By Faughn Economy 0 Comments

INVESTING IN AMERICA: Merced County wins funds for Inland Port

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is awarding $49.46 million in grants to 45 local, regional, and state public entities through the Innovative Finance and Asset Concession Grant Program (IFACGP), made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. More than 70 percent of the projects include transit-oriented development (TOD) and downtown redevelopment initiatives, including projects that support the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to boost housing supply and lower costs.

“Through the bipartisan infrastructure package, the Biden-Harris Administration is helping cities, states and transit agencies develop projects on underused properties—including tens of thousands of housing units over the next decade,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The grants we’re announcing today will allow communities to partner with the private sector, develop and deliver transit-oriented projects on public assets, and get more housing and other public benefits and services completed more quickly.”

The program makes $100 million available over five years to help public entities scan existing assets to unlock value from them and explore innovative financing and delivery opportunities through, e.g., the Build America Bureau’s Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) low-cost loan program.  Awards can be up to $2 million, with no match required for the first million dollars.

“Today’s announcement is what the Investing in America Agenda is all about,” said Acting Undersecretary of Transportation for Policy Christopher Coes. “Not only will this funding lead to greater access, opportunity, and economic growth through good transportation infrastructure, but it will catalyze the development of safe, affordable housing in communities across the country.

“This is a transformative program that is focused on unlocking value from underutilized assets,” said Build America Bureau Executive Director Morteza Farajian. “The goal of this innovative program is to facilitate partnerships between private and public entities to deliver community benefits in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. The selected recipients represent a wide range of projects that are good candidates for public-private partnerships.”

The Build America Bureau administers the financing program, which provides technical assistance and expert services grants. View the interactive map to learn more about the selected projects. Several examples of grant recipients include:

  • Capital Metro (CapMetro) in Austin, Texas, will use $1 million in IFACGP funding to explore an Equitable TOD pilot site. Building off their experience completing the Plaza Saltillo development, CapMetro will evaluate multiple sites and create a pipeline of future TOD opportunities.
  • Merced County, California is producing a blueprint to modernize and expand operational capacity of the Castle Commerce Center Inland Port, a 1,912-acre multi-modal freight transportation hub located less than 100 miles from the ports of Oakland and Stockton.   With $450,000 of IFACGP funds, the County will partner with expert advisors to identify financing and private sector investment opportunities.
  • The City of New Rochelle, New York, will use $1 million in IFACGP funds to scan city-owned assets to determine future TOD projects that will promote economic revitalization opportunities and reconnect disadvantaged communities.
  • Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) is working to reimagine its Kennedy Plaza outdoor bus hub into a modern mixed-use development that includes a new transit center, housing, and commercial development. With $2 million from IFACGP funding, and $1 million contributed by RIPTA, this $3 million study will position RIPTA to engage private sector developers to deliver the project.

The technical assistance grant recipients will use the funding to enhance their organizational capacity and advance a portfolio of assets by conducting pre-construction tasks, such as asset scans, market studies, delivery option analyses, financial modeling, and other activities considering innovative finance and delivery, including asset concessions. The expert services grant recipients will use the funding to hire advisors to analyze a specific existing asset for innovative financing and delivery opportunities, including public-private partnerships.

Today’s IFACGP awards are the latest action by the Biden-Harris Administration to explore innovative finance and delivery options for public entities, create more housing to lower costs for Americans, and support communities with technical assistance. In addition to today’s announcement:

  • Last month, DOT’s Build America Bureau released new guidance to help potential borrowers access TOD financing, including FAQs and recorded webinars.
  • Earlier this year, DOT announced funding for 112 under-resourced communities to receive hands-on assistance to secure federal infrastructure funding and then deliver on those projects.
  • Last fall, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to support the conversion of high-vacancy commercial buildings to residential use through new financing and technical assistance.

