I don’t need to remind anyone here how bad it was. California’s economy was especially hard-hit. We experienced one of the biggest housing booms and therefore one of the most severe housing collapses. California was also much more affected by the sharp slowdown in international trade. This was felt particularly here in Southern California, where Los Angeles and Long Beach are two of the nation’s primary global ports. And even the tech industry was dealt a severe blow. While employment overall fell by 3.8% nationally in 2009, Southern California saw a 5.6% drop.