03/19/2024

News

Faraday ends legal battle, may fire up Hanford facility

Hundreds of Faraday Future employees laid off in late October have wondered for weeks when — and even if — they would get back to work. That answer may come by the end of this week, said John S. Lehn, head of government affairs for the startup electric car company in Hanford. In an interview, […]

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New water rules hurting ag land prices

The law requiring these plans, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), already is having a big effect on prices for agricultural land, particularly in the areas from Madera County down to Kern county, where some of the most severe over drafting in the state commonly occurs. “In anticipation of the SIGMA rules, prices are already […]

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Hanford official: Faraday Future sets May 21 target to install assembly lines

Kings County officials this week traveled to the Southern California town of Gardena to meet with executive staff of Faraday Future as well as company founder Jia Yuetin to help make plans for the startup’s Hanford assembly plant. Demolition work on the interior of the old Pirelli facility in the Hanford Industrial Park is underway […]

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Amazon to open Fresno fulfillment center, create 2,500 jobs

Amazon.com today announced plans to open a fulfillment center in Fresno that will employ up to 2,500 people.

The 855,000 square-foot facility will be located in a burgeoning business zone at Orange and Central avenues — about 1,000 acres that is being primed for e-commerce and data center jobs, said Mayor Lee Brand in an interview. Brand said there has been a lot of behind-the-scenes work getting the $100 million project permitted, and he expects a groundbreaking within 30 days, and about one year to build the center — putting an opening in the second half of 2018.

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Davis, Yolo County working to create competitive electricity market

The city and county have approved the formation of Valley Clean Energy Alliance, which will be a nonprofit joint powers authority local energy provider. The formation of the Valley Clean Energy Alliance means that customers can decide what kind of electric generation they prefer, and they can potentially shop for price.

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Study: Nearly 58 percent of Fresno renters ‘cost-burdened’

Fresno is No. 7 on the 19-city list for cost-burdened renters, with 57.75 percent percent of renters paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent. The Stockton-Lodi region comes in at 56.84 percent for the No. 9 spot, while Modesto ranks 16th with 54.37 percent.

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Governor Signs Bill to Protect Employers from “Frivolous” Lawsuits

Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill last month that provides employers with a limited window to correct technical violations in itemized wage statements before being subject to costly litigation.

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White House-led Initiative to Support Valley Manufacturing Consortium

The goal of the Fresno-based AgPlus Consortium, according to their application to participate in the initiative, is “to advance the region’s agriculture-related manufacturing economy, targeting industries in the food and beverage manufacturing sector whereby raw agricultural goods are transformed into value-added products by core manufacturing activities.”

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Ruiz Prepares to Open New South Carolina Facility

One of the Valley’s largest and most successful businesses is doing its part to boost the economy on the East Coast.

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Swearengin Accepts White Hous Startup Challenge

Fresno will be one of eleven “pioneering” cities nationwide participating in a new White House-sponsored initiative designed to allow local government to issue new small business licenses within 24 hours.

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Survey: Two Thirds of Fresno Biz Owners Want Out

The bank reported that 67 percent of Fresno County business owners who participated in its annual Small Business Economic Survey are planning to relocate outside of California.

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Is Your Employee a “Private Attorney General”

Business owners today struggle to comply with the multitude of laws and regulations that apply to the employer-employee relationship.  But what happens if you don’t comply?  How are workplace laws and regulations enforced?  Sometimes government agencies are involved in enforcement of such laws, but most often it is the employees themselves who take the lead.  A new form of such claim is becoming more prevalent in California today – the “Private Attorney General” or “PAGA” lawsuit.

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Milk Mutiny? Dairy Co-ops Seek Federal Fate

California is one of just a handful of states currently not included in the FMMO. In recent years, dairy farmers in Idaho also have been lobbying to be included under the federal marketing order. But dairymen in that state have yet to petition the USDA.

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US, California Release Roadmap for Solar Projects

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Tuesday unveiled a proposed roadmap for developing massive solar and wind projects in California’s Mojave Desert while trying to minimize damage to desert habitat and animals. The plan — covering 22 million acres of public and private land— follows a renewable-energy building boom in southeastern California’s Mojave desert during the first term of the Obama administration, when the federal government gave billions of dollars in loans to developers siting sprawling, utility-scale solar projects in virgin desert.

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Swearengin Shares Business Friendly Progress

“In the last five months, we’ve seen 93 projects come through the Development Review Committee process,” Swearengin said. “Nineteen of them were fast-tracked and approved literally within a matter of hours or days within coming to City Hall.”

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