Diablo Canyon is a primary example of how the state can partner with REACH and the Central Coast on realizing opportunity, Kaina Pereira, a senior advisor in the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, told the region’s economic development practitioners earlier this month.
“How do we cultivate what you guys are looking to accomplish and make sure that we’re aligning some of the opportunities that we see,” he said of GO-Biz’s role. For Diablo, that may be leveraging the transmission lines, identifying opportunities for engineering talent or attracting research and innovation possibilities. At Vandenberg Air Force Base, that means stepping in on infrastructure development to spur commercial space activity, attracting industry and conducting workforce developments so the state can partner with REACH.
As regional priorities continue to coalesce, capacity comes into clearer view and collaboration becomes the norm, more opportunities open up, Pereira said. Collectively, the region becomes competitive for business attraction and expansions that are out of reach for individual communities, leading to shared overall growth.
“It’s not often, especially in some of the regions of the State of California, that there’s this many practitioners who are really working together to create a regional solution,” he said. “Working together is just going to make everything a lot better, and look at us as a partner for your region.”
