Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/22/2012 04:00:23 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – High unemployment and a staggering number of people underwater on their mortgages continues to vex San Bernardino County, with no relief expected until late 2015, according to a budget report approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

The county added 15,600 jobs in the first three months of 2012, but its unemployment rate, as of March, was still hovering at 12.7 percent, higher than the national unemployment rate of 8.4 percent and California’s unemployment rate of 11.5 percent.

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Neil Derry

Point of View

Supervisor Neil Derry
Posted: 05/22/2012 02:44:33 PM PDT

The people of San Bernardino County are tired of being unemployed or underemployed. They are tired of feeling like they just can’t get ahead. And they are tired of feeling like nothing is ever going to change.

There is a limit to what a county government can do to improve an economy that is subject to state, national and global pressures. But that doesn’t absolve us from working hard to make a positive impact in areas where we can make a difference.

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BY MICHELLE L. KLAMPE
STAFF WRITER
mklampe@pe.com

Published: 21 May 2012 10:14 PM

A record number of California schools, including 31 in the Inland Empire, may not be able to pay their bills in the next couple of years, the California Department of Education announced Monday, May 20.

Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 05/18/2012 10:23:47 AM PDT

A reported drop in the Inland Empire’s unemployment rate to 11.7 percent would seem to signal an improving job market, but a closer look at the numbers shows the jobless rate dropped not because of a surge in hiring, but because the region’s work force shrunk.

San Bernardino and Riverside counties somehow lost some 24,000 people from their combined work force from March to April, according to government numbers released Friday.

Read the rest of this entry »

Congressman Joe Baca

Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/18/2012 12:01:03 PM PDT

Rep. Joe Baca has introduced a bill to expedite the transfer of L.A./Ontario International Airport to local control.

The Transfer Control of Ontario Airport Now Act gives Los Angeles World Airports, which manages ONT, 60 days to turn over operations and ownership.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/17/2012 07:23:12 PM PDT

UPLAND – The City Council has been updated on the condition of the city’s budget and will meet next week to decide where to make cuts.

City Manager Stephen Dunn presented the council with an update on the city’s fiscal condition during a special meeting on Wednesday, asking it to set its priorities so staff could find a way to absorb $3.4 million in obligated expenses.

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San Bernardino County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt

Supervisor: Attracting out-of-state business vital to the county’s growth
May 17, 2012 9:37 AM
RENE DE LA CRUZ, Special to the Daily Press

While it was billed as a State of County presentation, San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt said his address Wednesday should have been titled “county of the state” because of Sacramento’s insistence on passing its responsibilities down to the county level.

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By Alejandro Lazo
May 17, 2012, 2:22 p.m.

From the Southland to the Bay Area, California’s housing market showed strength last month as median prices rose and sales outperformed the same month last year.

The Golden State’s median home price popped 6% in April to $264,000, according to real estate information firm DataQuick of San Diego. The median is the point at which half the homes in the state sold for more and half for less.

Read the rest of this entry »

LAX/Ontario International Airport Terminal (Courtesy: The P-E)

By Liset Marquez
Created: 05/16/2012 03:23:20 PM PDT

DIAMOND BAR – A lively discussion about LA/Ontario International Airport, which was supposed to focus on the medium-hub facility’s importance to the region’s economy, quickly turned into a debate on the merits of local control.

For more than an hour Wednesday, a five-member panel discussed a bevy of issues and circumstances facing ONT at the Four Corners Coalition 2012 Economic Summit at the Diamond Bar Center.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Judy Lin, Associated Press Writer
Posted: 05/15/2012 09:21:09 PM PDT
Updated: 05/15/2012 09:22:38 PM PDT

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown is pleading with Californians to raise their taxes as part of his solution for solving the state’s budget deficit, but it’s uncertain whether voters will be in an accepting mood come November.

Polls show voters want more money for schools but don’t want to tax themselves to pay for it. They continue to be pessimistic about the economy in a state with one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. And they distrust the Legislature, which oversees the budget.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Watching the sad spectacle of Governor Gandalf yet again expounding on California’s budget horrors Monday was like going to see one of those dreadful, anemic sequels to a long-ago tapped-out blockbuster franchise.

