Aug 23 2010

Despite the economic downturn, the aggregate value of Santa Cruz County crops grew more than $6.31 million in 2009, according to an annual report by the Santa Cruz County Agriculture Commission.

The total gross production value for the year was $491.64 million, with strawberries holding the top value slot for the year and raspberries coming in second.

"I was surprised the market was as good as it was during the economic hardships that we're having," said Vince Gizdich of Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville. People are still buying fruit rather than foregoing it as a commodity. "I think people are thinking fruit is essential for good health. I think that's what kept the prices going well."

City leaders on Wednesday expressed frustration with state-requested goals to rein in greenhouse gas emissions that council members say are baseless but fear could be used against them if not met.

"This is nuts that we're even having this discussion," said Scotts Valley City Councilman Dene Bustichi. "We don't have any data. What we do if we don't make it?"

As PG&E ramps up installation of SmartMeters across Santa Cruz County, at least one county leader is stepping up his opposition.

County Supervisor John Leopold, who says he gets calls every day now from people worried about potential health and accuracy problems with SmartMeters, is laying the groundwork for a moratorium on the new technology.

"I and many of my constituents have been very concerned that PG&E, rather than deal with the issues of the SmartMeters, have accelerated the installation," Leopold said, adding that public concerns should be addressed before the installation continues.

Tuesday the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to decide whether to seek county counsel about a possible ban on SmartMeters in the unincorporated communities.

You wont generally find human-scale communities in sprawling urban areas dominated by highways ( what I call "spurbs".) Investing in human-scale development is a relatively new and enlightened way of buying real estate. You may be able to profit in real estate investment trusts, or REITs, or find communities that feature this kind of building.

Christopher Leinberger, a research fellow at the Brookings Institution and real estate developer, said human-scale or "walkable communities command a 40 percent to 200-percent premium in cost per square foot over properties in car-centric neighborhoods.