“Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who cut short his trip to Central America and Mexico in the wake of the May Day clash between Los Angeles police and protesters, is scheduled to speak this afternoon about the matter, into which the FBI has opened an inquiry. The mayor, speaking to reporters Thursday in Mexico City on a stop during a trade mission, said he would welcome the FBI’s investigation into the violence at the end of mostly peaceful immigrant rights marches and rallies. The mayor, who was seeking to stimulate trade and encourage international cooperation in fighting street gangs, announced late Thursday night that he was flying back to Los Angeles today”

“For the first time ever, the International Buddhist Film Festival will be held in an Asian country. The festival starts May 17 in Singapore. Organized by the Asian Buddhist Film Festival in conjunction with the Buddhist Film Society, an Oakland, California-based non-profit, the festival will span four days. The festival “presents, archives and preserves Buddhist-themed and -inspired cinema of all kinds: features documentaries, animation, experimental work, children’s films and television programs,” according to the event’s Web site. Kicking off with “Shower,” a 1999 Chinese film, the festival will showcase films from nine countries. Buddhist-themed episodes of “The Simpsons” and “King Of The Hill” will be screened.”

“Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will travel Tuesday to El Salvador and Mexico to discuss ways to boost trade and stem the rising wave of gang members who illegally enter the United States. Villaraigosa will meet with business leaders, elected officials and law enforcement officials from both nations during the four-city trip, according to Villaraigosa’s office. He is scheduled to return to Los Angeles on May 9. Villaraigosa will also speak with executives from airlines based in Mexico and El Salvador to chart out new routes that will involve all of the facilities operated by the city agency that oversees Los Angeles International, Ontario International, Palmdale Regional and Van Nuys airports. Villaraigosa is also expected to discuss clean air initiatives with port officials in both nations. Villaraigosa’s trip will begin with a two-day stop in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador, where he and Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton will meet with President Elias Antonio Saca to discuss trade and transnational gang violence. El Salvador, with a population of 6.8 million, logged an average of 10 homicides a day in 2006, about 70 percent of which were committed by gang members, according to the FBI. In February, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Saca announced a joint cross-border effort to combat Los Angeles-based Mara Salvatrucha and other street gangs. Villaraigosa will travel on Thursday to Mexico City, where he will meet with President Felipe Calderon and business leaders to discuss investment and business opportunities in Los Angeles. Villaraigosa will then stop in Guadalajara on May 8 and conclude his trip the following day in Leon, according to the mayor’s office.”

Due to some strange politics, California has only one legal foreign trade office and it is in Yerevan, Armenia of all places. They have just named an Executive Director for the non-profit organization that manages this trade office:

Entrepreneur and long-time business consultant Johnny Nalbandian was named by the Foundation for Economic Development as the Trade Specialist for the California Trade Office of Yerevan, Armenia last month… The initiative to form CATO was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in September 2005. With an office already established in Yerevan, CATO is once again expanding operations with the addition of Nalbandian in Los Angeles…. Nalbandian, who grew up in Los Angeles, has become a successful and highly demanded business consultant and marketer. His private firm J III & Co. is based in Commerce, CA. For the past four years, Johnny has advised businesses of all industries and sizes regarding expansion, trade, and investment opportunities. “My dream,” notes Johnny, “is to introduce California-based businesses to new market opportunities so that we can both strengthen there foundations while play a leading role in the development of these emerging economies.”

“Given its current economy and geography,” Nalbandian believes, “Armenia is the perfect gateway to the regions served by the office. This frontier of opportunities for California’s businesses and investors are endless.”

CATO began its work in October 2005 under the auspices of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and is California’s only foreign trade representation. The bill authorizing its creation was passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support in the California State Assembly and Senate. Serving the greater Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and former Soviet States, CATO is operated by a California-based non-profit organization called the Foundation for Economic Development, for which Nalbandian serves as the new Executive Director.

