billion to $72.4 billion in 2014

Research & Studies
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Dan Walters: California’s High Water Should be Captured

We are fortunate that so much of this year’s precipitation fell in the form of snow, because the snowpack is, in effect, a natural reservoir that releases water slowly. But if global warming is as real as Gov. Jerry Brown and others contend it is, future precipitation from an El Niño would be more likely rain, rather than snow, and we could see both severe flooding and severe water shortages if we are not prepared to capture it as it falls.

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Bridging the Skills Gap

LinkedIn, which has more than 400 million users, has created its own new website to synchronize with Skillful. The site, dubbed Training Finder, is designed to broker the conversation between job seekers, employers and providers of job training. Skillful acts as a funnel to specific jobs and other material on LinkedIn, with Training Finder as a more personalized form of portal.

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Coding Courses a Rarity in California High Schools Despite Tech Explosion

Yet the large majority of California’s public high schools don’t offer dedicated computer science or computer programming courses, according to a Sacramento Bee review of teacher assignment data from the California Department of Education.

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Unemployment Rates Fall in Sacramento, Statewide

The Employment Development Department said the statewide unemployment rate fell by two-tenths of a point, to 5.5 percent. Employers added 39,900 jobs during February, compared with a loss of 4,000 jobs in January.

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Rethinking America’s Cities’ Success Strategy

Most cities are economically weak actors with limited ability to affect the critical forces driving their economies. Furthermore, changes in the structure of the economy often have changed the composition of urban leadership in ways that break the link between personal and community success and create an additional bias in favor of subsidized real estate development as a civic strategy. Less dependent on the local market, this local leadership increasingly identifies with a global community and its concerns in ways that have lowered the civic priority placed on inclusive economic development and entrepreneurship. To change these trends, local leadership should focus on inclusive local economic success first and make policies that reflect that priority and address areas where local government can make an impact. Creating an entrepreneur- and business-friendly local regulatory environment is a key piece of this effort, and the delivery of high-quality basic public services is vital.

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Ending Lawsuit Abuse Against Small Business

In reality, most small businesses do not violate regulations intentionally. There are so many regulations–with more added all the time–it is hard for a business proprietor to keep up while managing his or her business. If a violation is found, most small business owners willingly will fix a problem if given adequate amount of time.

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Air Pollution Reduction Program Ruled Illegal

A controversial program to give local refineries and major manufacturers more flexibility in reducing air pollution has been ruled illegal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, officials disclosed late Wednesday. The federal agency said the program fails to meet national clean air standards.

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