Plans are growing for an international economic gathering set for San Francisco later this year.
Organizers of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation "pre-summit" meeting said Thursday a centerpiece event will be Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's hosting of a "Women and the Economy Summit," with approximately 500 women from Asia and the United States in attendance.
Entrepreneurialism, greater involvement in the workforce, and access to capital across the region will be among the items addressed, said Lorraine Hariton, the State Department's representative for commercial and business affairs.
Clinton's powwow is part of a two-week ministerial meeting prior to the APEC summit in Honolulu in November, with President Obama presiding.
More than 3,500 senior government officials, private-sector executives and others are expected, and 70-odd meetings scheduled, addressing trade cooperation, investment, technology, regulations, transportation, health and "promoting green growth."
One of the items on the green growth agenda mentioned by U.S. Ambassador to APEC Kurt Tong at Thursday's briefing: "eliminating fossil fuel subsidies." Eyebrows raised, I asked the ambassador if that included our oil depletion allowance, the subject of some heated discussion in Washington these days.
"Maybe," he said.
Pledge weeks: Involving the local business community was also stressed by Tong. "We hope to get lots of support from Bay Area businesses," he said.
That job, including the fundraising part, falls to the Bay Area Council, the 275-member public policy and business group that's working with the State Department on putting the September event together.
Bay Area Council CEO Jim Wunderman said he was looking for approximately $2 million in private-sector contributions as a "baseline." Visa and Chevron (see reference to fossil fuel subsidies above) provided startup funding, and Marvell Technologies, a sponsor of "San Francisco Week" at last year's Shanghai Expo, is expected to be a major contributor. Michael Covarrubias, CEO of San Francisco developer TMG Partners, told me his company will be stepping up to the plate.
-- $2 million shouldn't be too hard to raise. However, we do hear that corporate fundraising for the 2013 America's Cup in San Francisco hasn't, as yet, been going as well as hoped.
Eek, a 21st century train!: Add Wunderman to the voices of distress over the stink-bomb dropped this week on California's high-speed rail project.
That would be the often bizarre, out-to-lunch report from state Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, which, in essence, calls for killing the entire thing ( www.lao.ca.gov).
Or, as John Wildermuth put it in Fox & Hounds Daily, "as something nasty that needed to be wiped off his shoe" (sfg.ly/iHsIkF).
"It just adds to the morass," said Wunderman, referring to Peninsula NIMBYism and a GOP-controlled House, among other derailing obstacles.
"It feels like a piling on," said the heretofore strong and optimistic supporter. "Now, I really worry about the future of the project."
-- Atherton Mayor Jim Dobbie presumably feels quite differently about the report.
Referring to the lawsuit filed by Atherton, Menlo Park and Palo Alto against the proposed route through its communities, Dobbie told the Wall Street Journal recently: "We have many houses close to the railroad in the multiple millions in value. We just hope the project dies."
Still on top: Even the mightiest have felt the recession's reach.
The trade publication Engineering News-Record takes note of Bechtel's 9 percent decline in revenue last year, to a mere $27.9 billion.
This year promises to be a different story. "We see sales growing significantly - by over 50 percent and perhaps by as much as 80 percent," Bechtel COO Bill Dudley tells the publication.
Growth areas, he said, include mining in Australia and South America, and deepwater offshore oil drilling.
But that's not the sole reason Bechtel referred me to the publication. The San Francisco construction behemoth is ranked No. 1 in ENR's top 400 U.S. contractors, for the 13th year running.
"To be at the top for 13 years is something all of us can take pride in," said CEO Riley Bechtel.
Other Bay Area rankings, and an informative overview of the industry, can be found at sfg.ly/kLnJ4k.
Source: www.sfgate.com
Organizers of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation "pre-summit" meeting said Thursday a centerpiece event will be Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's hosting of a "Women and the Economy Summit," with approximately 500 women from Asia and the United States in attendance.
Entrepreneurialism, greater involvement in the workforce, and access to capital across the region will be among the items addressed, said Lorraine Hariton, the State Department's representative for commercial and business affairs.
Clinton's powwow is part of a two-week ministerial meeting prior to the APEC summit in Honolulu in November, with President Obama presiding.
More than 3,500 senior government officials, private-sector executives and others are expected, and 70-odd meetings scheduled, addressing trade cooperation, investment, technology, regulations, transportation, health and "promoting green growth."
One of the items on the green growth agenda mentioned by U.S. Ambassador to APEC Kurt Tong at Thursday's briefing: "eliminating fossil fuel subsidies." Eyebrows raised, I asked the ambassador if that included our oil depletion allowance, the subject of some heated discussion in Washington these days.
"Maybe," he said.
Pledge weeks: Involving the local business community was also stressed by Tong. "We hope to get lots of support from Bay Area businesses," he said.
That job, including the fundraising part, falls to the Bay Area Council, the 275-member public policy and business group that's working with the State Department on putting the September event together.
Bay Area Council CEO Jim Wunderman said he was looking for approximately $2 million in private-sector contributions as a "baseline." Visa and Chevron (see reference to fossil fuel subsidies above) provided startup funding, and Marvell Technologies, a sponsor of "San Francisco Week" at last year's Shanghai Expo, is expected to be a major contributor. Michael Covarrubias, CEO of San Francisco developer TMG Partners, told me his company will be stepping up to the plate.
-- $2 million shouldn't be too hard to raise. However, we do hear that corporate fundraising for the 2013 America's Cup in San Francisco hasn't, as yet, been going as well as hoped.
Eek, a 21st century train!: Add Wunderman to the voices of distress over the stink-bomb dropped this week on California's high-speed rail project.
That would be the often bizarre, out-to-lunch report from state Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, which, in essence, calls for killing the entire thing ( www.lao.ca.gov).
Or, as John Wildermuth put it in Fox & Hounds Daily, "as something nasty that needed to be wiped off his shoe" (sfg.ly/iHsIkF).
"It just adds to the morass," said Wunderman, referring to Peninsula NIMBYism and a GOP-controlled House, among other derailing obstacles.
"It feels like a piling on," said the heretofore strong and optimistic supporter. "Now, I really worry about the future of the project."
-- Atherton Mayor Jim Dobbie presumably feels quite differently about the report.
Referring to the lawsuit filed by Atherton, Menlo Park and Palo Alto against the proposed route through its communities, Dobbie told the Wall Street Journal recently: "We have many houses close to the railroad in the multiple millions in value. We just hope the project dies."
Still on top: Even the mightiest have felt the recession's reach.
The trade publication Engineering News-Record takes note of Bechtel's 9 percent decline in revenue last year, to a mere $27.9 billion.
This year promises to be a different story. "We see sales growing significantly - by over 50 percent and perhaps by as much as 80 percent," Bechtel COO Bill Dudley tells the publication.
Growth areas, he said, include mining in Australia and South America, and deepwater offshore oil drilling.
But that's not the sole reason Bechtel referred me to the publication. The San Francisco construction behemoth is ranked No. 1 in ENR's top 400 U.S. contractors, for the 13th year running.
"To be at the top for 13 years is something all of us can take pride in," said CEO Riley Bechtel.
Other Bay Area rankings, and an informative overview of the industry, can be found at sfg.ly/kLnJ4k.
Source: www.sfgate.com
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