Napa and “The Aspen Effect” | Napa Valley Register

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Napa and “The Aspen Effect”

Monday, June 30, 2008

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By MATT POPE

Newspeak

A populist frustration increasingly finding voice in Napa County is that the wine and hospitality industries are pulling in services and attractions that cater principally to upscale vacationers and tourists, while neglecting any sense of a local living wage and inadvertently threatening the very Ag preserve that those industries depend on through, among other things, jumbo-sized developments and hotel mega-resorts in areas that were once only the purview of B&B’s.

Napa County has become a textbook example of what Cornell University Economics Professor Robert H. Frank calls “The Aspen Effect” — his term for traffic and other challenges resulting from that small Colorado resort towns’ transformation into a playground for the wealthy.

The low-wage service workers needed by Aspen’s new spas, restaurants and hotels have little chance of buying or renting a home there and often must commute from distant and more affordable bedroom communities. As a result, Frank observed “all roads into Aspen are clogged morning and night with commuters.” Sound familiar?

An over-arching angst that I hear and read is that is that Napa County is undergoing a “Disney-fication,” becoming a simulacrum of a once-rural area that is quaint for tourists but not livable for locals or the people who work here.

On the other hand, different voices are saying that Napa could do worse than comparisons to upscale destinations such as Aspen. The rationale goes that most of the things that once made working-class life predominant in Napa are gone and not likely to return, and that the principle thing that we have to trade on — besides (or perhaps tangential to) wine grapes — is a bucolic setting and an iconic name.

I’m curious then what the blogosphere thinks. Can a middle-class economy be preserved in a region that is primarily dependent on upscale tourism?

Will our local jobs market continue to striate between low wage service workers and wealthy owners, with only a small professional and middle-wage class pinched in between? What, if any manufacturing and trades jobs could be promoted in Napa County to secure a viable working-class here?

60 comment(s)

vocal-de-local wrote on Jun 28, 2008 11:09 AM:

" Matt, I think it's a little too late to add manufacturing jobs in Napa County for the purpose of supporting a middle class. Reality dictates that we are already struggling with availability of middle class housing. The middle class cannot compete with wealthy outsiders who desire vacation homes. We also cannot continue building upward and outward to accommodate either the middle class or the lower paid hospitality industry without losing the very qualities which attract tourists to the area. Do we want to turn Napa into a concrete urban jungle or maintain the qualities which make this a desirable place to vacation and live?

It's human nature to fill a void to capacity as long as a void exists with an availability of resources. Napa has plenty of resources and humans are generally not self disciplined enough to stop filling a void, especially when the economic incentives to fill it outweigh the voices of those who already occupy a space within that void.

The solution at this point is to stop the uncontrolled growth of the hospitality industry. Such unbalanced planning has not given much thought to the future of our limited water resources nor the lack of infrastructure to support low wage hospitality workers. We cannot continue supporting an influx of migrant workers to fill the workforce void either because it increases population to an unhealthy level.

The answer is charging employers a transportation fee for every employee living beyond five miles of their workplace, or perhaps a fee should be applied to every employee hired. The fee will pay for public employee transportation to and from Fairfield and Vallejo. Employers will need to arrange transportation from drop off points. Those who benefit should pay. "

Lee wrote on Jun 28, 2008 12:17 PM:

" Matt, I think your point should be talked about alot. I read about people complaining about many things that are going on in this town/county, but it seems at times that when there really is something that could use many intelligent suggests, they just aren't interested. I'm sure from some of my more recent postings, you understand where I am coming from. The roads in this valley are already almost hopelessly impacted. I agreed when I first moved here with my husband that Napa should take advantage of the draw from the up-valley wineries and provide motel/hotel rooms so that they would also put some money into the local economy. But now I think they have gone vastly overboard. They have turned almost everything over to the tourist/wine industry. They drove out any industry that was here and now they think they can pay the bills with the taxes they can collect mainly from these 2 narrow industries. I think one thing they should consider is bringing back full rail service. Of course then you have a fight with St Helena and you also would need to replace train tracts from St Helena to Calistoga. Then also, I hope that American Canyon has enough people with the courage to stand up to the elitest idea of "world class city/county" to maybe see beyond the immediate profits. I really do think all this building for one main economy is extremely shortsighted and along the vein of "I got mine, now you go away". One suggestion my husband said this morning was along the lines of what San Francisco did with a "living wage" ordinance. That was just a beginning idea. "

musikluvr wrote on Jun 28, 2008 2:34 PM:

" There are many issues that are wrong in this column that it would take days to rebut, so here goes. (1) The reason we have so much traffic into Napa is because there are over 1,000 high school kids who drive to Vintage high daily from AmCany because so called AmCan "planners" like you "forgot" to build a high school when they quadrupled the population in the last 8 years and built over 2,000 new houses. It's because you "forgot" to widen your roads when you added all this population. You failed to require the developers to provide for the infrastructure and now you burden the entire county with your problems. (2) Tourists don't threaten the Ag Preserve because it is set in stone. (3) Napa is not an example of Aspen - we have nearly 29,000 dwellings in this town including Westwood, Bel Aire and the girl streets - each with hundredss of entry level houses and apartments and duplexes. (4) Napa industry is not "primarily dependent on upscale tourism" it is a commuter town. (5) Napa is not stratified between low wage and wealthy, it is a blue collar town (sorry you can't foment class warfare). (6) Just exactly what manufacturing and trade jobs would your recommend since America is now basically a service economy? "

musikluvr wrote on Jun 28, 2008 6:56 PM:

