California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

The San Fernando Valley continues to see growth.  Retail growth continues to
go crazy here," said Bruce Ackerman, president of the Economic Alliance of the
San Fernando Valley. "Retail is now the top employer in the Valley."

Major retail developments that should stimulate employment this year include the
movie theater-office complex project in the North Hollywood Arts District and the
expansion of the Fashion Square/Sherman Oaks Mall.

Ackerman is bullish about renewed hiring once the writers strike, which has hurt local
services from restaurants and dry cleaners to production-related businesses, is resolved.
The entertainment industry employs about 115,000 people in the Valley, but with the strike,
that total has been reduced by up to 15 percent, he said. "If they come back in a reasonable
amount of time, we'll see a spike in related industries. It's going to reinvigorate the whole
industry because when the writers walk, a lot of other things stop. You've got postproduction,
editing, staging, construction, transportation, and that should all start coming back on line."

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.