JTED organization has begun… The first meeting of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee for JTED (Joint Technological Education District) was held recently. The Committee is made up of business leaders representing ten different “clusters” of related career paths that will have training available through this new initiative, passed in the last election by over 70% of voters and with strong Chamber support. The ten areas and the respective business/community leaders for each are: Medical/Health–Steve Nash and Stephanie Healy; Management Services–Paula Stuht and Cheryll Frazier (TMCC); Public Safety/Security–Corey Reed and Jim Critchley; Production/Industrial–Gary Andros; Transportation Technologies-Bob Schlanger; Construction–Dave Pittman; Hospitality–Brian Johnson; Agriculture–Beth Hargrove; Info Tech–Justin Williams; Education-Dr. Filomena Brooks. Each of the leaders will form sub-committees whose functions will be two-fold: To advise educators on the curriculum and job experience needed to meet workforce shortages and to guarantee students are provided the most important skills to be successful in their chosen fields of study. Paula Stuht and Cheryll Frazier will begin with the existing Business Education Partnership to handle this advisory role, but will expand the group as interested Chamber members request to participate. Contact Paula, 792-2250 ext 134 or pstuht@tucsonchamber.org, for more information.

Unemployment figures released… For the first several months of this year, MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) unemployment figures were not available in Arizona as the Department of Economic Security-Research Administration did their annual audit and update of the state’s employment data. The review is now complete and MSA unemployment rates for February and March have been released. The state, Phoenix and Tucson all remained static for those months (Arizona: 3.9%; Phoenix: 3.4%; Tucson: 3.8%), with only a minor decrease from March of 2006. Arizona continues to have unemployment rates under the national average of 4.4 - 4.5%. Tucson’s nonfarm employment increased by 13,100 jobs since March 2006, with the bulk of the jobs occurring in service-providing industries (11,600 jobs) and the remainder in goods-producing occupations (1,500 jobs).

Two-and-a-half-year closure of I-10 ramps almost upon us… The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has already made its first permanent ramp closure, the Speedway westbound off-ramp, and is working to widen the frontage roads to prepare for the two-and-a-half year widening of I-10. Click here to view the most recent traffic alert detailing all of the current and upcoming closures to the frontage roads, cross-streets and the Interstate itself.

Travel-, recreation- or dining-related business?… Tucson Chamber members are invited to participate in a live call-in travel and lifestyle radio show on Saturday, May 19, in which they receive a five-minute plug for their travel-, recreation- or dining-related businesses. The idea is to get listeners of a Phoenix/Scottsdale radio station to visit Tucson and, particularly, patronize your business. The Living Life Show is a two-hour live call-in travel and lifestyle radio show that airs every Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon in the Phoenix/Scottsdale market on KXAM 1310 AM. Show Host Buzz Remde says, “All we ask in return are prizes that we can give away on the show to callers. The prizes are related to the company appearing, like room nights in a hotel or resort, or dinners in a restaurant.” Winners of the giveaways will be asked to call in on a later show, after they have been to the place of business, and tell all about the experience. “This gives you another free exposure.” Those who call in will be on the show for five minutes and also will get a link to their property on the station’s Web site for the entire month. To preview this week’s show on Sedona, visit www.livinglifeshow.net. To pre-qualify for the May 19 show, call Buzz at 623-388-1212 or e-mail him at buzzremde@buzzremde.com.