" To Lee: I tried to read and understand you post but couldn't. You said you agreed before to have tourism but now you disagree? So what remedy do you have or is it that you simply change your mind? And, just what industry was here that "they" drove out? And, who is "They"? And, what "full rail service" is it that "they" can bring back. In the 19th Century there was a train to Vallejo, is that what you mean? If so, who wants to take a train to Vallejo? And, what is your point about AmCan's elitism? AmCan is a wide spot in HWY 29 and the last to have any elitism. I have several other questions about your post but if I could an answer to these it would be a big help. "

boots wrote on Jun 29, 2008 6:56 AM:

" Three golf courses within 5 minutes of Pope Valley Garage! The planners in this county have lost their minds! Yes it is the STAFF who brings the stuff to the BOS!~~!!~~~

This kind of development is the problem. Do the math:200 employees to mow the grass, ferch the cocktails and trim toe nails at Aetna Springs and the Planning Dept/BOS approved this with no thought to the impacts on rural charachter, traffic, safety???????

The fish dies from the head down.....something is stinking in the Conservation, Development and Planning Dept! "

Lee wrote on Jun 29, 2008 8:00 AM:

" To Musikluvr; Have you ever heard of "too much of a good thing"? How "over board" on the number of hotel rooms do you think are needed? The roads are already impacted. There used to be a number of light industry here like Kaiser Steel, Rough Riders, Basalt Rock, Tanneries, Napa Glove factory. There used to be many residents in Napa who also worked at Mare Island before it closed also. New industries need to be courted to come to Napa. There could be factories related to wind energy, and solar energy. There used to be rail service for passengers and freight all the way to Calistoga. Some people commute to San Francisco and could take a train to Vallejo and then the ferry to San Fran. That would also help traffic. There used to be shipping ports here even. About Am Can and elitism, I said I hoped Am Can could keep the elite attitude out of Am Can and maybe they could help to save this valley from the singlemindedness that the rest of this valley is headed for. Right now this valley is headed towards a single minded economy of wine/tourists and that's it. Even people who are in the "markets" know to diversify. Why don't you try some reasonable suggestions instead of all negativeism? "

musikluvr wrote on Jun 29, 2008 10:48 AM:

" To Lee: You seem to be living in the past and ignoring what is occurring today. The industries you mention are no longer functional in the U.S. If you reopened them they would be nothing but museums. Many new businesses have come to Napa County. Have you seen the industrial area around the airport? Iff the wind and solar energy industries are profitable they will come but not until then. Businesses don't just pop up because you want them to. And, We can't have rail service because Bill Dodd took it out of the Measure H proposal in 2006. He is the main transportation person here and he doesn't want it. "

LMW wrote on Jun 29, 2008 11:16 AM:

" I'd prefer Carbondale, Co........ "

musikluvr wrote on Jun 29, 2008 11:27 AM:

" To Lee: If you think Napa's economy is "single minded wine/tourist" don't you realize that the state and local governments - Napa State, Vets home, schools, cities and county - are the largest employers in the county? Did you see the article in yesterday's NVR which indicates QV hospital employs 1,600 people? I think you should check your facts before you put pen to paper. "

Bill wrote on Jun 29, 2008 2:50 PM:

" Perhaps the heart of the question is what exactly is middle class? It has such a nebulous application. Many people think and feel they belong to this great American middle area yet barley manage to hang on to an economic definition with out passing into the realm of morality.

Is there a compatible standard that defines middle class by both income and values? Or are we speaking of what is considered by some progenitors of economic theory of the petite bourgeois that part of society that are wana be capitalists but can’t quite make the leap? Just what and who is middle class?

I venture that most people are working class barely hanging on to their dreams of home ownership and stable family and work environments if in deed they truly have fulfilled such dreams. Like it or not this class now includes many who regard themselves as professional or management types. The inability to recognize that the so called middle class is very small and that the myth of American society being largely middle class is a fairy tale almost as ubiquitous as anything the failed theories of Marx could propagate.

The emphasis should be that if you do not have a viable working class you do not have a viable or sustainable society. Crying a river over “professionals” and “middle income” sandwiched between the wealthy and “Los de Abajo” is close to pure political jargon however it is draped in apparent reasonableness.

A society willing to substitute real wage earning working people for imported serfs from Fairfield or Michoacán is not sustainable. "

Lee wrote on Jun 29, 2008 3:37 PM:

" Musikluvr; I'm well aware of the hiring that the Napa State Hospital is planning. They've been understaffed for years. I'm also quite aware of the staffing needs of QVH. A large percentage of employees for both those places commute into Napa or haven't you bothered to notice the impacted roads called Jameson Canyon and Hyw 29. The object of the original letter by Matt was talking about that problem of gridlock, remember? More and more hotels means more and more commuters also. But if you think with most of your economy being in wine/tourist is ok, than fine. You might want to hope that the vineyards never get wiped out like the central valley. It's very poor farming to plant acre after acre of the same crop with no break. The same disease can wipe them all out quite efficiently. "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jun 30, 2008 12:53 AM:

" Whew- OK, everyone can relax- for musikluvr has shared his command of the facts with us and has set the record straight.

