Summit planned to help brand and promote San Joaquin Valley for tourism

The Great Valley Center is pleased to present the first San Joaquin River Valley Travel and Tourism San Joaquin River Valley Travel and Tourism Economic Summit on Wednesday, May 22, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock. 

The one day session, themed “Let’s Build Something Together,” will include a series of speakers and presentations on how the region can come together as a whole to brand and market the San Joaquin Valley and its abundance of resources to capture more visitor spending.

Local government officials, business leaders, and area representatives of the travel and tourism industry are encouraged to attend the Summit. The first 150 registrations are free, and registration after that will be $25. Click here to register online. 

The San Joaquin Valley, crisscrossed with rivers, delta waterways, lakes and reservoirs, offers a vast array of outdoor recreational activities, including rafting, fishing, house boating, water skiing, and bird watching. The Valley, often referred to as the “bread basket of the world,” is a leader in agricultural commodities, and the many farming and ag-related operations offer a growing opportunity for agricultural tourism. 

Additionally, the Valley offers a plethora of festivals, rodeos, car shows, concerts and other visitor entertainment opportunities.

The Summit program will include a panel discussion on agricultural tourism. There will also be several presentations emphasizing the economic impact of travel and importance of pursuing tourism for regional economic development. Active interaction between event attendees and presenters will be encouraged, with an opportunity at the end of the program for an open discussion on how to move forward.
 
Summit sponsors to date include Imagen Public Relations, Fresno/Clovis Convention & Visitors Bureau, Condor Earth Technologies, Inc. and Modesto Convention & Visitors Bureau, and additional sponsors are invited!  

Click here to download a sponsorship form. Businesses and organizations providing sponsorship support and will be rewarded with visibility on the Summit program and web page.

For more information on sponsorships or the Summit, contact Linda Hoile, Great Valley Center, linda@greatvalley.org or (209) 522-5103.

Great Valley Center and UC Merced release new environmental indicators report

Report reveals some progress in the Central Valley, though many environmental challenges remain

The Central Valley environment is getting healthier, but not fast enough. Its air quality is still among the worst in the nation, according to a report released today.

The Great Valley Center and the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at the University of California, Merced, jointly produced "The State ofthe Great CentralValley: Assessing the Region Via Indicators – The Environment2006-2011.” The report tracks a variety of environmental indicators within the Central Valley and shows mixed results.

The good news is there has been a reduction in the level of a number of key air quality indicators, a recharge of watersheds to near normal levels, a slowing in the loss of prime agricultural land to urbanization and an increased restoration of wetland habitats.

The Central Valley's depressed economy has dramatically slowed the use of prime land for new homes and commercial space. It has also given local and regional governments time to prepare and begin using blueprints to improve urban housing density and transportation choices.

However, the Central Valley has many red flags when it comes to the environment.

The number of days ozone levels were above state and federal air quality standards has increased overall since 2005, and almost all counties in the region are not meeting the one-hour and eight-hour air quality standards for many days each year. The percentage of the Valley’s population at risk for respiratory problems because of poor air quality outpaces other California regions.

The level of nitrates in drinking water has increased because farmers are using nitrogen-based fertilizers and planting nitrogen-fixing cover crops. Poor soil drainage has caused damage to fragile ecosystems. A great deal of energy is being used to move waste materials to landfills, presenting an opportunity for more recycling. Many counties have not reduced their waste production or energy consumption. In some cases, the numbers have increased beyond the proportional rise in population.

Gathering the data for this year’s report was challenging because of state and local budget cuts that limited the collection of information and the monitoring of air, water, species diversity, habitat conservation and resource management. Among the five recommendations for future action: Increase data gathering and improve sharing information, and support renewable energy sources for sustainable growth.

The report tracks environmental indicators as they relate to carbon monoxide, ozone and particulate matter; water quality and levels in our watersheds; pesticide use, soil drainage and land use; species of concern, fish, birds and wetland habitats; and waste production and energy consumption. The data sets, which underlie and correlate with many of the other assessments of regional well-being, are grouped in sections describing air, water, land use, species and habitat, and resources and energy.

Included in the report are profiles of half a dozen successful efforts to conserve and build capacity for the future.

