Corona, CA: From No Experience to 'Near Perfect'

Ontario, Calif., ARCO Owner named franchisee of the year

ARCO's franchisee of the year is Amy Kim, the owner of the gas station and ampm convenience store in Ontario, Calif., reported The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Kim won the distinction this month from a field of 1,200 U.S. stores, according to the report. She is the first woman to win the award, which parent company BP has been handing out for 11 years.

"I was completely surprised," said Kim, who was unaware she was even in the running for the award until her name was called at a BP event in Alaska. "I started crying, I don't know why," she told the newspaper.

Considerations such as store performance and the franchisee's ability to generate positive promotion for the ampm brand led to Kim's selection, BP spokesperson Scott Dean told the paper. She received a unanimous vote from a panel of regional sales managers and the vice president of franchise operations, Dean added.

Since the Corona, Calif., resident bought the Ontario store in 2002, it has surpassed every year its sales from the prior year. The store has received consistently near-perfect scores in examinations that occur six times per year for factors such as cleanliness, safety and customer service.

"Amy is a fantastic person. She's a fantastic franchisee," Michelle Khalil, the BP regional sales manager who nominated Kim for the award, told the Daily Bulletin. "When we look at the overall, it's what do people do for the community? How do they support the people? She's a wonderful operator."

Kim bought the Ontario store, which is on a busy stretch of Archibald Avenue just off the freeway, with no experience operating a franchise. She and her parents previously owned and managed a neighborhood grocery store in Florida.

"I was a fish out of water," she said.

Kim is now a certified trainer for BP, coaching incoming ampm owners, said the report.

Owning a gas station has become more competitive in the Inland Empire, she said, since she first started in the market. "Now gas stations are oversaturated," Kim said. "It's hard to find a money-making gas station."

Corona's Business Expo held at Crossroads Church Oct. 7th, 2008

The Corona Chamber of Commerce's 2008 Business Expo will soon be here!

Be sure to mark your calanders as you won't want to miss this great opportunity to meet some of the many businesses at the Chamber of Commerce, all in one place!

Come on over to the Crossroads Church (located at 2331 Kellogg Ave. just off Ontario St. in Corona) on Tuesday October 7th beginning at 9:00am.

This yearly event features many local vendors, services, and programs located here in Corona.

For more information please contact the Chamber of Commerce at (951) 737-3350.

EVERYONE STOP: Corona Chamber Releases Statement on Financial Crisis!

Rachel Rola, Chairman of the Corona Chamber's Board of Directors and Cynthia Schneider, Chairman of the Corona Chamber's Legislative Action Committee issued a letter this morning to United States Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Congressman Ken Calvert in response to the current financial crisis facing our nation:

Dear Senator Feinstein, Senator Boxer and Congressman Calvert:

The Corona Chamber of Commerce urges Congress to immediately pass the bipartisan financial rescue package to stem the financial panic. Congress must not adjourn without taking action to stabilize the financial markets.

Yesterday’s failure to approve legislation addressing the financial crisis has resulted in uncertainty and turmoil that have dramatically affected the markets, and lowered equity prices, eroding individual savings and destroying billions of dollars of household wealth. Make no mistake: when the aftermath of Congressional inaction becomes clear, Americans will not tolerate those who stood by and let the calamity happen. If, on the other hand, Congress supports a plan to successfully restore the financial system and preserve the flow of credit to the economy, the American people will recognize that act of courage.

The Chamber urges Congress to immediately pass financial rescue legislation.

SNEAK PEEK at Thomas Ranch/Corona Palisades Business Park (and RV hangout)

Inland Empire braces for huge job losses!

The slowdown in imports to the US West Coast is taking a toll on the distribution complex in southern California. Correspondent Ian Putzger tracks the situation at the numerous warehouses in the region

The jittery US economy and the weak dollar are taking their toll on imports flowing through the gateways on the West Coast and the giant warehousing and distribution complex near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Traffic volumes continue to slide, prompting predictions of massive job losses in the Inland Empire, southern California's warehousing Mecca.

