North Bay Business Journal

SANTA ROSA — A local maker of solar-powered generators is feeling the winds of change in California and hoping they blow him a lot more business.

SAN FRANCISCO — When it comes to creating jobs in California across a wide range of income levels and employment sectors, a new report by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute concludes that it pays to play to your strengths.

For much of the Bay Area and other regions in the state, high-tech jobs are where the action is.

Two national surveys released recently provided very bad news for California’s 2 million unemployed workers. The first survey, Best/Worst States for Business, was released by CEO Magazine. The survey of 650 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) found California the worst state in which to do business, a ranking California has held for the past eight years. [...]

California ranked 50th in the U.S. for its business environment for the eighth straight year, according to a survey of 650 chief executive officers nationwide released May 2 by Chief Executive magazine. The Business Journal encourages local businesses to share their experiences with environment for commerce at the local and state levels.

The political class in Sacramento is obsessed with raising taxes, enacting new regulatory schemes and green economy pipedreams. But they should be focused on this stunning trend.

After nearly 10 years of oversupply and low prices, California winegrapes and bulk wines are suddenly in a position of scarcity. Wineries are scurrying to find grapes and secure vineyard assets, while négociant wineries see their wine sources dwindling. How did we come to be in this situation, and what lies ahead for growers, wineries and consumers?

SACRAMENTO — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a number of bills into law last week. Among them were Senate Bill 1440, authored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima). This bill creates clarity for community college students seeking to transfer to the California State University (CSU) system.

NORTH BAY – Kaiser Permanente employees throughout Northern California begin voting today in a costly, high-stakes election that will likely determine the influence of two quarreling unions, each seeking to represent nearly 44,000 workers.

SACRAMENTO — Large scale importation of bulk and bottled wine helped boost total U.S. shipments by an estimated 2.1 percent last year, but wineries heavily impacted by shifting consumer demand may have to wait until 2011 for significant market improvement, an expert said at a major industry symposium here this morning.