Greater Yuma EDC has Moved

As of January 14, 2010 Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation has relocated to our new office building at 899 Redondo Circle Drive, Suite 2 (University of Phoenix Building).  The entrance to our office is on the east side and south end of the building. Our telephone and fax numbers will remain the same - 928-782-7774 and 928-782-7775, respectively. 

 We would like to thank the following investors for their help in making our move possible

 Steve Shadle, Shadle and Walsma for the beautiful building and the great tenant improvements he provided for us.  

 Bill DeNise, DeNise Builders for doing such a fantastic job on constructing our new office space

 Linda Jordan, Horizon Moving for their help in making our move go smoothly.

 Ricky Rinehart and Mario Jordan, Time Warner,  for their generous donation of a state-of-the-art media center in our Board Room. 

 We also have a small conference room that offers a more private atmosphere.

 We would like to extend an invitation to any of our Silver, Gold or Platinum Investors to use either of our conference rooms for meetings.  If you are interested in scheduling one of our conference rooms please call our Executive Assistant, Melissa Wagner at 928-782-7774.

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Quarterly Investors' Luncheon

Greater Yuma EDC Invites you to our Quarterly Investor’s Luncheon being held Tuesday, January 26th, 2010. From 11:30 A.M.–1:00 P.M.  The luncheon will be held at the Holiday Inn Yuma, 901 E 18^th  Street,  Yuma, AZ 85365

Our speakers will be Kurt Nolte from the University of Arizona presenting an update on Agriculture in Yuma and a report by Julie Engel, President/CEO of Greater Yuma EDC

Please RSVP to Melissa Wagner at mwagner@greateryuma.org or fax the names of your attendees to 928-782-7775.

Luncheon Fee’s are as follows:

RSVP and payment submitted prior to January 19th remit $20 per person

Payment at the door on January 26th, $25 per person

Invoice sent and payment  remitted after January 26th,  $30 per person

Additionally, all no-shows who have RSVP’d will be billed $30 per person

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F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Citizens Committee

The launch date for the formation of the Joint Strike Fighter Citizens Committee has been set for February 9, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.  The Public Meeting will be held at the Chamber of Commerce Building in the old City Hall Chambers.  Guest speakers that night will include key representatives from Marine Corps Air Station.

LtCol Mark A Workman USMC - Plans Officer, MCAS Yuma

LtCol Geoff Olander - JSF Site Activation, MCAS Yuma

Major James Combs - Community Planner, MCAS Yuma

Included in this e-letter are several articles concerning the Joint Strike Fighter program.  We will be creating a library of information that will be available to the public.  The articles included in this e-letter are representative of some of the most recent news reports surrounding the Joint Strike Fighter program.  We will continue to update the public as news becomes available. 

Greater Yuma EDC has submitted a grant application to fund the development and maintenance of a Joint Strike Fighter website, dedicated towards the dissemination of news and information as well as garnering public support for this important project.  Included within this grant application are dollars dedicated towards the advertising of public meetings, the creation and distribution of flyers and other materials that will be used for public information purposes.

Several individuals have been asked to serve on this committee and have accepted the invitation.  We would like to utilize this e-letter as a formal invite to our entire investorship. Please come participate in this committee and lend your support to one of the greatest economic opportunities to ever present itself to the Marine Corps not to mention the economic impact this can have on Yuma County.  We look forward to seeing all of you on February 9, 2010.

Important acronyms and names associated with this project are:

JSF

F-35

STOVL

CTOL

Lightning II

For more articles on the Joint Strike Fighter click on the link below.

http://www.greateryuma.org/reports.html

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Website Under Renovations

 Currently, if you visit our website you will find that it is undergoing some major renovations.  We are hoping to have everything completed by the end of January.  Until then, if you need some information please feel free to call our office at (928) 782-7774 or email scrowe@greateryuma.org.  Thank you for your patience.

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Investor Spotlight

Horizon Moving Systems

 Horizon Moving Systems is one of the largest United Van Lines agents in the country, yet at the same time, we remain a hometown, family-run business with a focus on our customer.

 Our Tucson branch was established in 1924 by C.R. Dusenberry. Today, nearly nine decades later, Horizon is still owned and managed by the Dusenberry family.

