Why rescinding AB32 could be bad for business

If California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman learned anything at EBay, it should have been that wealth generated from Silicon Valley can help line government coffers.

The Internet boom generated a lot of stock market wealth in the late ‘90s, which helped erase government budget deficits with capital-gains and other taxes.

(This included Whitman herself, a former toy company executive who is now a billionaire. I’m sure the “alternative minimum tax” kicked in for her, too.)

The “trickle down” effect from increased government revenue helped small counties such as ours. It provided needed grants, loans and services.

The “next big thing,” according to many venture capitalists, is green and clean technology. This month, California solar firm Solyndra filed for a $300 million IPO, despite the recession.

All told, venture capitalists invested $4.1 billion in clean-tech companies in 2008, when there were 290 recorded deals, up from $76.7 million in 1995, when there were 36 deals, according to the National Venture Capital Association.

Yet Whitman has proposed a one-year moratorium on AB 32, the “global warming solutions control act” that calls for reducing greenhouse gases. Our Assemblyman Dan Logue and Congressman Tom McClintock are leading the charge to rescind AB 32.

Did any of our electeds or would-be electeds ever stop to think how rescinding AB 32 would impact the booming investments in our state’s green technologies?

You’re going to hear a lot more about this issue in the New Year.

Small-town newspapers won’t grow but hyper-local startups will

Many years ago, I worked with Steve Outing at The Chronicle. Over the years, Steve has become a thought leader in the online media industry. His projects also include an “eyetrack” survey for the Poynter Institute about website consumer behavior.

His current projects include reinventingclassifieds.com, a solution to help the troubled newspaper classified industry. He also has written a column for Editor & Publisher since 1995. His last one was published this week, because E&P is going out of business.

Steve makes some astute observations about how the newspaper industry stepped in a mud puddle with the Internet and what the future holds. The article is here.

Here are some highlights of what’s next:

1. “Small-town independent newspapers don’t grow much, but they are able to continue with healthy print circulation for several more years. But eventually, they start hurting more, like their metro cousins, as local advertisers shift more and more money to cheaper, more effective digital advertising opportunities.

2. “Urban metro papers continue to shrink. More papers stop publishing in print on some days of the week; others go to Sunday-only for print and online/mobile for the rest of week; and a few go entirely digital. Unfortunately, we see some more newspapers die.

3. “The wave of small news start-ups — non-profits, hyper-local for- and non-profits, placebloggers who’ve figured out how to make a living, combo professional- and citizen-reporting digital news services, university-affiliated news entities, etc. — that we see emerging today grows rapidly. Journalists laid off or bought out by newspapers start many of these services, aided by new companies that help them on the advertising, business and technology sides (e.g., GrowthSpur ), and new local digital ad networks serving all local media, new and old.

4. “Some of these small entities partner with local newspapers, gaining for themselves revenue to support their mission, while giving the newspapers quality content much cheaper than the papers could produce it themselves. This is especially the case with costly and time-intensive investigative journalism, where local non-profit public-interest news sites (a la VoiceofSanDiego ) partially support themselves with money from “old media.”

TheUnion.com vs. Yubanet.com vs. KNCO.com

I like to click around on websites, so I clicked on the “Your ad here” icon at the very top of theunion.com. I was little surprised by what I found. It is here (and republished below).

Nobody seems to be growing their website traffic very much, if at all, at least using the metric that The Union has chosen to present to its advertisers. In fact, I noticed some steep declines lately.

To be sure, some of this is seasonal. But the current levels do not reflect any “growth story,” that’s for sure. One of the problems: A lot of things are competing for people’s time, ranging from other websites, to blogs, to iPods to Wii.

If anything, this year has proven that “content is king” in the media, and you need to keep improving your content to grow your business. A good summary of the content vs. distribution debate and how content won out this year is here.

As for The Union’s sales pitch, I also noticed the advertising contact for buying an online ad seemed to be outdated. Maybe time for a little “mojo.” The ad rates also are included in the link.

