209 Business Journal - October 2022

STANISLAUS CROP REPORT

Almonds remain county’s top crop, despite challenges

BY JOE CORTEZ 209 Business Journal

Stanislaus

County’s agri cultural report for 2021 was released this week, and for the ninth con secutive year almonds rank as the No. 1 commodity, making up nearly a third of the coun ty’s entire ag production.

The total value of almonds in 2021 was $1,084,744,000 — or 32 percent of the county’s

ag production. That figure was down about $39 million from the previous year.

But, considering that the nation still was dealing with the coronavirus pandemic for much of 2021, that number isn’t too disappointing.

“It’s been one thing after another,” said local grower Christine Gemperle, co-owner of Gemperle Orchards and a member of the Almond Board

of California. “Back in 2017, we started the trade wars, then there was COVID, supply chain issues, then a giant crop in 2020 followed by a crop we couldn’t get out of the country. There have been lots of chal lenges.”

Milk, which was the coun ty’s No. 1 commodity for more than 50 years until almonds took over in 2013, accounted for 24 percent of commodities

in the county with a gross val ue of just over $800 million. That’s up from $736 million in 2020.

Poultry, which accounts for 10 percent of all ag commodi ties, was down slightly, from about $343 million in 2020 to $334 million last year. Rounding out the Top 10 were cattle and calves (5 per cent), nursery fruit and nut

Photo by Dan Gomes

The almond harvest in Stanislaus County makes up close to a third of the county’s entire ag production.

THE CARE YOU NEED, THE WAY YOU WANT IT.

Health care should be hassle-free. At Kaiser Permanente, it is. With connected teams and flexible ways to access care, it’s easy to get the support you need to stay healthy — when and where you need it.

THE CARE YOU NEED, THE WAY YOU WANT IT.

Health care should be hassle-free. At Kaiser Permanente, it is. With connected teams and flexible ways to access care, it’s easy to get the support you need to stay healthy — when and where you need it.

Gray names Elegant Bull Small Business of the Year

Frank Machado knows what it takes to run a good restaurant. Start with quality that can be tasted in every dish then make every patron feel welcome the moment they walk through the door.

But a great restaurant, has something extra.

“When you come to the Ele gant Bull, you get a tablecloth,” said Machado, who opened the Delhi restaurant on New Year’s Eve in 1989. “You get linen napkins. There are rugs on the floor, and those who serve you are wearing ties.”

Such attention to detail makes the Elegant Bull unique, and compelled Assemblymember Adam Gray to honor it as his Small Business of the Year for

2022. Gray made the presenta tion to Machado, his wife Karen and their staff on Sept. 15 at the restaurant.

“The place is one-of-a-kind,” said Gray. “And so is Frank. Go ing to the Elegant Bull wouldn’t be complete without shooting the bull with Frank. But the food!”

Some dishes -- Steak de Lis boa, linguica and morcella -reflect Machado’s Portuguese heritage. But most are fine-din ing classics such as filet mignon, prime rib, rack of lamb and chicken prepared three different ways. And the ribs are unforget table.

The Elegant Bull has been celebrated by readers of the Turlock Journal, the Merced County Times and others. Hun dreds of online reviews offer

thousands of gold stars.

Machado credits his staff, including a son and daughter working behind the scenes, and a wait-staff with several mem bers who have been at the El egant Bull for a decade or more. At 92, he works at the restaurant every day.

“First, you try to treat your help in a way you want your cli ents to be treated,” said Mach ado. “It’s going to be hard for them to treat that client well if they’re not treated well. The sec ond thing is quality.”

And the secret ingredient? That’s Karen, his wife.

“You’ve got to have love and beauty and you’ve got to have strength, that’s what it takes,” said Machado. “She has all three.”

Assemblyman Adam Gray presents Frank Machado, the owner of Elegant Bull in Delhi with the Small Business of the year Award for District 21.

Lending in Your Community

Photo contributed

PROFILE

Marking 20 years of dance

BY SABRA STAFFORD 209 Business Journal

Even after two decades in the business, Monica Barnes still gets butterflies when it’s time to take the stage. The only dif ference now is that it is not her own im pending performance that wakes up her nerves, but rather that of her students.

Barnes is the owner of Cornerstone Dance Studio in Gustine and her busi ness has been teaching youngsters on the Westside how to shuffle-ball-chain, plié and every dance step in between. This season, the business is going into their 20th year.

“This was not the plan that I had for myself, so to be here 20 years later is pret ty amazing,” Barnes said.

The fact that dance was not something Barnes envisioned for her career trajec tory might sound odd, considering dance has been a part of her life since she was 6 years old.

“I first started dancing in Turlock at Deborah Morgan’s studio and then I went on and danced here in Gustine,” Barnes said. “I continued my dance education at Central Catholic High School. They had a really good dance program there and then I also joined a dance team at Stan State when I went to college. But my plan was not to open a dance studio. I was ma joring in liberal studies.”

By her sophomore year of college, Barnes had stopped dancing and was fo cused on earning her bachelor’s degree and then teaching credential.

“I had a feeling in my heart that I need ed to do something different,” Barnes recalled. “I prayed about it and God di rected me. I started seeing visions of me dancing in front of a group of dancers.

I was really questioning it, because this was not what I had set out to do. About a week later a mom came in to my mom’s gym, where I was working and she said they needed somebody to instruct a group of six girls for dance. So, I started teaching out of my mom’s gym. That was for about a year, before a space right next door opened up. I had about 60 students my first year.

“God definitely had a different plan for my life and now looking back, I’m glad it directed me this way,” Barnes said.

