Saturday | January 28, 2012

Saturday News Briefs

STOCKTON, 1/27/12 9:00pm

• Nearly $100 Million for Valley road projects approved

• Ninth person guilty in foreclosure bid rigging scheme

• And more….

Former Sacramento city manager named to flood control board

SACRAMENTO, 1/27/12 12:47pm

• William Edgar appointed by governor Friday

• San Francisco PUC member also appointed

Merced County Economic Development Corporation to shut down

MERCED, 1/27/12 12:07pm

• Loss of monetary support is cited

• ‘There’s not enough support right now to keep our funding going’

AUDIO: Dumber and dumber? Central Valley cities rank among lowest for literacy

NEW BRITAIN, CONN., 1/27/12 11:20am

• Bakersfield at the bottom; Fresno and Stockton barely better

• ‘They’re kind of uniformly at the bottom of the list in all of the categories’

Supreme Court rejects GOP challenge to redistricting

SAN FRANCISCO, 1/27/12 10:10am

• UPDATED at 12:11 p.m. with reaction

• Says Citizens Commission ‘s map will be used for 2012 elections

• ‘The Commission’s certified map is clearly the most appropriate map’

Two indicted for home equity loan fraud in Central Valley

SACRAMENTO, 1/27/12 9:49am

• Lenders lost at least $180,000

• Accused of falsifying loan application info

Architect Robert Nicol pledges $2 million to Fresno State

FRESNO, 1/27/12 8:30am

• Largest commitment in the history of College of Health and Human Services

• ‘I’m able to prove that deaf people indeed can do many things’

Gasoline prices resume upward movement

LOS ANGELES, 1/27/12 5:02am

• $5 gasoline reached by at least one gas station

• ‘It’s discouraging because January is traditionally one of the lowest points for gas prices’

Tuition-free UC, CSU proposed

OAKLAND, 1/26/12 9:19pm

• Ballot initiative seeks to make state universities tuition-free

• 'Signature gatherers are people who truly believe this will benefit the state of California'

Choose your tax preparer carefully

SACRAMENTO, 1/26/12 9:04pm

• The old, the new and the pending rules tax preparers must follow

• ‘Anyone operating without a license or CTEC registration is breaking state law’

AUDIO: Before you approve that ad budget, listen to this

CHICAGO, ILL., 1/26/12 9:00pm

• Why money is wasted – and how marketing can be made more effective

• ‘It’s incumbent upon advertisers to find a more honest, genuine way to have their messages resonate’

People in the News

STOCKTON, 1/26/12 9:00pm

• Banker hired for Sacramento office

• CalPERS’ top officers may be very familiar to members

• And more….

Three from Central Valley indicted in marriage scheme

SACRAMENTO, 1/26/12 9:00pm

• Accused of arranging sham marriages

• ‘A business model in which the defendants profited by enlisting U.S. citizens to engage in repeated acts of fraud’

State’s flood protection plan goes to Central Valley Flood Protection Board on Friday

SACRAMENTO, 1/26/12 12:55pm

• DWR Director Mark Cowin to make presentation

• Begins process of adopting the plan

Small business owners say access to credit a problem

WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/26/12 12:25pm

• Support current proposals to boost economy

• ‘Small business owners want action from Congress to boost the economy’

Stockton to inspect industrial and commercial storm water connection

STOCKTON, 1/26/12 12:16pm

• More than 2,200 sites to be evaluated

• To prevent unauthorized discharges

Staying put: Job relocations drop to near record low

CHICAGO, ILL., 1/26/12 7:27am

• UPDATED @ 9:01 a.m. with reaction

• Just 7.5 percent of job seekers moved for new positions in second half of 2011

• ‘The largest factor behind the low relocation figures is, of course, the still-struggling housing market’

Chico brewery expands to North Carolina

CHICO, 1/26/12 4:57am

• Sierra Nevada finds second home in Appalachians

• ‘The original brewery in Chico is reaching capacity’

Central Valley farm family gives $1.5 Million to Fresno State

FRESNO, 1/25/12 9:00pm

• NOTE: Headline was incorrect in earlier version

• Rodger and Margaret Jensen establish scholarship endowment

• ‘This scholarship is life-changing for students’

BBB warns of Super Bowl scams

FRESNO, 1/25/12 9:00pm

• From tickets to team jerseys

• ‘There are three good reasons not to buy counterfeit goods’

Stockton picks new police chief

STOCKTON, 1/25/12 9:00pm

• Promotes Assistant Police Chief Eric Jones

• ‘Has demonstrated his ability to lead under difficult circumstances’

New single-family home starts dropped lowest levels on record in California last year

SACRAMENTO, 1/25/12 11:33am

• 2011 was third-lowest year for total new-home starts

• ‘We are far from being out of the woods just yet’

Three mountain passes closed for the winter

SACRAMENTO, 1/25/12 11:22am

• Ebbetts Pass, Monitor Pass and Sonora Pass shur down by ssnow

• ‘Caltrans closed the passes for the safety of motorists and Caltrans crews’

