Fresno politicians were wined and dined at receptions for Ivanka Trump when the TV personality’s father was trying to consummate a deal with the city for Running Horse golf course last year.
Mayor Alan Autry and other city officials listed food and drinks they received at the receptions as gifts, in economic-interest statements recently filed with the city.
Fresno developer DeWayne Zinkin and Fresno businessman Bob Smittcamp paid the costs of the July receptions with representatives of the Trump Organization.
Autry valued the two dinners and receptions he attended at $135. Other Fresno officials also listed as gifts their attendance at one or both of the receptions, including Deputy Mayor Jeff Eben; City Council members Henry T. Perea, Brian Calhoun, and Jerry Duncan; City Manager Andy Souza and City Clerk Rebecca Klisch.
Eben, Perea and Duncan are all competing to replace Autry as mayor. Calhoun is running against Fresno County Supervisor Susan Anderson and accountant Paul Dictos for the Second District supervisor seat.
The city offered to help Donald Trump buy part of the land needed to finish the golf course in southwest Fresno, but the deal fell apart in December.
Two groups published a report today that compares the cost of renting a house and owning one in dozens of cities, including Fresno. The authors suggest that renters are being ignored in the national debate over how to resolve the mortgage meltdown.
The study says that many houses bought in 2007, including those in Fresno, will be worth less in 2012, and that the foreclosure crisis will cause a demand for more rental housing. Be advised: the comparison of owning and renting does not factor in the value of a homeowner's mortgage deduction and paying down the principal, says co-author Dean Baker.
Political Notebook: Tulare County keeps GOP candidates hopping
It's not difficult for candidates to cross paths during a campaign, but today's schedule is getting a bit ridiculous for the Republican candidates in the 34th Assembly District.
All four GOP hopefuls in the June 3 primary are crossing swords in three different forums today, in what candidate Connie Conway of Tulare said is one of the busiest days of the campaign.
Conway, chairwoman of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, was joined by Becky Maze of Visalia, Bob Smith of Yermo and Jon Zellhoefer of Tecopa this morning in Visalia for a forum with the Tulare County Association of Realtors.
A few hours later, the quartet got to practice their pitches again in a lunchtime event with the Visalia Republican Women.
Later today, they'll wrap up their whirlwind day in Porterville at a forum put on by the Southeast Tulare County Republican Women.
All four candidates are vying for the opportunity to run in the November general election to replace Becky Maze's husband, termed-out incumbent Bill Maze, in the Assembly.
Desmond Farrelly of Visalia is unopposed in the Democratic primary, but with the heavy Republican advantage in voter registration throughout the district, odds are that the eventual winner of the seat will actually be decided in the Republican primary.
Political Notebook: Candidates headed for a MAPA marathon, and a live debate
A typical candidate forum lasts anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours.
Saturday, the Mexican American Political Association will prove the cliche that elections are marathons - not sprints - when they host a six-hour forum for candidates running for mayor of Fresno or a seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
The forum, which starts at 9 a.m. at Club One in downtown Fresno, will be hosted by the San Joaquin Valley Regional MAPA, Cesar Chavez Fresno local chapter, the Regional Hmong American Political Association and various immigrant groups.
There's no word yet on how many candidates will attend.
Monday, the mayoral candidates go back to work, this time on live television for the KVPT Forum at 7 p.m. Valley Public Television, in partnership K-Jewel 99.3, will sponsor the debate, which will also be broadcast live on the radio station.
Political Notebook: Assembly hopeful takes a jab at Big Oil
Jon Zellhoefer, one of four Republicans in the primary for the 34th Assembly District seat now held by term-limited Bill Maze, R-Visalia, spent much of a noontime forum in Visalia making nice with competitors Connie Conway, Becky Maze and Bob Smith.
At today's meeting of the Visalia Republican Women, all four agreed on the need for cutting the state budget, strengthening local control of schools, and coming up with a fair way to redraw legislative and congressional districts.
