California Minimum Wage Earners to Receive 12.5% Raise on July 1, 2014

Since January 1, 2008, the minimum wage in California has been $8 per hour. Effective July 1, 2014, the minimum wage will be $9 per hour, increasing to $10 per hour on January 1, 2016.

The coming increase on July 1st represents a 12.5% increase. Wow, sounds pretty good, doesn't it!? But wait. If the minimum wage was tied to inflation, $8 in 2008 equates to $8.81 in 2014, which is pretty darn close to where it will be next month.1

If you are a California sheepherder, however, since January 1, 2008, your minimum monthly salary has been $1,422.52. This will be raised on July 1, 2014 to $1600.34 also a 12.5% increase) and to $1777.98 effective January 1, 2016. Based on a standard 2080 work year, sheepherders' miniumum wage will be $9.23 on July 1st, or 23 cents more than non-sheepherding professions. Gotta love our California laws.

The Federal minimum wage has stood at $7.25 since July 24, 2009. $7.25 in 2014 dollars equates to about $6.56 in 2009 dollars.

To learn more about California minimum wages, visit www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_minimumwage.htm. Federal minimum wage laws are at www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/minimumwage.htm.

Looking for a job that perhaps earns more than the minimum wage? Check out THIS LIST of nearly 300 employers in Ventura County and surrounding areas.

1. Calculated using Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator at www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm.

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Minimum Wage Rates in California and U.S.

On September 25th, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB10, providing for an increase in the California minimum hourly wage from the current $8 per hour established January 1, 2008 to $9 on July 1, 2014 and $10 on January 1, 2016.

California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement provides the following history of minimum wage rates going back to 1916, when it was 16 cents per hour:

In California, there is an exception for "learners,"who may be paid not less than 85% of the minimum wage during their first 160 hours in a job where they have no previous similar or related experience. So if you are a learner, technically you can be paid as little as $6.80 at the current $8 minimum wage level for your first four weeks of full-time employment.

And if you are a sheepherder in California, and I know most California sheepherders are CVG fans, you have your own minimum monthly salary of $1,422.52 that was set in 2008.

The current $7.25 per hour Federal minimum wage was set on July 24, 2009. There are currently 19 states with minimum wages higher than the Federal minimum wage.  California is currently tied with Massachusetts as the 7th highest minimum wage state in the country.

The top three minimum wage paying states as of 2013 are Washington ($9.19), Oregon ($8.95) and Vermont ($8.60). These states all peg their annual rate increases to inflation, which to me is kind of a no brainer. Only 10 states do so.

There are currently four states, Georgia ($5.15), Wyoming ($5.15), Minnesota ($5.25) and Arkansas ($6.25), with minimum wages lower than the Federal minimum. However, the higher of the state or Federal rate applies...unless you work at a business with under $500,000 in annual revenue that is not involved in interstate commerce.

The City of San Francisco has the highest minimum wage rate in the country, at $10.55 per hour, fully 15% higher than in the state of Washington. And San Francisco increases its minimum wage rate for inflation each year. The city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is on SF's heels with its "Living Wage" rate of $10.51 that was established March 1, 2013 and is also adjusted for inflation each year.

I think that's probably about all you could ever want to know at this point about minimum wages. If your goal is to find a job in and around Ventura County that earns MORE than minimum wage, then perhaps you should check out the Local Jobs section of CVG and review these resume submission tips.

Tesco Announces Sale of Fresh & Easy Stores to Yucaipa Today

After signaling it was looking at "strategic options" for its money-losing Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market chain early this year, Tesco today announced that it is selling a substantial part of its Fresh & Easy operations, including its Riverside distribution and production facilities, to private equity holding company, Yucaipa Companies LLC.

Tesco indicated the sale is expected to be completed within three months. Yucaipa is purchasing over 150 of Fresh & Easy's 200 stores and is anticipated to retain over 4,000 employees. Currently Fresh & Easy employs over 5,000 people, including 1,300 at its Riverside facility.

On a positive note, this means that they are retaining over 75% of the stores...on a negative note, 25% Fresh & Easy's stores will be closed and 20% of its labor base will be on the job market soon.

WHICH STORES!!?? Yes, this is what everyone wants to know right now, as evidenced on Fresh & Easy's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/freshandeasy. Tesco and Fresh & Easy have not announced which stores will be closed yet but indicated that "those stores not included in the transaction wil be closed over the coming weeks."

So stay tuned, Fresh & Easy fans. There are 10 Fresh & Easy stores in Ventura County and directly adjacent areas.

Yucaipa has quite a track record in the grocery store chain arena, having acquired and/or sold Food 4 Less, Boys Markets, Alpha Beta, Smitty's, Ralphs and Dominick's grocery store chains in the past.

Only One in Five Adults Meet CDC Physical Activity Guidelines - Time to Fix That!

