Kern Business
State of the entertainment industry: Splurging on nights out
Money that used to be spent on dinner and a movie now increasingly is stashed in a savings account or used to pay bills. That’s left restaurants and entertainment venues scrambling for strategies to convince recession-weary consumers to splurge on a night out.
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Venues get creative: Local theaters stay inventive to survive
At a time when Kern County is coping with double-digit unemployment and more than half of local mortgages are upside down, catching a play at a local theater would seem to be an extravagance for many. Yet most Bakersfield theaters say either they’ve been unaffected by the recession or ticket sales have improved.
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Retail column: Christmas comes early
One of the best things that ever happened to me was a temporary, one-year job I landed in the mid-1990s. The gig started Dec. 1, so I knew that on Dec. 1 of the following year, I’d be unemployed and broke. Just in time for the holidays.
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Health care column: Biofeedback not just a 1970s fad
Nothing evokes the wheat-germ 1970s quite like biofeedback. You remember biofeedback. After a jog and a protein shake, you could drop by a clinic, take off your headband and get wired up to a machine that played back your own muscle tension signals and other biological data over big headphones.
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Oil column: Fattahi rising in industry
Life must be good for Behrooz Fattahi. After putting in long hours and hard work for the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Fattahi was finally elected to become the group’s 2010 president, a role that lets him travel the world handing out awards and delivering keynote speeches at big industry conferences.
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Real estate column: New rules cause uproar
New appraisal process rules haven’t caused much of a stir among consumers, but they’ve sparked quite an uproar among real estate professionals, and still more changes are on the way.
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Bakersfield Business Conference set for welcomed encore in 2010
It seems no one ever bothered to scientifically quantify the “real cash” benefits. We all just knew: The 21-year run of the Bakersfield Business Conference was a bonanza to the community. Days running up to the one-day conference and days afterward, Bakersfield’s hotels were filled to capacity. You had to wait to get into most restaurants. The city was jumping with excitement. Businesses raked in lots of cash.
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Guest column: Guard against worker theft
One of the most common thieves does not wear a ski mask or use a crowbar. Instead, during this challenging economic climate, our nation’s businesses face the most risk of theft from those who wear name badges and have a key to the office — that is, the employees.
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Legislation column: End of a legislative year
The California Legislature’s 2009 season “officially” drew to a close in September, but lawmakers have actually been in overtime for almost two months, negotiating critical issues such as education funding, tax policy and most critical to the valley — water. This month we’ll take a look at where things stand at the close of a busy legislative year.
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Gaylen Young column: Entrepreneurs succeed
I was in Salt Lake City to visit and my son asked me to help him shoot his engagement and wedding photos. I couldn’t decide if he was trying to use my photographic expertise or if he was just desperate for someone to click the shutter after he framed each shot. I’m sure now it was the latter since he shoots weddings professionally when he’s not filming TV news for a station in Salt Lake.
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Market Intelligence: Food service still growth industry
Kern County’s restaurant, bar and nightclub industry employs more than 16,000 people and makes $918 million in annual sales, according to data from Claritas BusinessPoint (2008). As with most industries, restaurants have been impacted by the slowdown in the economy.
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Guest column: Be sensitive to religion
Religion-based discrimination filings were at an all-time high last year, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Because we are approaching the holiday season when religious occasions are celebrated, it’s a good time to review the EEOC guidelines addressing religious bias in the workplace.
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How We Did It: Immigrant couple making it work
Talk about a great example of the American Dream. Peter and Helen Wang, both immigrants from Taiwan and both restaurant workers, met and fell in love in Los Angeles. After getting married, they decided to open their own restaurant. So in 1984 they packed everything up and moved to Bakersfield to open China Palace at 4142 California Ave
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Comings & Goings in Kern Business
A Wal-Mart Supercenter opened on Panama Lane Oct. 28 after being tied up in lawsuits and environmental studies for six years. About 360 workers from the White Lane location, which was to close, are moving to the Panama Lane store, said Harry Fenske, store manager at both locations. An additional 455 new jobs were created to fully staff the mega-store.
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November Business Calendar
Get involved in the many business events in Bakersfield.
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Retail column: Hold a class, gain customers
With double digit unemployment and customers watching every penny, it’s hard to get shoppers in the door and opening up their wallets.
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Market Intelligence: Kern County's new vehicle market
The economic crisis slowed auto sales considerably. However, more than 16,000 new vehicles (cars, trucks, SUVs, etc.) were sold during July 2008 through June 2009.
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Powering though: Kern auto dealers forced into tough choices in slow economy
The wheels came off the U.S. economy, for starters. Credit departments were turning away many would-be buyers. And Detroit automakers only just dodged liquidation. Through it all Kern’s auto dealers have managed to stay open by making profound changes, some of which were said to be overdue while others were made because there was no other way.
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Inside Look: Stamp and copy shop survives competition
In the age of behemoths such as the The UPS Store and FedEx Office, and all-in-one office products that allow users to print and photocopy at home, San Joaquin Rubber Stamp & Copy should have been dead long ago.
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How We Did It: Dry cleaning business expansion succeeds
Jarrell Epp has been in the dry cleaning business for almost his entire life.
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Comings & Goings in Kern Business
The bead store at 610 18th St. is operating under new management and a new name: The Bead Hut. In addition to selling a wide selection of beads made of glass, wood, sterling silver and semi-precious stones, the store offers classes on beading by appointment. Owner and Realtor Susi Klassen purchased the business last year.