“We included stories of environmental best practices to show that there are organizations and individuals working hard to make a positive impact in our Valley,” Great Valley Center Executive Director Dejeuné Shelton said. “Some of these successful programs could serve as models for similar environmental initiatives in other areas of our Valley.”

A highlight of the report is a public policy essay by UC Merced engineering Professor Roger Bales, director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, on the need for a sustainable water supply to meet the growing needs of the expanding Central Valley population with the additional stresses of climate change.

"The State of the Great Central Valley: The Environment (Third Edition)" is part of an ongoing regional initiative of the Great Valley Center (GVC) to track conditions in one of California’s fastest growing regions: the 19-county Great Central Valley. The data presented in the report were gathered by the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, and present a snapshot of information providing tools for measuring the community well-being of the Valley. This third edition revisits indicators introduced by the GVC in 2001 and revised in 2005, and includes several new ones. Past reports can be viewed on the GVC'sIndicators Report Series website.

New Interim Great Valley Center Leader

Dejeuné Shelton New Interim Great Valley Center Leader

Modesto, CA (September 1, 2010) – Dejeuné M. Shelton has been named interim President of the Great Valley Center, a Valley-wide nonprofit organization devoted to regional planning and action.  She begins her new responsibilities September 1.

“We’re looking forward to Dejeuné stepping into this role for this Valley-wide organization” says Great Valley Center Board President Kathy McKim, VP of External Affairs for AT&T in the Central Valley.  “She has been the senior program manager for two years now, and her enthusiasm and leadership skills will help us as the Great Valley Center meet its mission to help improve the quality of life in our region.”

Shelton steps in for Dr. David Hosley, who has been serving as both the GVC President as well as interim Vice Chancellor for University Relations at UC Merced for the past six months.  Having joined the center in early 2008, Dr. Hosley will now focus full-time on his university relations duties.

Prior to joining the Great Valley Center, Shelton was president of the Westside Community Alliance, a community resource center in Patterson, where she is currently a member of the City Council. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from California State University, Stanislaus and is a graduate student at CSU Stanislaus in Public Administration.

The Great Valley Center is in partnership with UC Merced, and puts on a number of annual conferences to bring Valley residents together to discuss economic and social issues in the region.  The organization also collects data about the Valley, and issues annual reports on key issues having to do with growth and the changing demographics of the region.  The primary program areas of the center include leadership, community health, access to technology, renewable energy and sustainable land use.  Shelton will oversee a staff of 15.

Shelton has particular familiarity with the GVC’s leadership programs. A graduate of the Great Valley Leadership Institute for elected officials in 2007, she also attended the Center’s IDEAL program for emerging Valley leaders in 2005 and currently is participating in the year-long American Leadership Forum program.

About the Great Valley Center: Founded in 1997, the Great Valley Center is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the University of California, Merced to support organizations and activities working to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of California’s Great Central Valley.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Amy Moffat
(209) 522-5103
amy@greatvalley.org

UOP President Elected to Great Valley Center Board

THE UNIVERSITY OF PACIFIC PRESIDENT ELECTED TO 
GREAT VALLEY CENTER BOARD

Modesto, CA (September 1, 2010) – The University of Pacific President Pamela A. Eibeck has been elected to the board of the Great Valley Center, a regional planning and action nonprofit serving the Central Valley.

The Great Valley Center, which is in partnership with UC Merced, works with community organizations and local governments to improve the quality of life for residents of the 19 counties in the region. Its 12-member board is composed of business, government and education leaders.

Kathy McKim, Vice President of AT&T External Affairs for the Central Valley, and chair of the Great Valley Center board, announced the election. “President Eibeck's strong leadership in the San Joaquin Valley and her commitment to the community will be a great addition to the GVC board.”

Now in her second year as president at Pacific, Eibeck made community engagement a priority. She launched a series of public forums called “Beyond Our Gates,” to explore ways to better connect the University with its community. Eibeck leads a University of nine schools and colleges enrolling 6,500 students on three campuses in Stockton, Sacramento and San Francisco. She is the former dean of engineering at Texas Tech University and held academic posts at Northern Arizona University and UC Berkeley. Eibeck holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering from Stanford, and is the first woman president at the university.