One in five adults meet overall physical activity guidelines

About 20% of U.S. adults are meeting both the aerobic and muscle strengthening components of the federal government's physical activity recommendations, according to a report recently published in  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (catchy name, eh?), a journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get at least 2½ hours a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as walking, or one hour and 15 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, such as jogging, or a combination of both.  The guidelines also recommend that adults do muscle-strengthening activities, such as push-ups, sit-ups, or activities using resistance bands or weights.  These activities should involve all major muscle groups and be done on two or more days per week. 

The report finds that nationwide nearly 50 percent of adults are getting the recommended amounts of aerobic activity and about 30 percent are engaging in the recommended muscle-strengthening activity.

The report also found that the West (24%) and the Northeast (21%) had the highest proportion of adults who met the guidelines. Women, Hispanics, older adults and obese adults were all less likely to meet the guidelines.

For more information about the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, including ways to get and stay active, visit www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity.  Learn more about CDC's efforts to promote walking by visiting www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/walking.

Here in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County with such great weather year-round, it should be easy to meet CDC's Physical Activity Guidelines. Here are some local options:

Upcoming 5K and 10K runs

Running and cycling groups and activities

Gyms and fitness facilities

Pilates

Gymnastics and dance facilities

Martial arts

Swimming

Local hiking and trails

Elderly Oklahoma Tornado Survivor Discovers Pet Dog Alive During Television Interview

The tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma has been terrifying to see. This interview with an elderly woman who survived the tornado is touching in several respects. She is asked what it was like during the tornado; she says she was sitting on a stool with her dog in her arms in a small bathroom. Before she knew it she was lying in rubble. She called for her little dog and indicates the dog is missing and somewhere in the rubble.

The interviewer then asks "Are you able to comprehend yet what happened here?" and I love the woman's response, given with a grin "I know exactly what happened here. Exactly." Then "What do you think of all this, this is your neighborhood...I can't imagine.." and her reply "This is life in the big city." Literally a second later they discover the woman's dog, a little black terrier, alive in the rubble, to the joy of this woman and to all of us.

Thousand Oaks 2013 Community Attitude Survey Report Issued March 18th

Since 1969, the City of Thousand Oaks has conducted a communitywide attitude survey every 5 years to sample city residents' views on planning and other issues. Beginning in 2013, the survey will be performed every two years.

The 2013 survey was conducted once again by True North Research of Escondido.  They phone surveyed a "statistically representative" sample of 400 Thousand Oaks residents out of 96,607 adult residents (there are about 128,000 total residents). True North is 95% confident that survey results are within a +/- 4.89% margin of error, consistent with the 2009 survey.

True North is also doing a supplemental web survey, sending postcards to residents this past week to complete the survey at www.toaks.org/survey/default.asp. But this survey is not considered "valid" because people are self-selected, not randomized.

Thousand Oaks residents by a landslide continue to be happy living here. 97% of residents are happy with the quality of life, with 61% (66% in 2009) rating it excellent and 36% (31% in 2009) rating it good.  This is consistent with previous surveys, where this has ranged from 96% to 98% of residents. This is a fantastic statistic.

There is lot of other information in the 69 page survey report accessible at www.toaks.org/survey/ but here are some things I found of particular interest:

Commuting

56% (52% in 2009) of Thousand Oaks residents commute outside of the Conejo Valley for their jobs, and 48% (35% in 2009) of those commute over 60 minutes round trip. Ouch. This statistic infers that roughly 27% of city residents spends over an hour in the car each day, up from 18% in 2009. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

What We Want More Of

Half of the survey takers said they'd like to see additional retail establishments in Thousand Oaks. Of these people, 21% want more family restaurants like TGI Fridays and Black Angus (which is ironic because the city used to have both of these). It is interesting to note that the top two mentions in the 2009 survey, Olive Garden and Red Lobster, are both now in operation here. 19% of these people would like to see large discount stores like Costco or Big Lots and 16% would like another Targe or Wal-Mart uggh (up from 11% in 2009).

Information Sources for News, Events, Programs

Now, for the most telling statistic in our humble opinion here at Conejo Valley Guide! True North asked people to list their top 3 information sources used for learning about City news, services, programs and events.

Conejo Valley Guide (CVG) has plugged away for years, attracts well over one million annual page views and is active in Twitter and Facebook. CVG highlights thousands of events, activities and things to do in the Conejo Valley, Greater Ventura County and surrounding areas. Yet CVG was not listed among the two dozen survey answer options. Gosh darn it!

YET...the top vote getter in the survey was...<drum roll>..."Internet (general)" with 40% of responses, up from 26% in 2009. One could venture to guess that, ahem, Conejo Valley Guide was the primary driver behind this spectacular 50% increase, eh? Perhaps :)

Following CVG, er, I mean "Internet (general)" the most mentioned information choices were The Acorn (36.5% vs 41% in 2009), VC Star (24% vs 29% in 2009), City website (19.3% vs 22% in 2009) and City mailings (7.8% vs 8% in 2009).

For a wealth of information about City of Thousand Oaks, visit www.toaks.org.

Sunset at the base of Tarantula Hill in Thousand Oaks