FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
Even with latest federal stimulus, experts say more is needed to keep local businesses afloat [The Bakersfield Californian]
Jan. 1 A new fiscal stimulus bill signed into law Dec. 27 will provide much-needed relief to Kern County businesses, which have been struggling to survive over the last few months. Still, the economic toll caused by the coronavirus pandemic has left many employers in difficult positions, and economic experts say more funding will be needed before widespread vaccinations become available.
“There’s a huge spectrum of individual situations that is really, really, difficult to try to lump into one category, but it’s a broad spectrum across the board,” said Kelly Bearden, director of the Cal State Bakersfield Small Business Development Center. “As far as a devastating impact on businesses in general, I would say it’s the worst that’s happened, at least in my lifetime.”
Bakersfield expects to expend all CARES Act funding by the end of year bakersfield.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bakersfield.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Nearly 200 pages into their first written work, the diverse groups coming together from across Kern to reimagine the local economy have learned many things, not least of which is that giving everyone their say takes time.
The effort s admittedly aggressive timetable for building and formalizing a plan to create better local jobs â B3K, it s called, for Better Bakersfield & Boundless Kern â has fallen about two months behind schedule.
The delay s no problem, facilitator Marek Gootman said, as it results partly from groups historically left out of economic development discussions finally getting a chance to participate and express their priorities.
Everything may yet come together by B3K s May deadline for producing a strategic blueprint â but it s OK if it s late because the process won t end there anyway, said Gootman, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, which was hired using public and private money to guide the county through the process.
Federal spending bill includes $70 million for Kern projects bakersfield.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bakersfield.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
As the coronavirus vaccine becomes more and more widely available, many employers across Kern County are wondering how their workplaces might be impacted.
To answer some of the many questions that will inevitably come up in the next few months, the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce held a Zoom webinar last week, bringing in legal and healthcare experts to set local employers straight. Now available on YouTube, the webinar answers some of the most pressing concerns business owners face.
âWe think this webinar was so important as a vaccine not only represents the potential end of this pandemic, but it adds one more dimension to the landscape local employers have to navigate,â said Chamber President and CEO Nick Ortiz. âWe wanted our members to be armed with the right information, so they can begin making decisions, updating policies, and thinking through issues now.â