Placer County Local News: Business, Economy & Jobs


All Local Business, Economy & Jobs News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: Long-duration energy storage, such as this thermal energy storage facility, allows renewable energy sources to operate at full capacity without overloading the power grid.
How California Leads the Race For Long Duration Energy Storage

Long-duration energy storage is essential if renewables are to become the basis for a future, carbon-neutral power grid. Here's how California is leading the race to store energy from solar, wind, and other clean sources for use whenever it's needed.

Image caption: How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

Image caption: Zoning laws tell you what you can and can't build on the property you own. How does government get away with that?
How Zoning Laws Shape California and Society

Zoning laws determine what can be built and where. These laws have shaped California, but are they really just tools for social engineering? The history of zoning is closely tied to racial segregation, as well as the state's shortage of …

Image caption: They help feed the whole country, but life for California’s farm workers remains a struggle.
How California Feeds the Country

California stands as America’s agricultural powerhouse, growing half of its fruits and vegetables. Here’s how California farming has shaped the state, from the early missions to today’s “factories in the field.”

Image caption: Though life expectancy has declined in recent years, Californians still live longer than most Americans.
Want to Live a Long, Healthy Life? Move to California

Life expectancy in California exceeds all but three other states, but how long you live depends on which county you live in. They're not all equal. Why? The answer may lie in political policies.

Image caption: Owning homes is the primary way the middle class builds wealth, and an option no longer available to most Californians.
Is California’s Housing Crisis Making Inequality Worse?

California has some of the worst economic inequality in the United States. Is the housing crisis a cause?

Image caption: Moss Landing in Monterey Bay is the world’s largest battery storage facility for solar and other renewable energy.
Solar Power and California’s Clean Energy Goals

Solar power, and a network of giant battery storage facilities, are playing an essential role in moving California toward its goal of exclusive reliance on renewable energy sources.

Image caption: Thousands of homeowners have been kicked off their fire insurance policies.
California Fire Insurance Crisis: How the State Helps Homeowners

As California insurance companies have revoked the fire policies of thousands of homeowners, the state has taken steps to get them covered again.

Image caption: The cycle of crime and homelessness is escalating, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Homelessness and Crime in California: Even More Complex Than You Think

The links between homelessness and crime are complex, and the idea that unhoused individuals present a danger to their community seems to be exaggerated.

Image caption: Water is a human right under California law, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Agriculture and Water Shortages in the State’s Breadbasket, Explained

Residential wells are drying up in the state’s main agricultural region at the same time that agricultural businesses consume almost 90 percent of the water there.

Placer Sentinel logo From Placer Sentinel...

09/17/2024
Image for display with article titled Placer County 2023 Crop Value Increases 1% to $89 Million Amid Continuing Weather Challenges

Despite continued weather challenges the total gross value of agricultural crops and products increased 1% in Placer County for 2023.

California Local Pin Marker From Roseville Today...

09/13/2024
The Placer County agriculture report for 2023 was released, and showed a small but steady increase in crop value over the previous year.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/04/2024
California voters passed Proposition 22 four years ago. The ballot initiative, backed by Uber, Lyft and other gig companies, promised the state’s more than 1 million gig workers new benefits, such as guaranteed minimum earnings, health care stipends, occupational accident insurance and accidental death insurance.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/02/2024
California’s unemployment rate, 5.2% of its labor force in July, is no longer the nation’s highest after months of having that dubious distinction.

Auburn Journal logo From Auburn Journal...

08/30/2024
Image for display with article titled Auburn Council Reviews New Branding for Economic Development

The Auburn City Council reviewed the city’s most recent branding efforts, capping a two-year journey the city has taken toward improving its messaging to visitors.

Loomis News logo From Loomis News...

08/15/2024
Image for display with article titled Teen Vend-Sation: 13-Year-Old Owns Drink Machine at Loomis Laundromat

Thirteen-year-old Crosby Wills is the owner of the vending machine in the Country Tubs Launderette in Loomis.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/13/2024
Proposition 32 to increase the minimum wage from $16 isn’t as far-reaching as when it was first proposed. Fast food workers are already making more, and health care employees are on track. But worker groups are already pushing for more.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/07/2024
Legislators are pushing ahead with a retail theft bill package in their continued opposition of Proposition 36 — a November ballot measure backed by law enforcement groups and Republicans (and some Democrats) that would roll back parts of 2014’s Prop. 47.

Auburn Journal logo From Auburn Journal...

07/30/2024
Image for display with article titled Colfax Considers Mixed-Use Zoning

The Colfax City Council held a public hearing on July 24 to consider a mixed-use zoning proposal for Main Street, where concerns were expressed about reducing retail presence.

Auburn Journal logo From Auburn Journal...

07/26/2024
Image for display with article titled New Life Ahead for Building in Heart of Downtown Auburn

Buyer hopes to turn former Placer Savings and Loan into 'positive influence' in heart of Downtown Auburn

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

07/25/2024
After years of delay, a new California regulation to protect indoor workers from extreme heat is now in effect.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

07/25/2024
In his 2018 campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would create 500,000 new apprenticeships in the decade after taking office. So far, the state has registered more than 180,000 new apprenticeships. Many of them are firefighters.

California Local Pin Marker From Local News Matters...

07/24/2024
California Forever’s announcement July 22 that it has decided to pull a ballot measure that would have let voters decide on a controversial planned city in rural Solano County drew swift reaction from political leaders and opponents.

California Local Pin Marker From SF Gate...

07/22/2024
On July 22, California Forever announced it was withdrawing its initiative to amend the Solano County General Plan off the November ballot and would instead begin working with the county through the normal, though less expeditious, process.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

07/19/2024
A judge has halted a union effort at the Wonderful Company, throwing into question a new state law designed to make it easier for agricultural workers to organize.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

07/16/2024
California courts have long upheld below-minimum wage pay for prison inmates working a wide range of jobs. A 2024 ballot measure that would ban forced labor could alter those decisions.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

07/12/2024
A mother picks up her son from daycare in Richmond on Sept. 26, 2022. Photo by Marissa Leshnov for CalMatters

Sierra Sun logo From Sierra Sun...

07/10/2024
Image for display with article titled Visit Truckee-Tahoe Launches Sustainable Truckee Visitors Guide, Promotes Responsible Tourism

Visit Truckee-Tahoe unveiled its latest initiative, the Sustainable Truckee Visitors Guide. This digital and printed guidebook is designed to educate visitors on how to enjoy Truckee responsibly.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

07/08/2024
Private-sector jobs in California have declined since their post-pandemic peak, while public-sector employment has shown gains, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office says.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

07/08/2024
A program for low-income, first-generation STEM students at community colleges is receiving millions of dollars to expand across the state.
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