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Street Level Economics |
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Geographic Area: California (Chino) Reporter: "A-Z"
Here's what going on in the Chico,
California Area
Save-Max a large grocery store in Oroville,
CA, closed it's doors without any warning to their employees. Ninety
people out of work--it was a union store. No reason was given as to why
the store closed, but I believe it was due to competition of
Foods-4-Less, a nonunion store.
Being a member of the Chico Chamber, I have
a pretty good handle on the economy here. Many small business owner's
including doctors, lawyers and dentists are attending Chamber "mixers"
in hopes of drumming up some business. This is something that I haven't
seen in years past from these professions. The competition among
computer-related services is overkill along with insurance agents trying
to get more business. I never hear any success stories, just business
owners showing their desperation. One insurance agent couldn't make it
so he went to work for a radio station. Advertising revenue is way
down, and the malls are empty. JC Penny's looks like a overstocked
warehouse, and I was the only one in TJMax, a discount high-scale
department store that sells name brand merchandise
A large laser manufacturer moved to the
Chico area from Sillycon Valley 4 years ago bringing over 400 employees
to the area. They have since laid off 2/3 of their work force.
As for housing, $300,000+ homes are going up
in several developments with over 1/2 of the homes already sold.
However, I see for sale signs everywhere and those homes are staying on
the market for more than 2 months. The big push right now is to
refinance your home using a bi-monthly payment plan.
There's an investor in the group that's
trying to get people to invest in purchasing elderly people's insurance
policies who are terminally ill. I've heard these people say on several
different occasions, that they can get you a 50% - 75% return on your
money! Hmmmm, now isn't that special! And to top it off, they claim
that Warren Buffet is investing in the same venture! Didn't I hear
someone say that "if it's too good to be true..... This investor has a
"Better Business Bureau" sign on their wall, but I just can't help but
think that there's something sleezy going on there.
Lots of new business construction going on -
mainly medical facilities. In Oroville, CA, population 35,000 including
surrounding area, there's 10 pharmacies! Seven are within 4 blocks of
each other! I suspect they are planning for a lot of sick people to
move there in the near future.
Indian gaming casinos are a big thing going
in Butte and Glenn Counties. The parking lots are usually full and lots
of buses from the Bay Area arrive everyday. A lot of welfare money goes
into the slots, and the Salvation Army has a hard time keeping food in
their pantry to pass out to people who lost their welfare check in the
slots.
Was up in the Roseville area a couple of
weeks ago. Housing developments are popping up everywhere...clear to
the town of Lincoln. People are buying homes there, real estate is going
great guns.
You can post what I've written here, please
keep my name confidential. I enjoy reading your website, and I find
that you are more right than you are wrong.
--Willard Scratchebottom, Jr. Editor's Note: Can yah tell I made up the name for him? |
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