“I admire the Great Valley Center for the leading role it has played in shaping thought, policy and planning for major issues in the Central Valley,” said Eibeck. “University of the Pacific is eager to be a part of that discussion, and it is an honor for me to become involved in this important work as we prepare our communities to thrive in the 21st century.”

In addition to conferences and briefings on regional growth issues, the Great Valley Center is a resource for information about the Valley, including a daily e-letter on renewable energy and a weekly public television program seen throughout the region. The Modesto-based center, in cooperation with Heyday Books, recently published a book on Valley trends over the next decade, titled 2020: Visions for the Central Valley. University of the Pacific has joined with the Great Valley Center and other organizations in starting a new network for leaders in the northern San Joaquin Valley called the American Leadership Forum Great Valley Chapter.

About the Great Valley Center: Founded in 1997, the Great Valley Center is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the University of California, Merced to support organizations and activities working to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of California’s Great Central Valley.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Amy Moffat
(209) 522-5103
amy@greatvalley.org

More Coverage:

• UOP Leader Joins Great Valley - (9/3/10, Sacramento Bee)
• UOP Leader Joins Great Valley - (9/3/10, Modesto Bee)
  

Register Today For GVC's Sacramento Valley Forum

News Release
-For Immediate Release-

Media Contact
Amy Moffat
amy@greatvalley.org
(209) 522-5103

REGIONAL FORUM WILL EXPLORE CURRENT WATER ISSUES IN SACRAMENTO VALLEY AND BEYOND

Great Valley Center will host 10th Annual Sacramento Valley Forum in Chico on October 28, 2009

Modesto, CA (September 22, 2009) - Robert Glennon, nationally-known author of the book Unquenchable, will speak about America's water crisis and what we can do about it at the 10th annual Sacramento Valley Forum, October 28 in Chico.

The Forum, titled Water, More than a Peripheral Issue is presented by the Great Valley Center and takes place at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM.

Business and community leaders, governmental officials, farmers, environmentalists and individuals who have an interest in the future of the region will convene to learn about and discuss issues currently relevant to water use, conservation and economics in the 10-county Sacramento Valley Region and beyond.

“The Sacramento Valley’s water supply nourishes our region and the rest of the state and we cannot conserve our way out of this problem,” said David Hosley, President of the Great Valley Center. “If we can bring people and interests from the Sacramento Valley together today to start talking about the many complexities of this issue, we can establish a dialogue for positive change.”

In addition to Glennon, Tim Quinn, Executive Director of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) opens the program with background on how we got to where we are today. Panel sessions will discuss Sacramento River flows, risks and management; current research on the affects of climate change, precipitation and conveyance; infrastructure innovations that make greater conservation possible; and the economics of water, recreation and tourism in the Sacramento River Valley.

The complete program for the day and online registration are now available at www.greatvalley.org/svforum. The cost for the one-day event is $50 through October 1; $60 after.

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About the Great Valley Center
The Great Valley Center is a nonprofit organization working to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of California's Central Valley, in partnership with the University of California, Merced. www.greatvalley.org

Report: Preschool is One of the Most Promising Investments, but Significant Challenges Exist in San Joaquin Valley

Press Release
MODESTO, CA (June 5, 2009)- The recently released Great Valley Center report Early Education for the Next Generation: Pre-School Readiness in the San Joaquin Valley presents the facts on children in the San Joaquin Valley having severely limited access to quality preschool despite an overwhelming need for early childhood education and the immense benefits the region would reap from increased opportunities for pre-kindergarten education.

The report, available to be downloaded at www.greatvalley.org, examines the current challenges to preschool education access in the region, specifically a serious lack of spaces for enrollment in current preschool programs (59 percent of all public preschool programs in the region have an active wait list), a lack of preschool facilities for children who need preschool the most (six San Joaquin Valley Counties would fail to accommodate children in the most needy school districts), and the lack of affordable preschool choices for those in the region that would greatly benefit from pre-kindergarten education (the annual shortfall for families in the San Joaquin Valley making the median income, maintaining a household, and sending a child to part-time preschool ranges from $1,160 to $9,712).

Great Valley Center on the issue of preschool:
“So many sectors in our community agree on the importance of early childhood education, from educators, to law enforcement, to employers,” commented Manuel Alvarado, Great Valley Center program manager and co-author of the report. “We now must figure out how all of these sectors with an interest in quality early childhood education can start working together to make it a priority for our region.”