The new IFACGP program joins the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program, Regional Infrastructure Accelerators Program, Thriving Communities Program, and other technical assistance opportunities at DOT that seek to ensure communities have the tools they need to access federal funding and financing for transformative infrastructure projects. Additional DOT technical assistance resources can be found on the DOT Navigator.

https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/investing-america-biden-harris-administration-continues-action-increase-housing

By Faughn Hi-Tech • Top Stories 0 Comments

Two Kern aerospace projects vie to become state’s ‘coolest’

There’s a fair chance the coolest product made in California comes from Kern County. Two aircraft projects with ties to eastern Kern have made a list of eight contenders remaining in the California Manufacturers & Technology Association’s Coolest Things Made in California competition. The pool of contestants initially numbered more than 140.  Landing both products on the list of eight final contenders is the latest positive news for Kern’s aerospace industry. A local victory could bring still more attention to the region’s innovations.

Recent online voting gave Mojave-based Stratolaunch LLC a win over aerospace giant Boeing, according to contest results released Monday. Stratolaunch uses the world’s largest aircraft, with a dual-fuselage and a wingspan of 385 feet, to launch a rocket-powered vehicle that would accelerate to a speed of more than five times the speed of sound. Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, made it past the contest’s Top 16 round by showcasing its X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft, developed in part at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Measuring 100 feet long and 30 feet wide, the experimental plane has a tapered nose designed to break up shock waves that would otherwise cause a sonic boom.

The association’s inaugural Coolest Thing contest was won last year by the Tesla Model Y out of Fremont. In August, Kern’s B3K Prosperity economic collaboration announced a $2 million, federally funded partnership expected to build a “tech transfer” aerospace innovation hub that would link the region’s two military bases with local industry.

Additional federal help could be on the way. In July, Rep. Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, a member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, proposed adding $15 million to a $25.2 billion bill reauthorizing NASA’s human space exploration and related activities such as scientific research and testing.

Stratolaunch carried out an important flight test in February with its Talon-A hypersonic vehicle. For the first time, the vehicle carried fuel while being attached to the wing of the company’s massive launch aircraft. The test at the Western Range of Vandenberg Space Force Base was done in preparation for Talon-A’s first powered flight.

The X-59, whose 925-mph goal was first disclosed in January, gathers data for development of future aircraft that Lockheed Martin hopes will allow commercial supersonic flight over land. Such speeds are prohibited in the U.S. and elsewhere because planes traveling that fast have historically generated sonic booms that startle people living below. Initial flight tests have taken place at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale. The plan has been to locate the X-59’s base of operations at the Armstrong center.

Stratolaunch, Lockheed Martin and Armstrong did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment on the contest.

The Coolest Things contest resumes Monday with four days of voting to determine which products will contend for the Top 4 round. The contest, “powered” by JPMorganChase, reported receiving more than 100,000 votes during the Top 16 round. The winner is scheduled to be announced Oct. 18.

The host association says online that the competition “aims to highlight the remarkable products that have originated from the diverse and dynamic landscape of California.”

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/two-kern-aerospace-projects-vie-to-become-states-coolest/article_36c0f5d4-6af1-11ef-b8fe-23ad3ac58d96.html

By Faughn Health/Medical 0 Comments

Adventist Health unveils newest mobile clinic

Adventist Health has added a new mobile clinic to its growing fleet to aid in providing care to people who otherwise might not have access. The new mobile unit was dedicated in a ceremony at Adventist Health Hanford on Sept. 4.

The mobile clinic is a collaborative project funded through partnerships with Bank of America, Leprino Foods, the Mackey family and Facility Designs. The mobile clinic is expected to allow Adventist Health to reach more than 600 residents each year to provide screenings and vaccines to underserved communities. Adventist now boasts a fleet of four vehicles serving 33 communities between the Adventist Health network that includes 131 clinics.

“These mobile units go out and provide necessary screenings and services,” Adventist Health Communications Director Kiyoshi Tomono said. “We go out and diagnose and screen for cancer and cancers have been caught because of these mobile units.”

