Category: Business

Central Valley Hotel Occupancy Higher: Hotels in Fresno and Tulare counties are showing improved occupancy so far this year according to Smith Travel. Fresno hotel rooms sold are up 7% in April and 7.6% year to date withe Tulare/Visalia hotel rooms sold was up 8.1% in April and up 7.6% year to date. Merced and Stockton showed a similar improvement. RevPar for both Fresno and Visalia is well above 9% year to date showing a recovery underway.

Occupancy is Tulare County accommodations in April was 62.5% compared to 57.8% in April 2012.

Gas prices across California are falling as we head into June. In SLO the lowest price gas is at Arco at $3.93;in Tulare a number of of stations are selling regular for $3.73 and in Fresno the lowest price is $3.74 at a Beacon on G St.

Gas Buddy says the average gasoline price in the state is now $3.98 falling from $4.05 in mid May. Crude oil prices have been down in part due to increased domestic production. Gas Buddy analyst Patrick DeHaan writes: “Good news for motorists: if past history is any indication, June is a relatively quiet month at the gas pump. And perhaps the best news? The last two years we’ve even seen downward trends in gasoline prices for the month, and I believe this year we’ll likely see similar relief in store.”

Increasingly domestic oil is moving by rail. BNSF rail traffic for the year is up around 4% but shipments of petroleum by rail are up 75%.

Meanwhile the the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has given its approval to Tesoro Corp to buy the BP Refinery in Carson, CA, and the state Attorney General and the California Energy Commission has OK’d the deal as well. Tesoro is spending $2.38 billion to buy the BP refinery and its southern California assets that include Arco. The BP Carson refinery capacity is 266,000 bpd. Some fear Arco’s low price leadership may end.

Woodlake Wrestling Complex Moves Forward
Woodlake will see a scaled-back version of the ambitious USA Wrestling project previously slated for Tulare. Woodlake promoter Bruce Kopitar’s 77 acre Twilight Park will be the location for the venue says general manager Tedd Williams.

Kopitar who owns US Towers in Woodlake, is filing construction plans with the city on a first phase says Williams with city officials confirming a hearing next month. The first phase will be an athletic training room and large dormitory that will host weekly wrestling camps for around 50 wrestlers says Williams.

The conditional use application calls for  37,500 square foot multi-purpose gymnasium with ticket office, restrooms and a 25,000 square foot dormitory,

“Next year we will be filing plans for the arena” he says,declining to say what scale the indoor arena will be.When the arena was proposed in Tulare it was 16,000 seats, included a 200 seat restaurant and luxury box seats – a $100 million project.

Twilight Park offers outdoor concerts,shows and sporting events that include boxing,cage fighting and wrestling. One of the largest events is  the JugFest concert held June 1 that draws up to 8000 people says Williams. A BBQ championship cook off is set for July. Concerts in Spanish and with a country twang are favorites.

Around The Region….

Visalia Mall will get a Starbucks, the 9th location for the chain in town. Three Rivers own Reimer’s Candy,already in Avila Beach has expanded to Oakhurst as well, on the way to Yosemite. Family Heathcare Network has broken ground on its $5 million clinic on School St in Downtown Visalia.Construction will take 13 months says contractor Basil Perch. Merger of Visalia Community Bank with Fresno-based Central Valley Community Bank is done with the bank deciding to close their north side Ferguson Ave branch as of May 15. Visalia Community was the first and still only bank north of Murray Ave. Now there are zero.

The California new vehicle market continued its steady recovery in the first quarter of this year. New light vehicle registrations increased 12.6 percent during the first three months of 2013 versus a year earlier, and exceeded 400,000 units, which was the highest first quarter total since 2008 according to figures provided by the California New Car Dealers Assn.
The increase in the state exceeded the U.S. market improvement of 7.2 percent. Auto Outlook is projecting that new registrations for all of this year will come in at 1.668 million units, up more than 9% from 2012.
Other key trends in the state market:
•Among the top 15 selling brands, Dodge and Subaru had the largest percentage increases in the First Quarter.
•Domestic brand registrations increased 17.8 percent in the first quarter and market share increased 1.3 points.
•Passenger car share increased a slim 0.1 share points. SUV share increased 0.3 points.
Hybrid vehicle market share increased to 7.5 percent in the first quarter.
Toyota’s Prius maintained a small lead over Accord as top selling car in California.

