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In California, gasoline consumption declined 2.2 percent in July 2011, while diesel fuel consumption increased 1.9 percent.
“These latest figures confirm that two trends are continuing,” said First District Board Member Betty T. Yee. “Californians continue to use less gasoline, while at the same time prices keep rising.”
California’s gasoline consumption decreased 2.2 percent to 1.25 billion gallons in July 2011 compared to 1.27 billion gallons used in July 2010.
In California, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in July 2011 rose 67 cents to $3.84, a 21.1 percent increase compared to July 2010 when the average price was $3.17 per gallon of gasoline.
Nationally, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in July 2011 was up 93 cents to $3.71 per gallon, a 33.5 percent increase over the average price of a gallon of gasoline of $2.78 in July 2010.
California’s diesel consumption increased 1.9 percent for a total 223 million gallons in July 2011 compared to the total of 219 million gallons of diesel consumed in July 2010.
The average price of a gallon of diesel fuel in California was up 99 cents to $4.11 per gallon in July 2011, a 31.7 percent increase over the average price of a gallon of diesel of $3.12 in July 2010.
Nationally, the average price of a gallon of diesel was up $1.00 to $3.91 in July 2011, a 34.4 percent increase over the average U.S. price of a gallon of diesel of $2.91 in July 2010.
Gasoline and diesel fuel figures are net consumption that includes the State Board of Equalization’s audit assessments, refunds, amended and late tax returns, and the State Controller’s Office refunds.
Figures for August 2011 are scheduled to be available at the end of November 2011. Figures for third quarter 2011 are scheduled to be available at the end of December 2011.
For all monthly, quarterly and annual fuel reports, visit www.boe.ca.gov/sptaxprog/spftrpts.htm.
Taxable Gasoline Gallons: www.boe.ca.gov/sptaxprog/reports/MVF_10_Year_Report.pdf .
Taxable Diesel Gallons: www.boe.ca.gov/sptaxprog/reports/Diesel_10_Year_Report.pdf.
Board Member Betty T. Yee was elected to her post in November 2006. Her district includes many of California's coastal counties, from Del Norte to Santa Barbara, and includes the entire San Francisco Bay Area.
The five-member California State Board of Equalization (BOE) is a publicly elected tax board. The BOE collects more than $50 billion annually in taxes and fees supporting state and local government services. It hears business tax appeals, acts as the appellate body for franchise and personal income tax appeals, and serves a significant role in the assessment and administration of property taxes.
For more information on other taxes and fees in California, visit www.taxes.ca.gov.
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Scott Kelly, a respected and knowledgeable engineer, is joining forces with their Eureka team, and they have added a new location and new staff in Ukiah.
“We are enthusiastic about having Mr. Kelly and his depth of accomplishments on our team. It is a big win for our community to have him available as a resource again,” said John Bergenske, LACO’s general manager. Mr. Kelly will be working from his Oregon home and locally on occasion.
Kelly has more than 23 years of experience in the field of civil and sanitary engineering. Throughout his career, he has been responsible for a number of significant infrastructure and private development projects for the North Coast.
Kelly specializes in project and construction management, water and wastewater system analysis and design, hydraulic and site design, traffic analysis, and communication. He formerly worked for SHN Consulting Engineers and Geologists in Eureka, and was the owner of Spencer Engineering and Construction Management Inc.
LACO was originally a part of Kelly’s plan when he transitioned from Spencer Engineering to his current home in Portland, Ore., in 2009.
The firm hired two of his employees, Jon Baker and Netra Khatri, PE, who are still important members of LACO’s team. Kelly and LACO have remained in contact since the transition.
After three years serving clients in Mendocino and Lake counties, LACO’s Ukiah operation outgrew their small office on Perkins/State street.
According to Christopher Watt, CEG, LACO’s Geo-Environmental Services Director, “The new office, located at 311 South Main Street, provides for our continued growth and supports space for us to operate a soils/aggregate testing laboratory.”
LACO’s new office will serve the Ukiah area community by providing a valuable resource for professional services related to geo-environmental, development, and infrastructure projects in the Ukiah area.
The new office will also enable LACO to provide expanded Materials Testing and Special Inspection services for construction projects in the area, minimize project costs, and reduce project schedules.
In addition to their new office location, LACO has hired two new employees to join their Ukiah team, Tony Shaw and Jason Wise, EIT.
Tony Shaw has joined the team as LACO’s Ukiah community development manager. Shaw has more than 13 years of combined public and private sector project development and coordination experience, which includes affordable housing projects, community infrastructure and economic development project management.
Shaw earned his bachelor of arts with distinction in environmental studies (urban planning) from Sonoma State University.
Jason Wise, EIT has joined the LACO Ukiah team as a Junior Engineer and will support geotechnical, environmental and engineering projects. Wise earned his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from California State University, Chico with a minor in mathematics.
For more information, visit www.lacoassociates.com or call 707-462-0222.
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The grant is among $19 million being issued nationally by the USDA for organic research and marketing.
The UC Santa Cruz project will facilitate a series of seminars, workshops, newsletters and online resources to share research that will help organic growers improve environmental sustainability and economic viability.
“With California’s place as the leading agricultural state in the country, including organic farming, this is an excellent investment of federal resources,” said Secretary Ross. “UC Santa Cruz is well positioned to put this grant to good use by providing targeted research information to our rapidly growing organic sector.”
The most recent survey of national organic production by the USDA showed California with 36 percent of all sales of organic commodities, on 470,000 acres of farmland.
Since the late 1990s, U.S. organic production has seen significant growth. U.S. producers are increasingly turning to certified organic farming systems as a potential way to decrease reliance on nonrenewable resources and compete in high-value markets.
Today more than two-thirds of U.S. consumers buy organic products at least occasionally, and 28 percent buy organic products weekly.
For more information about the USDA national grant program, visit http://www.nifa.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2011news/organic_awards.html.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake One-Stop will offer 11 no-cost workshops in November.
Online training at www.lynda.com is offered every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon, as well as a GED prep workshop at 1:30 p.m.
At 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, learn how to “turn a job fair into a job offer,” then don’t miss the job fair at the American Legion Hall in Clearlake on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
At 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, attend the resume building workshop. On Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 10 a.m., learn how to get a small business loan.
All workshops are held at the Lakeport One-Stop, 55 First St., and space is limited.
To sign up for any workshop please call 707-263-0630.
The Lake One-Stop is part of America’s One-Stop Career Center System that establishes partnerships between business and job seeker programs.
Lake One-Stop is located in Lakeport at 55 First St., 707-263-0630, and in Clearlake at 4477 Moss Ave., 707-994-0633. Information also is available at www.lakeonestop.org.
The Lakeport One-Stop includes the Employment Development Department, California Human Development, Goodwill Industries, Experience Works, Department of Rehabilitation as well as Lake One-Stop Inc., the Workforce Investment Act program funded by the Napa/Lake Workforce Investment Board.