Category: Business

US Department of Commerce Grants Helps Fresno/Delano

A US Department of Commerce grant announced this week helps two Valley towns move forward on projects.

Fresno, California: California State University at Fresno— $178,750 to California State University at Fresno in Fresno, California to support the San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Manufacturing Investment Strategy and Sustainability Plan, which will move the region further toward value-added agriculture and help create and grow food manufacturing companies in the region.

Delano,California: $1.8 million to the city of Delano, California, to help build a rail spur to connect the city with an industrial park and increase commercial activity that will lead to greater employment opportunities. The spur will run about one half mile connecting the main UP line to RailEx, the second such spur, encouraging an a planned expansion of the cold storage rail shipper in town.

Delano Getting Asphalt Plant

City planner Mike McCabe of Delano says Jackson enterprises is buying 15 acres from Sears and plans  to build an asphalt manufacturing and concrete recycling  facility along Hwy 99.

Delano Retail Building Under Construction

A 172,000 sf retail building is under construction at the Delano marketplace shopping center in south Delano. City planner Mike McCabe says major tenants include Ross, Marshalls and Big Five. The building is the second major anchor at the center with the other being Walmart.

Kern Oil Price Down $10 This Month
Gas prices are finally heading down late this month as the price of crude oil declines.Kern County Midway Sunset oil sold by Chevron is down this month alone by over $10 a barrel from $108 per barrel on September 9 to $98 this week.

What’s The Outlook For Winter?

National Weather Service is predicting some rain moving into Northern California as far south as Monterey Friday and Saturday, the first wet pattern seen this fall that starts September 22. Not much of a start but it is a start.

NOAA says it has been a wet summer for parts of the US including Arizona with its Monsoon rains helping to make it the 4th wettest August in their history. Of course heavy Monsoon rains have caused widespread damage in Colorado but east of the Continental Divide – at the base of Rockies  – meaning the water flows east- not west where it could  help fill reservoirs on the Colorado River that also feed southern California.

It’s been a wet summer in parts of California including, surprisingly the mountains of Tulare County. NWS says in August Hockett Meadow got 0.68 in of rain and 0.85 in July and Mountain Home on the Tule got nearly an inch in August.

Along the Colorado River Needles received nearly 3inches of rain in August  and along the Eastern Sierra – Independence got 1.67 in in August. Even Big Bear above LA got 2 inches of rain total  for July and August.

Look a the map to the left. Notice the wet spot above Shasta and in Tulare County.

So what is the outlook for rain this winter?

NOAA‘s Climate Prediction Center is still suggesting ENSO neutral conditions meaning neither an El Nino or La Nina weather pattern so they can’t help with rain predictions.

Forecaster Alan Fox says “There will be a small and gradual increase in El Niño influence as suggested in the guidance for the fall according to the latest NOAA sea surface temperature anomaly guidance posted on the NOAA/NCEP/CPC CFS2 web site. Scripps ECPC does not expect any increase in El Niño until next late winter and spring.

Although we start the period with east winds at times, and hot conditions, this trend is unlikely to continue due to presence of El Niño. At the least we can expect some cutoff low activity during the fall and early winter, recurrent high pressure off and over northern California, and dry conditions. Predictability of rain events will be a challenge due to the lack of a well developed storm track into northern California. As long as weak El Niño conditions are present, there will tend to be cutoff lows during this particular season. In this case, weak El Niño conditions will tend to support cutoff lows and a lack of consistency between the midlatitude and subtropical branches of the westerlies. This supports a lack of predictably”

 Strong imports, exports fuel busiest month since 2007

Sept. 16, 2013

Containerized cargo volume at the Port of Long Beach surged 16 percent in August compared to the same month one year ago, with double-digit percentage gains in both imports and exports.

August 2013 is not only the busiest month in 2013 so far, but is the busiest month for cargo at Long Beach since October 2007. August through October each year is traditionally the “peak season” for ocean-borne imports, as retailers prepare for a rise in buying as the end-of-the-year holidays approach.

A total of 630,292 TEUs (or twenty-foot equivalent container units) moved through Long Beach in August. Imports increased 19.2 percent to 327,817 TEUs. Exports were up by 20.2 percent to 154,118 TEUs.

Empties were up 5.8 percent to 148,357 TEUs. With imports exceeding exports, empties are sent overseas to be refilled with goods.

For the first eight months of calendar 2013, cargo container volume is up 13.6 percent ― including 16.2 percent more imports, 10.9 percent more exports and 11 percent more empties.

With larger and larger ships visiting more frequently since the end of 2012, Port officials are working to offer premier customer service and facilities to the international shipping industry.

Reclamation Awards $4.27 Million Contract to Replace and Improve Fish Protection Louver at Tracy Fish Collection Facility near Delta Pumping Plant

TRACY, Calif. – Reclamation has awarded a $4,273,369 contract to Valentine Corp. of San Rafael, Calif., for the replacement and improvement of a major louver system at the Tracy Fish Collection Facility located in Byron, Calif. The louvers are designed to slow the flow of water through the collection facility and divert fish into holding tanks.

