-March 17,2023-

How do we increase food production by more than 50%, on a limited amount of arable land, to feed a projected 10 billion people by 2050? The solution could come in the form of nutritious and protein-dense microalgae (single-celled), grown in onshore, seawater-fed aquaculture systems.

A paper, “Transforming the Future of Marine Aquaculture: A Circular Economy Approach,” published in the September issue of Oceanography, describes how growing algae onshore could close a projected gap in society’s future nutritional demands while also improving environmental sustainability.

Microalgae cultivation facility along the Kona Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island (image courtesy of Cyanotech Corporation)
“We have an opportunity to grow food that is highly nutritious, fast-growing, and we can do it in environments where we’re not competing for other uses,” said Charles Greene, professor emeritus of earth and atmospheric sciences and the paper’s senior author. “And because we’re growing it in relatively enclosed and controlled facilities, we don’t have the same kind of environmental impacts.”

Even as the Earth’s population grows in the coming decades, climate change, limited arable land, lack of freshwater and environmental degradation will all constrain the amount of food that can be grown, according to the paper.

“We just can’t meet our goals with the way we currently produce food and our dependence on terrestrial agriculture,” Greene said.
With wild fish stocks already heavily exploited, and with constraints on marine finfish, shellfish, and seaweed aquaculture in the coastal ocean, Greene and colleagues argue for growing algae in onshore aquaculture facilities. GIS-based models, developed by former Cornell graduate student, Celina Scott-Buechler ’18, M.S. ’21, predict yields based on annual sunlight, topography, and other environmental and logistical factors.  The model results reveal that the best locations for onshore algae farming facilities lie along the coasts of the Global South, including desert environments.
“Algae can actually become the breadbasket for the Global South,” Greene said. “In that narrow strip of land, we can produce more than all the protein that the world will need.”
Along with high protein content, the researchers noted that algae provide nutrients lacking in vegetarian diets, such as essential amino acids and minerals found in meat and omega-3 fatty acids often sourced in fish and seafood.
Algae, which grow 10 times faster than traditional crops, can be produced in a manner that is more efficient than agriculture in its use of nutrients. For example, when farmers add nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers to grow terrestrial crops, about half runs off fields and pollutes waterways. With algae grown in enclosed facilities, excess nutrients can be captured and reused.
Similarly, carbon dioxide must be added to aquaculture ponds to grow algae. Researchers and companies have been experimenting with adding algae to construction materials and cement, where the carbon gets sequestered and removed from the atmosphere. “If we use algae in these long-lived structural materials, then we have the potential to be carbon negative, and part of the solution to climate change,” Greene said.”

when algae is added to chicken feed, hens lay eggs with triple the amount of omega-3 fatty acids as normal eggs.

One challenge is that sourcing CO2 is currently expensive and energy inefficient, but engineers are experimenting with concentrated solar technologies that use mirrors to focus and concentrate sunlight to heat a working fluid, which in turn can be used in direct air capture technologies that capture carbon dioxide from the air.

Also, while algae farming solves many food-related and environmental problems on paper, it can only be successful if people adopt it in diets and for other uses. Adding nutritious algae as a major ingredient or supplement in plant-based meats, which currently rely on less nutritious pea and soy, is one possibility.

Co-author Xingen Lei, professor of animal science at Cornell, and other colleagues have found that when algae is added to chicken feed, hens lay eggs with triple the amount of omega-3 fatty acids as normal eggs.
A follow-up perspectives piece that highlights and expands on the points of this paper, will appear in the October issue of PLoS Biology. Scott-Buechler, currently a doctoral student at Stanford, is a coauthor on both works.
The study was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, among others. — By Krishna Ramanujan, Cornell University

-March 15,2023-

Wholesale California gasoline is down 48 cents in a week. Where’s my discount?

The declining price of key commodities this week should make it cheaper to move around, build something and eat in coming days.

Let start with gasoline where wholesale gasoline futures slipped below the $2.5 per gallon mark, easing further from an over one-month high of $2.8 reached last week, pressured by overall weakness in energy markets due to persistent concerns about low domestic demand. Los Angles wholesale prices show a similar trend today.

Here is latest wholesale chart for LA gasoline-it’s down 48 cents in  a week! Where is the savings at the pump?

