The supervisors agreed to weigh the impact of not only requiring a higher baseline pay for their roughly 100,000 employees — the largest local government workforce in the United States — but also for county contractors and businesses in those unincorporated areas.
Out of the 96,600 net jobs added in Los Angeles County last year, 25,300 were in the leisure and hospitality industries, according to the California Employment Development Department.
On Jan. 30, Californians paid an average of $2.43 for a gallon of gasoline, the lowest since May 2009, according to fuel tracking group GasBuddy.com. It shot up 93 cents in a month and has since been fluctuating around $3.20, nearly 80 cents more than the national average.
For 90 minutes, clean energy production was slashed 1,142 megawatts, enough electricity for hundreds of thousands of homes, while dirtier power from less flexible sources stayed on to keep the system stable. . . It was the largest curtailment of green energy last year, according to grid operators, and it highlights a hurdle for Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to increase the state’s reliance on renewable energy. Peak demand for electricity rarely coincides with the brightest sunshine or the strongest winds, so finding a way to store clean power and deliver it when needed will be critical as California relies more on renewable energy.
Total jobs created in the 12 months ending Jan. 31 show California leading other states. California gained 498,000 new jobs, almost 30% more than the Lone Star State’s total of 392,900 for the same period.
California’s unemployment rate fell to 6.7% from 7% a month earlier and 8% in February 2014, according to the state Employment Development Department. The rate is at its lowest level since May of 2008.
The previously undisclosed cost projection, contained in an internal DWP report reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, could mean sharply higher water bills for those who live and work in L.A.
“Much of California is still struggling: The strong dollar is depressing Central Valley agricultural exports, the lowest oil prices in years are squeezing the Kern County oil fields and extreme housing prices along the coastline are giving potential home buyers pause. But in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, those factors are fueling a growth spurt that’s already among the fastest in the state, according to a report released at an economic conference in Ontario on Thursday.”
As difficult as it may be to face, the simple fact is that California is running out of water — and the problem started before our current drought. NASA data reveal that total water storage in California has been in steady decline since at least 2002, when satellite-based monitoring began, although groundwater depletion has been going on since the early 20th century.
The short-term economic impact of the recent labor standoff at West Coast ports will be small, according to a new economic forecast, but the ports face a long-term struggle to remain competitive in the rapidly changing realm of global trade..
The strike has been one contributor to rising gasoline prices, which had previously fallen to levels not seen in years. Although other factors may have had more impact on the rising prices — including an explosion at a Torrance refinery — some analysts believe that the resolution of the labor strike will send prices down.
State education officials moved Wednesday to dramatically recast California’s system to evaluate school quality by suspending the use of standardized test scores as the major yardstick in favor of a broader array of measures.
That’s made gasoline much more expensive here than anywhere else in the nation — an average of $3.44 for a gallon of regular as of 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to price-tracker GasBuddy.com. Hawaii is the only other state with an average price above $3 a gallon.
The UC system will not expand enrollment of California freshmen and transfer students in the fall unless more state revenues are appropriated and will cap enrollment of out-of-state students at UCLA and UC Berkeley, UC President Janet Napolitano said Tuesday..
The district and the teachers union announced this month that they had reached an impasse in contract negotiations. Each side argues that the other is being unreasonable. The union is seeking a pay raise of 8.5%; the district has offered 5%.