APEC Comes to California

Paul V. Oliva

Founder and Principal

OlivaGlobal Communications

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The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) annual meetings rotate by country each year and this year’s meeting will be in San Francisco, California on September 13th.

Envisioned for San Francisco is an intensive series of meetings, including the Senior Officials' Meeting, working group and committee meetings, public-private forums involving senior government and private sector leaders, and a high-level meeting of energy and transportation officials. Issues addressed at these meetings will include those related to APEC's core mission to promote free and open trade and investment and strengthen economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as making regional economic growth more inclusive and sustainable.

The Growing Trend towards Regionalism

Susan Arcady Barich

Director

Project 17 - Monterey Bay

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Geographic concentrations of interconnected firms and supporting organizations have re-emerged as a key tool in Washington, D.C. for economic development.  The federal branch and Congress have joined state and local policy makers in embracing "regional innovation clusters" (RICs) as a positive framework for structuring the nation's challenged economic development activities.  The Small Business Administration (SBA) has recognized the emerging importance of RICS with the creation of its Innovative Economies pilot program, of which Project 17 - Agriculture Innovation Cluster, is among one of 10 initially selected "innovative economies" of 173 submitted for consideration nationwide.  This designation was awarded to Barich Business Services of Santa Cruz to create a regional cluster of agricultural technology companies in the tri-county Congressional District 17 region, dovetailing the technology of the region with the agriculture of the region to solve the looming issues of the ag industry.  Susan Barich will discuss this regional initiative, what it means to the region, and how you can be a part of it.

The Importance of Export Markets to the Central Coast Strawberry Industry

Mark Murai

President

California Strawberry Commissionew

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View California Strawberry Export Report 2010

California’s unique coastal environment provides the perfect environment for growing strawberries.  California is the nation's leading producer of strawberries, and strawberries are the leading crop in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. In 2010, more than 2 billion pounds of strawberries were harvested statewide: this amounts to 88 percent of the country's total fresh and frozen strawberries.  The value of the California strawberry crop is approximately $2.1 billion, and strawberries are the sixth most valuable fruit crop produced in California in 2009.

As research continues to demonstrate the importance of strawberries as part of a healthy diet, improved varieties and increasing yields are helping to meet a growing demand, both in the US and abroad. Mr. Murai will talk about the importance of the strawberry industry on the Central Coast and the need for export markets.

Congressman

Sam Farr

17th District

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Congressman Sam Farr will speak about the National Export Initiative, Free Trade Agreements and how that will help our region. Also, he will provide a general overview of what’s happening in Congress as it pertains to our local business climate.