Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 Published by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce   City Council receptive to major shift in economic development focus   A dozen or so top business leaders assembled by the Chamber made a strong plea at last night’s council meeting for the city to shift its economic development focus. Led by Chamber Chair Beth Marino, the group asked the city to focus less on tourism and retail development and instead give a  high priority to developing and attracting more head-of-household jobs in future-oriented industries like health care, communications, and research.  Current policy has led  to stagnant economic growth and more lower wage jobs. The council was receptive to the Chamber’s recommendation and appointed Councilmember Andrew Carter to represent the City on the Chamber’s Economic Vision Task Force. You can tell us how you feel about economic conditions here.   Can the retirement of a bureaucrat hurt business?   It can when it’s the retirement of airport manager Klaasje Nairne. Nairne has been an incredibly effective manager and tireless advocate for San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport. Her entrepreneurial approach and masterful skill working both inside and outside government has led to the airport’s popularity and more than $100 million in federal airport improvement grants. The airport is the local government facility most directly related to regional economic development so quickly finding an effective replacement to fill these big shoes is essential. Thank you, Klaasje, for a job well done.   Tenants of old Johnson for Children building given notice   Insiders report that all of the remaining tenants of their stores and offices  have been given notice to vacate   by August 1. The building was recently purchased by Copeland Properties,   and it is now facing a massive seismic retrofitting job that’s expected to take at least a year. Insiders say that the tenants were not given any promises about being able to return to their current locations.   Business Sentiment Survey, Round 2   There was unprecedented response to the Chamber’s early-March Business Sentiment Survey.  Many members said they were very interested in how their fellow members were doing and  how they felt about the future. To the surprise of almost everyone, about two - thirds of the respondents at that time were either neutral or positive about the economy and their business prospects. Now, we’re doing it again. The goal: to see if, and how, the members’ views may have changed in the last two months. The results will be part of the Chamber’s all-new “State of the City’s Economy” economic forecast event set for May 30. Click here to take the survey. Click here to register for the event.     Upcoming Important Events Mixer Showcase at Embassy Suites- Monday, May 12th. 5pm-8pm Good Morning SLO- May 22nd at Grace Church.  7:30am-9am Chamber's State of the City's Economy Luncheon- May 30th at Grace Church   If you or someone in your company would like to receive additional copies of our e-Insider emailed to them, please click here.   While information in the e-Insider comes from sources we believe to be reliable, we recommend not taking any action on this information without independent corroboration.