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IN PROGRESS ONLINE |
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Office of Economic Development, Placer County, California |
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Vol. 10, No. 3 |
March 2009 |
Ÿ North Tahoe Event Center Begins Rotating Art Exhibits
Ÿ Auburn Trophies Helps Businesses Reward Customers, Clients
Ÿ Loans Offered to Build Existing Businesses, Establish New Ones
Ÿ Seven Businesses Call New Auburn Plaza Home
Ÿ Resort at Squaw Creek Receives Recognition
Ÿ Auburn’s IoSafe Attracts Attention in Las Vegas
Ÿ Wells Fargo to Sponsor Sierra College Foundation Gala
Ÿ North Tahoe Salon Recycles Hair for Eco Project
Ÿ Auburn Symphony Goes to the Mondavi March 29
Ÿ Tahoe Experts Offering Business Seminars
Ÿ What’s in Your E-Mail Newsletter?
Home Depot Opens in Auburn
Managers at Home Depot like to point out the bells and whistles at their new Auburn store: the expanded appliance department, the airy light-fixture displays, the “showroom” feel to the patio-furniture section. But what’s truly remarkable about Home Depot No. 8597 is that it’s opening at all. The store, opened in February, is one of only six Home Depot’s that will open in the U.S. this year, and only one of two in California. But the Sierra foothills location fills a big geographical void for the company. The nearest Home Depot is 18 miles away, and the company believes the Auburn site will click in spite of the weakening economy. The store will employ 165 workers; 110 are new hires from Auburn and surrounding communities. The new store is located at 11755 Willow Creek Dr., off Hwy. 49 in North Auburn. For details visit the Sacramento Bee at http://sacbee.com/business/story/1624346.html or Rocklin Today at
http://www.rocklintoday.com/news/templates/community_news.asp?articleid=7124&zoneid=4
North Tahoe Event Center Begins Rotating Art Exhibits
North Tahoe Arts and the North Tahoe Event Center have become partners in presenting rotating public art exhibits. On display at the center now is “Wild Encounters,” work by photographers William Cooper and JoAnne Lippert that pictures the sights, colors, and textures of world cultures and primitive tribes. “This partnership provides residents and visitors with a new cultural experience,” says Kathy Long, the center’s parks and facilities manager. “And it gives local artists a new venue for showcasing their work and connecting with a new segment of the community.” The exhibits are free and on display during normal business hours. Exhibits will be rotated every three months. For details, visit North Tahoe Event Center at http://northlaketahoe.net/
Auburn Trophies Helps Businesses Reward Customers, Clients
Twenty-seven years ago Mick and Cindy Brazil opened Auburn Trophies, and the couple is still in business today. They provide awards of all kinds, engraving, pins, plaques, signage, name badges, and every kind of trophy known to man. Auburn Trophies have been providing special awards for the Economic Development Summit Breakfast for over 10 years. Over the years, the Brazils have built a loyal clientele - Placer County, business people, local school officials, individuals - who keep coming back. Auburn Trophies’ greatest attribute? “I think it’s my husband’s good nature,” said Cindy. “People think he’s the nicest guy in the world, and he is. He’s had some of the same customers for 27 years. He takes time and gets to know people.” The couple has received many thank-yous and kudos from their customers, some of them framed and hanging in the shop. “We’re so grateful for our customers’ loyalty, especially the county departments,” Cindy said, “and for the new business people coming in. People are telling us that in these harder times they want to reward their clients and customers and employees with tokens of appreciation. We’re so happy to be able to provide them.” Auburn Trophies is at 1221 Grass Valley Hwy., in Fiddler Green Plaza. For details, call (530) 885-2669.
Loans Offered to Build Existing Businesses, Establish New Ones
Loans are available for startups and established businesses that can generate jobs. That’s the message from the Sierra Economic Development Corporation - known as SEDCorp - and City of Auburn officials. SEDCorp partners with Auburn in administering the city’s Community Development Block Grant program. Last year the city received $500,000 from the CDBG program - federal funds administered through the state for business loans. For every job created, businesses are eligible for $35,000. Besides its partnership with Auburn, SEDCorp offers a variety of other business loan programs, training, and technical assistance. Prospective borrowers need a good credit history, business plan, and a market analysis. For details, visit the Auburn Journal at
or SEDCorp at http://www.sedd.org/
Seven Businesses Call New Auburn Plaza Home
The new Auburn Plaza, a 75,000-square-foot retail development on Hwy. 49 at Luther Road, is now home to seven tenants: Lyon Real Estate, Quizno’s Subs, Sleep Train mattresses, Little Caesars pizza; and the latest three, Uncle J’s Yogurt & Ice Cream, Parrot AT&T, and Vitek Mortgage Group. Auburn Plaza is the newest and most upscale retail environment to serve Auburn’s extended trade area of more than 150,000 residents. Rental space is still available in Auburn Plaza and is being leased by the Cornish & Carey Commercial Leasing office in Roseville. The Cornish & Carey website notes that “the Plaza is intended to collect tenants who appeal to the area’s residents with the greatest ability and/or need to shop locally for quality products.” For details, visit Cornish & Carey at http://www.ccareyretail.com/gallery/index-gallery.html or the Auburn Journal at http://auburnjournal.com/detail/96201.html?content_source=&category_id=&search_filter=Sleep+Train&user_id=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&event_ts_to=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=1&sub_type=stories&town_id=&page=2
Resort at Squaw Creek Receives Recognition