The mobile clinics are outfitted with the same screening tools used in the clinics and hospitals, allowing the mobile units to provide a high level of care to rural communities that have limited access to healthcare.

“Many of [these communities] would not have healthcare if it wasn’t for the commitment of this team and the support of so many community partners of taking healthcare across Central California,” Jason Wells, president of Adventist Health’s Central California Network said. “This is one of those additional strategies, because some times brick-and-mortar, it works to build a beautiful clinic and people will come, but we have also learned that taking the clinic to the people, that has been a tremendous blessing to many communities.”

Hanford Vice-Mayor Mark Kairis, city councilmember Martin Devine, and representatives from State Sen. Melissa Hurtado’s office and State Assemblymember Devin Mathis were in attendance for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“It was a year-and-a-half, maybe two years ago that I was standing in this parking lot dedicating the first mobile unit, and here we are today a short time later for the second unit,” Kairis said. “I got to share a little time with the doctor this morning and how important these things are for our communities, not just Hanford, but all of the surrounding communities and disadvantaged communities in our area. This is critical in healthcare and driving that service to our communities. It is going to have an incremental impact daily on getting better health for our communities.”

Immediately after the dedication celebration was completed, the new mobile clinic was put to work, driving to Armona to provide screenings for residents of the senior center. Armona is one of the few communities in the Valley that has no clinic at all, highlighting the importance of the mobile units.

https://hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/adventist-health-unveils-newest-mobile-clinic/article_371d70c4-6ae8-11ef-b41d-3765a96f0279.html

By Faughn New Developments • Tourism • Workforce 0 Comments

New casino project to break ground in Madera County

A new casino is closer than ever to being built in the Madera County. After nearly 20 years, the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians plan to break ground on Saturday. A large, vacant lot off of Avenue 18 and Road 23 will soon be transformed into the North Fork Mono Casino & Resort. The plans say it will include 2,000 slot machines, 40 table games, a 200-room hotel, restaurants, a food court, meeting rooms. and more. The controversial mega casino had to clear several hurdles to get to this point. The project has faced numerous lawsuits, environmental reviews, even other tribes claiming they do not have tribal rights to the land.

“They have overcome those legal disputes. They’ve actually won their case in court and we’re beyond that now and now we’re in the groundbreaking phase,” said Madera Mayor Santos Garcia.

Earlier this year, the tribe received approval to work with a Las Vegas-based developer. Local leaders say they’ve also entered into an agreement with the tribe to ensure money will be infused into the community of Madera, including dollars to support first responders.

“They’re also going to provide money to help us with our Parks and Recreation and our infrastructure. They’re committed to help us with sidewalks and water and sewer and so we look at this as a long-term benefit. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we look at it as a long-term benefit and partnership,” said Garcia.

Silvia Belin lives in Madera and says she plans to apply to work at the casino once it’s built.

“I think it’ll bring more jobs in the area you said that you would like to get a job yeah I would like to get a job there,” said Belin.

Many are concerned the project will create more traffic on roads already in need of repair, but Garcia says plans to upgrade are already in the works.

“It has to be incremental. It’s not going to be all in one shot. They have to start just by the fact that they’re going to start. It’s going to be very important,” Garcia explained.

“In 10 years, you’re not going to recognize Madera, I guarantee you.”

By Faughn New Location • Workforce 0 Comments

New AutoZone warehouse now open in Chowchilla

It may be hard to miss the brand-new AutoZone warehouse in the North Valley. The distribution center is now open in Chowchilla. It’s located between Highway 99 and the Chowchilla Airport and created some 280 new jobs for the area. The last project of this scale to hit the city of about 19,000 residents was more than 40 years ago. The American retailer, which sells aftermarket auto parts and accessories, is the largest in the United States.

https://abc30.com/post/new-autozone-warehouse-now-open-chowchilla/15185291/

By Faughn Commercial • Economy 0 Comments

How you can support San Joaquin County small businesses, get up to $200 in rewards

There is a new way for you to support small businesses in San Joaquin County called Shop San Joaquin, where you can get up to $200 back in rewards. The rewards program, which is the result of $1 million in COVID-19 relief funding, encourages customers to shop local and support the independently owned businesses that are still dealing with the impact of the pandemic. Business that are participating have fewer than 500 employees and operated in the food-and-beverage, hospitality, or retail industries. So far, 1,625 businesses are participating.