Her mother’s gym also had the name Cornerstone, so it felt right to carry it on to her dance studio.

“Her business was Christian-based and that is something that I wanted to contin ue,” Barnes said.

Cornerstone Dance Studio teaches tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, pre-pointe and pointe. They also have a dance team that travels around to different competitions. Every year, the season culminates in a dance recital at Gustine High School in June and then re-starts up in August. Stu dents can continue to register up until No vember, early December. The cost is $30 to register and $48 per month per class.

“There are family discounts and mul tiple class discounts,” Barnes said.

Reaching a 20-year milestone is an achievement for any business. Barnes said it would not have been possible without the loyalty of her students over the years.

“We’ve had a lot of supportive families over the years,” Barnes said. “I think one of the things that sets us apart is that we are a faith-based studio.”

For more information on Cornerstone Dance Studio visit www.cornerstone dance.net.

Previewing the unique flavors of Tandoori Pizza

BY CHRISTOPHER CORREA 209 Business Journal

Tandoori Pizza was founded in 2015 by Tejinder Singh, hoping to introduce pizza lovers to some of the most popular flavors that India has to offer. Since then, there have been seven locations opened across the Bay Area. In the coming days, an eighth Tandoori Pizza will open in Turlock at the town’s former Pizza Hut location at 3181 Geer Rd.

Paul Singh, the cousin of Tejinder Singh, has worked at and managed at some of the other Tandoori Pizzas in the past. Now, he is enthusiastically pre paring to manage the Turlock location once the doors are opened to the public.

According to Singh, his family had been thinking about bringing a Tan doori Pizza to the Modesto Metropoli tan Area. When Pizza Hut closed over 250 locations nationwide, he knew that he had to make the most out of the op portunity.

“When Turlock opened up and this lo cation became available, it was just one of those opportunities you had to jump on,” Singh said. “Everything about this place I liked personally because it’s a roomy space, it’s nice, the population here in Turlock is friendly and nice. It’s a very big town but it still gives you that smalltown feel.”

Singh and his team officially moved into the space on Geer Road on Sept. 1, 2021. Since that time, they have been working around the clock to revamp the entire look and interior design. Inside, there are brand new tables, booths and chairs, new ceiling tile, wood accents on the lower halves of the walls, and a baby blue and white color scheme taking over the remaining space on the walls.

Tandoori Pizza

Tandoori Pizza is hoping to give Tur lock a whole new experience with their Indian style menu items and unique interior design

“Our main goal is to not have a cus tomer walk in and know that this used to be a Pizza Hut or that it looks like a Pizza Hut and it’s just the name that’s changed,” Singh explained. “We want to change the vibe in here, bring a whole different type of vibe to this town. We want it to be uplifting with the modern furniture and the brighter colors… A lot of traditional pizza places tend to use the color red, so we wanted to step away and stand out from that and be different and unique.”

Aside from the design and décor, Tandoori Pizza is looking to stand out from other pizza spots with their unique menu. Singh explained that while they will still offer traditional pizzas, wings and other entrees and appetizers to cus tomers, there will also be an abundance of menu items highlighting rich Indian flavors.

“We twist things up with the marinat ed chickens, the marinated achari gobhi, marinated paneer. We’re basically bring ing the East Coast and West Coast to gether,” Singh said. “Pizza is universal and once you put marinated chicken and other marinated things on it, it just brings out the bold flavors. With tradi tional pizzas, you’re just used to the traditional red sauce, oregano and basil, and then you have all these other new spices in there and your tase buds are

CHRISTOPHER CORREA/209 Business Journal

Let Sparks Fly

BY TERESA HAMMOND 209 Business Journal

Chad and Kayla Roslan just may have found their niche. The United States Navy veterans, turned entrepreneurs, are both the brains and the humor behind Sparks Fly Candle Company, Sassy Candles for Sassy People.

It’s a company they began shortly following Kayla’s separa tion from service in 2017 and a few months after the birth of their son.

“So, when my son was born, the world shut down and we had nothing to do and really no ways to make an income,” Kayla Roslan said, noting that while her husband remained en listed through July of 2021, she remained in their Washington home with their new baby and no outlet, be it employment or edu cation.

“We wanted something we could do as a hobby for the two

of us, so we started making can dles,” Kayla continued. “We were really, really good at it and our family loved it. My husband is re ally good at graphic design, so we wanted to figure out how to bring a little bit of joy to the world be cause we were so shut down and everything seemed so gloomy.”

Fast forward to August 2021 and the family found themselves relocated to the 209 via a job op portunity for Chad.

Kayla, an Enochs High School 2012 alum, desired returning to the 209 to be close to family.

“We chose to come home, all of our family’s here, I’m from here and my son — James, three this November — was very alone out there,” Kayla said of the fam ily relocation.

Yet the job opportunity that brought them here proved to be short-lived. In the summer of 2022 Chad walked away from corporate life to join his wife full-

TERESA HAMMOND/209 Business Journal

time in the candle business.

“It’s better,” Chad shared, pointing out that prior to his res ignation he was doing double duty, at his corporate job and helping Kayla with the homebased business, and he believes he made the right decision. “Having more control over my schedule is giving us so much more freedom to take care of ourselves and our

Hotsy Pacific has a new name but same service

BY VIRGINIA STILL 209 Business Journal

Hotsy Pacific has been in busi ness since the early 1990s and was originally known as Pressure Washer Center in the early 1980s. President Jim O’Connell has been with them since the beginning. As the owner and president of what is now Pacific Bay Equipment (PBE), he worked his way to the top and has seen the company grow from humble beginnings to a magnificent thriving company.

