1/21/25 Hard Rock Rising: Kern County's Newest Destination with Richard Chapman

The Moneywise Radio Show and Podcast Tuesday, January 21st BE MONEYWISE. Moneywise Wealth Management I "The Moneywise Guys" podcast call: 661-847-1000 text in anytime: 661-396-1000 website: www. MoneywiseGuys.com facebook: Moneywise_Wealth_Management instagram: MoneywiseWealthManagement Guest: Richard Chapman, Kern Economic Development Corporation website: https://kernedc.com/

• 0:00Speaker 00

  From the padded radio room off Stockdale Highway, here is Money Wise. Call or text in at 661-396-1000.

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  Now, let's start the Money Wise Show.

• 0:42Speaker 03

  Welcome to the Money Wise Show. We are live from the Gero Ellis padded radio room off Stockdale Highway on ESPN, Bakersfield, 1230 a.m., 101.1 FM, and always streaming at MoneyWiseGuys.com. You can call or text into the show 24 hours a day at 661-396-1000. Today, we're your hosts, Sharad Waite and...

• 1:05Speaker 04

  Sammy Abiyawi.

• 1:06Speaker 03

  Hey Sammy. Happy day.

• 1:09Speaker 04

  Happy day.

• 1:10Speaker 03

  It's really, um, a new, uh, there's a new thing happening now in our country.

• 1:17Speaker 04

  Well, it's a new world.

• 1:18Speaker 03

  In the world.

• 1:19Speaker 04

  It's a new world order, Sharad.

• 1:21Speaker 03

  A new world order. We now have officially a new president, starting yesterday. And of course, we're going to get right to some of these headlines. Uh, but before we do that and talk about these, uh, pretty, pretty dramatic, uh, events that are happening in our country, we've got to give some love to our listeners.

• 1:38Speaker 04

  That's right.

• 1:39Speaker 03

  Which, uh, they are...

• 1:40Speaker 04

  That's why we exist. That's why we do this.

• 1:42Speaker 03

  Right, that's why we do this. And I think we've got a question right now. You have it, Sammy?

• 1:46Speaker 04

  Sure, I have two. Do you want to start with the bouncing off the episode of last week? It talks about the mistake?

• 1:53Speaker 03

  Oh, oh, yeah. Yeah, go for it.

• 1:55Speaker 04

  Okay. Bouncing off an episode from last week, I wondered what's the biggest mistake parents usually make when setting up a trust fund?

• 2:02Speaker 03

  Okay, so let's bounce off this Sammy. A trust fund, this is great. You think of trust fund babies? You heard that term trust fund babies?

• 2:10Speaker 04

  Yes, silver spooners.

• 2:11Speaker 03

  Silver spooners? Not a great title, right?

• 2:14Speaker 04

  I don't think so.

• 2:14Speaker 03

  Essentially, you're saying, I mean, when I hear that, I hear of some entitled little brat.

• 2:20Speaker 04

  Spoiled.

• 2:21Speaker 03

  Spoiled brat, even if they might be in their 50s.

• 2:23Speaker 04

  That's like the, when I was growing up in Morocco, the rich guy always buys the soccer ball. And then when he gets upset, he just takes the soccer ball and leaves and then we're stuck. We don't have anything to play with.

• 2:34Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 2:34Speaker 04

  Take my ball and go home.

• 2:39Speaker 03

  You know, this, this question about setting up a trust fund for your kid is, is a great one because it's, there's, there's no, you know, exact way to do this because every family is slightly different and every kid is different. And generally what you're talking about for the 99% of us, when you're setting up a trust, we're not usually talking about enough money where the, you know, the kid doesn't ever have to work again. Generally, it's like, you know, you're thinking of middle class, they might inherit a home, maybe a little life insurance policy. But when I think of a trust kid, a trust fund for a kid, I'm thinking, oh, man, this is,

• 3:21Speaker 03

  you know, you're usually trying to, you're doing it for estate taxes or you're preserving a large.

• 3:28Speaker 04

  You're creating generational wealth.

• 3:30Speaker 03

  Yeah, generational wealth.

• 3:30Speaker 04

  So if, just in case your kids, or you're afraid that your kids might not be up to it, or maybe they still need a little bit more experience managing whatever you've built throughout your life. Now you, you set up a trust with certain instructions, so.

• 3:44Speaker 03

  And I've heard, and I have many clients and I've heard others say how concerned they are about the amount of money that they're leaving to their kids.

• 3:53Speaker 04

  My son is not.

• 3:55Speaker 03

  He's happy with it. He's perfectly fine with it. You know, in fairness, your son will probably be fine. Our kids will probably be fine. It's usually that third generation. I'm sure you saw this too. And in your past life in business and working with, you know, farmers and large companies. That by the time you get to the third generation, the kids are just really not that interested. You're lucky if the kid is kind of interested and is taking over from you in whatever business. If you're the dad or the mom, then whatever you set up, oh, good for you. If you've got one of your kids that is sort of interested in that, but it's usually that generation after that. That is like so detached from it and now they're just, they're getting used to regular checks that are coming in

• 4:37Speaker 03

  from grandma and grandpa and it goes on. So, you know, on a high level and this question being, what are some mistakes that parents make when setting up a trust fund? I would think that generally it comes down to maybe there being a disconnect between what your wishes are and what their wishes might be and how much you really want to impose on them. Cause you can set that up within the trust. For example, you can set up your trust so that your children can only receive that money if they get along. In fact, many wills or trusts will have it built into it that if they, if there is a lawsuit brought within the children, then they're cut out, right? This is after you die.

• 5:21Speaker 03

  Then it's like, okay, if the kids are going to argue about this, then they're cut out. You can have that sort of control as a parent to make sure, you can eliminate some of the issues that you may have seen. And I have seen that in the past where you have a mom and dad pass away or grandma and grandpa pass away. And the family dynamics change very quickly when all of a sudden there's all these zeros and numbers and dollars that are in there.

• 5:47Speaker 04

  It's like winning the lottery for some people and it's either you're going to know what to do with it if you're instructed well. And I think to me, what comes to my mind is leaving some really clear instructions. How things should be handled or funds should be managed. That's one thing. Because lack of that will Create the drama.

