Sunne Wright McPeak:
Now is time for action on securing water future

The Governor’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force report provides a “workable, common-sense solution” to sustaining the Delta and the state’s water supply, California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley board member Sunne Wright McPeak wrote in a recent op-ed.

In an op-ed that originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune, McPeak, who also serves as a member of the Governor’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, wrote that people should demand action from their elected officials to adopt the vision recommended by the task force and to implement that strategic plan adopted earlier this month.

The task force solution begins with a call for two “’co-equal goals: restore and protect the Delta ecosystem, and improve water reliability statewide,’” Wright McPeak wrote. “Wisely, this approach recognizes that the Delta ecosystem can never truly be protected unless the rest of the state’s water supply is assured. Likewise, to the extent that the rest of the state relief on water that otherwise would flow through the Delta, those supplies will be further curtailed if Delta fisheries continue to decline.”

In the op-ed, Wright McPeak notes there is no “silver bullet” to resolving California’s water crisis; but there is “silver buckshot” – a “critical mass” of actions that must be taken together as an integrated package to achieve the two co-equal goals.

Download full op-ed.

Partnership’s annual summit to feature
release of annual report, keynote address by Carl Guardino

Carl Guardino, one of Silicon Valley’s most distinguished business and community leaders and president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, will be keynote speaker at the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley’s annual summit in Stockton in December.

Guardino is a member of the California Transportation Commission and also serves on numerous other boards. In 2000, the San Jose Mercury News named Guardino one of the “Five Most Powerful” people in Silicon Valley in a once-per-decade study.

Known throughout the region as a consensus builder, Guardino has championed a number of important issues, especially in the areas of transportation and housing.

The annual summit also will feature the release of the Partnership’s annual report as well as information on the efforts of the Partnership’s work groups and seed grant projects.

The summit will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Stockton on Thursday, Dec. 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Further details and registration information will be available soon.

Partnership’s Air Quality Work Group supports
federal empowerment zone bill

The Partnership’s Air Quality Work Group has passed a resolution supporting S 3496, legislation sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer that would establish an Air and Health Quality Empowerment Zone.

“This legislation has the potential to greatly impact efforts taken by the San Joaquin Valley to accelerate emission reductions at a rate faster than required by federal standards,” states Peter Weber, chair of the Air Quality Work Group, in a letter to the Valley’s congressional delegation. “It also provides much needed federal investment to assist in matching the state and local funding already committed.”

The legislation, which has passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, establishes criteria through which the San Joaquin Valley may apply for grants to replace or retrofit polluting vehicles or engines to improve the health of Valley residents.

Download Air Quality Work Group Resolution.

Partnership to co-sponsor educational
exemplary practices conference in January

The Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute, in cooperation the Partnership and County Offices of Education in the San Joaquin Valley, will hold a conference in Fresno which focuses on regional exemplary practices in PreK-12 education.

Valley leaders in PreK-12, higher education, business and community are encouraged to attend the full-day conference, “Exemplary Practices: Achievement Gains in the San Joaquin Valley,” which will be held on the California State University, Fresno, campus on Jan. 13.

General sessions will feature Dr. James Lanich, executive director of Just for the Kids–California and 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.

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 serves as consultant to the Partnership’s PreK-12 Education Work Group.

Conference details and online registration information will be available soon.

Farming Clean Energy Conference set for Valley

The San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization, created by the Partnership’s board of directors to oversee clean energy efforts in the eight-county region, will co-sponsor a Farming Clean Energy conference at the AGTAC Center in Tulare on Nov. 5-6. A.G. Kawamura, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture and a member of the Partnership’s board of directors, will be the featured speaker.

The conference is designed to stimulate the adoption of clean energy within the agricultural sector of California's San Joaquin Valley. The primary focus of this conference will target farmers and agri-business owners and the practical actions they can take to develop successful clean energy projects.

The conference will encourage participants to share experiences with their peers, the financial community, technology vendors and regulators.

Planned conference topic areas include:

- Energy efficiency options, technical assistance and incentives
- Opportunities for developing Valley-based bioenergy technologies and projects
- Potential and scale for turnkey renewable energy projects
- Financing and ownership structure of renewable energy installations/facilities
- Impact of global warming and related agriculture production opportunities
- Project-specific opportunities, barriers and how to overcome them
- Market opportunities to leverage and impediments to address
- Federal, state, and local programs and policy leadership

Farmers, agri-business owners, leaders from agricultural groups, rural development organizations, utilities, new energy technology providers, research facilities, project financiers, students, public policy and clean energy advocates who share a common vision for a sustainable agricultural sector for the Valley are encouraged to attend.