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California Governor Jerry Brown

By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, May. 15, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Tuesday, May. 15, 2012 – 6:17 am

Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday that the state budget deficit had grown by a remarkable 70 percent since January, but fiscal experts said the economy had little to do with it.

They instead blamed a bad marriage of volatile capital gains and political intransigence that led state leaders last year to count on a huge upswing in revenues that never materialized. At the same time, corporate tax changes from 2009 appear to have cost California more than state officials ever realized.

Read the rest of this entry »

L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
May 13, 2012 | 2:01 pm

Gov. Jerry Brown’s announcement that the state’s deficit has swelled to $16 billion (from a $9.2-billion estimate in January) means that a new array of budget cuts are likely.

But where to cut?

Read the rest of this entry »

California Governor Jerry Brown (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, May. 13, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Sunday, May. 13, 2012 – 10:48 am

In a gloomy preview of his May budget release, Gov. Jerry Brown said Saturday that California’s deficit has mushroomed to $16 billion, nearly $7 billion higher than he last estimated.

The Democratic governor blamed a slow economic recovery, as well as federal judges and administrators who blocked cuts to health care for the poor. Brown had previously pegged the deficit at $9.2 billion.

Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/11/2012 05:23:52 PM PDT

An estimated 93,000 Californians lost unemployment benefits as of today when the federal government cut off funding that allowed the state to provide extended aid to the jobless since 2009.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/10/2012 09:02:22 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – Final layoff notices for 224 teachers were approved at an emergency school board meeting Thursday so the notices could be sent before a state-mandated deadline.

The decision, made by the board of the San Bernardino City Unified School District at a sparsely attended meeting, was an expected consequence of earlier budget decisions.

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By David Siders and Torey Van Oot
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, May. 11, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

In one choreographed appearance at the office of the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, Gov. Jerry Brown’s campaign to raise taxes appeared on Friday to take shape.

A week after announcing he had collected enough signatures to qualify the initiative for the November ballot, Brown – accompanied by a new political consultant, the first lady and his dog – turned several boxes of them in.

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Andrew Edwards
Posted: 05/08/2012 04:10:11 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – Stater Bros. Markets reported a $16.4 million profit for its more recent quarter, an amount nearly double what the grocery company reported for the comparable period one year prior.

Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 05/08/2012 02:23:12 PM PDT

Recent signs suggest the Inland Empire’s office market may be returning to health, but the market may be at least three years from a full recovery.

That’s the word from Lee Spence, a principle at DAUM Commercial Services branch in Ontario, who based his prediction on his firm’s analysis of companies gradually moving in to the many vacant offices of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 – 08:00 a.m.

San Bernardino County, Calif. – San Bernardino County’s budget woes are likely to worsen in the coming fiscal year as employee pension fund returns fail to not only deliver relief, but instead bring more pain.

The San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association (SBCERA) has, to date, only generated a 0.6% return for its 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Former Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda

Administrator’s Note: This front-page article was published in last week’s Wall Street Journal.

THE A-HED
Updated May 2, 2012, 12:44 p.m. ET

Locals Call In Baseball’s Tommy Lasorda to Rally for Ontario; Hearing Birds Chirp

By TAMARA AUDI

ONTARIO, Calif.—The Ontario International Airport, 35 miles east of Los Angeles, offers nonstop flights to just 15 cities. Daily departures have plummeted to 62, less than half the number five years ago.

Baseball legend Tommy Lasorda has pitched for the Dodgers and for Rolaids and Slim Fast. Now he’s doing commercials for a struggling regional airport trying to win independence from Los Angeles.

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BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 07 May 2012 10:03 PM

The San Bernardino City Council is looking at leasing more city property for cellphone towers to help solve its budget troubles, but has tabled for now a proposal to bring parking meters downtown.

The proposals were brought to the council Monday night, May 7, after it rejected a plan last month that would have relied on across-the-board cuts and holding some positions vacant.

Read the rest of this entry »

BY DAYNA STRAEHLEY
STAFF WRITER
dstraehley@pe.com

Published: 07 May 2012 10:39 PM

The Riverside Unified School District Board of Education voted 3-2 late Monday to send final layoff notices to 84 teachers for the 2012-13 school year, said Tim Martin, president of the Riverside City Teachers Association.