Valentine Corp., which specializes in engineering and construction projects, will replace the secondary louvers and add fish screens that can be moved within the system. Work is expected to be completed in spring 2014.

The Tracy Fish Collection Facility is a complex system of louvers, bypasses and holding tanks operated to protect and salvage fish, natural to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, from the nearby C.W. “Bill” Jones Pumping Plant. The facility collects fish as a primary mitigation feature for the pumping plant. Reclamation then returns the fish to the northern Delta in tanker trucks.

Reclamation constructed the fish facility in the 1950s and has been periodically making improvements to adopt state-of-the-art technical and biological techniques to reduce fish losses associated with pumping. About 50 species of fish are collected at the facility, including listed species such as the Delta smelt, winter-run and spring-run Chinook salmon, steelhead, and green sturgeon.

Some Fresno/Sacramento Locations To Close –
SLO / Lemoore  & Reedley To Remain Open

UK-based Tesco has announced it is selling the Fresh & Easy business to The Yucaipa Companies LLC – sold as an operating business and  preserving some 4000 jobs. Some 150 stores will be acquired out of 200 operating locations that employ 5000 people.
The sale is expected to take three months.
Employees at the Lemoore store in Kings County say they were informed they would keep the doors open as well as Reedley as did employees at the San Luis Obispo store. Newspapers reported several Fresno stores would close as will some in Sacramento and LA.
Yucaipa will keep about 150 of the California-based Fresh & Easy’s stores as well as its Riverside distribution and production plants.
LA based Yucaipa president Ron Burkel said “We plan on continuing to build Fresh & Easy into a next-generation convenience retail experience, providing busy consumers with more local and healthy access for their daily needs.”

Tulare County Measure R Update: Revenues Up 13%

Tulare County voter-approved sales tax Measure R funds local transportation projects. In a measure of an improved economy a  TCAG report says revenue received so far this fiscal year  is up 13% through August.Two big projects funded through the program are the widening of Rd 80 from Visalia to Dinuba and Ave 416 widening from Dinuba west to the Fresno County line.Measure R is also expected to front $6.66 million to begin right-of-way acquisition in Goshen this year to build  the new Betty Drive interchange.

Home Building Permit Values Rise 66% In Visalia

The value of new home building permits issued in Visalia through the first 8 months of the year are up 66% compared to the same period last year. The value of the construction rose to $60.2 million so far this year compared to $36.2 million through August 2012. The numbers are up a less dramatic 36% to 252 new units compared to 181 homes permitted by August of 2012. The message appears to be that Visalia builders are constructing more mid-range homes instead of starters.

Visalia Carrows Restaurant Could Become Black Bear Diner

The owners of Black Bear Diner have filed preliminary plans to remodel the Carrows Restaurant on Mooney Blvd. Sources with the company said they could not comment. Carrows was in Tulare that closed and became a Black Bear Diner some years ago. Carrows is owned by a Japanese company Zensho Co., Ltd., which has operated Coco’s Japan for many years.
Black Bear Diner is California chain launched in the mid 90s in Shasta and now sports around 60 locations that include Porterville ,Tulare and Hanford. Like Carrows they offer comfort food but in a down home atmosphere.. The chain has several local connections including the fact that Visalia muralist Colleen Mitchell-Veyna has done over 20 murals in Black Bear Diner locations in the past 10 years.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced it has submitted a first-in-the-nation drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium (chromium-6) to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). Public comment begins Friday, August 23, when the proposal is published on the OAL website. 

“California is the first and only state in the nation to establish a maximum contaminant level specifically for chromium-6 in drinking water,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, CDPH director and public health officer. “Establishing this new MCL underscores California’s commitment to safe drinking water standards to protect the public health.”

Poses Risk Of Cancer
The proposed regulations set the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for chromium-6 in drinking water at 10 parts per billion (ppb) and specifically regulate the hexavalent form of chromium. This is five times less than the current total chromium standard of 50 ppb, which includes both trivalent chromium (chromium-3) and chromium-6. The federal MCL for total chromium is 100 ppb. Chromium-3 is harmless and actually a required nutrient, while chromium-6 may pose a risk of cancer when ingested. 

In 2001, California adopted the first-in-the-nation law requiring a MCL for chromium-6. State law requires that a public health goal be established before a MCL may be set – and that the MCL be set as close to the public health goal as economically and technologically feasible. The public health goal was announced in July 2011. 

The department has performed a series of rigorous analyses that considered, among other things: the occurrence of chromium-6 in drinking water sources statewide; the methods, feasibility and costs of detection; treatment and monitoring technology; and the relative health benefit that could be obtained at various MCL levels. The department also engaged public and private stakeholders, including public water systems and commercial laboratories. Capital investments needed along with the ongoing costs of operations and maintenance are estimated to be $156 million annually for public water systems to comply with this new standard.