They still carry the Hotsy brand, however their company has evolved into much more, like selling floor care equipment, wastewater treatment equipment, parts washers, water softeners, dry ice blasting equipment, gen erators, and air compressors, as well as parts and accessories, and almost anything to do with water.

“So, we kind of got to thinking that maybe it’s kind of pigeonholed us to be named Hotsy Pacific,” said O’Connell. “We decided to come up with a differ ent name. Pacific Bay Equipment kind of rounds out what we do. We sell equipment and we service it. Our main focus is solutions for our customers. We don’t go in to sell a piece of hardware; we want to solve a problem.”

Since the business in Modesto is close to the Pacific Ocean and they cover the Bay Area, the name change to Pacific Bay Equipment was a good fit. They also have the North Bay Equipment service center in Santa Rosa.

They have been in business for 35 years and throughout that time they have seen a lot of changes. Starting out with three people in a small facility in North Modesto to

now 23 people in about an 8,000 square foot facility that includes a 4,000 square foot impressive showroom with everything in one central location on Ninth Street, and expanding to a center in Hay ward, has been immense growth for the business.

O’Connell began working as a service technician for the compa ny in the early 1980s and in 1991, along with his wife Karen, they purchased the company.

The owner of the company at the time gave them an oppor tunity to become partners and financed everything to make it possible for the O’Connells to be come sole owners. After about 10 years they went separate ways.

O’Connell has plans to retire sometime soon and has set a similar plan in motion for his Vice President Terrence Anderson.

business.”

Now calling Oakdale home, the family has set up their candle making production in the tan dem third car garage of their new home.

“Our logo is Sassy Candles, for Sassy People, that’s kind of our motto,” Kayla said of Sparks Fly Candle Co.

The “sassy” she speaks of are

the candle names and descrip tions which are accompanied by specific scents, which might prompt one to make the con nection. Examples of their cre ativity with candles like: Coffee; “Because hating your job should come with enthusiasm,” or Out doorsy; “Smells like drinking wine out on the porch.”

Pacific Bay Equipment, previously known as Hotsy Pacific, has been meeting the needs of their customers since the early 1990s.

“He is buying the company from us. As of the first of next year he will own 49 percent of the business and I’m going to retire, but stay on as an advisor” said O’Connell. “I am kind of paying it forward. We could sell to some body else, but we don’t want to and he’s got the ambition and he is a great guy. He’s been with me 19 years. So, now we’re officially partners after 19 years.”

Anderson began his career at Hotsy as a service technician. He then moved into the role of service manager, then ventured into sales taking on a territory in the Bay Area. When O’Connell asked Anderson where he would like to be and Anderson said “in the seat you are in” the wheels started turning.

Chad and Kayla Roslan are the founders of Sparks Fly Candle Company.

VIRGINIA STILL/209 Business Journal

New ag workforce and technology program to lead Valley into the future

STAFF REPORTS

A new initiative promises to bring the San Joaquin Valley’s ag riculture industry into the future, with creative and innovative ad vancements in agricultural tech nology, engineering, and work force training and education. A $15 million investment from the state, made possible by Sen. Anna Caballero, will help fund the new Agrifood Technology and Engineering Collaborative (AgTEC). Led by the Central Valley Community Founda tion, AgTEC will leverage the strength of community colleges throughout the Valley — with contributions from small farm ers and multinational compa nies alike — to revolutionize how agricultural workers learn the skills they need to pursue re warding careers in the industry.

PIZZA

FROM PAGE 4

Goals of the program, which was announced Sept. 6 at a press conference on the Merced College campus, include the training and upskilling of 8,400 job-ready workers within four years, a 60% growth in wages for agricultural workers, and a total investment of $50 million toward workforce development.

“The San Joaquin Valley is one of the biggest producers of food in the world, yet our communi ties continue to struggle with poverty and unemployment,” said Caballero (D-Merced).

“AgTEC provides innova tion, education and training that will lead to better-paying jobs and an even more vi brant industry for our region.”

The AgTEC program is part of the Fresno-Merced Future of Food (F3) Innovation Initia tive, a CVCF-led collaboration

The Fresno-Merced Future of Food (F3) Innovation Initiative cel ebrates being awarded a U.S. Economic Development Administra tion “Build Back Better Regional Challenge” grant.

that aims to fund a Valley-wide Climate-Smart Agrifood Tech nology and Engineering Cluster with a focus on digitalization and data science, mechatronics, equipment, and systems testing and integration for agrifood ap

plications. The program is a collaborative workforce edu cation program among seven regional colleges, including Merced, Reedley, Madera, Fresno City, Clovis, West Hills Lemoore and Coalinga,

and College of the Sequoias.

F3 seeks to drive both economic growth and equity, spurring inclusive innovation and com mercialization while building a seamless talent development pipeline and catalyzing local market growth of the smallscale farm and food industry.

The F3 initiative last week was named a recipient of $65 mil lion through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge. As part of this allo cation, Merced College will re ceive more than $27 million to serve as the project lead for the AgTEC Workforce initiative, which will include a new Ag Technology Innovation Center.

“The challenges faced by the Central Valley can only be solved through partnerships

SEE AG, PAGE 8

just going to go wild and you’ll be crav ing more eventually.”

Singh explained that, of the Indian style pizzas on the menu, there will be about five vegetarian and about eleven non-vegetarian pies, each with chicken marinated in different Indian spices.

He added that there is a similar balance when it comes to the appetizer menu. In terms of wings, they will have the traditional buffalo and barbecue wings while

BULL

FROM PAGE 3

Karen is a proud cancer survi vor, whose journey continues to inspire. And it was Karen who first saw potential in the little building just south of Delhi. Frank was thinking a breakfast spot; Karen insisted it could be something more.

