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VIDEO: Millennials face uphill battle in today’s economy
The Millennial generation represents the largest and most digitally connected generation ever, but it's also staring at a long list of challenges to get ahead economically. We asked a gathering of sub-40-year-old representatives from a range of public policy groups to give us a rundown of those problems and where the opportunities are for fixing…
Report: Millennials less in love with the car than previous generations
(Photo Credits: torbakhopper & Michael Ocampo/Flickr) If a person is born after 1980, it's likely he or she doesn't view having a car as "freedom," but would rather be free from having to drive a car at all. And the best way California can adapt to this trend might not necessarily be expanding highways but…
Poll: Majority of California’s likely voters support Prop 1 water bond
California lake docks in summer 2014. (Photo Credit: Ira Woodhead/Flickr) With the drought literally moving mountains, drying up wells and reserves, and causing a Mt. Shasta mudslide--not a drink at TGI Fridays, it's not surprising Californians appear to support the state's water bond proposition by almost a 2-1 margin, says a new poll. Fifty-eight percent of…
Millennials optimistic about future but down on present economy
Long Beach City Council member Rex Richardson speaking at Millennial Economic Summit in Los Angeles this week. (Photo Credit: John Guenther) At an event on millennials and the economy this week, Long Beach City Council member Rex Richardson pointed out that his generation is made of the first-ever "digital babies." "I'm on the older end…
How drought’s economic impact on California agriculture is a wake-up call
(Photo Credit: kerinin/Flickr) The drought of 2014 will cause California's agricultural economy to take $1.5 billion hit. While a new UC Davis report shows how the sector's resilience has prevented a more catastrophic number, it also makes the case that agriculture can't afford the state's water systems to be run year after year in emergency…
California businesses ally to ensure robust water policy
Tuolumne River in Yosemite, CA. (Photo Credit: Don J. Schulte/Flickr) If you're looking for a high-profile manufacturer that for sure depends on water, New Belgium Brewing seems like a good one to highlight. As they say on the advocacy page, "You can't make great beer without clean water." And that sounds like a pretty good…
Wanted: Skilled workers for California’s manufacturing comeback
3D printing workstation. (Photo Credit: Nicolás Boullosa/Flickr) When podcaster Adam Carolla, whose father worked for the Lockheed Skunk Works, kicked off a manufacturing event this week, he started with his own personal story of being a ceramics major in high school and afterward working a series of low-paying jobs. "Somebody should have tapped me on the…
College report and Toyota news place California economy at crossroads
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom speaking at Long Beach City College. (Photo Credit: John Guenther) In the week following the Toyota relocation news, California saw a good amount of hand-wringing, followed by finger-pointing at reasons for the move. Whichever reason is given, it still should add fuel to the resistance to do things in the same…
Report: California’s aerospace industry bigger than Hollywood
Boeing's C-17 Globemaster plant in Long Beach, CA will shut down production in 2015. (Photo credit: Greg Bishop) What's nearly invisible but bigger than California's agriculture and entertainment industries combined? It's the state's aerospace industry. That's the story coming from a new economic impact report trying to show how aerospace is a massive but endangered species…
Paying for California water action plan beyond the drought
California Aqueduct. (Photo Credit: sfbaywalk/flickr) Released today, Governor Jerry Brown's final version of a five-year "Water Action Plan" lays out something most people involved in the contentious water issue can agree on: finding new, smart ways to navigate the choppy waters of long-term financing is vital to the California economy. While the twin Delta tunnels…