Update: Out of Africa for Klein and family

UPDATE: Aaron Klein is reporting on his Facebook site that a Visa has now been issued for his newly adopted daughter from Ethiopia, after an unexpected U.S. government delay was keeping the family from coming home.

“Thank you for all your prayers, retweets and help,” he writes. “We are headed home tomorrow night as planned.”

Klein and his family rode to the other side of town (a city of 4 million, he writes) to the U.S. Embassy to collect the document.

“Our profound thanks to Congressman McClintock and his amazing staff,” he said.

From the earlier version:

For now at least, Aaron Klein is writing on his Facebook site that he is “stuck in Africa.” His newly adopted daughter’s Visa has not been issued, he said.

“U.S. National Visa Center didn’t fwd. required fingerprint documents to Addis,” writes Aaron, one of the Sierra College Board of Trustees.

“Need a few congressional offices to advocate to federal government.”

Kim Pruett, who works for Tom McClintock’s office is offering help, according to the site.

Let’s all hope the snafu is cleared up soon and Aaron, his wife and new daughter can come home soon.

It’s a sober reminder of the complications in dealing with government bureaucracies when it comes to adoptions. It’s sad, too, since the idea is to put the children in a better home.

Report: Tea Party $ went to GOP firm that created it

The political action committee behind the Tea Party Express directed almost two thirds of its spending to the Republican consulting firm that created it, Sacramento-based Russo, Marsh and Associates or people associated with it, TPMuckraker is reporting.

Our Country Deserves Better (OCDB) spent about $1.33 million from July through November, according to FEC filings examined by TPMuckraker. Of that sum, $857,122 went to Russo, Marsh or people associated with it, according to the website.

The purposes for which Russo, Marsh were paid appeared to be legitimate political concerns, according to TPMuckraker.

The article is here.

Nevada City made the right call on “pot shops”

The editor/publisher is lamenting in his column on Tuesday, “Nevada City shoots down pot shop effort, leaving Callanan Park dealers with monopoly.”

Don’t let the attempt at humor fool you. He was on the wrong side of the issue, just as with cheerleading for the reopening of the Idaho-Maryland mine even before the DEIR (which turned out to be flawed) was approved.

Or cheerleading for the Tea Party Patriots as an “independent” group, not more like the GOP in “sheep’s clothing.” (He later recanted, at least a little, on that one).

It’s all good for print circulation, however: You know, conservative with a dose of libertarian where it is suitable (in this case to win support from readers who want to legalize marijuana). Or is it?

In the case of Nevada City’s decision, it was the right one at the time:

*The jury is still out on the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries. Southern California is struggling to deal with the problem. We’re too small for that right now.

*A detailed plan to clean up Callanan Park will soon be revealed, making it more friendly to locals and visitors and less appealing to “dealers,” according to my sources. The problem is being addressed more seriously than before. (In community journalism, you learn what’s going on by going around and visiting with a wide swath of merchants and residents; it’s not Woodward-Bernstein stuff).

*Council members had legitimate questions about whether this would be a “for profit” venture or one that would be more of a “co-op” to help legitimate users.

Down the road, I’m sure the Council will revisit the issue. And I hope they do. But it’s too early in the game – just like it was too early to take sides on the Idaho-Maryland mine.

I can’t help but think The Union would have taken a different stand on medical marijuana dispensaries if one had been proposed in a place such as Penn Valley. LOL.

Will AB 32 kill jobs?

Newsweek is predicting Jerry Brown will beat Meg Whitman in next year’s governor’s race and, likewise, Barbara Boxer will beat Carly Fiorina. The outcome will hinge on the environment, according to the newsmagazine.

“Both women are hoping populist anger will color the Golden State a redder hue, but they’ve misstepped by staking their campaigns on an impending backlash to environmental concerns – unwise in the state that lays claim to both San Francisco and Hollywood,” according to Newsweek. Also, I’d like to add, a venture capital industry that is betting on “green” technology.

The fight will center around AB 32, the “global warming solutions control act” signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger in 2006. “Some have challenged whether AB 32 is good for business. I say unquestionably it is good for business,” he said at the time.