• 6:06Speaker 03

  And that's the, that's the biggest problem that I've seen with that parents would make is that they're not communicating that ahead of time. They're not, they're not doing the work. They, they've met with the attorneys. They've got the trust all set up. But they haven't had sort of that awkward conversation around the dinner table with their kids about, hey, by the way, you've got millions of dollars that are coming your way. As soon as I have that heart attack, guess what? You're, you're going to be independently wealthy. What does that mean?

• 6:33Speaker 04

  That's, that's the other thing that comes to my mind is involve your kids in that, in that process. I, I know it's a very tough process and I know it's emotional process, but still in my opinion, it's very, very beneficial to involve your kids throughout the process. Building of the trust, the will, whatever. Teach them because that's, that's a lesson in itself that you're prepping.

• 6:52Speaker 03

  There, there is, there's a lot of satisfaction I know that comes from, I'll, I'll speak for myself. I, I have certainly a desire to, to pass something on to my kids. I want them to have something. But I, I also want them to not need it. I, I want them to be able to be self-sufficient without mom and dad around or no matter what happens to mom and dad. And, and so, you know, I think you can accomplish both of those things by setting up a trust for your kids.

• 7:29Speaker 03

  I don't, I don't believe that, you know, we're, that, that, that, that kids are just naturally greedy and inherently greedy and they're gonna, they're gonna squander. I think you can, you can set up these situations so that your, your children don't become spoiled and they, and it, and it doesn't ruin them. But at the same time, you, that's, they are going to be their own selves. They're going to be their own humans. To to make their own decisions and after you're gone, um, there's not a whole lot that you can do about it.

• 8:02Speaker 04

  That's right. I mean, hey, man, when I'm gone, it's it's.

• 8:05Speaker 03

  So what? Who cares, right?

• 8:07Speaker 04

  That's it. That's it. You know, I have I have a certain belief because of my religion, whatever. When you're gone, it's your good deeds that that live behind you.

• 8:14Speaker 03

  That's it. I I I I feel the same way. That's that's.

• 8:17Speaker 04

  Your good deeds. What what you leave behind? Are you gonna plant a tree so people can take advantage of the shade? Are you gonna drill a well so people are actually getting water out of that well after you're long gone?

• 8:28Speaker 03

  Right.

• 8:29Speaker 04

  Or are you gonna create a little monster that's just gonna, you know, create raucous after you you go?

• 8:35Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 8:36Speaker 04

  That's what what is that you wanna do?

• 8:37Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 8:38Speaker 04

  And most of the people wanna have something that they are remembered for.

• 8:42Speaker 03

  Yeah, right.

• 8:43Speaker 04

  Something good, right? And and we have the ability collectively to do that. Either you have a lot of money or little money or no money. You can still leave something behind, even if it's just a son or a daughter that does something good. Okay, that's the son or that's the daughter of so and so.

• 8:57Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 8:58Speaker 04

  That's my belief.

• 8:58Speaker 03

  I I'm an advocate of if it's if you're in the position to do it, give your kids the money before you die.

• 9:06Speaker 04

  That's right.

• 9:06Speaker 03

  At least some of it or a good chunk of it.

• 9:08Speaker 04

  That's hard for some parents. That's some hard. It's really hard. I mean, I've experienced it.

• 9:12Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 9:13Speaker 04

  I mean, in my in in the family business where the patriarch, it's just hard for for for him or her to just give up that power, that control.

• 9:24Speaker 03

  It's also usually hard for those same people to even talk about it.

• 9:27Speaker 04

  That's right.

• 9:27Speaker 03

  They won't. They like the kids don't know how much money they have. No real idea. They know, well, dad makes a ton of money, but they don't know anymore.

• 9:32Speaker 04

  Or if you bring up the subject, then it's taboo.

• 9:35Speaker 03

  Yeah, right.

• 9:36Speaker 04

  It's taboo, man. It's taboo. So I'm I'm I'm with you.

• 9:39Speaker 03

  Yeah. So so there's the advice there, Sammy, that we can give our listeners. Try to find a way to have a relationship with your children so that you can communicate in a way that that that that shares your your values, your wishes with them. And then my advice would be if you can give away that some at least some of that money before you pass on. At least now you're alive to witness them benefit from it. And then you have then you have more control over it and your kids will benefit especially if they're in in still the early years where they're going to school or going to college or they're they're working towards their career.

• 10:20Speaker 03

  How beneficial is it if you can if you can help support them financially to get to that career?

• 10:25Speaker 04

  That's right.

• 10:25Speaker 03

  Pay for their college, pay for their training, their licensing and things like that. That's a huge relief on on the kids and that is the biggest asset that almost any of us has is the skills, the knowledge, the talents that we are that are are born with or that we that we pick up over time that allow us to make money. Our own cap, our own intellectual capital, our superpower, like that's it, right? Cause then

• 10:55Speaker 04

  Cause we all have superpowers.

• 10:56Speaker 03

  We all have superpowers and you get a million dollars and you blow it like that. A lot of people do that. And then what are you left with? You're left with your superpowers. What are your superpowers? Your your ability to make money. What's your talent? What's your skills?

• 11:09Speaker 04

  What's that God given talent that you have that you can hone in, that you can upgrade, that you can work and train to get better at?

• 11:17Speaker 03

  I didn't have that ability. I think Sammy, you're the same pitch, same situation, but when I was going through college, I was I was young. Um, but I also got married very young, started having kids. I was supporting myself through college and it was incredibly stressful. Trying to carry a job and

• 11:36Speaker 04

  Family.

• 11:37Speaker 03

  My family and all of that stuff. And I I look back now and I think, man, I really, I really missed out on on some opportunities to maybe get further education or further training because I was just a young dad trying to get through college. If I just had a little bit more money at that time, I could have, I could have, I could have invested in myself more instead of survival mode and just making sure the kids are taken care of. I I would have really helped a lot for me and I've taken that lesson. And now with our children, um, you know, we're trying to be generous. Um, in terms of what we're, how we're supporting our kids now.