Read the rest of this entry »

Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/07/2012 05:31:41 PM PDT

A marketing plan that was supposed to address the steep decline in passenger traffic at LA/Ontario International Airport was criticized by Los Angeles World Airports’ governing body Monday.

Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, a seven-member civilian board that governs LAWA airports – such as ONT – and staff, including a longtime airline industry expert, discussed marketing strategies that could turn things around at the struggling airport.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
Published: Tuesday, May. 8, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

California is struggling to emerge from the worst recession since the Great Depression and has more than 2 million unemployed workers, plus countless others who have given up seeking work out of frustration and/or have fled to other states.

Clearly the state needs many billions of dollars in job-creating investment. But its attractiveness to that investment is, to say the least, problematic, given its relatively high tax burden, its dense regulatory structure, its deficiencies in education, transportation and water supply, and its tangled government finances.

Read the rest of this entry »

Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/06/2012 03:27:45 PM PDT

ONTARIO – It’s no secret that finding daily flights in and out of LA/Ontario International Airport can be a bit of an issue.

For the past five years, since the peak of travel at ONT, the facility has lost more than 40 percent of its seat capacity.

The cause for the decline in air service?

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Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/06/2012 03:28:49 PM PDT

ONTARIO – More than 80 cities, organizations and elected officials have passed resolutions backing Ontario’s efforts to wrest control of LA/Ontario International Airport from Los Angeles.

The Inland Empire initiative, Set ONTario Free, was launched by Ontario at the start of the year. It quickly gained traction with a wave of cities throughout Southern California, including 17 from Los Angeles County, joining a growing number of agencies calling for local control.

Read the rest of this entry »

May 06, 2012 6:54 PM
From Staff Reports

As the June 5 primary approaches, the Daily Press asked the 13 candidates running for the newly drawn 8th Congressional District representing the High Desert to weigh in on this question, in 50 words or less: What are your ideas for reducing the federal debt? Where specifically would you cut?

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Sunday, May 6, 2012 – 10:30 a.m

Ramos struggles through final candidate forum.

Former San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman and San Bernardino County Board of Supe’s candidate James Ramos showed up for the final candidate forum held at Copper Mountain College on Friday night.

Nothing changed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, May. 6, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

When Jerry Brown occupied the governor’s Capitol suite nearly four decades ago, he frequently talked about an “era of limits.”

Whatever Brown meant – he often spoke cryptically – the phrase was widely interpreted as meaning California’s powerful, post-World War II spurt of population and economic growth was over and public policies should adjust accordingly.

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By Robin Harding in Washington and Michael Mackenzie in New York
Last updated: May 4, 2012 8:32 pm

Weaker-than-expected US jobs growth hit financial markets and cast a shadow over President Barack Obama’s plans for a formal launch of his re-election campaign this weekend.

US crude oil prices fell more than $4 a barrel and were trading below $100 for the first time since early February after data showed the economy added only 115,000 jobs in April compared with expectations of 162,000. The S&P 500 dropped as much as 1.5 per cent while yields on US and German 10-year government bonds fell.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/04/2012 06:52:55 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – The area’s economy got a significant boost with Amazon’s decision to open a 950,000-square-foot shipping center at the site of the former Norton Air Force Base, officials said Friday.

The facility will provide full-time jobs for more than 1,000 people as early as fall, said Amazon spokesman Ty Rogers.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Jessica Guynn
May 3, 2012, 6:07 p.m.

California has a friend about to write a hefty personal check that could help ease the state budget crunch.

Mark Zuckerberg, the 27-year-old founder and chief executive of Facebook whose initial public stock offering in two weeks could value the company at $96 billion, will cut in the state for an estimated $189 million in cash, according to calculations from PrivCo, which researches private companies.

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Friday, May 4, 2012 – 08:15 a.m.

The U.S. economy continued to decelerate in April, with just 115,000 jobs created.

The average estimate by economists was for April job creation of 160,000.

The March number was 154,000.

Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 05/01/2012 09:34:05 AM PDT

Inland Empire manufacturing remained in a growth pattern in April, but the pace of that growth slowed sharply from the previous month.

The region’s Purchasing Manager’s Index, compiled from a survey of San Bernardino and Riverside county manufacturers, registered at 52.9 in April.