As she puts it: Frank provides the bull; she brings the elegance.

But why start a fine-dining

also offering tandoori and achari flavored wings. When it comes to bread, they will offer traditional garlic sticks with cheese while also offering tandoori and dhesi sticks with cheese, all served with sides of Indian dipping sauces.

Tandoori Pizza is expected to have the usual slate of fountain drinks and sodas, and although nothing is finalized yet, Singh has put in the paperwork in hopes of also serving alcoholic beverages.

“We have applied for our beer and li quor license. We really want to get in on the craft beer game and bring about 10 to 15 different types of beers in. We’ll still have the Coors Lights, the Modelos, but

restaurant in a hard-working town of 12,000?

“You’re only the 10,046th person to ask that question,” said Machado, who was raised in Hilmar and now lives in Stevinson. “You’re on Highway 99; millions of people pass by your restaurant every day. I love my little conservative town of Hilmar, and Hilmar also has a highway. But only thousands of people, maybe, pass by it every day. You’re on Highway 99 –how can you lose?”

When Machado returned

we want to focus on the craft beer and give people more options to enjoy,” he said.

Once Tandoori Pizza’s Turlock lo cation opens in the next week or two, Singh then hopes that it can be successful enough to continue to branch out to cit ies in the Central Valley.

“Once we get this one going, then we can branch out to Modesto, Ceres, Liv ingston, Fresno and just go down the line on 99,” he said. “We are currently family owned, but one day we do hope to make it a franchise where it can be bought by an individual outside of the family and grow from there, similar to how bigger

from the Navy in the 1950s, a cousin helped him get a job in Santa Clara. Soon, he opened a pizza parlor then a nicer place, then another even nicer.

When he opened the Berry Farm in Santa Clara, elegance and atmosphere were his trade marks.

“Silicon Valley started in my restaurant,” he said, describing how patrons would huddle at tables dreaming up the informa tion revolution.

Assemblymember Gray not ed something else: “Don’t ask

chains like Mountain Mikes and Round Table. They started off as small, family businesses too.”

Singh hopes to be able to have a grand opening on Friday, Sept. 30. Commu nity members are encouraged to follow official Tandoori Pizza social media ac counts for the latest updates.

Tandoori Pizza can be found on Face book at @TandooriPizza and on Insta gram at @TandooriPizzaCalifornia. To learn more about Tandoori Pizza and to scan their full menu of appetizers and entrees ahead of their opening, head to www.tandooripizza.com.

Frank what he thinks unless you really want to know.”

“I don’t do Republicans; I don’t do Democrats,” said Machado, the son of Azorean immigrants. “I’m a patriot. I want to do what’s good for America. Sometimes, the Re publicans and Democrats, they fight each other like America don’t mean anything. And that’s wrong no matter how hard times get.”

It’s small businesses like El egant Bull, said Gray, that help every Valley community in

times of need.

“What makes small business es so important, is that the peo ple who run them know what can be done and what needs to be done. People like Frank, who have been successful for decades, believe in themselves, they believe in their workers and they believe in their community. They don’t mind sharing their success and they don’t mind helping when asked. They do it every day.”

Photo contributed

Hank Vander Veen

Sabra Stafford NEWSROOM Christopher Correa Joe Cortez

Kristina Hacker

Teresa Hammond Vince Rembulat Virginia Still Dennis Wyatt

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Harold L. George

DESIGNER Sharon Hoffman

SALES & MARKETING

Chris Castro Beth Flanagan Karen Olsen Corey Rogers Melody Wann Charles Webber DIGITAL Frankie Tovar Rich Matheson

OPINION

Aurelius

Going for the handyman special

“I am a general contractor and builder whose business has gone downhill with the current housing downturn. I have decided to start a local handyman business to help ride out the storm. I would greatly appreciate your opin ion of this business in this market.”

With new home construc tion winding down due to higher interest rates and a shortage of workers, a lot of building contractors are sit ting on their hands wonder ing how they will survive the coming rough times. Con gratulations for realizing that you will have to “reinvent” yourself to keep your head above water.

Here are some tips: NO JOB IS TOO SMALL

A couple of years ago, you couldn’t get a contractor to do a small job for love or money, unless you were married to him. In tough times, people will still pay to have little jobs done, especially if they’re messy, difficult or dangerous. Let the world know you will do them for a fair price.

CLIFF ENNICO

GO BEYOND CONTRACTOR HOURS

Be prepared to work eve nings and weekends; that’s when your customers are home, the washing machine breaks down, and they real ize for the first time that the bathtub faucet in the upstairs bathroom they never use has been leaking for weeks.

SAY YES TO EVERYTHING

This is not a time for spe cialists. If it’s a leaky faucet or a clogged carburetor on a snowblower, fix it. If it’s a retaining wall that’s fall ing down, cement it. If it’s a squirrel in someone’s attic, relocate or, ahem, terminate it with extreme prejudice.

BILL PROMPTLY

The longer it takes you to bill your customers, the more trouble you will have collect ing. Always give the customer your bill as soon as the job’s done, and try not to leave the job site without having

the customer’s check in your hands.

WATCH THE LITTLE DETAILS

People are fussy about the people they invite into their homes, even if they’re terri ble housekeepers. Take your shoes off when you walk in the door without being asked to. Wear clean clothing that doesn’t show off your anatomy when you bend over. Shave every day. Do not smoke when on the job. Watch your language. Say “please” and “thank you.” Do not call the customer by their first names unless they invite you to do that. Don’t mispronounce their names; call them “sir” or “madam,” or ask them to pronounce it correctly.

