SAVE THE DATE

Attention Manufacturer's- GMCIA Meeting
June 11, 2008 at Noon

Madera Manufacturer’s, please attend the upcoming Greater Madera County Industrial Association (GMCIA) meeting on June 11, 2008 at Noon., at the Madera Municipal Gold Course

For more information, contact Shirley Driggs at 559-673-8496.

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Score Pre-Counseling Workshop
June 19, 2008 12:00-1:00 p.m.
SBA office, 2719 N. Air Fresno Drive #200
Fresno, CA

SCORE is America’s resource for small business guidance. SCORE provides both start-ups and existing businesses with quality business advice for free. This workshop will prepare you for counselor meetings.
For more information call William Hori, SBA at (559) 487-5791 or email William.hori@sba.gov

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Madera General Plan Update
Topic: Conservation- Circulation and Land Use
June 30, 2008
Senior Center at 238 S. “D” Street
(The time has not been released)

Over the next two years, the City of Madera will be holding a series of public meetings to help update the city’s general plan. The process of adopting or amending the general plan requires public participation. The next general plan meeting will be addressing the topic of conservation on June 30th.

For more information please visit www.maderageneralplan.com or email info@maderageneralplan.com

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Madera County Unemployment Rate

The unemployment rate in Madera County was 9.6 percent in April 2008, down from a revised 10.5 percent in March 2008, but above the year-ago estimate of 8.2 percent. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 6.1 percent for California and 4.8 percent for the nation during the same period. For more detailed information Click here

Pines Resort welcomes new General Manager
Sierra Star

The Pines’ general manager is new to the position and company (Greenlaw Partners) but he and his family are not new to the mountain area. Paul Ratchford was GM at Tenaya Lodge from 1993 to 2000 and though he has had jobs in San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and at the prestigious Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, he’s kept a home here in the eastern Madera area. Read more

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STATE NEWS

Central Valley Community Bancorp to Acquire Service 1st Bancorp
CNN Money

Gasoline prices highest ever, more to come
CVBT

• Fear it will affect summer travel “season”
• California’s average now over $4

Half (51 percent of U.S. respondents to a recent survey say the high price of fuel is going to affect their travel plans this summer, says TripAdvisor LLC of Newton, Mass. Thirty-seven percent of travelers say they will take fewer car trips to save on fuel and 18 percent plan to take shorter distance car trips to save on fuel, says the TripAdvisor survey. In the past five months of 2008, crude oil prices have gone up by over 30 percent. Read more

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Pacific Ethanol flips the switch on Idaho plant
The Business Journal

Fresh off of a $14 million loss for 2007, Pacific Ethanol has announced the start of operations for the company’s third corn-to-ethanol plant in Burley, Idaho. The plant has the capacity to produce 60 million gallons per year. It will process 21 million bushels of corn annually, producing ethanol as well as 500,000 tons of wet distiller’s grain each year. Read more

Pacific Ethanol adds $34.25 MIllion in financing
(Source CVBT)

Pacific Ethanol Inc. of Sacramento says it has added $34.25 million in financing through a series of transactions, including the sales of stock to company officials. Outside institutional investors also bought into the company’s stock. Read more

*Pacific Ethanol operates a plant in Madera County.

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Steel Prices Haven’t Peaked Yet
Business will have to wait for relief on steel prices until next year when the dollar is expected to strengthen.
Kiplinger Business Resource Center

The largest steel users can expect to pay as much as $1,200 a ton for hot-rolled steel and $1,300 for cold-rolled by July, about twice the cost in January. Small companies should figure prices will be about $200 higher than those, a typical premium for purchasers with less buying power. Read more

TRAINING

Free farm vehicle safety training offered by Fresno State
CVBT

• Trainers will go to farms to offer worker seminars
• First come, first served for support material

The Center for Agricultural Businesses at California State University, Fresno is offering the support as part of its Farm worker Motor Vehicle Safe Driving Education Program. The purpose is to reduce the number of motor vehicle crashes, fatalities and injuries suffered by farm workers and other rural residents. Funding for the project has been provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Susan Harwood Training Grant Program.

For more information or to arrange for materials or training, contact the CAB office at (559) 278-4405.

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