Any number greater than 50 signifies growth.

Read the rest of this entry »

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
May 1, 2012 | 5:25 pm

The legislative analyst’s office has a new number that is adding to California’s financial headache: $3 billion. That’s the total amount that tax revenue has lagged behind goals set by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration in the current fiscal year.

The shortfall was detailed in a report released on Tuesday by the nonpartisan office, which provides budget advice to lawmakers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
May 1, 2012

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s raised concerns today after California income tax revenues fell short in April and a judge ruled the state controller cannot withhold legislative pay based on budget quality.

In its review, the agency said the two developments “could weaken the state’s prospects for further improvement in its fiscal structure,” though it noted that this outcome is not inevitable.

Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 04/29/2012 03:43:13 PM PDT

The Inland Empire’s industrial real estate market gathered strength during the first three months of 2012 as vacancies decreased and asking rents increased, according to brokers’ data.

The numbers demonstrate the logistics industry remains a strength for the Inland Empire, but one industry on its own will not be enough to lift the area into overall prosperity after the past recession.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday, April 29, 2012 – 09:30 a.m.

Here’s some interesting factoids from across the financial and political transom:

First Quarter GDP Revised Lower

First quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was revised lower last week to 2.2%. The revised number was mainly supported by strong auto sales. A component that may not be sustainable looking ahead.

Why? Consumer spending has been outpacing non-existent wage growth.

Read the rest of this entry »

By E. Scott Reckard

April 27, 2012, 9:35 p.m.

Palm Desert National Bank was seized by regulators Friday and sold to Pacific Premier Bank of Costa Mesa, which promised to be open for business as usual Monday.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 04/26/2012 04:28:27 PM PDT

Los Angeles World Airports on Thursday released passenger figures that shows overall traffic at LA/Ontario International Airport is down 6.8 percent from last year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, April 26, 2012 – 09:45 a.m.

Here’s some interesting news on the transom this week.

Retirement savings plans under attack.

Yes, it’s finally happening. The feds are discussing the taxation of various retirement savings accounts to generate revenue. As their coffers dwindle, expect federal, state and local government to squeeze taxpayers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Construction worker Jesus Guerrero works on the KB Homes Development in Fontana on Wednesday. (Rachel Luna / Staff Photographer)

Ryan Carter, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/25/2012 11:43:21 AM PDT

Take a drive along local freeways on any given day of the work week, and you might see signs of life – economic life.

Developments are popping up – housing and commercial.

Read the rest of this entry »

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
April 25, 2012

With state revenues slowing to a trickle as the end of April draws near, the state’s top fiscal analyst said late Wednesday that California could be “a few billion dollars” shy of Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget projections through June 2013.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Marc Lifsher
April 25, 2012, 1:24 p.m.

SACRAMENTO — Close to 100,000 jobless Californians will lose as many as 20 weeks of federal unemployment insurance benefits in three weeks, state officials warned.

The extra benefits of as much as $450 a week are part of a federal extension to the regular state program known in bureaucratic parlance as FED-ED.

Read the rest of this entry »

Congressman Gary Miller

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 04/23/2012 08:27:17 PM PDT

Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, and several other inland legislators are asking the Federal Housing Finance Agency to stay out of Southern California while testing a pilot program in which foreclosures would be sold in bulk to institutional investors.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Apr. 22, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

The California Legislature has a bad habit of making sweeping decisions in the moment without giving much thought to their long-term consequences.

The syndrome’s most striking example was an immense overhaul in 1996 of the state’s electric power system, misnamed “deregulation,” based on blithe, untested assertions that it would lower power bills.

Read the rest of this entry »

Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 04/20/2012 10:52:11 AM PDT

The Inland Empire’s unemployment rate rose to 12.7 percent in March, with the region adding only 100 non-farm jobs. The rate was 12.5 percent in February.

Professional and business services registered the largest month-over- month drop in employment, falling by 2,900 jobs. Construction dropped by 1,200 jobs.

Read the rest of this entry »

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
April 17, 2012

Gov. Jerry Brown said this afternoon that the state budget deficit could be $1 billion or more greater than the $9.2 billion he previously thought.

Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 04/14/2012 07:09:23 AM PDT

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – The first renters at the Lewis Group of Cos. “Santa Barbara” apartments have begun to move in, and the developers plan on building upon the coastal city’s name to create a new brand of upscale apartments.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, April 12, 2012 – 09:30 a.m.

As San Bernardino County continues to grapple with its ongoing budget woes and confrontations with employee unions continue to escalate, more bad news is on the horizon.

Like most public pension systems, the county’s pension fund hasn’t been able to maintain it’s investment return benchmark.

A benchmark necessary to guarantee the funds actuarial soundness.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, April 12, 2012

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing for jobless aid rose last week to the highest level since January, a development that could raise fears the labor market recovery was stalling after job creation slowed in March.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 380,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, defying economists’ expectations for a drop to 355,000.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/11/2012 08:12:10 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – The stench of urine and stale beer assault the senses as soon as Steve Willkomm opens the door to the foreclosed home.

But after years of similar experiences, the new head of the city’s code enforcement division focuses immediately on the gutted remains of a radiator.

Read the rest of this entry »

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/11/2012 07:05:54 PM PDT

San Bernardino County and the cities of Ontario, Fontana and Hesperia are joining forces to establish a program to assist homewoners who are underwater on their mortgages.

It is part of the county’s “Vision” plan – a roadmap to the county’s future that establishes clear-cut goals to achieve optimum quality of life for the people who live in its 24 cities and unincorporated areas.

Read the rest of this entry »

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
April 10, 2012

As state leaders hope for a surprise uptick in revenues this spring, state Controller John Chiang reported Tuesday that California lagged last month by $233.5 million, or 4.2 percent.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 – 09:55 a.m.

It was a baseless and blind run-up.

The stock market that is.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Apr. 9, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

When the state’s bullet train impresarios unveiled a much-revised plan for the statewide project last fall – with campaign-style hoopla, one should note – they said it settled all of its outstanding questions and doubts.

Not by a long shot.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Apr. 8, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Jerry Nickelsburg and Bill Watkins are two university economists with doctorates who specialize in charting and forecasting California’s $2 trillion economy.

That’s just about all they have in common.

Simultaneously, Nickelsburg and Watkins issued analyses last month of California’s prospects for recovery from its historically deep recession.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dr.John Husing, economist, delivers his aunnal economist forecast Friday April 6, 2012, during the 2012 State of the Region at the Double Tree by Hilton in Ontario. (LaFonzo Carter / Staff Photographer)

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/06/2012 10:42:15 AM PDT

ONTARIO – The Inland Empire may be the scene of moderate job growth this year as some sectors appear to be rebounding, but those seeking work would likely do well to look somewhere other than construction or government for their next job.

That’s one lesson that can be taken away from Friday’s “State of the Region” forecast, which the Inland Empire Economic Partnership hosted on Friday at DoubleTree by Hilton Ontario Airport Hotel.

Read the rest of this entry »

L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
April 6, 2012 | 4:18 pm

Los Angeles’ top budget official raised the specter of bankruptcy on Friday in a sweeping report in which he called for new taxes, major pension reform and possibly layoffs.

Read the rest of this entry »

Employers nationwide added 120,000 new positions in March, only about half the jobs growth in each of the prior three months.

By Don Lee and Kathleen Hennessey, Los Angeles Times
April 7, 2012

WASHINGTON — Job growth slowed sharply last month, raising fresh questions about the strength of the recovery and complicating, for the moment, President Obama’s ability to run for reelection on the wave of a resurgent economy.

Employers nationwide added a modest 120,000 new positions in March, only about half the job gains in each of the previous three months, the Labor Department reported Friday. Some of the falloff, analysts said, reflected the fact that payrolls had been inflated in the winter because of unusually mild weather.

Read the rest of this entry »

Friday, April 6, 2012 – 08:00 a.m.

As expected, U.S. job growth slowed dramatically in March.

Just 120,000 jobs were added across the country.

Read the rest of this entry »

BY JEFF HORSEMAN
STAFF WRITER
jhorseman@pe.com

Published: 04 April 2012 09:05 PM

The value of all taxable property in Riverside County is expected to fall again this year, punching a multimillion-dollar hole in the county’s already fragile finances.

Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/02/2012 09:46:02 AM PDT

The Inland Empire’ manufacturing sector has grown for three straight months, according to a Cal State San Bernardino survey. Shown here are Purchasing Managers Index scores from the past six months. Any number greàter than 50 signifies growth.

Inland Empire manufacturers “registered an impressive gain” in March as firms reported increases in production, new orders and even hiring.

Read the rest of this entry »

Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 04/01/2012 02:34:13 PM PDT

ONTARIO – As traffic continues to decline at L.A./Ontario International Airport, a forecast shows monthly seat departures out of the medium-hub facility is slumping.

Departing seats at ONT compared to the same month in 2011 will continue to decline through October, according to the Official Airline Guide, an index on the travel industry.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ryan Carter, Staff Writer
Created: 04/01/2012 01:35:33 PM PDT

With limited funding these days from the federal government for San Bernardino County nonprofits, the Board of Supervisors has signed off on a plan to revamp the ability of charities to tap funding.

Read the rest of this entry »

BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com

Published: 30 March 2012 10:23 AM

Passenger traffic at Ontario International Airport dropped in February by 4.2 percent compared to a year ago. A total of 320,012 passengers used the airport in February, according to statistics from Los Angeles World Airports, the Los Angeles city agency that owns and manages Ontario airport as well as Los Angeles International and Van Nuys airports. The number of travelers using Ontario airport has dropped every month for 11 consecutive months when compared to the same time a year prior.

Traffic at LAX increased 8.2 percent to 4.46 million last month compared to a year ago.

To read entire brief, click here.

By Ed Mendel
Thursday, March 29, 2012

After a decade of similar below-target investment earnings, punctuated by huge losses during the stock market crash in 2008, the nation’s two largest public pension funds are looking at different futures.

The California Public Employees Retirement System, putting a new focus on risk, worries about another recession dropping pension funding levels to 40 percent or below, a “warning track” zone that could make it difficult to get back to full funding in the future.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Ricardo Lopez, Los Angeles Times
March 28, 2012, 1:01 a.m.

California’s unemployment rate will remain elevated for the next couple of years, according to a new UCLA forecast, and in some parts of the state won’t return to pre-recession levels until 2016.

Still, the state’s labor market is on the mend and is likely to heal faster than the nation as a whole, economists at the UCLA Anderson Forecast said Wednesday.

Read the rest of this entry »

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 21 March 2012 06:10 PM

WASHINGTON — As Congress and the Pentagon clashed Wednesday over whether to go forward with proposed base closures next year, a top Air Force official said it’s too soon to tell if — or how — any cuts would be felt at Inland Southern California’s military installations.

Read the rest of this entry »

Investors purchase undervalued abandoned housing subdivisions
March 22, 2012 9:09 AM
Tomoya Shimura, Staff Writer

A private investor who recently bought 233 abandoned housing lots in four Victor Valley subdivisions plans to sit on them until the housing market picks up, according to a broker involved in the deal.

Read the rest of this entry »

Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 03/18/2012 03:36:06 PM PDT

Related story: Lawmakers react to CalPERS struggles

Local officials say funding for services are expected to take another hit with the California Public Employee’s Retirement System lowering investment return forecasts last week.

CalPERS, the nation’s largest public pension fund, has requested state, local government and school districts increase contribution rates.

Return projections were lowered from 7.75 percent to 7.5 percent.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Alejandro Lazo
March 15, 2012, 1:25 p.m.

California home sales were up in February but median prices remained mired in the muck of a lackluster housing recovery.

The real estate firm DataQuick estimated 29,630 houses and condominiums sold throughout the Golden State last month, an increase of 8.5% from the same month a year earlier. Sales have improved every month for the last seven months and February was the strongest for a February since 2007.

Read the rest of this entry »

Published: Saturday, Mar. 10, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 6B

The Board of Equalization on Friday estimated that taxable sales in California rose 7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 from the same period of 2010.

The estimate was based on early calculations of cash receipts. It provides fresh evidence that the state’s economy is strengthening.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Marc Lifsher
March 9, 2012, 11:53 a.m.

California’s unemployment rate in January fell below 11% for the first time in nearly three years.

The percentage of jobless workers fell to 10.9% from a revised 11.2% in December, based on a household survey.

Read the rest of this entry »