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SAN FRANCISCO – Post Offices nationwide will be open Christmas Eve, Monday, Dec. 24, and New Year’s Eve, Monday, Dec. 31.
Most Post Offices will shorten retail lobby hours and close at noon on these dates. Regular mail delivery will be unaffected by the change.
Revised hours will be posted at each Post Office and commercial customers are asked to check with their Bulk Mail Entry Units for specific information regarding holiday hours of operation.
Blue collection boxes having final collection times before 12 p.m. will not be affected by these changes.
However, collection boxes with final collection times scheduled after that may be collected early. Therefore, mail should be deposited into these mailboxes by 12 p.m. for early pick-up on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.
Customers requiring postal services later on those days are encouraged to contact their local Post Office. Customers also may call 800-ASK-USPS for additional information.
Post Offices will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Express Mail only will be delivered on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. All Post Offices will be open and regular mail delivery will resume Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Providing businesses with economic information about their communities and markets, The Center for Economic Development at California State University, Chico will host its 13th annual Economic Forecast conference on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013.
The conference will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Gold County Event Center in Oroville.
This annual conference provides an in-depth national, state and regional economic forecast providing insight and knowledge about economic trends in the North Valley from Sacramento to Shasta counties.
The event has been expanded and improved to give attendees the critical information needed for successful business, community and strategic planning.
Speakers will include California State Controller John Chiang, who will discuss the state of the California economy and keynote speaker Harry Moser will discuss “The Reshoring Trend: How Northern California Can Get on Board.”
Kevin Klowden, director and managing economist for the California Milken Institute will speak on the global and national economic forecast; Dr. Robert Eyler will discuss the North Valley Economy; and Scott Gruendl, director of Glenn County Health Services, will speak on building regional collaboration. Also featured will be Kish Rajan, director of GoBiz.
For registration, visit http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/?eventid=1095353 .
For more information, call Sandy Linville at 530-898-3857 or visit www.cedcal.com .
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The Cal Expo Board of Directors announced Friday that Rick Pickering will be its new general manager.
Pickering, 54, is currently the chief executive officer of the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton.
Today, the Alameda County Fair is one of the most decorated fairs in the nation and has been deemed the “Fasted Growing Fair in north America” by industry publications, with a 44 percent increase in attendance over the past four years.
Pickering has also served as deputy general manager of the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa and spent 12 years in city government including stints with the cities of Costa Mesa and Torrance.
Pickering is expected to start work on Dec. 28. He succeeds Norb Bartosik, who retires at the end of the year.
The 2013 California State Fair will be held from July 12-28 at Cal Expo in Sacramento.
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WASHINGTON – Rep. Mike Thompson and a bipartisan group of 29 senators and representatives sent a letter to President Obama Wednesday calling for Master Limited Partnerships and Real Estate Investment Trusts to be a priority in the federal government’s “all of the above” energy strategy.
The letter was led by the lead sponsors of the bipartisan Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act: U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and U.S. Representatives Ted Poe (R-TX-02), Mike Thompson (D-CA-01) and Peter Welch (D-VT-AL).
The legislation, H.R. 6437 and S. 3275, will modify the federal tax code to make it easier and more attractive for private capital to invest in renewable energy.
“Minor changes to the federal tax code could provide the renewable energy industry access to large pools of low-cost private capital,” the lawmakers wrote. “Already, oil, gas, and coal infrastructure projects raise cheap capital by selling shares of Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), as do energy transmission projects using Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Wind, solar, and other renewable energy projects cannot use these investment tools and, therefore, suffer from high costs of capital.”
“Opening MLPs and REITs to renewable energy would level the playing field by giving renewables the same access to low-cost capital enjoyed by oil, gas, coal and transmission infrastructure projects,” the letter continues. “Small tweaks to the tax code could attract billions of dollars in private sector investment to renewable energy deployment, reduce the cost of renewable electricity by up to one third, and dramatically broaden the base of eligible investors.”
A master limited partnership (MLP) is a business structure that is taxed as a partnership but whose shares are traded like stock on a market. Because MLPs have access to capital at a lower cost and a more liquid financial approach, this makes them very attractive to private investment. Currently, only oil, natural gas, coal extraction, and pipeline projects are allowed to qualify for MLPs. This bill would simply amend the federal tax code to allow investment in renewable energy projects in the same way.
The MLP Parity Act has been endorsed by the American Wind Energy Association, Third Way, Solar Energy Industries Association, Biomass Power Association, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, American Council on Renewable Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Advanced Biofuels Association, Offshore Wind Development Coalition, the Advanced Ethanol Council, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, International District Energy Association, and Environmental Entrepreneurs.
The text of Wednesday’s letter is below:
December 12, 2012
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Over the past four years, the renewable energy sector has seen major reductions in technology costs, including a 75 percent decline in the price of solar panels and about a 25 percent decline in the price of wind turbines. But even as technology costs have dropped, the cost of capital required to deploy those technologies has remained stubbornly high – inflating overall project costs and presenting a major barrier to wider deployment.
Minor changes to the federal tax code could provide the renewable energy industry access to large pools of low-cost private capital. Already, oil, gas, and coal infrastructure projects raise cheap capital by selling shares of Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), as do energy transmission projects using Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Wind, solar, and other renewable energy projects cannot use these investment tools and, therefore, suffer from high costs of capital.
Opening MLPs and REITs to renewable energy would level the playing field by giving renewables the same access to low-cost capital enjoyed by oil, gas, coal and transmission infrastructure projects. Small tweaks to the tax code could attract billions of dollars in private sector investment to renewable energy deployment, reduce the cost of renewable electricity by up to one third, and dramatically broaden the base of eligible investors. In fact, bipartisan legislation has already been introduced in both the House and the Senate (H.R. 6437 and S. 3275 respectively) to allow renewable energy projects to raise low-cost capital through the MLP structure. In the case of REITs, a straightforward ruling by the Treasury Department would allow access to this investment vehicle for renewable energy projects.
We strongly support moving America towards energy independence using an “all of the above” energy strategy. Renewable energy can play a critical role in accomplishing that goal. We ask that your administration move to unlock capital markets for broad-scale investment in renewable energy and help move our country towards cleaner, more efficient energy. We stand ready to work with you to accomplish this goal.
Sincerely,
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)
Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Senator Mark Begich (D-AK)
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Senator Jon Tester (D-MT)
Senator Scott Brown (R-MA)
Senator Al Franken (D-MN)
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Representative Ted Poe (R-TX-2)
Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA-1)
Representative Peter Welch (D-VT)
Representative John Carney (D-DE)
Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN-4)
Representative Jim Moran (D-VA-8)
Representative John Garamendi (D-CA-10)
Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9)
Representative William Lacy Clay (D-MO-1)
Representative Larry Kissell (D-NC-8)
Representative Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM-3)
Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-07)
Representative Lois Capps (D-CA-23)
Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11)
Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA-5)
Representative Mel Watt (D-NC-12)
Representative Andre Carson (D-IN-7)
Representative Mike McIntyre (D-NC-7)
Representative Russ Carnahan (D-MO-3)