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Medical Center nears Completion

Antelope Valley health care options will get a big boost later this year with the completion of the Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Area residents are looking forward to the long awaited facility which has been in the planning stages since 2001. Along with the recent expansion in and around the AV and Lancaster Community hospitals the valley’s health needs will be well covered.

The facility will be operated by United Health Services which also owns and operates Lancaster Community Hospital. The new medical center will finally give Palmdale a full service hospital. Complete with emergency services, neonatal care, and the latest in advanced cardiac and wound care, patients will be in good hands. Recruitment of doctors and support personnel is ongoing and will provide upwards of 1000 jobs to the local economy.

Keep up with construction updates and news at the Palmdale Regional Medical Center

Until now most residents in the southern Antelope Valley have had to travel to Lancaster or out of the area for many procedures or surgery. Palmdale has long been the largest city in California without a hospital. Having more local options will help ease the burden on both patients and their families.

Competing Economic Stimulus Programs to Support Local Economies

While the nation’s bureaucrats struggle with a national economic stimulus plan Antelope Valley leaders have some stimulating ideas of their own. City councils of Lancaster and Palmdale have each approved plans which focus on car sales and local shopping. While details are still being sorted out, it’s clear both cities are determined to attract retail sales and support doing business locally.

Hoping to spur local car sales and shopping, both Lancaster and Palmdale have launched ambitious programs to reward buyers at area auto malls. New car buyers can look forward to gift cards redeemable at local merchants. The Lancaster “New Vehicle Registration Rebate Program” offers a local merchant gift card equal to 1% of the new car sales price while the Palmdale BEST plan gives buyers a $300 gift card good for purchases at the AV Mall.

Mayor R. Rex Parris is “very excited” about the Lancaster program which was announced in early February. “It’s important for the City to make every effort to fully support our local businesses and citizens during these tough economic times.” The half million dollar package is expected to have an economic impact of $110 million dollars and generate 900,000 in tax revenue. In addition to the auto rebates, the plan intends to focus on bringing new revenue and investment into the area and accelerating public infrastructure projects. A new Convention Visitors Bureau will focus on bringing more events to local sports and entertainment venues.

Palmdale’s recently introduced BEST (Business Economic Stimulus) program offers an instant reward for new car buyers in the form of a $300 gift card good at any store in the AV Mall. This should be good news to merchants at the mall who are suffering from the closure of anchor Mervyns and numerous other retailers. The City has been promoting a “Shop Palmdale” message to support local business for some time now. A merchant gift card program is in the works and should be unveiled soon.

For more on either of these programs visit the Lancaster and Palmdale websites.

 AV Economic Outlook may not be so Dreary

Antelope Valley  Forecast may be Looking Brighter for 2009 and Beyond.

Although 2008 has been a gloomy year for the nation as a whole there may be some sunshine on the horizon in the AV. The economic downturn has hit the local area hard in terms of jobs and real estate and a lot of residents and businesses are hurting this season. But some local leaders have expressed reasons for optimism.  

Innovation Hub

Aerospace ventures, both public and private continue to lead the way in creating jobs in the local area. The Antelope Valley continues as a hub for innovation in high tech industries.

The Mojave Spaceport continues to shine as a leader in rocket technology and private space flight. A report on Space Review's website calls it the Silicon Valley of NewSpace. Airport Director Stu Witt likens it to the operation of a mall, with a few anchor tenants and numerous boutiques working alongside each other and sharing the facilities and infrastrucure of the Spaceport. 

AERO Institute

In a recent article in the San Fernando Valley Business Journal Palmdale  Mayor James Ledford explained how education, innovation and technology can help boost the pool of highly skilled workers in the area.  The AERO Institute in Palmdale is one of the keys to providing a base of Professionals equipped to fill jobs not only in Aerospace industries but other enterprises as well. He goes on to point out that programs at AERO cover a wide spectrum of not only science and engineering but business programs as well. 

Partnerships with several colleges and universities have expanded the Institute's scope in recent years. Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management highly touted MBA program began last year and plans to work with local companies in the upcoming year to apply those skills in a real world business environment. 

Other Industries

In an earlier article we focused on clean energy technologies such as solar and wind power in the area.  Next week we'll focus on  how the healthcare industry may provide hope going into 2009. Our retail base is also growing as seen by all the new developments being built or planned. We'll cover these and other industries in upcoming articles.

Although right now things may appear stormy, I believe the AV can help lead the way in putting California and the nation back on track to prosperity once the current economic climate changes. As Mayor Ledford pointed out, now is the time to build a base to build on once the current downturn is over.

Snow Day in the High Desert

We got a little snow in the area Wednesday morning. After a weekend of cold weather and threats of possible snow that just missed us, AV residents woke to find just a little snow falling. But by 7:30 a call from the the Principle confirmed classes were going to be in session. We quit making snowballs and got off to school. Most residents headed off to jobs down the hill with only the expected delays due to bad weather.  

 As the day progressed it became apparent that this was not going to be some brief flurries or a light dusting. By 10AM the accumulation was enough to cause schools to alter their schedules and by noon driving became hazardous.

This was not a day fit for man or beast. The crow was cold perched in his palm tree.

 Once he warmed up to it, the dog seemed to like it. He must have some husky in him. 

By early afternoon the fishpond was about ready to freeze over. I hope the goldfish are hardy. 

By evening there was about 9 inches covering Palmdale. Other areas got 6 to 12 inches depending mainly on elevation.