Walter Flores was unemployed for 8 months in 2014 but is now working in sales for Workforce Solutions in Compton; Credit: Brian Watt/KPCC

California's unemployment rate continued its decline in December, ending the year at 7 percent, according to figures released Friday by the state Employment Development Department.

But in Compton, Willowbrook and the Florence-Graham section of Los Angeles County, it remains about double that, data show.

“You might have work this week. But next week, you won’t have work,” said James Hicks, 36, 0f Compton. He's worked in warehouses through staffing agencies, but said the jobs have always been temporary.

Statewide, California has added jobs at a faster rate than the United States for three straight years, according to Robert Kleinhenz, Chief Economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. He pointed out the statewide unemployment rate is now where it was June 2008. 

"All in all, with the recession now five years back in our rearview mirror, we’re finally at the point where we can say that we have shrugged off quite a bit of the pain that occurred back during those times," Kleinhenz said.

The Los Angeles County metro area saw a net gain of almost 71,000 jobs in 2014.  The County's overall unemployment rate has fallen to 7.9 percent from 9.2 percent a year ago.

But Compton's unemployment rate was 13 percent in December.

“I’d rather have a  full-time type of gig, working 40 hours a week, but right now, even if you get 25 hours, it’s a blessing,” said Hicks, the warehouse worker in Compton.

On Thursday, he interviewed to be a guard with a security firm, but was told there weren’t any positions available. He had another security guard job six months ago that he thought might become full time and permanent. 

"It was going all right for about two to three months, until they cut my hours and days," Hicks said. 

Walter Flores lives in La Mirada but currently works as an account executive in the Compton office of Workforce Solutions. He was unemployed for about eight months last year after a car accident.

"Losing what you love to do is a tough one, but I'm back," he said. "2015 is going to be a great year."

Flores said most major warehouse and logistics companies prefer to hire temporary workers through industrial staffing firms like the one where he's working because their needs are sporadic.  

But he said it's still a potential opportunity.

"It doesn't matter that it's a temporary position, as long as you put your foot in the door, and then you let the employer know how much value you are for the company," Flores said.  

Hicks, who's earned a GED, wants to find a program to study physical therapy. But first, he’d like to find a job. 

He said you can't judge Compton’s residents by its unemployment rate.

"Some of us out here who [are] looking for jobs, but sometimes it’s the luck of the draw," he said. "It’s kind of scarce out there.” 

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Artist Christina Spann considers art a conversation or a symphony…

An update on author and music journalist Harvey Kubernik's recent activities. And there's even more on Kubernik's Korner!

Podcastings growth took a dip during the pandemic as listeners adopted new routines guided by social distancing. Despite the drop, streaming and other music industry players that have made significant investments in audio entertainment–including podcasters themselves–remain hopeful that the decline is temporary, and that podcasts will continue to be a significant source of business growth.

Lisbon is in the midst of a renaissance. The latest European capital of cool's affordable rents, great nightlife and gorgeous streets -- which wind high into the hills from the River Tagus -- have seen younger travelers arrive in their droves in recent years, enjoying extended stays thanks to dedicated "digital nomad" visas.

How do you keep a glass of beer cold the longest? By using science, of course. At least that's what one researcher has turned to, finding the optimal shape of vessel that will keep a poured beer chilled for as long as possible while you drink it.

Continue Reading

Category: Science

Tags: Beer, Physics, Mathematics, Glass, Design Engineering

1. Democrat Dave Min keeps Katie Porter’s House seat blue  POLITICO
2. Democrat wins California House seat to replace Porter  The Hill
3. In California’s 47th congressional district, former Republican Assemblyman Scott Baugh concedes to Democrat Dave Min  The Mercury News

This EMF Radiation Blocking Hoodie from Bon Charge looks like it’s just the ticket for these warm winter nights. And when we say warm, you know we’re not just referring to the temperature, right? According to some very sensible people, over exposure to high levels of electromagnetic radiation can be a very not good thing. Now before we all head off and find a deep bunker somewhere, it’s not just the levels, but also the type of radiation that matters....