• 12:18Speaker 03

  And we're open with our kids and we say, listen, we're helping you out now because we don't want to just give this to you and we die. We want you to benefit from it now. And selfishly, we want to be around to witness it and we won't be here if we're dead.

• 12:33Speaker 04

  One way I look at it too is, look, we We're in the financial industry and I look at that as an investment of a kind, not monetary, but, or maybe it's monetary, but you're investing in the future. And if you, if you invest both, you know, money and also time with your, with your kids, eventually you're gonna get a return.

• 12:57Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 12:57Speaker 04

  Some type of a return.

• 12:58Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 12:59Speaker 04

  Right?

• 12:59Speaker 03

  For sure.

• 13:00Speaker 04

  That definitely a return. Either they're gonna do certain things a certain way and they're gonna be leagues ahead of their peers because they've got that training from dad and mom.

• 13:10Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 13:11Speaker 04

  And involvement in the business or family matters or things like that. I mean, my son is 12 years old and I don't hold back.

• 13:16Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 13:17Speaker 04

  I don't hold back.

• 13:17Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 13:18Speaker 04

  I don't hold back bad words from my son and a lot of people will challenge me for that, but I know he's gonna hear him at school. Right?

• 13:24Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 13:25Speaker 04

  My, my rule is very simple. Do not say bad words in front of ladies. I'm all schooled that way. Otherwise you'll get, you know, daddy to.

• 13:32Speaker 03

  Well, you don't hold back either in terms of like allowing him to participate in adult

• 13:37Speaker 04

  No.

• 13:38Speaker 03

  activities, adult business activities, like.

• 13:41Speaker 04

  No, he's an investor with me.

• 13:42Speaker 03

  Exactly.

• 13:42Speaker 04

  We have real estate investment and my son is my partner. He's 12 years old. He's my partner.

• 13:47Speaker 03

  Yeah. And you, and you, you have instructed him on what that means to be a partner in a business at, at a very young age.

• 13:54Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 13:54Speaker 03

  And how much more beneficial is that versus, you know, when he's in his 40s or 50s and you die and he inherits a, a million dollars so that he can buy a house? You know, like or a car, you know, like.

• 14:07Speaker 04

  I've seen it too with my, in my own family. My, my brother-in-law passed, you know, and he left 10-year-old at the time and, and a 13 or 14-year-old. And I told, I tell my kid, hey, that, that, that's part of life. I want you to be ready. God forbid something happens to me. I want you to be ready. I want you to be that little kid where your mommy has to do everything. No, no. 12, 12-year-old dude, back in the day, 12-year-old, you're already working, like just 100 years ago.

• 14:31Speaker 03

  Right.

• 14:31Speaker 04

  12-year-old, you're carrying a responsibility.

• 14:33Speaker 03

  That's right. That's right. Yeah. Hell, you're getting married at 15.

• 14:37Speaker 04

  We, we delay. I think we, we started delaying, like we, we, we talk about 18-year-olds and 20-year-olds as kids.

• 14:44Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 14:45Speaker 04

  No, they're young. Adults.

• 14:46Speaker 03

  You're so right. It's this, I mean, we, there used to be a huge pushback against the, the millennials or the Gen Z, you know, these, these kids, they're, they're, they are for the most part have been raised in the

• 14:58Speaker 04

  Sheltered.

• 14:59Speaker 03

  Sheltered. They're, they're not allowed to sort of, they're, they're just too sensitive, you know? Everybody gets an award. Everybody's a winner, you know, too sensitive. You don't want to hurt the kids feelings. And it's like, that's, you're not doing your kid any favor.

• 15:13Speaker 04

  The world is not going to treat them like that.

• 15:15Speaker 03

  That's right.

• 15:16Speaker 04

  When you go into that workplace, you're competing, especially now. Look, we're not just competing in America. Okay. You can get an employee in a different part of the world. That's your competitor.

• 15:27Speaker 03

  Mm hmm. Yeah.

• 15:29Speaker 04

  Miles, I mean, thousands of miles away, and that's who you're competing against. And if you do not have your grit, guess what? You're going to lose.

• 15:36Speaker 03

  That's right. Yeah. Dang.

• 15:38Speaker 04

  I mean, I want to.

• 15:39Speaker 03

  This is good advice, Sammy.

• 15:40Speaker 04

  Oh, thanks.

• 15:40Speaker 03

  I think, I think, I think we're just giving good advice right here. Hopefully listener heard this. Uh, we really.

• 15:46Speaker 00

  It's been on fire, man.

• 15:47Speaker 03

  I know. Well, I mean, that's what, that's what happens when you've got some wisdom. We're going to take a break now and get to our guest. Really excited. We have Richard Chapman coming on the show right now. He's president and CEO of Current Economic Development Corporation, KEDC. He's in charge of basically bringing in economic activity to the county.

• 16:08Speaker 00

  He was just telling me about the, uh, the Hard Rock update.

• 16:10Speaker 03

  Perfect. Perfect. We're going to get the update and the Hard Rock plus much more. We're Money Wise. We'll be right back.

• 16:16Speaker 00

  Have you been putting off your finances? Seize the day. Call the Money Wise office at 661-847-1000 or email [email protected] for more information on how our financial advisors can help your financial situation.

• 16:34Speaker 03

  There we go.

• 16:37Speaker 03

  Oh, we know this. I know the group. That's half the battles.

• 16:43Speaker 05

  Which one?

• 16:44Speaker 03

  Welcome to the show. We're Money Wise.

• 16:48Speaker 03

  That sound means we've got Richard Chapman with us today, President and CEO of Current Economic Development Corporation. Richard, welcome back to the show.

• 16:57Speaker 05

  Thanks for having me. Happy, uh, is it still too late to say Happy New Year?

• 17:01Speaker 03

  No.

• 17:02Speaker 05

  Okay, for another couple of days.

• 17:03Speaker 04

  The whole first month of the year.

• 17:05Speaker 05

  Okay, perfect.

• 17:06Speaker 03

  You can keep doing that. We're so excited to have you on because it's just in the hallway. Steven came or somebody said, uh, he's, Richard's got some information on the Hard Rock. The Hard Rock right here in town. This has been a big story because everybody's been confusing it for the other construction that's going on.