For more information and to register, go to www.valleycleanenergyconference.org.

Health Enterprise Zone community forums
set for eight Valley counties

Health care stakeholders in all eight San Joaquin Valley counties will be asked to participate in community forums to discuss the feasibility of implementing a Health Enterprise Zone model to address the health care professional shortages in the region.

The Central Valley Health Policy Institute (CVHPI) will conduct community forums in each of the Valley’s eight counties to help develop policy recommendations for a report to be presented to the state Department of Health Care Services.

CVHPI received a $125,000 Partnership Seed Grant to explore the feasibility of implementing a Health Enterprise Zone concept for the region. Through the concept, the enterprise zones would offer tax credits and other financial incentives for providers to retain, open and expand services to underserved populations.

The schedule for forums in three of the Valley’s eight counties follows:

Kern County:
Monday, Nov. 3, 6 to 8 p.m., UC Merced Center, Bakersfield

Merced County:
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 6 to 8 p.m., location to be determined

Stanislaus County:
Friday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to noon, Stanislaus County Public Health Department

Dates are still to be determined for Fresno, Kings, Madera, San Joaquin, and Tulare counties.

Maddy Forum focuses on Partnership work group activities

The efforts of a number of Partnership work groups have been featured on “The Maddy Forum,” a new 30-minute weekly public affairs program on 90.7 KFSR radio, the campus radio station at California State University, Fresno.

The radio show features conversations about public policy issues of interest to the San Joaquin Valley. In recent weeks, topics have been water, transportation, regional planning, preK-12 education, and clean energy. Other work groups will be featured on upcoming shows.

The following shows are available for download at 90.7 KFSR:

Air Quality, featuring Partnership board members Pete Weber and DeeDee D’Adamo.

Water, featuring David Zoldoske and Sarge Green from the California Water Institute.

Regional planning, featuring Council of Fresno County Governments Deputy Director Barbara Steck and regional planner Jon Wright.

PreK-12 education, featuring Fresno County Office of Education Superintendent Larry Powell.

Transportation, featuring San Joaquin Council of Governments Executive Director Andrew Chesley and Great Valley Center President David Hosley.

The Maddy Forum airs Saturdays at 1 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. All programs are archived and available as a podcast. The programs also are available through on-demand streaming audio through the 90.7 KFSR.

The Maddy Institute mission includes providing nonpartisan, interdisciplinary and fact-driven analysis of public policy issues impacting the Valley and state.

Meet the Board:
James A Aleru, keeping an accounting of water initiative

James A Aleru was born in Nigeria and in 1969 “migrated” to the United States. The first stop on his journey was Hillsboro, Kansas, where he attended Tabor College and graduated in 1973 with a bachelor of arts in business administration, accounting, and a minor in economics. His journey brought him to the San Joaquin Valley in 1974 where he attended California State University, Fresno, and worked toward a masters of science in agricultural economics.

“The Valley is a rich community of people and places,” Aleru says. “Our cultural diversity is an invaluable asset and presents an opportunity to use this diverse cultural heritage for the common good.”

Aleru recognizes that the Valley’s agricultural industry is significant to the economy of California and believes that it is “the envy of the world.”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in August 2007 appointed Aleru to the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley.

“Serving on the Partnership board has been an honor,” Aleru says. “I have been impressed – and challenged – by the zeal and dedication of the board and its leadership.”

California’s water problems are no secret. Without it the Valley’s agricultural industry would cease to exist.

“There is an urgent and pressing need to tackle this issue as the Partnership is so diligently doing,” Aleru says. “I hope we can deliver tangible results on the water initiative because of its strategic importance to the region’s economy and our existence.”

Aleru believes the Valley deserves to be a regional economic, cultural and social force in California.

“The Valley has been ignored for far too long,” Aleru says, “despite its immense contribution to the state’s economy as well as its strategic location and importance to goods movement and to commerce.”

“The mission of the Partnership, no doubt, is great and complex,” Aleru says. “I hope I can make some contribution to the community that has enriched me so well.”

Aleru is a certified public accountant and has been in private practice since 1985. He worked with the County of Fresno from 1976, beginning in the Elections Office as an accounts clerk and then as an auditor appraiser in the Assessor’s Office before retiring in February 2001.

He is a member of the California State Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. He served as a board member of the Fresno Chapter of CalCPA, 2002-2007. He is a member of the audit committee of the Fresno County Economic Opportunity Commission.

