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ENLARGE
Jeff Pelline
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ENLARGE
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Showman Charlie O.: Green caps to go with green jobs?
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AJA Video: Grass Valley's Apple Computer connection
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Our status as a county seat, and all the employment that it generates, masks the real economic problem around here: We are not stimulating enough high-quality, private sector job growth.
This perpetuates more trouble: the gap between wages and housing costs, families who bail out of the community and our illegal business activity - mostly drugs, though we wrote about a porn case this week that led to an alleged rape.
"She needed the money," the sheriff said about the young woman who posed for the shots for $200 and allegedly was raped during the incident.
Many government leaders and elected officials seem to be taking the Alfred E. Neuman approach to dealing with our bigger-picture business and economic woes: "What me worry?" they ask, cranking up expenses just as our economy sinks. Bravo! California faces its biggest budget deficit since 1991, officials said this week. Within our county, we face declines in sales-tax receipts and property-tax revenue.
Most private sector leaders are a fragmented bunch, focusing on their own projects: one of the historic downtowns; a performing arts center at Sierra College instead of demanding more vocational classes to train our youth and keep them here (a greater priority, I think, at least with public money); or focusing on one of the myriad, fragmented nonprofits. We have more nonprofits per capita than our neighboring counties, sometimes diluting our well-intentioned efforts.
In the meantime, western Nevada County keeps growing older amid an ongoing shortage of doctors and health-care workers, among other service providers. We already are among the state's oldest counties, with a median age of more than 43 years old, according to 2006 U.S. Census data. Calaveras, Trinity, Plumas and Sierra also rank at the top of the list.
Bear hug
We need to adopt a more collaborative, regional approach to creating, not just filling, well-paying private sector jobs: Initiate a community-wide bear hug - the county, cities, businesses, schools, Realtors - all with a much greater sense of urgency. Job growth is the No. 1 ingredient to sustaining our community. If that happens, many of the other problems will fade, too. Our county population is barely growing, most of it in Truckee.
Why can't local elected officials, public and private sector leaders get together to roll out the red carpet for 50 engineers the same way we did earlier this year for a handful of new doctors? The Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital's recruitment efforts are inspiring. Recruiter Craig Wilcox spends a lot of time hustling, working contacts, working the phones and traveling to bring doctors here.
Let's get more creative, too: enlist some more grandparents to recruit their children and their children's friends up here. Lots of Boomers want to be near their aging parents. Let's also enlist our well-known residents, such as the sound barrier breaker and retired Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, as recruiters in marketing campaigns.
This perpetuates more trouble: the gap between wages and housing costs, families who bail out of the community and our illegal business activity - mostly drugs, though we wrote about a porn case this week that led to an alleged rape.
"She needed the money," the sheriff said about the young woman who posed for the shots for $200 and allegedly was raped during the incident.
Many government leaders and elected officials seem to be taking the Alfred E. Neuman approach to dealing with our bigger-picture business and economic woes: "What me worry?" they ask, cranking up expenses just as our economy sinks. Bravo! California faces its biggest budget deficit since 1991, officials said this week. Within our county, we face declines in sales-tax receipts and property-tax revenue.
Most private sector leaders are a fragmented bunch, focusing on their own projects: one of the historic downtowns; a performing arts center at Sierra College instead of demanding more vocational classes to train our youth and keep them here (a greater priority, I think, at least with public money); or focusing on one of the myriad, fragmented nonprofits. We have more nonprofits per capita than our neighboring counties, sometimes diluting our well-intentioned efforts.
In the meantime, western Nevada County keeps growing older amid an ongoing shortage of doctors and health-care workers, among other service providers. We already are among the state's oldest counties, with a median age of more than 43 years old, according to 2006 U.S. Census data. Calaveras, Trinity, Plumas and Sierra also rank at the top of the list.
