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Judge OKs sale of former Solyndra headquarters
- Details
- Published on 11/16/2012 - 2:11 pm
- Written by Randall Chase, AP Writer
(AP) — A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of failed solar power company Solyndra's former headquarters to Seagate Technology for about $90 million.
The judge approved the sale Thursday.
Solyndra received a $528 million loan from the Obama administration to build the Fremont, Calif., headquarters that is 412,000 square feet.
Last month, the judge overruled government objections and approved Solyndra's bankruptcy exit plan, under which taxpayers will recover little if anything.
Government lawyers are appealing that ruling. It allows two private equity funds that control Solyndra to potentially reap hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks after Solyndra emerges from bankruptcy, using the company's net operating losses to offset future income.
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Written on 06/17/2013, 4:59 pm by
Fresno State is offering its newest bachelor's degree to students studying Latin American cultures.
Written on 06/17/2013, 2:06 pm by
Fresno’s Central Library will distribute free meals to youth throughout the summer.
A healthy lunch will be provided weekdays from noon to 1 p.m. June 17 to August 9 to anyone between the ages of 1 to 18 regardless of income. Provided by program sponsor Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission, lunches are available on a first come, first served basis.
The library is at 2420 Mariposa St. in Fresno.
The Lunch at the Library program, in partnership with the California Library Association and the California Summer Meal Coalition, brings together the library’s longstanding summer reading tradition with a lunchtime meal, in an effort to combat summer learning loss and summer hunger.
Studies show that malnourishment can diminish a child’s overall learning potential. Of the Fresno County children who are eligible for free lunches during the school year, just 1 in 10 have access to it during the summer.
Add to that the fact that children who don’t read over the summer lose on average one month of academic progress. By middle school, those who haven't read during the summer may have lost as much as two years’ worth of achievement.
“The Lunch at the Library program gives children and teens the physical foundation they need to keep their minds sharp and open to learning, and the summer reading program encourages them use that fueled brainpower,” said Laurel Prysiazny, county librarian. “Together, the programs allow traditionally disadvantaged youth to return to school in the fall at the same or higher level than when summer began. That’s a significant achievement.”
To supplement the lunch program, the library sought out and received two grants that will further support Fresno County youth. Fresno State’s Humanics Department has awarded the library $4,000 and the assistance of a student intern to help with the program. Dollar General has awarded the Library $1,000. In both cases, the money will be used to give books away to lunch recipients.
More information is available by calling program coordinator Kari Johnson at (559) 600-6251.
Written on 06/17/2013, 1:55 pm by
Construction in the Central Valley made some definite headway by the second quarter of the year, with building permits up more than 30 percent over the same time last year.
Throughout Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties, 4,449 construction permits were issued to builders in the first six months of the year, up 30.5 percent from 3,409 during the same period last year, according to a weekly report by Construction Monitor.
Of the permits awarded so far this year, 3,782 were for residential construction compared to 2,765 last year.
Commercial permits rose from 644 during last year's second quarter to 667 so far this year. Among those, retail, warehouses and dining jumped from 18 to 26, while offices, banks and professional buildings went from 22 to 33.
Industrial and manufacturing buildings and warehouses dipped slightly to 22, although the value of those permits doubled to $39.3 million.
The value of all construction permits rose from $403.4 million by June of last year to $547.6 million so far this year.
Residential construction values totaled $355.4 million so far this year over $242 million in 2012, while commercial construction permits went from $161.4 million to $192.2 million.
Lennar Fresno topped the list of home builders working in the San Joaquin Valley with 189 homes built so far this year followed by Wilson Homes with 137, Granville Homes with 85, Benchmark with 57 and Bonadelle Homes with 56.
Immodo Energy was the largest builder of commercial projects in the Valley with eight permits valued at $29.7 million followed by Jo's Handyman and Remodeling with two permits of $13.3 million, Graycor with two permits for $11.9 million, Target Constructors with 10 permits for $9.7 million and Quanta Power with five permits totaling $5.8 million.
Written on 06/17/2013, 1:52 pm by
San Joaquin Valley dairy farmers, still fighting to stay afloat in a market of high feed costs and generally unprofitable milk pricing, are looking to promoting the health advantages of drinking milk, including the vitamins beneficial to children, and push new dietary products made with milk powder.
