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IN PROGRESS ONLINE |
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Office of Economic Development, Placer County, California |
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Vol. 8, No. 12 |
December 2007 |
Ÿ Mary’s Pizza Shack Hiring for New Roseville Location
Ÿ Restoration Resources Launches New, Streaming Web Site
Ÿ Arts for the Schools to Present “Comedy Feast”
Ÿ Orbitz Picks Tahoe as No. 1 Ski/Board Destination
Ÿ Alehouse in Old Town Auburn Receives Low-Interest Loan
Ÿ U.S. & Republic of Korea Enter Free Trade Agreement
Ÿ Sierra College Professor Wins Online Teaching Award
Ÿ Sno-Park Passes Now Available
Ÿ Gold or Wine, He Digs the Work
Ÿ Five Placer Companies Make Inc.’s 5,000 Fastest-growing List
Ÿ Northstar Plans Family New Year’s Eve Party
Ÿ What’s in Your E-Mail Newsletter?
Mary’s Pizza Shack Hiring for New Roseville Location
In February 2008, Roseville will become the 18th location for Mary’s Pizza Shack, first opened by Mary Fazio in Boyes Hot Springs in 1959. The family-owned company will need to hire up to 100 people for the new location, at 711 Pleasant Grove Blvd. Requirements for all positions are a positive attitude, excellent customer service skills, ability to work in a fast-paced environment, and enthusiasm. All positions have a training period. Mary’s serves made to order pizza, pasta, sandwiches, soups, salads, and desserts -- using Mary’s original recipes. Mary’s Pizza Shack locations have open kitchens so that customers can watch the chefs at work. For details, visit Mary’s at http://www.maryspizzashack.com/ or contact human resource manager Robin Carlson at Carlson@maryspizzashack.com.
Restoration Resources Launches New, “Streaming” Web Site
A founder in the field of habitat planning and restoration, Restoration Resources, based in Rocklin, has launched a new, media-savvy Web site. The site features videos of the company’s current and past projects, staff members talking about their jobs, and company social events. A Learning Center section on the site also includes videos and offers support for parents, teachers, and students in learning more about the environment. “The site is a tool for both marketing and community outreach,” said Kari Swift, the company’s public relations representative. “And Restoration Resources is hoping that it will also draw in talented professionals to help grow the successful business.” Latest figures show Restoration Resources growing at 20 percent a year, a rate that will put it at $10 million in gross sales by 2010. For details, visit Restoration Resources at http://www.restoration-resources.net/
Arts for the Schools to Present “Comedy Feast”
Physical comedy, character impersonations, magic, satire, and absurdity -- comedian Robert Post will display his wild and wacky performing talents in an Arts for the Schools presentation Friday, January 18, 7 p.m. at Truckee High School Theatre. In his 27-year career, Post has created more than 30 “works,” such as Pasquale’s Kitchen, in which an eccentric TV chef whips up a culinary feast of juggling, jokes, and magic. Post has taken his one-man act on tour across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Japan. His work has been seen in an award-winning special on PBS. The New York Times has written that Post “deserves a place on anybody’s all-star team of the goofily gifted.” Arts for the Schools works to bring the arts in all its forms to North Tahoe schoolchildren. For more about Robert Post, visit http://www.robertpost.org/ For more about Arts for the Schools, visit http://www.artsfortheschools.org/. For tickets, call North Tahoe Conference Center at (530) 546-7249.
Orbitz Picks
Tahoe as No. 1 Ski/Board Destination
A national online travel firm has
confirmed what those who've skied or snowboarded in the Lake Tahoe area have
known for years: Tahoe is the No. 1 ski destination in the country. The travel
booking giant, Orbitz.com, reported Lake Tahoe as the top choice among
travelers booking hotel and vacation packages between November 20 and May 1.
