Dairies serve up healthy scoop of jobs, study finds
05.02.10
These people in turn spend their paychecks on housing, clothing and other goods and services, employing yet more Californians.
"It's really important, especially now with so many people unemployed out there," said Johan Bartelink, an Escalon-area dairy farmer and member of the milk board.
The study has one big caveat: The dairy business was especially strong in 2008, with farmers getting high prices for
their milk and consumer demand not yet shrinking with the recession.
Since then, a drop in demand and prices has forced an estimated 10 percent of the state's dairy farmers out of business. Conditions have improved since fall, but many farmers still struggle to cover their costs.
2009 drop a rarity
The bad 2009 was more of an anomaly than the good 2008, said Stan Andre, chief executive officer at the board, which has offices in Modesto and South San Francisco.
He said about half of California's milk is sold in other states or nations, mostly in the form of cheese, butter, dry milk and other goods with long shelf lives.
Source: Modesto Bee
Captain selling tug hopes for local owner
28.01.10
PORTSMOUTH — City residents are selling items on craigslist that include truck tires, a David Ortiz shirt, oars, a projector, a wine cooler, a crib, a hot tub and a tugboat.
Wait. A tugboat?
Posted under "boats for sale" is The Tug Alley Too, a 1966 steel-hulled tugboat and waterfront landmark that's been owned for the past eight years by "Captain" Bob Hassold. The captain is selling the tug alone, or as a cruise business package that includes a seasonal dock lease off Ceres Street, proprietary Web addresses, a "six pack license" for carrying six passengers and a customer list.
"I'm ready to hand the ship's wheel over to someone new," he said. "The next skipper can take this venture to a new level."
A 78-year-old Navy veteran, Hassold said he's "at a point in life to slow down a bit."
After successfully selling his wife's Mazda Miata online, he decided to advertise the tug on the Internet, with the hope it'll stay in Portsmouth Harbor.
Source: Seacoastonline.com