Challenges and opportunities in the industry came to light Friday during a Farm Forum presented at Chukchansi Park as part of the Farm Grown Program supported by the Fresno Grizzlies.
Former Mayor Alan Autry hosted the event presented prior to a Grizzlies baseball game.
Three panelists, Ray Prock, owner of Ray-Lin Dairy in Dinera; Steve Maddox, managing partner at Maddox Dairies in Burrel; and Darrin Monteiro, director of member relations for California Dairies Inc. in Visalia, spoke on the topic of “What’s next for Central Valley Dairies.”
Monteiro, who left his family’s dairy farm in 2008 to work for California Dairies Inc., said that California dairies continue to be challenged.
They are also continuing to fight high feed costs, Maddox said. He said that although corn is much needed by the livestock industry, 40 percent of the crop goes to fuel production.
Maddox added that milk production declined by 2 percent so far this year. He added that the health of the dairy industry depends on consumer spending power. “The dairy industry follows the general economy,” he said.
The three dairymen agreed that milk should be promoted as a healthy diet drink. “Powders should be put in diet supplements,” Monteiro said. “You can add whey powders to drinks.”
Whey is the liquid that remains after milk has been curdled and strained.
Prock said the dairy industry needs to develop strategic partnerships with various organizations similar to what it has done with the Farm Grown program at Chukchansi Park.
“And we need to fire back and be louder,” he said, adding that the dairy industry can do more on social media.
Written on 06/17/2013, 1:51 pm by
Valley home sales picked up in May, especially in Kings County, with a surge of almost 40 percent.
According to a new report from the California Association of Realtors, home sales in Kings County were up 37.9 percent over April and 12.3 percent over May 2012.
The county's median home price fell to $149,000 in May, down 5.2 percent from April's price of $157,140 but up 4 percent from $143,330 a year ago.
Sales in Fresno County increased 4.7 percent in the month but dropped 9.2 percent from last year.
The county's median home price of $167,770 marked a 3.5-percent decline from $173,860 in April but an 18.5-percent markup from $141,580 in May 2012.
Tulare County saw sales improve 8.5 percent in the month but decrease 8.1 percent year-over-year.
The county's median home price kept climbing, however, rising 12.9 percent over April's $139,520 and 24 percent from $127,020 last year to end at $157,500 in May.
Sales fell 3.3 percent in Madera County during the month and 12.1 percent from last year.
The county's median home price stood at $142,000 in May, down 16.5 percent from $170,000 the prior month but up 14.2 percent from $124,290 a year ago.
Fresno County's unsold inventory index, or number of months to deplete the supply of homes at the current sales rate, was 3.6 months in May compared to 3.7 months in April and 4.1 months a year ago.
Tulare County's index stood at 2.7 months compared to 3.1 months in April and 3.6 months last year, while Madera County's index was 3.6 months in May compared to 3.3 months in April and 3.8 months last year.
Kings County saw its index fall to 2.5 months compared to 3.5 months in April and 3.3 months a year ago.
Statewide, sales were up 1.9 percent in the month to 423,420 homes but down 3.6 percent from 447,530 sold in May 2012. California's median home price stood at $417,350 in May, up 3.6 percent from $402,760 in April and 31.9 percent from $316,460 in May 2012.
"While home prices are increasing at levels above those observed in 2006-2007, the fundamentals of the housing market are much more solid than what we experienced a few years ago," said C.A.R. Vice President Leslie Appleton-Young, in a release. "More home buyers are putting down larger down payments and many of them are opting for more stable loan products. Additionally, historically low mortgage rates have reduced monthly mortgage payments substantially, making owning a house more affordable, even with rising home prices."
Written on 06/17/2013, 12:19 pm by
The Fink-White Neighborhood Center received a $20,000 grant from Kaier Permanente Fresno to promote childhood fitness awareness programs at the southwest Fresno recreational center.
The center, located at 535 S. Trinity St., will provide healthy snacks and physical activities daily from 1-5 p.m.