Bear hug
We need to adopt a more collaborative, regional approach to creating, not just filling, well-paying private sector jobs: Initiate a community-wide bear hug - the county, cities, businesses, schools, Realtors - all with a much greater sense of urgency. Job growth is the No. 1 ingredient to sustaining our community. If that happens, many of the other problems will fade, too. Our county population is barely growing, most of it in Truckee.
Why can't local elected officials, public and private sector leaders get together to roll out the red carpet for 50 engineers the same way we did earlier this year for a handful of new doctors? The Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital's recruitment efforts are inspiring. Recruiter Craig Wilcox spends a lot of time hustling, working contacts, working the phones and traveling to bring doctors here.
Let's get more creative, too: enlist some more grandparents to recruit their children and their children's friends up here. Lots of Boomers want to be near their aging parents. Let's also enlist our well-known residents, such as the sound barrier breaker and retired Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, as recruiters in marketing campaigns.
As I've written before, I also think we need more dynamic, even out-of-the-box, government and private-sector leadership to get the job done. Look what Steve Jobs did for Apple Computer (on both the product and marketing side) when it was on the brink of ruin in the mid-'90s, or look what Al Gore did for environmental awareness with his recent Nobel Peace Prize. Whether you agree with him or not, the issue is more visible now.
I'm even reminded of P.T. Barnum-like characters such as the late Charlie Finley, who owned the Oakland A's baseball team in the '70s. The players and other owners didn't like him much (miserly comes to mind), and some stunts were more ridiculous than anything else.
Charlie O. was one of the game's greatest innovators and brought a new generation to the game. As The Sporting News reminds us, Finley introduced the A's gold-and-green uniforms (not gray pinstripes), paid bonuses to players who grew handlebar mustaches and more significant, spearheaded innovations such as computer-activated scoreboards, interleague play and the designated hitter.
Charlie O.'s Oakland A's won three straight World Series championships. He used to state that action and results talked while "bull**** walks."
Talk is cheap
When it comes to job growth around here, mere talk, if we can even agree on that, is getting us nowhere. Let's set some measurable goals and hold ourselves accountable. Here are some thoughts:
• Speaking of green, how about a concerted campaign to create more "green-collar" jobs - you know, ones related to green building, renewable energy, energy efficiency, organic and so on? Sure we could pass out buttons, posters and stickers - just like the "be local, buy locally" campaign - and even include green baseball caps, but let's get more serious about green jobs.
The renewable energy and energy efficiency grant money is out there; PG&E , California regulators and other policymakers are behind it, too with "demand side" energy management and the myriad programs that go with it. Here in "grant-land," we need to make sure we're following the flow of money.
Renewable energy and energy efficiency industries created 8.5 million jobs last year, according to the American Solar Energy Society. If you don't like gold mining, would you get behind this? I think the answer is a combination of "old" and "new" businesses (isn't a gold mine pretty heavily regulated nowadays?), but let's become more solution-oriented instead of just arguing.
PowerUp-NC's Xmas lightbulb exchange (a PG&E sponsored program) and the hybrid vehicles you see around here suggest some pent-up demand for a "green" lifestyle. Better hurry, though: Truckee is beating us to the punch, with groups such as the Sierra Green Building Association that is headquartered there.
I'm even reminded of P.T. Barnum-like characters such as the late Charlie Finley, who owned the Oakland A's baseball team in the '70s. The players and other owners didn't like him much (miserly comes to mind), and some stunts were more ridiculous than anything else.
Charlie O. was one of the game's greatest innovators and brought a new generation to the game. As The Sporting News reminds us, Finley introduced the A's gold-and-green uniforms (not gray pinstripes), paid bonuses to players who grew handlebar mustaches and more significant, spearheaded innovations such as computer-activated scoreboards, interleague play and the designated hitter.
Charlie O.'s Oakland A's won three straight World Series championships. He used to state that action and results talked while "bull**** walks."
