Oil spill
The 40th anniversary of the Santa Barbara oil spill, widely credited with helping give birth to the environmental movement, would not seem to be a time to pay some new respect to the free enterprise system. After all, the Jan. 29 offshore spill, which polluted beaches in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, led to a Read More →
Harbor, 101 power past recession
While the overall economy struggles to gain altitude, here are two signs of improvement. First, a turnaround at Channel Islands Harbor. The latest development is the hiring of Lauterbach Associates, an Oxnard-based architecture firm, to transform the Port Royal restaurant site into the new home of the Ventura County Maritime Museum. Relocating the museum is Read More →
Am-Pac acquired for $75M
Simi Valley-based Am-Pac Tire, a nationwide wholesale tire distributor, was bought by Investcorp Bank BSC’s U.S. unit, American Tire Distributors, Jan. 27 for $75 million. Investcorp is a Bahrain-based buyout, hedge fund and property firm. The company said in a statement on the Bahrain Stock Exchange that the acquisition will enable American Tire to offer Read More →
News-Press case dismissed
Federal labor officials on Jan. 23 dismissed five unfair labor practices charges that Ampersand Publishing, parent of the Santa Barbara News-Press, filed against newsroom union representatives. The filings stem from the union’s attempts to persuade News-Press advertisers to boycott the newspaper. The News-Press accused union representatives of bad-faith bargaining and breaking laws in their boycott Read More →
Cottage gets $3M donation
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital garnered a second substantial gift from Montecito residents Stephen and Toni Haselton for $3 million. This recent Haselton donation comes at the close of the not-for-profit hospital’s largest fundraising effort ever — a five-year drive to raise $100 million to support its rebuilding. Since the campaign’s launch in 2004, the Haseltons Read More →
Select Staffing parent to buy Westaff
The parent of Santa Barbara-based Select Staffing has agreed to buy Walnut Creek-based Westaff for about $10.3 million in cash and perhaps $10.5 million in debt. With $1.4 billion in revenue in 2007, Select Staffing is the Tri-Counties’ third largest private company. The company made 13 acquisitions in 2007 and nearly doubled in revenue from Read More →
First California Bank acquires failed 1st Centennial Bank
Westlake Village-based First California Bank took over six branches of 1st Centennial Bank after regulators shut down the Redlands-based bank. First California Bank is the fourth largest in the Tri-Counties. It adds 1st Centennial’s six branches, which reopened Jan. 26, to its 14 existing locations across the state. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which took Read More →
