Pot grower Caliva gets planning commission ok
San Jose-based Caliva could be the first to open a new indoor processing facility for medical marijuana in the Hanford Industrial Park now that the project has received the green light from the Hanford Planning Commission this month.
A city report says the company will do distribution and some manufacturing at its facility at 10757 Energy Street. Plans include a phased expansion first using oil extracted at its San Jose facility and transferring that process to Hanford later. Hanford’s Caliva facility would start-up with a modest 6 employees in two shifts.The second phase would employ 30 for two shifts once the extraction technology is transferred from San Jose. From Hanford Caliva will deliver finished product throughout California with 2 to 4 deliveries a day.
A third phase would expand their building from 20,000sf to 34,000sf. Last week the planning commission approved a conditional-use permit for the project.
Next up, the company Premium Extracts will be seeking a conditional-use permit as well from the commission later this month.
It was the CEO of this company that promoted the idea of allowing Hanford pot growing companies to grow for the much larger adult-use market, not just for medical marijuana users, but for recreational users.
“A change to this ordinance is literally the difference of millions of dollars into the city’s coffers and hundreds of jobs within this community,” Jose Rivas, CEO of Premium Extracts Inc., said during the public comment portion of an early April city council meeting.
But the city council gave thumbs down to the idea by a four to one vote leaving the ordinance in place to allow only medical-use industrial growing within the city limits.
As a result,it appears the economic benefit to the city from allowing this new industry to grow here will be more muted than some had hoped.
Lemoore will lose its Bank of America
Bank of America will shut down its Lemoore branch later this summer. The banks website says “This location will permanently close 7/31/18.” In a letter to patrons the bank suggested they do business at the Hanford B of A branch.The Lemoore bank is located at 338 W D Street in Downtown. The closure will mean the community has only a Wells Fargo branch and a Navy Federal Credit Union branch. A Wall Street journal article last September said that B of A had cut 1,597 U.S. branches since the beginning of 2009, which includes closures in counties where the bank maintains a presence. Of those, more than 95% were outside metro areas.
Corcoran to get ’Lake Bottom Brewery’ restaurant
Corcoran will join the rest of us with a taste for locally crafted brews. A restaurant with a distillery attached is being planned by Fred Figueroa called Lake Bottom Brewery.City sources say the eatery will also feature beer, vodka and whiskey made on the spot The place will be a remodeled vacant building in Downtown.
Amtrak getting Positive Train Control here
Amtrak trains in the Valley will be getting Positive Train Control by the end of this year. The technology is designed to automatically stop a train before certain accidents occur including train-to-train collisions and derailments caused by excessive train speed. Tests of the equipment on the San Joaquin line are happening now according to a report.
Cotton acreage down this year
Back in December, growers indicated California would see an increase in cotton acreage for the third year in a row. But then it didn’t rain until March. And then when it rained, the water allocations didn’t match expectations. As a result, California is preliminarily expecting about at 15% decrease in overall cotton acreage for 2018 say cotton growers.
According to preliminary planting intentions survey conducted by the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association this past month, the Association is currently estimating approximately 205,000 acres of pima and 43,000 acres of upland statewide for the 2018 cotton season plus or minus 10%.If that estimate is accurate, it will mean a 2% decrease in pima acreage and a 50% decrease in upland acreage in California as compared to 2017.
Solar systems required on all new homes by 2020
This week the California Energy Commission adopted building standards that require solar photovoltaic systems starting in 2020 in all new homes and medical buildings. The move is expected to cut the average home energy bill by 50%.
Under the new standards, nonresidential buildings will use about 30 percent less energy due mainly to lighting upgrades. For residential homeowners, based on a 30-year mortgage, the Energy Commission estimates that the standards will add about $40 to an average monthly payment, but save consumers $80 on monthly heating, cooling and lighting bills.
“With this adoption, the California Energy Commission has struck a fair balance between reducing greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously limiting increased construction costs,” said California Building Industry Association CEO and President Dan Dunmoyer. “We thank the Commissioners and their staff for working with the building industry during the past 18 months and adopting a set of cost-effective standards that ensures homebuyers will recoup their money over the life of the dwelling.”