The post EMF Radiation Blocking Hoodie Keeps You Safe. Maybe. appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn gives the sermon for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ.

So the countdown continues on the presidential election, now just days away and looming large on the calendar. As is his habit, former president Donald Trump is on the road and eager to reach out to voters. He begins his journey at a voter rally in Traverse City, Michigan, on Friday followed by rallies in Novi, Michigan and State College, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

Biodiversity data are sparse, biased and collected at many resolutions. So techniques are needed to combine these data and provide some clarity. This is where downscaling comes in. Downscaling predicts the occupancy of a species in a given area. That is, the number of grid squares a species is predicted to occupy in a standard grid of equally sized squares. Downscaling uses the intrinsic patterns in the spatial organization of an organism’s distributions to predict what the occupancy would be, given the occupancy at a coarser resolution.

Groom et al. (2018) tests different downscaling models on birds and plants in four countries and in different landscapes and shows which models work best. The results show that all models work similarly, irrespective of the type of organism and landscape. However, some models were biased, either under- or overestimating occupancy. However, a few models were both reliable and unbiased. This means we can automate calculation of species occupancy. Workflows can harvest data from many sources and calculate species metrics in a timely manner, potentially delivering warnings so that interventions can be made.

Species invasions, habitat degradation and mass extinctions are not a future threat, they are happening now. Understanding how we should react, and what policies we need should be underpinned by solid evidence. Imagine if we had systems where we could monitor biodiversity just like we monitor the climate in easy to understand numbers that are both accurate and sensitive to change.

It was a music shop at 10 High Street in Worcester: “Elgar Bros. Pianoforte & Music Warehouse.” It was in this shop that young Edward ... Read more

The post “His father keeps a shop”: Behind Edward Elgar’s struggle for respectability appeared first on CMUSE.

The Ronald McDonald House is far more than just a place to sleep. Many of the families who come here are undergoing some of the most stressful times of their life as they seek medical care for their children. 

London — Although spending time on work-related activities while on vacation can help reduce your anxiety levels when returning to the job, it also impairs recovery from work exhaustion, results of a recent study out of England suggest.

Dallas — OSHA Region 6 has updated and renewed its Regional Emphasis Program focused on transportation tank cleaning operations.

Washington — OSHA’s budget will remain unchanged in fiscal year 2024, under new legislation signed into law March 23.

Pod Pack, a Baton Rouge, La.-based coffee processor, turned to the DELMIAworks ERP system to help keep up with demand. The new system has allowed to company to adapt quickly to changing conditions and be prepared for future growth.

Nearing 80, the solo artist has a new album out. Decades after she brought a gospel score to the civil rights movement with The Staple Singers, she remains hopeful in her enduring mission for change.

This time of year, you're likely to see cars and pickup trucks heading home on the highways with fresh-cut Christmas trees tied to roofs or in the truck beds. Fraser firs, Korean firs, Balsam firs, and Spruce (ouch!)... So today on Something Wild we take a look at Christmas tree farms, and the important habitats they provide for New Hampshire wildlife. You might be heartened to know that tree farms are a unique land use, and serve as early successional habitat, one that is neither residential neighborhood, cropland, nor deep forest. It's a landscape that was far more common a century ago, before small family farms began to vanish. Early successional habitats are an incubator: warm, sunny, scrubby zones with a variety of foods...like grasses, weeds and sometimes fruit-bearing shrubs or vines…raspberries, blackberries and grapes. Anything sun-loving, including fast-growing tree seedling and saplings. Tree farms provide ample food and shelter to a wide variety of disturbance-adapted

Warren Buffett is now sitting on more than $325 billion cash after continuing to unload billions of dollars worth of Apple and Bank of America shares this year and continuing to collect a steady stream of profits from all of Berkshire Hathaway’s assorted businesses without finding any major acquisitions.

With market trends, SKU proliferation, and more, impacting filler technology, experts highlight how technological advancements work to address issues from sustainability to product safety.