The monthly Port Tracker, which is published by Global Insight and the National Retail Federation, estimates that the container volume at the 10 largest US ports fell 3.2 percent in April, and its authors predict more grief ahead.

They project a 4.8 percent decline in May, followed by a seven percent drop in June and a two percent decrease in July. According to the Port Tracker, growth will not return until September, when container volumes should go up three percent.

"Import container traffic is forecast to continue to be quite weak through September due to the underlying weakness in consumer demand in the US economy," said Jonathan Gold, vice-president for supply chain and Customs policy at the National Retail Federation.

The Port Tracker figures for March, the latest period for which numbers are confirmed, show a total of 1.16 million TEUs handled at the top 10 US ports, an 8.5 percent drop from the same period in 2007 and 4.8 percent below the February count. The result marked the lowest monthly volume recorded since February 2006.

In February, box traffic had slid 5.4 percent. With the drop in traffic continuing through March and April, the Port Tracker now shows nine consecutive months of decline in throughput.

With traffic down, a work stoppage staged by labour unions on May 1 failed to disrupt cargo flows through the West Coast ports, let alone create significant backlogs.

The drop in volume at the ports has cascaded through the US transportation system. According to the Association of American Railroads, intermodal rail volumes were down 3.5 percent in the first 17 weeks of the year.

At the Inland Empire, which receives a large chunk of the imports coming through the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, sales and leasing activity dropped nearly 40 percent in the first quarter of 2008. The slump came after five consecutive quarters of strong activity in the warehousing Mecca.

According to the Husing Report, a recently published study by a local economist, about 17,900 jobs are going to disappear in the Inland Empire this year. If true, this would be the worst slump the region has suffered since 1964.

Viewed widely as a bellwether for the state of the US economy, the Inland Empire has seen a strong surge in warehouse space and related jobs, with over half a million positions created over the past 18 years. Last year, however, the momentum clearly fizzled out, with a mere 592 new jobs created, down from 44,700 new jobs in 2006.

Air cargo gateways on the US West Coast are not faring any better at the moment. Los Angeles, far and away the leading gateway, suffered a 10.9 percent drop in air freight throughput in March, which left the total volume for the first quarter nine percent below the tonnage clocked up in the first three months of 2007.

Air cargo traffic at Seattle Tacoma declined seven percent in March and 5.8 percent in the first quarter. The main culprit for the drop in traffic was the softer import market. Seattle's inbound tonnage form overseas points of origin fell 14.7 percent in March and 16.9 percent in the first three months.

Thirfty Horse Grand Opening in Norco, CA

Thirfty Horse Grand Opening
4/26/2008 at 10:30 am

960 Sixth Street
Suite 103B
Norco, Ca, 92860
951-280-0294

Boot Barn- Grand Opening 4/12/2008 10 AM in Norco, CA

Boot Barn- Grand Opening 4/12/2008 10 AM in Norco, CA

NORCO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BLOOD DRIVE

NORCO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
BLOOD DRIVE
Thursday, April 10, 2008
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
In the Bloodmobile
2816 Hamner Avenue
Norco, Ca 92860
For more information contact The Blood Bank at 800-879-4484

Facelogic, Grand Opening; Mira Loma

Facelogic Grand Opening
Friday April 4, 2008 At 6:00 pm
MIRA LOMA, CALIFORNIA
6205 Pat's Ranch Rd. Ste. E
Mira Loma, CA 91752
Phone: (951) 280-3036
Fax: (951) 280-4787

Hours of Operation
Tuesday-Friday: 10:00am - 7:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday: 11:00am - 5:00pm
Monday: Closed for VIP Parties

Corona Furniture Store Acting Illegally? Mobile Mexican Consulate Observed!

Editors Note: We are merely reporting this story, we are not taking sides.

The Mobile Mexican Consulate showed up in Corona, California to hand out their Matricula Consular ID cards and other unsavory infiltration measures. The Minutemen went to observe this event and as usual they were flipped off and their freedom of speech and organization was attempted to be restricted by those of a foreign government.

