Madison Aument

Daniel MacDonald is a professor of economics at Cal State San Bernardino. He also writes a free Substack newsletter called Inland Empire Economic Intelligence. A few weeks ago, he published a response to a report authored by Chris Thornberg with Beacon Economics.Last year, the FAST Act was passed, which raised the minimum wage for fast food workers in California to $20 an hour. In his report, Thornberg argues that employment in the fast food sector declined since quarter two of 2024, when the Act was passed. MacDonald disagreed and authored a response to this report on his Substack, which he's talking to us about today.

With federal cuts to education funding looming, educators in the region met with Congressman Jay Obernolte. They asked him to protect federal funding and vote to keep the Department of Education open.

The school board in Redlands Tuesday voted in favor of a resolution to keep transgender students out of girls’ sports. The marathon meeting lasted until midnight— most of the meeting was spent on public comment.

One of the hosts of National Public Radio's flagship afternoon news program, All Things Considered, gave a lecture at UC Riverside last night. Ari Shapiro told the audience that every day, his journalism is guided by NPR’s 56-year-old original mission: to encourage a sense of active, constructive participation rather than apathetic helplessness. After the lecture, KVCR’s Madison Aument spoke with Shapiro as they shared a golf cart to the parking lot.

Each month, IEGO a nonprofit focused on economic growth in the Inland Empire, publishes the IE Labor Market Pulse. The newsletter analyzes monthly employment data to give readers insight into the region’s labor market.

The school board in Chino Valley voted Thursday to file complaints against the state and Governor Gavin Newsom. The school board president says the governor isn’t following Title IX— a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

On today’s episode, I’m speaking to Tomás Gomez-Arias. He’s the dean of the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration at Cal State San Bernardino. We spoke about the School of Entrepreneurship, which is part of the College of Business and the first of its kind in California.

Names for the two eaglets were chosen by local elementary school students in a vote this week. But fans from across the globe submitted names ahead of the competition.

A contest is on to name two internet-famous baby bald eaglets. Tens of thousands of people from around the world have been tuning into a livestream to watch the babies hatch and grow, in a nest high up in a pine tree in the San Bernardino mountains.

For 91.9 KVCR News, I’m Madison Aument, and this is Economics I.E. Normally, I sit down with experts, workers, and policymakers to talk about how money moves through the Inland Empire and what it means for you. But this week, I’m switching it up. Instead of an interview, I’m running through some economic facts —hidden trends, unexpected stats, and big-picture shifts that impact everything from housing to jobs to the cost of living.