Hazy Shades of Winter

december2022_cover_web
december2022_cover_web

Is the virus back? Will it divert our plans throughout the North Bay for necessary growth and services that distinguishes as a collection of communities? Or, will what the medical community projects as a brutal flu season knock us all down once again?

And how might the prospects of another dry winter force our hand regarding commercial construction, new housing starts and water rationing? Rising inflation rates will certainly “gum up” real estate transactions, lower residential values, and deter the capital markets’ willingness to fund new business ideas and entrepreneurs.

Mash up all these potential scenarios, throw in your own hiring and workforce issues and you have yourself a royal trifecta of economic uncertainty. Readers of this magazine all want to improve and grow their personal environments. It’s the forecasting we must now do that is ever so difficult these days!

Welcome to the “Growth and Strategic Planning” issue of NorthBay biz magazine. This is the issue when our team of writers expose their readers to the process and progress to improvements being attempted within our towns, counties and region. I encourage you to read through each story to reflect on how opportunities, such as the growth of American Canyon, and challenges, such as those faced by the ridership-depleted SMART train, apply to the work you find yourself doing to grow your own businesses and professional careers.

The City of American Canyon celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. While many of us may only know it as a small town that sits on Highway 29, the city was incorporated in 1992 and its leadership continues to work hard to grow the population while making sure that it remains both a safe and beautiful place to live. Some call this town the “gateway” to Napa and Sonoma Wine Country; perhaps a kind way of saying there’s nothing else out there. Our Bonnie Durrance, however, reveals a different side of American Canyon, providing a little history and insight into its plans to develop and improve.

As of this writing, the SMART Train will have likely carried above 2.5 million passengers since 2017. It has also made strides toward more accessible transportation, adding new stations in downtown Novato and Larkspur and continues to expand schedules while reducing fares and fees that offset the economic impact of inflation. The pandemic did the SMART train no favors during the last few years; supervisors and management continue to look for ways to grow ridership in the midst of a very different work climate. Working from home has never been more acceptable or “easy”! Our Judy Wilson interviews those who are both advocates of the SMART train’s future as well as those who see a different and more negative outlook for the rail line’s existence here in the North Bay.

It sure is easy to be an advocate of low- and lower-income housing for the thousands here in this region who desperately need a place to live. Of course, the difficulty is being an advocate when development may impact the value or prosperity of one’s own home or business. The term we often hear about this sort of dilemma is NIMBY, an acronym for Not In My Back Yard. But, lately, a youthful advocate for housing named Jordan Carbajal is doing his best to shake up this notion with a different sort of phrase, “YIMBY,” or Yes In My Back Yard. Jordan advocates that, yes, this is the work that should be done in all of our backyards. He and his group CA YIMBY advocate for increased housing development necessary to serve the demand. He’s recently gone from student body president of Santa Rosa Junior College to lobbying our state legislature for housing needs of great import.

Finally, I’m excited to share that all indications point positively toward our company’s merger with Redwood Empire Stereocasters later this month. FCC approvals have been finalized and our closing date is just around the corner. This will allow us to oversee a compendium of one magazine, two digital marketing firms, eight radio stations, nine music and news formats, and a great team of go-getters who will look holistically on how we can best serve our readers, listeners, customers and this wonderful community we live in. I am thrilled to be part of all this growth!

So until the next time, please stay in touch with me as I always enjoy hearing from you. May you and your families enjoy the blessings of this Christmas and Hanukkah season.

Reach out at Lawrence@nothbaybiz.com.

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