According to ML, all is well and that, apparently, once American Canyon's high school is built, all gridlock on Hwy 29 will cease and the traffic will flow like water; that the NCT&PA studies showing 85% of the traffic originating from outside the county is just false and made up; that there is plenty of affordable housing in Napa and there is no sign of a struggle for young families who grow up here to continue to live and work here; that there is no concern about tourist and residential development encroaching on Ag land or the incorporated county land such that, oh I don't know, almost 50% of voters voted for a ballot measure that would take such development decisions out of the hands of the BOS and out it to a vote of the people; and that the service sector-both locally and nationally- has perfectly replaced manufacturing and skilled trades jobs in this country with strong wages that keep up with cost of living, robust benefits and health insurance and a sound pension plan.

Whew, I thought we had concerns to address, but according to Muslkluvr world, all is just fine and whatever is wrong-from traffic, to the recession, to the disappearing Western Honeybees to the cost of oil, is somehow just American Canyon's fault. "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jun 30, 2008 1:13 AM:

" Bill- as usual, your observations cut to the heart of the matter.

To be candid, I am deeply worried about America- I fear we are in a bigger crisis than we realize as the middle/working- not quite rich, but not quite poor- class, (and I agree, defining that alone is several columns' worth) is unraveling.

Oil prices aren't likely to come back to what they were and- after the recent meltdowns, the illusion that we can float the gaps in our daily lives, from groceries to mortgages, on credit had exploded.

For the last 30 years those living in poverty in the US have flat-lined; the net-worth, savings, relative earnings, job security and economic muscle of the broad 'middle' class leveled off and is beginning a precipitous decline and the accumulated wealth of the top 5% is skyrocketing. A stable middle income class of working people is, in my opinion, the difference between- if you'll pardon the indelicate terms- a first world and a third world- standard of living.

Its funny, I don't know when I lost it, but at some point I edited out of this piece exactly the words you used- that a low-level service economy is non-sustainable- locally and nationally. We see it here everyday in the traffic and the questions about housing.

What I am genuinely interested in is how can America get back to having a sustainable working class? Maybe it doesn't mean turning wrenches in the traditional ways, but I have to believe we still have more options than the service sector. "

Lee wrote on Jun 30, 2008 12:54 PM:

" Matt; glad to see you are back. I don't know if you managed to catch any of the congressional committee meetings on CSpan this past weekend but there was a very good one concerning our problems with the price of oil. It had a lot of discussions about the commodities markets and oil futures. Anyways I get off subject. I mentioned earlier about possibly more rail service in this valley. I know DeDominichi was hoping to have more service when he started the wine train to also help take cars and possibly freight off the impacted highways in this valley. He got alot of "guff" from the NIMBY's here and St Helena was real stubborn about it. I think Bill mentioned light rail which would be good but would require considerable work to get tracts back to that level I'm afraid. I had trouble with the image verify signs a couple of times but we won't get any of these things or even any new light industry back unless the "town fathers" are willing to court other than hotel developers. I also think if hotels are going to charge the prices they charge, they should be able to pay more livable wages. I too am concerned about our country and the split that is growing between the "middleclass" and the wealthy bosses. These bosses seem to not think beyond the end of their noses. "Make my millions now, who cares what happens later". "

sickothis wrote on Jun 30, 2008 1:04 PM:

" I believe it is NVEDC's job to court new business to the city. It would be Council's job to approve tax credits as an incentive to move a specific company to the Valley. Could be wrong here, but that's how I understand it. "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jun 30, 2008 3:00 PM:

" Hi Lee- thanks its good to be back -took a mini vacation over the weekend but tried to keep tabs on things.

No I missed the hearings, but they sound interesting. 74% of oil costs is speculation on the price of crude. I wonder if we're going to see an oil bubble similar to dot.com and housing of overinflated costs and profits due to speculative and over-indulged markets?

I too would love to see a return to rail, especially with Mag Lev. Last February the Am Can chamber of commerce sponsored a trip to China where- among other things, they got to see the emissions-free Mag Lev high speed trains there. You're right in that the logistics of making that work here are steep to the point of being not realistic anytime soon, but- similar to our national oil crisis, we're at the point where tinkering in the margins and hoping to keep up our high-consuming lifestyle uniterrupted is no longer a vialble or realistic option, and all ideas need to be on the table.

Particualry here in AC, we have a proud rail history and I'm excited that the new Kendall Jackson/Biagi warehouse calls for having 80% of wine shipments going out of AC on rail in the next five years. "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jun 30, 2008 3:08 PM:

" Hi Sicko- yes that's a pretty good assessment of the relationship, although I think NVEDC is concerned with attracting business investment for the whole county not just one community- while the individual city chambers of commerce focus on new businesses for the cities.

You're also right that city councils and the BOS can work at establishing policies to stimulate businesses that bring things that are needed- in this case good jobs creation that make existing homes affordable and stabilize the economy. The service sector is characterized by low wages, piecemeal benefits and high turnover- it is, as Bill observes- non sustainable.

It is an example of public and private working together and it calls for a regional vision of what our valley needs beyond an economic monoculture. Can we build solar panels and fuel cells here? Are there infrastructures still in place- Napa Pipe- that can be used for high end manufacturing, precision items not relaibly outsourced? I don't pretend to have the answers, but I want to ask the questions before throwing up my hands and giving up. "

sickothis wrote on Jun 30, 2008 3:39 PM:

" Matt - the reality is that Oregon Steel tried to sell the property for a year before Rogal et al bought it. However - if you look at the airport and consider companies like Santen and Dynacraft, you will recognize that there ARE high tech jobs in the County. If you ask companies that consider relocating here what do you think their overarching concerns are? Housing, work/live (lifestyle), traffic. We can't lure business here without addressing Jamison, 29/Soscol, and the biggie a flyover at the airport. Just isn't gonna happen untill the average joe can get to work and back in a reasonable amount of time, get to the doctor or the grocery store, etc. As it is - if you work at the airport it is close to an hour round trip to get uptown to get food. That ain't tourists, folks. That's just people getting around. Matt you brely touched on the NCTPA study that showed something like 80% of the cars on the roads in the Valley are single occupant. Who are single occupant drivers? Workers. "

