On Mare Island, a sliver of land in Vallejo where the U.S. Navy built warships for more than a century, California's governor stood beside maritime students and local leaders to announce something new: $48.5 million for 18 projects that officials say will help create about 20,000 jobs across the state.
The money flows through California Jobs First, a program launched in 2021, during a rough patch, when it was called the Community Economic Resilience Fund. Its idea is simple. Instead of a one-size-fits-all plan handed down from Sacramento, each region gets to figure out what it does best and how to grow.
That work started with real ground-level planning. California invested $5 million in each of its 13 economic regions to draft roadmaps for the future, and communities weighed in on which industries should lead. Together, those 13 plans became the Economic Blueprint, a statewide vision, and every region's plan has now been recognized as an official Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.
Today's awards are the final big round of building money, and they target seven clusters that will define the next economy. The largest slice, $17.75 million, goes to advanced manufacturing in two regions: one cluster strengthens manufacturing supply chains in the Central San Joaquin region, while another supports biomanufacturing and workforce training in the Capital region. Quantum computing gets $9.74 million to link the Southern Border, Orange County and Los Angeles County regions. Shipbuilding in the Bay Area receives $8.24 million to expand training and coordinate a network whose roots trace straight back to places like Mare Island. Kern County's space, defense and satellite work gets $6.85 million, the Southern Border's defense ecosystem gets $3.95 million, and Inland SoCal's high-tech sector gets $1.94 million.
The projects span eight economic regions and 33 counties, from high-tech corridors to the state's agricultural heartland. The 20,000 expected jobs are a mix of direct and indirect, meaning some people will build new facilities while others supply and support them.
Dee Dee Myers, the state's business and economic development director, said the program has turned years of planning into real opportunity by bringing together private companies, schools and community leaders. The goal, she said, is an economy that works for all Californians.
More than four years of regional planning led to this final round. What comes next is showing whether a state famous for big ideas can grow its next generation of industries, one region, one shipyard, one quantum lab at a time.