Based on hotel and package sales, Lake Tahoe moved from the No. 3 spot last
year to the top spot this year. “With seven ski resorts and expansive terrain
spread over more than 17,000 acres, skiers and snowboarders of all levels are
sure to find plenty of runs to fit any level of expertise,” Orbitz said on its
Web site. For more, visit Sierra Sun at http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20071114/NEWS/71114002
or USA Today at http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2007-11-12-orbitz-ski-bookings_N.htm
Alehouse in Old Town Auburn Receives Low-Interest Loan
Last April, Brian and Lisa Ford of Auburn came to Sierra Economic Development Corporation (SEDCorp) through a referral from the City of Auburn’s Community Development Department. The Fords wanted to discuss obtaining financing for Auburn Alehouse, a new business they planned to open in Old Town Auburn. After several meetings, a low-cost loan was structured, and SEDCorp was able to underwrite and close the loan for the Fords. With this loan the brewpub and restaurant opened in June 2007 to rave reviews. The business has since proven to be wildly successful, and Auburn Alehouse now employs 46 people. SEDCorp, founded in 1969, is a non-profit corporation funded by a combination of public and private sources for job-preservation and growth in Placer, Nevada, El Dorado, and Sierra counties. For details visit SEDCorp at http://www.sedd.org/ or Auburn Alehouse at http://www.auburnalehouse.com/ or the Auburn Journal at http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2007/09/12/news/food_and_wine/01t4talehouse.txt
U.S. and Republic of Korea Enter Free Trade Agreement
Last June, the United States and Korea signed an historic free trade agreement that will expand bilateral trade and investment ties and create new economic opportunities for people in both countries. The KORUS-FTA, as it is called, will build on an already robust bilateral trade and investment relationship between the two countries. It will affect the manufacturing, agriculture, and service sectors, eliminating and phasing out tariffs and quotas on a broad range of products. The agreement has strong provisions that will expand market access and investment opportunities in a number of service sectors, including telecommunications and e-commerce. Placer County companies can learn more about KORUS-FTA by visiting the Office of the United States Trade Representative at
http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2007/June/United_States_the_Republic_of_Korea_Sign_Lmark_Free_Trade_Agreement.html?ht= or the California Farm Bureau Federation at http://cfbf.com/issues/pdf/KoreaFTA07.pdf or U.S. Commercial Service at http://www.buyusa.gov/sacramento/
Sierra College Professor Wins Online Teaching Award
Michelle Pacansky-Brock, a fulltime professor of Art History at Sierra College Rocklin, has received the 2007 Excellence in Online Teaching Award from the Sloan Consortium. The consortium recognizes outstanding achievements in online learning and program development. In the past year, Pacansky-Brock has led efforts to develop the iTech lab at Sierra College, a technology training resource for faculty and staff, and she has secured $10,500 in grant funding to purchase lab equipment. Next year, she will lead the first series of lab training sessions. The professor’s online classes have been described as “a very exciting learning environment” and “the perfect example of what an online class should be.” For details about Sierra College’s online classes, visit http://lrc.sierracollege.edu/dl/OnlineClasses/Index.htm. For details about the Sloan Consortium, visit http://www.sloan-c.org/
Sno-Park passes are now available for purchase at the Placer County Visitors Bureau/California Welcome Center, in Auburn. Season passes are $25, and daily passes are $5 per car. The season runs from November 1 to May 30. With the passes come maps and other information about the state’s 19 Sno-Park sites. The parks provide snow-cleared parking lots, cross-country ski and snowmobile trails, and sledding hills. Revenues from the sale of Sno-Park passes pay for snow removal, sanitation, trail grooming, signs and trailhead markings. For details, visit California Welcome Center Auburn at http://www.visitplacer.com/ or the California Department of Parks and Recreation at http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=1233 or call the Sno-Park hotline at (916) 324-1222.
Gold or Wine, He Digs the Work
Don Magorian started his business to help people dig for precious metals. Now, he digs caves for another precious commodity -- fine wine. His Auburn company, Magorian Mine Services, has excavated 22 wine-storage caves in the Napa and Sonoma wine regions. Magorian, a Sacramento native, has a bachelor's of science degree in mine engineering from the University of Nevada's Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering. He spent about 12 years providing underground mining services in Nevada and opened his own business in Auburn in the mid-1990s. His projects have included drilling a tunnel for a Placer County water pump station along the American River and drilling tunnels and ramps for the Foresthill gold mine Red Ink Maid Mine. He got into the wine cave business in 1997 and now has 30 employees. For more, visit the Sacramento Business Journal at http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2007/07/30/focus2.html or Magorian Mine Services at http://www.magmineserv.com/
Five Placer Companies Make Inc.’s 5,000 Fastest-growing List
Five Placer County companies have reached milestones in growth and are listed on the Inc. 5000 index of the country’s Fastest Growing Private Companies. The companies are
Commercial Building Specialists, Inc. in Roseville (ranked 209) http://www.cbscontracting.com/
Trofholz Technologies in Rocklin (ranked 891), http://www.tti-tech.com/
Northern Video Systems in Rocklin (ranked 1400), http://www.northernvideo.com/
Eco:Logic Engineering in Rocklin (ranked 2808), http://www.ecologic-eng.com/
Compudigital Industries in Rocklin (Ranked 5,000), http://www.compudigital.com/
The complete Inc. 5,000 list is available at http://www.inc.com/inc5000/
Northstar Plans Family New Year’s Eve Party
Families are invited to ring in the New Year at Northstar at Tahoe on December 31. The ski resort is hosting its annual Fire & Ice party from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. The celebration includes fun for all ages -- music, live entertainment, skating, food, and fireworks. Performing live will be the reggae/rock band Truckee Tribe (2 - 5 p.m.) and the Bay Area rock band Public Eye (5:30 - 8:30 p.m.). Fireworks start at 9 p.m. Northstar currently has 10 lifts and 44 trails open, including The Backside. In the Village at Northstar, the new Mikuni Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar is open for lunch and dinner, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. For more, visit Northstar at http://www.northstarattahoe.com/events.calendar.event.asp?eventid=new_years_party
or http://www.northstarattahoe.com/events.calendar.event.asp?eventid=mikunis
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