Lee wrote on Jun 30, 2008 4:22 PM:

" Sickothis; I like what you are saying. Do you by any chance know if there is any possibility of maybe electric buses or other type transportation possibly for some of this work congestion. We definitely do need something like that. Perhaps even Bart. Sounds like you have more ways to get information than I do at this time. I'm not "out-there" as much as I used to be. There used to be a deep water channel to Napa Pipe and if that is still available perhaps light manufacturing like wind vanes or solar cells could be a viable possiblity there and would be "shipable". Or by rail if at all possible. Also, with the price of gas and disel, some of the new fuels such as disel from vegetable oil or other such possiblities could perhaps fit into the mix. I think it would be great if we could encourage more people to get there "thinking hats" on for possible diversifying and working on gridlock of traffic. "

Bill wrote on Jun 30, 2008 5:25 PM:

" One reality about Oregon steel, they specifically looked for buyers that would not possibly compete with their new facility in Oregon. They could careless what happened to the property but would care if anyone could develop any type of facility that would come close to cutting any of their market share.

They began dismantling the place well before they left and turned down legitimate offers for pieces of the property insisting that the whole must be purchased. Oregon steel and the current owners had no intention of seeing any industrial site for any type of industrial production, which certainly served Oregon steels purposes quite well.

I do not understand how the present group purchased the current property without some understanding that they could easily convert industrial property into lucrative housing and strip mall projects. They are not just any dumb group of investors or developers they continued with the dismemberment of the facility almost with the complicit consent of the BOS. I have seen them tour the property hand in hand with Rogal and his chief overseer. Never did they contact any one who may have been interested in continuing business on the property even while there was a viable enterprise operating right under their noses.

Also light rail was not my suggestion. But a freight train runs through this property and owns the right of way, which everyone also overlooks, and it is not the wine train. "

sickothis wrote on Jun 30, 2008 6:16 PM:

" Bill - that may be true (I honestly don't remember) but it did not preclude other industrial use. Imagine if they had put a monster wine warehouse there. Think of all the semis tearing up the roads. It IS the semis that tear up the roads, not commuter traffic. Just a fact. Also - go read my post on Michael's article. Bushco is killing off the Solar industry intentionally. Again, just a fact. So we won't be relocating any wind turbine companies or solar panel manufacturers here anytime soon. Not to mention that the citizens in the Valley were so smart about killing the College bond that would have built facilities for a solar tech program. Industry likes communities that invest in their colleges so they have a local community of skilled labor. They like communities that invest in their roads so all of their stuff can come and go safely and efficiently. We have to face up to the fact that the musicluvrs of the Valley are killing industry in the Valley by not investing in the infrastructure businesses like to see to lay out the millions in capital to move to a new community, and are therefore guaranteeing that Napa Pipe with be 3200 new homes. "

Dhappel54 wrote on Jun 30, 2008 7:04 PM:

" Hi Matt

You pose a critical question. The problem is one with a huge number of interconnected parts--development, jobs, traffic, transportation, rural vs suburban visions for Napa and many more. At the heart, though, is how do Napans leverage these luxury developments to provide benefits for the people who live here? In many California cities they require agreements around local hiring, community access, living wages, transportation offsets, etc. before they'll approve them.

Lastly, it is no coincidence that wages for most Americans have stagnated as the number of people in unions has declined. Insuring that the people who work in these new enterprises have the right to choose whether they want a union without being threatened or coerced by management should be a part of any development agreement. "

daveposner wrote on Jun 30, 2008 11:53 PM:

" I don't know if my situation is instructive or not but fwiw: I live in Napa and make a good living in "manufacturing." What I manufacture are computer programs. I do virtually all my work from home over the internet. Most of the other employees do the same. With cell phones, email, computer engineering systems, computer simulation, online front office and back office functions, and the internet with multimegabaud connections there's actually little need for physical presence in many jobs. (As far as I can tell the main function is so that managers can harass employees.) My company is abandoning offices and it's a growing trend. I wonder how many functions at a newspaper require having an office for example. More and more aspects production is moving from physical to mental activity. If I asked my mechanic what his most valuable tool was, he'd say it was his diagnositic computer which gets most of its data from the internal diagnostics in the car. With on-board wireless eventually he won't even need the physical presence of the car. Blue collar/white collar is being replaced by no collar (and no shirt for that matter.) The solution to the transportation problem is to eliminate the need for it. The high cost of energy will only encourage this trend. "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jul 1, 2008 10:39 AM:

" ...You also make really good points about industry needing to see investment in the community by the community- from roads to schools. Silicon Valley was basically entirely a function of Stanford University- not that we would want to emulate what happened in the Santa Clara Valley- some of the world’s best Ag land paved over for high tech campuses and strip malls, but we can draw some lessons and not be the exact opposite- reclusive and with a crumbling infrastructure that is hostile to any outside investment besides new hotels.

