Sacramento County Business, Economy & Jobs Digest

An Alameda County judge ruled on Nov. 22 that the city of Oakland thwarted a proposed coal export terminal. The judge will rule if the developer who sued is entitled to $159 million in damages or moving forward with the project.

The California Faculty Association is seeking a 12 percent pay increase, while university officials counter with 5 percent in each of the next three years.

With nine months’ experience in the Assembly, Liz Ortega will lead the Labor committee after a strike-filled summer and several wins for low-wage workers.

A new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that approximately 3,400 kilotons of lithium are located below Imperial County in Southern California. This could produce more than $7 billion in lithium carbonate annually, helping power significant numbers of electric vehicles.

A Roseville-based gym that specializes in women's weight lifting classes is expanding to Citrus Heights with a second location near Stones Casino.

California’s minimum hourly wage will rise from $15.50 to $16 on Jan. 1. Ahead of this, retailers like Costco and Target have raised their minimum pay in recent years.

A graduate student workers union and the University of Southern California have agreed to a three-year labor contract that averts a looming strike. The deal calls for pay increases each of the three years.

About 475,000 people moved to the Golden State in 2022. That's the third-highest number of people moving to a state in the U.S., trailing only Texas and Florida.

The high cost of housing, predatory financing programs, and the temporary nature of a critical government assistance program all make it harder for Black Californians to buy homes—or keep the ones they already own. Policy leaders, building industry organizations and other advocates are expressing concern that this crisis could worsen.

A new study by Forbes shows that four cities in the Golden State—Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego and Sacramento—are among the 21 worst cities in the United States for holiday travel. Forbes looked at a variety of factors including car accidents, hotel prices and air travel.

Fulcrum Bioenergy, a California-based firm that seeks to turn plastics into jet fuel, has defaulted on $289 million in bond funding and put a major project on hold. This comes as several U.S. Senators wrote to the IRS urging that similar companies not receive federal tax credits.

HERBL, one of California’s biggest cannabis companies, collapsed earlier this year. The company, which sold $700 million of cannabis last year, reportedly shorted the state $17 million in taxes.

Hundreds of OpenAI workers signed a letter threatening to quit if the company’s entire board didn’t resign and if two former executives weren’t brought back. This came after the board fired one of the execs, Sam Altman, who then joined the other exec, Greg Brockman, at Microsoft.

A ballot measure being pushed by business groups could place strict new limits on the ability of state and local governments to raise taxes.

Residents of Planada and Pajaro want state aid to help alleviate debt incurred from rebuilding after January floods. Local officials want some money to go elsewhere.

A Sacramento lawmaker has placed a hold on $2 million in state funds that were intended to help pay for CapRadio’s new downtown headquarters, citing concerns over the station’s financial mismanagement.

The utility giant got the okay from the California Public Utilities Commission to hike rates next year. Average increases will range between about $10 and $33, depending on whether customers receive gas, electricity or both from PG&E.

A stream of scientists wearing neon green shirts flowed down the H Street sidewalk in downtown Sacramento, circling the block and shouting chants like “No contract! No work!”

The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously to place a business operations tax measure on the March 2024 primary election ballot.  If it passes, the city will update the tax and adjust it for inflation for the first time since 1991.

From the outside, it’s unremarkable: A metallic building alongside a quiet road on the outskirts of Tracy. But on its opening day, people from all over the country traveled to see it.

More than 4,000 state scientists have worked under an expired contract for three years. Average wages in 2020 were $83,586, 27% less than state engineers’ pay. The state filed an unfair labor practice charge to stop the strike.

California has some of the highest gas prices in the United States. These prices might ease mildly in the months ahead.

The California Public Utilities Commission will vote on Nov. 16 about raising PG&E bills. The utility giant is lobbying the state about one of the proposals that’s been put forward.

More than half a million California health care workers are expected to see a pay increase in January thanks to a law raising the minimum wage for their industry. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law without a clear estimate about how much it would cost the state.

A Southern California business that has become the leading provider of generator sales, parts and rentals will be taking up shop in Galt.

The Elmore Desert Ranch gets 22.5 billion gallons of water from the Colorado River, almost as much as is cleared for Scottsdale, Ariz. And that’s just a fraction of the 386.5 billion gallons from the river going to 19 other families in Imperial Valley.

NextDoor is among the latest California tech companies to lay off staff. As many as 200 company workers could be affected.

Some venues in the San Diego area rely on paying workers under the table in cash, for rates that work out below minimum wage, an investigation by Voice of San Diego has found.

Young people are stuck earning low wages, working long hours—often while going to school—and often without benefits or work protections. Their hardships may hamper the state’s economy for years to come, researchers say.

A new report by the UCLA Labor Center finds that young workers in California face a variety of challenges. These include pay barely above minimum wage, discrimination, and high rents.

There’s a rising wave of Black women making their presence felt in the tech world. As the tech industry continues to diversify, it’s vital for aspiring Black women to find the support and resources they need to excel.

Redfin data shows that tens of thousands of more people look to leave California than buy homes in the Golden State. There’s an exception, however: the Sacramento region, which remains one of the hottest homebuying markets in the country.