But when a question arose about energy supplies and oil prices, Zellhoefer was the only one to step to the mike and take a swing.
Zellhoefer lashed out with a zeal that's uncharacteristic for a party with strong ties between the White House and the oil industry. He blamed Big Oil for quashing altenative energy development by stifling new technologies to buoy reliance on crude oil.
"We see these oil companies advertising about how they're 'investing in alternatives to oil,' " Zellhoefer said. "What that means is they've bought up all the patents for new technology and canned it."
But in a more conventional party line, Zellhoefer also took environmentalists to task in the quest for energy.
"What we need to do is get our nuclear technology up and running again," he said, "and tell the environmentalists, 'Too bad, sit down and be quiet.' "
Political Notebook: Break-in gives Assembly candidate a bad day
Even an ex-cop can be a victim of crime. Just ask Bob Smith, a candidate in the 34th Assembly District Republican primary.
Smith, a former deputy sheriff in San Bernardino County, said he was attending a barbecue in Visalia about 6:30 p.m. Monday, and had parked his car along Lovers Lane.
A fellow guest went to get something from her car and came back with news that another car’s window had been shattered. It was Smith’s car. The rear driver-side window was smashed.
Missing from the car was a bag containing his handgun, credit cards and a checkbook. And his campaign literature was strewn all over the road.
“It’s so frustrating,” Smith said. “I spent the day cancelling cards.”
When asked if he should have kept the valuables in the trunk, especially a handgun, he said he keeps his weapon in the bag, but within reach when in the drivers seat.
Earlier in the campaign, I asked the 11 candidates for mayor about their top priorities for Fresno.
The answers weren't surprising - a safer community, more job opportunities, a vibrant downtown, a healthier city budget.
But the editors and I were curious if other community leaders shared those priorities, so we asked them to give us a list of their top five issues.
Most didn't even need five. And there was a common theme among the non-candidates that may surprise some people.
The key to improving Fresno, most said, is to have a mayor who will cooperate rather than compete with other government agencies.
Craig Scharton, a former Fresno City Council member who now leads the Central Valley Business Incubator, said he wants the next mayor to focus on improving quality of life, and expanding economic development. He wants the city to use great planning to fix bad neighborhoods, be innovative in its thinking and hire the best and brightest to lead city departments.
Jeffrey Reid, a partner in the law firm of McCormick, Barstow, said he hopes the mayor focuses on
public safety, finance, transportation, a more efficient city hall, and the more efficient use of resources. Reid said the mayor needs to not try and tackle every issue alone.
Gov. Schwarzenegger picked up a little campaign cash in Fresno last night at a fundraiser hosted by developer Tom Richards. A couple hundred people showed up at the $1,000 per person event, said former California Secretary of State Bill Jones, who was on the host committee. Others on the committee were west-side farmer John Harris, food executives Bill and Bob Smittcamp, and the Zinkin family, well-known developers and long-time Schwarzenegger allies.
The event supported the governor's "Dream Team," which raises money for ballot measures. The governor is seeking to put a redistricting measure on the November ballot.
Business: Gas prices near $4; anybody have a remember-when story?
Gas prices in Fresno bumped up a penny a gallon overnight to an average of about $3.96, according to AAA.
Here in The Bee's Business Department, we're keeping a daily watch. The $4 benchmark, while just a few cents away, is nonetheless significant. It makes many of us think wistfully of days past.
For instance, I remember when gas crossed the 50-cent threshhold at Ivory Jack's in rural Fairbanks, Alaska. We didn't own a car at the time, but it shocked my hitchhiking mother.
Business: High school students to learn about construction trades
About 350 students from Valley high schools are expected to find out what working construction is all about Friday.
They may even get a little dirty. Organizers say the event is hands-on.