Meanwhile California’s used car market did not fare as well.Used registrations in the state declined 6.5 percent during the first three months of this year versus a year earlier.

VISALIA – On Thursday, May 23, Kaweah Delta Health Care District hosted a groundbreaking for Sequoia Medical Center, a 52,000sf medical office building that will complete its west campus in Visalia.  Sequoia Medical Center  – at 820 S. Akers St. (corner of Cypress Avenue and Akers Street) will be home to a variety of specialty medical groups, some of which include:
-Orthopaedic Associates Medical Clinic, Inc.
-South Valley Vascular Associates, Inc.
-Sequoia Prompt Care (second site)
-Therapy Specialists, a division of Kaweah Delta Health Care District
-Hand Therapy Specialists, a division of Kaweah Delta Health Care District.
Construction of Sequoia Medical Center is estimated to be complete by July 1, 2014.
The developer of the private project is Fresno based State Center Properties, its architect is Anthony Pings and Associates, and its general contractor is Quiring General, LLC of Fresno.Kaweah Delta owns the land where the project will be built next to its popular Lifestyle Center.

Florida-based United States Cold Storage Western Region manager Rod Noll says the company recently decided to expand their Fresno facility.

The $1.5 million,127,000sf addition will have approximately 4.5 million cubic feet of refrigerated storage space,20,000 racked pallet positions and additional 80 blast freezer positions.

A construction permit was issued April 1.

“New contracts with California Dairies Inc is helping to drive the expansion” says Noll. The diary co-op is ramping up production of dry milk products for export this year.”We happen to have plants around California where they have plants.”

The Fresno distribution plant already has 9.6 million cubic feet of cold space with temps ranging as low as -20F and 46,000 variable height pallets.

The expansion would approach a 50% increase. “We’re just north of a $60 million total investment in Fresno.” Noll says this is the  third expansion of the facility since 2007.

“The central San Joaquin Valley continues to grow steadily. With this expansion, we will be able to meet the needs of our customers and their customers.”

The company serves the food industry with products ranging from dry milk powder,butter,whey frozen herbs, ice cream and frozen food entrees.

Besides Fresno US Cold Storage has a huge 20 million cubic feet operation in Tulare,the state dairy hub. Both Fresno and Tulare are on the Union Pacific line.

Noll oversees 12 locations for the company with some 468 employees with around 100 employees in Fresno alone.

Noll sees opportunity at several of its plants to co-locate food processors next door who might use the cold storage facility.Both Tulare and Fresno have available acreage they own next to their plants in a strategy to literally bring in business.

“I could tell from the recent Fresno Food Expo that there is quite a lot interest for companies to set up here.”

Expansion for US Cold Storage is coming company-wide after several years of reduced demand due to the recession. USCS president David Harlan says as a result “Manufacturers were reducing inventory levels and all of our clients were looking to control inventory and working capital. As a result, our occupancy levels dipped and our financial results were lower than anticipated.”

Writing a column in January – Harlan added”Three years later, I’m proud to say that as a result of maintaining our focus during a down time,we’ve improved our operating systems, expanded our customer base and improved our energy efficiency.”

High Speed Rail and farmers settle. The Merced and Madera Farm Bureaus and others announced a settlement yesterday to a lawsuit  that aimed to hold up construction of the Merced to Fresno section of the California High Speed Rail route, the first expected to break ground. This is the fourth suit to be settled and leaves only the suit from Kings county farm interests. The 60 mile Merced to Fresno segment could break ground this summer.

Separately, the board of the CHSRA will select an alignment for the  next 114 mile segment from Fresno to Bakersfield at its May 2 meting. Staff of the agency has suggested  the west of  Fresno option but concerns over water table issues in the Armona area could impact plans to build the track in a trench say sources.

Tulare Regional Medical Center get OK to restart construction of their stalled  medical tower this week. CEO Shawn Bolouki announced the decision by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD)  allowing construction to continue on the third and fourth floor of the new medical building that has been stalled for a year. Issues over the strength of the concrete held the project up.