And yes, the NCT&PA studies show the majority of the trips are workers coming into the County, or passing through on their way some place else- meaning traffic is a regional problem that requires regional solutions, including not just the new sales tax-road repair measure being readied, but also conditioning employer vanpooling, boosting VINE ridership, being more consistent in requiring traffic mitigations in North County from new tourist, winery and hospitality developments, and looking at more innovative workforce housing options at remote locations such as onsite housing. "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jul 1, 2008 10:39 AM:

" Sickothis, its interesting your comment about companies relocation concerns- housing, work/live, traffic. That’s what I’m hearing in all the contemporary city planning studies as well. Particularly the ‘creative class’- i.e. the folks underpinning much of the information/IT/high tech economy- they are much more concerned with work/life balance, living in urbanized environments with walkable access to shops, recreation, parks and open space, cafes, entertainment, and social opportunities. These folks are decidedly not interested in sprawling single-family residential homes that have been the trend in urban/suburban development for the last fifty years. That’s why projects like Napa Junction and American Canyon Town Center- with an emphasis on mixed use residential (although there is still some interest in building yet more single family rooftops there, which is not as desirable), in proximity to a work area such as Am Can’s Green Island Road light industrial area and the airport corporate park makes sense- putting more New Urbanist diverse housing options near places well suited to create jobs… "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jul 1, 2008 10:51 AM:

" Lee- I keep going back to a vision in my mind of Napa Valley being not just famous for wine and an Ag preserve- but also a burgeoning “green tech” industry. In fact, I think it would fit in a lot of people’s mind: a lush, untouchable agriculture preserve and converted manufacturing areas now conditioned to employ local workers first to build solar panels, fuel cells, biomass and other things people smarter than me can dream up. As Sicko suggests, have NCT&PA, city and county governments, NVEDC and local chambers of commerce, and Napa Valley College work together to stimulate a green investment strategy- after all, we already have a functioning solar farm at NVC which is producing real results and savings right now.

And yes, we also have the under-used rail assets. Again, I was very pleased that the recently approved Biagi warehouse in American Canyon proposed to have 80% of wine shipped by rail in five years. They also, after hearing our feedback on the first study session for the project, came back with a number of energy efficient and ‘green’ design features and are contemplating LEED certification. "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jul 1, 2008 11:03 AM:

" DHappel54- boy you said- or rather wrote- a mouthful there. I totally agree with your assessment that middle/working class quality of life has declined at the same time that union participation has dropped off.

The Valley’s decision makers are whistling in the dark if they don’t fully comprehend already that the growth of our hospitality sector is for sure going to bring vast new organizing efforts from unions such as Unite Here. History shows that union jobs tend to be good jobs and most of our thornier challenges right now- such as workforce housing and traffic- stem from the fact that workers can’t afford to live and work in the Valley at the same time. "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jul 1, 2008 11:22 AM:

" Hey dave- I seem to recall hearing in an NCT&PA session is that Napa County has the state’s highest rate of people working from home. On a broad philosophical note I believe that for many jobs- such as being a programmer or code writer, the need to drive to a physical location and hang out there for eight or more hours is an anachronism.

As far as newspapers- for sure there is a big migration from print to web right now, which could conceivably reduce the need for staff to be in a brick and mortar building. Although I’m not a member of the NVR staff, I can say that I write this column and respond to comments from my home office.

You do raise a good consideration as well- it would seem that, especially with the younger generations, there seems to be more interest in working with creativity and information technology. On the other hand, I also hear a call from some in the education sector that we need to get away from the paradigm that primary and secondary education should be almost universally predicated on the idea that all kids should be prepped for college- as opposed to trades and vocations. I’d be curious what data is available out there that suggests what the interests and aptitudes tend to be for future generations between working primarily with ‘mental’ activities, versus working primarily with the hands- or for that matter, where there are new jobs that require equal amounts of both. "

sickothis wrote on Jul 1, 2008 1:09 PM:

" Matt - the concepts are nothing new. I first heard them 25 years ago in a geographical area where major industry moved out and caused widespread recession, depression and poverty. Similar circumstances as Napa Valley, and entirely the same reaction by the old guard locals. Now, 25 years later the only industry that survives is tourism, and the tax base is decimated because the housing is half 2nd home/vacation rental. Schools closed, no stores for the locals. And guess what the locals were all up in arms about then. We don't want houses, we want industry to infill all that unused industrial space. Problem was no industry want to move there because of the factors I mentioned (even though there was an extremely strong EDC that worked very closely with local government). "

Lee wrote on Jul 1, 2008 2:16 PM:

" Lets try this once more with gusto. I got dumped because of the image verification. I agree with all of the recent posters. There are many careers that can be accomplished from home now. That is a good thing. I would like to see the problem with restricting placement of solar panels removed. I think industry that worked on the storage of energy from wind machines and solar and finding ways to allow drawing on those stores would be good. Also there is a probability that this valley could need a means to get more water available. Homes and vinyards use quite a bit of water. Better means to recycle safe and acceptable water and desalinate water could be a very needed industry in our future. Sailors who sail around the world in sail boats already use many of these energy industries. Some of there input could be helpful. I think I'll quit while I'm ahead and hope this make it through the verification this time. I'm wait for some more input. "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jul 1, 2008 2:47 PM:

" Sickothis- you bring an interesting perspective from someone who- it sounds like- has ‘been there and done that’ already. If I’m understanding you correctly, you’re previous experience is that the local economy shrinks due to industry moving out and then a vicious cycle is created by voices that decry that things are not the way they were, but at the same time, they don’t want anything new either.

