Yolo County Business, Economy & Jobs Digest

We need to have a serious discussion about supporting our education investments with stable revenue.

Bucking the “doom loop” narrative, many tech entrepreneurs say San Francisco is still the “it city” for innovation—especially with the rise of AI.

California’s projected budget deficit of close to $38 billion likely means some cuts are coming. Among them, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed ending the California State Park Adventure Pass, which offers free access to some state parks for fourth graders.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed that lawmakers tap a rainy day reserve and that a minimum wage increase for health care workers be delayed to help the state fight a $37.9 billion deficit. This projection is more than double what Newsom and other officials had anticipated last year.

Pea Soup Andersen’s, a Buellton, Calif., restaurant just shy of its 100th birthday, closed suddenly. The restaurant's other location, near Interstate 5 in Santa Nella, remains open.

Caltrans has set a Jan. 25 deadline for tech companies to show how generative artificial intelligence might reduce traffic congestion in the state. This follows an executive order that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in September related to this type of AI.

Philadelphia-based Audacy, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with $1.9 billion in debts, owns six radio stations in the Bay Area. These include 95.7 The Game, KCBS and 102.1 Jams.

When you visit the Hooby’s Brewing website and read the Stocking family story, you can’t help but want to learn more about how what started off as a joke became the Winters 2023 Business of the Year.

San Diego Unified School District has received more than $700 million in federal and state relief funds since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with these funds ending, some schools could be facing serious deficits.

Sean Loloee, a first-term Sacramento councilmember, has resigned from office—a move that came weeks after he was federally indicted on charges related to his business Viva Supermarkets.

High prices at hospitals in Monterey County are “an anomaly even among the most expensive” communities in California. One insurance plan there saves money by paying for members’ travel to other counties for procedures.

The dawn of 2024 meant that California’s minimum wage rose from $15.50 to $16 an hour. That puts the Golden State at the second-highest minimum wage for a U.S. state, trailing only Washington state at $16.28 an hour.

A 2021 law passed by the California legislature went into effect Jan. 1, requiring major retailers to maintain an aisle of toys marketed to people of either gender. The bill’s author, Evan Low, said the legislation will help kids “express themselves freely and without bias.”

The official selections are in for the Toast to Winters honorees, chosen by the Winters District Chamber of Commerce.

Just as you might intend to change your diet or workout plan, resolve to make changes that will allow you to meet financial goals.

Under two new laws, employers in California can’t ask workers about their use of cannabis outside the workplace and can’t use hair or urine tests. Employees in construction are excluded, as are applicants for federal jobs with background checks.

Under a new law, employees in California are guaranteed five paid sick days a year, two days more than previously. Worker advocacy groups say the benefit is needed, but business groups warn of additional costs.

A tribe’s bid for federal recognition is getting a boost from a member of Congress who introduced legislation to extend acknowledgement status to the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation and create a reservation within Los Angeles County.

The California Faculty Association has announced it will strike in January at the state’s 23 CSU campuses. It’s part of an ongoing effort by the group to obtain a 12% raise for the 29,000 professors and lecturers it represents.

California fast-food workers will earn a $20 minimum wage in April. Other employers might have to raise their pay floor to recruit and retain staff.

Though they were home to 1.65 million households in 2022, big complexes in California hold nowhere near the slice of renters compared with states where giant landlords dominate.

The financial blow from California’s out-migration has been cushioned by the kinds of people moving into the state: The newcomers generally earned more money than those who left. Now that long-standing trend has reversed.

Farmland is being rezoned for industrial use, and massive warehouses are being built on spec near communities like Buttonwillow and Shafter, so goods coming through the Southern California ports can be shipped quickly throughout the western United States.

Google has agreed to pay $700 million and will make changes to its app store it has resisted for years in order to resolve a lawsuit over whether its app store is an illegal monopoly.

A local couple who lived in Ohio for a year realized when they returned to the Sacramento region the area lacked a specific service they could offer.

It has been an unprecedented year at CapRadio. And one of extreme hardship. 
This summer, CapRadio laid off 12% of its staff. And that was just the start of its financial challenges.

Salmon populations in the Scott and Shasta rivers have crashed, so state officials are about to restrict irrigation again. And the controversial rules may even become permanent.

The number of nursing students enrolling in high-priced private programs has nearly doubled over the past 10 years as the state’s public universities have stagnated in growth. Private universities charge up to seven times the tuition of public schools for a bachelor’s degree, but nurses say their starting salaries are worth the cost.

Home insurance policies will likely get more expensive, California’s insurance commissioner said. Seven of the 12 largest insurers doing business in California said they could no longer afford to cover new homes in the state.

The California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board is strengthening protections for stone cutters who have been breathing dangerous silica dust. At least 10 stone cutters have died in the past five years from silicosis.

California’s projected $68 billion deficit has led to a number of cost-saving measures. Among them, a popular program for state workers to cash in unused vacation time has been paused.

The Exclusive Poultry Inc. agreed to pay $3.8 million in wages, damages and penalties in part for hiring children for dangerous work. The case is one of hundreds federal labor officials investigated last year.