Materials and Resources:

→ Download the full press release

→ Download the report: Early Education for the Next Generation: Pre-School Readiness in the San Joaquin Valley

Energy Primer: Publication Will Inform Valley Leaders of Energy-Related Issues

Press Release
MODESTO, CA (May 2009) - Anaerobic digesters. GreenPoint ratings. Solar photovoltaic cells. Senate and Assembly bills. The energy world is vast, complex, and often very technical. One barely knows where to start when trying to understand the issues associated with renewable and clean energy sources, energy conservations, or current legislation surrounding greenhouse gas emissions and regional development standards.

The Energy Primer—produced by the Great Valley Center Energy Program—is a new resource for Central Valley residents and policy makers alike. Organized in an accessible and easily-referenced format, the Primer defines and breaks down the topic of the built environment, renewable energy, transportation, climate action, and energy legislation.

"Our elected officials are being asked to respond to a very quickly changing economic and legislative environment," said Time Fisher, program manager of the Center's Energy Program. "Our hope is that this Primer will be a tool for them as they make choices in how they respond."

→ Read more: full press release
→ Download the publication: Energy Primer

GVC Report: Greatest Road Block to Connecting Kids with Outdoors is Transportation

Press Release
Modesto, CA (May 12, 2009) - The detriments of a generation of young people disconnected from nature include a rise in obesity, attention deficit, and depression as noted by author Richard Louv in Last Child in the Woods. A sedentary lifestyle, characterized by staying indoors, is the norm for many youth in an increasingly high-tech society. There is also connection between a lack of interest in environmental stewardship and a lack of contact with the outdoors. Schools and youth-serving organizations long to provide young people with meaningful outdoor experiences that would foster a more active lifestyle and concern for the natural world that surrounds them, but are frequently stymied by one important factor: transportation.

Transportation Challenges & Opportunities: Connecting young people to the great outdoors, a new report available now at www.greatvalley.org, commissioned by the Great Valley Center, the Stewardship Council, and PG&E—reveals these findings. This practical report assesses the most common problems of cost, availability, and administrative procedures, such as insurance and finding appropriate drivers, that schools and youth-serving organizations face when arranging transportation—for even a day trip—and that often become limiting factors in the successful implementation of an outdoor venture.

Materials & Resources

→ Read the Press Release

→ Download the report: Transportation Challenges & Opportunities: Connecting young people to the great outdoors

September 2008

Press Release
DAILY REGIONAL NEWSLETTER TO BE LAUNCHED


Great Valley Center will distribute daily newsletter focused on the Sacramento Valley

Modesto (September 2, 2008) – Today marks the launch of a daily newsletter that focuses on news throughout the Sacramento Valley. The Great Valley Center, a Modesto based non-profit, will begin electronically distributing their new newsletter the “Sacramento Valley Connect” that contains content and resources that will increase the regional thinking and collaboration in the Sacramento Valley region.

→Read the full article
→Sign up here




Press Release
EMERGING LEADERS SOUGHT FOR REGIONAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

Great Valley Center currently accepting applications for IDEAL Class of 2009.

Modesto (September 24, 2008) - The Great Valley Center is currently accepting applications from candidates throughout the Central Valley for the 2009 class of the Institute for the Development of Emerging Area Leaders (IDEAL), a six-month fellowship program focused on Central Valley public policy issues. Applications are due October 3, 2008.

→Read the full article

August, 2008

Press Release

CITI SUCCESS FUND AWARDS $52,000 IN GRANTS TO TEACHERS IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY

Twenty-five teachers will return to school with money for innovative educational programs.

MODESTO (August 21, 2008) – For 25 public school teachers in the Central Valley going back to school this fall will be an opportunity to implement innovative programs that will improve learning experiences for students.

Thanks to the Citi Success Fund teachers from throughout the Greater Sacramento Area and the San Joaquin Valley will have an additional $300 to $2,500 to implement programs for K-12 students that focus on improving financial literacy, exploring post secondary education and career options, and assisting students with their college search, application and financial aid processes. Over $52,000 was awarded to make these innovative programs a reality. Assistance for the effort was provided by the Great Valley Center, a nonprofit organization based in Modesto.

→Read the full article