Visalia will get new Welcome To Visalia sign on 198 at the new Plaza Drive bridge across from the airport. The widened interchange and the sign should be complete  this summer. There is also a mountain silhouette along the length of the bridge.

State awards Kaweah Delta full NICU community level status

California Children’s Services (CCS) has awarded Kaweah Delta Medical Center with full approval as a CCS Community Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.The community designation, awarded on Thursday, April 11, allows Kaweah Delta to continue caring locally for babies who require intensive care and begin receiving reimbursements from the state for providing advanced care to NICU patients.
“It is our priority to provide the best care possible to the babies of our community,” said Marie Young, BSN RNC, Nurse Manager of Kaweah Delta’s NICU. “Keeping these babies close to their families is an important part of the care and healing process. This designation allows us the ability to continue providing this crucial service.”
Kaweah Delta Breaks  Ground on 4th rural clinic on April 16 in Visalia
Kaweah Delta Health Care District broke ground on its fourth rural health clinic on Tuesday.April 16, in Visalia at 243 E. Caldwell Ave. The clinic is expected to open in 2014 and will be the district’s fourth rural health clinic to open in Tulare County. Kaweah Delta operates rural health clinics in Exeter, Lindsay and Woodlake.
TULARE COUNTY MAINTAINS *STABLE* FITCH RATINGS

International credit rating agency Fitch Ratings affirmed stable credit
ratings today for Tulare County*s implied general obligation and
certificates of participation (COPs) series.

County officials say the stable credit ratings will have positive
implications should the County seek to finance future capital projects
such as new construction, expansion, renovation, or replacement projects
to facilities.

Citing Tulare County*s stable economy, healthy financial position,
and manageable long term liabilities, Fitch Ratings affirmed the implied
general obligation at AA- and the COPs series at A+. An *A*
assignment denotes high credit quality while an *AA* assignment
denotes very high credit quality, according to Fitch Ratings.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Pete Vander Poel said the affirmation of
stable credit ratings is reflective of Tulare County*s strong
financial performance during tough economic times.

*The Fitch rating issued today is fantastic news,* Chairman Vander
Poel said. *This rating is validation of the County*s strong
financial position that has resulted from fiscally responsible actions
by the Board and County Administration.*

County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau said the stable credit
ratings will save taxpayers* money should Tulare County choose to
borrow money in the future because the positive ratings allow for more
flexibility and lower interest

The U.S. Navy has extended the public comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental effects that may result from home basing the Navy F-35C (Joint Strike Fighter) at either Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, Calif., or Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore, Calif. In response to public and elected official requests, and in order to ensure everyone in the community has ample opportunity to provide input into this document, the Navy has extended the public comment period until Tuesday, May 7. The original deadline for public comment was April 22.

LA based Beacon Economics paints a bullish picture about the rest of 2013 and California.Here are a few bullet points. Beacon Economics is expecting the U.S. economy to grow by 3% through 2013 with continued gains in employment – the nation has been adding over 200,000 jobs monthly for the past few months – and an unemployment rate that will drop to 7% by the end of the year… Read More. Optimism for the rest of 2013 is being partly driven by a resurgent housing market. Home prices have been climbing at a significant pace and will continue to rise through this year and 2014, at a minimum. The reason for the jump in prices is simple—tight inventories and incredible affordability… Read More. Beacon Economics does not believe the nation is entering another housing bubble. Rather than being overpriced, homes still appear to be underpriced from a long-run perspective. Home prices could rise by upwards of 35% or more from current levels before they would look misaligned with fundamentals… Read more. California Forecast: Economic Recovery Stronger Than Believed The labor market in California has hit its stride with every major region of the state and the majority of industries making a definitive turn toward job growth… Read More. The median price of an existing single-family home in California rose 23% in 2012. Over the past 12 months, real estate has transitioned from being a drag on the state’s economic recovery to being a driver of growth. Beacon Economics is forecasting price appreciation to remain robust through 2013 and 2014 before returning to more historical norms in 2015… Read More. Tourism remains a force to be reckoned with in California. At over 70%, California’s hotel occupancy rate far exceeds the national rate of 62%… Read More.