Look for a 40 cent drop at your neighborhood pump!
How about lumber prices– a key building material that skyrockected during the Covid day but has been falling over the past year. As you can see those 2 by 4s ought to be cheaper  as the Spring building season comes around. Here is chart of wholesale prices as of today.
How about food, key complaint from shoppers for the past year?
Here is a chart of cash prices for key food commodities as of today according to the Wall St Journal.Most of them are lower compared to a year ago.

How about our Wheaties? Financial reports detail today that wheat futures in the US were at $6.8 per bushel, hovering close to the 20-month low of $6.65 touched on March 9th amid expectations of strong supply. Russia reported it has no objection to extending the grain deal that places a safe trade corridor for exports of grain out of Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The news supported hopes that a steady supply of wheat will continue from one of the world’s top exporters past the March 18th deadline, as Ukraine reported to have a stronger winter wheat harvest than previously expected.

How about the price of fertilizer ? Urea futures extended losses to $380 per tonne, the lowest since May 2021, as farmers continued to enjoy ample supply while large inventories limited demand. The increased availability of natural gas in Europe amid a moderate winter and abundant LNG imports enabled manufacturers to restart production with significantly cheaper inputs and farmers to restock concerningly low fertilizer reserves.

-March 9,2023-

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank acquired Japanese-owned MUFG Union Bank in December and the merged company will now be closing at least 145 branches that are either U.S. Bank or Union Bank locations all over California. Likely, this is the greatest number of bank closures in the state that have been recorded.

The bank says the closures and some branch exchanges will happen by May 26. After the musical chairs take place, the fact is that the combined bank’s customers will have 145 fewer choices to visit.In a news release US Bank commenting on the impact of the merger  had a different spin.

“After Union Bank branches are integrated to the U.S. Bank brand, current Union Bank customers will have more than double the number of branches available to them in California. At the same time, existing U.S. Bank customers will gain more than 100 new locations in the state.”

Official notice of the closures comes from the weekly report from  the Comptroller of the Currency released February 25. 

SLO Closure

In the local reading area, the U.S.Bank branch in the Trader Joe’s and Food 4 Less parking lot will close at 3991 S Higuera in San Luis Obispo.

U.S. Bank customers in San Luis Obispo will be able to continue to transact business at the current Union Bank site that will be  rebranded U.S. Bank – located at 995 Higuera

.

Los Osos goes dark

In Los Osos the U.S. Bank location at Ralph’s grocery store off Los Osos Valley Rd, will go dark and the space has an uncertain future. The town will be down to 2 brick and mortar banks.

In Atascadero the Union Bank will be rebranded U.S. Bank. In recent years U.S. Bank closed their location in the Albertsons market in that town. The Paso Robles US Bank at the Albertsons will stay open.

In the region, closure notices include Santa Maria with the shuttering of the U.S. Bank branch in Albertsons at 2320 S Broadway. There is a Union Bank branch nearby that will be rebranded U.S. Bank.

If you judge the impact of branches open today but closed by June 1 the reading area from  Paso Robles to Santa Maria will have three fewer banking choices due to the merger,Los Osos, SLO and Atascadero.

In their statement the bank said “In nearly all cases, customers who are accustomed to going to a branch that will be closed will be able to go to another branch that is very close by. One out of three consolidated branches are less than 0.2 miles away, more than 50 percent are within a half mile and 80 percent are less than a mile away.”

Loss of nearby choice  would include the SLO bank closure – far from the Downtown choice and Los Osos  where there is no close location. Santa Maria and Atascadero do have a convenient alternative.

Besides the 145 California locations detailed in the most recent Comptroller weekly report, more than 2 dozen U.S. Bank branches in other parts of the country have been posted to close since the first of this new year. Union Bank too has been closing branches since the merger was announced.

The closure of so many branch locations of the merged company will clearly result in big cost savings for U.S. Bank.

In 2022 news reports said a trend toward digital banking during the COVID-19 pandemic drove banks to shrink their brick-and-mortar presence in California last year. That’s according to a new report that shows American bank retail branch closures increased by 38 percent, a record, in 2021.

California saw a net loss of 269 banks last year, more than any other state. California was followed by Michigan with 247 closures, and New York with 221. Rounding out the top 5 were Florida with 192, and Illinois with 153, says report.

Three to one net loss

The S&P Global Marketing Intelligence analysis shows American banks closed nearly 4,000 branches and opened 1,000, for a net loss of 2,927 branches as the pandemic increased digital banking for a second straight year.

