Help create a better San Joaquin Valley —
attend Partnership’s annual summit
If you’re interested in helping to create a better San Joaquin Valley, please plan to attend the Partnership’s Annual Summit at The Stockton Grand Hotel on Thursday, Dec. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
For the hundreds of people who already are engaged in the Partnership’s efforts through the work groups or seed grant projects, the summit will be an opportunity to highlight the Partnership’s successes so far and consider ways to continue to improve the Valley’s overall well-being in the future.
For those not yet involved in the Partnership, the summit will provide a chance to get up-to-speed on the unprecedented collaborative activities taking place throughout the Valley and find an area where they can lend their talents and expertise.
The summit will feature the release of the Partnership’s annual report as well as breakout sessions from the Partnership’s 10 work groups. Exhibit booths will display some of the Partnership work through the Seed Grants and other work groups.
Special guest is Carl Guardino, president and CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a public policy trade association that represents more than 285 of Silicon Valley’s most respected companies. Guardino spent six years on the staff of Central Valley Assemblyman Rusty Areias and is known throughout the region as a consensus builder. Guardino has championed a number of important issues, especially in the areas of transportation and housing.
For more information and to register, go to 2008 Annual Summit
Partnership board to hold quarterly meeting in Stockton
The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley’s Board of Directors will hold its quarterly meeting at The Grand Hotel in Stockton on Friday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The board will discuss and determine the next steps needed to address the three priority issues it has identified for the Valley: air quality; water supply, quality, and reliability; and transportation. It also will discuss 2009 goals for the Partnership.
Download the Meeting Agenda Packet located on the Partnership Web site.
Clean Energy Organization farm energy conference a success
Participants in a Farming Clean Energy Conference sponsored by the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization (SJVCEO) learned that the San Joaquin Valley has the potential to be a significant renewable energy producer and a potential renewable energy exporter. California’s Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A. G. Kawamura, who is on the board of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, was the keynote speaker for the conference.
More than 200 participants from diverse industries – including the agricultural sector, financial community, clean technology vendors, utilities, and regulators – attended the conference in Visalia on Nov. 5-6. The conference was sponsored by SJVCEO, which was created by the Partnership’s board of directors to oversee clean energy efforts in the eight-county region, and Strategic Energy Innovations.
“I was particularly pleased with the open and direct dialog that was generated around the challenges that we currently face in capturing the tremendous clean energy potential in the agricultural sector of the Valley,” SJVCEO Executive Director Paul Johnson said. “SJVCEO staff intends to work with partners throughout the region to identify follow-up needs and provide value-added support to capture opportunities and develop promising clean energy projects and partnerships identified in the conference.”
Key themes and messages at the conference included:
The Valley needs to focus on energy efficiency opportunities first. To accomplish this, it needs to leverage a broad range of robust federal/state and utility programs and resources.
There is a critical need for project funding support.
The Valley must address and overcome risk adversity among farmers.
There is a great need for peer-to-peer education and benchmarking on clean energy.
Targeted education and training to different agricultural sectors also is needed.
For more information, visit www.sjvcleanenergy.org.
Registration now open for
exemplary education practices conference
Registration is now open for an important conference that will focus on exemplary education practices throughout the eight-county San Joaquin Valley.
Valley leaders in PreK-12, higher education, business and communities are encouraged to attend the full-day conference, “Exemplary Practices in Education: Achievement Gains in Our San Joaquin Valley,” which will be held on the California State University, Fresno, campus on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
General sessions will feature Dr. James Lanich, executive director of Just for the Kids–California and president of the California Business for Education Excellence; Larry Powell, superintendent of Fresno County Office of Education; and Dr. Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana, Superintendent of Pomona Unified School District and the state’s Superintendent of the Year.
Breakout sessions will feature schools, districts and programs in the region that have proven success with English Learners, developing a college-going culture, career education, data systems, computer literacy, reading, teacher and administrator training initiatives, and community collaboratives and partnerships in education.
The Preschool Coordination and Alignment Project also is coordinating a complete strand (conference within a conference) on Preschool Planning facilitated by widely renowned expert Karen Hill-Scott.
The Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute, in cooperation with the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley and County Offices of Education in the Valley, will sponsor the conference.
The Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute serves as consultant to the Partnership’s PreK-12 Education Work Group.
Download Exemplary Practices in Education Conference registration information
Economic Development Work Group
to hold industry cluster forums
The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley’s Economic Development Work Group will hold two industry cluster forums to share and collect information on issues and identify solutions for increasing the competiveness of businesses in the region.
The forums will be held at the following times and locations:
Dec. 2 – Alliance Conference Facility, 1020 10th Street, Modesto, 9 a.m. to noon
Dec. 3 – International Agri-Center, 4450 S. Laspina, Tulare, 9 a.m. to noon
The forums will be professionally facilitated and utilize an electronic meeting system that will poll the business and cluster leader participants and provide immediate feedback for rich discussion around solutions for the issues.
More information on the forums is available from Jennifer Faughn or Amanda Chandler with the Central California Economic Development Corporation at 888.998.2345 or 661.366.0756.
Meth Recovery Project Advisory Council to present final report
The Methamphetamine Recovery Project Advisory Council will present its final continuum of care report at a council meeting at California State University, Stanislaus, in Turlock on Friday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Advisory Council has conducted a series of community engagement meetings to gather input for the report and determine next steps in community-based efforts to address issues related to address methamphetamine issues in the eight-county region.
The Advisory Council is a critical element in meeting the goals of the Health and Human Services Work Group’s to develop a comprehensive methamphetamine education, treatment and law enforcement program as outlined in the Partnership’s Strategic Action Proposal. The Advisory Council is addressing the methamphetamine issue across a continuum of care that includes education, prevention, treatment, and long-term recovery.
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