Naturally, as the economic base of the community shrinks people have less job and financial security and aren’t excited about the prospect of new taxes to modernize roads, schools, infrastructure and public services- which in turn keeps new industry from wanting to move in. Then a fast-sales tax and TOT revenue, but low-wage tourism, hospitality and vacation economy takes over which ends up driving up the cost of living (housing, real estate, nightlife and recreation, services), straining infrastructure and roads and not pumping sufficient revenue in property taxes back into the local system.

Do you mind if I ask where this previous place was, sounds like some good case-study/cautionary tale material for Napa County to learn from? "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jul 1, 2008 3:08 PM:

" Lee- yes we have lots of options for creativity- something America has always excelled at- around conservation, recycling and renewable energy. I am deeply skeptical of the voices who say “sounds great, but we just can’t do it”. In my column on May 16th, I talked about some of the interesting things the South Nevada Water Authority- an agency with some real water supply and conservation challenges, as you might imagine- are doing about it. In the last few years, they’ve managed to significantly curtail water use in Las Vegas- which gets about 4.5 inches of rain per year- by fairly simple things, not lest of which was requiring home and retail developers to put in smaller decorative lawns with more natural desert-scaping, shade landscaping and drought resistant foliage. Residential and decorative turf out in the dry blazing sun was using 73 gallons per-lawn-foot, per-year of H2O to keep green- a rate that would require at least 10 inches of rain per year to sustain. After some of these new turf restrictions and conversion to desert-scaping, they now use only 17 gallons per lawn-foot per year.

Also, just a hint on the image verification- it updates every few minutes, so if you’re logged in for a long time while writing your comments, the image code will change without you seeing it- thus it will reject the code that you still see on your screen. What I do is write my comments out in Word and then cut and paste them. I learned that the hard-way too, when many of my longer comments disappeared forever! Thanks for your comments. "

daveposner wrote on Jul 1, 2008 3:49 PM:

" Matt,

you missed my point. I have no idea whether my mechanic went to college or not -- it's irrelevant. A significant and growing part of his job is carried out on a computer. Whether or not reporters are reporting on the web their stories are written on computers and sent to the editors who edit them on a computer and send them to whoever lays out the paper who uses typesetting software to generate type for the presses which are probably operated from a console. The paper and ink may have to be moved by humans but it must be a very small part of what goes on at a paper. It's true that people still need to hammer nails and turn wrenches but most of the design and planning of construction and manufacturing is done in a virtual environment.

And remember the internet is not just the web. It allows virtual connections to any computer anywhere. So all the accounting data processing and other back office functions canbe done from home.

It may be that I'm overestimating the amount of work done electronically but suppose we invested in making broadband availiable to everyone and created economic incentives for companies to let their workers work part of their jobs at home doesn't it seem likely that a larger number of people could reduce their commutes by one or two days a week and wouldn't that have an enormous impact on transportation and energy. One thing we probably need to figure out is how local communities derive business taxes when workers are working at home. These taxes should go in part to supporting the virtual infrastructure. "

Bill wrote on Jul 1, 2008 4:41 PM:

" Just another ascerbic comment for the work at home folks. Your work is as easily done and is bieng done in the exoctic surroudings of Manilla and Mumbai.

If you think you can not live with out the jerk with the wrench or spade hold on tight to those laptops becuse some one has to run the machines you program some place in real space. "

Lee wrote on Jul 1, 2008 4:46 PM:

" Dave, you have in my opinion a very important point,and by the way, please don't quit like your letter suggests just because you are turning 60 this month. I'm past 60 and I'm not ready to be "put out to pasture". Actually, I have more time now so I can keep up to date on the government and help my very busy children keep abreast of the situations. One of the things you talk about that using the Internet can be done from home I think is very important. Think about the people who have a disability. Maybe they can't walk or can't move easily. Whatever, they still have a brain and they can still think, and they could be very productive individuals. No ramps would be required to get them to there work place. I am a retired nurse and I can think of many very intelligent people who could offer a lot but they have this physical disability that limits them, like perhap a paraplegic. He injured his neck and spinal cord. That didn't affect his intelligence. I do think that "green tech" industry will be very important in the future also in a number of areas. By the way, thanks Matt for the suggestion on how to work around the image verification problem. I need to work on that. I usually ready posts and react. Should type them in word but don't. I'm slapping my hands, really. "

daveposner wrote on Jul 1, 2008 9:14 PM:

" Bill,

(You really *are* a curmudgeon aren't you!) To state the obvious, I never called anybody a jerk. I have infinite respect for people that can work with their hands and build real stuff and I never said that we can do without manual labor and craftsman. There will always be that need. But a lot of us can do our work virtually. As for off-shoring, that's true whether or not we like it and allow people to work at home. Making them come to offices isn't going to save their jobs. And of course the same is true with respect to physical manufacturing. Unfortunately whatever we do we're going to have to compete and we can only do that by increasing productivity and one way to do that is to eliminate unnecessary commuting. When I was commuting I needed a good hour to decompress before I could do anything. My productivity has increased vastly since I stopped commuting and moved to this beautiful valley. "

NVGal wrote on Jul 1, 2008 9:51 PM:

" The best thing about Napa is that it does have the wine reputation. I worked for a synthetic cork manufacturer, and what we did in South Napa we could have done any where. But because corks are related to the wine industry, they wanted the Napa address. We had very few customers that we sold cork to in Napa. Most of our customers were in Europe and Argentina. The downside to this is that as a manufacturing firm, there were only a couple of us that actually lived in Napa, out of about 35 employees. Not all of it was related to income. Much of it has to do with where people want to live, they want to live near family and friends, people they relate to, businesses that cater to them.