“A solar power plant in the Great White North? Thin-film solar startup OptiSolar has signed a deal to build a 40-megawatt photovoltaic power station about 180 miles west of Toronto. The project, to be rolled out in 10-megawatt stages, will be – for the moment – the world’s largest PV power plant. Canada isn’t exactly known for its sunny skies but it does offer something solar power companies won’t find south of the border: a premium price for green electricity. The Ontario government will pay OptiSolar 42 (Canadian) cents a kilowatt hour – nearly 10 times the standard rate. In this case, Ontario signed a 20-year contract at that rate with OptiSolar’s Canadian subsidiary.”

Reports that pirated copies of Spider-Man were being sold in China even before the movie’s release in theaters are apparently not true. The rumor was widespread in an industry jittery about the huge problem of DVD piracy in China and was even repeated in jokes on the Jay Leno show. An investigation by Sony Corporation, however, casts doubt on these claims, “Contrary to news reports about stolen copies of Spider-Man 3 being sold illegally on the streets in China, our investigation in China has revealed no case of the film being pirated to date. Similar hoaxes and false alarms have occurred prior to the release of other major films. We have uncovered examples of Spider-Man 2 being sold in Spider-Man 3 boxes in China. But thus far we can find no instance where Spider-Man 3 has appeared on DVD. In addition, after an initial investigation of online sites worldwide, we have so far found no pirated copies of Spider-Man 3 on the Internet. This incident underscores one of the problems with piracy — people who buy illegal movies often get ripped off themselves.” The Chinese government allows distribution of only a limited number of American films each year, creating a huge market in stolen movies.

“Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm, has opened operations in China with offices in Beijing and Shanghai and formed a $360 million fund to invest in Chinese startup companies. Joe Zhou, formerly with Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund (SAIF), and TDF Capital partners Tina Ju, David Su and Forrest Zhong are leading the KPCB China team. KPCB said its China team plans to invest its $360 million China Fund to assist Chinese entrepreneurs and to promote innovation in high-growth industries, including technology, Internet, media and wireless communications. The Fund will also invest in new consumer areas, healthcare and green technology. ‘By co-founding KPCB China, I can help entrepreneurs create new initiatives, take more risks and ultimately have a bigger impact on innovation, technology and business. I believe KPCB is the best firm to accelerate venture capital in China and will strive to make KPCB the best venture capital firm in the world,’ said Zhou, in a statement.”

“Venrock today announced the formation of Venrock V and will invest $600 million in entrepreneurs with breakthrough ideas in technology, healthcare, media and energy. Drawing on the investing practices of its Rockefeller family founders, Venrock has delivered consistently superior performance since its inception in 1969. With the close of Venrock V, the firm holds approximately $2 billion under management. “With nearly 40 years in the venture business, Venrock is focused on the visionaries who want to build companies that shape the future,” said Tony Sun, managing general partner, Venrock. Venrock has invested in entrepreneurs charting new advancements in cancer and HIV treatments, powering semiconductors and the digital era, securing the nation’s information technology infrastructure, pioneering on-line advertising, and generating power through alternative means. “Venrock has always focused on people. We partner with entrepreneurs, sharing expertise and counsel and working hard throughout a company’s development, and this has allowed us to consistently create significant, enduring companies,” said Bryan Roberts, managing general partner. Venrock is a venture capital firm with offices in Menlo Park, New York, Cambridge, MA, and Israel that was originally established as the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family.”