The first Central Valley Construction Career Awareness Day is meant to offer students exposure to construction-related career opportunities and the construction industry in general. The event, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fresno's Save Mart Center, is being organized by Associated General Contractors of California (AGC) San Joaquin District.
Business: Google exec brings marketing advice to Fresno
Google exec brings online savvy to Fresno
If you've got a hankering to move your business online but haven't been able to justify the expense, maybe a $60 crash course from one of the world's premiere Internet companies will change your mind.
Eric Stein, director of local markets for Google Inc., will be in Fresno on Friday morning to lend his expertise to companies looking to capitalize on the World Wide Web. With a focus on how companies can cut costs -- not increase them -- with a move online, Stein's presentation may resonate well with business owners looking for ways to cope with a weakening economy.
Also on hand will be Gary Janzen and Nancy Johnston of Thielen Ideacorp and Jim Lowe of Jeffrey/Scott Advertising to give a Central Valley perspective on the value of online marketing, as well as local Internet entrepreneurs Marc Raygoza, founder of Vine Global, and Tina Henson, founder of Plastic Jungle.
Seats are still available for the 7:30 a.m. to noon workshop at National University, 20 River Park Place West in Fresno, and if you're already online, go visit the Web site of the workshop sponsor to pick up a ticket for $50. Otherwise, it's $60 at the door -- continental breakfast included.
Smog: State staff gives thumbs up to Valley's PM-2.5 plan
The staff of the state Air Resources Board (ARB) is recommending state approval of the Valley's plan to clean up microscopic soot and chemical debris. The plan drew heavy opposition from activists last month.
The governing board of ARB will vote on the staff recommendation – at a hearing in Fresno on May 22. The hearing will be at the headquarters of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, 1990 E. Gettysburg Ave. The district board approved the plan April 30 on a split vote, 8-3.
ARB staffers said the district's measures on residential wood smoke rule and boilers and glass furnaces will combine with state rules to help the Valley reach attainment for the so-called PM-2.5 standard by 2014.
The Valley is now represented on the ARB board by Fresno cardiologist John Telles, who is also on the Valley air district board. At his first Valley district board meeting on April 30, he voted against the cleanup plan. Many believe he again will turn thumbs down on the plan at the state meeting in Fresno.
Political Notebook: The judicial candidate's business card
Deputy District Attorney Douglas Treisman, who is running for Fresno County Superior Court judge, says his business card -- and the business cards of many of his colleagues -- are often the butt of office jokes.
His card says "Career Criminal" under the title "Office of the District Attorney." That refers to the career criminal unit, where Treisman worked until about six months ago, when he began representing the state at parole hearings in the lifer unit.
"We joke about that in the office," Treisman said. "But that's in fact what the unit is called. It's a running joke."
One evening, my wife got out her jewelry box and removed all the baubles she no longer wanted — single earrings, some broken chains, dented wrist bands, a couple of old watches that didn’t work, and miscellaneous.
With gold at $869 an ounce, maybe they’d fetch a good price from someone who buys jewelry for the gold content alone. She said a friend sold several pieces of her old jewelry and walked away with more than $700.
She asked me to find a place that buys gold and take them in.
I took them to Main Street Coin Co. in downtown Visalia, where the store motto is “Honesty is Everything.”
Very comforting.
The lady in front of me had just brought in a gold wrist band and one earring. She walked out with $315.
Wow!
Store owner Bruce Miller said he’s been getting a lot of jewelry sellers these days.
“We’ve had six people waiting in line before,” Miller said.
It can take several minutes per piece to be sure it’s really gold (or sterling silver), so he advises people to be patient. It’s fascinating to watch. First, Miller uses a magnet. If it sticks, it’s not gold. Rejected.
Using a magnifying glass, he examines the piece for the jeweler’s stamp stating the gold content. Most gold jewelry is 10K (41.7% gold) or 14K (58.5%). Some is 18K (75%), or higher. K stands for carat.
Then the true test: He’ll place a drop of a chemical on the piece and get out his magnifier. If it seems to test OK, it’s a keeper and he’ll buy it.
