cookiesinheaven

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it’s a good time for California consumers to wake up and smell the roses — or daisies, tulips and orchids.

...“Right now, 80 percent of the flowers sold in the U.S. are grown in South America, particularly Columbia,” said Cronquist, who has been executive director of the commission for the past two years. “So instead of that money being pumped back into the local economy, a good portion of it goes out of the country.”

A recent study by the California Cut Flower Commission found that each year, the flower industry has a $10.3 billion impact on the economy, and that for every dollar spent on locally grown flowers, 92 cents goes directly back into the local economy. That statistic is particularly important to note for Santa Barbara residents, since Santa Barbara County provides more than 50 percent of California’s overall production value — making it the largest flower-growing region in the country. - Noozhawk

Santa Barbara-area firefighters were using their own money to purchase protective eye goggles during their fight with the Jesusita Fire. Rikki Emory, president of the Santa Barbara Firefighters Alliance (SBFA), said that as a result, the group decided at its May 12 board meeting to focus future donations and fundraising efforts on purchasing over 400 goggles and a wildfire suppression pump for city and county firefighters.

Erinn Lynch, from SBFA’s public relations committee told the Independent that due to recent budget cuts to city and county departments, firefighting liaisons were coming to give their latest status updates from the frontlines of the fire with bloodshot eyes. “It’s critical for us to raise money for them to protect themselves while they protect us,” Lynch said. She and her group are aiming to raise around $50,000 to purchase this gear.

...Their next fund raising event will be their annual Fire Ball on June 5, and they are always accepting donations on their website. - SBIndy

The allure of the value meal has long seduced penny-pinchers craving a cheeseburger. Now, as the dismal economy slurps up profits, Starbucks Corp. is hoping to find some sales salvation in its own value meal variety.

Starbucks has yet to offer many details about what Chief Executive Howard Schultz described to investors last week as "several breakfast
pairings" at "attractive" prices. More details are expected as early as later
this week. - AP Yahoo