Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport on the Grow
The Coachella Valley has replaced most of the 20,000 jobs it bled in the five years since the economy collapsed in 2008, and is close to full recovery, according to an annual report by the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership.
The region has regained more than 16,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate dropped below 6.5 percent for the first time since 2008. However, income and GDP continue to lag, according to Manfred Keil, an associate professor of economics at Claremont McKenna College, who spoke at the Coachella Valley Economic Forecast last spring.
photo courtesy of karen quincy loberg & THE VENTURA COUNTY STAR
Mark Schniepp from the California Economic Forecast.
Innovation and Opportunity Top Summit Agenda
Mark Schniepp of the California Economic Forecast and Michael McDonald (pictured below) of Market Watch LLC will deliver the annual economic report and forecast on Oct. 29 at the Coachella Valley Economic Summit in Palm Springs.
The 11th annual event, presented by Desert Regional Medical Center and JFK Memorial Hospital, will draw about 800 local business, civic, and education leaders. The program, which unfolds with a breakfast buffet at the Palm Springs Convention Center, also features a panel discussion on how economic trends affect innovation and opportunity in the region.
Schniepp will review key economic indicators for the region and present a five-year forecast for employment, housing, population, and income, and McDonald will demonstrate how demographics can foretell workforce needs and assist employers and educators in preparing local students to fill those jobs.
Schniepp and McDonald also authored the Coachella Valley Annual Economic Report, which will be released at the summit.
Information: 760-340-1575, www.cvep.com
photo by christopher langley
The Salton Sea was once a premiere tourism destination.
IID Offers Plan to Restore the Salton Sea
As local, state, and federal agencies offer funds to study potential solutions for the shrinking Salton Sea, the Imperial Irrigation District has brought forward a $3.15 billion plan to restore California’s largest lake — and it wants the state to pay for it.
The Salton Sea — once a premier tourism destination — has been shrinking and the salinity increasing due to a large-scale water transfer. The dust left on the shoreline is becoming airborne and could eventually affect the quality of life in the Coachella Valley.
IID and Imperial County officials, acting to avert what experts say could become a public health and environmental disaster, have asked Sacramento for $150 million from last year’s $7.5 billion water bond, as well as $1 billion each from the state’s general fund, bond sales, and “cap and trade” program. They suggest a large portion of the funding would help restore habitats and develop geothermal plants, which would provide clean energy production as well as dust control at the sea.
The Biggest Employers in the Coachella Valley
The Valley is Working Again
The Coachella Valley has replaced most of the 20,000 jobs it bled in the five years since the economy collapsed in 2008, and is close to full recovery, according to an annual report by the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership.
The region has regained more than 16,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate dropped below 6.5 percent for the first time since 2008. However, income and GDP continue to lag, according to Manfred Keil, an associate professor of economics at Claremont McKenna College, who spoke at the Coachella Valley Economic Forecast last spring.
photo by thinkstockphotos.com
The Coachella Valley Small Business Development Center assists small businesses with expansion plans.
SBDC Helps Entrepreneurs Grow and Create Jobs
In the past few years, the Coachella Valley Small Business Development Center has helped local small businesses access more than $16 million in loans and equity, and it has expanded its reach to provide more business counselors, including industry-specific consultants to help entrepreneurs navigate the idiosyncrasies of niche markets, says Kyle Wagner, the CVEP director of business development who runs the Coachella Valley SBDC.
The SBDC, supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local matching funds, offers free, one-on-one consulting to entrepreneurs seeking assistance developing a business plan, preparing financial statements and projections for loans, developing a marketing plan, growing sales, overcoming obstacles in management and human resources, fine-tuning operations, integrating technology, achieving sustainability, buying and selling a business, and gaining information about local industry and economic trends.
The Coachella Valley SBDC also produces monthly workshops in English (Fireside Chat series) and Spanish (LanzaTech series).
Information; 760-340-1575, www.cvep.com