When he has enough scrap gold saved up, he’ll sell it to a wholesaler who melts it into pure gold.
Gold got as high as $1,002 an ounce in March. The price has dropped, but people keep coming in.
“It’s the American way,” Miller joked. “Buy high and sell low.”
If the jewelry is attractive but has very little gold in it, Miller will advise the customer to try selling it as jewelry, not scrap, to get a higher price.
By the way, those late night TV ads and Internet sites that offer to buy jewelry for the gold should be avoided. They pay too little per pennyweight, Miller said.
After calculating the amount of gold in the jewelry, Main Street Coin will pay 55% of the day’s spot price. That may seem like a heavy discount, Miller said, but there’s time, overhead and market risk to factor in. The price of gold could tumble by the time he sells it to the wholesaler.
Much of the jewelry I brought in this morning looked like gold but really wasn’t. But some was the real thing.
I walked out with $434.
It’s not my money, of course, it’s my wife’s. Maybe she’ll take us out to dinner.
Business: Shoppers ditch the car, use mouse instead
Gas prices are inspiring more and more people to shop online, according to a recent survey.
In fact, 33% of adults said they’re more likely to shop using a computer rather than spend their pennies driving to the mall. Almost 60% cite free shipping as a reason to shop online.
Good thing, because retailers use gas to deliver their goods too — and they’re charging you for it. Some online retailers are tacking on 18% fuel charges. Major shippers are upping their rates about 5% this year and postal rates rise next week.
Fortunately, some digging will turn up deals from retailers desperate for business. The Web site freeshipping.org compiles free shipping deals from 650 online stores on one site, everything from Hanes.com to The Body Shop.
Political Notebook: Fresno County opposes eminent domain measure
Fresno County supervisors took a hard stand against Proposition 98 -- the eminent domain issue on the June 3 ballot.
County supervisors said Tuesday they will give the “No on 98" campaign authority to use their names in campaign materials. They join a growing list of elected officials opposed to the proposition, including Gov. Schwarzenegger, Valley Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa and former Gov. Pete Wilson.
The supervisors said water and rent control are two main reasons why people should vote against 98.
Supervisor Phil Larson said the measure could “put restrictions on water storage projects, which is so important here in the Valley.” Board Chairman Henry Perea said buried in the ballot language is the ability to eliminate rent controls.
“It’s not good for our senior citizens,” Perea said. “People on fixed incomes need to have predictability in their rent.”
The measure is backed by the California Farm Bureau Federation. It would prohibit governments from seizing property, including farmland, for private use.
Smog: Close loophole on off-road vehicles, group says
Motorized off-road vehicle use in California releases as much greenhouse gas as 1.5 million car trips from San Francisco to Los Angeles, according to a report from the Center for Biological Diversity and Clean Air Initiative.
Yet California continues to exempt the most-polluting off-road vehicles from state air-quality laws, the study said. The loophole should be closed, said the Center for Biological Diversity.
Pollution from off-road vehicles in California has doubled in the past 15 years, the study reported. Some off-road vehicles emit as much pollution in a single hour as more than 30 cars. Off-road vehicles include dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles.
Lew Griswold: Tulare gains 1,685 residents in a day after population estimate changed
Oops! Tulare population number comes in low
City officials in Tulare were puzzled by the estimate from the California Department of Finance that the city had a population of 55,690 as Jan. 1, 2008.
If that were true, that’d be an increase of only 45 people from the same date a year earlier.
City Manager Darrell Pyle knew that couldn’t be right. Tulare has been growing neighborhoods.
Well, it seems there’d been a miscommunication between the city and the state, Pyle said. The city made a phone call to Sacramento and gave updated information to the Department of Finance.
The next day, the state came out with a new estimate showing Tulare at 57,375 population.
That’s an increase of 1,730 people, or 3.1%, in one year. That's more in line with other cities in the county.
