By Faughn Economy • Quality of Life • Tourism 0 Comments

‘We’re all COVID-free:’ Pro-surfers back in the Valley, compete in WSL’s Rumble at the Ranch for charity

by: Angelica Lei Lani Posted:

LEMOORE, Calif. (KSEE) — Surfers are hanging-ten in the Valley again for the World Surf League’s Rumble at the Ranch. The last public event at the WSL Surf Ranch in Lemoore was in September. “Gosh I haven’t surfed a contest in eight months or so now, so it’s fun to get going, get rolling,” said 11-time World Surfing Champion, Kelly Slater. Like many sports, the World Surf League’s season has been impacted because of coronavirus.

But on Sunday, 16 pro-surfers went head to head in the first-ever mixed team competition. “We’ve got the bubble, everybody’s been tested and we’re all COVID-free and we just get to have some fun and push each other a little bit,” Slater said. The surfers in a two-person team, each with one man and one woman. The prize, $20,000 to the winning team’s charity of choice. “This is part of our WSL countdown series, with the pandemic, we canceled our 2020 season so the season never officially run so we’ve had some regional events and specialty events and this is one of them,” said Jessi Miley-Dyer, VP of tours and competitions for WSL.

Caroline Marks says the event is helping her prepare for the Olympics. She says she hasn’t competed since December. “We’re all just really stoked to be back in the jersey and you know just surfing and just kind of feeling those nerves and that energy again it’s really fun,” Marks said. The World Surf League is taking precautions. The event was closed to the public. WSL says they worked with the Kings County Public Health Department to keep everyone safe. Slater says with surfing it’s easy to social distance, especially at the Ranch. “The issue for us, for the tour, is that we can’t travel, we can’t get people in, you got to quarantine if you’re even allowed in the country, basically, American’s aren’t allowed anywhere right now, we screwed that up,” Slater said.

WSL says Coco Ho and Filipe Toledo took the event title. They say Toledo had a “near-perfect wave” and the “highest scoring wave of the day.”  Ho and Toledo nominated Surfrider Foundation’s LA Chapter as the recipients of a $10,000 charitable donation in their name.

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/were-all-covid-free-pro-surfers-back-in-the-valley-compete-in-wsls-rumble-at-the-ranch-for-charity-2/

By Faughn Economy • Food Processing 0 Comments

USDA to Host CFAP Producer Webinar to Discuss Newly Eligible Specialty Crops, Nursery Crops, Cut Flowers and more

Join the USDA Farm Service Agency as we discuss another round of additional commodities that are now eligible for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).  Hear program specialists provide scenario examples for nursery crops, specialty crops and aquaculture.  We will also cover adjustments made to the program and recap program basics.  USDA’s Farm Service Agency is now accepting applications for CFAP through September 11, 2020.  The CFAP program helps offset price declines and additional marketing costs because of the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/outreach-and-education/webinars/

By Faughn Economy • Food Processing 0 Comments

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

Are you a farmer or rancher whose operation has been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic? The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program provides direct relief to producers who faced price declines and additional marketing costs due to COVID-19.

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced on August 11 that the deadline to apply for CFAP has been extended to September 11. The original application deadline was August 28, 2020. USDA’s Farm Service Agency offers multiple ways for you to apply for CFAP to meet your business needs.

Producers self-certify when applying for CFAP, and documentation is not submitted with the application. You may be asked for additional documentation to support your certification of eligible commodities, so you should retain the documentation used to complete your application.

https://www.farmers.gov/cfap

By Faughn Manufacturing 0 Comments

Overton Moore Properties Buys 118,056 SF Industrial Building in Lathrop, California

LATHROP, CALIF. — Overton Moore Properties, in a joint venture with Invesco Real Estate, has acquired a single-tenant industrial facility located at 18231 Murphy Parkway in Lathrop. Terms of the transaction were not released.

Situated on 11 acres, the 118,056-square-foot property is fully leased to Simwon America Corp., a Tier 1 supplier of Tesla. The buyer plans to expand the current building by approximately 80,000 square feet for Simwon’s growing manufacturing demands. Mike Goldstein and Ryan McShane of Colliers International, Stockton/Central Valley office, represented the buyer and undisclosed seller in the deal.

https://rebusinessonline.com/overton-moore-properties-buys-118056-sf-industrial-building-in-lathrop-california/?oly_enc_id=0462I5076934B9U

By Faughn E-Commerce • Economy 0 Comments

County of Madera Small Business Pandemic Assistance Grant

PRESS RELEASE
August 5, 2020

The County of Madera Board of Supervisors approved a Small Business Pandemic Assistance Grant program to help support small businesses located in Madera County, including the City of Madera and the City of Chowchilla. The County will partner with the Madera County Economic Development Commission (MCEDC) to disperse over $3.8 Million in the form of small business grants. The County received the funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, Economic Security Act (or CARES Act) from the State of California originating from the United States Government. “This program affirms the Board’s commitment to use available resources to help ensure businesses in the County see a path to recovery from this crisis,” said David Rogers, Board Chairman.

By state mandate many businesses that had just recently reopened were forced to shut their doors for a second time. “Small businesses employ a significant portion of our community, especially in the hard hit sectors like tourism and hospitality. The action taken by the Board of Supervisors will give our local economy a chance to weather this pandemic,” said Jay Varney, Madera County CAO. “So many of our small businesses throughout the County have been devastated by the COVID- 19 Pandemic we felt this was a great way to help them survive during these unprecedented times,” said Bobby Kahn, Executive Director of MCEDC. “It has been the absolute worst nightmare come true for so many industries.”

Eligible businesses with 50 or fewer employees can apply for grants in the amount of $5,000 or $10,000 depending on the size of their business. They will be able to obtain applications by going to mcedccountybusinessgrant.com or call the MCEDC office at 559-675-7768 for assistance.