The local economy is still in crisis mode, despite scattered reports of an upswing.

The down economy has been rough on dairy farmers in Stanislaus County, so much that the number two commodity – almonds – almost moved into the top slot in the county’s Top Ten crops ranking.

The medical supply provider business sector is well represented by more than 25 businesses in the Central Valley and they ply their trade across a wide spectrum of medical supplies: power chairs, pain control, beds, oxygen equipment and more.

Susan Drake, former EDD manager, fell in love with Rotary.

Technically the economy is out of recession, but local real estate is as dead as the lawn on a foreclosed three-bedroom-two-bath house.

Stockton College became San Joaquin Delta College nearly 50 years ago and the passage of time has not deterred the community college from doing what it does best: providing students with an education they can use, especially in the realm of Career and Technical Education (CTE).

There are pockets of good news in the employment and training sectors of  the local economy.

Van Ruiten Winery in Lodi is quadrupling it’s capacity with a new warehouse and bottling line that will transform it from a small boutique winery producing 3,000-to-5,000 cases to the 80,000-to-100,000 case level.

Private postsecondary schools, career technical education, vocational education or trade schools…no matter what they’re called, this sector of higher education is thriving in the Central Valley, despite the state’s economic woes. In fact, those woes may be driving enrollment.

The meeting planning and event management industry was hammered by the collapse of the housing, automobile, and financial markets, a weakened global economy and rising travel costs but there was no federal bailout forthcoming.