Air quality issues and strategies in the San Joaquin Valley

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Air quality issues and strategies in the San Joaquin Valley

By Anthony Presto, Outreach & Communications – San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

Air quality challenges in the San Joaquin Valley are unmatched by any other region in the nation. Due to its unique geography, topography, and meteorology, meeting federal health-based air quality standards is a daunting task.

Since 1992, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has implemented a variety of some of the most ambitious air pollution control strategies in the nation. A wide-range of measures, including regulations, public education and outreach, and robust incentive programs to deploy clean-air technologies have resulted in significant reductions of particulate matter emissions and ground-level ozone.

Despite many air quality improvements, we still have a long way to go in order to reach our clean-air goals.

As we continue to search for additional strategies to reduce emissions Valley-wide, we also continue to invest millions of dollars in grants and incentives where we do not have regulatory authority.

The Valley Air District offers grants to assist businesses, agricultural operators, public agencies and Valley residents to replace older, higher-polluting vehicles and other equipment, with new, clean technologies. Listed here are some of the programs currently offered:

Clean Green Yard Machines – Residential: Provides two flexible options for rebates to Valley residents. Replace an old gas-powered lawn mower with a new electric lawn mower or purchase new electric powered landscape equipment for your yard. Details: www.valleyair.org/grants/cgym.htm.

Clean Green Yard Machines – Commercial: Provides incentives for up to 70 percent of the replacement cost of landscape maintenance equipment to lawn care providers, from gas/diesel equipment to electric. The program is open to public agencies and private landscaping businesses in the San Joaquin Valley. Details: http://valleyair.org/grants/cgym-commercial.htm.

Drive Clean in the San Joaquin Rebate Program: Provides rebates to Valley residents and businesses of up to $3,000 on the purchase or lease of new, clean-air vehicles. Details: http://valleyair.org/drivecleaninthesanjoaquin/rebate/.

Burn Cleaner Program: Helps reduce particulate matter from older wood-burning devices that contribute significantly to air pollution in the Valley during the Fall and Winter months. Burn Cleaner provides from $1,000 to $3,000 when upgrading from an open-hearth fireplace or older, non-certified wood stove to a certified wood/pellet or natural gas device. Details: http://www.valleyair.org/grants/apps/burncleaner/Home.

ChargeUp!: This Program provides funding for public agencies, businesses, and property owners of multi-unit dwellings, such as apartment complexes in the San Joaquin Valley, to install electric vehicle (EV) chargers to support existing EV owners and encourage the growth of clean technology in the Valley. The program provides up to $5,000 for single port, Level 2 chargers and as much as $50,000 for up to 10 charging ports. Details: http://valleyair.org/grants/chargeup.htm.

Truck Replacement Program: Provides assistance with the replacement of heavy duty diesel trucks with zero and near-zero emissions technology. Details: http://valleyair.org/grants/truck-replacement.htm.

 

For further information on these and other grants available from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, visit www.valleyair.org/grants or call 559-230-5800.

What Businesses can expect in 2021

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Written By: Brandon Schwartz of Boomajoom

brandon@boomajoom.com

 

 

2020 is behind us, but we can expect 2021 to be full of just as much change. There are three key trends that small business owners in the central valley need to pay attention to.

First, marketing is increasingly becoming transparent and traceable. There’s an old joke that half your marketing budget is wasted, but you don’t know which half. The last several years have begun to carve away at the truth behind the joke, and 2021 will likely accelerate the trend. As more and more marketing efforts become tied to the internet, small business owners have the opportunity to track which media are effective and which aren’t. Methods include dedicated call forwarding numbers, advanced analytics to track individual users across devices, and even tying actual transactions to marketing campaigns. 2021 will see tighter budgets with more emphasis on traceability.

Second, local businesses are reaching customers outside their immediate geography. In an era of shelter in place orders and social distancing, business owners are turning to the internet to sell. A tamale maker in Texas uses sophisticated online advertising programs to reach customers across the country. Because they have a commercial kitchen and have already passed health inspection, restaurants and food makers are in a prime position to sell nationwide with little barriers to entry. A shoe retailer local to the valley can likewise sell significant product on the East Coast. 2021 will see more local businesses taking their product nationwide.

 

Third, small businesses will expand their reliance on larger platforms to reach their audience. It is no longer enough to have a website. Business owners who sell product online are partnering with Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Google, Facebook, and others to increase their reach. It’s a love/hate relationship to be sure; Walmart and Amazon especially have placed a lot of competitive pressure on small businesses. Yet at the same time, small retailers can sell product to consumers through those websites. 2021 will see more businesses reluctantly partner with giants who have immediate reach to customers.

 

2020 has forced everyone’s hand; we have to think differently to survive. The traditional approaches don’t work. As Chamber members plan ahead, it will be very important to keep these trends in mind.

www.boomajoom.com

Inspire Youth Inspire Dreams

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We invite you to join us as we inspire the dreams of our future workforce. This is an opportunity for your business to impact youth in our community. We will record segments of a “day in the life” of your business to give students a first hand experience in the field of their individual interest, within one of the 15 sectors of business and industry.

 

We know when we spark the interest and dreams of a youth early in his or her educational path, we build a direct connection to opportunity that is right here in their own hometown. Research tells us, by the sixth grade, a student is already determining his or her future. If a student has something that is tangible and seen as a reward for hard work and effort, he or she is able to build a plan to get to their dreams.

 

The Inspire Youth Inspire Dream Event is only the start of paving the way for college or career training. There will be extension opportunities for each student in supporting them through high school with the focus on his or her identified interests. The final destination will be for each student to be prepared to move into a career training program and/or college to pursue their passion. 

 

Through the Inspire Youth Inspire Dreams Platform our goal is to facilitate each and every student who participates in recognizing his or her

interests and discovering the opportunity to build their future in Modesto, CA.

 

To register click here.