California's job market is defying the slowdown in the national economy. The job numbers are even turning positive in Sacramento, for the first time since the start of the recession.
Unemployment in California fell a tenth of a percent last month, to 10.8 percent, the Employment Development Department reported Friday. About 33,900 jobs were added to payrolls across the state.
Economists said the numbers suggest the state is continuing to make steady but not spectacular progress.
The Sacramento region is also slowly recovering, despite weaknesses in construction and the public sector. Unemployment dipped to 10.4 percent in May, down a tenth of a percent. That's the lowest unemployment rate in the area in three years.
Until recently, the falling jobless rate has mostly been a function of people pulling out of the job market, so they're no longer counted as unemployed.
But now payrolls are starting to grow – 4,400 jobs were added in May.
Also, 2,600 more Sacramentans held jobs last month compared with a year ago. It was the second straight month of year-over-year job growth, an indicator of economic health.
"That hasn't happened in 4 1/2 years," said EDD consultant Justin Wehner. "To see us kind of emerge … into positive territory is a positive sign."
The monthly jobs report was a relief. Just two weeks ago, experts were fretting that California would get dragged down by the national slowdown, which has driven the U.S. unemployment rate back up to 8.2 percent. So far, that hasn't happened.
Economist Stephen Levy said many of the state's bedrock industries – including technology, tourism and international trade – remain resilient. The tech sector is a big reason for California's strength.
"The Bay Area is surging and that's enough to push the state above the national average," said Levy, of Palo Alto's Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.
Still, it's not as if the economy is roaring in California. The addition of 33,900 jobs in May followed an April that saw only 1,300 jobs created.
"We're getting this saw-toothed pattern, a good month and a bad month," said Dennis Meyers, principal economist with the state Department of Finance. On average, California is adding about 19,000 jobs a month, he said.
"It's not 'jump up and down time,' but we're making slow and steady progress," he said.
Tourism, in particular, is making a comeback, as evidenced by the throngs that descended on Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim on Friday for the debut of the Cars Land attraction. The leisure and hospitality industry added 13,200 jobs last month, more than any other industry.
In Sacramento, one of the major job generators continues to be the health care industry, which largely ignored the recession. But other sectors are hiring, too.
"We don't have a broad-based recovery (but) we're starting to see growth in more areas than just health care. We're seeing growth in finance, in retail," said economist Jeff Michael of the University of the Pacific.
The public sector will continue to be a trouble spot. State workers face the prospect of reduced hours, and considerable uncertainty remains about budget cuts. Even with the Legislature passing a main budget bill Friday, lawmakers still hadn't worked out key details on spending with Gov. Jerry Brown.
"Nobody knows what the budget means," Levy said.
Construction is another drag on the Sacramento economy. Payrolls in the building trades actually fell by 500 in May, a month that usually sees hiring. There were 3,300 fewer construction workers on the job than a year ago.
Michael said a key reason is that some big public-works projects have ended.
"We were still putting up a $1 billion airport terminal this time last year, and rebuilding highways in Roseville," he said. "We're a little bit in the shadow of that stuff."
Real estate agents say the housing market has stabilized, with prices firming up. But area home building hasn't taken off to the point that a hiring binge is justified.
Still, things are starting to stir. The New Home Company, a fledgling Southern California builder founded by executives from bankrupt John Laing Homes, said Friday it will open up 79 new houses for sale in Folsom next month. The homes are expected to sell in the low $300,000 range.
At the company's other Sacramento area projects, in Elk Grove, Granite Bay and Lincoln, sales activity has picked up. The company sold six homes in Lincoln in the past two months – compared with two all of last year.
Kevin Carson, president of the company's Northern California division, said much of the demand for new homes comes from the growing medical field.
"With the expansions of Mercy and Sutter, with this region becoming the (medical) hub for the whole Valley, there are lots of nurses, administrators (buying homes)," Carson said. "Not just the doctors."
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Source: www.sacbee.com
Leonardo Da Vinci art on display at Ulster Museum - Belfast Telegraph
Saturday, 16 June 2012
Ten of the Royal Collections finest drawings by the Renaissance master Leonardo Da Vinci will be shown at the Ulster Museum this summer
More pictures It's breathtaking and simplistic beauty belies both its age and its historical significance — and you can see it in Belfast.
It was a study for a painting, Leda And the Swan which was destroyed around 1700.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Head Of Leda is believed to have been bought by King Charles II for the Royal Collection in the 17th century.
It was a study for a painting, Leda And the Swan, which was destroyed around 1700.
If around today it would be one of the most famous paintings in the world, say experts.
It is one of 10 stunning pieces by Renaissance polymath da Vinci which have gone on display at the Ulster Museum.
Best known for priceless works of art such as the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci was also a gifted engineer, having drawn plans for several flying machines, including the first concept for a helicopter.
Anne Stewart, curator of fine art for National Museums Northern Ireland, said da Vinci’s works are “still as fresh and as exciting today as when they were made”.
“Leonardo is the artist that everyone knows, and for a very good reason,” she added.
“People know something about him, but they perhaps don’t know of the drawings. For us to have them is just a wonderful opportunity.”
She said the artist’s Study Of An Equestrian Movement was an early sketch for a never-constructed bronze statue.
The drawings date back to 1485 and include detailed anatomical studies.
Displayed in a dimly lit gallery the free exhibition allows visitors to examine the intricacies and detail of each of the works which have been carefully preserved for hundreds of years.
Martin Clayton of the Royal Collection at Windsor — the home of the artworks — said the drawings were “among the highlights of art in Western Europe”.
The free exhibition runs until August 27 at the Ulster Museum.
Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
California high-school students recruited by out-of-state colleges - Seattle Times
LOS ANGELES — Their pitches were simple and tailored to the audience.
Come to my college, the out-of-state recruiters recently told high-school students in Lakewood, and you will be taught in small classes and you'll graduate in four years. We'll even throw in a few thousand dollars just for being from California. And at one school, you won't even be far from an In-N-Out Burger.
Their attempt at wooing California high schoolers was a not-so-subtle move in a state whose public universities have been hit with severe budget cuts — $1.6 billion in 10 years — leading to tuition increases, enrollment caps and fewer courses.
Meanwhile, nearby out-of-state colleges have reaped the benefits.
Neighboring states have seen an influx of California students enrolling in their universities, and colleges have significantly bolstered recruiting efforts in the state. By enrolling Californians, not only do these schools receive nonresident tuition, but they also increase the diversity on their campuses.
Some schools have doubled the number of Californians in their freshman classes. Washington State University enrolled 132 freshmen from California in 2011, twice as many as the year before. The University of Arizona and Arizona State University each have boasted freshman classes with more than 1,000 Californians in recent years.
The University of Oregon, which enrolled about 500 California freshmen five years ago, has also seen that figure balloon to more than 1,000 in 2011. The university's increased presence in the Golden State, paired with the wandering eyes of frustrated parents and students, has led to a boon for the school, said Roger Thompson, vice provost of enrollment management.
"The gold rush is on, and in this case the gold rush is for college-going students," he said. "We've got a pioneer spirit at the University of Oregon."
At the Mayfair High School college fair, students listened to presentations from the out-of-state colleges, ranging from large state schools such as Oregon State University to small, private liberal-arts colleges like High Point University in North Carolina. All the recruiters are based in California, and the membership of their organization, the Regional Admission Counselors of California, has tripled in the last three years.
"We are here to show you that there are options beyond the golden fence," said Gary Bednorz, a University of New Mexico recruiter.
The recruiter from Maryville University, a private school in St. Louis, touted the $5,000 scholarship automatically granted to Californians. The University of Arizona recruiter mentioned that Los Angeles is only an hour's flight away, and the recruiter from Southern Methodist University in Dallas mentioned the In-N-Out Burger a mile from campus, which drew "oohs" from the students.
"You need money? ... We'll show you the dough at New Mexico!" Bednorz said, to giggles from the students. Patrick Vidican, a 16-year-old sophomore, blurted out, "Yes!"
The difference between the recruiter's pitch and what he has heard from his home state was not lost on Patrick. He's kept up on the rising tuition and enrollment limitations at state schools and is seriously considering leaving California for college.
"If all these out-of-state colleges are looking for me and want me to go to their college, and the California colleges are just like, 'eh' — they don't really care — I would rather go to the ones that really want me, that will pay me to go to their college," he said.
Kendall Williams, a senior at Mayfair, had his heart set on attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo next fall. He and nearly 37,000 others applied.
With good grades and an interest in science, the school seemed to be a perfect fit. He was rejected. Just 11,533 made the cut. "I was really shocked," he said. "I really didn't think I wouldn't get accepted."
He soon began receiving emails from Northern Arizona University, asking him to apply. His friends encouraged him to look at Arizona State University as well.
Quickly accepted to both, he visited the campuses with his family. He chose Northern Arizona on the spot.
"It's a small campus and the professors are a lot more personal with their students," Kendall said. "And it's not too much more expensive than California schools."
By taking advantage of a program called Western Undergraduate Exchange that gives students from select states lower out-of-state tuition — which will remain the same all four years — as well as scholarship money and lower housing costs, the price tag will be comparable to attending a Cal State school and cheaper than attending a University of California school, said Christina Williams, his mother and a teacher at Mayfair.
The Cal State system may have to freeze enrollment at some campuses in spring 2013 and put applicants on wait lists for the following fall if a tax measure on the November ballot fails and the system faces more cuts.
A recent study by the Public Policy Institute of California found that the share of the state's high-school graduates enrolling in UC and Cal State schools dropped by one-fifth — from about 22 percent in 2007 to less than 18 percent in 2010. The report also found that the number of Californians leaving the state for college was increasing.
Thompson, of the University of Oregon, said that his school does not poach these students, but rather that the troubles in California encourage families to consider out-of-state options. Once they learn about his university, he said, it sells itself.
The beneficiaries of this trend, both those who leave the state and those who come in, are students with families who can foot the bill, said Patrick Callan, president of the nonprofit Higher Education Policy Institute in San Jose. "It creates even more advantages for students who have money," he said.
One of the goals of the California Master Plan for Higher Education, adopted in 1960, was to signal to California students that if they got good grades and scored well on tests, they would be able to enroll in one of the state's public universities, Callan said.
"Now we're saying, if you do all that and the economy is doing well and we're getting money — then we might have a space," he said. "That's a different message."
Source: seattletimes.nwsource.com
Charity making splash thanks to donation of recycled paint - Nottingham Evening Post
A COLWICK charity has received a paint recycling scheme's 10,000th litre for reuse.
Stride, the trading arm of charity SHARP, collected the paint as part of a scheme run by Notts County Council and waste contractor Veolia Environmental Services.
The charity employs youngsters for 12 months and helps them to gain NVQ qualifications in painting, decorating and construction, as well as other areas including hairdressing and catering.
Young people on the charity's painting and decorating course have been using the recycled paint at the Stride base in Daleside Road.
The Community Repaint Nottinghamshire scheme was launched in 2010. The scheme accepts unwanted paint from the public at household waste recycling centres in Worksop and Calverton, and gives it to community groups and charities.
To find out more visit www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk /community repaint.
Source: www.thisisnottingham.co.uk
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