Officials laid out this list, explaining how to participate:

  • Download the free Open Rewards: Shop Local app on Google Play or the App Store
  • Sign up
  • Go to a local restaurant or retailer listed within the app and spend $50
  • Pay for the purchase as usual
  • Upload the receipt to Shop San Joaquin — Open Rewards app (or link a credit card to automate this step)
  • Receive 100% cash back rewards in the account once the receipt is approved
  • Redeem the rewards on future purchases at eligible businesses or continue to save up the rewards.

There’s a $50 reward cap per transaction for a total of $200 in rewards per calendar year. Nicole Snyder, the deputy director for the San Joaquin County Employment and Economic Development Department, joined KCRA 3 Wednesday morning to talk about the program.

“What we really intend to do with this program is to continue the economic recovery of the retail and hospitality industries that were severely impacted by the pandemic,” she said. “It also benefits county residents by basically giving them funding to spend through a reimbursement model.”

This comes as new data from the Commerce Department shows retail spending has been holding mostly steady since the beginning of the year. Last month’s reading was better than the outright decline economists had projected.

https://www.kcra.com/article/shop-san-joaquin-rewards-small-businesses-program/61624215

By Faughn Food Processing • Manufacturing 0 Comments

US Cold Storage in Tulare plans $76 mil expansion after food package deal

United States Cold Storage Inc. expects to complete an 8.56- million-cubic-foot refrigerated addition at its Tulare North warehouse in Tulare come February 2025. This $75.7 million expansion will include some of the industry’s latest storage and retrieval automation and bring the operation’s total space to more than 24.7 million cubic feet, the largest single footprint in the company’s network.

“I am thrilled for our fifth strategic expansion in Tulare,” said Rod Noll, USCS senior vice president for the Western Region. “This expansion reflects the continued growth of some of our major customers who are broadening their manufacturing capabilities. Specifically, we have a consumer-packaged goods customer relocating its business to northern California and to this facility.

“Meanwhile, we also look forward to contributing to the local Tulare business community and creating additional job opportunities.”

Tulare City Manager Marc Mondell added praise. “US Cold Storage has been a fantastic local employer and partner for over 20 years,” he said.  We are thrilled that they are making another large investment into their Tulare facility and look forward to many more years of successful collaboration.”

US Cold Storage plans to break ground for the attached expansion this month, which will ultimately include two new refrigerated rooms capable of storage down to -20F degrees. Officials expect by this November to complete a conventional storage space spanning 3.08 million cubic feet. A second, 5.48 million-cubic- foot room is scheduled to open in February 2025. That space will feature very narrow aisle storage serviced by a warehouse guidance system and semi-automated, turret-style storage and retrieval forklifts.

Upon completion, Tulare North will have approximately 98,500 available pallet positions. The addition also includes 23 more shipping and receiving doors for the operation’s dock, which will boast 73 doors after completion.

“Tulare North is one of our largest facilities in the West Region,” Noll added. “Being a multi-dimensional facility, it can handle a large range of storage temperature requirements. Offering the flexibility of food grade ambient, refrigerated, frozen, and ice cream storage temps allows us to customize our services for many types of customers and many stages of production.”