For some companies, warmer weather means a relaxed dress code.
However, business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter sent out a note today saying employees should be careful when trying to beat the Valley heat. Short skirts, skimpy tops or otherwise inappropriate clothing don't cut it, she says.
“Sexy is not a corporate look,” says Pachter, author of the "NewRules@Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools, and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead" from Prentice Hall Press. Clothing, she said, still needs to project professionalism.
In its May 19 issue, Forbes magazine offers what sounds like a common sense solution to this housing crisis. Why not simply extend the length of the loan rather than raise the monthly payment?
Or, in cases when that doesn't make sense, why not work out a deal where homeowners return part of the equity to the bank when the property is sold?
The article titled "An Equity Kicker" says these solutions could be reached by lenders and borrowers working together and government creating a secondary market for trading the new mortgages. Makes sense to me. What do you think?
Bill McEwen: Good takes aim at Westerlund's record
Susan Good has gone on the attack in her quest to unseat Larry Westerlund as the District 4 representative to the Fresno City Council.
Early in the campaign, Good emphasized her call to improve transparency at City Hall with a 22-point agenda she dubbed "Good Reforms." Now she's sending out a brochure that compares eight stands she says she would take against Westerlund's council record and stated positions.
"Compare for yourself," Good says in a headline above eight questions dealing with the council's self-approved pay raise, eminent domain, the $3 million purchase of land valued at $1.9 million for a proposed hotel and other issues.
Political Notebook: VIDEOS: Mayoral candidates at Pride forum
The Stonewall Democrats hosted a forum for the 11 mayoral candidates on May 3. Four spoke to 20 people in attendance at Machinists Hall, 544 W. Olive Ave. in Fresno.
The questions here deal with discrimination toward the GLBT community, improving relations between police and the community, and whether the candidates support the Pride festival.
Visalia's new fire chief is looking forward to reducing his commute and being able to spend more time with his family once he starts on the job June 16.
Family man Mark Nelson, 46, has spent the last eight years with fire departments in the San Francisco Bay Area -- a captain and battalion chief in Union City, chief in Rio Vista and, most recently, assistant fire chief in American Canyon, a city in Napa County just north of Vallejo. But during that entire time, his family -- wife Mary Kay and his four children -- have remained at the family home in Modesto, where he has lived for 20 years.
Nelson said the economics of living in the Bay Area made it necessary for him to divide his weeks, spending the work week at work and coming home to the family on his days off.
"It was different when I was a battalion chief and the shifts had you off four days in a row," he said, "but when you have a regular 40-hour work week, it's tough."
He said he's particularly looking forward to spending more time with his two young sons, ages 6 and 3; Nelson also has two older daughters, ages 25 and 22.
The Nelsons plan on moving to Visalia by the time he starts the new job.
One dollar at a time, an anonymous fiddler is filling in the gaping state budget gap. Well, not really, despite what his sign says.
In truth, he plays his violin for money for lunch or to buy a pack of smokes. You can find him around lunchtime, at various spots around the Capitol. For fear of retribution, he won't give his name. He only says he is a state worker.
The good news with declining home values is that more families shut out of the market during the boom years are able to jump in now. The bad news is that many households who bought during that period are watching helplessly as their investment falters.
How much has it fallen in value, you ask? Zillow.com just released some estimates. Many in the real estate industry question the accuracy of Zillow's figures, but they can be used as a starting point. Go here to find out specifics for your area. Zillow even breaks it down by zip code.
By the way, my neighborhood in Clovis - 93611 zip code - has experienced nearly a 23% dip in value over the last year, according to Zillow. Good thing we've lived in the same house for 15 years; we still have equity.
Political Notebook: Cogdill: North Fork compact is "premature"
State Senate GOP leader Dave Cogdill said Tuesday that Gov. Schwarzenegger's recent casino deal with the North Fork Indian tribe is "premature."