Most importantly, clean up after yourself. Even if you do a great job, if you leave the customer with a mess to clean up afterward, that’s the only thing they will remember about you.

ASK FOR REFERRALS

Forget about sending post cards to every address in town. That’s a waste of time

and money because nobody looks at them. When I’m looking for a good handyper son, I always ask my col leagues or neighbors to rec ommend one. If a customer seems satisfied with your work, ask them to refer you to everyone they know. Leave them with lots of your busi ness cards and try to make them feel a little sorry for you so they go out of their way to help.

ADVERTISE ON NEXTDOOR

And be sure to point people to your website so they can see all of the wonderful re views from satisfied custom ers. (You do have a website, don’t you?)

BECOME A HOME REPAIR EXPERT

There will always be doit-yourselfers in your com munity who will want to at least try to do home repair jobs themselves before hir ing someone like you. Rather than ignore them, make an effort to get them on your side. Teach classes at the lo cal community college on “How to Fix Things Around the House” (better yet, “Basic Home Repairs Any Woman Can Do,” if your wife will

You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

BUILDING CONNECTIONS

First phase of Highway 132 overhaul completed

APARTMENT BOOM

Plans for 3 complexes on Airport Way, South Main, McKinley Ave. may be just the start for Manteca

BY DENNIS WYATT 209 Business Journal

Those wanting to build apart ments in Manteca struggled for years to secure financing.

At the same time, most of the land zoned for high density de velopment was tied up by local developers making it difficult for national or even Californiawide apartment builders to get a foot in the market.

That is no longer the case.

Area-based SOMA group. What is making Manteca a hot spot — as well as help triggering investments that in the case of the larger proposed complex that can exceed $100 million — is three-fold.

*Rents in the Manteca sub market of the Stockton Metro market that covers San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties are 20 percent higher than the regional average.

BY SABRA STAFFORD 209 Business Journal

The new Rosemore Bridge was the site of a City of Modesto celebration in September as they marked the completion of Phase one of the long-anticipated State Route 132 West Project.

The $100 million project de signed to relieve traffic conges tion along Highway 132 has been a project the City and Stan islaus County has been eyeing for more than 60 years. Phase One began in 2019 and is a new 3.5-mile expressway connecting Highway 99 and Highway 132.

“As a child, I remember the energy and excitement while discussing this project around my grandparent’s dinner table,”

AG

and collaboration, with underresourced communities mobiliz ing to forge new paths for civic renewal, inclusion and change,” said Ashley Swearengin, CEO of CVCF. “More than just eco nomic development, this is a story of marshalling the collec tive impact of our incredible partners in industry, education

said City of Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen. “It is amazing to see a project that has been 60 years in the making finally come to life.”

The long-awaited project fi nally happened because of the partnership and collaboration between many agencies.

“Caltrans District 10 is proud of our association with the SR-132 West project and our partnerships with the City of Modesto, Stanislaus County, and the local council of gov ernments for seeing it come to fruition,” said Caltrans District 10 Director Dennis T. Agar. “A project of this magnitude requires cooperation, and we celebrate that collaboration as much as the completion of this beautiful highway.”

and government to create a better future for our region.”

Merced College, along with the seven other community colleges and worker represen tatives, will develop a new, in tegrated approach to ag techni cian education that ensures a long-term sustainable and eq uitable workforce pipeline. The result will be open access to a joint regional training program with the capacity to double the annual workforce pipeline. The new training will incorpo

Funding for the project comes from federal, state and local entities, including Measure L funds.

Speaker representatives at the ribbon-cutting event included Executive Director Stanislaus Council of Governments, Rosa De León Park, Stanislaus Coun cil of Governments, Terry With row, Former District 4 Council Member, Bill Zoslocki, Josh Harder District Representative, Briana Gonzalez, Caltrans Dis trict 10 Director Dennis T. Agar, California Transportation Com mission Chair, Lee Ann Eager, District 5 Council Member, Jenny Kenoyer and District 2 Council Member, Tony Madri gal.

rate competency-based educa tion (CBE) — which awards credit for demonstrating needed competencies, rather than man dating redundant traditional coursework — leading to a re gional, industry-recognized “ap plied agriculture systems certifi cate” with stackable credentials. President Chris Vitelli said Merced College is honored to receive this allocation, which will support the AgTEC por tion for all colleges as part of the F3 initiative, given its long

During August, the City of Manteca received plans for three separate apartment com plexes to build a combined 970 apartments.

One — a 288-unit complex proposed by a San Diego devel oper planned on the westside of the McKinley Avenue/Daniels Street intersection — was the subject of a story in Friday’s Bulletin.

The second is 472 apart ments along the westside of Airport Way south of Wawona Avenue dubbed the Wawona Apartments being advanced by Grupe Properties.

The third is 210 apartments on the southeast corner of Atherton Drive and South Street being pursued by the Bay

track record of supporting ag riculture through industry part nerships and the innovative, supportive training and educa tion it provides to local students.

The AgTEC announcement took place just outside the col lege’s brand-new Raj Kahlon Agriculture and Industrial Technology Complex, a stateof-the-art, 29,000-square-foot facility that will provide an in novative space for collabora tion among a variety of related disciplines. A ribbon cutting for

*Manteca, as well as Tracy, are benefitting from a hous ing squeeze in the job-rich Bay Area where those being hired by tech companies can’t secure housing due to the dearth of land available for development as apartments.

*Manteca has opened up more options through the com mercial mixed-use zoning that allows property with such des ignation to be developed as high density residential or a combi nation of commercial and resi dential.

