After several very lean years our industry is without question on a positive trajectory. We are building and selling more homes than we have in a decade. While a general economic uptick has driven the change in our fortunes, your hard work and passion have taken it to the next level. And that really is what the annual Major Achievements in Marketing Excellence or MAME Awards program is all about.

Placer County Approves North Tahoe Projects and Interim Contract

The Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to approve the agreements with three local partners for new community projects and an interim contract with the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, amounting to $1.7 million.

Placer Affordable Housing Update

BIA staff spoke separately with Supervisors Holmes and Uhler last week regarding the industry's concerns about the county's recently released affordable housing study. This item has been moved from the previously scheduled July 11  board meeting to August 8 . No action will be taken at this meeting, and county staff will be getting direction from the board about items for further research. It is anticipated that staff will return to the board later this year with a proposed work plan.

Rancho Cordova Approves Community Enhancement Fund Grant

The Rancho Cordova City Council approved 46 community projects and city programs for its Community Enhancement Fund. Community project and programs totaled $7.1 million for the 2017/2018 fiscal year. The Community Enhancement Fund is funded by Measure H, approved by voters in 2014.

CBIA Mid-Year Government Affairs Meeting

CBIA reported that the state is beginning to issue hundreds of millions of dollars in school bonds to districts throughout the state due to the approval last year of Prop. 51. The state Air Resources Control Board is also continuing to ask for even more stringent air quality standards in the coming years; the issue is still being discussed.  We also heard from California Community Builders, an organization aligned with the BIA based on social justice. They see housing ownership as a gateway to the middle class for many under represented communities. They are focused on CEQA reform and are interfacing with many newly elected officials in the Legislature. Their coalition building with Hispanic leaders was critical to our stopping the prevailing wage provisions in AB 199 this year. We are looking for additional ways to partner with them. 

The Foundation is proud to have partnered with the Placer County Office of Education to provide paid summer industry internships to six high school juniors from Colfax, Placer, Roseville, and Whitney High Schools.

The students were placed with three different industry employers in positions where they worked as plumbing, shop, and stair rail installation apprentices, while also learning the in's and out's of general warehouse work. Thank you to our participating employers:

• LB Construction in Roseville
• Fletcher Plumbing in Loomis
• iStairs in Rancho Cordova

The students will work for a total of 100 paid on-the-job hours with their employer in addition to completing 20 hours of work-readiness training at Placer High School with a teacher.  The internship runs from June 19 to July 28.