Talk is cheap
When it comes to job growth around here, mere talk, if we can even agree on that, is getting us nowhere. Let's set some measurable goals and hold ourselves accountable. Here are some thoughts:
• Speaking of green, how about a concerted campaign to create more "green-collar" jobs - you know, ones related to green building, renewable energy, energy efficiency, organic and so on? Sure we could pass out buttons, posters and stickers - just like the "be local, buy locally" campaign - and even include green baseball caps, but let's get more serious about green jobs.
The renewable energy and energy efficiency grant money is out there; PG&E , California regulators and other policymakers are behind it, too with "demand side" energy management and the myriad programs that go with it. Here in "grant-land," we need to make sure we're following the flow of money.
Renewable energy and energy efficiency industries created 8.5 million jobs last year, according to the American Solar Energy Society. If you don't like gold mining, would you get behind this? I think the answer is a combination of "old" and "new" businesses (isn't a gold mine pretty heavily regulated nowadays?), but let's become more solution-oriented instead of just arguing.
PowerUp-NC's Xmas lightbulb exchange (a PG&E sponsored program) and the hybrid vehicles you see around here suggest some pent-up demand for a "green" lifestyle. Better hurry, though: Truckee is beating us to the punch, with groups such as the Sierra Green Building Association that is headquartered there.
• Draw more tech companies to places such as the Nevada City Tech Center. We need to do a better job of providing a "one-stop" shop for prospective companies, making relocation data more readily available to them. We need to find more people with the expertise and big Rolodex files to recruit more businesses here. Let's get out on the road more often, not just hold local bus tours.
We need to find evangelists, such as leaders in our well-established video technology businesses, which include former managers from Thomson-Grass Valley. HDTV is hot. We could market ourselves as an HD mecca in a pine forest, as well as a green-collar business center. This could generate some needed buzz.
Compared with other foothill communities, we've done a good job of bringing broadband here. But we need to pick up the pace, making the area attractive for telecommuters who like our proximity to skiing, our schools and our relatively safe small-town atmosphere.
• Let's ramp up, and in some cases revamp, the curriculum at Sierra College to focus on more pragmatic, vocational skills that could train our locals. We could train more students to maintain solar power systems, for example - again think "green" - but we also could train more of them as auto mechanics, construction trades people, home health care workers and other service providers.
Let's not overstate the value of a liberal art's education at the expense of training people for practical and well-paying jobs to sustain our community.
To its credit, Sierra College is taking steps in this direction (courses in automotive, construction, fire and welding technologies already are offered, for example), and an alternative energy program is under consideration. But it has to happen more quickly, making coursework even more relevant to our community.
Look beyond downtowns
• A more holistic approach by our Chambers of Commerce in Grass Valley and Nevada City to better embrace the entire economy of our region, not just the historic downtowns. The value of the Seven Hills business district and the Loma Rica and Whispering Pines business parks in fueling job growth and generating sales tax receipts cannot be underestimated.
Let's face it: Tourism is a cyclical and hotly competitive business. The downtowns should be the focus of the downtown associations; the chamber should be all encompassing. I often see what looks like duplication.
All right, short of Steve Jobs or Al Gore, even Charlie O., we're going to have to rely on our local leaders to get the job done, not to mention provide community-wide support.
We need to find evangelists, such as leaders in our well-established video technology businesses, which include former managers from Thomson-Grass Valley. HDTV is hot. We could market ourselves as an HD mecca in a pine forest, as well as a green-collar business center. This could generate some needed buzz.
Compared with other foothill communities, we've done a good job of bringing broadband here. But we need to pick up the pace, making the area attractive for telecommuters who like our proximity to skiing, our schools and our relatively safe small-town atmosphere.
• Let's ramp up, and in some cases revamp, the curriculum at Sierra College to focus on more pragmatic, vocational skills that could train our locals. We could train more students to maintain solar power systems, for example - again think "green" - but we also could train more of them as auto mechanics, construction trades people, home health care workers and other service providers.
Let's not overstate the value of a liberal art's education at the expense of training people for practical and well-paying jobs to sustain our community.
To its credit, Sierra College is taking steps in this direction (courses in automotive, construction, fire and welding technologies already are offered, for example), and an alternative energy program is under consideration. But it has to happen more quickly, making coursework even more relevant to our community.