USCS first built its Tulare North operation in 2002 as a 3.4 million-cubic-foot dry warehouse. Tulare North also offers import and export services, rail handling and product re-pack services. It also is certified according to the BRCGS Food Safety Global Standard. USCS also services the area from a second Tulare operation, a 7.3 million-cubic-foot Tulare South facility, which also offers ambient and refrigerated storage. USCS’s cold storage and logistics network spans 40 sites from coast to coast, including nine California locations from Sacramento and south to Bakersfield.  The company is a subsidiary of the U.K.’s John Swire & Sons Ltd.

https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/2024/02/05/us-cold-storage-in-tulare-plans-76-mil-expansion-after-food-package-deal/72451106007/
By Faughn Economy 0 Comments

Stanislaus County’s $9.24 Million Investment Signals Circular Bioeconomy Momentum

On behalf of the dozens of organizations in BEAM Circular’s public-private partnership collaborative, we’re grateful for Stanislaus County’s continued commitment to unlocking the potential of the circular bioeconomy for our local community.

On Tuesday August 13, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors approved a cumulative $9.24 million contract with BEAM Circular to support a broad portfolio of local projects and activities that create quality jobs, strengthen the regional economy, and deliver environmental benefits. This investment by the County brings total aligned public and private funding commitments to regional circular bioeconomy development efforts to over $55 million since BEAM Circular’s launch in January 2023. This combination of local, state, federal, and private investment in our region will enable long-term impact through local innovation, sustainable industry scale-up, and workforce readiness.

The county’s investment is the result of three years of planning, research, and collaboration — beginning with the Stanislaus 2030 public-private planning initiative launched in 2021. That initiative created a shared vision for our community’s economic future, including a specific strategy for establishing our region as a global leader in the growing bioeconomy.

Over the past 18 months since BEAM Circular’s launch, we’ve received invaluable input from hundreds of community members and partners across industry, labor, education, environmental advocacy, community development, and local government to further refine that strategy. These inputs shaped the specific investment recommendations approved by Stanislaus County (detailed below).

Stanislaus County Investment Summary

The $9.24 million from Stanislaus County includes $500K previously awarded in June 2024. Adding to $760,000 previously awarded to BEAM Circular, this brings the County’s total investment of American Rescue Plan Act funding for regional bioeconomy development to $10 million, in alignment with a spending plan for Stanislaus 2030 strategy implementation approved by the County in January 2023.

The funding allocation includes:

  • $4.6 million for Cross-Cutting Initiatives that enable overall sector growth, community engagement, innovation, local capacity-building, and collaboration activities, including through BEAM Circular Initiative Leadership & Program Delivery ($2,894,889), Innovation Engine development via CBIO Collaborative ($332,611), a new BEAM Fellows Program ($250,000), and planning and design for a Circular Bioeconomy Innovation Campus that will support R&D, technology scale-up, community education, and workforce training ($1,200,000). Site selection for the Innovation Campus will begin later this year.

  • $2.2 million for Capital Connections to support local job creation, including an Anchor Firms Development Fund to support new projects that create large numbers of quality jobs ($2,000,000), and Matching Grants for Research & Commercialization Funds for local small businesses ($200,000).

  • $1.56 million for enabling Infrastructure, including Grants for Job Training Facilities & Equipment ($1,500,000) and Manufacturing Site Portfolio research and advancement ($62,500).

  • $800K for Talent strategies via a Workforce Development Fund that provides grants and technical assistance to local education and training institutions to deploy new industry-aligned programs, internships, and inclusive career training pathways ($800,000).

https://www.beamcircular.org/news-updates/stanislaus-county-investment-signals-circular-bioeconomy-momentum

By Faughn New Developments • New Location • Tourism 0 Comments

New $36 million hotel coming to Merced

The next addition to one of Merced’s newest shopping centers is about halfway complete and set to open next year. Those who have driven by Campus Parkway Plaza have seen the large project under construction.

