I.E. strong in jobs report

Counties account for 26 percent of all new jobs in state

Unemployment was up in California in June 2007, but the job picture was much stronger locally.

So much stronger, in fact, that at least one economist found the numbers almost too good to be true.

Redlands-based John Husing, after seeing that San Bernardino County and Riverside County had gained 44,500 jobs over the last 12 months, said he hoped the numbers were real.

"These numbers are extraordinary," Husing said. "They certainly fly in the face of what we expected to see."

Indeed, the two Inland Empire counties accounted for 26 percent of all the new jobs in California and 45 percent of the jobs created in the Southland.

By contrast, San Diego County gained only 6,400 jobs and Orange County added only 4,300 in the last year.

"We are seeing incredibly strong growth in this area," Husing said. "Even the increase in the unemployment rate might be partly due to the slow job growth in the coastal counties."

The jobless rate was 5.4 percent in San Bernardino County in June and 5.7 percent in Riverside. Husing pointed out that unemployment always increases in June, due largely to kids out of school for the summer looking for jobs.

The strongest sectors locally were leisure & hospitality (6,800 jobs), logistics (6,300), retail trade (5,000), health care (4,700), local government (4,100) and professional, scientific, technical and management (3,700).

But the biggest surprises were probably in construction and manufacturing, where the Inland Empire added 1,600 and 1,100 jobs respectively in a year when the rest of the state was losing jobs in the same sectors.

"Construction was a big drag on job creation statewide," said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the L.A. County Economic Development Corp. "San Diego County alone lost 7,400 construction jobs and L.A. County lost too. But not Riverside and San Bernardino."

Kyser said the job report was mixed, and that some people would be seriously bothered by the fact that California had created only 400 net jobs from May to June.

"The economy is simmering down," he said.

In addition to weakness in the housing market that caused a temporary loss of jobs, the collapse of the subprime mortgage market hit Orange County particularly hard.

"Orange County was down 5,100 jobs year over year in the financial and insurance sector," Kyser said. "Those are jobs that will never come back."

Ontario Library will show free summer movies

On Thursday evenings, the community room at the Ontario City Library is transformed into a quaint theater where films from nearly every genre are shown free of charge.

In April 2006, Paul Johnson, the audio/visual librarian, decided to share the 3,000 films in his personal collection with library patrons.

After obtaining a license to show the movies publicly, Johnson launched the family film festival which runs two months on, one month off throughout the year.

"We looked at our records and the last time we had a film festival was in 1978," Johnson said. "This is something I've always wanted to do, so when I became the audio/visual librarian it was on my to-do list."

Johnson utilizes suggestions from the library staff and the Internet for film titles to incorporate into the ongoing film festival.

Since he is a big fan of adventure, animation and comedy, Johnson usually shows films from those genres.

Johnson owns several movies relating to the Asian culture that he had never watched, so he created the Films East program for the month of July. The films are produced or inspired by Asian and Middle-Eastern themes of life, death, love and family.

"I try to show films beyond the mainstream box office and expose people to more than just a Hollywood box office," Johnson explained.

"Films East is an experimental series and I'm expecting very few people to show up. I want to see if there's a market for these films at our library."

The Films East program began July 5 with a screening of "Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart," an independent film that examines the relationships between three generations of a Chinese-American family living in San Francisco.

Library patrons enjoyed light refreshments and said they also enjoyed the free movies.

"I've been to four or five of the movies and I enjoy it," said Dorothy Rivas of Upland.

"I come whenever there's something I like. I really like the Chinese films and the action films. I think it's great that the library does this. A lot of people can't afford to go to the movies."

Patricia Felix considers herself a regular at the screenings and said they are worth seeing.

"I've been coming quite a bit, I think it's a good idea," said Felix, an Ontario resident.

"You don't have to pay to see a movie and it keeps you occupied. I really like the Harry Potter films. I haven't found any other libraries in the area that do this."

New Ontario arena gets a design guru

Ontario mayor to test his interior decorating skills ...

With his city's 10,000-capacity, $150 million arena taking shape, Paul Leon travels to Salt Lake City late this month to be involved in a key moment:

Helping choose the decor for Citizens Business Bank Arena.

"We're going to look at furnishings and things," Leon said Thursday, "and make some recommendations" to the council for one of the last major expenditures on the building.

So if you don't like the color of the seats or the paneling in one of the 36 luxury suites ... blame the mayor.

Arena building update, from Leon: "Envisioning is becoming more `in vision.' There's already rebar in the air, curbing for the parking lots is in, some of the footings have been poured and construction is right on schedule."

Ontario's arena will be the first major indoor facility in the Inland Empire and is scheduled for an October 2008 opening. We think it should open to a Lakers exhibition game, and we're going to keep mentioning it until it happens.

Message from the Chairman

Happy New [Chamber] Year, everyone! I am pleased and honored to serve as your chair for 2007-08, and look forward to a year of ongoing success and innovation!

Our past chair, Ernie Riffenburgh, has set a pattern and pace that has been embraced by this chamber. Ernie’s slogan for the 2006-07 chamber year “Be Relevant, Add Value” has become a mantra for the board, and a benchmark by which we began to measure our events, our efforts and our effectiveness. In close partnership with our dynamic CEO, Mark Smiley, Ernie guided our board and our chamber to new levels of relevance and new levels of responsiveness to our members. Ernie’s vision for our chamber was one of his most significant contributions, and I am excited to deliver and, with your help, even expand on that vision! This year, I do not intend to reinvent what has proven to be a momentum-gaining wheel.

Instead, I will retain Ernie’s “Be Relevant, Add Value” motto, and work with our board members to sharpen the focus on that relevance and value. Together, we will continue to evaluate the status quo, explore new possibilities and expand on our recent successes. Together we will continue to develop rich relationships and capitalize on opportunities that will further mold our chamber in to a highly regarded, well respected organization. We will continue to create a chamber that is an invaluable source of support for our small businesses and an essential partner for our larger businesses and corporations. We will invest the time and effort needed to ensure the Ontario Chamber of Commerce is an integral part of our business community!

I hope each of you will have a chance to join us this year by attending an event or participating on a committee. If your time is limited, I hope at the very least you can log onto our website and send us your comments and suggestions. Here’s to a great year!

Jennifer Resch-Silvestri
Chairman of the Board
Kaiser Permanente

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY -- Ovitt names member to work-force board
The San Bernardino County Workforce Investment Board has added Mark Smiley, president of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Smiley, appointed by Fourth District Supervisor Gary Ovitt, represents the private sector.

"The Workforce Investment Board plays an important role in building a globally competitive work force and economy," Ovitt said. "Mark Smiley has a wealth of experience in helping businesses to achieve its goals. He will make a great contribution to the board."

Smiley is a former mayor of Glendale, Colo., and co-founder of the Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce, he has more than seven years of public-service experience. He has also been with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce for two years.

"I look forward to joining this collaborative effort among business, work-force, education and economic leaders for the purpose of building a competitive local work force," Smiley said.