California’s Central Valley outpaces coastal areas on some economic measures

Job growth and population gains in California’s mostly rural Central Valley surpassed the same measures in the state’s more populous Bay Area and Southern region, which some analysts say could be encouraging trends for the coming year.

Federal government shutdown hurts rural housing

The partial federal government shutdown is impacting housing agencies responsible for financing affordable housing, clean drinking water and rural economies, according to the National Rural Housing Coalition (NRHC).

Low-income rural renters face worsening affordable housing crisis

Low-income residents renting homes in rural areas face an ever shrinking supply of affordable housing, which experts say will only worsen in the coming years.

Recent California droughts impact hydropower, increase fossil fuel use

According to a Stanford University study, California’s chronic drought conditions seem to have led to more fossil fuel use as a result of less water available for hydropower.

Financial crisis of a decade ago still affects housing market

The subprime mortgage crisis of 2008 changed how Americans think of homeownership and continues to haunt the housing market, contributing to a housing shortage in many areas of the country.