Los Angeles homebuilder KB Home, one of the largest production homebuilders in Southern California, narrowed its loss to $12.5 million in the first quarter as the outlook for new construction improved.
SACRAMENTO — The still-stagnant economy is weighing so heavily on Californians’ minds that it’s crowding out other top issues such as immigration, gun control and climate change — and is stifling support for major statewide initiatives such as high-speed rail and a Central Valley water project.
Judging by a new statewide poll, California lawmakers were smart to pull an $11.1-billion water bond off last fall’s ballot.
SACRAMENTO — We used to call it “shop.” Wood shop. Auto shop. Then the educators got fancy and renamed it “vocational education.”
As part of a push to measure how well a school is educating its students based on more than just test scores, California for the first time is planning to factor graduation rates into the state’s main measure of a school’s academic achievement.
On Monday in the State Capitol, I was joined by business leaders from across California to discuss legislation that will ease the backlog of business filings at the Secretary of State’s office, as well as other legislation to strengthen the Golden State’s economic recovery.
For over 40 years CEQA has protected our environment, spurred informed planning, and assured public input and involvement in community growth decisions. These aspects of CEQA – the ones that have helped preserve California’s natural resources and make it a better, healthier place to raise our families – must be preserved. Abuses of the law – primarily to stall projects, increase expenses for a competitor or negotiate a better labor agreement – however, have resulted in calls for reform from the Governor, the Legislature and businesses throughout California.
Two months ago, Gov. Jerry Brown, in plugging CEQA reform, told legislators, “Our approach needs to be based more on consistent standards that provide greater certainty and cut needless delays.”
Amid reports of backlogs that, at one time, stretched back almost three months, the Legislature appears poised to show some remarkable speed in helping those waiting to open their own business.
California’s jobless rate was unchanged at 9.8% in January for the second straight month, and that lack of improvement put the Golden State in a tie with Rhode Island for the worst unemployment in the U.S.
Company: AffymaxCA Net Job Gain/Loss: -230Reason: LayoffCity/Region Losing Jobs: Palo Alto, CA
Sacramento- California’s four-decade-old enviormental protection law has been credited with saving habitat, reducing air polution and giving residents a voice against deep-pocketed developers.
SACRAMENTO — Tapping California’s oil-rich Monterey shale using hydraulic fracturing could boost the state’s economic activity by as much as 14.3% and create hundreds of thousands of jobs, according to a new USC study.
Even before dawn breaks, workers at the lumberyard in Lynwood were bustling around, getting a move on the day. Men in yellow safety vests drove flatbed trucks stacked to the brim with planks of wood. Others were buzzing around in forklifts, ferrying more boards.
Development of oil-shale deposits through Central California using fracking and other techniques may boost the state’s economic activity by as much as 14.3 percent, a University of Southern California study said.