Legislative Update

Legislation Consistent with the Partnership's Strategic Action Proposal

Land Use, Agriculture and Housing

AB 1129 (Arambula) – Local Housing Trust Fund – vetoed by governor

This bill allows smaller, rural county housing trusts, such as those that are members of the newly formed San Joaquin Valley Housing Trust, to better compete for state housing trust fund grants by lowering the minimum grant amount for newly established small county trusts.

Status: Bill was amended and passed the Assembly on Jan. 24, 2008. The Senate deleted the Assembly version of the bill and amended it as detailed above. This version passed the Senate on Aug. 7. The Assembly concurred with the amendments on Aug. 14. The governor vetoed the bill on Sept. 28 with the following message:

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 1129 without my signature.

I am supportive of providing additional flexibility for small rural jurisdictions to participate in the Local Housing Trust Fund program by reducing the minimum participation level and allowing flexibility for local governments to provide dedicated fee revenue in lieu of a one-time match. However, the bill is silent on when local governments may expend state funds that are on deposit awaiting local matching funds. Allowing local governments to expend state funds without the accompanying local matching funds undermines the purpose of a matching grant program.

For these reason, I am returning this bill without my signature.

Sincerely, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Air Quality

AB 2522, SJV Air Quality Incentive Funding

This bill, passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, was a legislative priority for the Air Quality Work Group in 2008. AB 2522 authorizes the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (District) to increase the surcharge on vehicle licensing fees to $30 annually, per motor vehicle. The funds generated will be used for incentive-based air quality improvement programs to bring the San Joaquin Valley into compliance with state and federal air quality standards by the earliest practicable date. When fully implemented, this will yield approximately $60 million each year for the San Joaquin Valley.

Energy

Extension of Federal Clean Energy Tax incentives

On Oct. 3, the president signed HR 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. The bill included a number of clean energy tax credit incentives extensions advocated by the Partnership’s Energy Work Group and San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization. These include:

Residential Energy Efficient Property: An extension for eight years, through 2016, a credit for solar property for a residence and removes a $2,000 cap that currently applies. It also expands the credit to cover investment in residential small wind properties, which would be capped at $4,000, and to cover geothermal heat pumps, which would be capped at $2,000.

Commercial Buildings Deduction: An extension for five years, through 2013, a deduction for energy-efficient property in commercial buildings, at a cost of $891 million over 10 years.

Solar Energy Investment: An extension for eight years, through 2016, a 30% credit for investments in solar energy and certain fuel cell properties, as well as a 10% credit for investing in micro turbines. It provides a new 10% for combined heat and power systems or geothermal heat pumps, and increases to $1,500 per half kilowatt hour, from the current $500 per half kilowatt hour, the cap on the credit for fuel cells. The legislation also extends for eight years, through 2016, a credit for solar property for a residence and removes a $2,000 cap that currently applies, and expands the credit to cover investment in residential small wind properties, which would be capped at $4,000, and to cover geothermal heat pumps, which would be capped at $2,000.

For more information, go to Legislative Update.

Dates to Know

November 5-6

Farming Clean Energy conference
AGTAC Center
Tulare
Information and registration: www.valleycleanenergyconference.org

November 10

Transportation Work Group meeting
10 a.m. to noon
Madera County Government Center
200 W. 4th Street
Madera
Information: Dejeune Shelton, dejeune@greatvalley.org, 209.522.5103

November 13

Land Use, Agriculture and Housing Work Group meeting
10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Council of Fresno County Governments
2035 Tulare Street, Sequoia Room
Fresno
Information: Carol Whiteside, carol@greatvalley.org, 209.522.5103

November 14

Workforce Development Forum
"Energizing the Valley's Economy: Putting Great Ideas into Action"
7:30 to 9:30 a.m.
TorNino's
5080 N. Blackstone Ave.
Fresno
Information: Manjit Atwal, manjitm@csufresno.edu, 559.294.6023

November 20

Advanced Communications Services Work Group meeting
1 to 3 p.m.
Great Valley Center
201 Needham Street
Modesto
Information: Dejeune Shelton, dejeune@greatvalley.org, 209.522.5103

November 24

PreK-12 Education Work Group meeting
10 a.m. to noon
Merced County Office of Education
623 W. 13th Street
Merced
Information: Marcy Masumoto, mmasumoto@csufresno.edu, 559.304.2190

December 11

Annual Summit of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Hilton Hotel
Stockton
Information: Great Valley Center, www.greatvalley.org, 209.522.5103

December 12

California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley Board of Directors
Time to be determined
Hilton Hotel
Stockton
Information: www.sjvpartnership.org

January 13

“Exemplary Practices: Achievement Gains in the San Joaquin Valley”
California State University, Fresno
Fresno
Information: Marcy Masumoto, mmasumoto@csufresno.edu, 559.304.2190