• 17:20Speaker 05

  Right, so, um, the Hard Rock is north of the V where I-5 and 99 break off going north. And then it's between the V, um, north of the V and it's where 166 basically, uh, bisects those two roads.

• 17:36Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 17:37Speaker 05

  It is, the casino will be built first. It will be open by the end of this year. Many people are confused. There's a Nestle cold storage.

• 17:45Speaker 03

  That's it.

• 17:45Speaker 05

  A hundred and twenty foot, I believe, high. Um, and that is east of nine, of five. So that is not the casino. Um, if you go there, it'll be cold.

• 17:55Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 17:56Speaker 05

  Uh, there will be no slots, uh, but it's.

• 17:58Speaker 03

  But they did break ground. The Hard Rock did break ground already.

• 18:00Speaker 05

  Yeah, oh yeah. So it will, um, it, they had the, uh, it, it is, uh, it'll be ready, I believe, by October, November and hundred thousand square foot.

• 18:09Speaker 04

  Free bets on the first couple of months?

• 18:11Speaker 05

  Um, sure, that, that's what they.

• 18:13Speaker 03

  Yeah, don't, don't, don't take the Dolphins.

• 18:16Speaker 05

  Yeah, don't pick the Dolphins.

• 18:19Speaker 03

  That's free, that's free for everyone.

• 18:20Speaker 05

  Six games next year. Um, so, uh, there's a hundred, so I was saying, how many slots? You may know the answer. How many slots?

• 18:27Speaker 04

  Now I do. Between twenty-five hundred and three thousand. Is that correct?

• 18:31Speaker 03

  Slot machines.

• 18:31Speaker 05

  Right.

• 18:32Speaker 03

  Wow. That's huge.

• 18:33Speaker 05

  And there will be four, uh, restaurants.

• 18:36Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 18:36Speaker 05

  Including Hard Rock Cafe. So when people say Hard Rock Cafe is coming, yes, but the casino and hotel as well. Uh, and think about ninety, probably ninety, ninety-five percent of those, um, uh, visitors will be from out of the county. So they're coming up or. Coming down, spending money.

• 18:51Speaker 03

  Those are the good dollars.

• 18:52Speaker 05

  Those are the money that stays in the economy. The Olympics, we're talking a lot in Florida about the Olympics in LA. So there's going to be a significant number of, of.

• 19:03Speaker 04

  One hour away from, from, from LA.

• 19:05Speaker 05

  I mean, you hear words like Los Angeles, Hard Rock. We know it's in Kern County, but there's going to be, of course, I'm sure, a lot of promotional, um, activity down in the LA basin.

• 19:17Speaker 03

  I have stayed at a Hard Rock Resort in Mexico. And it was wonderful. It was really, really great. Um, had a very good experience, seemed to be well managed. This is not your normal business structure, the way that Hard Rock is, right?

• 19:33Speaker 05

  Yeah, Hard Rock owned, owned by a Seminole tribe. Um, we, uh, and, and it's an iconic brand. They were showing around the world. It has over 90% recognition, Hard Rock. Just that name. And so, um, uh, we, we toured a first rate, uh, top tier, uh, in Hollywood, Florida. Uh, which I could see the Hard Rock Stadium, I, um, from there. Uh, not much activity going on in that stadium. Even during the actual season.

• 20:06Speaker 03

  Is that where the Dolphins play?

• 20:07Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 20:08Speaker 00

  All right, if that's what you want to call it.

• 20:11Speaker 05

  But think about it, there's so many things happening in Kern. I just had on our show National Cement today talking about their, uh, half, their billion dollar project, net zero. We have Hydro Store, that's a 1.5 billion. Uh, hopefully we'll break ground by the end of this year, uh, pending C E C approval, California Energy Commission, and Pacific Steel.

• 20:32Speaker 04

  How's that going?

• 20:33Speaker 05

  Stay tuned, there'll be announcements on groundbreaking, that's 400 jobs.

• 20:37Speaker 03

  Remind us what Pacific Steel.

• 20:39Speaker 05

  That steel, uh, rebar, it's the first steel, uh, facility in the state in 50 years.

• 20:44Speaker 03

  Oh, my gosh. I think we talked about this last time on the show. It's out in Mojave.

• 20:49Speaker 05

  Mojave, and then Rosemont is where Hydro Store is. So our county, um, you know, East Kern is booming, West Kern, of course. Uh, and we're happy that we're launching, uh, next week, a West Kern Economic Alliance. We've had East Kern Economic Lines for communities in East Kern, but we're starting a West Kern one and we're meeting at Tav College next week. Have all the communities in West Kern get on the same page on what, you know, projects, activities are occurring.

• 21:12Speaker 04

  So, so going back just to the Hard Rock, I'm just curious, how many jobs is that creating?

• 21:16Speaker 05

  Thousand. I mean, you hear total indirect induced about 5,000, but I, we're hearing, you know, at least 2,000.

• 21:23Speaker 04

  And these are probably local people and hopefully local people that will...

• 21:27Speaker 05

  Well, at least 15%, so we need to make sure that our residents are aware of these opportunities. Um, you know, we're, we're, uh, as we said, we don't really have a business journal, so, uh, it's interesting. Most people, when you ask about Hard Rock, they may or may not know, right, that it's, uh, coming to town. Um, so it's imperative of us to communicate that. I know the various, like, community colleges and the like are working together, all levels of education, to create that pipeline, uh, because there will be thousands of jobs, all types, and upward mobility is, is what Hard Rock strives for, for their, for their employees. They call them the band, if you're in the band.

• 22:06Speaker 03

  Uh, nice. Yeah, they're, they're, uh, so the Hard Rock is also, is there's a second phase that's coming?

• 22:13Speaker 05

  The set, yes. So the second, the first phase casino, restaurants, for a second phase hotel and the, uh, theater, up to 2,000 seat theater.

• 22:21Speaker 03

  And when is that coming? Do you know?

• 22:22Speaker 05

  I believe two, one, let's see, 26, 7, maybe 27.

• 22:27Speaker 03

  Okay. So they'll open by the end of this year and then within a year or so, the other...