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BEIJING, CHINA – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. joined U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Chao and hundreds of American and Chinese business leaders at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday night, where he announced a $1.5 billion investment partnership between a California-based developer and a China-based investor and developer that will create thousands of California jobs.

The $1.5 billion Brooklyn Basin investment deal between China-based Zarsion Holdings Group Co. Ltd. and California-based Signature Development Group will create 10,000 jobs and provide for the construction of 3,100 units, 200,000 square feet of retail and commercial space and 30 acres of parks and open space in Oakland. The project will break ground in 2014.

“This massive influx of Chinese investment will put thousands of Californians to work and dramatically improve Oakland’s waterfront,” said Governor Brown. “This project is just one example of what’s possible when business leaders in two of the world’s most dynamic regions connect.”

According to research company Rhodium Group, from 2000 to 2011, Chinese investors funded 165 deals in California worth $1.3 billion – which represents more than one quarter of all Chinese investments in the U.S. during this period. The report also found that California has the potential to attract up to $60 billion in Chinese foreign direct investment by 2020.

This is the first major investment by Zarsion Holdings Group in the U.S.. Governor Brown supported the project when he served as Oakland’s Mayor. Oakland’s current Mayor, Jean Quan, a Chinese American, was instrumental in connecting Beijing Zarsion Holdings Group with Signature Development Group.

At the reception, the Governor also announced the creation of a new program funded by a $250,000 grant from the Florence Fang Family Foundation, in support of the 100,000 Strong Foundation, which was launched by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to expand and diversify the number of Americans studying Mandarin and studying abroad in China. The program will send California community college students to study in China, starting with students in the San Mateo Community College District in 2014.

“The best way for students to learn about China is to go to China,” said Governor Brown. “Through this program, students will forge great friendships in one of the world’s most creative and dynamic countries.”

The Governor’s trade and investment mission follows more than a year of significant diplomatic and business exchanges between the State of California and China. In February 2012, Governor Brown welcomed His Excellency Xi Jinping, then-Vice President, and now President of China, to California. During the visit, Governor Brown announced his intention to visit China, open a trade and investment office and form a China-California Joint Task Force to drive more collaboration, investment and trade between California and China. Later in 2012, the Brown administration convened the inaugural Joint Economic Committee between California and China’s Jiangsu Province, hosted a Chinese delegation led by the Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Commerce and met with a Chinese delegation led by Deputy Governor Xia Geng of China’s Shandong Province.

This week and next, the Governor will meet with Chinese government and business leaders, highlight bilateral trade and investment opportunities between the two regions and open a new trade and investment office. In addition to Beijing, the trade and investment mission will include events in Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen through Tuesday, April 16th.

Joining the Governor on the trade and investment mission is a delegation organized by the Bay Area Council that includes approximately 90 business, economic development, investment and policy leaders from throughout California. Senior administration officials are also accompanying the delegation.

The reception at the U.S. Embassy capped the first full day of the Governor’s trade and investment mission to China, which included meetings with China’s Minister of Commerce, Minister of Environmental Protection, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission and a forum with the American Chamber of Commerce – Beijing.

SLO Co Building New $2.2 Mil Facility – Cloud Co, manufacturer of  tank cleaning machines offers cleaning systems for key Central California industries including bulk transport, marine, food processing, brewing and wineries to name some – all made in San Luis Obispo.

Now the family owned company is building a $2.2 million facility near the SLO airport at 4855 Morabito Place, off Broad/Edna.Founded as a tool and die shop in San Francisco in 1951 the company acquired the Seller line of machines in 2008.

Gas prices are heading down,not up across the state. In SLO town gas has dropped to below $4 a gallon at several locations.Gas Buddy confirms the trend,prices are heading down with some locations selling gas today in Northern California for $3.52 today.AAA says the average price across the state is $4. In New York ,gasoline futures have dropped by 40 to 45 cents since mid-February although California gas sells for a few cents more.

California mortgage rates are down to 3.36% today. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace’s current mortgage rates in California for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped 2 basis points from 3.40% to 3.38% on Friday and down to 3.36 on Saturday.The California mortgage interest rate on April 5, 2013, is down 11 basis points from last week’s average California rate of 3.49%.