“Armenians and their supporters gathered on the streets of Hollywood today to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of one of the first acts of genocide in the 20th century. ‘We are recalling the attack on the night of April 24, 1915, when, in Istanbul, the leaders of the Armenian community were executed,’ Haig Hovsepian, community relations director for Armenian National Committee of America Western Region, said this afternoon. Hovsepian described the act as the beginning of years of violence against the Armenian community by Turks. An estimated 1.2 million were killed between 1915 and 1918, the last days of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Turkey maintains that the deaths were not sanctioned by the government and disputes that a genocide took place. Even though the violence took place early in the past century, its commemoration has continued to be laden with political overtones. Los Angeles police estimated that the crowd along Fairfax Avenue at about 1,000 protesters, but Hovsepian said he thought it was double or triple that number this afternoon and growing as the demonstration neared the Turkish Consulate in Hollywood. Thousands also marched earlier in the day. The demonstrations were peaceful with no arrests or traffic disruption, said LAPD spokeswoman Officer Karen Smith.”

“Congressional hearings provide a deep insight into the inner spirit of our elected representatives – and sometimes the insight is not pretty. On April 17, we witnessed Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-California) unleashing his anger onto members of the European Parliament’s House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Human Rights. The members were invited guests and witnesses at the hearing. The subcommittee had issued a report in January, 2007 that was sharply critical of the Bush administration’s extraordinary rendition program in which persons from all over the world were detained by either the CIA or local police, then flown by CIA jet to other countries where they were imprisoned… the European Parliament committee said that terrorist acts must be handled lawfully by both European countries and by the United States. The report said: ‘After 11 September 2001, the so-called war on terror – in its excesses – has produced a serious and dangerous erosion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The extraordinary rendition program undercuts the exact liberties we are defending, the rule of law, the right for a fair and speedy trial and the right to know the evidence on which one is held and prosecuted’ … Congressman Rohrabacher attacked the two British and one Italian members of the European Parliament who testified before the committee… Rohrabacher said if European countries did not cooperate with the United States and go along with whatever the Bush administration wanted, they were condemning their countrymen to terrorists by not using extralegal methods to imprison terrorist suspects. When citizens attending the hearing, including members of Codepink Women for Peace and Veterans for Peace, heard Rohrabacher’s statement, they collectively groaned. Then, much to the shock and disbelief of everyone in the hearing room, Rohrabacher said to those who had expressed displeasure at his statements: ‘I hope it’s your family members that die when terrorists strike’.”

“Napster Inc. is preparing to launch an over-the-air music subscription service in Japan. The service, an extension of the Napster to Go service, will be offered by Napster Japan,a joint venture of Napster, Tower Records Japan and NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest wireless carrier… Los Angeles’ Napster is a music service with offerings that include free Web-based music listening and sharing, subscription and portable subscription services.”

Excerpt from L.A. Times article about the Central Valley City of Delano and its manager Abdel Salem, an Egyptian native who arrived in Delano about four years ago from El Centro where he had been city manager for more than two decades:

This city of 49,000 now has no fewer than 35 major building projects in the pipeline, including a giant shopping center. Hundreds of homes are being added each year as families spill over from the coast in search of affordable housing. “We know the people are coming,” Salem says. “The Central Valley is the last frontier.”

Despite the bustle, however, Delano is down at the heel. Its unemployment rate stands at around 20%, far higher than the county’s overall mark of 6.9%. The median per-capita income in the city is about $11,000 — just a shade above the federal poverty line. Since 2000, annual population increases have outstripped the creation of jobs (2.8% on average compared with 1.7%). Tumbledown shacks dot the outskirts of town.

What’s abundantly clear is that an influx of residents “isn’t necessarily a key to prosperity,” says Carol Whiteside, president of the Great Valley Center, a Modesto-based group trying to promote the region’s well-being.

Meanwhile, the pathologies that tend to go hand in hand with privation have descended upon Delano. Among them is gang violence. When I got my hair trimmed the other day at Firme’s Barber Shop, just off Main Street, the buzz was about how students were recently put on alert and shooed straight home from school. The reason: Police feared that Los Angeles gang members might make the two-hour drive to Delano and start shooting in retaliation for a MySpace posting they deemed offensive.