• 22:33Speaker 05

  We'll have, yes. So it's a proven formula. Again, it's quali, like, you may go to gamble, you go eat, you, all types of entertainment, but it's truly, um, you know, if you've been there before, it is, um, we're so fortunate to have Kern County home to a Hard Rock.

• 22:49Speaker 03

  Well, maybe you can explain that. You just visited, again, we're joined by Richard Chapman, CEO of Kern Economic Development Corporation. You just visited the headquarters of Hard Rock.

• 22:57Speaker 05

  We were in Hollywood, Florida, um, near, near Hard Rock Stadium, Davie, I guess, technically, and so the good, famous Guitar Hotel.

• 23:05Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 23:05Speaker 05

  We stayed in the Guitar Hotel, um, and it...

• 23:09Speaker 03

  Can you tell us, though, why they, why they built, why they decided to build one here? Like, it's, kinda seems out, kind of out in no, in the middle of nowhere a little bit, you know?

• 23:19Speaker 05

  That I five and ninety nine during the holidays is I think the most tried. We have twenty five million cars and trucks a day that that Starbucks during Christmas, I believe is the most, most.

• 23:32Speaker 03

  It's the busiest probably.

• 23:33Speaker 05

  Business of any Starbucks in the country. We are the Shafter is the population center of the state.

• 23:39Speaker 03

  Whoa, hold on a minute.

• 23:41Speaker 05

  Current county.

• 23:41Speaker 03

  I think I heard you wrong because you said Shafter is the.

• 23:44Speaker 05

  Yeah, the equal number of people north of Shafter.

• 23:47Speaker 03

  Oh, oh.

• 23:48Speaker 05

  So we're four hours from ninety percent of the population in the state. So think about what an ideal and the Tohone tribe has just been phenomenal working with with the tribe and just their vision and dedication, commitment and the partnership with Hard Rock. You know, it's just wonderful to see that type of coordination and commitment to providing, you know, providing jobs for the tribe as well as other folks in the community.

• 24:17Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, I'm glad I'm glad they're here. It just seems like a there's a lot of space between us and LA, a lot of empty space between us and LA. And so, you know.

• 24:32Speaker 05

  Well, we need parity. We're a forty billion dollar. We can talk about that. GDP numbers came a fifty billion dollar economy.

• 24:39Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 24:40Speaker 05

  Next to a one trillion dollar economy. So I would prefer economic parity, right? Why we should be moving up, you know, we're right behind Fresno, but why shouldn't we, you know, grow at an exponential rate with projects like these? I believe we will. And we are, we promote ourselves as Southern California. Fresno can't do that, right?

• 24:59Speaker 03

  That's right. They can't do that. Too far north. We have a message here from a listener that says, when does your guest expect the Hard Rock to begin hiring? Also, will this Hard Rock be like others that will have multiple big restaurants and pay well?

• 25:10Speaker 05

  Yeah, I think they'll be up to thirteen restaurants.

• 25:12Speaker 03

  Dang.

• 25:13Speaker 05

  So the first phase will be four. And then I believe you'll start seeing vendor forums. There'll be one in March at Baker's College. Obviously, they want to hire local service providers.

• 25:23Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 25:24Speaker 05

  That's with a lot of like Pacific still just had two vendor forums. You know, we want local. Employees locally, but also companies to be hired. That's that indirect and induce the suppliers are at the table. So I, you know, you'll start seeing in the next couple of months that roll out. But you can also, on the website, there's actually a portal for Hard Rock through their.

• 25:46Speaker 03

  On KEDC's website?

• 25:47Speaker 05

  Oh, no, it's Hard Rock Casino, Tahone. So check that out because they do have a vendor form. If you're a company that wants to offer services, go on there and provide your information today if you'd like.

• 26:00Speaker 03

  You did a great job, Richard. You've been coming on for years, but you, it's really exciting to see how much is happening. You rattled off four or five different projects that I want to take a break. When we come back, let's, let's highlight more some of these projects. Plus KEDC has got some great activities coming up too that we don't want to, we don't want to.

• 26:17Speaker 05

  Right, events coming up.

• 26:18Speaker 03

  Events and things like that. So we're going to cover that when we come back. We're Money Wise. We'll be right back.

• 26:21Speaker 00

  Money Wise Wealth Management is the only locally owned, independent firm that uses a comprehensive wealth tax and estate approach. Working closely with a highly trusted CPA and attorney. For information on how Money Wise can help you invest and plan for your future. Call 661-847-1000. That's 661-847-1000.

• 26:48Speaker 03

  Welcome to the Money Wise Show. I'm Jared Waite. Samy Abiyaw is here and we are joined by our guest, Richard Chapman. He is the CEO of Current Economic Development Corporation.

• 27:00Speaker 04

  Don't be surprised with the music, Richard. That's my type of music.

• 27:03Speaker 05

  Your music? Okay. Is that Snoop Dogg?

• 27:06Speaker 04

  No.

• 27:06Speaker 03

  Snoop Dogg.

• 27:08Speaker 05

  Wow.

• 27:09Speaker 00

  It's like Latroy says, every time I play a rock song, Slipknot. It's Slipknot, right, Stephen?

• 27:14Speaker 05

  Aye. Eminem.

• 27:16Speaker 04

  No, that's T-Pain.

• 27:19Speaker 05

  Who?

• 27:19Speaker 04

  T-Pain.

• 27:20Speaker 03

  T-Pain.

• 27:21Speaker 05

  Oh, I've heard of T-Pain.

• 27:22Speaker 03

  He's got the grill.

• 27:23Speaker 05

  T-Rex?

• 27:24Speaker 00

  Not a tune.

• 27:24Speaker 03

  I've heard of T-Rex. All right, we have a message here from a listener, Richard. This is good. I'd like to talk to you about it. It says, will the Southern California fires impact the current economic expansion? I understand the impact remains unknown, but what about regarding the local economy? Kind of, we're just guessing here, but what do you think?

• 27:41Speaker 05

  I mean, we had during COVID, a significant influx of folks come, moved from LA. I mean, I live in a new community of Belkorn, and so you'd see a lot of LA license plates. So it's all anecdotal, but I, we're seeing the end migration from LA. You know, you can look at the census numbers. You have both an East Kern from LA as well as West Kern. So I would think, you know, we have that 1% to 2% growth. So I think maybe that would just create, and we're building, right? We're, we don't know how quickly those permits will be reissued. And then there's the issue of insurance, right?

