It is 7 a.m., 44°, with highs today in the 50s. It looks clear right now, but definitely expect rain throughout the day.
The folks over at Socketsite, a real estate blog, point us to the latest economic report from the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. The gist of it is this: Tech has been great and accounts for 100 percent of the Bay Area’s economic growth since 2005; not much else has grown. From the report:
While the resilience recently displayed by the Bay Area and its innovation economy is impressive, the benefits are not being evenly felt. Employment levels remain near their lowest point in fifteen years, and jobs are particularly scarce for blue collar workers, who account for only 16% of the current employment. Budget shortfalls are creating strains. Education, infrastructure, and the business environment pose serious challenges to the Bay Area’s ability to maintain its competitive edge.
Today, although the economy has largely persevered, the increased intensity of these underlying structural problems poses a challenge to the region’s ability to sustain economic leadership in the longer term. Overall economic growth has been anemic when one takes a longer view, at only approximately 2% over the past 5 years. The region needs to look to itself to truly address these problems.
The New York Times takes a look at our erosion problem in Ocean Beach:
Holding back the sea here seems as impossible as holding back the fog. But planners see Ocean Beach as a top priority in a long roster of Bay Area sites threatened by inundation because of what lies on its landward side: the Great Highway, a $220 million wastewater treatment plant and a 14-foot-wide underground pipe that keeps sewage-tainted storm water away from the ocean.
Enjoy your day and stay dry!