Central Valley firm honored by EPA

CLOVIS, 1/25/12 11:11am

• Valley Chrome Plating cited for significant reductions of toxic chemicals

• Zero discharge facility reduces 9,000 pounds of lead and hex-chrome

USDA unveils new plant hardiness zone map

WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/25/12 9:11am

• GIS-based map is Internet-friendly

• ‘This is the most sophisticated Plant Hardiness Zone Map yet’

Central Valley firm honored for reducing pesticide use

PARLIER, 1/25/12 8:16am

• One of four to be spotlighted by state

• Using GPS to track insects

Voters may be asked to kill High-Speed Rail

SACRAMENTO, 1/25/12 4:58am

• Ballot initiative can start gathering signatures

• Voters would be asked to amend Constitution

Throwing a wrench in the CPUC revolving door

SACRAMENTO, 1/24/12 9:02pm

• Bill might dilute utilities’ influence over regulators

• ‘It’s time stop the fox from guarding the hen house’

Stockton: center of clean technology?

STOCKTON, 1/24/12 9:01pm

• EPA regional chief points to city’s quiet growth of the industry

• ‘This really means there’s an opportunity to make money’

Survey show strong support for Brown’s tax plan

SAN FRANCISCO, 1/24/12 9:00pm

• Nearly three out of four favor the plan

• Opposition to school 'trigger cuts'

Californians feeling the impact of government cuts

SAN FRANCISCO, 1/24/12 9:00pm

• Local government services affected a lot

• ‘There remains a strong belief that the state government could spend less’

Californians favor a ‘split’ property tax – one system for homes, the other for everything else

SAN FRANCISCO, 1/24/12 9:00pm

• Also favor taxing the rich

• But don’t like a sales tax increase

Optimism fades that Governor, Legislature can work together

SAN FRANCISCO, 1/24/12 9:00pm

• Disfunction junction in Sacramento

• Californians even more pessimistic abut Congress and President working together

Disfunction Junction on the Potomac

SAN FRANCISCO, 1/24/12 9:00pm

• Obama’s job performance rating slips to Bush 43 level

• But it’s far worse for Congress

State Auditor’s report blasts High-Speed Rail project

SACRAMENTO, 1/24/12 2:47pm

• Says financing is ‘risky’

• ‘It risks significant delays or the inability to proceed’

Millions being given out to clean the air in San Joaquin Valley

STOCKTON, 1/24/12 12:58pm

• EPA to make $21 Million availablre

• ‘The challenges we face in the Valley are unmatched by any other region in the nation’

• (With embedded video)

Construction firms to make significantly fewer layoffs in 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/24/12 6:02am

• Private sector demand improves

• ‘There are definitely some conflicting trends’

Could Angry Birds stave off Alzheimer’s?

BERKELEY, 1/24/12 5:00am

• UC Berkeley scientists find biological target of disease

• ‘There is no downside to cognitive activity. It can only be beneficial’

AUDIO: How to boost sales now -- and for the long term

RICHARDSON, TEXAS, 1/23/12 9:00pm

• Getting beyond price as the determining factor

• ‘The place to recapture or begin to move forward is in top line revenue – selling more’

Three women arrested for stealing taxpayers’ identities -- and their tax refunds

SACRAMENTO, 1/23/12 9:00pm

• Sacramento trio accused of filing false returns

• Accused of more than $1.3 Million in false returns

Oak Valley Bank sees profits increase to record high

OAKDALE, 1/23/12 9:00pm

• Net income hits $5.9 Million in 2011

• ‘Asset growth driven by core deposits continues to positively impact earnings’

Peripheral Canal opponent dies

STOCKTON, 1/23/12 9:00pm

• Alex Hildebrand was 98

• Helped lead successful opposition to canal in the 1980s

High-Speed Rail chairman to speak in Fresno

FRESNO, 1/23/12 9:00pm

• Dan Richard to be featured speaker at Fresno Chamber of Commerce event

• ‘Will allow the business community to look at the details’

‘Green’ wine label paper is developed

MODESTO, 1/23/12 1:21pm

• Years in development

• ‘Meet the needs of both eco-conscious consumers and wineries’

Profits increase at Bank of the Sierra

PORTERVILLE, 1/23/12 10:42am

• Bank is stepping up loan efforts

• ‘The first such increase since 2007’

Supreme Court eviscerates California slaughterhouse law

WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/23/12 8:52am

• Says it is preempted by federal law

• State law had been prompted by undercover video

New airline passenger protections taking effect

WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/23/12 8:14am

• Better disclosure of the real price of a ticket

• ‘Airline passengers have rights, and they should be able to expect fair and reasonable treatment’

High-tech layoffs lowest since 1997

CHICAGO, ILL., 1/23/12 7:08am

• Last year saw just 37,038 firings

• ‘The technology sector is in a constant state of flux’

AUDIO: Central Valley economy finally on rebound, says banker

FRESNO, 1/22/12 9:00pm

• Sees increased demand

• ‘I am seeing optimism out there from the people I talk to’

VIDEO: Winery expands in Lodi

LODI, 1/22/12 9:00pm

• Remodeling city’s old ice house for wineries

• ‘People still eat, people still drink – and seem to be doing more of that now’

AUDIO: Motivating bureaucrats to excellence can be done, says executive coach

ARLINGTON, VA., 1/22/12 9:00pm

• A difference approach to getting points across

• ‘There’s a bit of a level of accountability growing within the government’