FoxE Baby Unveils Online Storefront, Bringing Cherished Keepsake Baby Products to Families Across the US

KeepStreams released its brand-new music tool, KeepStreams Music One on April 1, which helps you enjoy high-quality audio from music streaming services like Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.

Poughkeepsie, New York - Dandelion, a geothermal company that started at “X” at Google’s parent company Alphabet, announced its newest installation partner: American Heating and Cooling.

The city of Phoenix sought an energy-efficient HVAC solution that would restore Phoenix Art Museum’s lost efficiency and improve the indoor climate for the museum’s specialized environment while also contributing to the city’s energy conservation goals.

The two donated Airedale ClassMate packaged units were installed in the football team's fieldhouse at Parry McCluer High School in Buena Vista, Virginia.

Contractors need to equip themselves to be ambassadors when it comes to zoning.

The Home and Lifestyle author talks with keepsakes photographer Shana Novak about how she takes the poignant items in people's lives and elevates them.

The proverb “A rolling stone gathers no moss” may have provided blues icon Muddy Waters with a song title that further yielded the name for a certain Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group and a storied music publication, but it can also be applied to Joe Bonamassa…

On the face of it, the legacy of Jerry Quinn Sr. is simple…

As Zuleika Yusuf Daffala walks across Kibera, one of the big informal settlements in Kenya's capital, she greets dozens of kids on the streets. Some are jumping rope, others chasing each other through the alley and another group is trying to make a tiny cooking pan out of an aluminum can. Daffala, a 37-year-old community activist, broke the news this week to many of the neighborhood kids that the Kenyan government had decided that the country's more than 12 million grade school students would not be going back to classrooms until January 2021. Not only that, but the government considers the 2020 school year "lost," so all kids will remain in the same grade for another year. "They are still not believing it," she says. "When you go to school, you have a target. So they have their plans already. They are not taking it easy." She says her son, a junior in high school, is resigned. Like most Kenyans, he doesn't have a tablet or a laptop, so he's trying to keep up with whatever books he can

REVIEW – When we lived in Europe, our home had a heated towel bar in the bathroom. It seemed like such a decadent little thing, but as fall turns to winter I recall just how nice it was to step out of the shower and reach for a warm towel. When the Comfier towel and […]

It’s refreshing to see manufacturers still making sedans that the average South African family can afford. The Volkswagen Polo Sedan is one of those cars, but now it’s bigger than the previous generation and a lot more modern.

The rental-car giant fell as much as 12% on Tuesday after posting a deeper-than-expected loss.

Are you the kind of person who needs to know what keeps satellites from plummeting to the Earth in a big, fiery ball? Then you need to watch this one-minute video, where Ask Smithsonian host Eric Schulze gives us the lowdown on what-in-the-name-of-science makes those satellites stay up.

Every November, Jan Diehl adorns her Martensville, Sask., home with a special Remembrance Day tribute.

Not only does Mary the Asian elephant prefer to shower herself, but she's really good at it. So good, in fact, that her dexterous bath-time ritual is the subject of a new study about animal tool use. 

Partnership with 3DVision Technologies Reduces Materials and Manufacturing Costs

As schools apply more scrutiny to the methods and materials they use to teach early reading, educators and parents in some states have started to form new advocacy efforts—trying to pressure states and districts to adopt new approaches to teacher training and evaluating materials.

Medvedev, who lifted the title in 2020, did not face a single break point and broke De Minaur's serve three times.

Established 77 years ago, Mitsui & Co stays vibrant by building businesses and ecosystems with new technologies like generative AI and confidential computing. Digital transformation takes many forms at the Tokyo-based conglomerate with 16 divisions. In one case, it’s an autonomous trucking service, in another it’s a geospatial analysis platform. Mitsui even collaborates with a Read Article

