Bright, but not as big: Solar projects could be downsized to protect wildlife
The two massive solar projects winding toward approval on San Luis Obispo County’s Carrizo Plain could end up generating 30 percent less energy than the 800 megawatts their corporate backers would prefer. That is according to draft environmental impact reports circulating for the California Valley Solar Ranch, backed by San Jose-based SunPower Corp., and the Read More →
Read More →Slow SLO recovery forecast
Like the rest of California, San Luis Obispo County is winding very slowly to a full economic recovery, forecasters at the Central Coast Economic Forecast said Nov. 5. The county’s unemployment rate currently hovers around 10 percent, and will likely stay above 6 percent until sometime in 2015, economists from the forecasting group Beacon Economics Read More →
Read More →U.S. should set inflation target, Fed economist says at UCSB
Setting the federal funds interest rate target at zero is a trap, and one the Federal Reserve would be better off avoiding, St. Louis Federal Reserve Economist Bill Gavin said at an Oct. 27 appearance at UC Santa Barbara. Warning of the dangers of the so-called “zero lower bound,” when the federal funds rate is Read More →
Read More →Downtown’s starring role: Atascadero will get new movie theater, retail center
Atascadero’s small-town days may be numbered. The city of 28,000 people has several large developments in the pipeline, including its $13 million Colony Square project, which would bring 14,000 square feet of retail space and 10 movie screens to the currently theater-less city. Plans for a 130,000-square-foot Wal-Mart are about halfway through the environmental review Read More →
Read More →SLO forecast gets $20K
The new Central Coast Economic Forecast, the successor in San Luis Obispo County to the UCSB Economic Forecast Project, announced Oct. 11 that it has received a $20,000 foundation grant. The grant comes from the Hind Foundation and Greg Hind, one of the founders of the Economic Forecast Project. The Central Coast Economic Forecast’s first Read More →
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