The line for the mobile Mexican government center stretched from inside of the FAMSA furniture store to outside of the furniture store

San Bernardino MOBILE MEXICAN CONSULATEFAMSA FURNITURE STORE - Corona, CAMarch 8, 2008

The line stretched from inside the FAMSA furniture store - line outside

The mobile Mexican government center was publicized on the San Bernardino Mexican Consulate website and was staged daily from Thursday March 6 to Sunday March 9.

On Thursday, March 6 - the day the mobile centers started - Minutemen met with the San Bernardino Mexican Consul Geralt Cabrales and expressed opposition to mobile Mexican government centers.

Minutemen observed at the March 8th Corona mobile Mexican government event. The line inside of the store.

Inside the FAMSA furniture store - Mexican government staff transacting business
The mobile station above - the Mexican government used laptop computers.

At this point, we were asked to stop filming and exited the store.

Above - photograph of the consul vehicle As soon as the consul vehicle was photographed - from a public American sidewalk - the uniformed and apparently armed man working for the Mexican government, above, came toward us. We were photographing on an American sidewalk - so he had no jurisdiction.

A Corona police officer, who we had met with, parked across the street, drove his vehicle nearby and hollered out to the crowd - THEY HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH. That calmed everybody down.
We stood with signs near the driveway entrance to observe the Mexican government and to greet the arriving vehicles - MEXICAN CONSULATE GO HOME our sign read - people would cluster around us - yell and so forth.

We explained we were there to protest the Mexican government.

As we stood on the sidewalk with signs - this man repeatedly flipped us off and hollered.

Eventually, a group of three gang-type men suddenly approached us. MMP National Rally Spokesman Raymond Herrera immediately telephoned the police officer and the three men walked away, upon hearing Herrera's conversation with police.

However, the police officer told us later, that after Herrera's phone call, the three men were spotted, and we were told that an officer was interviewing them.

The adult driving the above vehicle flipped us off as the minor child in the back seat followed her example The officer who we originally met with us, spoke with us for quite some time - he knew nothing about Mexican Consulates or the Matricula Consular ID, so we spoke to him at length on the topics.

While the officer was onsite, all was peaceful. In fact, the line outside of the FAMSA furniture store disappeared.

In the above photo the police officer is at far right - the store doors now closed (the man in foreground in the red plaid shirt had been yelling and flipping us off before the police officer arrived)
The officer who had been talking with us, said he would speak with those in charge of the mobile Mexican government center and walked toward the furniture store.

As the police officer approached the furniture store, the man in a uniform, who was working for the Mexican government, shut the doors to the furniture store and the police officer did not enter the store, but, rather waited outside of the closed doors, on the sidewalk.

Soon, a woman came out and spoke with the police officer for about 5 minutes, in front of the closed doors, on the sidewalk. We left shortly thereafter.

The photos of the mobile Mexican government center will be presented to various government agencies and elected officials in our quest to stop mobile Mexican Consulate centers in our communities.

Kevin Russell Fund Raiser

Former President of Norco Chamber of Commerce and Corona-Norco Unified School District PTA Council member has recently been hospitalized with a very serious heart-attack. To help his wife and 12 year old son at this crucial time, we invite the community to open their hearts and their wallets by attending a Fund Raiser in his honor.

SATURDAY MARCH 29TH 10:00 am to 4:00
BEACON HILL GALLERY 1762 FOURTH ST. NORCO, CA
(Behind Carl’s Jr. on Hamner Ave. In the VanderMolen Center)

* Vendors Include but not limited to: Avon Premier Design Jewelry Princess House Londenberger Baskets Piggies & Paws. SILENT AUCTION Includes A Massage Certificate Photo Art Light Boxes And Much Much More. WIN!!!!!! A Glen Ivy HotSprings SpaPackage!!

This Fund Raiser is in cooperation with Norco Chamber of Commerce. A TRUST FUND has been opened
at Bank of America, Norco. All donations can be made out to Paula Grumling I.T.F. Kevin Russell OR
a direct deposit into the Trust Account # 07349-67583.