Throughout California, more developers are seeking out such zoning for high density housing as the retail demand for new brick and mortar development

the building is scheduled for noon on Thursday, Sept. 15. “At Merced College, we are al ways looking to the future and envisioning new and innovative ways to serve and support our students, while also contributing to the success and growth of our region,” Vitelli said. “We could not be more proud or more ex cited to be a part of the AgTEC initiative, and to provide this in credible new facility to benefit our students, educators and in dustry partners.”

“From there, I came back to a position of service manager and took on the opera tion in the service center so that we could grow that area of our business,” added Anderson. “We have five service techs that were under my leadership; I trained them, mentored them and helped them to be where they’re at today. I’ve held many hats and I still partake in every aspect of the business from service to as far up, as you know, the managerial position and my vice president’s position.”

There are many ways the company has evolved through the years with the differ ent equipment they offer, including dry ice blasting equipment, which saves water, wastewater management, and steamers that use less water and sanitize more effi ciently.

They apply innovative new technologies in-house as well as for customers. About a

CANDLES

FROM PAGE 5

While the wood wicked, soy candles with essential oil fra grances are pleasant to the senses, it was their essence of fun and creativity which caught the atten tion of Oakdale Mayor Cherilyn Bairos.

Bairos crossed paths with the Roslan family and their Sassy Candles, serving in her role as an Oakdale Chamber of Com merce Ambassador. Drawn to the candles and their originality, the mayor shared she began thinking of an opportunity.

“I started thinking, hey, what about if they could make a candle for Oakdale? What would that smell like?” Bairos said of their initial introduction. “Leather, dust, cowboy, almonds, dairy … everything together and how would that look?”

The mayor quickly began

year ago they installed air purifying lights in the showroom to improve the quality of air for the employees.

“We’ve evolved into a solutions provider company instead of an equipment provid er company,” O’Connell said. “Again, we have a very competitive world that we live in. Equipment is kind of like automobiles - they are very competitive in price. We don’t want to compete on equipment. We basically compete on innovative, customertailored solutions to help clients get the job done. That’s one thing we’ve really evolved into over the years.”

When other businesses were struggling due to the pandemic, PBE was thriving and could barely keep up with the demand. With the line of electrostatic sprayers and the CDC-approved disinfectant Vital Ox ide, they saw a 30 percent growth in 2020.

The business is community-oriented as well as they donate to a few of the high schools for their programs as well as a scholarship fund that was donated to the CETA (Cleaning Equipment Trade Asso

brainstorming with the couple about hosting a contest for the scent, as well as the label and the name. The Roslan duo loved the idea and its originality.

“They’re inspired after our reallife circumstances,” Kayla shared of the candles.

“This DD 214 that’s the paper you get when you’re released from the military,” Bairos said of the candle which first caught her attention. “I got my nephew that one.”

After deciding to pursue the contest idea, in March of this year the “Oakdale” candle was created by a community member.

Images of a cowboy hat, oak tree and boot are featured on the label capturing the image of the “Cow boy Capital of the World” with the listed scents of Oak, Leather, Bourbon and Country Music.

Since then, the veteran-owned and operated company has con tinued to grow. Expanding to 209 farmers’ markets, as well as

ciation).

They have had employees that have been with them for many years and when asked why, Anderson shared it is because they are a “family-oriented environment.”

O’Connell said, “Our core culture is such that one of our values is you treat people like you want to be treated.”

They have a wall mural on the side of the building that shows their love for the com munity highlighting the Valley, Yosemite, and some famous local celebrities from the area.

With the state of California planning to do away with small gasoline-powered en gines, it would greatly affect several things like the pressure washers and other clean ing and sanitation systems, impacting both the sellers and users. They are part of a committee that is trying to lobby the state to give people a moratorium so they can continue to use gas engines until there is at least a better solution in place.

“I’m very passionate about it, be cause this is our livelihood when we look

upcoming fairs, including Dutch Hollow, Manteca Pumpkin Roll and Oakdale’s Downtown Christ mas in early December.

The couple has also begun part nering with non-profits, giving back and offering support, which they credit for so much of their own individual success.

Kayla is a recipient of a schol arship from the non-profit Senti nels of Freedom, which helped the family with housing for dis abled vets.

“They’ve just been so helpful to us that we wanted to give back,” Kayla said.

The couple recently made a custom candle for attendees of the non-profit’s annual gala event.

“We really got a lot of help from Sentinels of Freedom,” Kayla continued, explaining the non-profit helped her go to school and provided financial aid as well as connected them to a business which helped them network for their candle business.

around,” expressed O’Connell. “And if I can’t sell gas engine-powered equipment, we’ve got to really figure out where we go from here. I mean, we do need to do some thing, but I think we can’t use politics and policy to drive innovation. It’s got to be the other way around. Let manufacturers de velop what we need.”

The future looks bright for PBE and An derson is looking forward to building their brand and continuing to grow and thrive in the industry. O’Connell believes their tradi tions will carry on for years to come and they will continue to be a company that people like to be at and not a place they go to work.

“I enjoy this,” remarked O’Connell. “I’ve always enjoyed it. But it’s time for me to retire. I can feel it, but I still like coming here.”

O’Connell is grateful and thankful to the community that has supported them over the 35-plus years. He is certain that the company will be in the best hands with An derson at the helm in the upcoming years.

“A lot of the non-profits are very, very active in helping veter ans start a business,” Chad added.

As veterans with service-related disabilities, the help and support of the veteran non-profit commu nity does not go unnoticed with these two US Navy Veterans.