“From providing them with healthy snacks each day to teaching them about the importance of staying active, we hope they will adopt a healthier lifestyle,” said Diane Carbray, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County, in a release.
There is no fee for the activities but participants must be registered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County.
Written on 06/17/2013, 12:17 pm by
Travelers out of Fresno can now take advantage of a second weekly non-stop stop flight from Fresno to Hawaii before Allegiant Airlines suspends service next month.
Beginning today and lasting through mid-August, Allegiant Air will offer flights from Fresno to Honolulu, Hawaii, with departures on Monday now adding to its current Sunday service.
The Las Vegas-based airline will also add a second daily departure to its home city on Fridays and Sundays, with additional departures also on Mondays and Sundays.
The Fresno Yosemite International Airport has several new other services for travelers this summer that didn't exist last year.
Last month, Frontier Airlines began offering three non-stop flights weekly to its Denver home using its 138-seat Airbus A319.
Departing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 2:50 p.m., the service also opens Fresno travelers up to the company's list of east coast and international connections to Mexico and Central America.
The summer is also shaping up well for Alaska Airlines, which marks its one-year anniversary of offering twice-daily non-stop service from FYI to San Diego this month.
That flights are the first that FYI has offered to the city in more than three years. Passengers can also take advantage of connections to popular destinations like Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Daily international service to Guadalajara, Mexico have also been popular since Aeromexico and Volaris both started up service there in 2011, opening up connections to Mexico City and other destinations throughout the country.
FYI also offers daily non-stop service to Dallas, Tex. through American Airlines, Los Angeles through American Eagle, Salt Lake City, Utah through Delta Connection, Denver, Colorado, Los Angeles and San Francisco through United Express and Phoenix through US Airways.
As of May, FYI has logged 420,846 passengers flying out of Fresno this year, a 9.5-percent increase from 384,214 by the same time last year.
Written on 06/14/2013, 2:11 pm by
Fresno City College entrepreneurship instructor Marianne Dunklin took over as the interim CEO for the Central Valley Business Incubator and the Claude Laval Water and Energy Technology (WET) Center on June 5.
Dunklin has served on the CVBI board for the past 12 years. She will take a leave of absence from Fresno City College for the fall semester to serve in her new capacity.
Kirk Nagamine, the previous CVBI CEO, left to take a position with a technology company in Southern California.
Dunklin believes the change in leadership will give the organization a chance to take a look at small businesses from a new prospective.
“Whenever a CEO position changes it creates an opportunity to take a look and see how we fit in the economic development puzzle in the region,” Dunklin said. “The organization has to step back and take a look periodically.”
Dunklin also believes this will give the organization a good idea of what skill sets it should look for in finding the new CEO.
As an educator this will also give Dunklin applied knowledge in her entrepreneurial instruction.
Dunklin was one of the co-founders of farm-to-fork value-added product development company BritCA in 2010. The company works with students from colleges in both the United States and the United Kingdom to develop, market and export agriculturally-based products.
In the spring semester, Dunklin will return to Fresno City College, but she will go on sabbatical. She will spend that time working on a research project with the Lyles Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Fresno State to develop a training program for entrepreneurial instruction at the junior college level that will translate to four-year universities.
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Written on 06/14/2013, 1:44 pm by
Restrictions on Tulare County citrus groves, in place since December after three Asian citrus psyllids were discovered in in the county, are set to expire on June 17.
Bob Blakely, director of industry relations for California Citrus Mutual in Exeter, said the California Department of Food and Agriculture mailed letters to farmers recently that said if no additional Asian citrus psyllids were found, restrictions would be lifted on June 17. “And there were no additional finds,” Blakely said.
Under the restrictions, growers in three, five-square-mile areas were required to either spray the fruit seven days prior to shipment, or remove stems and leaves from the oranges and wash the fruit before shipping.
Also, nursery stock could not leave the restricted areas unless the trees were grown in pest-resistant structures.
Blakely called the lifting of restrictions great news. He added that growers have done a good job in watching for the pest that spreads Huanglongbing, a disease that causes yellowing of the leaves, damages the fruit and eventually kills the citrus trees.
The disease has devastated the citrus industries in Florida and Brazil.
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