Jobs that would be helpful here would be design/computer related jobs (Marketing, etc) that could easily have clients in Napa Valley as well as Dubai. We just have to get smarter as to how we are going to be adding value to a global world where anyone can compete now. This a great opportunity for all of us. We can do jobs now that were only available to us if we lived near them. Napa has a huge opportunity to attract jobs that are related to the wine industry but not necessarily dependent on the wine industry for survival. "

NVGal wrote on Jul 1, 2008 9:58 PM:

" Dave- I totally agree with you. It would be great if Napa set up areas that you could come and do work with others that worked from home, sort of like a library without the books. It would be ideal for networking, sharing ideas, etc. and I think it would help attract businesses those businesses that are giving up their offices. I wish that the president of my co. was as forward thinking as yours.

PS – Don’t stop voting. But can you pick up the pace a bit? :) "

Bill wrote on Jul 1, 2008 10:12 PM:

" A little thin skin here now? No ones attacking you merely shining a light on the work at home theory. It's a really dreamy idea. In some aspects it is the future but the future is also Manila and Mumbai.

If people will not come here and work cheap, the easily exported jobs will go there. Nothing travels faster than intellect and people work with their minds in all environments. skill command and a key board are not all that difficult to master many computer skills are picked by youngsters just like mechanical skills building a hot rod. those who feel comfortable because they master a complicated program should realize that there is more to production than a paper trail for management tracking and bar coding. It still takes more than a robot to move goods and provide services.

Decompress a little and see that there is more than just you or my life style that must or is changing but what type of society we are building and just who we are leaving behind. It is still the men and women who do the physical work that make society function. You can move bits and bites about cyberspace but you still need a delivery boy to get your groceries and some one to grow and package them even if all this can be tracked and implemented by a data entry operator/manager. "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jul 2, 2008 1:11 AM:

" One thought that I only touched on briefly in the column, and that Lee references in a much earlier comment: what does the group think about the issue of a living wage?

According to the draft County general plan, housing affordability in Napa County saw the steepest decline earlier this decade of all nine Bay Area counties, and the combination of wage levels and median house prices makes housing “affordable” to only 22% of Napa County households.

The general plan estimates that the median wage in the county is $13.76 per hour, but that for a two bedroom apartment at the local fair market rent of $1,112 a month, a worker would need to make $21.38 per hour on a fulltime, 40 hour/week job.

Since 1995 there has been a ‘living wage movement’- that is regional wage minimums in excess of the Fed. Minimum Wage standard that more accurately account for what a worker needs to cover life basics (often adjusted for both with and without health benefits) by local cost of living standards.

Given the lack of affordable housing and traffic caused by the service sector, and the apparent gap between median wages in the county and estimated needs just for rent- would the County do well to have a living wage ordinance- and/or other creative options such as local Earned Income Tax Credits? "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jul 2, 2008 1:15 AM:

" Also, I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on Vocal-de-Local's first suggestion on this thread: charging employer's a fee, presumably above and beyond normal traffic impact fees- (which, apparently many North county developments got off pretty easy on) for employees living beyond five miles from their workplace? "

matt@newspeak wrote on Jul 2, 2008 1:26 AM:

" Hi Dave- actually, I think did take your point earlier- I just went off on a tangent of my own with it.

Interestingly, in a lot of rural legislation lately- here in California and in the most recent monstrosity of a Federal Farm Bill, there has been a big push for rural broadband access to improve Internet connectivity in more outlying spaces. For sure the virtual workplace will be an increasing part of our landscape and I would hope that that would have a beneficial effect on reducing commute time and traffic.

To Bill's point, the flip side of this is once these types of jobs start moving about, they can go anywhere- even offshore. "

missmarvelous wrote on Jul 2, 2008 6:29 AM:

" The city and county should require that any new wineries and hotel provide affordable housing for their workers, with in a certain distance of the business to encourage walking and bike ridding to work. Other surrounding counties and cities should not have to house Napa counties working poor. Immigrant workers should not have to sleep under bridges and in churches so they can pick grapes or scrub the toilets of wealthy winery owners or luxury hotels. "

sickothis wrote on Jul 2, 2008 10:20 AM:

" NVGal - That's called a "Business Incubator," and is a part of the earlier comments that I made. One way to seriously stimulate economic activity and create dynamic, cutting edge technology companies is a public/private venture that provides high quality space, shared resources (phones/copiers/reception/bandwidth/etc.) in a central location and with similarly focused industrial concerns. They typically feed local supply chain needs, though not necessarily. In general they are tied to colleges and universities (Hmmmm....). Now consider proposing that NVC, PUC, and Napa Redevelopment Partners (AKA Napa Pipe) in conjunction with the State of California and the Federal Government (Lotsa grant money to be had) build 30k feet or so of shared high tech manufacturing/R&D space... "

Bill wrote on Jul 2, 2008 9:33 PM:

" A livable wage? I don’t think that works, the disparity between local economies seems too great. What is required in Woodland, Arbuckle or Napa would certainly be quite different let alone by dividing it regionally. It would probably reduce the fast food industry dramatically which might be a good effect. I see it as an inflationary prospect not a sustainable solution to low wages. They idea that all labors value should be leveled by means of a livable wage does not appear feasible, 13 to 20 per hour for working in MacDonalds or the local ice cream parlor, clerking at Wal Mart?