“There’s no way I would even be near where I am now. Even at my college that I went to in Washington they had a veteran service, entire department and that’s where I found my fam ily and friends that helped me with the transition,” Kayla noted about veteran support. “It’s really nice to know that there are people out there who are willing to help veterans that are going through some of the same stuff and be able to form that community.

“That’s why we work with them so much,” Kayla contin ued. “We know what we’ve gone through. We know what others have gone through so we want to support them.”

While the support of the vet eran community has become an additional focus of the company, ultimately their driving force is to simply bring joy and happiness to their customers.

A variety of scents as well as “sassy” influenced candles can be found on their website: www. sparksflycandle.com. They even host a scent of the month club for members. Custom labels and scents are also popular with their clients.

“I love bringing people hap piness. It is like the best thing to me,” Kayla said of the hobby which quickly became a boom ing business. “Seeing them read the labels and they actually laugh. That’s amazing to me. At that point I don’t even care if people are buying my candle. They’re just coming and they’re laughing and having a good time. I just love that.

“This is exceeding expectations already.”

stalled.

CROP

FROM PAGE 1 APARTMENT

trees and vines (4 percent), silage (4 percent), walnuts (3 percent), almond pollination (3 percent), cherries (2 percent) and hay (1 percent).

Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chiesa, himself an almond grower, wasn’t surprised that almond production dipped for a second consecutive year. But he warned that next year could look much different.

“I don’t want to sound too whiny … 2022 is going to be much worse,” said Chiesa. “Ag is cyclical, and nuts tend to do better with a weak dollar and in a weaker economy. But with in flation and interest rates rising, your guess is as good as mine as to what it will look like. I’ve nev er been as uncertain. Do I think it will work itself out? Hope fully. But it’s an uncertain world right now, that’s for sure.”

While almonds were down slightly, overall, fruit and nut crops increased their combined value in 2021, with walnuts, cherries, apricots and wine grapes all on the upswing.

Total field crops also increased value, going from $172.8 million in 2020 to $219.5 million in 2021.

Apiary products — honey jumped from $15 million to al most $19 million — increased to tal value to nearly $112 million, a bump of $6 million from the previous year.

Total livestock and poultry

were down more than $100 mil lion, from about $609 million to $503 million.

The Stanislaus County Farm Bureau gave its Distinguished Service Award to Wayne Zipser, who retired in March after 35 years with the SCFB and nearly 20 as its executive director.

For the second consecutive year, an award for Farmworker of the Year was handed out. Sponsored by AgSafe, Modesto Rotary and the Stanislaus Coun ty Farm Bureau, the 2021 award was given to Gonzalo Torres, a labor and field safety supervisor at Braden Farms in Hughson.

jobs are too big, too complicated, too danger ous or too messy to do themselves, they will hire you to do it for them, since you’re now the only “home improvement expert” they know.

has slowed somewhat due to the growth of e-commerce even in areas cities of Tracy and Manteca that are consistently being among the fastest grow ing cities in California.

As for higher rates for financ ing projects and fears of a reces sion most economists expect the hit on Bay Area growth could be fairly minimum especially when it comes to housing due to the acute shortage in some areas of the greater region.

Rents so far are underlining that point.

Atherton Arms — that has 214 apartments and is in the process of building 214 more — on Atherton Drive east of Bass Pro Shops is command ing $1,195 for a 515 square foot studio apartment; $2,265 for a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment with 722 square feet; and $2,495 for a two-bedroom two-bathroom apartment with 1,105 square feet.

The expectation that apart ments rents overall will drop as the recession continues is likely wishful thinking.

In the recession that started in 1989, apartment rents did not drop in Manteca.

And when the liar loans trig gered the housing meltdown and the recession that started in 2008, apartment rentals — on the whole — did not drop. Instead, annual rent increases

As housing prices plunged, home rental home prices did drop.

The three new apartment complex project applications in the initial review project are in addition to:

*The 420-unit Prose Apart ments along the western ex tension of Center Street being advanced by US Alliance, a Scottsdale, Ariz., based residen tial development firm.

*The 62-unit Yosemite Apartments proposed for land at 1919 West Yosemite Avenue west of Kaiser Hospital.

*The 300-unit Union Cross ing apartment complex after completing the review process, secured entitlements to build just several months ago south west of the corner of Union Road and Atherton Drive.

*The 136-unit Luxury Apart ments that backups to Del Webb on Lathrop Road west of Union Road.

Between the seven mentioned new projects, it represents 1,888 apartment units.

Toss in the second half of Atherton Arms now under con struction that will add 214 units and a small 12-unit complex being built on Stewart Street, there are 2,114 units under construction or moving toward ground breaking.

Based on average apartment yields, once built they will add 6,000 residents to Manteca or almost a 15th of its current population.

permit you to do it). Volunteer to teach home improvement courses at your local Lowe’s or Home Depot outlets where you use the store’s merchandise to show people how to fix things. Host a home repair show on your local “pub lic access” cable TV station. Who knows, you may become a celebrity!

You may ask, “Why should I spend time training my competition?” Because, as cynical as it may sound, more than 90% of these peo ple will never follow through on the advice you give them. Once your students see that these

ONE LAST TIP

And when the economy does improve and there are once again construction jobs to be done, please — please — don’t forget the peo ple who helped you and your family through these difficult times. Make a promise that you will continue to be available to these people when they need you, even if they never ask you to build an addition, expand a family room or convert a four-room cape into a center-hall co lonial.

No, I don’t have a website.

Local wine industry iconoclast dies at 79

BY JOE CORTEZ 209 Business Journal

Fred Franzia, the Central California vintner who gained notoriety as the creator of “Two Buck Chuck” wine, died Sept. 13 at his home in Denair. He was 79.