U.S. Bancorp, with approximately 70,000 employees and $601 billion in assets as of September 30, 2022, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. US Bank had 2572 branches  in the US in 2021, behind number one Wells Fargo. US Bank closed 257 of their branches that year.

As of June 30, 2022, MUFG Union Bank, N.A. operated 297 branches, consisting primarily of retail banking branches in the West Coast states. Most did business as Union Bank.

A news article from Pacific Coast Business Times in 2021 noted the that the merger that was pending and that  “Union Bank’s 29-branch network in the Tri-Counties will become part of U.S. Bank in an $8 billion deal that will give Union Bank’s Japanese parent a nearly 3% stake in Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp.US Bank had 20 locations in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Sand Luis Obispo counties.

The article said “ the acquisition will combine the No. 4 and No. 5 largest banking operations in the region. U.S. Bank will emerge with a branch network that makes it a clear rival to JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, the top two banks in the region with more than 40 branches each.”

U.S. Bank CFO Terrance Dolan said in a 2021 statement,” U.S. Bancorp “will not be exiting any markets or reducing availability to branches or banking services in any low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.” The acquisition will add about 190,000 small business customers from Union Bank, which will increase the number of business banking relationships at U.S. Bank by about 18%,a spokesman said at that time.

SLO Market Share

An annual FDIC report on market share in the the San Luis Obispo -Paso Robles metro area as of Sept 2022 says Union Bank had 2 branches in the county with $284 million in deposits and a 3% market share.U.S. Bank had 4 locations with $172 million in deposits and a 1.8% market share. If they retain all the deposits,  the merged company would be the 6th largest bank based on deposits in the county. Chase and Mechanics Banks are the largest players each with above 18% market share. Mechanics Bank has 13 locations vs Chase with 7.

Roots in Tokyo

The demise of all Union Bank locations closes a chapter on some  interesting history of a California bank, based in LA ,with ties to Japan. An LA Business Journal story published this year notes the following.

“The bank’s history is closely linked with the Bank of Tokyo of California, which was founded in 1946 and established a branch in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles in 1952. The bank helped Japanese Americans reestablish their homes and businesses after they were released from World War II-era internment camps; many found their homes and businesses gone and had trouble getting loans otherwise.Union Bank Executive Chairman Kaz Koshi told Little Tokyo-based newspaper The Rafu Shimpo that the bank was created after the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty.

The treaty re-established relations between Japan and the Allied Powers about six years after World War II ended.”

The parent company of Union Bank,  Mitsubishi UFJ Bank— will hold a small stake in the newly merged financial company.

-March 7,2023- 7AM

NWS is upping estimates of high elevation rainfall that could repeat history  in Sierra foothills towns like Three Rivers in Tulare County that has a history of floods.

But Terminus Dam project manager Bill Miller says he understands the AR will hit more to the north of Lake Kaweah – about down to Pine Flat Dam closer to Fresno.”We have 57,842 AF in the reservoir and can handle e 180,000AF. We aren’t building any ark here.”

Central Coast could see 4 inches (see map)

More next week

From NWS Hanford

A strong storm system over the Eastern Pacific Ocean will approach
the coast of the Pacific Northwest Thursday night and Friday. An
abundance of subtropical moisture will move inland over Central
California along the southern periphery of this storm system
Thursday night and Friday. A mild air mass assoicated with this
storm system will cause snow levels to rise to at least 8,000 feet
Friday. In addition, heavy rainfall coupled with this mild air
mass will result in rapid snow melt from 2,000 feet to 5,000 feet.
Water levels on rivers and streams will rise and flooding is
possible.

Rain amounts Thursday night through Saturday night will be one
half of an inch to one inch in the western portion of the San
Joaquin Valley. Rain amounts Thursday night through Saturday night
will be one to two inches in the central portion of the San
Joaquin Valley. Rain amounts Thursday night through Saturday night
will be two to three inches in the eastern portion of the San
Joaquin Valley. Four to six inches of rain is possible in the
Sierra Nevada foothills and six to eight inches of rain is
conceivable in the Sierra Nevada below the snow line. Most of this
rain will fall Thursday night and Friday.

Here are probabilities of rainfall of three inches or more for select locations in the
Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills from 4 PM PST Thursday, March
9th until 4 PM PST Friday, March 10th, 2023:

Yosemite Valley – 71%
Shaver Lake – 71%
Dinkey Creek – 71%
El Portal – 66%
North Fork – 61%
Mariposa – 61%
Oakhurst – 56%
Lodgepole – 56%

It looks as if there will be a brief break in precipitation Sunday
into Monday morning, before the next storm system impacts Central
California. It is a very active weather pattern, to say the least.”

