OPINION
March 2, 2003 | Sarah L. Catz, Sarah L. Catz is director of the Center for Urban Infrastructure at UC Irvine's Institute of Transportation Studies.
Whether the staggering state budget deficit is greater than $20 billion or $30 billion, statewide transportation cuts will add up to about $1.7 billion through the next fiscal year. Chances are excellent that the cuts will jeopardize at least one project in Orange County and the Southern California region that will directly affect daily trips to destinations important to you. This wake-up call is forcing us to look beyond Sacramento to close the transportation financing gap.
BUSINESS
November 6, 2002 | Jerry Hirsch, Times Staff Writer
Economists who keep careful track of California suddenly are asking what's wrong with Orange County. So is Milt Thomas, owner of Buena Park-based Wire Cut Co., a maker of medical devices and technology equipment whose annual sales have plunged to $4 million from $12 million since April 2001, forcing him to slash his work force by two-thirds and leaving him with just 27 employees.
BUSINESS
August 1, 2001 | From a Times Staff Writer
Orange County's manufacturing slump continued in the second quarter, but there are signs a recovery may be around the corner, according to a new university survey released Tuesday. Factories in the county, dragged down by the high-tech sector, saw further drops in new orders, employment and supplier deliveries in the second quarter, according to Chapman University's quarterly survey. But the pace of decline was slower than earlier this year.
BUSINESS
June 28, 2001 | LESLIE EARNEST, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Chapman University economists have become more pessimistic about Orange County's economy, saying Wednesday that employment won't grow as fast as previously expected, a reflection of the national economic slowdown. The midyear update trimmed projected job growth more than 25%, or 14,000 jobs. After earlier predicting annual job growth of 3.5% for the county this year, the economists now see a 2.4% gain, picking up slightly in 2002.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2001 | BONNIE HARRIS, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Despite a drop-off of visitors at high-end hotels throughout the region, Anaheim's strong convention traffic and the Disneyland Resort expansion helped boost Orange County's overall hotel occupancy in the first three months of the year. A survey of 75 Orange County properties found an overall occupancy rate of almost 72% in the first quarter--up 2% from the same period a year earlier, according to a report by PKF Consulting, the lodging research firm in Los Angeles.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2001 | LESLIE EARNEST, TIMES STAFF WRITER
After two years of consistent growth, Orange County's manufacturing activity slowed significantly in the first quarter, with businesses reporting declines in production, new orders and employment, a survey disclosed Monday. The severity of the slump surprised researchers, who were expecting a less pronounced slowdown. "The decline has been over almost all industries," said Raymond Sfeir, an economics professor at Chapman University, which polls Orange County purchasing managers quarterly.