Wednesday | May 16, 2012

Sacramento real estate agent guilty of mortgage fraud

SACRAMENTO, 5/16/12 12:47pm

• Jury finds him guilty on 13 counts

• Scheme defrauded lenders of $1.3 Million

Hazardous waste collection days set for Merced

MERCED, 5/16/12 12:27pm

• Business collection June 15

• Fees may apply

Four Central Valley cities among those attracting most interest from homebuyers

WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/16/12 10:22am

• But interest is flagging, say Realtors

• Sacramento was 33rd most searched in the country

Tracy solar build gets White House go ahead

WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/16/12 8:26am

• President Obama signs McNerney bill

• ‘I welcomed this opportunity to reach across the aisle’

Credit scores fall from last month

SAN FRANCISCO, 5/16/12 5:34am

• Consumer mortgage debt down 3 percent in a year

• ‘Underwater homes have been foreclosed and the bad debt written off’

Highway 12 to be shut down

LODI, 5/16/12 5:18am

• Full road closure for three days for road maintenance

• Heavily-used Central Valley highway to get safety upgrades

Fresno photography studios merge

FRESNO, 5/15/12 9:02pm

• Milne Photography absorbs Village Studio

• Terms not revealed

AUDIO: Summer hiring rate accelerates

CHICAGO, ILL., 5/15/12 9:01pm

• Manufacturing, hospitality and retail drive increase

• ‘Confidence is up among the employers we most closely associate with summer hiring’

California’s cigarette tax campaign raises more money than all super PACs but one

BERKELEY, 5/15/12 9:00pm

• Only Romney's "Restore Our Future" Super PAC has raised more money

• One tobacco company has put in more to defeat Prop 29 than all of the money collected to support it

Central Valley nonprofits to share $300,000 to fight hunger

FRESNO, 5/15/12 12:04pm

• Grants are from Walmart and Walmart Foundation

• in Grants from Walmart to Help Fight Hunger

Managing nitrogen on farmland focus of forums

TULARE, 5/15/12 11:40am

• Set for Tulare and Sacramento in June

• Groundwater nitrate contamination to be discussed

Bright lights in the nights in Stockton

STOCKTON, 5/15/12 10:50am

• City tests replacing streetlights with LED lights

• ‘We’re very interested in hearing from the community’

Survey shows consumers still in the dark about credit

WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/15/12 10:33am

• But most grasp the importance of their credit score

• ‘They should try to improve knowledge that remains deficient in several key areas’

Higher oil prices help Pyramid Oil’s bottom line

BAKERSFIELD, 5/15/12 6:49am

• Bakersfield company sees 16 percent increase in net income

• ‘We have delivered another quarter of solid earnings growth’

Downtown Sacramento apartment complex is sold

SACRAMENTO, 5/15/12 5:33am

• Kennedy Wilson and partners buy Capitol Towers for $64 Million

• ‘The Capitol Towers acquisition is an exciting play on the Sacramento CBD market’

Stockton getting non-stop flights to Hawaii

STOCKTON, 5/15/12 4:40am

• Allegiant will fly Boeing 757s on new route

• ‘This will open some eyes in the community to the service our airport is capable of providing’

Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce chief retiring

BAKERSFIELD, 5/14/12 9:01pm

• Debbie Moreno steps down after eight years

• ‘We understand and applaud this opportunity for Debbie’

Foreclosure activity declines hurting investors, says report

DISCOVERY BAY, 5/14/12 9:00pm

• It could almost grind to a halt, says expert

• ‘Laws don't solve anything as they fail to address the real problem – negative equity’

Critic blasts newest plan to ‘save’ the Delta

SACRAMENTO, 5/14/12 9:00pm

• Another push for the peripheral canal?

• ‘The fix is in’

Hires, promotions and more

STOCKTON, 5/14/12 1:36pm

• Let the Central Valley know

• Another free service of CVBT

Making copper theft a federal crime

SACRAMENTO, 5/14/12 1:04pm

• Two plead guilty Monday

• Face up to 20 years in prison

Reaction to Brown’s revised budget

SACRAMENTO, 5/14/12 12:00pm

• Here is a sample of some of the reaction to state spending cuts

• Governor has proposed $8.7 Billion in further cuts

• UPDATED throughout the day and evening

Former Ruiz Foods employee pleads guilty to mail fraud

FRESNO, 5/14/12 10:38am

• Was charged with six counts for embezzlement

• Former marketing director faked invoices

What they’re paid disclosed in new web posting

SACRAMENTO, 5/14/12 10:16am

• State Controller expands lists of public employee pay

• Salaries for hundreds of thousands of jobs now posted

Brown: Cut state spending by $8.7 Billion now

SACRAMENTO, 5/14/12 10:09am

• Governor says California has a nearly $16 Billion deficit

• ‘The nation’s economic recovery is proceeding more slowly than anticipated’

Airlines post best-ever Q1 on-time performance

WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/14/12 8:22am

• 84 percent of flights arrived on time

• Just three tarmac delays of more than three hours

State workers’ pay may be cut

SACRAMENTO, 5/14/12 6:47am

• PLEASE SEE UPDATE POSTED AT 10:09 A.M.