• 28:17Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 28:18Speaker 05

  Insurers are leaving the state. So, but we have, we have growth, right? We have, the supply is keeping up with demand for the most part. So that, I think, demand will increase, especially out of the LA market. And a lot of workers can, you know, people can work remotely now, so.

• 28:37Speaker 03

  You've mentioned in the past that Bakersfield and Kern County, Kern County in particular is uniquely positioned to be open for business compared to the rest of California, or at least the perception of the rest of California is that, you know, high taxes, high regulation, government oversight. Yet here in Kern County, you rattled off five or six projects, couple of them that I wasn't even sure about. What, what's happening in Kern County? Is it, is the momentum continuing?

• 29:09Speaker 05

  I mean, I think we have a track record where public sector and private sector pretty much work in tandem, where you get 500 votes for projects, be it a city or with the county, a different numbers. But you're seeing, you know, again, like we started with the warehouse once IKEA and others came here, you started seeing, you know, the testimonials from companies here that I could, I can brand and brag about Kern, but what happened, most of these companies are going to ask their colleagues, what is Kern County like? They see projects like Hard Rock, Pacific Steel and others, pretty much went to commission board with nominal of any opposition.

• 29:46Speaker 03

  Right.

• 29:47Speaker 05

  Think about trying to, you know, comments, when the comments went through, there was, I don't believe one person opposed that.

• 29:51Speaker 03

  Right.

• 29:52Speaker 05

  So that's the other thing is, we always talk about NIMBYs, right?

• 29:55Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 29:56Speaker 05

  You know what NIMBYs stands for?

• 29:57Speaker 04

  No, I do not.

• 29:58Speaker 05

  Not in my backyard, but we also have bananas.

• 30:02Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 30:02Speaker 05

  Do you know bananas?

• 30:03Speaker 04

  No.

• 30:04Speaker 05

  Built absolutely nothing, built absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody.

• 30:08Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 30:08Speaker 05

  So, we have these projects that are billion dollars, hundreds of, that, when you go, you see that there's support, right? It's a politi, I mean, we want good jobs, and so that, I think that's very hardening, and that's easy to promote. And, you know, there are things now at the state level, we can't control taxes, power's a huge issue right now.

• 30:30Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 30:30Speaker 05

  Obviously, you know, their right to work and other, but, you know, number one for companies is in terms of that regulatory, I call it RDC, that's, those are my initials, how I remember it, reliability, degree of certainty and clarity.

• 30:45Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 30:46Speaker 05

  So, and that's, we have proven that not just, obviously Kern County, but as well as the, most of the communities in the county.

• 30:54Speaker 03

  Right. So, talk about now these, some of these projects.

• 30:58Speaker 05

  Right.

• 30:58Speaker 03

  Highlight, highlight the ones that you're most excited about.

• 31:02Speaker 05

  Well, you see Cal Dairies, which is down right near McCutcheon and Taft Highway, that's a $700 million, basically milk bottling, right? I mean, that's, we're, we're a number one county for ag.

• 31:14Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 31:15Speaker 05

  So the other thing is that value added, right? 700 million, we're starting to talk about capital investment, I think, in addition to jobs, tax revenue, and you could literally draw a map, you have Niagara bottling up in Delano.

• 31:30Speaker 03

  What's Niagara bottling?

• 31:31Speaker 05

  A bottle, a water bottling facility, Niagara, which we all know Niagara. Then you have, go over to Pacific Steel, Mojave, Hydra Store, we have the world's largest, by the way, battery and energy storage system, which is Teragin and Rosamont.

• 31:46Speaker 03

  Talk about that, explain what that project is.

• 31:48Speaker 05

  Yeah, so that, the thing that, I think it's four gigawatts, don't quote me on it, but it's, how many panels do they have? Guess how many panels would you think this solar project has? Million? Two million.

• 32:01Speaker 03

  Two million?

• 32:02Speaker 05

  And that's in Kern County, it's Edward Sanborn. AES has the Bell Field, and you go up to Mojave, that's gonna be one, if not the largest, they're competing one and two. Battery storage is the key, right? So Hydrostore is eight hours of storage. So, right, you have the duck, in terms of when the light, when the sun goes down, how do you store that? That's the key. So, think about it, we'll have an eight-hour, 500-megawatt storage with Hydrostore.

• 32:26Speaker 03

  Is Hydrostore using batteries? Are they using?

• 32:28Speaker 05

  It's not bad, it's underground.

• 32:29Speaker 03

  Underground water, aquifer.

• 32:31Speaker 05

  And heat exchange.

• 32:32Speaker 03

  That's cool, that's really cool.

• 32:34Speaker 05

  You go to Mojave, and they have Maximo, which is a robot that installs panels, and it creates more jobs than fewer. So it takes out the lifting, heavy lifting, right? In terms of somebody, work-related injuries, and you have four or five people that are working with this robot, and the robot will install two at a time. So we have, and then you go out to, right, Mojave, world's largest airplanes, try to launch. Then you have Edwards, NASA, China Lake, and Rio Tinto, of course, who can forget Rio Tinto? And they're, they're not just onsite, Borax, but they're actually open for business, they have an industrial park now with power.

• 33:17Speaker 05

  So we have projects that are looking to locate at Rio Tinto.

• 33:21Speaker 03

  A lot of people, myself included, are not familiar with Eastern Kern County, which is, you mentioned China Lake, they've gotten, received billions of dollars from the federal government for the rebuild.

• 33:31Speaker 05

  Four billion, correct. More PhDs per capita than anywhere in the country. So east and west, our goal is to work the two together. There's so many, you know, the strengths that one has, maybe we can help, you know, help with that, the other part of the county, tie the two together. We have an East Kern Economic Alliance, that meets every other month, you're always welcome. But now we have a West Kern Economic Alliance. So, I mean, we have basically 11 communities in the county, and so we need, the goal is to get them all on the same page and coordinate efforts, so we can, you know, frankly...