The Hilton Garden Inn is scheduled to open in August or September of 2025, according to Daniel Moradzadeh, director of the Merced-based Shemoil’s Investment Development which owns the hotel and Campus Parkway Plaza property. The five-story hotel, which will consist of 133 rooms, is a $36 million project. “It’s taken three generations of investing in our local community by my family to get to this point,” Moradzadeh said. “It’s been a massive undertaking.”

The Hilton Garden Inn will become a new addition to the Campus Parkway Plaza, which already houses a Starbucks, Tractor Supply Co., Chipotle, McDonald’s, and two gas stations. The 44,224-square-foot hotel will sit on an 8.3 acre lot that sits on the southwest corner of Campus Parkway and Coffee Street. The hotel include a parking lot with landscaping components. The hotel will also have two kitchens, one dedicated to the hotel and the other to a banquet facility that will sit approximately 350 people. There will also be a full-service bar in the hotel. There will also be an outside sitting area with a fire pit. There are plans to have a projection TV near the outside bar area as well.

“The main reason why we decided to construct this hotel is because the City of Merced needs marquee development,” Moradzadeh said. “This will be something that’s not only elegant, but has the class to go with it.”

As a local investment and development company, Moradzadeh says they’ve hired local contractors, including Merced-based Marvulli Construction. “You want to keep as much money as possible with our local community,” Moradzadeh said. Moradzadeh felt the location for the new hotel is ideal with the freeway access at Campus Parkway, the proximity to UC Merced and the building of a nearby regional sports complex on the 40-acre Community Park 42, which will eventually host large sports tournaments.

Moradzadeh says the company was approached by many hotel and motel companies, but chose to go with Hilton Garden Inn because they allowed them to tailor the hotel to fit what they wanted to build in Merced. “We decided to secure our franchise with Hilton because they gave us the highest-rated brand we could bring to Merced,” Moradzadeh said. Moradzadeh says construction of the hotel has remained on schedule. “As far as our scope of construction goes, we’re approximately 50% done,” Moradzadeh said. “The structure is completed, it’s fully framed. We’re one year out from our our test runs.”

https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/article290481614.html

By Faughn Hi-Tech • Tourism 0 Comments

Modesto-area 49ers fans can avoid traffic by taking ACE trains

Fans of the San Francisco 49ers can once again ride the Altamont Corridor Express to most home games. The trains will go to all but two games during the 2024 regular season at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. ACE cannot do the Monday night opener on Sept. 9 because it would interfere with normal passenger operations. The same goes for a Thursday night, Dec. 12. January playoff games could be added if the team qualifies. ACE has four weekday round trips between Stockton and San Jose, timed for commuters to Bay Area jobs. The closest station to the Modesto area is at the Lathrop/Manteca border. Levi’s is right next to the Great America station.

Details on train ticket prices and timetables are at www.acrerail.com. Riders who book early can get seven trips for the price of six. In a few years, ACE will be even more convenient. It has funding for one branch to Merced and another to Sacramento. Modesto and Ceres could get stations in late 2026 and other cities could join in between then and 2030. ACE has run the 49ers trains off and on since the 2014 opening of Levi’s Stadium. Fans avoid freeway traffic and parking fees.

“My blood pressure is low on the train,” one fan told The Modesto Bee’s Garth Stapley aboard a 2014 train. “It’s a lot easier than driving.”

ACE ALSO CAN SERVE CONCERTGOERS

The 2024 football service was announced in a news release from the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, the governing body for ACE. “We want fans to be able to cheer on their team, allowing them to focus entirely on enjoying the game-day experience,” said Chairwoman Nancy Young, the mayor of Tracy. Early into its expansion, ACE plans to continue serving mainly commuters. Future funding could stretch it to other weekday hours and to weekends, meaning no more need for special trains to Levi’s.

The stadium also hosts top-tier concerts, sometimes with rail service from the Central Valley. ACE took Ed Sheeran fans to a show last September. It did not take part in the Taylor Swift mania two months earlier, but Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor between Sacramento and San Jose did.

https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article291070735.html