Michael Towbes and his family have generously offered $5 million in matching grants to close the funding gap on the restoration of Santa Barbara’s Granada theater. This is a project that has elevated the performing arts game across the Tri-Counties, creating a Broadway-class performance venue that’s right in the heart of the region. We encourage [...]
Just as the 1990s ended with global problems looking smaller and smaller, the first decade of the 21st century is ending with mega-problems looming everywhere. These are big things that really demand more than Band-Aids and quick fixes. Here is a closer look at four of them: • California’s budget mess. All of the parties [...]
A former Amgen patent lawyer advanced his effort Dec. 16 to get restitution for his firing last year for “whistle-blower activities” targeting the Thousand Oaks-based pharmaceutical leader. A Ventura County Superior Court judge ruled that Darrell G. Dotson of Newbury Park can pursue his case in court, rather than through the company’s arbitration process. The [...]
Port Hueneme Mayor Toni Young, 56, died Dec. 16 following a sudden illness. Her death came one day before she planned to retire from a 16-year career on the city council. Young is survived by her husband of 38 years, Otto, and three grown children. She was first elected to the Port Hueneme City Council [...]
Department store chain Kohl’s plans to open its second location in San Luis Obispo County next year, according to published reports. It will replace Mervyns at the Madonna Plaza shopping center in San Luis Obispo, which will close after the holiday shopping season. Kohl’s acquired 31 former Mervyns locations as part of a $6.25 million [...]
Every holiday shopping list includes at least one person for whom it is nearly impossible to find the right gift. You could buy them a bottle of wine, but let’s be honest — it usually isn’t the most unique gift in the world unless you’ve made it yourself. And I say this as your wine [...]
How amazing is it to wake up morning after morning to headlines telling us that what was unthinkable yesterday has happened today. To punctuate a remarkable four-month period in the history of the markets, the Federal Reserve set a target for short-term interest rates at as close to zero as you can get. A $50 [...]
If a new high-tech incubator in downtown Ventura hatches some ingenious companies, the city may by poised to receive both national attention and increased sales tax revenue. In January, the city is opening up 30,000 square feet of space for the county’s first technology incubator, officially named the Ventura Ventures Technology Center. Start-ups across the [...]
As state lawmakers wrestle with what’s projected to be a $40 billion budget deficit by 2010, county governments in the Tri-Counties face a combined $30 million shortfall of their own and say they are bracing for the worst. Though the region’s budget experts say they already have made cuts this year to adjust for fewer [...]
Plans for the North Shore at Mandalay Bay subdivision in Oxnard screeched to a halt last month after the property went into foreclosure. In the heyday of the housing boom, owner Trimark Pacific-Mandalay Bay took out a loan from California National Bank for $65.9 million for the development of 292 single-family residences at the North [...]
It’s all smiles and sauvignon in Happy Canyon’s vineyards
Towbes Group grabs Goleta with Groupon-like deals at retailers
Social-media IPOs could launch Golden State sustainability fund
Ventura County brokers hold out ’til 2013 for real recovery
Name changes and new faces at SLO and Oxnard law firms
From apartments to industrial spaces, deals close in the region