Look beyond downtowns
• A more holistic approach by our Chambers of Commerce in Grass Valley and Nevada City to better embrace the entire economy of our region, not just the historic downtowns. The value of the Seven Hills business district and the Loma Rica and Whispering Pines business parks in fueling job growth and generating sales tax receipts cannot be underestimated.
Let's face it: Tourism is a cyclical and hotly competitive business. The downtowns should be the focus of the downtown associations; the chamber should be all encompassing. I often see what looks like duplication.
All right, short of Steve Jobs or Al Gore, even Charlie O., we're going to have to rely on our local leaders to get the job done, not to mention provide community-wide support.
What if we could duplicate the leadership that Fred Buhler has provided for "Friends of Nevada County Military" when it comes to stimulating our job growth?
Some new leadership is looming on this front.
Both chambers are getting new board leadership: Eleanor Kenitzer of Idaho-Maryland Mine as chairman of Grass Valley's chamber and The Union Publisher Jeff Ackerman as president of the Nevada City chamber.
In addition, the county Economic Resource Council just named a new leader, Gil Mathew.
Gil is a successful entrepreneur. He has signed paychecks on the front, not just the back, a criticism of some government bureaucrats that holds merit.
I hope the ERC, of which I'm a board member, takes a more offensive approach to bringing jobs here, not just a defensive one about retaining them. A multimedia show about Nevada County (funded by PG&E) and an available-property locator are steps in the right direction. Check both of them out on the ERC Web site (www.ncerc.org).
As the ERC's new leader, I hope Gil reaches out to the public sector to forge a much more visible partnership, as well as build tighter relationships with more private businesses here.
One of my favorites is a Grass Valley gem called AJA Video; Apple, no less, has endorsed the firm's technology. How's that for a business contact? Let's utilize it.
As Gil observes, "We have the greatest banquet in the world for attracting business." Sure, but we're going to have to collectively work a lot harder to get the job done, with a much greater sense of urgency. As Finley, not often the diplomat, put it: "Sweat plus sacrifice equals success."
ooo
Jeff Pelline is the editor of The Union. His column appears on Saturdays. Contact him at 477-4235, jeffp@theunion.com, or 464 Sutton Way, Grass Valley 95945.
Some new leadership is looming on this front.
Both chambers are getting new board leadership: Eleanor Kenitzer of Idaho-Maryland Mine as chairman of Grass Valley's chamber and The Union Publisher Jeff Ackerman as president of the Nevada City chamber.
In addition, the county Economic Resource Council just named a new leader, Gil Mathew.
Gil is a successful entrepreneur. He has signed paychecks on the front, not just the back, a criticism of some government bureaucrats that holds merit.
I hope the ERC, of which I'm a board member, takes a more offensive approach to bringing jobs here, not just a defensive one about retaining them. A multimedia show about Nevada County (funded by PG&E) and an available-property locator are steps in the right direction. Check both of them out on the ERC Web site (www.ncerc.org).
As the ERC's new leader, I hope Gil reaches out to the public sector to forge a much more visible partnership, as well as build tighter relationships with more private businesses here.
One of my favorites is a Grass Valley gem called AJA Video; Apple, no less, has endorsed the firm's technology. How's that for a business contact? Let's utilize it.
As Gil observes, "We have the greatest banquet in the world for attracting business." Sure, but we're going to have to collectively work a lot harder to get the job done, with a much greater sense of urgency. As Finley, not often the diplomat, put it: "Sweat plus sacrifice equals success."
ooo
Jeff Pelline is the editor of The Union. His column appears on Saturdays. Contact him at 477-4235, jeffp@theunion.com, or 464 Sutton Way, Grass Valley 95945.
On the Web:
Economic Resource Council:
www.ncerc.org
Stanford Center for Environmental Policy:
www.cesp.stanford.edu
Demand-side
management:
www.dsm.iea.org
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