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SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang has released his monthly report covering California’s cash balance, receipts and disbursements in August 2010.
The month brought welcome news for California’s ability to continue to meet its payment obligations in the near term, with revenues rising above the Governor’s May Revision estimates by $264.6 million, or 3.9 percent.
Total disbursements for the fiscal year were also running behind projections.
After adjusting the Governor’s May Revision to reflect the absence of a spending plan in July and August, disbursements through Aug. 31 were $1.2 billion below estimates.
“For the time being, Californians will be spared the pain and expense of a second round of IOUs,” said Chiang. “But the budget gridlock continues to harm thousands of Californians while hampering our economic recovery. The governor and legislature should not view this short reprieve as an invitation to break the budget deadlock record.”
Earlier projections showed the state without enough cash on hand to cover all of its bills in late October 2010, which could have forced the controller to begin issuing IOUs in early September.
But August cash totals were high enough to remove the immediate threat of IOUs. The controller will continue to monitor cash on a daily basis, and may still have to issue IOUs for state payments in early October.
Personal income tax revenues came in above estimates by $119.5 million (4.1 percent). Corporate taxes were down $151 million (-117 percent) and sales taxes came in $124.8 million above (3.8 percent) estimates.
August 2010’s financial statement and the summary analysis can found on the controller’s Web site at www.sco.ca.gov.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – President of the Lake County Bar Association, Mary Heare Amodio, was awarded a scholarship to attend the 2010 California State Bar Leaders Conference.
The conference will be held in Monterey, Calif., on Sept. 23 and will cover topics such as leadership, governance and finance to encourage and enhance the quality of bar associations serving the legal community.
If you would like more information, please e-mail the Lake County Bar Association at
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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Launching on Sept. 15, GreenBuild is an alliance of green building professionals uniting under one roof to offer an integrated design strategy, focusing on sustainable construction practices and creation of the most efficient residential and commercial buildings possible.
The alliance includes Haley Whiteside Design, Tim Twomey Structural Engineering, Deep Green Building and Construction, Advanced Energy and Chai's Electric.
With GreenBuild, the client may choose to use all of the services offered or to contract with the individual trade professionals in the Alliance.
GreenBuild’s main services include architectural design, structural and mechanical engineering, general contracting and building, geothermal heating and cooling, and solar/hydro/wind power.
“The most efficient way to design and build is through the use of a holistic approach, considering all aspects and systems of a building during each step in the process,” said GreenBuild general contractor Dan Maupin-Ahern. “Site selection and building orientation are just as important as the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems.”
He added. ““When a home has been designed with an understanding of how all aspects of a building effect the whole, the finished product is constructed far more efficiently than one built by hiring individual subcontractors, who may give little thought to the rest of the building process.”
Construction using green practices can be challenging because of the wide range of design options, building systems and materials to choose from.
GreenBuild’s mission is to encourage green building by simplifying the process and creating for each individual client a comprehensive plan based on the client’s budget, needs and lifestyle.
For more information, call 707-987-6610 or go to www.greenbuildalliance.com.
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At a stopover in China on his trade mission to Asia, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a new initiative to provide 3,000 recent California college graduates with the guidance, skills and entrepreneurial know-how to start their own businesses and participate successfully in the knowledge-based, networked economy.
The program will be developed through a partnership with Alibaba.com, one of the world's largest e-commerce companies.
“I’m pleased to announce today, in collaboration with Alibaba.com, the creation of the Schwarzenegger Emerging Entrepreneur Initiative," Schwarzenegger said. "As the eighth largest economy in the world and the home of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, California has long been a cultural and economic pace-setter for America and the world. With the launch of this program, we hope to stimulate job creation and continue the state's tradition as the cradle of some of the world’s greatest innovations."
Alibaba.com will invest $3 million in the program and will provide an Entrepreneur Start-up Kit to students, including in-classroom instruction and Web-based consultation, as well as free or reduced-cost tools from Alibaba.com platforms that will allow grads to manage their businesses from sourcing products to online retail.
This program, the details of which are still under development, will be offered throughout 2011 in conjunction with 15 state-owned colleges and universities throughout California.
The idea for the Emerging Entrepreneur Initiative was coordinated with Gov. Schwarzenegger, who on Saturday, Sept. 11, was keynote speaker at Alibaba Group’s Annual Netrepreneur Summit in Hangzhou, China.
Alibaba.com officials noted that California is the company's largest buyer market, in which users take advantage of products and services at no cost to themselves to cut costs and grow their businesses. In the past few months, Ailibaba.com made two major acquisitions of established California e-commerce companies (Vendio and Auctiva), increasing its employment base in the state from 25 to nearly 200."
At the same time Gov. Schwarzenegger was visiting Hangzhou, Alibaba.com was hosting a group of 50 entrepreneurial college students, members of the Kairos Society, at the Netrepreneur Summit, as part of a newly created company effort called the Entrepreneur Abroad program.
"In 2110, Alibaba.com noticed a trend in its users," explained Alibaba.com CEO David Wei. "In the wake of the economic downturn, more and more college students are forgoing joining companies upon graduation and are instead starting their own businesses while still in school, sourcing their products through Alibaba.com."
Kairos Society members have started companies engaged on a wide range of industries, including alternative energy solutions, home décor products, breath mints, shoes, clothing, and restaurants.
"This wouldn’t have been possible several years ago, but the Internet is bringing the world together and making starting a business easier because it gives even small companies a low-cost way to reach suppliers and customers all over the world," Wei said.
With 65 percent of new jobs created in the U.S. coming from small businesses, giving more students the direct tools and knowledge they need to launch viable, sustainable companies will promote even more job growth in the future. This is the concept behind the Emerging Entrepreneur Initiative.