Fresno County Detections
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) included hexavalent chromium as an unregulated chemical requiring monitoring in 2001. Based on recent data, 3,107 of 6,565 public wells have concentrations above the detection limit for purposes of reporting (DLR) of 1μg/L. Most detections of hexavalent chromium have occurred in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Fresno Counties. A Public Health Goal (PHG) of 0.02 μg/L was published in July 2011.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) repoerts that Hexavalent chromium (or chromium-6) gets into water supplies after being discharged from steel and pulp mills as well as metal-plating and leather-tanning facilities. It can also pollute water through erosion of soil and rock.

In California, the only state that requires water utilities to test for hexavalent chromium, the state’s Environmental Protection Agency (California EPA) has proposed a “public health goal,” or maximum safe concentration, of 0.06 parts per billion (ppb) in tap water to protect against excess cancer risk. However, the state’s current testing protocols are significantly less sensitive than those of the independent laboratory hired by EWG and may identify only the most extreme cases of contamination. Chromium-6 levels in tap water in all four California cities tested by EWG exceeded the proposed public health goal. (Once the goal is established, state regulators plan to embark on a rule-making process to set a legally enforceable upper limit.)

The posting of the regulations on Friday by the state begins the public discussion process. The proposed regulations will be available today on the department’s website and will be posted tomorrow on the OAL website. Written comments are encouraged and will be accepted starting Friday at noon. The department will also hold meetings to receive public comment. The final MCL will be adopted following the public review and comment process. Once final, the department will review the chromium-6 MCL at least every five years after its adoption. As technology improves, the standard may be changed.

Fast growing retailer Dollar General will build a new store in Exeter on Visalia Rd adding to their string of new stores in the Tulare County orange belt area.

The company is seeking a a conditional use permit from the Exeter Planning Commission at their next meeting September 19, says planner Greg Collins.

“They want to build a 9000sf store west of Burger King and across the street from Savemart on Visalia Rd.”

Just this month the discounter opened their new 12,500sf Woodlake store and in the past month the company got approval to build a new store in Lindsay after selecting a another location.

In Woodlake the developer has the real estate on Naranjo for sale for $3.14 million to investors  – promising the cash flow from Dollar General stores make it a good risk.

The Hanley Investment Group selling the asset says earning per share were up 28% in 2012 and same store sales projections expect a 4 to 5% increase this year.

In Lindsay after a split city council favored the developers latest application 3 to 2, the Embree Asset Group offered $5000 to an auto repair merchant who will be displaced by the construction of the new store. This happened after a few months earlier the same group lost a vote on the council to build their store Downtown displacing an historical building resulting in some ill will in the community.

Its not just Dollar General who is expanding here but rivals Dollar Tree and Family Dollar are also building stores in the Valley.All three will now be represented in Exeter.

Competition wise the explosion of these stores may impact large discount retailers like Kmart and Walmart but also little ‘Mom and Pop’ convenience stores.

Dollar General is emphasizing food sales on most stores.

Nationwide Dollar General opened 626 new stores in 2012.

Besides the foothill region locations mentioned – Dollar General has new stores in Porterville,Farmersville with one coming on Mooney in Visalia and three slated for Tulare. A new store has also been announced in Earlimart.

Aug 27, 2013 ⋅

In the 1970s Fresno State alumnus John W. Long decided to leave his estate to Fresno State. Mr. Long worked in retail, selling men’s clothes in Los Angeles. He had no wife or children, and believed that through an estate gift to Fresno State he could make a difference in the lives of students from all walks of life.
Driven by his vision to support scholarships, Mr. Long spent the next 40 years steadily building his worth through investments and real estate. When Mr. Long died in January, the value of his estate had topped $5 million.
Mr. Long did not notify Fresno State of his plans until 2012. It was determined his gift will establish endowments funding full-tuition scholarships for more than 20 Fresno State students every year in perpetuity.
Mr. Long wanted no recognition for his gift. He asked to remain anonymous until after his death and to name the scholarships for his mother Miriam Long.
“The impact of his gift to Fresno State is staggering. Thousands of lives will be changed, but he wanted no acknowledgement for his generosity,” said director of Planned Giving Steve Spriggs, the only representative from Fresno State with whom Mr. Long agreed to meet.
“When I asked Mr. Long if he understood how significant these scholarships will be for so many students, he simply said, ‘I just wanted to help.’”
His connection to Fresno State goes back to his mother, who earned her teaching credential from the university in 1919 when it was Fresno State Normal School. She spent her career teaching elementary school in west Fresno and helped to support Mr. Long as he attended Fresno State to study commerce, which is now called business.
World War II interrupted Mr. Long’s college experience. He enlisted in the Army and served on a medical ship, returning to campus after the war. He developed a passion for retail while working in the Fresno State bookstore.
He worked in men’s retail throughout his career. He lived a private and simple life that according to Spriggs afforded him the money to invest in apartment complexes near the University of California, Los Angeles campus.
Mr. Long passed away on Jan. 26 in Southern California. Spriggs expects his estate to be settled by the end of this year, establishing three scholarship endowments at Fresno State. The inaugural Miriam Long Scholars will be named for the 2014-15 academic year.
“Mr. Long will never know the thousands of students to be touched by his generosity, but his legacy will transform countless lives,” Spriggs said. “It gives me goose bumps to think of the pure altruism in his heart.”