California’s uneven march towards an economic recovery is now in its sixth year. All this week, KPCC and Capital Public Radio are bringing you stories from different parts of the state to shed light on the challenges facing Californians. We’re calling our series “Fits and Starts.” Today, KPCC’s Sharon McNary travels to the Inland Empire… where construction and warehousing are helping lift the area out of its deep hole.
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(phone rings, receptionist answers)
Receptionist: “Serenity legal services, may I help you?
(Office room sound runs under)
You want to know about hard times? Ask a bankruptcy lawyer.
Wuhrman: “I think the Inland Empire was absolutely hell central when it came to the economy.”
That’s Murrieta Attorney Arnie Wuhrman. He had a frontline view when the housing and job market collapsed seven years ago. That’s whenRiverside and San Bernardino counties wereamong the nation’s top five places — for going broke.
Wuhrman: “Mid-to-late 2009 to 2011, that was the period where you literally could not get an appointment with me for six weeks for a new client.”
During that busy time, Wuhrman handled the bankruptcy of a local builder. But now, with the economy improving — the tables are turning. Wuhrman’s client may become his employer.
Wurhman: “He sees in me great financial prowess, and wants me along for the ride.”
Take a ride along any Inland Empire freeway, and the signs and sounds of the construction industry rebound are obvious.
(construction sounds on the street)
At a giant warehouse construction project in Moreno Valley, just east of Riverside, a backhoe digs trenches.
(Backhoe ambience)
Four giant cranes loom over the future workplace of some 200 new corporate and warehouse workers. This is the new regional headquarters and warehouse for the discount grocery company Aldi. That means more labor and construction jobs — another sign of better economic times.
Herman: “Mejor, porque hay mas trabajo. Hacemos de todo aqui.”
Herman, a laborer on the construction crew, says there’s more work.
Job growth is finally outpacing population growth here, says Johannes Moenius. He’s an economist at the University of Redlands. But he worries the region is too reliant on warehousing and construction jobs like Herman’s.
Moenius: “I’m worried not for the minute not for the day or the month. I’m worried for the medium run because we’re doing just more of the same.”
He says the Inland economy needs more diversity.
The rebounding construction industry could stall again if interest rates rise. Increased fuel prices could slow shipping through the region’s many warehouses.
Moenius: “We’re not recovering with a real future perspective that changes the potential for bringing the types of jobs that give back the level of stability.”
The recent growth in Inland jobs — construction, warehousing, hospitality — are on the low end of the pay scale. And the very industries that help to prop up an economic recovery can detract from the region’s quality of life.
(Freeway noise mixes with wind chimes at Shari Taylor’s horse feed supply shop)
Across Highway 60, within eyeshot of the Aldi warehouse, Shari Taylor looks out the door of her horse feed supply business.
Taylor: “My mountains are disappearing. I hate that, but that’s what happens.”
McNary: “What are they disappearing behind?”
Taylor: “A warehouse.”
She’s 71 and grew up here. She’s seen the region transform through cycles of boom and bust, each boom adding more traffic, and consuming more land for homes and, now, mega-warehouses.
Taylor: “They just keep encroaching on the rural areas. There’s not much left in Moreno Valley that’s rural.”
Her customer base is dwindling, so she also boards a few horses. She still rides whenever she can, often hauling her horses to a nearby lake.
Taylor: “I love it. I wouldn’t leave it for anything.”
She sees the development as the price of progress.
I’m Sharon McNary.
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This story was produced by Capital Public Radio and KPCC