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Assemblymember Mariko Yamada has introduced legislation to harness the entrepreneurial potential of California’s unemployed workers.
Assembly Bill 152 would create the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program in California, which would allow some unemployed workers to continue to claim jobless benefits while also accessing microbusiness development services.
Yamada noted that many Californians remain unemployed despite signs of economic recovery, and current law forbids an unemployment insurance (UI) claimant from starting a business while collecting benefits.
“This bill is aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship and self-reliance in a changed labor market where temporary layoffs have often become permanent,” Yamada said. “SEA would help approximately 12,000 job-seekers who are likely to exhaust their unemployment benefits without finding a job.”
The SEA program focuses on those persons likely to succeed in establishing their own business who, in addition to being close to exhausting their unemployment benefits, also have a quality idea that translates into a viable business plan suitable for attracting financing.
Passage of Yamada’s bill, also would California to apply for approximately $5.3 million in federal funding for the program provided through The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Act of 2012.
States have until June 30 to apply for grant funds to implement or expand SEA programs.
Five states – Delaware, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Oregon – have operated successful SEA programs for several years.
“A SEA program turns unemployed workers into employers,” said Claudia Viek, chief executive officer of the California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity, the bill’s sponsor. “Other states that have such a program really like what it does for their economy and new job creation.”
Assemblymember Yamada represents California’s 4th Assembly District.
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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Lake County Websites and Computer Repair is starting off this year’s monthly computer workshop with a very fundamental computer class called “Just the Basics.”
It will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at 15642 Armstrong St. in Middletown in the Jazzercise Center (two blocks behind the post office).
Do you know the difference between Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows? When do you use the “right click” on your mouse? Do you know how to attach a picture to an email? Is your computer protected from viruses? Do you understand computer terminology like browser, hard drive, RAM, USB, etc.?
If you have questions about running or maintaining a Microsoft Windows computer, you will get answers at this workshop.
The presenter of the “Just the Basics” Computer Workshop, Mark Rudiger, is the owner of Lake County Websites & Computer Repair and has over 18 years of experience installing, trouble-shooting, and working with computers.
During the course of his daily work as a computer repair tech and website designer, he has been repeatedly asked to offer this kind of workshop.
If you have a laptop, bring it along and connect to the high-speed Internet. If you don’t, you can follow along on Rudiger’s laptop screen which will be projected on a 120-inch screen.
The workshop has a $10 admission fee to cover costs.
For more information or to reserve your spot, email
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NORTH COAST, Calif. – Winegrape growers and other agricultural operators along California’s northern coast have long been committed to improving fish habitat while running sustainable agriculture operations.
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and local partners announced $2 million in financial assistance to help these landowners take additional steps to boost local salmonid and other aquatic-species populations.
“This has long been a priority for us at NRCS,” said James Gore, assistant chief. “I know how important it is for local landowners and other stakeholders to support these fish and restore them back to record numbers. The steps we are taking today will go a long way to accomplishing this.”
A number of partners met Friday for the announcement and to tour a sample restoration site in Camp Meeker, Calif.
An old fish barrier dam had been removed, a new pedestrian bridge was constructed, and rock weirs for fish migration were installed along with other stream and habitat restoration efforts.
These types of practices and more will be available to landowners through this new financial investment.
The funding will be divided amongst five Northern California watersheds located in Humboldt, Mendocino and Sonoma counties: Lower Eel, South Fork Eel, Big-Navarro-Garcia, Gualala-Salmon and Russian.
Eligible practices include stream habitat improvements, wetland wildlife habitat management and other complementary conservation methods.
The funding will be made available to landowners through the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program – a federal cost-share program, through the Farm Bill, to help landowners implement on-farm conservation practices.
“This is a great opportunity for local landowners to enhance the riparian corridors which pass through their properties within the Russian River Watershed. The efforts made by the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the local Resource Conservation Districts are validated by the many successful projects implemented in our watersheds,” said Joe Pozzi, Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District manager.
The announcement is part of a larger effort to restore salmonid and other aquatic species back to abundant and sustainable levels along the Pacific Northwest.
For additional information, eligible producers in these counties are encouraged to contact their local NRCS Service Center.
Service center locations and more information on the programs can be found at www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov .
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The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) is currently accepting concept proposals for the 2013 grant cycle.
FREP’s competitive grant program funds research that advances the environmentally safe and agronomically sound use of fertilizing materials.
“California’s agricultural community has invested in fertilizer research through FREP for more than 20 years, and our farmers know how valuable this work not just to their yields but also to the important ecological balance on their farms,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “We look forward to reviewing a fresh crop of concepts that take stock of our most recent advancements and discoveries about fertilizer use and demonstrate how they can produce real-world results in our fields.”
The 2013 request for proposals (RFP) is consistent with several new initiatives put forth by the department to help effectively manage nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture.
FREP is encouraging the development and submission of concepts that demonstrate experimental research trial data (e.g., prior FREP research findings) at the field scale in organic and conventional fertilizers.
Other priority research areas are to evaluate strategies and potential technologies to increase crop nitrogen fertilizer uptake while reducing its movement off irrigated agricultural lands including minimizing nitrate movement below the root zone and minimizing nitrous oxide emissions related to fertilizer use.
Additionally, as in previous years, FREP seeks concepts on developing Best Management Practices (BMPs) along with proposals to provide education and outreach opportunities on effectively and efficiently managing fertilizing materials.
Applicants are invited to submit two-page concept proposals to FREP by February 15, 2013. Concepts submitted should be in line with at least one of the program’s identified priority research areas.
Further information on the 2013 FREP request for concept proposals including timelines, application criteria, and priority research areas is available at www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/pdfs/2013_FREP_Request_for_Concept_Proposals.pdf .
Concept proposals will be reviewed by FREP’s Technical Advisory Subcommittee and a limited number will be selected and invited for development into a full project proposals.
Applicants may also send e-mail inquiries to
Since 1990, the Fertilizer Research and Education Program have funded more than 160 research projects focusing on California’s important and environmentally sensitive cropping systems.
A database of completed and ongoing research is publicly available at http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/frep.html .