• Governor says California has a $16 Billion deficit

• To unveil revised budget at 10 a.m.

Employing illegal aliens? Odds are you won’t get caught

WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/13/12 9:02pm

• 8,000,000 people working illegally in U.S.

• 196 employers arrested

SoCal real estate company accused of defrauding investors

WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/13/12 9:02pm

• Apartments America and its owners charged by SEC

• Earlier default on $91.6 Million not mentioned to new investors

AUDIO: Complacent public being attacked by new diseases

TUSTIN, 5/13/12 9:01pm

• Health specialist urges awareness and action

• ‘We find or discover a new disease somewhere in the world about every 20 minutes’

VIDEO: Utility Telephone connects with customer service

STOCKTON, 5/13/12 9:00pm

• Carves its niche with personal service

• Prospers by differentiating its business from giant competitors

Saturday News Briefs

STOCKTON, 5/11/12 9:00pm

• Governor’s revised budget to be revealed

• Dramatic smash and grab in Modesto

• Unique labor deal for Kaiser Permanente workers….

Chico developer gets 18 months in prison for mortgage fraud

SACRAMENTO, 5/11/12 2:50pm

• Latest criminal to be sentenced in scheme

• Lighter sentenced in part because of his health

Report: Path from community college to CSU too bumpy

SACRAMENTO, 5/11/12 1:21pm

• Students must often navigate a complex maze

• More oversight by Legislature suggested

Long-term unemployment benefits end tomorrow for many

SACRAMENTO, 5/11/12 10:55am

• 93,000 Californians will be immediately affected

• Four other federal extensions still running

CSET to hold foreclosure prevention workshop

VISALIA, 5/11/12 10:42am

• Visalia event set for May 19

• ‘We hope to help families stay in their homes’

Know your place: Your phone does

WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/11/12 7:47am

• Real-time location-based information used by most

• ‘We’ve watched mobile phones become increasingly entwined in people’s everyday activities’

Sixth measure qualifies for November California ballot

SACRAMENTO, 5/11/12 7:41am

• Human trafficking measure is the sixth

• Brown’s tax increase yet to be approved for ballot

California’s gas prices zooming upward as nation’s fall

LOS ANGELES, 5/11/12 4:50am

• Low inventories, refinery problems are blamed

• ‘California gas inventories are reportedly at their lowest level since 1992’

Six accused of swindling state out of at least $5 Million

SACRAMENTO, 5/10/12 9:02pm

• Charged with faking employment, then collecting unemployment

• How much was actually stolen still unknown

People in the News

STOCKTON, 5/10/12 9:00pm

• Commercial real estate firm expands

• Promotion for key educator

• And more….

California orders recall of raw milk

KERMAN, 5/10/12 9:00pm

• Order targets Fresno’s Organic Pastures dairy

• 'Consumers are strongly urged to dispose of any Organic Pastures products of these types'

New faces at powerful State Water Resources Control Board

SACRAMENTO, 5/10/12 2:26pm

• Governor makes two appointments

• Chairmanship remains with Yuba City man

Despite higher sales, losses escalate at Pacific Ethanol

SACRAMENTO, 5/10/12 2:10pm

• Net loss to stockholders of six cents per share

• ‘Our bottom line was impacted by a compressed margin environment’

California housing starts find a pulse

SACRAMENTO, 5/10/12 11:35am

• Apartment growth fuels increase

• ‘Builders have to be able to compete on price’

Congressman trying to ban more salmon from San Joaquin River

WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/10/12 10:38am

• Jeff Denham says river is not suitable for additional fish at this time

• Salmon fishermen say it’s just a ruse

California city’s books so screwed up, all entries are questioned

SACRAMENTO, 5/10/12 10:06am

• State Controller blasts city of Hercules

• ‘The worst set of city accounting records I have seen’

• UPDATED with comments from city manager

Bookkeeper charged in $1.7 Million fraud

SACRAMENTO, 5/10/12 9:42am

• Citrus Heights woman is arrested

• Accused of using company checking account like her own

Business opportunity for Central Valley: 'Healthy Convenience'

FRESNO, 5/10/12 9:20am

• Rabobank research says it presents greatest economic opportunity for grower-shipper processors

• ‘The solution really lies with the concept of healthy convenience’

USDA to gather data on crop acreage and stocks

SACRAMENTO, 5/10/12 8:26am

• Surveys to be mailed later this month

• ‘The most important survey conducted each spring’

UC, CSU enrollment rates fall statewide

SAN FRANCISCO, 5/10/12 5:53am

• But not as sharply in Central Valley

• Report says budget cuts take toll

Packed planes predicted for summer travel

WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/9/12 9:00pm

• Near-record number of air travelers expected

• ‘Fares continue to trail the price of other services’