May 2009 Media Advisory

Our monthly media advisories are chock-full of information about what's coming up for GVC this month as well as other interesting happenings and trends in the region.

Highlights in our May advisory include briefs on:

• SB 375 Regional Targets Advisory Committee Meeting: May 5
• Great Valley Center’s 12th Annual Conference: May 6 and 7
• First Lady Michelle Obama at UC Merced: May 16
• New Publication: Energy Primer
• New Publication: Transportation Challenges and Opportunities for Connecting Young People to the Great Outdoors

Materials & Resources

→Read the full Great Valley Center May 2009 Media Advisory

April 2009

Press Release
REGIONAL BOARD OF ELECTED OFFICIALS ADOPT SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY BLUEPRINT PLAN THAT WILL INCREASE DENSITY

Selected growth scenario at odds with recommendations

Fresno (April 1, 2009) – A crucial vote in planning for the future of the San Joaquin Valley took place today when the San Joaquin Valley Policy Council voted to adopt a future growth scenario that would increase the housing density to 6.8 dwelling units per acres over the next four decades. This adopted scenario, known as scenario B+, will serve as a guide for the Valley’s local jurisdictions with land use authority as they update their general plans.

→Read the full article
→Learn more about Blue Print



Press Release
REGIONAL CONFERENCE LOOKS TO FUTURE FOR INSIGHT INTO TODAY’S ACTIONS


Great Valley Center Annual Conference 20/20 Foresight: A View of the Great Valley in a Decade to take place May 6 and 7 in Sacramento

MODESTO (April 10, 2009) - What would the Central Valley be like if the trends of the past decade continue until 2020? We’d be in a heap of trouble, among the poorest regions in the nation, in danger of having a sub-standard workforce, short on water and long on chronic medical problems.

On May 6 and 7 at the Sacramento Radisson, the Great Valley Center will be presenting the vision of thought leaders on dozens of elements of society and the economy, which will be augmented with forecasts about what the Valley will be like in the year 2020. Through these visions and data, people and organizations in the Valley can collaborate on priorities for the next ten years.

→Read the full article

20/20 Foresight on May 6&7

Great Valley Center's 12th Annual Conference
“20/20 Foresight: A View of the Great Valley in a Decade.”

Take a small leap forward with regional experts, data, and workshops. Looking ahead beyond the current issues and politics, conference will focus on five broad areas where short term actions can have longer term effects.

* Health and Community Well Being
* Transportation, Land Use and Housing
* Energy, Environment and Agriculture
* Water, Air and Natural Resources
* Workforce preparedness and Education


When: May 6 and 7
Where: Radisson Hotel, 500 Leisure Lane, Sacramento
Price: $245/$295.
Press passes available to working journalists who intend to cover the event.
More info at: www.greatvalley.org

Keynote speakers include:
Quentin Kopp, California High Speed Rail Commission
AG Kawamura, California Department of Food & Agriculture
Jeff Mount, Center for Watershed Sciences
Dr. Richard Pan, UC Davis Medical Center
Melanie Briones, Central Valley Health Policy Institute
L. Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism Solutions

February 2009

Press Release
FAMILY AGRICULTURAL PROPERTIES IN MERCED, STANISLAUS COUNTIES ARE PERMANENTLY SHIELDED FROM DEVELOPMENT

Sacramento, CA (February,25 2009) – Two Central Valley family agricultural properties – one in Merced County, the other in Stanislaus County – have been permanently set aside for agriculture.

“These are two significant projects,” California Department of Conservation (DOC) Director Bridgett Luther said. “Our California Farmland Conservancy Program has protected farmland all over the state, but the Menghetti farm near Modesto marks our first project on irrigated cropland in Stanislaus County. We’re also very excited that the Jorgensen ranch near Gustine is shielded from development because of the family’s century‐long stewardship of the land.”

→Read the full article

Telemedicine Readiness

Telemedicine Readiness for the San Joaquin Valley

UC Merced’s Valley Telehealth Partnership released its telemedicine readiness evaluation for the San Joaquin Valley last month. “Patients in rural and underserved regions will be among those who benefit most by telemedicine, yet they are often located in the regions that pose the most challenging sets of circumstances for the creation of sustainable eHealth networks.”

→Download report here

November 2008

Press Release
CITI FOUNDATION DONATION WILL INCREASE ORGANIZATIONAL ENERGY EXPERTISE

$30,000 gift will go to year-long effort to increase working knowledge of energy use and consumption in the Central Valley


Modesto, CA (November 11, 2008) – Thanks to a $30,000 donation from the Citi Foundation, Great Valley Center staff will begin to receive trainings on energy issues and learn skills that will equip them to conduct outreach and produce publications on energy related topics. This energy capacity building program will allow Great Valley Center staff to act as catalysts for change in the Central Valley.

October 2008

Press Release

A REGIONAL FORUM WILL EXPLORE CURRENT MAPPING AND PLANNING PROCESSES IN SACRAMENTO VALLEY

Great Valley Center will host 8th Annual Sacramento Valley Forum in Chico on October 23, 2008

Modesto, CA (October 2, 2008) - All over the Sacramento Valley people are mapping the future of the region through blueprint planning processes and general plan updates. It is just this reason the Great Valley Center’s 8th Annual Sacramento Valley Forum will focus on the theme “Mapping the Future.”

→Read the full article



Press Release
LAND TRUSTS FROM THROUGHOUT REGION TO COME
TOGETHER FOR ANNUAL EVENT

Annual Central Valley Land Trust Summit to be held October 16 and 17 in
Sacramento

Modesto, CA (October 3, 2008) – 10 years ago land trusts across the Central Valley came together for the first “Land Trust Summit Retreat”. The annual gathering has since evolved into the Central Valley Land Trust Summit, which will take place October 16 and 17 in Sacramento.

The annual summit, hosted by the Central Valley Land Trust Council, provides land conservation organizations from throughout the region the opportunity to come together to learn about building partnerships, leveraging conservation resources, navigating current financial and legal issues, and strengthening the capacity of their organizations.

→Read the full article




Press Release
VALLEY FALLS FALLS SHORT ON PREPARING YOUTH FOR SUCCESS

Study: Valley youth less likely to be enrolled in preschool and less likely to have completed classes required for UC/CSU admission


Modesto, CA (October 22, 2008) – According to a new report released today, youth in the Central Valley are less likely to be enrolled in preschool, less likely to take classes required for CSU/UC enrollment, less likely to take college entrance exams, and more likely to live in poverty than the rest of the state.

→Read the full article



Press Release
AMY MOFFAT TO DIRECT RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATIONS AT GREAT VALLEY CENTER

Modesto, CA (October 28, 2008) - Amy A. Moffat is joining the Great Valley Center in Modesto as Director of Research and Communications. She replaces Richard Cummings, who now serves UC Merced as Principal Planner for Physical Planning Design and Construction.

→Read the full article