greatdepression Californians don’t need a report to know they are stuck between an economic rock and a hard place—or is it a rock and an economic hard place—but we’re getting one, anyway. To coincide with Labor Day, the California Budget Project will release a report later this week on the state’s economy and its workers.

According to the group, the report will show that California—and the nation—remains stuck between a recession and a recovery, and that the impact of the most severe downturn since World War II has been particularly harsh for 16-to-24-year-olds and the long-term unemployed.

The nonpartisan public policy research group is expected to release the full report, “Stuck Between a Recession and a Recovery: California’s Workers Face the Toughest Job Market in Decades,” on Saturday.

 LAEDC’s Outlook: More bad news than good for region’s economy

It was mostly bad news as well last week when the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.’s Kyser Center for Economic Research released its Los Angeles County Business Scan, although a few sectors seem to have a head start on recovery.

The Scan (http://www.laedc.org/businessscan/index.html)  shows a large year-over-year drop in construction employment (13.4 percent), single-family housing construction permits (34.9 percent) and multifamily housing permits (49.3 percent) for the region. The outlook also reveals slight drops in technology, financial services and healthcare employment.

On the bright side, the outlook shows a nearly 30 percent increase this year in container volume from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and a nearly 6 percent increase in passenger traffic at the region’s airports.

“Container traffic at the combined Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in June increased by 29.6 percent from a year earlier,” the outlook states. “The ports surpassed the one-million mark in (20-foot equivalent units) for the third straight month in June. June was the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year increases in total container traffic at the combined ports; after 28 consecutive months of year-over-year declines (since July 2007).”

 Belmont Shore Car Show Sept. 12

The Belmont Shore Business Association is hosting the 21st Annual Belmont Shore Car Show on Sunday, September 12. The event draws 50,000 from all over California to Belmont Shore, according to the group.

Up to 700 classic cars will be on display, shutting down the 14‐block stretch of Second Street from Bayshore Avenue to Livingston Avenue. The side streets intersecting with Second will be closed to the alleys during the event.

The total value of cars expected to be on display is estimated at $25 million. Attendees can expect to find some of the earliest automobiles built, along with classic roadsters, coupes, sedans, convertibles and muscle and sports cars, as well as low riders.

Of course, a goal of the BBSA is to draw people to Belmont Shore’s 50-plus businesses shops, restaurants and cafes and promote the beachside area. Event sponsors include: Performance Plus Tire, Glenn E. Thomas Dodge, CHASE Bank, Verizon Wireless and Charter Communications.

If you have a fancy ride, the cost to enter is $25 for pre-registration, $30 at the show, and $75 to be a “power parker.” Power parkers can park in their chosen location without waiting in line prior to regular entries. Visit www.baycityrodders.com for an application or for more information on entering your ride.

For more information on the car show visit www.belmontshore.org or call (562) 434-3044.

[ Long Beach Firm Awarded $2 million Contract for Stimulus Project ]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $2.08 million contract to Long Beach-based Walter Thomas & Associates for removal of sediment from Carbon Canyon under President Obama’s economic stimulus funding.

The project includes construction of a riprap and grouted stone channel to stabilize the creek along the park. Riprap employs the use of rock and other material to armor the bank from erosion into the creek. 

“The project will remove sediment from the Carbon Canyon Dam flood control basin to ensure safe operation of the dam’s flood risk management project,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Project Manager Tomas Beauchamp-Hernandez said. “Sediment removal from the flood control basin is a routine operations-and-maintenance activity.”

The 2008 Carbon Canyon fire burned portions of the watershed and the effects of the heavy rainy season caused sediment in the basin to increase, according to Army Engineers. “The dam will function as designed and provide flood control protection,” Beauchamp-Hernandez said. “The sediment removal is a preventative plan that will improve the flood control capacity and operational readiness.”

Walter Thomas & Associates has six months to complete the work at Carbon Canyon Dam. The project was set to begin mid-August.

Stimulus contracts, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law Feb. 17, 2009, referred to as the “stimulus package.” The stimulus appropriated nearly $184 million for project construction, operations and maintenance activities, and completion of studies for Corps projects in Southern California, Arizona and portions of Nevada.

Walter Thomas & Associates is a U.S. Service Veteran-owned business specializing in demolition, asbestos abatement, lead paint removal and follow-on construction related to demolition projects.