It says that by 2020, California will reduce its greenhouse gases to the level of 1990. The background is here.

Attorney General Jerry Brown is rivaling Schwarzenegger as a global warming warrior. He compares the act to the California Environmental Quality Act, signed into law by Ronald Reagan.

Brown’s opponent Meg Whitman is calling for a moratorium – for one year – on implementing AB 32. She argues the state would face economic hardships.

She also called for changes to the California Environmental Quality Act. While she doesn’t advocate “gutting” the act, she calls for a “common sense approach.”

In our neck of the woods, Congressman Tom McClintock and Assemblyman Dan Logue are leading the effort to suspend AB32, calling it a “job killer.”

Schwarzenegger, Brown and proponents such as the NDRC are arguing it will create new jobs and stimulate the economy. One analysis is here.

It will be a contentious, polarized debate as the election nears.

Can we expect both sides of the issue to be discussed in The Union? Don’t count on it.

The editor/publisher just wrote an editorial bashing Brown for his stance on lead poisioning. It also ran Logue’s Op-Ed without a counterpoint. George Rebane and Russ Steele, the paper’s regular columnists, make no secret about their disdane for AB 32.

Meanwhile, our county’s politics are becoming more “middle of the road” than right. It’s a sad state of affairs.

McClatchy watch blogger calls it quits

After 27 months, the McClatchy and Sac Bee watch blogger is calling it quits.

“There is a definite demand for newspaper watchdog blogs,” he writes. “I have averaged 2,000 hits on weekdays, about half that on weekends. Publishing this blog has been fun and rewarding.”

The McClatchy watch blogger writes: “I have a consumer’s perspective, not a journalist’s perspective. I have fun pointing out the ideological arrogance of McClatchy and the bias it presents as objective news.

“Yes, I am biased myself — I lean conservative and Republican. The difference between my bias and McClatchy’s bias is I admit mine up front.”

One reader responded: “With E&P closing and most other media sites just aggregators, it’s going to be impossible to find out what is going on. The NYT and LAT, which used to cover media developments have become disappointments (though I like Carr’s essays). Best wishes.”

The blog is here.

Newsweek: California will stay blue

Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman will lose their political races in California next year, Newsweek is predicting.

“The senatorial and gubernatorial hopefuls have both run booming companies — Hewlett-Packard and eBay — and California could use some business sense (you can already hear the ads),” Newsweek writes. “Convincing, perhaps, but the government isn’t a business.

“Policy still matters, especially in major capitals such as Sacramento and Washington.”

Newsweek’s 10 political predictions for next year are here.

Is our “rednecky” culture a growth strategy?

While the rest of the world zigs, we zag:

*Our elected officials, led by Tom McClintock and Dan Logue, are leading the charge to stop AB 32, to control greenhouse gas emissions, dead in its tracks. Their effort, and its exaggerated base of supporters here, is gaining national press attention. McClintock lost to Brown in our county.

*Our local paper — supposedly a beacon of popular opinion — is betting that right-wing idealogues such as Russ “global warming is a hoax” Steele and George “Obama is a socialist” Rebane will somehow increase (more likely, just prolong) readership. There’s no counterbalancing opinion provided as monthly columnists. It’s an insecure and unintelligent strategy.

*National Tea Party Patriot leader and board member Mark Meckler is gaining national attention for his “die ins.” Some of the protests are absurd and gruesome, including bloody images. Meckler is a Nevada County attorney. All the stories mention his ties to our county.

Meanwhile, our county’s population is declining. Yes, declining. This means a declining tax base, too. And declining school enrollment. And less disposable income for our local businesses.

Is this kind of perspective, and the attention it garners, having an impact on whether people want to live here or not?

I would argue absolutely, and it’s time to start a public debate among elected, civic and business leaders. Honestly, how many of their children want to move here and take care of them as they grow older? Few to none.

Our growth strategy is more likely tied to “green” jobs, solar power, bio-fuels and “sustainability.” It also will attract younger people — who respect our changing world — to live and work here.

Let’s face it: The world is changing, and here in the western county, we are not. It’s time to get this discussion out in the open.