AccuWeather: People and businesses are already cleaning up from previous storms, meaning that the latest storm has the potential to become a disaster upon previous disasters, further compounding any impacts,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. “Additional storms are expected into next week – which also may tap into a 2,000-plus-mile feed of deep subtropical Pacific moisture yielding heavy rain at lower elevations and heavy snow in the mountains.”

Pictured:GFS weather map forecast for next Tuesday as the AR keeps coming

-March 2,2013-

Visalia 2022 crime statistics mixed

Crime statistics from the Visalia Police Department for 2022 show that homicides in 2022 are down from the year before at 9 vs 14. Rapes also were in decline from 87 in 2021 to 77 in 2022. But robberies were up in 2022 at 131 vs 113 in 2021. Car thefts climbed last year to 609 from 460 in 2021. Chart colors shown here are blue for 2021 and green for 2022..

Fewer homes being sold

Higher interest rates are resulting in fewer homes being sold in Visalia according to the Tulare County Realtors Assn MLS. In January 2023 – 70 homes were sold compared to 122 in January 2022. That is a 42.6% drop.

COVID 19 hospitalizations plunge

Last year at this time Covid-19 cases were overwhelming the Tulare County health system with around 1500 patients hospitalized compared to 189 as of February 18,2023.

Fewer patients means lower revenue for local hospital

The good news at Kaweah Health is that fewer patients are requiring hospital care. The bad news is that Kaweah Health is seeing fewer patients. It’s not just due to the drop in Covid-19 patients but a decline in a number of procedures being done at the hospital both inpatient and outpatient. That includes fewer surgeries than Kaweah’s budget predicted,fewer cardiac catheterizations, a lower census overall at 425 patients when the budget number is 500. They are seeing fewer patients visiting the district outpatient facilities like the Urgent Care centers and Rural Health Clinics as well.

The good news is that Kaweah Health, which was impacted by high labor costs in categories like contract-labor nurse numbers needed to care for a huge number of sick people, can now be let go, helping to reduce what has been months of red ink during the pandemic.

The district hopes to get “Back in the Black” as soon as next month. For now January revenue is down almost $5 million from what was budgeted. But there is hope that in March the bottom line savings and increase in patient numbers will turn the corner.

Tulare County mountains get abundant snowpack

Tulare and Fresno Counties mountains have received 20 more inches of precip this season compared to average- well above most areas of California. More is on the way over the next 2 weeks.

-March 2,2023-
Construction of the new Aldi grocery store in Visalia should be underway now that the city has approved a 20,000sf, $2 million building at the SE corner of Mooney and Visalia Parkway.The discount grocer, a German cousin company of Trader Joe’s, selected a location on the south side of the city making it likely they will also build a second Aldi north of 198.

Amazon is sponsoring a job fair March 2 as it gears up to populate more of its second big distribution center in the Visalia Industrial Park.

Amazon is expanding its network of “same-day site” warehouses, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday Feb. 26. The report notes that Amazon has opened about 45 of the sites in the last four years and could expand to at least 150 in the next several years.

Visalia does not have a next-day center, much less a same-day.

United Health Centers has opened its first Visalia health clinic at 4038 S Mooney, remodeling the former Cost Plus store.The health clinic plans a second Visalia location at 198 and Chinowith.

Two new proposed Highway 99 highway commercial projects in the Tulare area are in the works. Magic Touch RV wants to expand near Tagus seeking permits to establish a 65-acre service commercial center called the Akers Business Park.

Secondly, Visalia developer Omni Land Development is planning a truck stop complex near the Tulare airport at 1181 E Rankin Rd-Hwy 99.Omni continues to build a similar center in Goshen. At one time that was to include a TA Truck Stop but now it will be anchored only by Arco.

Visalia Public Cemetery is running out of room and asked the city planning commission this week to approve expansion father center that would include the purchase of 15 homes around the cemetery covering an additional 3.4 acres.The cemetery is north of Goshen Ave and west of Jacob

Another battle over a proposed Planned Parenthood Clinic, this time in Tulare that would be built on land owned by developer Fred Lagomarsino. Tulare County Right to Life is protesting the project concerned it will allow abortions. The project will be submitted to the city Planning Commission.