Drought is clear in California and the West as seen in this latest Drought Monitor map .It is just as clear that the Midwest is recovering for its drought last year  and that could relief for California livestock owners for feed and food prices for consumers later this year.
In California while rainfall amounts this season are awful, reservoir storage is not as bad – a good reason why we have dams. Shasta is at 101% of average for this date,Oroville is 108%,Folsom at 97%,New Melones at 105% of average. It is not as bright a picture in the south Valley with Millerton at 88%,Pine Flat on the Kings at 65%,Tule River’s Success Dam at 75% and Lake Isabella 44%.Kaweah River’s Terminus Dam is 115% of average. So far this water year Kaweah watershed precip is about 50% of average.
Friant Water Contractors will get just 55% of their allotment  this year the Bureau of Reclamation announced this past week,down from an expected 65%. Farmers will be pumping from their groundwater supply this summer.
Corn Prices eased again late last week with May Corn falling to $6.29 a bushel. Some 68% of dairy operators costs are feed related.Meanwhile beef and milk prices paid to producers have been heading higher and we will likely  see more volume in coming months.

California Exporters Enjoy Slight Gain Over Same Time Last Year As PC Market Continues Its Decline

April 5, 2013 – LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – Even if it isn’t immediately apparent, California’s export trade this February represented a modest increase over the same month last year, according to an analysis by Beacon Economics of foreign trade data released this morning by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The state’s exports in February 2013 totaled $12.70 billion, which might appear to be less than the $12.85 billion recorded in February 2012. However, 2012 was a Leap Year, adding an extra trading day to that month.

“Last February saw exporters benefit from the Sadie Hawkins Day Bump,” said Jock O’Connell, Beacon Economics’ international trade adviser. “This February, Sadie sat out the dance.”

When adjusting for both inflation and that bonus trading day last February, California’s February 2013 export trade showed an increase of 1.1% over the same month one year earlier.

The gain came as the result of a 4.3% real increase in shipments of manufactured products and an even more robust 5.9% rise in exports of non-manufactured goods (chiefly agricultural commodities and raw materials).  Restraining further growth in the state’s overall export trade was a relatively sharp 9.6% fall-off in re-exported goods.

Because detailed data on specific export commodities and their destinations can vary abruptly from month to month for a variety of factors, Beacon Economics’ analysis compares the latest three months with the corresponding period twelve months earlier.

That analysis reveals that California’s export of manufactured products continues to be slowed by an ongoing decline in shipments of electronic components used in the manufacture of personal computers. In the most recent three-month period (December 2012-February 2013), exports of these products were down 24.9% from the same period a year earlier.

“The chief culprit here is the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, which has been shrinking consumer demand for PCs and curtailing trade in PC components,” O’Connell said.

Interestingly, in terms of employment, the manufacturing sector in California is doing better than initially reported. Recently released 2013 Benchmark revisions by the California Employment Development Department show that the state gained roughly 19,400 more manufacturing jobs through the end of 2012 than originally indicated, with most of the upward revisions coming from durable goods. “Compared to the rest of the nation, manufacturing employment growth has not been a bright spot in California,” said Beacon Economics’ Director of Economic Research Jordan Levine. “But the precipitous declines we were seeing in manufacturing jobs have largely been arrested.”

California’s exports to Mexico, the state’s leading foreign market, were down by 19.2% in the latest three-month period, largely because PC components have constituted as much as 30% of California’s export trade with its southern neighbor as recently as 2011.

Shipments to the state’s number two market, Canada, rose slightly by 1.2%, while exports to its third largest export market, China, slipped by 1.3%.

Perhaps surprisingly, given headlines about Europe’s persistent economic and financial woes, California exports to the European Union were up 3.9% over the latest three months, while exports to the Pacific Rim rose by just 2.2%.

Airborne shipments currently account for 44.3% of all state exports. By contrast, 34.0% of the state’s export trade went by sea, while the remaining 21.7% was transported overland to Mexico and Canada.

The overall outlook for the state’s exporters is mixed, with the rising value of the dollar and the risk of competitive currency devaluations presenting the most evident negatives for California exporters.

“Of course, all of this assumes that Kim Jong-un doesn’t do anything rash in the coming weeks,” said O’Connell.