Nearly 50 years ago, in 1973, then 30-year-old Franzia, along with his brother Joseph and cousin John, founded Bronco Wine Co. — named for the mascot of his alma mater, Santa Clara University — and built it into a powerhouse that featured vineyards, production facilities and bottling plants throughout the state.

According to Impact Data bank, Bronco Wine Co. is the 13th largest wine marketer in the nation, with 2021 volume of 3.4 million cases sold.

The company released this statement Tuesday: “Bronco wine company is truly saddened by the passing of its founder and CEO Fred T. Franzia. The fam ily asks that you respect their privacy in their time of mourn ing and advises that there will be a more formal announcement

forthcoming.”

As first reported by Wine In dustry Insight, an email was sent out to employees Tuesday morning, notifying them of the founder’s passing. In it, Fran zia’s daughter Renata shared a quote from her father: “We are fighting a good fight and at the end, we all have an expiration date.”

Fred Thomas Franzia was

born on May 24, 1943, in Stan islaus County, and was a mem ber of winemaking’s first family. He was a nephew by marriage of Ernest Gallo, one of the found ers of E&J Gallo Winery, the largest wine company on earth.

After he graduated San Jose’s Bellarmine Prep in 1961, he at tended Santa Clara University. From there, he went to work for the family business, Franzia

Women in Ag: Michelle A. Reimers

BY ANNA GENASCI Special to the 209 Business Journal

Passion, progress and plan ning. Those three words are ones that accurately describe Mi chelle Reimers and her role as General Manager with the Tur lock Irrigation District (TID). In early 2020, Reimers became the first woman to hold the role in the more than 135-year history of the district.

This is not where her jour ney began. Reimers grew up in Ceres, and as a young adult her goal was to get out of town. She went to San Diego State for a semester and soon realized that between work and school, she didn’t have the time or money to fly home as often as she want

ed. So, she moved back to the Valley and lived with her sister while she attended California State University, Stanislaus, ma joring in organization commu nication.

“At first I thought I wanted to do something sexy, like advertis ing, but I didn’t want to move from my home,” she said.

Reimers began working for Romeo Medical Clinic in Work Wellness and later became the Public Information Officer for TID.

“My grandparents had an al mond ranch and I wanted to do a job that had an agricultural connection,” she said.

In 2006 Reimers became TID’s Communication Special

$1.99 price point.

Franzia purchased the label in the 1990s for $27,000 after Shaw, a Stanford MBA, went bankrupt. Franzia famously told CNN Money: “We buy wineries from guys from Stan ford who go bankrupt. Some real dumb - - - - s from there.”

A lifelong antagonist of the wine elite, he told the New Yorker magazine, after sales of sales of Two Buck Chuck hit 400 million bottles: “Take that and shove it, Napa.”

Franzia’s business ventures were not without controversy.

Brothers Winery.

The same year he co-founded Bronco Winery, his family sold Franzia Brothers Winery to Co ca-Cola (later to be acquired by the Wine Group). He was not affiliated with Franzia Wines.

Many wines were distributed under Franzia’s flag, but the most famous was Charles Shaw, known colloquially as “Two Buck Chuck,” because of its

ist and worked hard in her role to expand to Governmental Affairs and eventually became Assistant General Manager. Not being an engineer or an at torney, this was a new approach for TID.

In 2019, she applied for the General Manager Position and was awarded the role in 2020. Three months later COVID hit.

Prior to the pandemic, Re imers had completed safety and emergency training with Stanislaus County and TID had al ready invested the time in an in fectious disease emergency plan just in case of a pandemic.

“I’m so proud of the team. We kept the lights on. I felt re sponsible for the customers we serve and making decisions and communicating during that time was essential,” she shared.

In 1994, Franzia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by falsely labeling grapes. Bronco Wine Co. company paid a $2.5 million fine, according to reports, while Franzia person ally had to pay $500,000, resign his seat on the board of direc tors, and step down as president the company for five years. He became the chief financial offi cer instead.

“It didn’t matter,” he told the New Yorker. “The chairs didn’t move.”

Franzia is survived by his children Renata, Roma, Joseph, Joe, Carlo and Giovanna, sib lings Joseph, Joellen and Cath erine and 14 grandchildren.

TID even received an award for their COVID response plan. One could argue that leaders truly define themselves in a cri sis.

Two years later Reimers finds that the job is still intense.

“Maintaining the balance be tween work and home only hap pens with good people on your team. I have a great husband who is so supportive and a pro fessional coach. My boys know that mommy goes to D.C. and fights for water,” Reimers said.

Jasper, 12, and Wyatt, 10, are proud of their mom. Reimers said when she took on this role, she vowed not to take work home, “unless there was an emergency.” She shared with a smile that her boys enjoy read ing, time at the ranch, and their hunter safety classes.

AP Photo/Eric Risberg

LEFT: Fred Franzia, second from right, as a member of the Santa Clara University finance club during the 1963-64 school year. RIGHT: This photo taken June 24, 2009 shows winemaker Fred Franzia talking about his newest wine from Australia during an interview in his office in Napa.

Photo contributed

TID General Manager Michelle Reimers is the first woman to serve as the top administrator for the state’s first irrigation district.

WELCOME TO THE PORT OF TOMORROW.

At the Port of Stockton, we’re improving water quality for today, and for the future. How? We’re oxygenating local waterways to support aquatic life. Soon a new storm ditch will be rebuilt as a constructed wetland to naturally filter pollutants from storm water. We also use safe drains that prevent spills, train our tenants to reduce storm water pollution, and inspect our stormwater system daily. We’re taking these measures now so that our waterways will thrive tomorrow.