• 34:10Speaker 05

  Fresno, a lot of the funds that come to Fresno, why shouldn't they come to Kern County? And even all types of investments. So we're really flexing our muscle right now with all the recent success we're having.

• 34:21Speaker 03

  Keep flexing. We care about this community.

• 34:26Speaker 05

  Definitely.

• 34:26Speaker 03

  What's going to bring us, we have our challenges, which are huge. And one of the best way that we can solve some of these challenges is by bringing in economic prosperity.

• 34:38Speaker 05

  And bragging. Somebody said, I was presenting last, we're the self-deprecating capital. Well, I like to brag about, when I came here 18 years ago, I noticed that from 01 to 14, we were the fastest growing the economy in the country. And somebody said, who told you that? I said, oh, the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

• 35:00Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 35:00Speaker 05

  Out of the top 200 metros, we were number one for GDP growth. In 22, 23, we just saw the numbers, we had about 5.2% growth. That's, I think, more than double the state average.

• 35:11Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 35:12Speaker 05

  So, yes, there are challenges moving ahead. Obviously, oil and gas and ag face significant regulatory hurdles for growth.

• 35:25Speaker 03

  But we don't realize also how diverse our community is. Which is another statistic you've brought up, is how we're the most diverse economy. And we saw it during COVID, how many essential workers we had.

• 35:36Speaker 05

  You took notes, we were number one. Think about our jobs, we're like 67% are essential. So what are our jobs, look at our, right, all of our industries. A lot of industries maybe have one or two legs, we actually have four or five.

• 35:51Speaker 03

  Now, I know you don't like talking about the challenges, but what do you think is our biggest challenge as Kern County?

• 35:58Speaker 05

  I mean, our biggest challenge is obviously with the production of oil and gas decreasing. Now, 3% to 4% of our workforce has direct jobs, but those jobs pay $100,000 on average. But you add that 17 of our top 20 taxpayers are basically energy companies. So, we're grateful to have that, and the multiplier, I'm not talking about either of those direct jobs, there's a significant multiplier. But that tax base, right? And our production.

• 36:28Speaker 05

  You know, basically is decreasing. I mean, now we're 14th or 15th in the country for, we used to be number one five or six years ago.

• 36:36Speaker 03

  And now we have ag and that's.

• 36:38Speaker 05

  Ag's about eight billion. You know, a lot of automation, wonderful, but you know, we're looking at, well, how many high wage jobs are there in these two industries? But you know, again, we have the strictest regs in the world to drill. So why aren't we

• 36:52Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 36:52Speaker 05

  given the permits to drill?

• 36:53Speaker 03

  Right.

• 36:54Speaker 04

  Because we import our oil from.

• 36:56Speaker 05

  Seventy seven percent is from overseas. It used to be 5%.

• 37:00Speaker 04

  Where, do you know from where in overseas?

• 37:02Speaker 05

  I have a fact sheet.

• 37:03Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 37:04Speaker 05

  Mainly Iraq, Iran, those are the top.

• 37:06Speaker 03

  Venezuela.

• 37:07Speaker 04

  Venezuela, Latin America.

• 37:08Speaker 05

  Colombia, Ecuador, which don't have the same human rights and environmental rights that we have here.

• 37:14Speaker 03

  It's terrible.

• 37:15Speaker 05

  So yeah, I think energy, I mean, I grew up in the eighties where energy independence was apolitical.

• 37:21Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 37:21Speaker 05

  You had, nobody could argue that we should ship our oil from half a world away with.

• 37:26Speaker 03

  Right.

• 37:27Speaker 05

  And I, this, this stat that always opens my eyes, like 16 oil tankers create more CO2 emissions than all the world's cars.

• 37:36Speaker 04

  And how, and how many of those do we use to bring oil over here to California?

• 37:40Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 37:40Speaker 04

  With 77% of our consumption.

• 37:42Speaker 05

  Where you had them idling off the coast, LA, right? Because there, yeah, right, that surplus. So um, yes, that, that, you know, that is the hope that we, uh, you know, we keep jobs local and uh, all types of energy. We're the number one renewable energy cap, uh, production county in the country.

• 38:01Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 38:02Speaker 05

  So we should be getting credit for that, right?

• 38:04Speaker 03

  That's right.

• 38:05Speaker 05

  High fives.

• 38:06Speaker 03

  High fives here. Uh, the, speaking of high fives, several activities throughout the year that KEDC does. Uh, talk about, I guess, the economic summit coming up in May.

• 38:16Speaker 05

  So the, um, and the first one is coming up in January, January 30th, State of the County. So that is, uh, and, and this year we'll have, uh, the, uh, we'll have the State of the County address. Um, actually there's two parts at four o'clock, open to the public. It's at the supervisor chambers. So, uh, with the, um, we'll have, uh,

• 38:38Speaker 05

  With Letitia Perez, the new chair.

• 38:41Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 38:42Speaker 05

  We'll have Chairwoman's Dinner.

• 38:43Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 38:44Speaker 05

  At 5 o'clock. So we'll have the Chairwoman's Dinner at 5 at Luigi's. So we're hosting that. But we'd also, again, would love, of course, the folks at 4 o'clock. So, you know, Chairwoman's Perez's address.

• 39:00Speaker 03

  Signing in or address, yeah.

• 39:02Speaker 05

  State of the County address.

• 39:03Speaker 03

  State of the County address.

• 39:04Speaker 05

  Vision moving forward. There's so many great things happening in all districts. And so.

• 39:10Speaker 03

  And then there'll be a dinner at Luigi's.

• 39:11Speaker 05

  At 5 o'clock.

• 39:12Speaker 03

  At 5 o'clock.

• 39:13Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 39:13Speaker 03

  That's great. Years past, it had been at the Fairgrounds.

• 39:16Speaker 05

  It was at Mechanics the year before. It was at the Fairgrounds. It's been at the Doubletree.

• 39:24Speaker 03

  Oh, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 39:25Speaker 05

  But there's so much energy and excitement. You know, the county's phenomenal at, you know, with the Board of Supervisors. Just having that vision for creating, you know, high-wage jobs. And also that RDC, right? Our reliability, degree of certainty and clarity. And so we're excited to kind of kick off the year. I guess technically it's still, we can say, you know, Happy New Year.

