Business News

California State Fair opens Homebrew Competition

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Written by: California State Fair
The California State Fair is looking for home beer brewers who have all of the ingredients it takes to make the best homebrew.

Whether it’s the strong bitter profile of an IPA or malty overtones of a brown ale, anyone over the age of 21 can now enter their beverage into the Homebrew Competition, now open until Feb. 8.

The Homebrew Competition offers all Californians the opportunity to compete with other home brewer masters from across the state and to receive valuable feedback from industry experts.

There is no procrastinating. Everyone is invited to get to hoppin and enter their tasty brew into the competition and fight for the 2019 California State Fair Blue Ribbon for Best Homebrew.

For details on how to enter, click here for the Homebrew Competition Guidebook.

CDFA announces vacancies on Feed Inspection Advisory Board

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Written by: California Department of Food and Agriculture
SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Food and Agriculture is announcing three vacancies on the Feed Inspection Advisory Board.

The board makes regulatory and enforcement recommendations to the department to help ensure that commercial feed inspections contribute to a clean and wholesome supply of milk, meat, and eggs.

The vacancies are for three commercial feed industry representatives, and applicants must hold a current California Commercial Feed License.

The term of office for board members is three years. Members receive no compensation but are entitled to payment of necessary travel expenses in accordance with the rules of the California Department of Personnel Administration.

Individuals interested in a board appointment must submit a resume and a completed Prospective Member Appointment Questionnaire, or PMAQ,by March 15.

The questionnaire is available at: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/pdfs/PMAQ_Feed_IAB.pdf.

Please send resume and PMAQ via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by mail to: California Department of Food and Agriculture, Feed, Fertilizer and Livestock Drugs Regulatory Service Branch, Attn: Brittnie Sabalbro, 1220 N St., Sacramento, CA 95814.

For further information, please contact Brittnie Sabalbro at 916-900-5022.

As governor releases first budget proposal, California controller reports state closed 2018 short of expectations

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Written by: California Controller’s Office
SACRAMENTO – On the day Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed his first budget, State Controller Betty T. Yee reported California’s revenues in December fell short of assumptions in the 2018-19 fiscal year budget by $4.82 billion.

For the fiscal year, revenues of $55.63 billion are 4.4 percent ($2.54 billion) less than projected in the budget, which was enacted at the end of June.

“With our economy continuing to hover on the brink of a downturn, I applaud Governor Newsom’s budget planning with an eye towards building a strong foundation of long-term cost savings and fiscal discipline. The governor’s proposals for debt and pension liability reduction; bold programming investments for education, health care, child care, and housing; and rainy day savings will pay dividends,” said Controller Yee, the state’s chief fiscal officer. “With thoughtful allocation of finite resources, we can shape solutions to one of our most vexing challenges – the widening inequality that plagues our state.”

Personal income tax (PIT), sales tax, and corporation tax – the state’s “big three” revenue sources – all were lower than projected in the FY 2018-19 budget.

The shortfall in December could be partly due to lags in taxpayer filings at the end of the tax year as a result of federal tax deduction changes. Consequently, January receipts are expected to catch up to the FY 2018-19 budget forecast.

For December, PIT receipts of $6.76 billion were $3.45 billion less than expected in the FY 2018-19 Budget Act. PIT receipts in December 2017 were $11.50 billion.

Sales tax receipts of $1.16 billion for December were $1.42 billion less than anticipated in the FY 2018-19 budget. Last month’s corporation taxes of $2.09 billion were $179.5 million lower than FY 2018-19 Budget Act estimates.

The general fund ended December with an internal loan borrowing balance of $11.80 billion, which was $4.85 billion less than anticipated in the FY 2018-19 budget.

Rose Smith joins Savings Bank Board of Directors

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson
NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Board of Directors of Savings Bank of Mendocino County has appointed Rose Smith to serve on its board.

Smith was raised in Lakeport and has lived near Willits since 1997. In 1987, she became a Certified Public Accountant practicing in both public accounting and insurance in the Bay Area and Sonoma County. In 2001 she joined Retech Systems in Ukiah and retired in 2017 as chief financial officer.

“Her extensive experience in finance and her close connection to the community makes Rose’s perspective a valuable addition to the Board”, says Charles Mannon, Savings Bank chairman of the board.

For 115 years Savings Bank of Mendocino County has been a strong financial institution, providing individuals, families and businesses in Lake and Mendocino Counties the dependability of a local community bank.

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