The Yuma branch was established in the mid-1970’s and has successfully served the moving needs of this community ever since. We proudly serve MCAS and YPG moving service members and their families and providing local office and industrial type moving. In addition we enjoy working with the businesses and residence of Yuma to provide high quality moving services. We also offer warehousing to include distribution and logistics services in our 30,000 square foot warehouse. No move is too big or too small; we will move one piece across the street or an entire household around the world.

We appreciate our long term relationship with the Yuma community and give back whenever possible.

Thank you Yuma for many years of great moving experiences!

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Calendar of Events – Important Dates to Remember

January 20, 2010
 “The Yuma County Workforce and Economic Development Summit- Phase II”
Held at the Yuma County Library
2951 21st Drive
7:30 a.m.

January 21, 2010
Greater Yuma EDC Board of Directors Meeting  
899 Plaza Circle, Suite 2
(our new office - entrance is on South East corner of the building)
11:30 a.m.  – 1:00 p.m.

January 26, 2010
Greater Yuma EDC Quarterly Investor Luncheon
Guest Speaker – Kurt Nolte University of Arizona
Holiday Inn  
1901 East 18th Street
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. 


January 27, 2010 
Special presentation regarding Yuma County’s Logistics opportunities
Guest speakers from Colliers International; Rodney Goulet and Roger Nelson  
Chamber of Commerce Building
180 West 1st Street
9:30 a.m.

February 9, 2010 
Kick-off meeting for the Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) Citizens Group. 
Keynote Speakers will be LtCol Geoff Olander, LtCol Mark A Workman and Major James Combs.  
Chamber of Commerce
180 West 1st Street
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

February 19, 2010
Greater Yuma EDC Open House
899 Plaza Circle, Suite 2
(our new office - entrance is on South East corner of the building)
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

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Solar supplier expands into Valley

 Michigan-based Tower Automotive will expand its renewable energy manufacturing facility to the Phoenix area, Gov. Jan Brewer announced during her State of the State address Monday.

The company is global designer and producer of structural components and assemblies used by automotive vehicle manufacturers. As a solar supplier, Tower will support Scottsdale-based Stirling Energy Systems, Inc. The two companies have signed a contract to build renewable energy generation projects in the western United States.

Tower’s move to the Valley comes on the heels of China-based Suntech’s announcement to open its North American manufacturing headquarters in the Valley.

“Suntech and Tower Automotive are strategic wins for our state," Brewer said in her speech. "Proof that we can leverage our natural assets - like our plentiful sunshine and land, as well as our employee base and educational community - to attract new and better jobs every day."

Tower Automotive will expand to Arizona immediately and begin operating in November 2010. It is expected to pick a location in the Valley in the next two to three weeks.

“This is significant news,” said Barry Broome, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. “Not only does Tower’s move means new jobs to the Valley, it also shows  Arizona is a major player in renewable energy. Arizona needs top suppliers for this emerging solar industry. And today, Arizona got one.” 

Integral to bringing Tower Automotive to the Valley were:

• Gov. Brewer, aided by the Arizona Department of Commerce which administers the Renewable Energy Tax Incentive Program (SB1403), and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. The legislation played a key role in attracting Tower, which is Ford Motor Co.’s Tier One supplier.


• Dr. Eugene Giovannini, president of GateWay Community College. Dr. Giovannini was instrumental in outlining technical training support to help with recruitment and job training needs.


• Arizona State University. A recognized leader in the renewable energy industry, ASU supported Tower’s expansion efforts and provided engineering and professional services to the company.


• Stirling Energy Systems Inc. founder and CEO Steve Cowman provided the opportunity for GPEC and the State of Arizona to compete for this manufacturing project. Tower will support SES; the two companies have signed a contract to build renewable energy generation projects in the western United States.