This juxtaposition — growth amid gloom — points up the enormous opportunities and challenges facing not only Delano but also much of inland California. Extending from Riverside to Redding, the area “is perhaps the greatest untapped outlet for upward mobility in the Golden State,” declared a report last month from the Brookings Institution. If our leaders are smart about how they plan and invest, this vast stretch can be a place that provides decent jobs, a strong sense of community and a shot at homeownership.

But if they goof up, the cost will be high. How this part of California fares, the Brookings study noted, “may determine whether the state remains competitive and a beacon of opportunity in the early decades of the 21st century.” Complicating matters is that these 75,000 square miles are far from homogenous. The rural reaches of the Central Valley, in particular, trail far behind the Inland Empire and the Sacramento suburbs in their economic vitality.

“Google has bought online video-conferencing software company, Marratech, the latest in a barrage of software application announcements by the online giant. Google announced the acquisition on its blog, saying the Sweden-based Marratech will be great for Google’s own workplace because Googlers ‘thrive on casual interactions and spontaneous collaboration.’ Video-conferencing is a logical next move for Google, given its dive into online video recently with the acquisition of YouTube. It’s just the latest front in its battle against Microsoft, which has its own web conferencing software Live Meeting. Cisco, meanwhile, just acquired another major player in the industry, WebEx, for $3.2 billion. The difference, of course, is that Google paid pennies relative to what Cisco paid. As a consumer oriented company, Google can presumably distribute the software easily and perhaps even for free. Marratech, founded in 1998, raised at least the equivalent of $10 million. Investors include Slottbacken Venture Capital, the investment unit of Telia Sonera, the Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund, Emano, Hagstromer, and Qviberg.”

“Internet giant Google announced last week that it will open offices in Buenos Aires, reports Spanish news service EFE in Spanish-language newspaper El Diario/La Prensa. The Buenos Aires offices will serve as headquarters for all of Google’s Latin American operations. Latin America is the fastest growing market for the search engine giant, according to the report. Previously, Google’s only offices were in the United States and Ireland. The company made a foray into Latin America by opening offices in Mexico and Brazil, but now it will center its operations in Argentina. ‘Latin America is the fastest growing Internet business region in the world,’ said Google executive director Eric Schmidt. ‘It is growing faster than Asia, the U.S. and Europe.’ Schmidt said Buenos Aires was selected because it had the right ingredients for Google’s launch in the region.”

“Cisco Systems is expanding its home networking efforts by participating in a US$7 million round of funding in Avega Systems, a maker of wireless home technology, the companies said Tuesday. Cisco joined two venture capital firms, Jafco Investment and Technology Venture Partners, in the start-up’s second round of funding, but it did not disclose its share in the investment. Avega, with employees in the United States and Australia, specializes in technology that can wirelessly connect home entertainment gear such as media center PCs, portable media players, cell phones, stereo equipment, networked storage and set-top boxes. “

Might be a good idea to put off that European vacation (as it will cost you a small fortune) and cruise around California instead. According to Bloomberg:

The dollar is poised to decline to a record low against the euro and extend its drop versus the pound on speculation U.S. economic growth is slowing, dimming the value of the currency. The U.S. currency fell yesterday as investors bet the Federal Reserve will cut borrowing costs as inflation slows, while the European Central Bank and Bank of England will keep raising rates. The dollar also fell against the yen as investors reduced holdings in higher-yielding assets funded by loans in Japan, unwinding what are known as carry trades. “The euro is obviously testing its historical highs,” said Axel Merk, head of Merk Investments LLC in Palo Alto, California. “We are going to breach those in the near future”.