Resort at Squaw Creek was recently presented with a special recognition award at the 55th Annual North Lake Tahoe Community Awards. The Placer County-Lake Tahoe Film Office named the resort “Business of the Year” for its support of commercial productions in the Lake Tahoe region. Last year, Resort at Squaw Creek was the site of numerous commercial and photo shoots, including the Sony Blu-Ray “Tumble” commercial, in which the resort’s ice-rink was visually transformed into a frozen pond. Other shoots in 2008 included Apple, California Travel and Tourism Commission, American Eagle Outfitters, and Disney Travel. The AAA Four-Diamond resort was also recently recognized in Conde Nast Traveler as one of the “Top 50 Ski Hotels in North America.” For details, visit Resort at Squaw Creek at http://www.squawcreek.com/ or Placer Lake Tahoe Film Office at http://www.placer.ca.gov/Departments/CEO/EconDev/PlacerLTFilmOfc.aspx
Auburn’s IoSafe Attracts Attention in Las Vegas
Technically, an Auburn company that makes “disaster-proof” hardware to protect data on hard drives from floods and fires was not at the world’s largest consumer technology trade show in January. Still, ioSafe managed to grab the attention of the press there. The 10-employee ioSafe had more than 50 journalists at its demonstrations at a house it rented near the International Consumers Electronic Show in Las Vegas, an event which attracts thousands of vendors. Robb Moore, ioSafe chief executive officer and founder, said he was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Popular Science, PC Magazine, CNET, MSNBC, and others. IoSafe rented a limo to shuttle reporters between CES and the house, where he tossed the company’s new Solo external hard drive into a backyard pool, pulled it out, and then set it on fire. Since the demonstrations, ioSafe has sold “hundreds” of devices geared toward individuals and small businesses. For details, visit the Sacramento Business Journal at http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/01/26/tidbits1.html
or ioSafe at http://www.iosafe.com/
Wells Fargo to Sponsor Sierra College Foundation Gala
For the second consecutive year, Wells Fargo is the presenting sponsor of this spring’s “A Taste of Excellence,” an elegant food and wine-tasting event hosted by the Sierra College Foundation. Set for Saturday, April 25, starting at 6:30 p.m., the event will feature 40 of the region’s finest restaurants and wineries, as well as live and silent auctions. For the first time in five years, the event will be held on the Sierra College Rocklin Campus. Tickets are $75 each. Proceeds from the gala will go toward scholarships and programs benefiting Sierra College students. More than 450 people attended last year’s event, helping to raise more than $160,000. For details on sponsorships and tickets, visit Sierra College Foundation at http://www.sierracollege.edu/AboutUs/foundation/taste.html
North Tahoe Salon Recycles Hair for Eco Project
What to do with all of those hair piles swept every day into a salon’s waste basket? M Studio, at North Lake Tahoe, is putting them to good use. By donating bags of hair cuttings, M Studio’s Monika Johnson is helping to clean up oil spills that can have harsh impacts on wildlife and its habitat. “For years I was wishing there was something we could do with all of these clippings,” Johnson says. “Now once a week we put all of the hair we sweep up into a box and send it off.” The hair-filled boxes arrive at Matter of Trust, a non-profit organization in San Francisco that matches donations from businesses with needy non-profits. Matter of Trust sends the salon hair to Georgia, where it is woven into mats that are superb for soaking up oil. Once the mats soak up the oil, the mats are then composted and ultimately, with the help of oyster mushrooms, turned into useful soil. For details, visit Studio M at http://www.mstudiosalon.com/ or Matter of Trust at http://www.matteroftrust.org/
Auburn Symphony Goes to the Mondavi March 29
Known as the jewel in Placer County’s cultural crown, the Auburn Symphony will travel to the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, at UC Davis, on Sunday, March 29 for its annual after-season concert that draws music lovers from throughout the Greater Sacramento Region. This year’s performance, starting at 3 p.m., features Holst’s masterpiece, The Planets, evoking the majesty of the universe, and Gershwin’s classics, Cuban Overture and Rhapsody in Blue. Soloist for Rhapsody in Blue will be Robert Thies, the only American pianist in four decades to win a Russian piano competition. Under the baton of Maestro Michael Goodwin, the symphony has become one of the country’s finest community orchestras. Mondavi concert tickets are $30 general admission. A round-trip bus from Auburn is available for $25. For details, visit Auburn Symphony at http://www.auburnsymphony.com/
Tahoe Experts Offering Business Seminars
Local experts in business loans, marketing, and website management are offering seminars to help businesses make the most of their dollars in tough times. On March 29, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., the topic is “How the Stimulus Bill Affects Your Small Business.” The topic on April 2, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., is Marketing 10l, including information on creative marketing tactics, setting yourself apart from your competition, and “right time, right place, right message.” Seminars are held at Sawtooth Ridge Café, 877 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City. Sessions are free to chamber members, $10 for non-members. For details, contact Kym Fabel at (530) 581-8764 or kym@puretahoenorth, or visit Sierra Sun at
What’s in Your E-Mail Newsletter?
In Progress Online (IPOL), our monthly economic development e-mail newsletter covers the latest news on Placer County business and industry, agriculture, tourism, and the arts. It reports on new projects in our cities and towns and keeps readers up to date on the state of the region’s economy. IPOL posts news of state and local training, incentives, and loan programs that benefit business. It provides links to more information on each item. News about your business is always welcome. Please send items, questions, comments, or suggestions to the Office of Economic Development at econdev@placer.ca.gov or visit the OED Web site at http://www.placer.ca.gov/CEO/EconDev.aspx. For past In Progress Online newsletters, go to Placer County Biz News at http://www.placer.ca.gov/CEO/Econdev/business%20news.aspx.