"I think we need to figure out first what the federal government's going to do," Cogdill said in an interview with the Fresno Bee/Sacramento Bee Capitol bureau. The people of California "certainly always opposed off-reservation gaming,” said the Modesto Republican, whose district includes the planned casino site.
Schwarzenegger signed the compact with the tribe last week, but he said he would not ask the Legislature to take it up until the federal government puts the land in trust, a process that could take months, if it happens at all. The targeted site is about 35 miles from the tribe's traditional home in the Sierra foothills.
Cogdill touched on a variety of subjects during his 45-minute visit with the bureau.
The ozone violations come in bunches after June 1 in California, but the San Joaquin Valley gets a jump on the rest of the state in most years. Last year, the Valley had its first federal ozone violation the day before St. Patrick's Day.
But here's the kicker: San Diego has. Lovely San Diego -- land of surf and balmy days -- had only seven violations last year. The Valley had 65.
What happened this year? The answer is easy. The spring has been mild and breezy, with emphasis on breezy. The breeze has blown the Valley bowl clean for the last two months. San Diego caught one windless day in April, and that was enough.
Lew Griswold: National Drinking Water Week kicks off Monday
Veronica Mendoza came to Visalia this morning to pick up a free water filter from the Community Water Center in Visalia.
She’ll put the device on the kitchen faucet at her home in Culter to filter out any DBCP, a now-banned pesticide, from tap water.
“Four to five times a year, I get a notice of DBCP” in the water, Mendoza said in Spanish. “It says there’s nothing to worry about, but if you drink a lot of it, you’ll get cancer. I’ve lived there five years. Each year is a risk.”
Installing water filters on faucets is merely putting “a band-aid” on a larger water contamination problem affecting the San Joaquin Valley, said Laurel Firestone, co-executive director of the Community Water Center. The center was established two years to tackle water contamination issues in rural communities.
This week is National Drinking Water Week, so giving away free filters is a way to alert the public to the scope of the problem, she said.
“Hundreds of community do not have safe drinking water,” Firestone said. “There were 320,000 people in the San Joaquin Valley in 2006 that were served by water systems that had contamination.”
Nitrates are a problem in many wells, but so is arsenic and even percholate.
Protecting groundwater from contamination is the long-term solution, she said.
But so is water treatment, new wells, plus new pumps and pipes for aging systems. Nonprofit groups that work with rural communities are seeking state grants to upgrade rural water systems, she said.
Water engineer Dennis Keller of Visalia, who advises several rural water districts, said new wells, de-ionization of nitrates-laden water from existing wells, and switching to surface water supplies where practical could “over three to five decades” solve many rural water contamination problems.
Meanwhile, in Cutler, the Cutler Public Utilities District is seeking a grant to drill a new well by the end of the year, said Superintendent Dionicio Rodriguez Jr. The new well would allow a secondary well, which has DBCP “a little above the level” allowed, to stay idle until monthly test samples show improvement.
Political Notebook: Conway endorses 23-year-old for her Tulare County seat
The campaign for Pete Vander Poel III announced today it has secured a major endorsement in his quest to become a Tulare County supervisor.
The 23-year-old candidate is being endorsed by Connie Conway, who presently holds the District 2 seat that Vander Poel is seeking.
Conway gave her endorsement Saturday at a campaign fundraiser.
Vander Poel now adds Conway to an impressive list of supporters that includes Sheriff Bill Wittman, District Attorney Phil Cline and Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia.
Before this week, it seemed that Conway would remain neutral as she focused on her state Assembly race.
Now she is supporting Vander Poel instead of his opponent, Patrick Isherwood, whom she appointed to be her alternate on the board of the Tulare County Association of Governments in 2005.
Conway said she was impressed with Vander Poel's campaigning and his understanding of the issues.
"He's reached out to me a lot," Conway said.
Vander Poel said he was humbled by the endorsement.