“Bank of America Corp. will work with China Construction Bank Corp. to market credit cards in China… BofA will own 37 percent of the joint venture and launch the co-branded cards. BofA will buy the stake after approval from the Chinese government, which plans to change how it regulates joint ventures. ‘For Bank of America, this is a strategic collaboration in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world,’ said BofA CEO Ken Lewis… With a 20 percent market share, China Construction is the second-largest credit-card issuer in China. It has issued a total of 6.34 million credit cards, with 3.22 million cards issued in 2006. In June 2005, BofA bought a 9 percent stake in China Construction in a $3 billion deal. It was the largest purchase of stock in a Chinese bank by an overseas lender. BofA has an option to increase its investment to 19.9 percent. The two banks have since started more than 20 partnership projects, including no-fee cash withdrawals from BofA’s ATM machines in China and improved call centers and retail branches. Bank of America, California’s largest bank, was founded in San Francisco in 1904 as the Bank of Italy by A.P. Giannini. The bank was bought in 1998 by NationsBank, which took the Bank of America name and moved the headquarters to Charlotte, N.C.”

“The Consulate General of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in Los Angeles, Sri Lankan Consulate is pleased to announce the inaugural Focus Sri Lanka 2007 Expo and Cultural Show, ‘Focus Sri Lanka on May 28. 29, 2007 at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles. The Focus Sri Lanka experience includes a ‘cash and carry’ exhibit hall preview on Monday May 28th beginning at 1pm, followed by a vibrant cultural show in the evening, which commences at 7pm. The next day, Tuesday May 29th, Focus Sri Lanka’s diverse exhibits will be open to trades people and wholesale buyers, from 10AM – 6PM. Registration/Info available online at: http://www.FocusSriLanka.com . With almost two full days of opportunity to view and explore, Focus Sri Lanka’s exhibits spotlight exotic and marketable Sri Lankan imports, including; Apparel, Ayurvedic Spa products, the World’s best Ceylon tea, decorative accessories, gifts, gem & jewelry, homewares, handmade recycle paper, natural and organic products, spices, and more. Sri Lanka’s rapidly growing tourism industry will also be represented including action/adventure travel, ecotourism, and luxury resorts. The event includes many special attractions, designed to demonstrate the often surprising variety this beautiful country has to offer: A screening of the Bollywood smash film ‘Water,’ and a chance to meet its young Sri Lankan star, Sarala; appearances by Sri Lankan all-star Cricket players; a ‘Cooking with Tea’ demonstration by celebrity chef Robert Wemischner; a pottery wheel demonstration and a tea queen beauty pageant.”

“International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz is leading a trade mission to the United States which begins Monday and will end on April 17. The trade mission will be going to Miami in Florida, Minneapolis in Minnesota, and San Jose in California, the International Trade and Industry Ministry said in statement. The mission comprises 25 representatives from the private sector, state governments, the ministry, Malaysian Industrial Development Authority and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade). They will seek to promote investment and activities in food processing, biotechnology, information and communications technology (ICT), pharmaceuticals, chemical and chemical products, transport equipment, telecommunications equipment, medical instruments and devices, and regional distribution centres and operational headquarters… The ministry said seminars on business opportunities will be held in the three cities and Rafidah will address the local business communities in Miami on April 10, in Minneapolis on April 12 and in San Jose on April 16.”

At least that is what the Long Beach Press telegram thinks:

A growing U.S.-China trade rift over coated paper exports to America has direct implications for Southern California seaports, where much of the paper is shipped, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports. Exporters of Chinese coated paper, accused by U.S. manufacturers of receiving unfair subsidies in their homeland, are now facing significant duties on exports to the United States following a March 30 ruling by the Department of Commerce. The decision, which affects the rapidly increasing volumes of coated free sheet paper moving through the ports of Long Beach-Los Angeles, comes in the wake of an anti-dumping investigation by the Commerce Department. The investigation found that Chinese paper producers were receiving unfair government subsidies averaging 18.16 percent, artificially pushing down prices on the world market and undercutting American manufacturers. “The China of today is not the China of years ago,” said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who visited the Port of Long Beach in January to discuss U.S. efforts to level the trade imbalance with China. “Just as China has evolved, so has the range of our tools to make sure Americans are treated fairly.”