NEW YORK — The rush for gold just keeps coming. Gold hit another all-time high this week. Recent gains for the precious metal are largely credited to ongoing economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and strong demand from central banks around the world. If trends continue, analysts have bullish outlooks on the price of gold for the months ahead. But the future is never promised. Here's what you need to know. Where does the price of gold stand today? The New York spot price of gold closed Tuesday at just over $2,657 per Troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals, which is equivalent to 31 grams — the highest recorded to date, per FactSet. That would make a gold bar or brick weighing 400 Troy ounces worth more than $1.06 million today. This week's record high means that the price of gold has climbed hundreds of dollars per Troy ounce over the last year. Tuesday's price is up nearly $145 from a month ago and more than $740 from this time in 2023. The price of gold is up nearly 30% year to date, analysts note — outpacing the benchmark S&P 500's roughly 20% gain since the start of 2024. Why is the price of gold going up? There are a few factors behind the recent gains. Interest in buying gold often comes at times of uncertainty — with potential concerns around inflation and the strength of the U.S. dollar, for example, causing some to look for alternative places to park their money. Gold also surged in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among sources of uncertainty today are geopolitical tensions — which escalated over recent days with Israel's deadly strikes in Lebanon. And the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine have continued to fuel fears about the future worldwide. In markets like the U.S., there's also particular concern about the health of the job market. Last week's larger-than-usual half-point cut by the Federal Reserve signals a new focus on slowing employment numbers, and more rate cuts are expected before the end of the year. And such action arrives in the midst of a tumultuous election year — which could prove crucial to economic policy in the road ahead, too. In the near future, people are considering "any case of turbulence in the economy," FxPro senior market analyst Michel Saliby explained. "This is why they're keeping a decent portion of gold in their portfolio as a 'safe haven.'" Analysts also point to strong demand from central banks around the world. Joe Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, noted last month that central bank demand was well-above the five year average — reflecting "heightened concern with inflation and economic stability." Recent stimulus measures in China aimed at boosting consumer spending are also expected to up retail investments, Saliby added, further boosting gold's performance. Is gold worth the investment? Advocates of investing in gold call it a "safe haven," arguing the commodity can serve to diversify and balance your investment portfolio, as well as mitigate possible risks down the road. Some also take comfort in buying something tangible that has the potential to increase in value over time. Experts caution against putting all your eggs in one basket. Both retail and institutional investors shouldn't be influenced by the "FOMO effect," or fear of missing out, Saliby notes — explaining that people should not risk all their money just because they are seeing others rake in gains. He advises investors to watch the market and always have a clear risk management strategy for their position. If geopolitical tensions cool, Saliby expects the price of gold to correct slightly, perhaps falling around $50 to $80. But he remains bullish overall for the near future — expecting gold's spot price to soon surpass the $2,700 mark previously predicted for 2025, and perhaps reach as high as $2,800 or $2,900 if trends continue. Still, future gains are never promised and not everyone agrees gold is a good investment. Critics say gold isn't always the inflation hedge many say it is — and that there are more efficient ways to protect against potential loss of capital, such as through derivative-based investments. The Commodity Futures Trade Commission has also previously warned people to be wary of investing in gold. Precious metals can be highly volatile, the commission said, and prices rise as demand goes up — meaning "when economic anxiety or instability is high, the people who typically profit from precious metals are the sellers." If you do choose to invest in gold, the commission adds, it's important to educate yourself on safe trading practices and be cautious of potential scams and counterfeits on the market.

Title: Patients Hope Ice Bucket Challenge Keeps Flowing
Category: Health News
Created: 8/26/2014 11:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2014 12:00:00 AM

The Health and Human Services Department employs 294 people whose jobs focus on diversity, and the department maintains seven separate "minority health" offices spread across its various agencies, according to a new report that suggests it will be tough for the incoming Trump administration to unwind it all.

Analysis of a strain of the virus circulating in Central Africa shows genetic mutations indicative of sustained human-to-human spread

Desai, a former journalist, is also a former racing steward and thoroughbred horse breeder, draws from his deep knowledge of the racing world and brings his signature storytelling style to craft a tale that combines authenticity with a Hitchcockian level of suspense.

Bagnaia's victory moved him up to 275 points, five more than Martin, with Bastianini maintaining his hold on third place on 214.