 About Tower Automotive:

 Tower Automotive is a global designer and producer of structural components and assemblies used by automotive vehicle manufacturers. The company has 14 facilities in the U.S., and 25 additional facilities around the world. The company employs more than 8,000 worldwide.  www.towerautomotive.com

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Transparent Transistors

Sodium beta-alumina was discovered in the 19th century when the process of extracting aluminum from its ore, bauxite, was being developed.  It is formed of alternating layers of aluminum oxide and sodium ions. In 1967 researchers at the Ford Motor Company discovered that it conducts these ions as though it were a liquid. Thus, the first solid-state batteries were invented. Researchers have now found that it can also be used to build transistors that are transparent and therefore suitable for use in electronic books and head-up displays.

Now a team of researchers led by Howard Katz of Johns Hopkins University has discovered that sodium beta-alumina has other interesting electrical properties which make it ideal for building transistors. Transistors, the workhorses of electronics, are switches that enable one electric current to control the passage of another. Research found that, although sodium ions flow readily in between adjacent aluminum-oxide layers of sodium beta-alumina, they cannot pass between them. Researchers worked with sodium beta-alumina in its liquid form, enabling them to apply it easily onto a surface in exactly the pattern required for a printed circuit. Dr Katz has now used sodium beta-alumina to build transistors on both glass substrates and flexible, plastic ones. This new approach could be used predominantly in portable devices because it operates at low voltages. If so, an old flame may be rekindled.

Source:  The Economist, November 2009

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What is Cap and Trade?

Cap and trade is a market-based approach to emissions control.  A cap is established to set an absolute limit on the amount of carbon emissions that can be emitted.  That limit gives carbon an economic value in the form of a liability and creates a market for its reduction. Companies then use the market to seek the most economic path to comply with the law, buying or selling pollution permits to meet their share of the cap.

Companies that are covered by this cap are issued emission permits that are equal to one ton of that emission. They are actually operating under a cap and trade system right now for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Sulfur dioxide emissions contribute to acid rain, while nitrogen oxides help to form ground-level ozone or what is typically thought of as smog. In 1990, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which included, for the first time, a cap and trade component to control those two emissions at coal-fired power plants. The most heavily impacted state was Indiana. They are looking at rate impacts now of 10–13 percent because it’s one of the most heavily coal-intensive states in the country. So there are provisions in the bill that allocate additional allowances to go to trade-impacted industries. These are defined as those industries that compete against countries that don’t have their prices impacted by the additional cost of carbon legislation. Plus, the President can add a carbon tariff to imported goods from that country to reflect the carbon footprint of that product. Under the legislative process, if Congress were to enact a cap and trade bill, there would be flexibility for each business to decide what is the most cost-effective way to reduce their carbon emissions. If companies have a carbon price built into their energy component, that price is going to grow over time as the cap tightens. They need both a cap and the technology infusion from a private sector/public sector partnership to push these technologies forward.  If our economy is to advance, with the dwindling supply of fossil energy that does have an environmental footprint, even beyond greenhouse gases, there needs to be a sustainable energy supply.

Source:  Area Development, October/November 2009

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Carbon Nanotubes being tested for use as Fertilizer

For reasons that are not yet entirely clear, it looks as though exposing seeds to carbon nanotubes (a tiny cylinder of carbon atoms) before they germinate makes the seedlings that subsequently sprout grow faster and larger.  The fear is that if they became ubiquitous, they might damage living creatures, people included, by interfering with the way cells work.

As studies have progressed there are concerns that if nanoparticles are present everywhere, there may be the possibility that they could harm the existence of all living things by changing the way a cell functions.

A few studies of plants over the last ten years have suggested that some nanoparticles can break through the tough outer walls that surround plant cells. Researchers felt that if these tubes could permeate conventional cell walls, they might also be able to pierce the even tougher coat of a seed letting in both water and dissolved nutrients helping to promote rapid initial growth.

Researchers conducted experiments on tomato seeds, germinating them with nanotubes and comparing the result with seeds grown naturally. As they report in ACS Nano, the seeds exposed to the nanotubes started to germinate within three days. The untreated seeds took six. On the 27th day of the experiment, the researchers measured stem length, root-system length and the overall weight of the plants. Treated plants weighed an average of more than 150 milligrams while untreated plants averaged 60 milligrams.

Although it is unclear if the early growth spurt was the result of the nanotubes, it is important to continue these experiments to understand the effects that these nanotubes will have on the produce of the grown plants. 

Source:  The Economist, November 2009

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