Isherwood reacted by saying he will continue with his "grassroots" campaign.
"It's unfortunate to my campaign," he said. "Her decision is her decision."
Linens ‘n Things, the national retailer selling everything from fine china to curtains and yes, linens, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week. The company announced plans to close 120 underperforming stores, including 27 in California. See the list here.
Today, representatives from the company and River Park confirmed that the Fresno store in The Marketplace at River Park will remain open.
That’s good for River Park, which saw CompUSA leave recently when the company closed stores across the nation. It’s interesting, however, that the store in Modesto will close, but not ours.
Washington Post personal-finance columnist Michelle Singletary has been appearing regularly in The Bee since 2005.
Recently, she opened up to Washingtonian Magazine about her career and her inspiration -- "Big Mama." Take a look. She's been giving old-school financial advice since 1997.
It's time for Round 4 of public meetings on the diesel truck rule. Or, maybe you could call it Round 3 of the revisions to the proposed rule.
Whatever you call it, the development of this unprecedented rule probably will go on the rest of the summer. The first public discussion about this rule took place more than two years ago.
This time around, both Fresno meetings will be on June 10 -- one from noon to 4 p.m. and one from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. They are planned in the Fresno County Plaza Ballroom, 2220 Fresno St.
Truckers are saying the rule will put many small operators out of business. On the other hand, diesel trucks are the No. 1 source of nitrogen oxides, or NOx, one of two key ozone gases.
The issue boils down to health, money and timing. Slow down the cleanup, and more truckers will stay in business, industry officials say. Speed it up, and fewer people will be exposed to lung disease, heart problems and early death, environmentalists say.
It is a balancing act that the California Air Resource must perfect with the help of the public. Mark your calendars.
The average cost of two adults traveling together is $244 a day for lodging and meals, AAA announced today.
The announcement includes a list of some of the most and least expensive cities for travel. And guess who is toward the bottom? Yep, Fresno, at an average of $207 a day, slightly above Oklahoma City at $194 and Albuquerque, N.M., at $179.
Of course, the really fun places cost more: Honolulu at $673, New York City at $606 and Las Vegas at $358.
AAA says you can figure out how much it will cost to drive to those places -- except Honolulu, of course -- by using its fuel cost calculator. And in case you are planning a Fresno vacation (or have friends or family coming) this Web site gives you the city’s top-rated hotels and things to do.
Business: World Ag Expo picks publisher for magazine
Penton Media and Western Farm Press will publish the official World Ag Expo magazine and show guide in 2009.
The choice of publisher was announced today by Jerry Sinift, general manager of the International Agri-Center, where the expo is held each year.
The show guide is distributed at expo gates and includes a map and list of events during the show’s three-day run. World Ag Expo next year is scheduled for Feb. 10-12.
Political Notebook: Local Lincoln Club gives Fresno mayoral nod to Duncan
The Lincoln Club of Fresno County has endorsed Fresno City Council Member Jerry Duncan to be Fresno’s next mayor.
Given the group’s political leanings, this is hardly a surprise.
First and foremost, it’s a Republican organization. Duncan certainly isn’t the only Republican seeking to replace outgoing Mayor Alan Autry, who has reached his term limit. But his economic philosophies fit with the group’s conservative-oriented business principles.
Michael Der Manouel Jr., a local businessman, Republican political strategist and the Lincoln Club’s chairman, cited Duncan’s experience as a two-term member of the City Council, and said he was “the only top-tier candidate with private sector business experience.”
Duncan, Der Manouel added in a news release, is the only mayoral hopeful “properly equipped to handle the immediate challenges faced by the city.”
Those challenges, he wrote, are declining tax revenues, budget challenges and the “imminent threat posed by public employee unions. In particular, the unions don’t seem to understand or care that local government will have to reduce or stabilize costs to balance future budgets.”