More activity in Downtown Tulare with the opening of the Rancho Brazil Steakhouse in mid March. The new eatery is located in a former furniture store at 144 N K St. They are now hiring.Call 559/321-1707.

Property owners within a mile of NAS Lemoore were recently notified by the base about findings of groundwater contamination from PFAS-Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances used in the past at military bases. The Navy said they are doing testing of groundwater looking for the solvent used for years for fire fighting and as a cleaner.

The Kings County Board of Supervisors are studying a plan put forward by the Tachi Yokut Tribe to bring in about 37 acres into their trust lands to carry out development plans west of the gaming center. The county would lose the tax base if it goes into trust. The tribe wants to build a tribal cultural center or museum as well as some commercial buildings for member businesses on the Rancheria.

-March 2,2023-

Higher mortgage rates seem to be pushing demand for new housing down, not just for existing homes. Mortgage Bankers Association says nationwide the volume of mortgage applications in late February was 44% lower than the same week one year ago, and are now sitting at a 28-year low.

A look at the City of Visalia’s building permits issued in February tells the story – builders here are not starting new projects.

In February 2022 the city permitted an impressive 82 new homes. In February 2023, single family home permits issued numbered just 8 – a 90% drop. On a year to date basis, Visalia home permits are down 65% from a year ago.

Slower demand may slow price growth going forward as more buyers are opting out of the market.

Visalia Realtors report on their MLS, that sales in January numbered 70 transactions, down from 122 a year earlier.The median sales price for an existing home in Visalia was $369,000 compared to $360,000 in January 2022.

New home construction was not the only category to slow in February. Visalia residential remodels, apartment permits and new commercial also were down.Weighted by one big industrial project last year, the total value of all permits in Visalia in 2023 on a year to date basis is down 70%. The big industrial building was Ace Hardware – just opening as of March 2 adding new 400 jobs.

-February, 12,2023-

U.S. vehicle sales rose 17.7% month-on-month to 15.7 million (annualized) units in January. This was slightly above the consensus forecast which called for a gain to 15.5 million.

Unadjusted sales volumes were 1.03 million units or 4.2% above year-ago levels. The average daily selling rate was 43,042 – calculated over 24 days – up from January 2022’s 41,316 daily rate.

Passenger vehicle sales increased 2.9% year-on-year while sales of light-trucks ticked up by 4.5% y/y. Light-trucks accounted for 80% of last month’s sales, roughly equal to its share in January 2022.

WSJ reports the number 13,275 : That was the average weekly shipments of motor vehicles and parts carried by North American railroads so far this year, a 16% increase over 2022, according to the Association of American Railroads.

WSJ:

Former Enchanted Playhouse/ Main St Theater proposed for indoor golf venue plus eatery & bar

Almost 4 years after the curtain fell on the Enchanted Playhouse, the former Main Street movie theater has remained dark. Purchased by Visalia developer JR Shannon a few years ago, a Tulare group is now planning a new innovative use.

Plans were filed this past week by Scott Wright and Shane Moss to open Mulligans, an 8500sf remodel of the Downtown building to offer an indoor golf venue coupled with a restaurant and bar.

The proposed project was heard at a city Site Plan Review hearing February 8and received positive revise and proceed response.

Asked when the place might open Shane Moss says they are still working on details but he hopes it could open by the end of this year. Moss says virtual golf is popular around the country not just to have fun but to improve your golf game.

Landmark Visalia Fugazzis restaurant has a new owner

As of last October Gabriel and Silvia Diaz are the new owners of Fugazzis on Main Street as founder Mike Fligor has sold interest to longtime employees who will continue to operate different Fugazzi locations not just on Main Street in Visalia but in Tulare, Hanford and Kingsburg.

Meanwhile the Porterville and second Visalia locations have closed.

Gabriel says he still works with Fugazzi founder Mike Fligor and meets with fellow Fugazzi operators regularly to plan strategy. He says he considers Fligor “a mentor” having worked with him for 16 years.

Gabriel reminds people that Fugazzis is not just an Italian restaurant but emphasizes they offer fusion cuisine, looking to continue to come up with new offerings all the time. He is busy on social media promoting his Downton eatery, happy that the area continues to be a destination for hungry residents and visitors with so many choices.

Those choices will soon include new burger place House of JuJu (also in Clovis and Morro Bay) and the rebuilt Alejandra’s Mexican food and Jimmy John’s who were each shut down due to the huge fire last year but are busy remodeling to open later this year.