On February 1st of this year, Hershey's finished the closure of it's
Oakdale, California plant which eliminated the largest employer in Oakdale
with the loss of 575 jobs. The 575 jobs are now in Monterrey Mexico. Very
nice for Monterrey huh? Oakdale is the home of a very successful Chocolate
Festival in the summer. Luckily, the chocolate festival will not disappear,
mostly because chocolate is a big industry here in California and the city
leaders hoped that continuing the festival might make the plant more
attractive to another company. Their move was apparently brilliant. A
company is already stepping in to use the Hershey facility and to help fill
in the job blank that Hershey's left.

Sconza Candy is coming to Oakdale to use the same facility and to reemployee
some people that California just can't afford to have unemployed. Sconza
candies are only available in a couple of stores here in the Modesto/Oakdale
area since this company is apparently originally based in Oakland in the bay
area. We will definitely be on the lookout to support Sconza candies from
now on. They will go into production at this factory in the fall originally
with around 100 employees. It was be a Hershey replacement right off the
bat, but it will get there.