Ventura Co. growers brace for citrus bug
Ventura County citrus packers are nearing an agreement designed to stop the potential spread of a pest and disease that could decimate California’s citrus industry if it infects the state’s orchards. After slamming growers in Florida for three years, the Asian citrus psyllid showed up last year near the California-Mexico border and has been found Read More →
Budget squeezes recyclers
The deep cuts that resolved California’s budget crisis have come to your recycling bin. On July 1, the state pulled back on processing fees that it pays to recyclers and stopped some incentive programs altogether. Recyclers say the move is eating into their revenue at a time when the prices they get for recycled materials Read More →
Foreclosure plague hits beach projects
In a sign that Ventura County’s residential real estate market may be nearing a bottom, a $37.5 million, 150-home development in Port Hueneme faces foreclosure and an Oxnard developer trying to launch a handful of condominium projects has filed for bankruptcy with $19.5 million in debt. In both cases, the loans go back to 2006 and Read More →
Pismo OKs tax
Pismo Beach’s City Council approved a 1 percent tax on overnight stays that will fund tourism, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported. The council voted 4-1 in favor of the tax, which will go toward promoting the city to tourists, the newspaper said. Other cities in San Luis Obispo County – Morro Bay, Paso Robles Read More →
Pork flows to Tri-Counties
The U.S. House of Representatives approved $700,000 for the Rice Avenue Interchange transportation project in Ventura County as part of the next fiscal year’s transportation, and housing and urban development appropriations bill passed July 23. The funding request was made by the city of Oxnard, the Ventura County Transportation Commission and the Oxnard Harbor District. Read More →
In memory of Lompoc Mayor Dick DeWees
The news that Lompoc Mayor Dick DeWees had died came to me completely out of the blue. I literally picked the news out of the fax machine when Tom Pfeifer of U.S. Rep Elton Gallegly’s office sent out a message of condolence. I had no idea Dick was ill or had a medical condition that Read More →
BREAKING NEWS: Pacific Capital unveils three-year strategy following $362M loss
Santa Barbara-based Pacific Capital Bancorp released its second-quarter earnings on July 30, revealing a staggering net loss of $362.6 million and unveiling a three-year plan to improve the company’s capital position. The net loss, $7.77 per common share, compares to $5.9 million, or 13 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. The Read More →
