Last week I told you about the Board of Supervisors learning from a CEO staffer that one of the recipients of the CDBG low-interest loan program has defaulted on their loan. That would be Geiger’s Market of Hopland, which closed their doors this past July. The Hopland store is a Limited Liability Company (LLC) created by former Laytonville Geiger’s grocery store owner, Michael Braught, shortly before he put the Laytonville Geiger’s Long Valley Market up for sale in 2023. The amount of the loan was $180k, at 1% interest for 10 years, which was used for inventory and working capital. The loan required that 6 full-time equivalent jobs be created by July 1, 2024.
Adam Gaska, a member of the Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Council and also President of the Redwood Valley Water District, posted a comment on my column about Braught’s financial problems.
Gaska reports that, “Re: Jim Shields report on the Hopland Geiger’s market. Not only is the building [Geiger’s Hopland Market] encumbered with $180,000 in debt for the CBDG loan, it also has a $500,000-1,000,000 PACE loan attached to it. It looks as though the County is paying the PACE loan obligations to the tune of $67,000 a year and the taxes are currently delinquent. Hopefully there is a faster recourse to collect than a tax lien sale. The County needs to investigate how someone who was publicly known to be in financial duress was able to get approved for a second loan. Whoever signed off on it should be reprimanded and safeguards put in place to avoid such situations in the future.”
Another commenter posted: “Geiger’s market: Yes, who at the county signed off on the loan? Public information right? Just another example of mismanagement of public funds. It never ends and no one ever learns to do better. There is no incentive to do so.”
At their last meeting on Sept. 24th, the Supes were informed by staff that even though Geiger’s (Hopland Market) is currently in default of their loan they have not responded to letters, phone messages or attempts to contact the business owners. It appears that Braught and his partners have gone dark. Wonder why?
Assembly Passes Minimum Gasoline Inventories Bill To Curb Gouging
This past Monday as I drove by the Laytonville Chevron station I saw that the price of regular gas had dropped from $5.19 per gallon the previous day to $4.99.
So it appears that last week’s column reporting on the recent special legislative session that focused on the dire need for the state’s politicians to establish a minimum inventory requirement of 15 to 18 days if it wants to avoid gas price spikes that led to billions in excessive profits for oil refiners during the last two years.
As discussed last week, Consumer Watchdog, a California consumer protection organization that does a better job than anyone else safeguarding the rights and interests of consumers across the state, pushed for the Legislature and Governor Newsom to expedite enactment of a minimum inventory law.
On Tuesday, October 1, the California Assembly passed a bill (AB X2-1), which requires oil refiners to keep minimum inventories in order to protect Californians from price spikes that occur when refineries go down, by a vote of 44 to 17.
The bill allows the state to require oil refiners to manage a minimum inventory of fuel to avoid supply shortages that create higher gasoline prices for consumers — and higher profits for the industry. It would also authorize the California Energy Commission to require refiners to plan for resupply during refiner maintenance outages.
The measure now heads to the Senate for consideration.
“This is a critical consumer victory that takes away a tactic oil refiners have used for decades to keep gas prices and refiner profits artificially high,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. “ABX2-1 will set a national example in how to fight back against outrageous price gouging at the pump. The Assembly and Governor are to be congratulated on taking on this powerful industry on behalf of beleaguered consumers. This bill simply requires resupply commitments to guarantee there are no artificial shortages that drive price spikes. Nothing in this bill endangers communities or workers. It’s a complete red herring raised by greedy oil companies and their allies who simply want to keep making too much money at the expense of California consumers. Shame on the industry and those who stand with them.”
Newsom fully backs the proposed law, saying it will “prevent gas price spikes and save Californians money at the pump. Just last year, price spikes cost Californians more than $2 billion – forcing many families to make tough decisions like choosing between fueling up or putting food on the table. This has to end, and with the legislature’s support, we’ll get this done for California families.”
According to Consumer Watchdog, the drop in inventories corresponded to gasoline prices spiking at over $5 per gallon in September 2023 and April 2024 and oil refiners reporting to the state record profits per gallon of more than $1.20 per gallon through their gross refining margins reporting now required under the law (SB 1322).
Supporters of the bill include yours truly, consumer organizations, environmental advocates, labor unions, small businesses and consumer groups.
(Jim Shields is the Mendocino County Observer’s editor and publisher, observer@pacific.net, the long-time district manager of the Laytonville County Water District, and is also chairman of the Laytonville Area Municipal Advisory Council. Listen to his radio program “This and That” every Saturday at 12 noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: http://www.kpfn.org)
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