CERF to present 2015 county forecast

(CAMARILLO, Calif. – Oct. 31, 2014) Bill Watkins, executive director of the California Lutheran University Center for Economic Research and Forecasting, will present the 2015 Ventura County Forecast during a seminar from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, at the Serra Center in Camarillo.

In addition, a panel of experts including Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters will discuss how the drought will impact agribusiness and the greater Ventura County economy. The other panelists are CERF economist Matthew Fienup, United Water Conservation District General Manager Mike Solomon and environmental lawyer Tony Trembley.

Watkins has been providing unflinching forecasts since 2000. He has been widely published in academic journals and been featured in media throughout the country including the Wall Street Journal, CNN and Forbes. An associate professor of economics, Watkins helped start a graduate program in economics at Cal Lutheran.

Walters has written about California and its politics for more than 40 years. His work has appeared in media outlets throughout the country including The Wall Street Journal and Christian Science Monitor.

Fienup teaches courses in econometrics as an adjunct professor at Cal Lutheran. He is an expert on the economics of private land use and issues surrounding urban growth restriction and groundwater management policy in Ventura County.

Solomon first joined the United Water Conservation District in 1997 as its chief financial officer. He is a former member of the Association of California Water Agencies Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

Trembley is a partner in the Westlake Village office of Musick Peeler and a member of the company’s environmental and public law group. He has represented both public and private sector clients in wastewater and water quality matters.

Cal Lutheran CERF provides local, state and national forecasts for government, business and nonprofit leaders. The National Association for Business Economics, the Economist, CNN Money and Case-Shiller Macro Markets have included CERF forecasters in their surveys on economic policies and outlooks, home prices, jobs and the presidential election.

The Serra Center is located at 5205 Upland Road. To register, visit www.clucerf.org. Registration fees, which include lunch and access to the full forecast, are $175 in advance and $200 at the door. For more information, call Ashley Freas at freas@callutheran.edu or 805-493-3668.