This is where unionism has fallen down, it is one thing to organize for collective bargaining power but to ask that an across the board wage be established appears to stifle all notion of incentive. The biggest union problem from my point of view is that they stopped being organizers and started being mere business agents and never promoted active internal participation by their memberships as it threatened their hierarchy. They copted the attitude that I got mine to heck with the rest, for union organizing and restructuring to have a real voice in the board room needs to be rethought, not the focus of a standardized wage that echoes the sound bite of one big union.

Someone has a lot of convincing to do on this one. I’m certainly not there. "

Bill wrote on Jul 2, 2008 10:15 PM:

" I appear to be on a mission to rain on parades this week. Let’s see having employers fund housing or require that employees live with in five miles of work? Does that apply to the factory fields of Napa? Another fee scheme to add to many innovations lets see on premise child care, housing subsidy charge and a few others I’m missing like the terrible workers comp program. I consider myself pretty far out as in left out but unless there is an incentive for employers to foot the bill, like it makes sense to have the health of your workers and their families cared for but at some point there is a personal responsibility.

Improved public transportation is better than trying to force another community to cluster about a winery or any enterprise, a credit for reimbursement for using such transportation might be a better approach. There is a mixed market system at work no matter how much some would like to deny it and use the rubric of free enterprise but there is a point where the benefit must fit the need and fairness is necessary to all parties. "

misfit wrote on Jul 3, 2008 8:14 AM:

" I would think the influx of the Uber wealthy into Napa would make many locals happy. They do seem to share many of the same values and tend to vote the same way. What's the problem? "

Lee wrote on Jul 3, 2008 9:46 AM:

" misfit; I'm not sure I get your drift about we locals should like the uber wealthy moving into Napa. I haven't met an uber wealthy who had my values yet unless you mean Warren Buffet. Catch you all in a few days. Have to go places. "

steph wrote on Jul 3, 2008 3:49 PM:

" Dang, Bill, you're making a lot of sense these days. You feelin' ok? "

steph wrote on Jul 3, 2008 3:52 PM:

" missmarvelous--the workers living under bridges, if there is such a thing, are there because they spend their wages in Mexico. Mexico's economy doesn't support Mexican workers, so they come here to earn money and send it home, hoping to support their families and maybe even build a house of their own. "

Bill wrote on Jul 3, 2008 5:51 PM:

" Anyone living so close to Ayn Rand always has a problem with people who feel OK with reality instead of fiction.

Especially those that assume they know what the other person thinks or believes and uses assumptions to frame their comments. Not feelin' too well your self Steph? Excuse me I don't want the ladies offended by some one who may actually think about problems. Too chauvinistic, I know. "

steph wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:00 PM:

" Bill, I love it when you talk like that to me. "

109823 wrote on Jul 3, 2008 11:52 PM:

" Why don't they put 3200 new homes in Aspen. We'll observe the out come and call it " The Napa Affect" "

kevin wrote on Jul 4, 2008 12:33 PM:

" steph, I think you're right. Bill is even making sense to me. Scary.... "

Bill wrote on Jul 5, 2008 2:16 PM:

" Kevin, it must always be scary when you realize that people don't fit the straight jacket mind set you wish upon them.

Ideas must be a very scary place to go especially if they don't match your current perception. "

NVGal wrote on Jul 6, 2008 10:22 AM:

" Also, keep in mind that a employer looks at the fully burdened cost when hiring an employee, so an employee maiking $15.00 an hour costs the company between $20 to $25 per hour depending on the type of medical insurance/benefits provided. That is roughly $46,000 per year for a $15.00 per hour employee.

So when adding or replacing an employee, all of these costs/taxes are considered together. If the cost is too high and they can shuffle the work load around, they won't hire or replace an employee.

It is best for government to work with businesses rather tnan force a company to pay more. If the cost of doing business in one area is too great, a business will relocate, sell or close it's doors. "

NapaNative times five wrote on Jul 6, 2008 4:33 PM:

" Napa's downtown looks horrid with MEGA structures EVERYWHERE! One can hardly view our lovely hills or hear the creek and river anymore.

I terribly miss the Napa of my youth, or any resemblance of it. "

abouttime wrote on Jul 6, 2008 11:36 PM:

" Napa Native, downtown is looking better than it ever has. It was always a pit. Finally we will have quality retail and the great restaurants are fantastic. The new buildings and hotels are a joy to behold. The Oxbow and the new complex at Main an 3rd are just the beginning.

Let's face the reality. The Aspen effect is here. You can fight against it, but it's here to stay. Not every town can have affordable housing. Not everyone can live here. That is an inconvenient truth, but a truth none the less. We can talk about these things and we can try our best to deal with while liberal guilt. The reality is we will do what we can and life will go on. Changes will happen and by an large they are changes for the better. We will make some mistakes, but we are on our way to a world class city in a world class Valley. Many of us have waited a long time for this and grateful we are on the verge. "

jeepracer10 wrote on Jul 8, 2008 10:29 AM:

" The city and county just needs to charge luxury taxs on everything tourist related. This will help maintain the infrastructure and pay the salaries of city/county workers. "

essare wrote on Jul 8, 2008 10:59 PM:

" Wow, I used to live in Aspen. It is way nicer than Napa! It's an expensive place to live but there are ways there to make a living and live in the local area. The last time I was there there was hardly any traffic into town because they put up a 4 lane road on Hwy 82, like what needs to be done here on dangerous Hwy 12. I don't think Napa could ever be like Aspen though. There's absolutely no night life here and not much else to do for tourists besides travel through Napa on their way to wineries. The infrastructure here is crumbling and I cannot understand why so many people write about the days of old and long for them. It's time to open up the Napa airport to commerical flights just like aspen! "

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