There is an important message:
Business, Economy & Jobs Image

San Joaquin County Business, Economy & Jobs Articles



Image caption: California generates 70 percent more toxic waste than in 2010, but storage sites have declined by 80 percent over 40 years.
California’s Hazardous Waste Disposal System Is in Tatters

Neighbors to one of California’s biggest hazardous waste recyclers say they’re unfairly exposed to pollution, but can California afford to lose one of the few facilities that still takes toxic waste?

Image caption: A recent farmworker death highlights the need for additional heat safety measures.
Farmworker Dies in 100-Degree Heat Amid Calls for New Protections

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and the United Farm Workers union say a recent death in a tomatillo field was due to heat, but a coroner’s report doesn’t back that up.

Image caption: Loud noise created by other people is a form of pollution that can put a stop to housing projects, a court has ruled.
Housing Advocates ‘Infuriated’ as Human Noise Pollution Blocks Projects

Two different state courts have ruled recently that the human noise created by future tenants in housing projects are a form of pollution that cities must address. Lawmakers and the governor are working to reverse that novel interpretation of environmental …

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: The AES Alamitos Generating Station in Long Beach, and natural gas plants in Huntington Beach and Oxnard, will remain operational.
Southern California Natural Gas Plants Will Stay Open Through 2026

Three fossil fuel plants will stand by to provide emergency power for three more years despite California's mandate to switch to clean energy by 2045.

Image caption: The fate of three community hospitals may lie in the hands of California's largest health care chains.
Health Chains May Keep 3 Bankrupt California Hospitals Alive

Two of the three troubled California hospitals are especially vital to their communities because they’re the only emergency providers in their rural counties. Health care chains could keep them afloat.

Image caption:
Working Together: TTCF and California Local

A conversation with Stacy Caldwell, CEO of Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation

Image caption: Almost 4 of 10 California Black women work at least two jobs and 62 percent say the second job is "essential."
Poll: California's Black Women are Overworked, Underpaid

A recent state survey reveals 2 in 3 Black women are breadwinners; 8 in 10 worry about discrimination or mistreatment and more like Gov. Gavin Newsom than Vice President Kamala Harris.

Image caption: Has the state allowed substandard water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region?
Feds Investigate California Water Agency for Discrimination

A discrimination complaint filed by Native American tribes and environmental justice groups alleges that California has failed to protect water quality in the Bay-Delta. The EPA is investigating.

Image caption: In several test programs throughout the state, Medi-Cal recipients are receiving healthy meals by prescription at "food pharmacies."
Medi-Cal Reform Proposal: Prescriptions to Cover Healthy Foods

Medi-Cal and other programs are testing food prescriptions that advocates say could improve chronic conditions, lower health care costs and reduce hunger.

Image caption: Feud between the “blue” and “red” governors has been broiling for over a year.
Newsom Vs. DeSantis: Feuding Govs Agree to ‘Red vs. Blue’ Debate

Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis finally agreed to debate California Gov. Gavin Newsom after a feud hat has lasted for more than a year and included DeSantis dumping planeloads of immigrants in Sacramento.

Image caption: Unexplained land purchases surrounding Travis Air Force Base on three sides have raised national security fears among U.S. officials.
Why Is a Mysterious Company Buying Land Around Travis AFB?

Travis Air Force Base in Solano County is now surrounded on three sides by a Delaware company with millions of dollars and no public record of who is behind it. And the federal government hasn’t been able to solve the …

Image caption: Striking Hollywood actors and screenwriters are seeing support from other labor unions, such as the Domestic Workers Alliance.
California Summer Strikes Cut Across Wealth, Class Barriers

Showing solidarity with other social classes is a prominent union strategy in the so-called “hot labor summer” sweeping California. It’s too soon to say if the inter-union activity will get employers to bargain.

Image caption: Young actors and writers hoping to break into Hollywood say that current strikes will let them have viable careers.
Hollywood Strikes Vital to Livable Industry Careers, College Students Say

Strikes by the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild have shut down Hollywood. As workers demand fair compensation and regulations on artificial intelligence, college students aspiring to break into the industry are caught up in the historic moment.

Image caption: After a historic drop in enrollments due to the pandemic, community colleges are pouring money into marketing campaigns to get students back.
Community Colleges Use Flashy Marketing to Get Students Back

After a historic drop in enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic, California community colleges are ramping up marketing efforts, spending more than $40 million in state and federal dollars to lure students back. Is it working?

Image caption: Will voters be willing to keep borrowing money, even to address critical issues?
Voters Asked to OK $35 Billion Debt to Attack Housing Crisis

Three of the biggest housing bonds in state history are bound for the 2024 ballot. But with no shortage of crises facing the state, California can only borrow so much and voters may succumb to “bond fatigue.”

Image caption: Data shows that homelessness immediately decreased once renter protections were put in place.
Here's How California Policy Makes Homelessness Worse

Renter protections and eviction bans put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic have expired. By keeping them in place, California could slow the spread of homelessness. But that's not happening.

Image caption: Doctors and psychiatrists say they are the "linchpin" of California's prison medical system, but working conditions are driving away staff.
Despite Six-Figure Pay, CA Prison Doctors Authorize Strike

Almost half of the jobs for doctors and psychiatrists in California prisons are unfilled. Now, their union says it’s ready to strike over pay even as the state faces a steep budget deficit.

Image caption: Air pollution, such as seen here in Los Angeles circa 1972, contains greenhouse gases which cause the climate to change.
7 Ways California Leads the Battle Against Climate Change

Since 1947, California has led the United States in the fight against climate change. Here is a list of some of the steps the state has taken to battle global warming, greenhouse gases and air pollution.

Image caption: Women workers face an ongoing pay gap with men, but undocumented women earn the least of all.
Undocumented Women Face Widest Pay Gap of Any Workers

A new study shows women without legal residency face a lopsided pay gap. In California they take home 44 cents for every dollar that white, non-Latino men make and 87 cents for every dollar undocumented men make. Would raising the …

Featured

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
There are many causes contributing to this crisis. And as you may already know, this situation really is nuts.
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
What causes the cycle of homelessness and crime, and how to stop it.
Thousands of homeowners have been kicked off their fire insurance policies.
California Fire Insurance Crisis: How the State Helps Homeowners
The state tries persuading insurance companies to cover homes in fire zones.
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
How the sun is helping push the state toward 100 percent renewable energy.
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 housing a cause? Could it be a cure?
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
Californians live longer than people in all but three states, but not all counties are equal.
They help feed the whole country, but life for California’s farm workers remains a struggle.
How California Feeds the Country
California, a state known for high-tech and show business glitz, is also America’s farming powerhouse.
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 is everywhere, but is it a way to regulate development or a tool for social engineering?
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
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
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
For renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to be viable, ways to store the power they create are essential.
Join Us Today!