Political Notebook: Prisoners are people too -- and the state counts 'em
I got an e-mail today from a Bee reader who said: "It's nice to see my town of Coalinga on the list" of the state's fastest growing cities. (Coalinga is ninth on the fastest-growing list.) But the "growth is misleading."
The reader pointed out -- correctly -- that the state counts prison population in the city totals. Coalinga is home to Pleasant Valley State Prison and Coalinga State Hospital, a maximum-security psychiatric hospital.
So I did some checking on how much of the city's growth is due to prison growth. Here's what I found out from the state:
Coalinga's total population is 19,063.
The city's "free population," meaning those not in prison or other "group quarters," is 12,185.
The good news, I guess, is that the free population grew more last year than the confined population -- by 611, compared with 445 more for the confined.
While I'm at it, here's some more fun prison facts:
Lancaster, in Los Angeles County, gained the the most prison population last year. (+665)
Blyte, in Riverside County, lost the most. (-1,122)
Overall, the state's total prison population declined for the first time since 2001, down 3,725 to 190,234, according to the Department of Finance, which publishes the population numbers. Keep in mind that under a new policy the state is shipping more prisoners to other states. As of March, 3,178 inmates were sent packing. (Not that they have much to pack.)
Business: Companies go green, Manpower wants to help
Going green is all the rage among the corporate set.
But what exactly does that mean? Definitely not tree hugging, although embracing new concepts that make money while saving energy, materials and the environment is definitely encouraged.
The path is hardly simple, and Kara Kenney, spokeswoman for Green West Expo (May 20-22 in Los Angeles), said the green employment sector is so new that often company officials don't know what to include in job descriptions.
"No matter who you are, big or small, the sustainability initiative can be daunting," she said.
Regardless, the interest means jobs. And Manpower, which provides workplace services, wants to help provide them. Manpower has an office in Fresno.
I saw the title about stamina and cracked a joke about energy drinks and other stimulants fueling executives to work those 12- and 14-hour days. Turns out the book isn’t far from that. It includes chapters on nutrition, fitness and “Yoga at the office,” in addition to much more, of course. It does not recommend drinking Red Bull, however. Eat your broccoli instead.
Personal and business bankruptcies are up 84% in the Valley, and bankruptcy attorneys are busier than ever.
“I feel like a doctor at a train wreck,” said Peter Bunting, a bankruptcy attorney in Fresno who files close to 30 personal bankruptcy cases a month, up from about a dozen several years ago.
The volume of work is so great that firms like Buntings and Caswell Bell & Hillison of Fresno have added extra staff to handle the increased caseload.
Bedoyan feels fortunate when he can help clients restart their lives and in some cases jump back into business. But he’s not optimistic about the near future.
“My feeling is that this current housing crisis is not going to turn around this year or next,” Bedoyan said. “And if you talk to anyone in real estate there is tremendous inventory out there. And it will take a while to work through that.”
The state has $7.7 million to spend on improving and building hydrogen-fueling stations, which dispense the environmentally friendly fuel of the future. Guess where they're going to spend the money?
Los Angeles and San Francisco. Nothing apparently is planned in the San Joaquin Valley. Bay Area air is much cleaner than the Valley's. And the Valley's air is just about as bad as Los Angeles' air.
There are 24 hydrogen stations operating in California, according to the California Air Resources Board. There are roughly 200 hydrogen-powered vehicles operating throughout the state -- the majority of which are in the metropolitan areas. Which may be the reason the state wants to expand service in LA and San Francisco.
This is all part of Gov. Schwarzenegger's Hydrogen Highway initiative on the creation of a hydrogen refueling network. The state is pursuing clean energy and energy diversity by promoting use of hydrogen as a power source for vehicles and electricity production.
Hydrogen can provide energy with minimal-to-zero pollution, according to the state. When
produced from a clean renewable source -- such as water, wind, sun, biomass or biogas -- and used in fuel cells, hydrogen use has extremely small effects on the environment.
Political Notebook: Wining, dining Fresno-style