• 39:50Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 39:51Speaker 05

  So, yeah, those, there'll be those two events at 4 and 5 o'clock on January the 30th. We also have the, we're happy to say that the Economic Summit is coming back to.

• 40:04Speaker 03

  In person.

• 40:06Speaker 05

  We went five years. We, the last one was March 2020. And that was the day that, that afternoon, COVID shut down.

• 40:16Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:16Speaker 05

  But that's a partnership with CSUB and KADC and Bakersfield, Greater Bakersfield Chamber. It'll be at CSUB on May the 1st.

• 40:28Speaker 05

  We have the Career and STEM Expo with Kern High School District, April the 4th. Are you guys gonna have a booth there?

• 40:34Speaker 03

  Of course. Well, I don't know. Are we, Sammy?

• 40:36Speaker 05

  Free booths?

• 40:37Speaker 03

  Free booths, yes, we are.

• 40:39Speaker 05

  Educate the kids about opportunities in Kern County?

• 40:42Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 40:43Speaker 04

  We should.

• 40:43Speaker 03

  We do.

• 40:44Speaker 04

  If we don't, we should.

• 40:45Speaker 03

  Yeah. We don't partner enough as, we do partner with Cal State on some things, but we could definitely do some more. You know, kids these days aren't just interested that much in investing.

• 40:54Speaker 04

  Or finance, finance industry in general.

• 40:56Speaker 05

  I know they have a great program at CTEC, right? In finance?

• 41:00Speaker 04

  Yeah, CTEC is the.

• 41:01Speaker 05

  Career Tech Education Center.

• 41:03Speaker 04

  Yeah. We do, we do get some interns from there. In fact, we're going to start one here soon.

• 41:08Speaker 05

  Okay, okay.

• 41:09Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's right.

• 41:10Speaker 05

  Yeah, so there's, um, so yeah, there's a lot, uh, there's a lot, uh, moving forward. The Energy Summit, of course, you all attended. That's in November. Uh, we had a record, uh, you know, again, a record, uh, record attendance, record sponsorships. Um, that's why the Save the Date event is a really, um, just extraordinary interest and excitement about that upcoming event. And so these are iconic events. Uh, we have significant, uh, you know, education, business and government. That's, that's how, that's how, uh, you know, communities are sustainable, having, having those three groups at the table.

• 41:47Speaker 03

  We are so lucky to have you here, Richard, as in the role that you are as CEO of KEDC. You just bring a great amount of enthusiasm and optimism, and I think it's shown. I mean, look at how much has happened in the last 18 years.

• 42:01Speaker 04

  And results.

• 42:01Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 42:01Speaker 05

  Wow.

• 42:01Speaker 04

  And results.

• 42:02Speaker 03

  Yeah, we're lucky you're moved on to bigger and better things, you know? Like, thank you for being here. Keep, keep being the cheerleader.

• 42:09Speaker 05

  Yeah, I'm honored. And I'm, you know, as we said with Hard Rock, I'm one of the members of the band.

• 42:13Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 42:14Speaker 05

  And we have amazing people.

• 42:16Speaker 04

  Yeah, I was hoping for like 400 slot machines, but we only have 3,000.

• 42:19Speaker 03

  Only 3,000.

• 42:20Speaker 05

  Uh, yeah, Will, I still like the Will of Fortune one.

• 42:25Speaker 05

  Uh, that's my go-to.

• 42:27Speaker 03

  If anybody wants more information about what's happening in our county, you want a participating involved, kernedc.com.

• 42:34Speaker 05

  Perfect.

• 42:34Speaker 03

  And there you can find out where, uh, these activities are happening and these events. And Richard, thank you so much for coming on the show. We appreciate it.

• 42:42Speaker 05

  Looks forward to return engagement.

• 42:44Speaker 03

  We're going to take our final break. We'll be right back.

• 43:00Speaker 03

  Welcome back to Money Wise Show. I'm Sharad, that's Sammy. Got some great messages here and we want to thank Richard Chapman for coming on the show. Man, I mean it. That guy is, we're so lucky. He's like a, he's our cheerleader. He's our county cheerleader.

• 43:13Speaker 04

  He's like a magnet of projects.

• 43:14Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 43:15Speaker 04

  I like it.

• 43:16Speaker 03

  I like it too. Sammy, you're going to be on First Look with Scott Cox tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. Tune in to Kern Radio 96.1. Sammy and Scott Cox are going to get in it, get in at it.

• 43:30Speaker 04

  Yes, like always.

• 43:32Speaker 03

  Like always. And we've got a listener question here that we're going to end the show with. Go for it.

• 43:38Speaker 04

  Why did my health insurance go up so much this year? Is that happening to everyone?

• 43:42Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's happening to everyone. I've never heard it not go up. We had one year here at the office, and we have our group health insurance. Of course, every year we have a renewal and we get the bad news every single year.

• 43:55Speaker 04

  10 to 15% for the last, I mean, I've seen for the last five, maybe 10 years even of increase. But, I mean, that was a good question. It actually prompted me to think about it. Why is it going up so much on an annual basis? I mean, rising health costs, healthcare costs, I think is one of them. But truly what I think about is, you know, we keep an unhealthy lifestyle, which affects us. We'll go to the doctors when the insurance pays and pays and pays. And then one way for them to recoup that is to increase our cost.

• 44:26Speaker 03

  That's right.

• 44:27Speaker 04

  Right?

• 44:27Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 44:28Speaker 04

  So.

• 44:28Speaker 03

  So we certainly have some to blame for that. The other we have to blame is the fact that our healthcare system in the country, we spend the most money on healthcare and yet we're not in the, we're not in the, in the top five of developed countries in terms of outcome. So we're pouring a bunch of money into it and we're not getting the benefits that we should. There's too many middlemen involved and, you know, Obamacare did some good things, but one thing it did not do is actually address the cost. It addressed the insurability of our citizens, but it didn't address the actual cost. So our hope is that it, this can, maybe some year we will have, will we have a reduction? We'll find out. All right. Tune in tomorrow. In the meantime, remember these three things. Be smart, be safe, and always be money wise.

• 45:14Speaker 02

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